Colonial texts often read the Indian woman warrior as a cultural anomaly, but Indian texts find recourse in the mythological examples of the female warrior. Rani Lakshmi Bai's remaking transforms the mythologically viable, yet socially marginal, figure of a woman in battle into bounded and meaningful feminine roles such as daughter, wife, mother, and queen. Women and the home were integral to how nationalist discourse envisioned the modern, yet traditional, Indian nation. The Rani remains a metaphoric referent of the home, and is an abiding symbol of the nation, reinvented as authority, power, and tradition. The depictions of the Rani signals what is at stake in representing the unrestricted woman in the public sphere. The book extends the discussion on what constitutes the historical archive of the gendered colonial subject and the postcolonial rebel by being attentive to the vexed figures produced within the competing ideologies of colonialism and nationalism.

RANI LAXMIBAI was a capable ruler, an intelligent communicator, and defender of the faith. She was sagacious when it came to her people and astute in dealing with her enemies. The widowed Queen had to repeatedly face gruelling challenges but drew strength from adversity, relying on her sense of justice, her dignity, and her magnanimity. She never surrendered to destiny, choosing instead to shape her own life. The British annexed Rani Laxmibai's kingdom, took away her political rights, and humiliated her. But she valiantly fought the foreign power and died a hero. Written after extensive research, this book portrays the making of a remarkable queen. Rani Laxmibai, the brave warrior-queen, remains a source of inspiration to us all.

1857-1858: The British Empire in India is teetering on the brink of collapse in the face of widespread rebellion by native regiments. In the final phase of the Great Indian Mutiny an intrepid young woman rises to lead the mutinying sepoys: Lakshmibai, the

This is the story of the women from the Indian Subcontinent who fought against British imperial power from the 1600s until the independence of India and Pakistan in 1947. It begins by looking at the Partition of India, and the unique impact this had on women who – in addition to the displacement and violence which affected millions of South Asians, suffered uniquely through a campaign of rape, abduction, and forced suicides which left a lasting impact on the souls of women from every community. It then seeks to shine a light on the often-forgotten story of these women – who were not just passive victims of British, and later, communal violence, but who fought alongside (or sometimes at the head of) their male counterparts to secure the fall of the British Raj and the independence of their own nation. The stories of up to forty women, are examined, from various religious and racial communities across South Asia who advocated for Indian Independence and should be remembered and celebrated as influential freedom fighters in the same way that their male contemporaries have been. The book concludes by briefly examining the role of women in Indian nationalist movements today, and how this can be traced to the precedent set by their ancestors during the colonial era.

She ruled over a small kingdom, but dreamt of freedom for the whole country. In the great revolt of 1857, Lakshmibai, the Rani of Jhansi, matched wits and force with the best of British generals. The image of the brave Rani of Jhansi charging her steed through enemy lines, her sword raised for the next thrust, is forever imprinted in Indian hearts.