Independence Day 2024: Where Are the Descendants of Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi?

Arun Krishnarao visited the Jhansi Fort with his son and wife in 1998. The Jhansi Fort is under the care of the Archaeological Department. There was a long queue for tickets outside. Arun Krishnarao stood in line with everyone and bought three tickets for ten rupees each to enter.

This was also Arun Krishnarao’s first visit to Jhansi. The fort was built by Raja Bir Singh Judeo of Orchha in 1606 on a granite hill called Bangira. The fort has ten gates surrounding it. Inside, there is the Kadak Bijli Cannon, Rani Jhansi Garden, Shiva Temple, and the tombs of Gulam Gaus Khan, Moti Bai, and Khudabaksh, who sacrificed their lives for Rani Lakshmibai’s protection. In the middle of the fort is the Rani Mahal. Once the residence of Rani Lakshmibai, this palace is now a museum. The artefacts and pictures here keep the story of the queen alive.

As Arun Krishnarao marvelled at the grandeur of the Rani Mahal, tears welled up in his eyes. Holding his son’s hand, he whispered, “Look carefully, Lakshman. This is your great-grandmother’s house. This is all our property.” Lakshman was still a young boy, too young to understand the significance of his father’s words. He had grown up reading about the heroic Rani of Jhansi in school, but he had no idea that he was a descendant of hers! This story goes back many generations…

Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi (1828-1858)

Who hasn’t heard of the heroic saga of Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi? Her fearless struggle against the British still sends shivers down our spines and fills our hearts with pride. When the Peshwa of Jhansi (Bal Gangadhar Rao) passed away in 1851, his wife, Rani Lakshmibai, installed their young adopted son, Damodar Rao, on the throne. However, the Company government opposed this.

Rani Lakshmibai was ordered to vacate the Jhansi palace and was offered an annual pension of 60,000 rupees. She thundered, “I will not give up my Jhansi (Meri Jhansi Nahi Doongi).” The Rani expelled the British from the fort and fortified it, building a strong army. The Company government attacked Jhansi, but twice her forces repelled the British.

In 1857, soldiers across India rose against the Company government, marking the beginning of the first nationwide struggle for independence. Jhansi’s fort, strategically located in Bundelkhand, was a major thorn in the British side. They made repeated attempts to capture it. In 1858, the British sent a large force led by General Sir Hugh Rose to attack Jhansi. The repeated assaults left Jhansi’s army in tatters. With only 4,000 soldiers remaining to defend Jhansi, the British were confounded by Rani Lakshmibai’s extraordinary bravery. Cannons from the fort pushed the British back.

The Last Heirs of Jhansi: Arun Krishnarao Jhansiwale and Family

The British sent more reinforcements to Jhansi, and their cannons finally breached the fort’s defences. General Rose intended to capture Lakshmibai alive. But the Rani vowed that she would neither surrender nor be taken captive. Disguised as a common soldier, she strapped her son to her back, mounted her favourite horse, Badal, and escaped from the fort at midnight. She evaded the pursuing British forces and headed for Kalpi Fort in Uttar Pradesh’s Jalaun district.

At Kalpi, she was joined by her close ally, Tatya Tope, and his forces. Rose, having captured Jhansi, marched on Kalpi. New reinforcements joined Rose from Kanpur. The powerful British army besieged Kalpi. Tatya Tope and Rani Lakshmibai fought with all their might. However, the relentless cannon fire shattered Kalpi’s walls. The British captured Tatya’s vast stockpile of gunpowder and ammunition. With the fort on the verge of falling, Tatya and Rani Lakshmibai fled to Gwalior.

The Maharaja of Gwalior, Scindia, was an ally of the British. He refused to help them, but his soldiers joined Tatya and Lakshmibai in proclaiming the establishment of Hindu Swaraj. The capture of Gwalior by Tatya alarmed the Company government. Rose immediately marched on Gwalior. Rani Lakshmibai and Tatya Tope fought valiantly, and their fierce resistance dealt the British heavy blows. But with reinforcements arriving from Kanpur, the British forces overwhelmed the defenders. The Rani and Tatya threw open the fort gates and charged into battle.

Rani Lakshmibai fought bravely. A sword strike hit her chest, and she lost her right eye. Scindia had also conspired against her by sending her a weak horse. Lakshmibai rode this horse out of the battlefield. On her way, she encountered a sadhu (holy man). She instructed him to cremate her body so that the British would not capture her remains, and then she died.

After independence, the Jhansi Fort came under the care of the Archaeological Department. The Rani Mahal in Jhansi was turned into a museum. Many palaces in India are still in the hands of royal families, who had supported the British during the freedom struggle. The Scindia family, who had betrayed Rani Lakshmibai and supported the British, were handsomely rewarded with land and titles. The Scindia descendants still own the grand palace in Gwalior and extensive lands. They continue to win elections and remain involved in government.

Where Are the Descendants of Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi?

When Rani Lakshmibai died on the battlefield, Damodar Rao was still an eight-year-old boy. She had entrusted him to her close servants, instructing them to save his life. With the help of Scindia and other loyalist kings, the British brutally suppressed the Sepoy Mutiny. They hanged sepoys and their supporters from trees along the roads and left their bodies to rot, with no one allowed to perform their last rites.

Rani Lakshmibai’s servants managed to keep Damodar Rao hidden. A few years later, he surrendered to the British. The British showed mercy, taking a written pledge that he would not participate in any conspiracy against them, and exiled him to Indore.

Damodar Rao lived in anonymity in a house on Residency Road in Indore, provided by the British government, until his death in 1906. His son, Lakshman Rao, received a pension of 200 rupees from the British government. Lakshman’s children and grandchildren lived in Indore, concealing their identity. They were so poor that they struggled to afford even two meals a day. After independence, the Indian government evicted them from their residence in the Residency area. They had to rent a house in the Rajwada locality of Indore.

The heirs of the Jhansi throne lived a miserable life in a rented house in Indore. They were burdened with debts. Rani’s grandson, Krishna Rao, earned a living by setting up a typewriter in front of the district court. The family lived in extreme poverty. Krishna Rao also worked as a typist, barely surviving in dire poverty. The government pension had dwindled to just 100 rupees. His son, Arun Krishnarao, worked for the Madhya Pradesh Electricity Board. He never revealed his ancestry to anyone. In 1994, he purchased a house in Dhanwantri Nagar.

The descendants of Rani Lakshmibai, once owners of forts and palaces, had to wait five generations for a home of their own! In 2007, historian and journalist Mohan Nepali traced the descendants of Rani Lakshmibai to Indore and finally located Arun Krishna Rao. It was only then that the public became aware of their existence. The people of Jhansi honored them at a ceremony.

Arun Krishnarao now resides in Nagpur, Maharashtra. His son, Yogesh Rao Jhansiwale, is a software engineer there. The people of Nagpur are aware of his ancestry, and they call him “Jhansiwale.” However, they do not make any claims to their royal heritage. They live quietly, carrying on with their lives. Occasionally, when memories of Jhansi come to mind, they silently shed tears.

Translated version of Kannada article by Tukaram Shetty

(Courtesy of Taranga Weekly)