Jhansi - The Evolution - Vintage collection

Jhansi is a city in the state of Uttar Pradesh. It is about 415 km from Delhi and 292 km from Lucknow, and the gateway to Bundelkhand. Jhansi grew in popularity during the reign of the Marathas because of the heroics of its valiant queen, Rani Lakshmi Bai. She had valiantly fought against the Britishers during the 1857 revolt.

Jhansi, sometimes known as Balwantnagar, was founded by Bir Singh Deo Raja of Orchha who built a fort here on top of a rocky hill in 1613. A town soon developed which remained in possession of the Bundelas until 1742. At this point it was seized by the Marathas who built the great stronghold, Shanker Fort, an extension of the older structure. The rapid growth of Jhansi during this period was partly due to the forcible removable of people from other places. It was subsequently held by Shuja-ud-daula, Nawab of Oudh for a few months and later wrested from him by Anup Giri Gosain of Moth from whom it passed to the Raja of Orchha. In 1766 it was again brought under Maratha rule. The East India Company acquired certain rights over the area in 1805 and in 1853, with the death of Raja Gangadhar Rao, the territory lapsed to the British. The town is notable for its associations with Lakshmi Bai, Rani of Jhansi, a leading figure in the Indian Uprising of 1857.

  Jhansi was first known as Shankargarh, when Orchha was the capital of Bundelas. In a bid of strengthening the security of Orchha, its king Raja Bir Singh Ja Deo had constructed a fort on a hill in Shankargarh. And it was when he looked at the site for the new fort from his Orchha palace that he realized the place looked like a jhain-si (blurred shadow).  And this is how Jhansi got its present name. 

Photograph of the Fort of Jhansi in Uttar Pradesh, from the Lee-Warner Collection: 'Scenes and Sculptures of Central India, Photographed by Lala Deen Diyal, Indore.', taken by Deen Dayal in 1882. The fort of Jhansi was built under the rule of Raja Bir Singh Deo (1605-27) of Orchha in the turbulent area of Bundelkhand. It is situated on a rocky hill in a strategic position. Jhansi remained a small village until 1742 when it was taken by the Maratha general, Naru Shankar who strengthened and enlarged the fort. The territory was later under the control of Peshwas until it passed to the hands of the British East India Company after the death of Raja Gangadhar Rao in 1853. In 1857 a few men of the 12th Bengal Infantry mutinied, shot their European officers and seized the fort. The Rani of Jhansi, Lakshmi Bhai, who had been disposed, tried to take control with no success. In 1858 the British recaptured the town after a very hard fight in which the Rani took part. She finally fell after a heroic fight on 18 June 1858 outside Gwalior and is now considered a heroine of Indian independence.

  

 This fort is none other than the famous Jhansi Fort. Jhansi fort was built in 1613 and today has a wonderful collection of sculptures that depicts the history of Bundelkhand. It is said that Jhansi grew around this fort which crowns a neighboring rock. There are many sculptures of the 9th to 12th centuries found in the Rani Mahal too. The museum of Jhansi houses regional antiques like sculptures, manuscripts, paintings, arms and silver, gold and copper coins. 

view from Kemasin ki taoriya

In 1861 the city of Jhansi and a dependent territory was ceded to Gwalior State and the capital of the district was moved to Jhansi Naoabad (Jhansi Refounded), a village without "cantonment" (military camp). Jhansi (the old city) became the capital of a "subah" (provínce) within the state of Gwalior, but in 1886 was returned to British rule as a district of the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh in exchange for the Gwalior Fort and the cantonment of Morar nearby.(It had been given to the Maharaja of Gwalior, but came under British rule in 1886 as the result of a territorial swap.)