Which of the following representations of nationalist imagination about the ‘Revolt of 1857" is incorrect?
(1) The Revolt of 1857 was celebrated as the First War of Independence.
(2) The leaders of the revolt were presented as heroic figures.
(3) Rani of Jhansi was represented as a masculine figure.
(4) Shyamdhari Singh Dinkar dedicated a poem to Rani of Jhansi.

4

The incorrect statement is- Shyamdhari Singh Dinkar dedicated a poem to Rani of Jhansi.

Subhadra Kumari Chauhan wrote the famous poem Jhansi ki Rani which had famous lines- “Khoob lari mardani woh to Jhansi wali rani thi” (Like a man she fought, she was the Rani of Jhansi).

In the context of the Indian Rebellion of 1857, also known as the Sepoy Mutiny or the First War of Independence, Rani Lakshmi Bai of Jhansi is often remembered as a symbol of courage and resistance against British 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. 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.