History of India is full of bravery. There have been many such Heroes on the blessed land of India who have presented unique examples of bravery. We know most of brave kings but most of us not know about brave & Legend Queens of our Indian History who presented many examples of their bravery, Legendry, Patriotism & Women power ( Nari Shakti). Today in this blog we will study about some Legend Queens of our Indian History.

1. Rani Laxmi Bai

Rani Laxmi Bai was born on 19 November 1828 in a Brahmin Maratha Family. Her father Moropant was an employee in the court of Peshwa Bajirao II. Her childhood name was Manikarnika. Manikarnika was very brave & Patriotic since childhood. She was given name Laxmi Bai when she married to Gangadhar Rao the king of Jhansi. They had a son after some time of Marriage but due to some illness their son was died. After which a serious Disease surrounded the king too. Due to the Deterioration condition of the king, they adopted a son whom named Damodar Das. King declared Damodar Das as his successor. After sometime of this king was died.

Due to the age of succeser is very small Rani Laxmi Bai assumed the throne of After the death of the King. At that time, British rule was over all the India. Britsh Government refuse to accept Damodar Das as a succeser because he was an adopted child & Captured Jhansi. After which Rani Laxmi Bai Fought & Win many battles to liberate India from East India company & forced British Government to return Britain but suddenly in the Phool Badh of Gwalior British army surrounded her & Rani Laxmi Bai martyred in this battle.

2. Rani Padmavati

This is the story of 1303 when Allaudin Khilji Capturing forts in india.At this time the ruler of Chittor was Rana Rawal Ratan Singh. His wife Queen ‘Padmavati‘ was very beautiful & intelligent. Her beauty was discussed in all over the world. When Allauddin Khilji heard the beauty gossips of Queen ‘Padmavati’, he thaught of making her his queen. For which he arrested Rana Ratan Singh by deceit in Delhi & demanded Queen Padmavati in return. But Queen ‘Padmavati’ got out Rana Ratan singh from Delhi with her Courage & Intelligence. After failing his trick Khilji attacked chittor fort with a large army. In this war Rana Ratan Singh was killed. After the death of Rana Ratan Singh Queen ‘Padmavati’ sacrifice with 16 thousand queen by jumping in pool of fire to protect her honour from enemy & Khilji’s dream was only a dream, even after so many efforts, he could not even see the face of Queen ‘Padmavati‘ in his whole life.

3. Rani Karnavati

This is the story of 14th Century when Delhi was under the rule of Mughal king Humayun. After the death of Rana Sanga the Rajput army was significantly weakened. Which was benefited by Bahadur Shah, the ruler of Gujrat in 1535. In 1535 Bahadur Shah attacked chittor fort with large army. In this war where Bahadur had lakhs of soldiers & weapons, the same rajput had 30-40 thousand soldiers & they not yet emerged from the mourning of Rana Sanga’s Death. During this war Queen ‘Karnavati’ sent a letter to Humayun for help. As Humayun assured her of eligibility of help at the time of problem. But at that time Humayun refused to help Queen Karnavati & after that Queen Karnavati
did Jauhar with 13000 queen by jumping in pool of fire after seeing Rajput army defeated in battle.

4. Rani Chenamma

She was born in the small village of Kakati in Belgaum, Karnataka in 1778. From a very young age she received training in sword fighting, archery and horse riding and got private lessons at home. Once King Mallasarja of Kittur was moving around trying to find support from neighbouring kingdoms to fight Tipu Sultan and approached Dhulappa Desai. He then saw Chennamma and was attracted to her confidence and bravery.Though he was already married and had a son Shivalinga Rudra Sarja, he took Chenamma as his second wife. They had a son who died at a young age. King Mallasarja also passed away. It is said that East India company’s collector and political agent Thackeray wished to capture Kittur to expand the British Empire. Rani Chennama now Queen of kittur decided to take charge and rallied together her trusted men to fight against the British. As a conclusion of this war British officers including Thackeray were killed. The remaining officials and soldiers were imprisoned and she ensured that they were treated with courtesy and kindness.

