The correct answer is Option (2) → Subhadra Kumari Chauhan
Option (1) Mahadevi Varma — Incorrect. Mahadevi Varma was a Hindi poet of the same age, but this poem on the Rani of Jhansi is not hers.
Option (2) Subhadra Kumari Chauhan — Correct. These lines are by <strong>Subhadra Kumari Chauhan</strong>. Her poem shows the Rani of Jhansi fighting like a man, part of the <strong>nationalist imagery</strong> of 1857.
Option (3) Maithili Sharan Gupt — Incorrect. Maithili Sharan Gupt wrote patriotic Hindi poetry, but these famous lines on the Rani are not his.
Option (4) Makhanlal Chaturvedi — Incorrect. Makhanlal Chaturvedi was a nationalist Hindi poet, but he did not write these lines on the Rani of Jhansi.
NCERT (2026-27): “5.6 Nationalist imageries
The national movement in the twentieth century drew its inspiration from the events of 1857. A whole world of nationalist imagination was woven around the revolt. It was celebrated as the First War of Independence in which all sections of the people of India came together to fight against imperial rule. Art and literature, as much as the writing of history, have helped in keeping alive the memory of 1857. The leaders of the revolt were presented as heroic figures leading the country into battle, rousing the people to righteous indignation against oppressive imperial rule. Heroic poems were written about the valour of the queen who, with a sword in one hand and the reins of her horse in the other, fought for the freedom of her motherland. Rani of Jhansi was represented as a masculine figure chasing the enemy, slaying British soldiers and valiantly fighting till her last. Children in many parts of India grow up reading the lines of Subhadra Kumari Chauhan: “Khoob lari mardani woh to Jhansi wali rani thi” (Like a man she fought, she was the Rani of Jhansi). In popular prints Rani Lakshmi Bai is usually portrayed in battle armour, with a sword in hand and riding a horse – a symbol of the determination to resist injustice and alien rule.” |
