kittur chennamma, queen of the princely state kittur in karnataka, led an armed rebellion against the british in response to the doctrine of lapse. rani lakshmi bai, the queen of jhansi, led the indian rebellion of 1857 against the british. she is now widely considered as a national hero. begum hazrat mahal, the co-ruler of awadh, was another ruler who led the revolt of 1857. she refused deals with the british and later retreated to nepal. the begums of bhopal were also considered notable female rulers during this period. they were trained in martial arts. chandramukhi basu, kadambini ganguly and anandi gopal joshi were some of the earliest indian women to obtain a degree.