Was Rani Laxmibai Fighting for India?

Did the queen of Jhansi Fight for India or self?

RaniLaxmibai of Jhansi ( 1835-58) is romanticized as a great woman who fought for the "Independence" of India. She was a brave woman who took on the might of the Raj and died fighting. In her last battle, her troops were surrounded by Sir Hugh Rose and she was killed on 17 March 1858. Sir HughRose the British commander was himself wounded and later commented that " The Rani was the bravest and greatest of the commanders of the mutiny". 

All this is very well but some half-truths need to be re-stated for history to recognize the truth. The Rani was married at the age of 13 to Raja of Jhansi Maharaj Gangadhar Rao Newalkar who was 40 years older than her. She gave birth to a son in 1851, who died and after that, the Maharaj Rao and Laxmibai adopted another boy as heir. This was not recognized by the British. The Maharaj Rao died in 1853 and Rani Laxmibai carried out a ceremony installing the adopted boy as the heir. She appealed to the English to recognize this. The British however did not approve and the Rani repeatedly appealed to the English to recognize the young adopted boy as the heir to the throne of Jhansi. She was not all inclined to fight the English and made many overtures to the East India Company. 

In case the British had accepted the young adopted boy as the Maharaj of Jhansi, the Rani was prepared to side with the East India company. The rejection of her request led the  Rani to launch her fight against the British. Her entire aim was very limited and just consisted of allowing her adopted son to rule Jhansi, freedom of India was never in her mind. Thus the rani was interested in local issues, but her army despite being aided by Tantya Tope was defeated on all fronts. She fought bravely, but it is small consolation for the poor performance of the troops of  Tantya Tope and the Rani in battles with the English army. Truth is never sweet.

 

The Loves of Madhubala

The Loves of Madhubala

 Madhubala was a Muslim actress from Hindi films. She had adopted a Hindu screen name and had made a mark for herself as a lovely actress. Even now after decades after her death, the Indian public is enamored of her image and many opine that she was the most beautiful actress on the Hindi screen.Madhubala gave many hit films, but she died young at the age of 36 of a disease which is known as a hole in the heart;. She even went to England for treatment, but in that age (the fifties) the science of heart surgery was in its infancy and Madhubala was not cured. She died shortly.  But to people who followed and loved her do feel she had a tragic love life. Her first love affair was with the thespian Dilip Kumar, another Muslim with a Hindu name. He was the top start of the fifties of the last century. Dilip and Madhubala acknowledged their love affair in public, but the marriage never took place. They broke apart as Madhubala's father in particular and family were against this match. Madhubala at that time was a top actress with a market value of lakhs of rupees. The family was loathing to let go of that and opposed the marriage and the duo drifted apart.

  This was a tragic end as Madhubala allowed herself to be manipulated. She perhaps regretted her decision, but Dilip had moved on in life. The two were seen together in Mughal -e – Azam and the love scenes of that film will convince die-hard skeptics of the emotional bond between Dilip and Madhubala.  Madhubala when in poor health found a savior in Kishore Kumar, the versatile Hindi singer-actor. They married, but it was not a happy affair. Both separated within a month and Madhubala left Kishore. It was a tragedy as she died a little later of the all-consuming heart disease. One of the reasons for the breakdown was perhaps that Madhubala was a Muslim and Kishore a Hindu and the Urdu press lambasted this union. Madhubala is no more, but she has left behind an endearing image of a lovely actress who albeit never found love in real life