The British Empire was enraged at the humiliation of defeat at the hands of a small ruler and sent bigger armies to Kittur to capture it.. A fierce battle was fought but this time due to a number of traitors in her camp she lost the battle and was captured by the British and their treasury looted.

It is said that such was her indomitable courage and fearlessness that she tried to escape twice from the Kittur fort but was recaptured both times and then put in solitary confinement for life. She spent her days performing pooja and reading the holy texts till her death.In the year 1829 she died in confinement with the dream of a free Kittur in her heart and mind. Her burial place or Samadhi is at Bailhongal taluka surrounded by a small park.

Rani Chennama was a great example of this principle of real living by showing to the world that one woman could stand against the might of the British Empire for upholding justice and righteousness.A statue of Rani Chennamma was inaugurated in Parliament building in New Delhi in the year 2007 by the then president and prime minister. A number of memorials have been set up naming schools, parks etc in her name. Every year her legacy is commemorated from October 22 to 24 during the Kittur Utsava.

5. Rani Abbaka Chowta

Rani Abbakka, the ruler of Ullal (a town in Mangalore), was the first Tuluva Queen and was called the ‘first woman freedom fighter of India’. Rani Abbakka fought against the Portuguese for over four decades when they trained their eyes towards the South after capturing Goa. Even after she had been captured, she refused to give up and died fighting for freedom. For her monumental bravery, she is still known as Abhaya Rani (the fearless queen) and her stories are incorporated in various folklore and legends. 

6. Rani Velu Nachiyar

The Queen of Sivaganga, Velu Nachiyar, predates the Ranis of Kittur and Jhansi as the first female freedom fighter against the British. Also known as Veeramangai (brave woman), she was trained in martial arts, horse riding and archery. She was also fluent in French, English and Urdu. After her husband was killed by the British army, she launched an attack against them after seeking refuge with Haider Ali, the Sultan of Mysore. When her daughter was martyred in the fight against the British, the queen formed a women’s army and named it after her. Her fearlessness and gallantry are remembered even today.

7. Rani Ahilyabai Holkar

She was born in the village of Chondi in Jamkhed, Ahmednagar in 1725, she was fondly referred to Rajmata Ahilyabai Holkar was the Holkar Queen of the Malwa kingdom. Her father, Mankoji Rao Shinde, was the Patil (chief) of the village. Her father home schooled her to read and write. She was married to Khanderao Holkar in 1733 at the tender age of 8.But unfortunately her husband Khanderao was killed in the battle of Kumbher in 1754, leaving her a widow at only 21. Ahilyabai’s only son Male Rao Holkar ascending the throne under her regency. Young monarch Male Rao too died, a few months into his rule, on 5 April 1767. Ahilyabai stood undeterred even after loosing her entire family.She did not let the grief of her loss affect the administration of the kingdom and the lives of her people. She took matters into her own hands. She petitioned the Peshwa after her son’s death, to take over the administration herself. She ascended the throne and became the ruler of Indore on 11 December 1767. The supreme ruler of the Empire, Peshwa Raghoba, was instigated by one of Ahilyabai’s own ministers to confiscate the excess wealth of Indore. Ahilyabai pointed out to him that under the agreements that existed the wealth of the treasury was supposed to be for the well being of her subjects or for charitable purposes.

The Peshwa was infuriated that she defied him, and threatened military action. She in turn challenged him to come and meet her on the battlefield. She gathered a small force, which included many women, and set out to fight. A message was sent to the Peshwa: “Now I will show you how weak I am. If I lose fighting against men I will have lost nothing. But if you lose against women then you will be in the soup! And remember, that is exactly what will happen.”

