(Re)reading, (re)constructing and re-interpreting India’s colonial history: An analysis of Mahasweta Devi’s The Queen of Jhansi

Abstract

Mahasweta Devi’s handling of colonial history in the biography titled The Queen of Jhansi is based not only on the archival documents of 1857,the year that witnessed India’s first battle for independence from colonial domination , but on oral history, myths, legends, poems, songs and collective memory of the people of Bundelkhand. Using these multiple sources she re-reads, re-constructs and re-interprets the life and (her)story of the queen of Jhansi.Lakshmibai, the Rani of Jhansi still lives in the hearts of the people of Buldelkhand. The present paper critically analyzes the text and locates it within Mahasweta Devi’s vast literarycanvas and her commitment to foreground the subaltern point of view.