Bhopal/New Delhi, Aug. 29: The Centre today agreed to a BJP-BSP demand to include freedom fighter Rani Avantika Bai’s life in the school curriculum, after regretting a translation mistake that caused an uproar and two adjournments in the Rajya Sabha.

The government’s initial (written) reply had rejected Bahujan Samaj Party member Ganga Charan’s demand to devote a chapter in school textbooks to the Lodhi warrior queen of Ramgarh, a martyr of the 1857 revolt.

The English version of the reply said schoolchildren were already “overburdened” but the Hindi translation used the expression “thakane wala”, which means “tiring” and was seen as disrespectful to the queen. After Charan raised the matter today, BSP and BJP members protested, causing two adjournments.

Rani Avantika is not as well known nationwide as Rani Laxmibai of Jhansi, but she is a legend in the Mahakaushal-Gondwana region of BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh which accounts for eight Lok Sabha seats and 40-odd Assembly seats.

The backward-caste queen was deeply religious and, in the Hindu warrior tradition, took her own life to avoid capture in battle. The BJP’s championing of her is being seen as an attempt to consolidate its base among the backward classes ahead of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls.

Human resource development minister Kapil Sibal apologised in the House, saying: “In the reply, it was said that the matter was ‘thakane wala’.... We regret the mistake in translation.”

He added: “I can’t give directions on the issue but the sentiments of the House will be conveyed to the National Council of Educational Research and Training.”

Rani Avantika had challenged the East India Company’s “doctrine of lapse” during 1851-58 and fought the British during the 1857 uprising. When the enemy surrounded her and asked her to surrender, the queen, on April 9, 1858, chose to drive her dagger into her heart.