The Rani of Jhansi (died 1858) was one of the leading figures of the Indian Rebellion of 1857. After the death of the raja of Jhansi in 1853, the British East India Company, the overlord of Jhansi, refused to acknowledge his young wife—the Rani—as regent. They instead annexed Jhansi, ignoring her vigorous protests. In May 1857, the Indian troops at Jhansi joined the ongoing rebellion and massacred the town's British residents; the Rani's complicity in the killing remains uncertain. She took control of Jhansi and attempted to rule peacefully, but the British decided to consider her an enemy and attacked Jhansi in March and April 1858. The Rani escaped on horseback and continued to fight, before dying in battle near Gwalior Fort. Her story and legend became closely associated with Hindu mythology, Indian nationalism and the developing independence movement. She remains revered in most of modern India, and has been extensively depicted in artwork, cinema, and literature.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rani_of_Jhansi> _______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries: 1461: Byzantine–Ottoman wars: The Empire of Trebizond, the longest- surviving Byzantine successor state, was conquered by Ottoman forces following a month-long siege. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Trebizond_%281461%29> 1812: War of 1812: Potawatomi warriors ambushed a United States Army convoy after it had evacuated Fort Dearborn (site pictured), in present- day Chicago, and razed the fort. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Fort_Dearborn> 1963: President Fulbert Youlou was overthrown in the Republic of Congo, after a three-day uprising in the capital. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trois_Glorieuses_%281963%29> 2005: The Helsinki Agreement between the Free Aceh Movement and the Government of Indonesia was signed, ending more than 28 years of fighting. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insurgency_in_Aceh> _____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day: dighi: (Bangladesh, West Bengal) A large and deep, often man-made, pond. <https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/dighi> ___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day: Spirituality is not necessarily exclusive; it can be and in its fullness must be all-inclusive. … It sees the infinite behind all things finite and it adjudges the value of the finite by higher infinite values of which they are the imperfect translation and towards which, to a truer expression of them, they are always trying to arrive. --Sri Aurobindo <https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Sri_Aurobindo> _______________________________________________ Wikipedia Daily Article mailing list. To unsubscribe write to: [email protected] Questions or comments? Contact [email protected]
