Women have a special place of pride and honour in the Indian Society.

Their role in nation building is also well recognized. Like men they too have excelled in every walk of life. If we turn the pages of istory we come across great women rulers! "ueen warriors! women leaders! women #reedom #ighters! women saints! scholars! writers! social workers and what have you$ . The country remembers them and honours them and brings out commemorative postage stamps in their fond memory even after they are gone. Some like are the following%

WOMEN WARRIORS
RANI LAXMIBAI OF JHANSI (1834 - 1858) &ani Laxmibai's courage! deeds of valour and heroic battle against the (ritish have become the theme of many a folklore and ballad in the country. She is the immortal warrior the country has ever seen. )ven as a child Laxmibai learnt horse riding and sward fighting. When both her husband &a*a +angadhar &ao of ,hansi and her only son died in -./0 she adopted a son and made him the heir to the throne. The (ritish +overnor +eneral 1alhousie refused to recognize her adopted son as heir to the throne and ordered annexation of ,hansi into (ritish &a*. &ani Laxmibai refused to part with ,hansi. 2 fierce fight ensued. The &ani fought the (ritish undauntedly leading her forces from the front and showed great courage and skill. She was fatally wounded in the battle and she breathed her last on -.3453-./.. KITTUR RANI CHENNAMMA (1778 - 1829) 6hennamma received training in horse riding ! sword fighting and archery in her young age. She was married to &a*a 7ullasar*a of 8ittur! a princely state of (elgaum in 8arnataka. er husband died in -.-5. er only son died in -.9:. 6hennamma adopted Shivalingappa as her son and made him heir to the throne. The (ritish did not accept this and ordered the expulsion of Shivalingappa. The &ani defied the order. 2 great battle ensued. The &ani fought the (ritish with great courage and skill. She could not! however! hold out for long. She was taken captive and lodged in (ailhongal #ort where she died on 9-3493-.9;.

RANI

UR!AWATI

When 1alpat shah! the ruler of +ondwana <present day 7adya =radesh>! died in -/:. his infant son (ir ?arayan become the ruler. &ani 1urgawati took up the reins of governance on behalf of her son and administered the 8ingdom most ably and benevolently for -5 years from -/:. to -/5:. +ondwana! however! fell a victim to the aggressive designs of the 7oghal )mperor 2kbar of 1elhi in -/5:. e ordered his general 2saf 8han to occupy +ondawana. &ani 1urgawati led her forces against the invading army and fought with great skill and bravery. @ltimately when her defeat become imminent she plunged her dagger into herself choosing death to dishonour. RANI A"ANTIBAI When Aikramaditya Singh! the ruler of &amgarh State died leaving behind his wife 2vantibai and no heir to the throne! the (ritish put the state under court administration. 2vantibai vowed to win back her land from the (ritish. She raised an army of four thousand men and led it herself against the (ritish in -./B. 2 fierce battle ensured and 2vantibai fought most valiantly but could not hold out for long against the superior strength of the (ritish army. When her defeat become imminent she killed herself with her own sword and became a martyr on 943403-./.. JALKARI BAI The folklore of (undelkhand <part of ,hansi State then > are full of heroic exploits of ,alkari (ai. She was a village girl and hailed from a very poor family. It is said that she had an encounter with a tiger while she was collecting firewood in the *ungle and she killed the tiger single handed with her axe. She had a striking resemblance to &ani Laxmibai of ,hansi and because of this &ani took interest in her and inducted her into the women's wing of the army. 1uring -;/B3/. there were several (ritish raids on ,hansi #ort and the &ani repulsed every one of the attacks. Later when the fall of fort became imminent ,alkari bai and some generates convinced Laxmibai to escape "uietly with the help of supporters. In a ploy to deceive the (ritish! ,alkari bai dressed herself up like the &ani and took command of the army. The (ritish found out the truth! but it was too late. The &ani had covered a considerable distance by then. ,alkaribai fought the (ritish forces valiantly but was eventually forced to surrender. The (ritish general! impressed by her loyalty! courage and fighting prowess treated her with respect and set her free.

