Lakshmibai Newalkar, the Rani of Jhansi or Jhansi ki Rani widely known as Rani Lakshmibai, was the Maharani consort of the princely state of Jhansi in the Maratha Empire from 1843 to 1853 by marriage to Maharaja Gangadhar Rao Newalkar. She was one of the leading figures in the Indian Rebellion of 1857, who became a national hero and symbol of resistance to the British rule in India for Indian nationalists.
Bundelkhand is a geographical and cultural region and a proposed state and also a mountain range in central & North India. The hilly region is now divided between the states of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, with the larger portion lying in the latter state.
Jhansi is a historic city in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Balwant Nagar was the old name of Jhansi. It lies in the region of Bundelkhand, on the banks of the Pahuj River, in the extreme south of Uttar Pradesh. Jhansi is the administrative headquarters of Jhansi district and Jhansi division. Also called the Gateway to Bundelkhand, Jhansi is situated near and around the rivers Pahuj and Betwa at an average elevation of 285 m (935 ft). It is about 420 kilometres (261 mi) from national capital New Delhi, 101 kilometres from Gwalior and 315 kilometres (196 mi) from state capital Lucknow.
The Holkars were the ruling house of the Indore State of the Maratha Confederacy, and earlier held the rank of Subahdar under Peshwa Baji Rao I. When the Maratha Confederacy began to weaken due to internal clashes, the Holkars declared themselves the rulers of Indore in Central India, existing as an autonomous member of the Maratha Confederacy until 1818. Later, their kingdom became a princely state under the British protection.
Mastani was the daughter of Chhatrasal Bundela and Ruhani Bai Begum. She was the second wife of the Maratha Peshwa Baji Rao I. Her relationship within the Maratha Brahmin family has been subject of both admiration and controversy and well adapted in Indian novels and cinema.
Malhar Rao Holkar was a noble subedar of the Maratha Empire, in present-day India. He was one of the early officers along with Ranoji Scindia to help spread the Maratha rule to northern states and was given the estate of Indore to rule by the [chhatrapati's Pradhan, during the reign of the Maratha emperor Shahu I. He was founder of the Holkar dynasty that ruled Malwa.
The Bundelkhand Agency was a political agency of the British Raj, managing the relations of the British government with the protected princely states of the Bundelkhand region.
The Central India Campaign was one of the last series of actions in the Indian rebellion of 1857. The British Army and Bombay Army overcame a disunited collection of states in a single rapid campaign, although determined rebels continued a guerrilla campaign until the spring of 1859.
Jhansi Fort or Jhansi ka Qila is a fortress situated on a large hilltop called Bangira, in Uttar Pradesh. It served as a stronghold of the Karhade Brahmin Kings in Balwant Nagar from the 11th through the 17th century.
Ek Veer Stree Ki Kahaani – Jhansi Ki Rani is an Indian historical drama based on the life of Lakshmi Bai, the Rani of Jhansi. The series was directed by Jitendra Srivastava and written by Rajesh Saksham, Ila Dutta Bedi, Malavika Asthana, Mairaj Zaidi and Virendra Singh Patyal. It premiered on 18 August 2009 on Zee TV with Ulka Gupta playing young Queen Lakshmi Bai. On 8 June 2010, the story moved on several years and Kratika Sengar portrayed the Queen from there on. The last episode aired on 19 June 2011, completing 480 episodes. This show replaced Maayka serial time slot.
The Kolhapur State was a Maratha princely state of India, under the Deccan Division of the Bombay Presidency, and later the Deccan States Agency. It was considered the most important of the Maratha principalities with the others being Baroda State, Gwalior State and Indore State. Its rulers, of the Bhonsle dynasty, were entitled to a 19-gun salute – thus Kolhapur was also known as a 19-gun state. The state flag was a swallow-tailed saffron pennant.
The Nari Shakti Puraskar is an annual award given by the Ministry of Women and Child Development of the Government of India to individual women or to institutions that work towards the cause of women empowerment. It is the highest civilian honour for women in India, and is presented by the president of India on International Women's Day at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi. The award was instituted in 1999 under the title of Stree Shakti Puraskar, renamed and reorganised in 2015. It is awarded in six institutional and two individual categories, which carry a cash prize of 200,000 and 100,000 rupees, respectively.
Jhansi was an independent princely state ruled by the Maratha Newalkar dynasty under suzerainty of British India from 1804 till 1853, when the British authorities took over the state under the terms of the Doctrine of Lapse, and renamed it the Jhansi State. Before the takeover, it was under the Peshwas from 1728 to 1804. The fortified town of Jhansi served as its capital.
Gangadhar Rao Newalkar was the 5th Raja of Jhansi situated in northern India, a vassal of Maratha Empire. He was a Marathi Karhade Brahmin. He was the son of Shiv Rao Bhau and a descendant of Raghunath Hari Newalkar.
Damodar Rao was the adopted son of Maharaja Gangadhar Rao and Rani Laxmibai of Jhansi State.
Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi is a 2019 Indian Hindi-language epic historical biographical action drama film based on the life of Rani Lakshmi Bai of Jhansi. It is directed by Krish Jagarlamudi and Kangana Ranaut from a screenplay written by V. Vijayendra Prasad. Produced by Zee Studios, the film stars Ranaut in the title role.
Khoob Ladi Mardaani – Jhansi Ki Rani is an Indian historical drama television series based on the life of warrior queen Lakshmi Bai, the Rani of Jhansi. The show, starring Anushka Sen went to air on Colors TV on 11 February 2019. Due to low TRPs, the show ended on 12 July 2019 completing 110 episodes. It was replaced by Bahu Begum.
