She was a prosperous entrepreneur, an ardent Hindu and a fearless patriot. In this blog post, we shall delve into Rani Rashmoni’s life and legacy, who has been a source of inspiration for every Indian wishing to serve their nation and faith with pride as well as determination.
Rani Rashmoni as a successful businesswoman and entrepreneur
Rani Rashmoni was born in Dol Kona village near Kolkata (now Calcutta) on 28 September 1793 in a lower class peasant family. At seven years old she lost her mother and at eleven she married Raja Chandra Das, a rich zamindar. She had four daughters and lived happily with her husband who supported her in acquiring education and business skills. However when he died in 1836, she had to undergo many troubles as a widow raja’s wife in male dominated colonial society.
Rani Rashmoni inherited large zamindari along with business trade from his husband who died in 1836.She won the hearts of the people by running the estate effectively while giving lavishly to charitable causes within town.
She also displayed astute business sense, fending off the attempts of her husband’s relatives and adversaries to take over her property. She handled everything with great efficiency with the help of her son in law, Mathur Babu who remained her trusted confidante and right hand man in Business as well as Estate affairs.
Some of her notable business ventures and public works are as below:
- She owned several ships that traded across India and abroad. She also owned salt factories in Midnapore, Bengal and Odisha.
- She being a devout Hindu built several temples, ghats, roads, bridges, wells, water tanks, public gardens for the benefit of common public. She constructed a road from Subarnarekha to Puri for the Pilgrims. She also constructed Babughat (also known as Rajchandra Das Ghat), Ahiritola Ghat and Nimtala ghat for people who bathed daily the banks of Ganges.
- She donated land and money to various religious institutions such as Imperial library (now the National library of India), the Hindu college (now Presidency University), and the Asiatic society.
- She established a free school for Girls at Janbazar.
- Rani Rashmoni donated whole heartedly huge sums of money to various charitable causes such as famine relief, widow remarriage, women’s education and animal welfare
- She patronized several artists, writers, musicians and scholars such as Ramprasad Sen, Dwarkanath Tagore, Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar.
Rani Rashmoni as a generous philanthropist and a devout Hindu
Rani Rashomoni was a devout Hindu and founded the famous Dakshineshwar Kali temple after having a divine vision of Goddess Kali. She purchased 20 acres of land besides the divine Ganges river and constructed a temple complex which included temples dedicated to goddess Kali, Shiva, Radha-Krishna and also an adjoining ghat for the devotees. The temples were inaugurated on 31st May 1855.
She made Sri Ramakrishna Paramhansa as the priest of the Dakshineswar temple. She remained close to him and became his disciple. Many other religious leaders such like; Sri Trailanga Swami, Sri Sarada Devi, and Sri Ramakrishnananda also found her support.
Rani Rashmoni as a fearless nationalist who resisted the British oppression and injustice
In 1840s, East India Company focused on river Ganga, flowing through Bengal Presidency. These waters flowing from Ganges were not only “Holy” but were a lifeline for the fishing communities in the area, who depended on it for their survival and livelihood.
Arguing that the fisherfolks’ small boats were impeding movement of ferries, East Indian Company imposed a tax on fishing boats, which was a cunning way of raking in extra revenue, all while reducing fishing activities on the river. Several worried fishermen folk travelled to Calcutta, pleading their case with their elite landlords, but receiving no support. As a last resort, they appealed to Rashmoni who on hearing this become very concerned about the plight of fishermen.
What happened next is remarkable – Rashmoni secured a Lease agreement with East India Company paying INR 10,000 (A big sum those Days). With this deal she procured a Lease of a 10-km stretch of river Hooghly. Hooghly is Ganga’s distributary that flows through Kolkata (Yester years Calcutta).
She next placed 2 huge iron chains across Hooghly to barricade off her leased area, and asked the fisherfolk to cast their nets in this zone.
This bold move left Company officials rattled. It brought all riverine traffic to Hooghly to a halt. When they asked Rashmoni for an explanation, she said that it was necessary to protect her income from property, as commercial steamships were affecting fishing activities in her leased part of the Ganges.
Boats piled up on both sides of the shackled zone, and hence the East India Company was compelled to come to an agreement with Rashmoni. The tax on fishing was abolished, hence protecting the rights of fisherfolk, giving them an unrestricted access to Ganga.
And that’s how a willy Rani Rashmoni outwitted the sinister Company.
She may have remained uncelebrated all these years but the ever gratefull fishermen folk never forget their “Rani”
Rani Rashmoni also supported the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857 and helped many soldiers who were rebelling. People called her Lokmata meaning “Mother of People”. Other stalwarts of Indian Independence movement like Rabindranath Tagore, Bankim Chandra Chandra Chattopadhay, Mahatma Gandhi also praised her.
Rani Rashmoni died on 19th February 1861 at the age of 67. She was cremated at the Nimtala Ghat. Her Legacy lives on through her descendants, her temples, her charitable works, and her spirit of courage and devotion.
Conclusion
Rani Rashmoni was an extraordinary woman who greatly influenced the society and culture of Bengal in the 19th century. She was a successful businesswoman, a generous and empathetic philanthropist, a devout Hindu and a fearless nationalist. She became an inspiration for all Indians who aim to serve their country with dedication, faith and honour.
As Sri Ramakrishna Paramhansa said about her, “She is not an ordinary woman. She was born with a special larger purpose.”
