The world still remembers the valour and fearlessness of Rani Lakshmi Bai, who played a prominent role in the Rebellion of 1857 to defend her kingdom Jhansi which she wanted bequeathed to her son as his hierarchal right and which, the Britishers in guise of doctrine of lapse wanted to usurp.
I imagine this favorite feminist icon of mine in present times as a woman who is stuck in a difficult marriage where she is berated by her in- laws as they refuse to accept the hierarchical rights of her adopted son.
In 1857 when the Doctrine of Lapse was introduced which did not recognize the queen’s adopted son as the rightful heir , her motherly instincts took over and she fought tooth and nail for her son. The same happened in this 21st century too – while adopting a son the queen did not face any resistance as adoption is a common practice nowadays, but indirectly the queen faced resistance from her family as they were not comfortable with an adopted child being their family’s heir. However, the queen decided to stand on her own feet and provide for herself and her son . She was a skilled designer but after marriage she couldn’t work properly due the restrictions imposed on her by her family, but now she had the willingness and the reason to focus on her career. With no one on her side , she set up her interior designing company and soon she had many clients and was capable of handling her and her son’s expenses.
Across generations we thus see the maternal instinct remains the same and so does the societal norms. Time and again mothers have stood up for the right of their children and persevered to give them a better future against all odds.