Women have a special place of pride and honour in the Indian Society. Their role in nation building is also well recognized. Like men they too have excelled in every walk of life. If we turn the pages of istory we come across great women rulers! "ueen warriors! women leaders! women #reedom #ighters! women saints! scholars!

writers! social workers and what have you$ . The country remembers them and honours them and brings out commemorative postage stamps in their fond memory even after they are gone.

WOMEN RULERS
AHIL#ABAI HOLKER (1725-1795) (orn in 2hmednagar of 7aharashtra to 7anako*i Shinde in -B9/. 7arried to 8hande &ao in -B00. When 8hande &ao died in the battle of 8umbher in -B/: 2hilyabai learnt to run the princely State of olker under the stewardship of her father3in3law 7alhar &ao olkar. With the death of her father3in3law in -B55 the entire responsibility of running the State devolved on her. She proved herself to be an enlightened ruler from then onwards till her death in -B;/. RANI RASHMONI (1793 - 18$1) (orn in a poor family she was married into a wealthy zamindar family of 6alcutta. 2fter the death of her husband the management of zamindari fell on her shoulders and she showed great managerial skill and leadership in her new role. &ani &asmoni's nationalist outlook brought her in direct confrontation with the (ritish rulers and each time and every time she had her way and the (ritish could not prevail upon her. She was extremely religious and led an austere life. 6onstruction of the temple complex on the banks of the +anges! a number of bathing ghats on the river! a road from the Subarnarekha river to =uri for the benefit of the pilgrims and substantial contribution to the then Imperial Llibrary <now ?ational Library> and indu 6ollege <now =residency 6ollege> bear testimony to her benevolenc

RAJKUMARI AMRIT KAUR (1889 - 19$4) She was born in a &oyal family of 8apurtala. er father was &a*a arnam Singh. She had her education in London. When she returned to India at the age of 94 her father kindled in her the flame of ?ational 7ovement. She took part in Salt Satyagraha and Cuit India 7ovement and also became an active social worker. She was the first woman to hold a post in the cabinet as 7inister in -;:B. er ma*or contribution as 7inister of ealth was the setting up of 2ll India Institute of 7edical Sciences in ?ew 1elhi. She remained a &a*ya Sabha 7ember till her death on 493493 -;5: MEERA BAI In medieval India (hakti 7ovement was started by enlightened saints like &amananda! 8abir! 6haitanya 7ahaprabhu! +urunanak and others. They showed

the path of (hakti to attain salvation. 7eerabai belonged to that cult. (orn in early -5th century 7eerabai belonged to the royal family of 7ewar. She renounced the luxuries of royal life and became an ardent devotee of lord 8rishna. 7eera composed many devotional songs in praise of Lord 8rishna which are sung to this day with great reverence throughout the country. She died at the feet of Lord 8rishna of 1waraka at the age of 5B. SUBHA RA KUMARI CHAUHAN (19%4-1948) She was a great indi poetess who combined in her personality the patriotism of ,oan of 2rc and the lyricism of 7eera. She was born in a village called ?ihalpur in 2llahabad. 7arried to Thakur Laxman Singh of 8handwa in -;-; she became a devoted wife and a mother. She plunged into ?ational Struggle and was the first woman Satyagrahi to court arrest in ?agpur. She wrote highly inspiring patriotic poems like 'Senani 8a SwagatD' Aeeronka 8aise ho Aasant'. er ',hansi ki &ani' was one of the most recited and sung poems in indi literature. She died in a car accident on -/3493-4:;. JIJABAI She was the mother of Shiva*i. er husband Shaha*i (hosle was in the service of 2hmednagar kingdom. ,i*abai's life is an example of how a mother can transform the lives of individuals! society and even a nation. ,i*abai narrated stories of bravery to her son Shiva*i and gave him training in martial arts and e"uipped him for the role he was to play in the years to come. Shiva*i's bravery skill and exploits were the direct result of the training he received from his mother ,i*abai and she remained the silent source of strength inspiration and power behind him