Subhadra Kumari Chauhan was an Indian poetess famous for her emotionally charged Hindi songs. She was born in Nihalpur village in Allahabad District of present-day Uttar Pradesh. Subhadra Kumari initially studied in the Crosthwaite Girls’ School in Allahabad and passed the middle-school examination in 1919. After her marriage to Thakur Lakshman Singh Chauhan of Khandwa in the same year, she moved to Jabalpur. She joined the Non-Cooperation Movement in 1921 and was the first woman Satyagrahi to court arrest in Nagpur. She was jailed twice for her involvement in protests against the British rule in 1923 and 1942. She has authored a number of popular works in Hindi poetry. Her most famous composition is Jhansi Ki Rani, an emotionally charged poem describing the life of Rani Lakshmi Bai. The poem is one of the most recited and sung poems in Hindi literature.
This and her other poems, Veeron Ka Kaisa Ho Basant, Rakhi Ki Chunauti and Vida, openly talk about the freedom movement. They are said to have inspired great numbers of Indian youth to participate in the Indian Freedom Movement. Here is the opening stanza of Jhansi ki Rani: Original Hindi text सिंहासन हिल उठे राजवंशों ने भृकुटी तानी थी, बूढ़े भारत में आई फिर से नयी जवानी थी, गुमी हुई आज़ादी की कीमत सबने पहचानी थी, दूर फिरंगी को करने की सबने मन में ठानी थी। चमक उठी सन सत्तावन में, वह तलवार पुरानी थी, बुंदेले हरबोलों के मुँह हमने सुनी कहानी थी, खूब लड़ी मर्दानी वह तो झाँसी वाली रानी थी।।
Roman transliteration Sinhasan hil uthe rajvanshon ne bhrikuti tani thi, Boodhe bharat mein aayi phir se nayi javaani thi, Gumi hui azaadi ki kimat sabne pahachaani thi, Door phirangi ko karane ki sabane man mein thaani thi. Chamak uthi san sattaavan mein, vah talvaar puraani thi, Bundele harbolon ke munh hamane suni kahaani thi, Khoob ladi mardaani vah to jhansi vaali raani thi. Apart from heroic poems, she also wrote poems for children. She wrote some short stories based on the life of the middle class too. She died in 1948 in a car accident. An Indian Coast Guard ship has been named after her.