Question

Revolt of central India.
a) Who led the revolt of central India?
b) Name the place captured by Rani Laxmi Bai.
c) What was her end?
d) What did Tantia Tope do?

Answer 1

Hint: The original name of the queen was Manikarnika. She captured a fort that was built by Suraj Sen in the 3 C.E.

Complete answer:
a. Revolt of 1857 or First Independence war is a major historical movement taken by Indians to throw British out of India. The revolt was headed by Bahadur Shah Zafar, the last Mughal emperor in Delhi (Northern India). The revolt was led by Rani Laxmi Bai in Jhansi (Central India) and she was accompanied by Tantia Tope.

b. Rani Laxmi Bai was the ruler of Jhansi from August 1857 to January 1858 but soon after Britishers tried to capture it through bombings, she fled and came to Gwalior to join the Indian Forces. They moved to Gwalior with the intention to occupy the Gwalior Fort.

c. According to another tradition, Rani was unsuccessful in trying to persuade the other rebel leaders to prepare to defend Gwalior against a British attack. When they tried to flee the area, they were attacked and she was badly wounded while fighting one of the hussars. She didn’t want the britishers to capture her body so she told a hermit to burn it. She was killed in 1858.

d. Ramachandra Pandurang Tope or Tantia Tope, was one of the most notable Indian freedom fighters and is considered as the most effective rebel general. Even with no formal military training, he was one of the people who led the 1857 revolt in Kanpur. He also helped Rani Laxmibai to escape the attack on her.

Note: Tantia Tope continued his revolt as a guerrilla fighter in the forests. He was executed in 1859, at the gallows in Shivpuri. Other important leaders in the Revolt of 1858 were Begum Hazrat Mahal, Mangal Pandey, Nahar Singh, Nana Saheb etc.