Jhalkari Bai of Jhansi: The Dalit heroine whose heroism has not done justice to history!
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Jhalkari Bai was married to Puran Singh. Puran Singh was a soldier of Rani Laxmi Bai’s army and was considered very brave.
Bhopal: There have been many great people in our country. Unfortunately, our historians did not do justice to many and they could not get the place they deserved in history. One such great personality is Jhalkari Bai. We are all aware of Rani Laxmi Bai’s valor and valor, but not many people know about Jhalkari Bai, who soured the teeth of the British, shoulder to shoulder with her.
Who was Jhalkari Bai
Born on 22 November 1830 in Jhansi in a Dalit family, Jhalkari Bai was the only child of her parents. Jhalkari Bai’s mother had died in her childhood. Being from a poor and Dalit family, Jhalkari Bai could not get school education but she learned to use arms and horse riding in her childhood.
There is a lot of mention of Jhalkari Bai in the folklore of Jhansi and it is said that once a robber had come to the house of a merchant living in his village, then Jhalkari Bai single-handedly forced those bandits to run away. Had given. It is also said that once a lion attacked him in the forest, he single-handedly killed the lion with an axe.
How did I meet Rani Laxmibai?
Jhalkari Bai was married to Puran Singh. Puran Singh was a soldier of Rani Laxmi Bai’s army and was considered very brave. It is said that once on the occasion of Gauri Puja, Jhalkari Bai along with other women of the village went to the fort of Jhansi. During that time, the eyes of Rani Lakshmi Bai fell on him for the first time.
Actually the face of Jhalkari Bai was very similar to that of Rani Laxmibai. This is the reason why Rani Laxmibai took notice of Jhalkari Bai and when she came to know that Jhalkari Bai was the wife of a soldier of her army, the queen talked to her separately. When the queen came to know about Jhalkari Bai’s valor, she immediately included her in the women’s contingent of her army. After this, Jhalkari Bai also took training in weapon handling and artillery.
During the Ghadar (1857 Rebellion) of 1857, when Rani Laxmibai raised her voice against the British, the British attacked Jhansi. Rani Laxmibai and her entire army fought bravely but due to the deception of one of her own commanders, she had to face defeat and leave the battlefield. After this, Jhalkari Bai, disguised as Rani Laxmibai, surrendered to the British saying that she was Rani Laxmibai to keep the British entangled in the battlefield.
Due to Jhalkari Bai’s appearance like Rani Laxmibai, once again the British were also deceived. However, after some time the British came to know the reality and Jhalkari Bai was arrested. There is a lot of misunderstanding about the death of Jhalkari Bai. Actually some people believe that he died in 1858 itself. At the same time, some people believe that the British had left him and he died many years later in 1890.
History has forgotten Jhalkari Bai’s valor for a long time but later her greatness was respected and in 2001 her statue was installed in Gwalior. Along with this, the government had also issued a postage stamp in honor of Jhalkari Bai.
Courtesy : Zee News
Note: This news piece was originally published in the zeenews.com and use purely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes exclusively for Human Rights objectives