Context:

• Prime-Minister performed ‘bhoomi poojan’ of ‘Veerangana Rani Durgavati Smarak aur Udyaan’ in Jabalpur in line with the 500th birth centenary celebrations of Durgavati. 

Who was Rani Durgavati?

• Rani Durgavati was born on 5 October 1524 in Kalinjar, one of the most impregnable forts of medieval India, which lies in the Banda, Uttar Pradesh.
  • The Fort was held by her father Raja Salbahan of Ratha and Mahoba, a descendant of the famous Chandelas who had built the Khajuraho temples.

• Assisted by two able ministers, Adhar Kayastha, and Man Brahman, Rani Durgavati administered the kingdom after Her Husband, Dalpat Shah’s death in 1548.
• She constructed reservoirs such as the Ranital, Cherital, and Adhartal.
• She was a patron of learning and allowed Acharya Bitthalnath to establish a seat of the Pushtimarg Cult at Garha. 
• According to a contemporary Persian source, the Tarikh-i-Firishta, Durgavati repulsed Baz Bahadur, the ruler of Malwa, who had attacked her kingdom between 1555 and 1560. 
• A memorial to Durgavati has been built in Jabalpur, at the same place where the Rani had attained martyrdom. 
• 24th of June each year, is celebrated as `Balidan Divas’ or Martyr’s Day, in honour of the Rani.
• In 2018, the Indian Coast Guard commissioned the 3rd Inshore Patrol Vessel (IPV) called ‘ICGS Durgavati’ at its district headquarters in Visakhapatnam.
  

News Source: PIB