Rani Lakshmi Bai is often portrayed as a masculine warrior. Which of the following have helped create this image of her?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → Films and posters
Option (1) Films and posters — Correct. Popular media kept the memory of 1857 alive. Films and posters helped create the image of the Rani as a masculine warrior.
Option (2) Cartoons and journals — Incorrect. Cartoons and journals such as Punch were British. They mocked mercy to the rebels.
Option (3) Court chronicles and farmans — Incorrect. Court chronicles and farmans are Mughal records. They come from an age before the nationalist image.
Option (4) Official reports and gazetteers — Incorrect. Official reports and gazetteers were British records. They treated the rebels as enemies.
NCERT (2026-27): “5.6 Nationalist imageries … “… 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.” |