झाँसी की रानी [Jhansi ki Rani]

Amar Chitra Katha #51

by Mala Singh (Story)

Rani (Queen) Laxmibai of Jhansi is today a symbol of the first organized Indian resistance to British rule. She was born (c. 1828) in a conservative priestly family but she got an unconventional education including training in martial arts like the boys of her age. Married to the King of Jhansi, a small principality in central India, she became the ruler when her husband died prematurely. She governed well and earned the respect of her people. At the time, British authority was well established in India and had started taking over the independent principalities like Jhansi using legal loopholes. The Rani petitioned against such an attempt to the authorities in India as well as Britain, to no avail. About the same time a small rebellion among the Indian soldiers of the British army was developing into a full war for independence as many aggrieved Indian princes declared their determination to drive out the British. Laxmibai decided to cast her lot with the forces fighting the British. In the battles that follow, she inspired her people and personally led the forces. When the enemy, partly through treason, gained footing in her fort, the Rani donned a man's attire and escaped to friendly camps. She succeeded in winning over the ruler of Gwalior and getting refuge in that fort. When the British turned their attention to the Gwalior fort, she again fought bravely but eventually fell in combat. Today, across many parts of India the memory of her last stand is celebrated with the iconic image of her on a horse, sword unsheathed, poised for attack.

Genres: Comics, Biography, Nonfiction, Indian Literature

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1974

Reviews

[Jon Nakapalau · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Rani of Jhansi reminds me of the story of Joan of Arc...a brave woman who lead her people into battle when princes were fighting each other instead of a common enemy. I love this series of Indian comics and am looking forward to reading many more issues in the series.

[Aruna Kumar Gadepalli · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is from the Amar Chitra Katha collection on bravehearts. This story is about Rani of Jhansi.

[Ram M Srinivas · Rating 3 out of 5]

In continuation to my comic series from "Amar Chitra Katha" titled "History Collections", this is the 5th of the ten book collections which is about a queen from a smaller kingdom of Jhansi. She is in popular culture being called as Jhansi Rani and is regarded as an important women icon who fought independence. The first book i read and reviewed for the year about Rani Lakshmibai (a) Jhansi Rani and this comic is average in comparison to the earlier reviewed book. The earlier read book is also a pseudo-comic and is of 90+ pages. This book is no different to it but in fact hidden several of the details. Examples are like how she became queen, how the cause of her husband's death impacted her, when she ran and when she fought and so on. In general i respect Rani Lakshmibai but as expressed in my earlier review about the same personality, i feel that the importance given to Lakshmibai is ok but is biased. The same level of respect is not given to the other women warriors.
General information about the book is that it is the volume number 539 with 34 pages of colored comics and with a very high cost of ₹90. The book is scripted by Mala Singh, Illustrated by Hema Joshi and edited by Anant Pai.

[Ravi Kumar Dandapani]

nice

[Aradhya Goel · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good read and summarized version to teach kids about Laxmibai

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short comic book highlighting the key events in the brave queens life.