The Peshwa had a change of heart. He said, “You have misunderstood. I do not come to fight, but to mourn your son’s death.” He ended up staying as Ahilyabai’s guest for a month and was thoroughly impressed at the skill with which she ruled. For example, she had greatly reduced crime and theft, by encouraging poor people to get involved in trade and farming.At the age of 70 Ahilyabai passed away in Rameshwar. Her life shines brightly in the firmament of history, for ruling her kingdom with piety and selflessness; sincerely devoting herself to her subjects while keeping Dharma at the forefront of all that she did. Her life will be an inspiration for future generations of Hindus.

8. Rani Durgavati

From the South of India, we come to Central India to find another brave Indian queen by the name of Rani Durgavati. Durgavati was born to the Chandela Rajput Clan. Her father was Keerat Rai and she was born at the Fort of Kalinjar, which falls in present-day Uttar Pradesh state.

She was married to Prince Dalpat Shah of the Gondwana kingdom and they had a son from this marriage. But Dalpat Shah died when his son was only five years old. So Rani Durgavati took the responsibility of ruling the kingdom herself and she strategically moved her capital to the Satpura Hill ranges, which falls presently in the Madhya Pradesh state of India, to have better defenses.

After a few years, Rani Durgavati was attacked by the ruler of Malwa called Baz Bahadur, who is mainly known for his famous affair with Roopmati. However, this attack was repulsed by the Rani. After this, in c. 1562, Malwa was captured by the Mughal Emperor Akbar, whose generals later attacked Durgavati because her kingdom touches their domain and Akbar wanted total control of the sub-continent.

The Rani was not frightened by the mighty Mughal army and she moved to a more secure position, from where she and her son carried on fighting. Though they repulsed the Mughal army several times, her son got injured and was carried off the battlefield. Rani Durgavati was badly injured too, and looking at imminent defeat, she killed herself – thereby holding on to her belief that it was better to die than capitulate to the enemy.

India is always been known for its prosperity. This is why it is called ‘Sone Ki Chidiya’. This is the reason the land of India faced many foreign Invaders. Mughal was one of them Invader. The Mughals wanted to take over all of India. They were also going to succeed in this, but at that time an Hero was born. Who created a new New hope in losing India. This was the hope of Swaraj. Today in this blog we are going to Tribute to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj on his Birth Anniversary.

This is the story of 17th century when Mughal King Aurangzeb was the ruler of Delhi. At that time,the Mughals had occupied almost the whole of North India & used to spread their foot in South India. At that time an Hero was born on 19 January 1630 at Pune He was Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. Shivaji Rao Bhonsle was founder of Maratha Empire his Capita was Raigad. Shivaji’s father Shahji Bhonsle was a Maratha general who was served the Deccan sultanates. Shivaji was devoted to his mother Jijabai. At this time Pune was in the princely State of Deccan sultan Adil Shah. Shivaji Rao was a Patriotic & fearless personality. His father was associated with Adil Shah so that when the right time comes, he can liberate the state. At that time Shivaji Maharaj was a viceroy of Pune. They didn’t have an Army. But even then, he made his army& started occupying the forts of Adil Shah. When Adil Shah was imprisoned, he took Shivaji’s father Shahji Bhonsle & his Brother Sambhaji Bhosle captive. When Shivaji came to know of this he wrote a letter to the Mughal emperor Jahangir by using his Intelligence. In which he told him about Adil Shah’s conspiracy against the Mughals. When Jahangir received this source,he ordered Adil Shah to leave Shivaji’s Father & brother & after this Adil Shah fled to East & After that Shivaji Maharaj establish Maratha Empire.

When Aurangzeb become King of Mughal emperor he wanted to take possession of South India. To accomplish this, he sent his uncle Ishiyant Khan with approx. 1.5 lakh Soldiers to attack the Pune. Ishiyant Khan kept watch over Shivaji for 3 years. One day Shivaji attacked Ishiyant Khan with only 350 Maratha Soldiers. In this attack Ishiyant Khan was ran out but he lost his fingers & Mughal army was scared . After this Aurangzeb attacked many times on Shivaji Maharaj but Shivaji Maharaj never lost any war. His dream to spread Swaraj was grew up day by day & he winning forts from Mughals. For which Shivaji Maharaj got titel ‘Chhatrapati‘ & he become Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was dead on 3 April 1680 due to fever. But he left behind the Maratha Empire, which was able to give Freedom to India.

