Life History of Maharani Laxmi Bai  (Hardcover, Dr. Ajay Kulshreshtha)

Rani Lakshmibai, 19 November 1835 – 17 June 1858, popular as Jhansi Ki Rani, was the queen of the Maratha-ruled lordly state of Jhansi, one of the prominent figures of the Indian Revolt of 1857, and an icon of resistance to British India. The great heroine of the First war of India Freedom. She lived for only twenty-two years. She became a widow in her eighteenth year. Jhansi, of which she was the queen, was in the grip of the cunning, cruel British. She was the embodiment of patriotism, self-respect and heroism. She was the queen of a small state, but the empress of a limitless empire of glory. It was one evening after the rainy season. Outside Bethur, along the road on the banks of Ganga, three horses were galloping. Two riders were young men and one a girl. In 1853 the governance of India was still in the hands of the East India Company. The Governor General of India being the Marquess of Dalhousie. The many principalities that made up India were each dealt with individually. Jhansi was one of those that were ruled not by the British but by its own monarch, the Raja. The Raja of Jhansi had maintained a pro-British stance throughout his reign. Jhansi had been pro-British ever since his grandfather had signed a treaty with the British in 1817 granting Jhansi to his heirs and successors in perpetuity. Gangadhar Rao made explicit reference to his loyalty and that of his predecessors in his will. This book should provide moral and mental strength to Indian women, as she herself was an example of women's empowerment. We should trY to inculcate some, if not whole aspect of her. personality to make ourselves, worthy of our birth.