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Rani of Jhansi

The Rani of Jhansi is feted as one of India’s great heroines for putting up a determined fight against the British. In 1853 her husband died leaving a kingdom without a male heir, whereupon the British seized the town & fort. After recouping in Gwalior the Rani launched a massive attack on the fort during the Uprising (Indian Mutiny) of 1857, and in a lengthy bout of bloody fighting some 5000 of her soldiers died. The Rani who by then adopted a baby son who was strapped to her back managed to escape through the British troops but eventually met her end “dressed as a man, holding her sword with both hands and her reins gripped between her teeth.