Rani Lakshmibai

Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi (1828–1858) was the queen consort and later regent of the small Maratha-ruled state of Jhansi in north-central India, and one of the leading figures of the Indian Rebellion of 1857 against the rule of the British East India Company. Born Manikarnika Tambe in Varanasi to a Marathi Brahmin family, she received an unusually thorough upbringing in horsemanship, swordsmanship, and shooting alongside her studies.

She was married in 1842 to Maharaja Gangadhar Rao of Jhansi and took the regnal name Lakshmibai. The couple's only biological son died in infancy, and shortly before the maharaja's death in 1853 they adopted a boy named Damodar Rao. The British, applying the doctrine of lapse, refused to recognize the adoption and annexed Jhansi, granting the rani only a small pension.

When the rebellion broke out in May 1857, Lakshmibai initially negotiated with British authorities but was drawn into the wider revolt after a massacre at the Jhansi fort. In June 1858 she joined Tatya Tope and other rebel leaders in seizing the fortress of Gwalior. She died in battle near Gwalior on 18 June 1858, reportedly fighting on horseback in male dress; British accounts including that of Sir Hugh Rose praised her courage.

She has since become one of the central national symbols of resistance to colonial rule and is the subject of many ballads, films, and the Rani of Jhansi Regiment of the Indian National Army.

Lakshmi is a Sanskrit feminine name from the Hindu goddess of wealth and fortune, with bai a Marathi feminine honorific meaning lady; she carried the feminine form.