19th November is Jhansi’s Maharani Lakshmi Bai’s Birthday
19th November was the concluding day of the three-day Rashtra Raksha Samarpan Parv’ celebrated in Jansi. This 19th November was also the day when our revered Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi was a figure of prominence when he visited as 1st Prime Minister the Jansi Fort to pay tributes to Rani Lakhsmi Bhai, Jansi ki Rani as she is called all over India, in connection with her birthday celebrations.
Rani Lakshmi Bhai (Manikarnika) has been the first ruler of modern India who revolted against the Rule of the British East India Company in 1857 not for the cause of only her own kingdom but gave a call to all the ruling Princes in India to come together for driving out the East India Company from India. But at the same time there were a very few local Kings / Princes who took to her call and there were many kings/ princes who either stayed away or who openly sided with the ‘British East India Company ‘ forces to fight against the Indians lead by Rani Lakshmi Bhai. Some Indian princes sent even contingents of infantary, cavalary and guns to help the British against Rani Lakshmi Bai and her associate princes. Even some Rajas / Princes/ Maharajas felt pride in officially on record calling the 1st Swatantrata Sangram as Mutiny 1857 and their ‘person/ kingdom ‘ as loyal friends and allies of the British.
Modi has said that Rani Lakshmi Bai has a place in history. No doubt Rani holds very respectable place in the heart of common Indians but no one had so far paid tributes to Her like Narendra Modi paid on this 19th November. Surely the event should be taken as a leap towards the mission “Honour the Greats who Opposed the Foreign Rule over Modern India” and in a way Rani Lakshi Bai ( Jansi ki Rani) stands almost first in the first Row but so far she has not been accorded the due stature at the appropriate level. So the pages left blank or and filled with tailored history of struggle for Indian Independence should be filled or and corrected with atleast naming all those Indian princes / Rajas/ Maharajas who had sided with the East India Company in 1957 -58 as loyal friends and allies of the British and those who had not voluntarily stepped down before 14th August 1947. The tracks for Independence of India were laid by Rani Lakshmi Bhai who called on all the Indian princes of Bundelkhand to join hands for ending the British East India Company. Had the princes taken the call, India would have been free from foreign rule much before 1947 & may be even without partition.
It was more due to the leadership and martyrdom of Rani Lakshmi Bai of Jansi that 1857 rebellion against the BritishEast India Company earned the honours as 1stSwatantrata Sangram in the hearts of Indians..
But inspite its failure the 1857 Swatantrata Sangram did shake the might of British by laying tracks for undoing the foreign rule.In the aftermath of the 1st Indian Swatantrata Sangram( British called it Revolt/ Mutiny of 1857 ) Imperial (British) Government was forced to take serious note of growing outrage in India against foreign rule. Hence Parliament of UK enacted the Government of India Act 1858 where under East India Company rule was ended and the company’s territories in India were called the “British possession in India”. Queen Victoria’s proclamation of 1st November 1858 to the “Princes, Chiefs, and People of India” unveiled a new British policy of perpetual support for “native princes” including reversing Lord Dalhousie’s policy of political unification through princely state annexation thereby leaving the princes free to adopt.
With the GoI Act of 1958 India was placed under the direct government of the Crown, whereby princes were given the right to adopt a son (abolition of the Doctrine of Lapse), equal treatment promised to Indians and the like. And after that it was in last decade of nineteenth century that movement of peoples rule started simmering prominently in British India ( territories that were directly ruled by the British) and in the Princely states the lead was not with prominence. In the Princely states ( Native states ) after 1858 there was lesser political activity for peoples democracy against British as well as the local Autocracy on the lines it started in British India for independence from British rule.
(Daya Sagar is Sr Journalist &
analyst of J&K affairs dayasagr45@yahoo.com).