Rani Lakshmi Bai’s Jhansi gets ‘date of birth’: It’s January 31, 1618
A committee of local historians and educators formed by the district administration decided this date and the municipal authorities have issued a notification to this effect.
Synonymous with the valour of Rani Lakshmi Bai, a leader of the First War of Independence of 1857-58 and known popularly as ‘Jhansi Ki Rani’, the historic city of Jhansi has now got a ‘date of birth’ -- January 31, 1618.
A committee of local historians and educators formed by the district administration decided this date and the municipal authorities have issued a notification to this effect. The local administration declared it on Saturday.
It was on January 31, 1618 that the then King of Orchha Veer Singh had laid the foundation of the fort on Bangra Hill, in Balwant Nagar, the present- day Jhansi, according to the committee of experts. The occasion had coincided with the festival of Basant Panchami that year. The facts have been corroborated from the Gazetteer of Orchha, the neighbouring temple town of Madhya Pradesh from where Jhansi was once ruled, a civic official said.
Jhansi municipal commissioner Satya Prakash said, “We have issued a notification for the date after a unanimous decision after corroborating the facts from the Orchha Gazetteer which is the most authentic document.”
The date was endorsed on page 23 of the Orchha Gazetteer in 1907 by Charles Eckford Luard, an army officer and political agent in British India who played a significant role in recording the history and affairs of India, and was awarded the Companion of the Order of the Indian Empire in 1923.
Jhansi was ruled by Orchha estate from 1618 to 1742.
The committee which took the decision on the date comprises a connoisseur of Bundeli history Hargovind Kushwaha, archaeological expert SK Dubey, President’s award winner teacher Neeti Shastri and local historian Mukund Mehrotra.
They came to the conclusion about the date of Jhansi’s inception after holding a series of discussions on various historical happenings and facts.
The district administration had formed the committee on December 22, 2021 on the advice of urban development department to decide the date on which the city was founded.
“We have come to the conclusion after a series of discussions in past two years on various historical events related to the formation of Jhansi in initial period based on facts and figures,” SK Dubey said.
According to legend, Veer Singh was once holding a meeting with the King of Jaitpur on the uppermost part of his fort in Orchha. From there, the Jaitpur king observed the under- construction fort in Balwant Nagar and asked Veer Singh about the blurry (jhaisi) structure. It is said that the word ‘jhaisi’ prompted Veer Singh to rename Balwant Nagar as Jhansi.
The historic Jhansi fort was initially named Manj Mahal. The king had built it for extra fortification of his kingdom. In addition, Veer Singh had also laid the foundations of 52 small fortresses around the city.
Situated between the rivers Pahunj and Betwa, it is said that in ancient times Jhansi was a part of the regions of Chedi Rashtra, Jejak Bhukit, Jajhoti and Bundelkhand.
Jhansi was also the scene of Rani Lakshmi Bai’s stiff resistance to the British forces during the First War of Independence.
In independent India, Jhansi was included in Uttar Pradesh. At present, Jhansi is a divisional commissioner’s headquarters. It includes the districts of Jhansi, Lalitpur and Jalaun. Jhansi is also the pre-eminent city in the Bundelkhand region of Uttar Pradesh.
