Jhalkaribai (22 November 1830 – 5 April 1858) was a woman soldier who played an important role in the

Indian Rebellion of 1857 The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against Company rule in India, the rule of the East India Company, British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the The Crown, British ...

. She served in the women's army of

Rani Lakshmibai The Rani of Jhansi (born Manikarnika Tambe; 1828 or 1835 – 18 June 1858), also known as Rani Lakshmibai, was one of the leading figures of the Indian Rebellion of 1857. The queen consort of the princely state of Jhansi from 1843 to 1853, s ...

Jhansi Jhansi ( ) is a historic city in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. (Toshan) 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 ...

. She eventually rose to a position of a prominent advisor to the queen, Rani of Jhansi. At the height of the Siege of Jhansi, she disguised herself as the queen and fought on her behalf, on the front, allowing the queen to escape safely out of the fort.Varma, B. L. (1951), ''Jhansi Ki Rani'', p. 255, as quoted in

Personal life

Jhalakaribai was born to Sadova Singh, a farmer, and his wife Jamunadevi on 22 November 1830 in Bhojla village, near Jhansi. It has been claimed that in her youth she stood her ground when attacked by a tiger and killed it with an axe. She reportedly once killed a leopard in the forest with a stick she used to herd cattle. Jhalkaribai bore an uncanny resemblance to Laxmibai and because of this she was inducted into the women's regiment of the Jhansi army.

Military service

In the queen's army, she quickly rose in the ranks and began commanding her own army. During the Rebellion of 1857,

General Hugh Rose Field Marshal Hugh Henry Rose, 1st Baron Strathnairn, (6 April 1801 – 16 October 1885) was a senior British Army officer. He served as a military adviser to the Ottoman Army who were seeking to secure the expulsion of the forces of Mehemet Al ...

attacked Jhansi with a large army. The queen faced the army with 14,000 of her troops. She waited for relief from

Peshwa The Peshwa was the second highest office in the Maratha Empire, next in rank and prestige only to that of the Chhatrapati. Initially serving as the appointed prime minister in the Maratha Kingdom, the office became hereditary when Shahu gave t ...

Nana Sahib's army camping at

Kalpi Kalpi is a historical city and municipal board in Jalaun district in Uttar Pradesh, India. It is on the right bank of the Yamuna. It is situated 78 kilometres south-west of Kanpur from which it is connected by both road and rail. History Th ...

that did not come because Tantia Tope had already been defeated by General Rose. Meanwhile, Dulhaji from Thakur community, in charge of one of the gates of the fort, had made a pact with the assailants and opened the doors of Jhansi for the British forces. When the British rushed the fort, Laxmibai, on advice of her courtier, escaped through Bhanderi gate with her son and attendants to Kalpi. Upon hearing of Laxmibai's escape, Jhalkaribai set out for General Rose's camp in disguise and declared herself to be the queen. This led to a confusion that continued for a whole day and gave the Rani's army renewed advantage. In addition, she was a close confidante and advisor to the queen playing a key role in the analysis of the battle, alongside Laxmibai.

Legacy

The death anniversary of Jhalkaribai is celebrated as ''Shahid Diwas'' (Martyr Day) by various

Koli Koli may refer to: People * Koli people, Indian caste group * Koli Christians, a Christian subgroup * Muslim Kolis, Muslim community * Koli (surname), Indian surname * Koli Sewabu (born 1975), Fijian rugby union footballer Places * Koli, Fin ...

/Kori organizations. The movement to establish

Bundelkhand Bundelkhand (, ) is a geographical and cultural region and a proposed state and also a mountain range in central and North India. It corresponds to the Post-Vedic Chedi kingdom. The hilly region is now divided between the states of Uttar Prad ...

as a separate state has also used the legend of Jhalkaribai to create the Bundeli identity. The Government of India's Post and Telegraph department has issued a postal stamp depicting Jhalkaribai. The

Archaeological Survey of India The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is an Indian government agency that is responsible for archaeological research and the conservation and preservation of cultural historical monuments in the country. It was founded in 1861 by Alexander ...

is setting up a museum at Panch Mahal, a five-storey building located inside the Jhansi Fort in remembrance of Jhalkaribai. She is referred to in the novel ''Jhansi ki Rani'' written in 1951 by B. L. Varma, who created a subplot in his novel about Jhalkaribai. He addressed Jhalkaribai as Korin and an extraordinary soldier in Laxmibai's army. Ram Chandra Heran

Bundeli Bundeli (Devanagari: बुन्देली/बुंदेली) or Bundelkhandi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in the Bundelkhand region of central India. It belongs to the Central Indo-Aryan languages and is part of the Western Hindi s ...

novel ''Maati,'' published in the same year, depicted her as "chivalrous and a valiant martyr". The first biography of Jhalkaribai was written in 1964 by Bhawani Shankar Visharad, with the help of Varma's novel and his research from the oral narratives of Kori communities living in the vicinity of Jhansi. Writers narrating the story of Jhalkaribai. Efforts have been made to place Jhalkaribai at an equal footing of Laxmibai. Since the 1990s, the story of Jhalkaribai has begun to model a fierce form of Koli womanhood, has acquired a political dimension, and her image is being reconstructed with the demands of social situation. President

Ramnath Kovind Ram Nath Kovind ( ; born 1 October 1945) is an Indian politician and lawyer who served as the president of India from 2017 to 2022. He is the first person from Uttar Pradesh to serve as the president. He is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Pa ...

unveiled the statue of Jhalkari Bai at Guru Tegh Bahadur Complex in Bhopal on 10 November 2017.Prez unveils Jhalkari Bai's statue
''Daily Pioneer'' (11 November 2017)

Depiction in film

'' Manikarnika'' (2019), a Hindi film starring

Ankita Lokhande Ankita Lokhande Jain (born Tanuja Lokhande; 19 December 1984) is an Indian actress known for her work in Hindi films and television. She made her acting debut with the role of Archana Manav Deshmuk in ''Pavitra Rishta'' (2009–2014) and is the ...

as Jhalkaribai has been made.

Auroshikha Dey Auroshikha Dey is an Indian actress who primarily works in Hindi cinema. She is best known for playing Jhalkari Bai in the British period drama ''The Warrior Queen of Jhans''i (2019). Early life Auroshikha Dey was born to a Bengali family i ...

played Jhalkaribai in the British

period drama A historical drama (also period drama, period piece or just period) is a dramatic work set in the past, usually used in the context of film and television, which presents history, historical events and characters with varying degrees of fiction s ...

''The Warrior Queen of Jhans''i (2019).

References

Sources