The Tulja Bhawani Sword

According to many believes Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was a great devotee of Lord Bhavani & Lord Bhavani was happy from his worship. Lord Bhavani gave him a sword whom they didn’t lost a single war in his life. Now this sword is in London , Royal Collection trust of Royal Family of London.

By
Vishal Thakur
vishalthakur.art.blog

Natwarlal was a Indian Con man who sold Taj Mahal, Red Fort, Rashtrapati Bhavan & Parliament of India Several times. Yes, he sold these famous & Valuable Monuments several times & even after such big frauds, the police could never keep him in captivity. Today in this blog we will read about Natwarlal the Conman of India.

Natwarlal was born on 1912 in Siwan , Bihar. His original name is Mitilesh Kumar Srivastava. He was the older of two brothers. Once time Natwarlal was sent by his neighbour to collect the bank draft. When he reached bank he tried to copy his neighbour’s signature & he successfully copied his neighbour’s Signature. That time he thaught he could act as a forgery. From that day he continued to withdraw money from his neighbour’s account for a few days. When his neighbour got the Idea, by then he withdrawn 1000 Rs. from the account. After finding out , he went to Calcutta , complete his Graduation from Commerce & he also started work in stock market as broker.

Once, President Dr. Rajendra Prasad came to the neighbouring village of Natwarlal. Where Natwarlal got an opportunity to show his art to the President. He copied President’s signature infront of President. The President Dr. Rajendra Prasad was very impressed by his art & offered him a job. But he refused to take the job. Because now he had a big weapon as the signature of the President. By now he had cheated many small but now he was thinking to doing something big. After that he cheated many native & Foreign Rich people by copying the signature of the President. In his lifetime he Sold the Taj Mahal 3 times, the Red Forte 2 times, The Rashtrapati Bhavan once & the Parliament of India once & that time there were also MP’s on it. He than 50 Pseudonym Natwarlal name was one of them. He search Rich people & in disguise would go to them & say them that the Government of India wants to sell this monument. Then he would make fake papers of that monument & signed these paper with President’s fake signature & sold that monument.

He was arrested 9 times in his life by police. But every time he successfully escaped from the police. In 1966 he was last time arrested by police at the age of 84 years. That time he using wheelchair but therefore he was successful to escape from the police at New Delhi Railway station & then he never seen after. In 2009, a petition was filled by Natwarlal’s lawyer in the court saying that Natwarlal died on 25 July 2009, so the pending cases against him should be dismissed. But no firm evidence or government documents are available about his death.

By
Vishal Thakur
vishalthakur.art.blog

Jauhar is the custom which was performed by Rajput Queens for her Honour, Pride & Dignity. In this practice Queens sacrifice by jumping into the burning pool of fire to protect their pride & Honour. When Rajput Warriors go in battle ground in do or die condition then their wives prepare herself for Jauhar & after her husband was martyred in battlefield, she used to jump in the fire to save her Pride. So that the enemy does not catch them & their honour is not lost. This Practice was repeated three times in Chittorgarh fort. Today in this blog we will read about all the Jauhar’s that took in the chittor fort.

1. First Jauhar of Chittor

The first Jauhar of Chittor fort was occurred in 1303 when Allauddin Khilji attacked chittor. At this time the ruler of Chittor was Rana Rawal Ratan Singh. His wife Queen ‘Padmavati‘ was very beautiful & intelligent. Her beauty was discussed in all over the world. When Allauddin Khilji heard the beauty gossips of Queen ‘Padmavati‘, he thaught of making her his queen. For which he arrested Rana Ratan Singh by deceit in Delhi & demanded Queen Padmavati in return. But Queen ‘Padmavati‘ got out Rana Ratan singh from Delhi with her Courage & Intelligence. After failing his trick Khilji attacked chittor fort with a large army. In this war Rana Ratan Singh was killed. After the death of Rana Ratan Singh Queen ‘Padmavati’ sacrifice with 16 thousand queen by jumping in pool of fire to protect her honour from enemy & Khilji’s dream was only a dream, even after so many efforts, he could not even see the face of Queen ‘Padmavati‘ in his whole life.

