| Jhalkaribai | |
|---|---|
| Born | November 22, 1830[1] Bhojla Village, near Jhansi |
| Died | 1890 (disputed)[2] |
| Political movement | Indian Rebellion of 1857 |
Jhalkaribai (November 22, 1830 – 1890)[2] (Hindi: झलकारीबाई [dʒʱəlkaːriːˈbaːi]) was an Indian revolutionary who played an important role in the Indian Rebellion of 1857 during the battle of Jhansi. She was a soldier in the women's army of Queen Laxmibai of Jhansi. Born into a poor Kori family, she started her career as an ordinary soldier in Laxmibai's female army, but rose up to a position to participate and advise the queen in vital decisions.[3] During the rebellion, at the height of the battle of fort of Jhansi, she disguised herself as the queen and fought on the front to let the queen escape safely out of the fort.[3][4]
The legend of Jhalkaribai remains in the popular memory of Bundelkhand over centuries. Her life and especially the incident of her fighting with East India Company army on the front in disguise, continues to be sung in various Bundeli folklores. Her bravery along with her identity as a Dalit has helped to create a sense of pride and cultural unity in Dalits in North India.[5]
In the recent years, the name of Jhalkaribai, along with the others, has played a crucial role in the political landscape of North India, especially of Uttar Pradesh. Taking advantage of her popular image, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), the leading Dalit-based party in India, projected Jhalkaribai as one of the symbols of Dalit pride and honour. Efforts were taken in research and find facts about her life and propagating them to the masses. Emphasis was given to portraying her as a historical heroine of the bahujans (read masses).
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Jhalkaribai was a daughter of a Kori farmers, Sadovar Singh and Jamuna Devi. She was born on November 22, 1830 in Bhojla village near Jhansi.[1] After the death of her mother when she was very young, her father raised her like a boy. She was trained in horse-riding and using weapons. Consistent with the social conditions of those days, she could not have a formal education, but soon became well-trained as a warrior. She garnered notoriety in her region when she killed a leopard in the forest with a stick she used to herd cattle.[6]
Jhalkaribai bore an uncanny resemblance with Rani (queen) Laxmibai.[7] In due course of time, she was married to an artilleryman, Puran Singh, from the artillery unit of Rani Laxmibai. Jhalkaribai was introduced to the queen by Puran Singh. She joined women's army, headed by Rani Laxmibai. After joining the army, she gained further expertise in all aspects of warfare.[3]
During the Rebellion of 1857, General Hugh Rose stormed Jhansi with a large army on April 3, 1858.[8] The queen was not in position to face such a big army and as per the plan with rebels she has to join them at Kalpi . Jhalkaribai made a suggestion to the queen that she would go on the front in disguise as the queen and the queen should escape out of the fort.[3] On the night of April 4, the queen escaped from the fort and left for Kalpi. At the same time, Jhalkaribai set out for General Rose's camp in disguise as the queen and declared herself to be the queen Laxmibai.[9] This led to a confusion that continued for a week and she was released only after it was revealed that she was not the queen but a common soldier.[4]
Very little, if any, information is available about later days of Jhalkaribai. Some sources state that she was killed during the battle of Jhansi; others state that she was released by the General Rose and thereafter lived until 1890.[2][10]She was most favourite soldier & warrior of Laxmibai.She was a very kind girl.
Very few references are found about Jhalkaribai in the contemporary records. The diary of General Hugh Rose, who was the general of the company army, and commissioner's gazetteer has no mention of Jhalkaribai. However, Vishnubhat Godse, a contemporary Marathi traveller who travelled in North India during the rebellion and was the court priest of Jhansi during this period mentioned her in his travelogue, though he mentioned her as a maid.[11]
One could find no references of Jhalkaribai or her bravery in early historiography. In pre-independence India, British historiographers like Kaye and Malleson or Thompson and Garratt made no mention of Jhalkaribai. Even the Indian authors ignored her feat. Savarkar neglected her in his The Indian War of Independence and Nehru did not mention her in his Discovery of India.[12] Majumdar, Raychaudhuri, and Datta did not specify the deed of Jhalkaribai though they noted that the queen Laxmibai escaped out of the Jhansi fort on the night of April 4, 1858 and left for Kalpi as Sir Hugh Rose "stormed" in Jhansi on April 3.[8]
The name of Jhalkaribai appeared in the printed history after the Independence of India in 1947. First reference of her story in this period is found in a novel Jhansi ki Rani written in 1951 by B.L. Varma, who created a subplot in his novel about Jhalkaribai for which he interviewed Jhalkaribai's grandson.[11] He addressed Jhalkaribai as Korin and an ordinary soldier in Laxmibai's army. Another novel where we can find mention of Jhalkaribai was written in the same year by Ram Chandra Heran in his Bundeli novel Maati. Heran depicted her as "chivalrous and a valiant martyr".[11] The first biography of Jhalkaribai was written in 1964 by Bhawani Shankar Visharad, a Dalit intellectual, with the help of Varma's novel and his research from the oral narratives of the lower caste people living in the vicinity of Jhansi.[11]
As a result of Bahujan Samaj Party's policy of social mobilization, several booklets, dramas, and songs have been composed by Dalit activists, politicians, and writers narrating the story of Jhalkaribai. Efforts have been made to rewrite the history and place Jhalkaribai at an equal footing of Laxmibai.[11] Since the 1990s, the story of Jhalkaribai has acquired a political dimension and her image is being reconstructed with the demands of social situation.[13]
The image of Jhalkaribai has risen to a significant place in North India in the recent years. The socio-political importance of the story of Jhalkaribai to create social awareness and a sense of pride in the Dalits has been successfully recognized and used by political parties like Bahujan Samaj Party. The death anniversary of Jhalkaribai is celebrated as Shahid Diwas (Martyr Day) by various Dalit organizations every year.[14]
The story of Jhalkaribai is utilized not only by the Dalits. The movement to create a separate Bundelkhand state has also use the legend of Jhalkaribai to create the Bundeli identity.[13] The Government of India's Post and Telegraph department has also issued a postal stamp depicting Jhalkaribai.[7]