Hindustani Ladies Warriors..

Meat These Hindustani Ladies Warriors..

Rani Laxmibai of Jhansi

Date of Birth : 1834 Date of Death : Jun 18, 1858 Place of Birth : India 

Rani Laxmibai's courage, deeds of valour and heroic battle against the British have become the theme of many a folklore and ballad in the country. She is the immortal warrior the country has ever seen. Even as a child Laxmibai learnt horse riding and sword fighting. When both her husband Raja Gangadhar Rao of Jhansi and her only son died in 1853 she adopted a son and made him the heir to the throne. The British Governor General Dalhousie refused to recognize her adopted son as heir to the throne and ordered annexation of Jhansi into British Raj. Rani Laxmibai refused to part with Jhansi. A fierce fight ensued. The Rani fought the British undauntedly leading her forces from the front and showed great courage and skill. She was fatally wounded in the battle and she breathed her last on 18-06-1858.

Rani Rashmoni

Date of Birth : 1793 Date of Death : 1861 Place of Birth : India

Born in a poor family she was married into a wealthy zamindar family of Calcutta. After the death of her husband the management of zamindari fell on her shoulders and she showed great managerial skill and leadership in her new role. Rani Rasmoni's nationalist outlook brought her in direct confrontation with the British rulers and each time and every time she had her way and the British could not prevail upon her. She was extremely religious and led an austere life. Construction of the temple complex on the banks of the Ganges, a number of bathing ghats on the river, a road from the Subarnarekha river to Puri for the benefit of the pilgrims and substantial contribution to the then Imperial Llibrary (now National Library) and Hindu College (now Presidency College) bear testimony to her benevolence.

Begum Hazrat Mahal

Date of Birth : - Date of Death : 1879 Place of Birth : India 

Begum Hazrat Mahal was also known as Begum of Avadh. During the First War of Independence in 1957-58 the British deported her husband Nawab Wajid Ali Shah of Lucknow to Calcutta. The Begum joined hands with the mutineers and seized control of Lucknow. She rejected with contempt the promises of allowance and status held out to her by the British and resisted the British forces with all her might. She, however, could not hold out for long and escaped to Nepal where she died in 1879.

Meera Bai 

Date of Birth : - Date of Death : - Place of Birth : Mewar

Born in early 16th century Meerabai belonged to the royal family of Mewar. She renounced the luxuries of royal life and became an ardent devotee of lord Krishna. Meera composed many devotional songs in praise of Lord Krishna which are sung to this day with great reverence throughout the country. She died at the feet of Lord Krishna of Dwaraka at the age of 67.

Kitturu Rani Chennamma (1778 - 1829) was the queen of the princely state of Kittur in Karnataka. In 1824, 33 years before the 1857 war of independence, she led an armed rebellion against the British in response to the Doctrine of lapse. The resistance ended in her martyrdom and she is remembered today as one of the earliest Indian rulers to have fought for independence. Along with Abbakka Rani, Keladi Chennamma and Onake Obavva she is much venerated in Karnataka as an icon of bravery and women's pride

Chennamma was born in Kakati, a small village in the wealthy kingdom of Kittur, which stood around 5 km north of Belgaum in Karnataka. In her youth she received training in horse riding, sword fighting and archery. She became queen of her native kingdom and married Raja Mallasarja, of the Desai family, and had one son; after her son's death in 1824 she adopted Shivalingappa, and made him heir to the throne. The British East India Company did not accept this and ordered Shivalingappa's expulsion, using doctrine of lapse (officially codified between 1848 and 1856 by Lord Dalhousie), but Chennamma defied the order: a battle ensued, during which Chennamma fought fiercely with the aid of her lieutenant, Sangolli Rayanna, but was ultimately captured and imprisoned at Bailhongal Fort, where she died on 21 February 1829.

Chennamma, born 56 years before the 1857 rebel Rani Laxmi Bai, was the first woman to fight against British governance and the kappa tax. Her legacy and first victory are still commemorated in Kittur, during the Kittur Utsava of every 22 - 24 October. The festival is similar to the Mysore Dasara.

Onake Obavva

(18th Century) was a woman who fought the forces of Hyder Ali single-handedly with a masse (Onake) in the small kingdom of Chitradurga in the Chitradurgadistrict of Karnataka, India. Her husband was a guard of a watchtower in the rocky fort of Chitradurga. She is considered to be the epitome of Kannada women pride, with the same standing as Kittur Chennamma and Keladi Chennamma. The sports stadium in Chitradurga- Veera Vanithe Onake Obavva Stadium, is named after her.

The former soldier Timmana Nayaka rose to the rank of Governor of Chitradurga as a reward for his excellence in military achievements, from the Vijayanagara ruler. His son Obana is known by the name Madhakari Nayaka. Madakari Nayaka's son Kasturi Rangappa succeeded him, consolidated the kingdom, and rule peacefully . As he had no heirs to succeed him, his adopted son — the apparent heir — was enthroned, but was killed a few months later by the Dalavayis.

Chikkanna Nayaka, the brother of Madakari Nayaka II sat on the throne in 1676, and his other brother succeeded him with the title Madakari Nayaka III. The unwillingness of Dalawayis to accept Madakari Nayaka III's rule gave an opportunity to a distant relative, Bharamappa Nayaka, to ascend the throne in 1689. The quick succession of rulers led to the people of Chitradurga not experiencing the benefits of longer ruling periods. Hiri Madakari Nayaka (1721 - 1748),Kasturi Rangappa Nayaka II and Madakari Nayaka IV were the next successors.

Siege of Chitradurga

During the reign of Madakari Nayaka, the city of Chitradurga was besieged by the troops of Hyder Ali. A chance sighting of a woman entering the Chitradurga fort through a crack hole in the rocks led to a clever plan by Hyder Ali to send his soldiers through that crack. The defence guard on duty of the port near that crack hole had just gone home as usual asking his wife to guard until he is back from his lunch. The wife of that guard, Obavva, noticed the soldiers emerging out of this crack but was not perturbed. She used the Onake (a wooden long club meant for pounding paddy grains) to kill and quietly moved the dead, so that hundreds of them entered and fell, without raising the suspicions of the rest of the troops. The guard, Obavva's husband, upon his return from lunch, was shocked to see Obavva standing with a blood stained Onake and hundreds of the enemies' dead bodies around her. Though her sincere brave attempt saved the fort this time, Madakari could not resist the attack of 1779 by Hyder Ali, when the fort of Chitradurga was lost to Hyder Ali once for all

Ahilyabai Holker 

Date of Birth : 1725 Date of Death : 1795 Place of Birth : Ahmednagar

Born in Ahmednagar of Maharashtra to Manakoji Shinde in 1725. Married to Khande Rao in 1733. When Khande Rao died in the battle of Kumbher in 1754 Ahilyabai learnt to run the princely State of Holker under the stewardship of her father-in-law Malhar Rao Holkar. With the death of her father-in-law in 1766 the entire responsibility of running the State devolved on her. She proved herself to be an enlightened ruler from then onwards till her death in 1795.