History of Jhansi, 1842 - May 1857[edit]

Manikarnika was married to the Maharaja of Jhansi, Raja Gangadhar Newalkar, in May 1842[4][17] and
was afterwards called Lakshmibai (or Laxmibai) in honour of the Hindu goddess Lakshmi and
according to the traditions. She gave birth to a boy, later named Damodar Rao, in 1851, who died
after four months. The Maharaja adopted a child called Anand Rao, the son of Gangadhar Rao's
cousin, who was renamed Damodar Rao, on the day before the Maharaja died. The adoption was in
the presence of the British political officer who was given a letter from the Maharaja instructing that
the child be treated with respect and that the government of Jhansi should be given to his widow for
her lifetime.
After the death of the Maharaja in November 1853, because Damodar Rao (born Anand Rao) was
an adopted son, the British East India Company, under Governor-General Lord Dalhousie, applied
the Doctrine of Lapse, rejecting Damodar Rao's claim to the throne and annexing the state to its
territories. When she was informed of this she cried out "I shall not surrender my Jhansi" (Main meri
Jhansi nahi doongi). In March 1854, Rani Lakshmibai was given an annual pension of Rs. 60,000
and ordered to leave the palace and the fort.[18][19].
According to Vishnu Bhatt Godse the Rani would exercise at weightlifting, wrestling and
steeplechasing before breakfast. An intelligent and simply-dressed woman, she ruled in a business-
like manner.[20]

Indian Rebellion of 1857[edit]

Beginning of the Rebellion[edit]
On 10 May 1857 the Indian Rebellion started in Meerut. When news of the fighting reached Jhansi,
the Rani asked the British political officer, Captain Alexander Skene, for permission to raise a body
of armed men for her own protection; Skene agreed to this.[21] The city was relatively calm in the
midst of the regional unrest, but the Rani conducted a Haldi Kumkum ceremony with pomp in front of
all the women of Jhansi to provide assurance to her subjects, in the summer of 1857 and to
convince them that the British were cowards and not to be afraid of them.[22][23]
Until this point, Lakshmibai was reluctant to rebel against the British. In June 1857, rebels of the
12th Bengal Native Infantry seized the Star Fort of Jhansi containing the treasure and
magazine,[24] and after persuading the British to lay down their arms by promising them no harm,
broke their word and massacred 40 to 60 European officers of the garrison along with their wives
and children. The Rani's involvement in this massacre is still a subject of debate.[25][26] An army
doctor, Thomas Lowe, wrote after the rebellion characterising her as the "Jezebel of India ... the
young rani upon whose head rested the blood of the slain".[27]