How has Indian imagery preserved Rani Laxmibai’s contribution during the Revolt of 1857? Explain.
Solution and Explanation
- Common depictions show her as a fearless warrior fighting the British with her child on her back while riding a horse.
- Folk songs, poems, and oral traditions refer to her as "Durga" or "Jhansi ki Rani," emphasizing her divine bravery and patriotic spirit.
- Visuals and school textbooks often portray her with a sword, symbolizing her as a nationalist icon.
- Her death in battle is honored as a display of female valor, inspiring freedom fighters during India's independence struggle.
Top Questions on The Great Revolt of 1857
- Who was Shah Mal?
- MPBSE Class XII Board - 2026
- History
- The Great Revolt of 1857
- Who led the revolt of 1857 in Awadh?
- MPBSE Class XII Board - 2026
- History
- The Great Revolt of 1857
- Choose the correct option from the following to fill in the blank regarding the leaders of the Revolt of 1857.
Arrah (Bihar) : Kunwar Singh; _______ : Birjis Qadr
- CBSE Class XII - 2025
- History
- The Great Revolt of 1857
Read the given source carefully and answer the questions that follow:
Two rebels of 1857
Shah MalShah Mal lived in a large village in pargana Barout in Uttar Pradesh. He belonged to a clan of Jat cultivators whose kinship ties extended over chaurasee des (eighty-four villages). The lands in the region were irrigated and fertile, with rich dark loam soil. Many of the villagers were prosperous and saw the British land revenue system as oppressive: the revenue demand was high and its collection inflexible. Consequently cultivators were losing land to outsiders, to traders and moneylenders who were coming into the area.
Shah Mal mobilised the headmen and cultivators of chaurasee des, moving at night from village to village, urging people to rebel against the British. As in many other places, the revolt against the British turned into a general rebellion against all signs of oppression and injustice. Cultivators left their fields and plundered the houses of moneylenders and traders. Displaced proprietors took possession of the lands they had lost. Shah Mal’s men attacked government buildings, destroyed the bridge over the river, and dug up metalled roads – partly to prevent government forces from coming into the area, and partly because bridges and roads were seen as symbols of British rule. They sent supplies to the sepoys who had mutinied in Delhi and stopped all official communication between British headquarters and Meerut. Locally acknowledged as the Raja, Shah Mal took over the bungalow of an English officer, turned it into a “hall of justice”, settling disputes and dispensing judgments. He also set up an amazingly effective network of intelligence. For a period the people of the area felt that firangi raj was over, and their raj had come.
Shah Mal was killed in battle in July 1857.
How did the rebellion led by Shah Mal challenge the authority of the British?
- CBSE Class XII - 2025
- History
- The Great Revolt of 1857
- Want to practice more? Try solving extra ecology questions todayView All Questions