2. Second Jauhar of Chittor

2. The second Jauhar of Chittor

The second jauhar of Chittor was occurred in 1535. After the death of Rana Sanga the Rajput army was significantly weakened. Which was benefited by Bahadur Shah, the ruler of Gujrat in 1935. In 1935 Bahadur Shah attacked chittor fort with large army. In this war where Bahadur had lakhs of soldiers & weapons, the same rajput had 30-40 thousand soldiers & they not yet emerged from the mourning of Rana Sanga’s Death. During this war Queen ‘Karnavati’ sent a letter to Humayun for help. As Humayun assured her of eligibility of help at the time of problem. But at that time Humayun refused to help Queen Karnavati & after that Queen Karnavati
did Jauhar with 13000 queen by jumping in pool of fire after seeing Rajput army defeated in battle.

3. Third Jauhar of Chittor

The third Jauhar of Chittor is also known as Fatal (Ghatak) Jauhar. The third Jauhar was occurred in 1567 when Akbar seige Chittor fort with overall 1 lakh soldiers. Due to chittor fort being very strong & high, the Mughal army could not directly attack the fort. Therefore, Akbar besieged the chittor fort with a large army & forced Rajput army come to the battlefield. In this war, Rana Uday Singh was sent out from chittor fort with his son Pratap Singh & his family so that there would be hope of taking back fort in future. After this, Rajput army with 8000 soldiers landed in the battlefield to fight with 1 lakh warriors. In this war 8000 Rajput warriors killed 15-20 thousand Mughal Soldiers & gave their sacrifice. The Best warriors of Mewar was martyred in this war. Some of them are – Chundawat Sigh Rawat, , Jaimal, Patha, , Kalla & Sanda Singh. After the Rajput army was martyred in battle, Queen Phoolkanwar with thousands queens did Jauhar & then akbar captured chittor fort & killed aprrox. 30,000 innocent villagers.

• By
• Vishal Thakur
• vishalthakur.art.blog

India is an Independent Country. Today we have world’s largest Democracy. Today we have freedom to do anything. But it was not always. Many people Sacrificed in liberating India. Of which we know about many people, but many such revolutionaries about whom we do not know anything.Today, in this blog, we will read about some of the best freedom fighters.

1. Khudiram Bose

Bose’s tale of valour is one that simultaneously invokes pride as well as pity for perhaps the same reason. He was 18 years old, when he was sentenced to death for his role in the country’s freedom struggle.

In 1908, Bose was appointed to kill Muzzaffarpur district magistrate Kingsford, the Chief Magistrate of Calcutta Presidency. Kingston had become unpopular for passing harsh and cruel sentences on young political activists. He was also notorious for inflicting corporal punishment on them. Thus, when he was transferred to Muzaffarpur, Bose was sent to there to kill him.

On April 20, 1908, Bose threw a bomb at a carriage, believed to be carrying Kingsford, outside the European club. But the carriage was occupied by the wife and daughter of barrister Pringle Kennedy, a leading pleader at the Muzaffarpur Bar. An extra police force was deployed to find the perpetrator. Bose, in the meantime, had walked 25 miles and reached Vaini railway station. He was arrested by two officers there and hanged to death on August 11, 1908.

2. Peer Ali Khan

Peer Ali Khan was part of the 1857 rebellion against the British. He was born in Muhammadpur, in Azamgarh district of Uttar Pradesh. When he was seven he ran away, and arrived in Patna where he was given shelter and refuge by a zamindar who brought him up along with his son and educated him.

The start: Peer opened a book shop in Patna, which became the meeting point for freedom fighters to make plans to overthrow the British. In fact, the book shop was the point where everyone kept in contact not only among themselves but with Indian soldiers in the British army too. Ali conducted regular campaigns against the British, and became an integral part of the rebellion of 1857. While he was plotting with the soldiers of the Danapur Cantonment, two letters from them fell into British hands. They became aware of Peer Ali’s involvement.

