The Rani of Jhansi: Gender, History, and Fable in India

204 Pages·2014·1.13 MB·English

by  Harleen Singh

the Rani of Jhansi
Gender, History, and Fable in India
Harleen Singh
Brandeis University
Cambridge House, 4381/4 Ansari Road, Daryaganj, Delhi 110002, India
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© Harleen Singh 2014
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First published 2014
Printed in India
A catalogue record for this publication is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Singh, Harleen.
The Rani of Jhansi : gender, history and fable in India / Harleen Singh.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
    ISBN 978-1-107-04280-3 (hardback)
1.  Lakshmibai, Rani of Jhansi, 1828-1858--Military leadership. 2.
India--History--Sepoy Rebellion, 1857-1858--Historiography. 3. Lakshmibai,
Rani of Jhansi, 1828-1858--In literature. 4.  Lakshmibai, Rani of Jhansi,
1828-1858--In motion pictures. 5.  Lakshmibai, Rani of Jhansi,
1828-1858--Legends. 6.  Women revolutionaries--India--Biography. 7.
Masculinity--Political aspects--India--History. 8.
Nationalism--India--History. 9.  India--Colonization--History. 10.
India--History--British occupation, 1765-1947.  I. Title.
  DS475.2.L34S55 2014
  954.03’17--dc23
  [B]
2014003924
ISBN 978-1-107-04280-3 Hardback
Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy
of URLs for external or third-party internet websites referred to in this publication,
and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain,
accurate or appropriate.
Acknowledgements iii
This book is dedicated to
my mother, Purnima Singh (1954–1980),
whose rebellion ended too soon,
and to my four-year-old daughter, Meher Rai,
whose rebellion has begun much earlier than expected.
iv Acknowledgements
Acknowledgements v
Contents
List of Figures vii
Acknowledgements ix
I. Introduction 1
II. Enslaving Masculinity: Rape Scripts and the Erotics of Power 33
III. India’s Aryan Queen: Colonial Ambivalence and Race in
the Mutiny 67
IV. Coherent Pasts in Hindi Literature and Film 95
V. Unmaking the Nationalist Archive: Gender and 135
Dalit Historiography
Afterword 163
Bibliography 169
Index 181
vi Acknowledgements
Acknowledgements vii
List of Figures
1. Congress Party poster from 2007 4
2. Examples of cover art from books on the Rani of Jhansi 5
3. Illustration from Lachmi Bai of Jhansi: The Jeanne D’Arc of 75
India (1901)
4. Mehtab and Sohrab Modi in Jhansi ki Rani (1953) 123
5. Cover art from the Amar Chitra Katha series comic Rani of Jhansi 163