Review of Last queen of India by Michelle Moran

A Hachette Publication

Hachette India is doing a wonderful job in the realm of Indian history. After their five-volume series of the Moghul emperors, I just finished Last Queen India. It has been hailed on the cover as asovereign of the East and defender of an empire. I have read many biographies of Jhansi ki Raani Lakshmi Bai, the formidable defender of not only her own empire but the entire Avadh. The acclaimed poetess Subhadra Kumari Chahan has penned some immortal lines on  her: " Khoob ladi mardani, wo to Jhansi wali ranee thi, Bundele harbolo se hamne suni kahani thi". This poem has been figuring in Hindi text books.

What is  different in this biography. It is objective, humane, takes us to the personal world of Lakshmi Bai. The author has created a playmate of hers Sita who Lakshmi in the art of combat through sord and even pistol. They had a close friendship. But the more interesting aspect is the court intrigues among her courters. Some of them had become the moles of the British army and were damaging her campaigns.

This novel dwells on the complex relationship between Indian princely states and the alien rulers. It later became a threshold of Indian freedom struggle.after turning into a war of independence called the sepoy mtine by the foreign historians. History is a multi-edged weapon. A famous line come to my mind that history is not unipolar. It depnds upon the strands of facts and characters that a historian chooses for his interpretation. The Last Queen of India is the best example. Lakshmi Bai was defending her tiny empire. She used to scream Main apni Jhansi nahin doongi. For this, she apparently, according to this British author opposed the Indian rebels and gave a tactical support to the British officers. But when General Rose targeted her and laid a siege, she fought a do or die battle and became a martyr.

Queen Victoria sitting in her Buckingham Palace in England was monitoring the moves of Lakshmi Bai. Even the latter also took it as a one-to-oneconfrontation between the two queens. The British viceroys had been reduced to pygmies in theisbattle royale.

The book does full justice to Indian heroes like Tatya Tope, Gangadhar, Moropant and Bahadur Shah zafar. This war convinced the British that Indians can revolt and fight for their land. They saw Hindus and Muslims can close ranks to wage a united fight. It isa must read on a a role model. There is a college , road, colony after her in Delhi and else where. Jhansi is considered to be a pilgrimage for Indians at heart.