Ali realised what had happened, planned to attack the British and gathered those interested. He collected 50 guns with the help of his co-worker, Maulvi Mehdi and distributed them among his group members.

On July 4, 1857, Ali and 33 followers were arrested. Most of them were hanged the next day without a hearing. Peer Ali was brutally tortured and cross-examined. On July 7, he was hanged.

3. Veer Savarkar

Veer Savarkar was a great revolutionary in the history of India’s struggle of independence. He was a great orator, scholar, prolific writer, historian, poet, philosopher and social worker. His actual name was Vinayak Damodar Savarkar. He was born on May 28, 1883, in the village of Bhagpur near Nasik.

The British Government withdrew Veer Savarkar’s graduation degree for his involvement in the Indian freedom movement . In June 1906 he went to London to become Barrister. He wrote a book “The Indian War of Independence 1857” on India’s struggle of independence, which was banned by Britishers. When he was in London, he encouraged the Indian students in England against the British colonial masters. He supported the use of arms in India’s struggle of independence.

He was arrested in London on 13 March 1910 sent to India for trial. However when the ship carrying him reached Marseilles in France, Savarkar escaped but was arrested by the French Police. On 24 December 1910, he was sentenced to jail in the Andamans. With his efforts a library was established in the jail. He even tried to impart education to the illiterate convicts in the jail. By the demand of great leaders like Vithalbhai Patel, Tilak and Gandhi a Savarkar was released and brought back to India on May 2, 1921.

Veer Savarkar was shifted to Ratnagiri jail, and then to the Yeravada jail. The book ‘Hindutva’ was written in the Ratnagiri jail. He was released from jail on January 6, 1924 and he later founded the Ratnagiri Hindu Sabha to preserve ancient Indian culture and worked in the direction of social welfare. Later he joined Swaraj Party, formed by Tilak and founded the Hindu Mahasabha, a separate political party and was elected its President. The party opposed the formation of Pakistan. The assassin of Gandhiji – Nathuram Godse was a member of the Hindu Mahasabha. Veer Savarkar was charged by the Government of India in the Mahatma Gandhi assassination case but was acquitted by the Supreme Court of India. At the age of 83 on February 26, 1966 he passed away.

4. Matangini Hazara

Hazra was part of the Quit India Movement and Non-Cooperation Movement. During one procession, she continued to advance with the Indian flag even after being shot thrice. She kept shouting “Vande Mataram” .

5. Madan Lal Dhingra

Indians were the ultimate revolutionaries of the freedom struggle. The credit for turning the spark of Indian independence into fire goes to the great martyr Madan Lal Dhingra. Even though there was no such tradition of patriotism in Madan Lal Dhingra’s family, he himself was painted in the color of patriotism. He was studying in England where he shot and killed a British officer named William Hut Curzon Wylie. He was indicted on July 22, 1909 for the murder of Curzon Wyllie. Madan Lal Dhingra said openly in the court that “I am proud that I am dedicating my life.” This incident is one of the first events of the Indian independence movement in the twentieth century.

6. Bhikaji Cama

Although there are numerous roads and buildings named after her around the country, only few know who she was and what she did. Not only was she a part of the Indian Independence Movement, she was also a figure for gender equality. She donated most of her personal effects to an orphanage for girls. She also unfurled the Indian flag at the International Socialist Conference at Stuttgart in Germany, 1907.

7. Raj Kumari Gupta

She and her husband worked with Mahatma Gandhi and Chandrashekhar Azad and she player a crucial role in the Kakori case as well. She was in charge of supplying revolvers to those involved in the operation. Raj Kumari hid the firearms in her undergarment and went to deliver them, with her 3 year old son alongside. Ironically though, on being arrested, she was disowned by her marital home.

By
Vishal Thakur
vishalthakur.art.blog