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NDTV
4 days ago
- Politics
- NDTV
Paika Rebellion: India's Fight Against Colonial Rule, Decades Before 1857
We are a day away from India's 79th Independence Day, and there's no better time to reflect on the often overlooked pages of the nation's struggle for freedom from British rule. Among these, the Paika Rebellion of 1817 in Odisha stands out as one of the earliest uprisings against colonial rule, long before the 1857 Mutiny. Also referred to as the Khurda Rebellion, it was a manifestation of Odisha's courage to stand up to British domination. The Paikas, meaning "foot soldiers," were an exclusive class of soldiers who served the Gajapati monarchs of Odisha since the 16th century. For their military service, the Paikas received hereditary rent-free land, which supported their households during times of peace. This fragile socio-economic equilibrium was broken when the British East India Company occupied Odisha in 1803. In the wake of the unopposed march of Colonel Harcourt from Madras (now Chennai) to Puri and further to Cuttack, the British went back on promises made to the local king, Mukunda Deva II. Even after a partial payment, the British insisted on withholding prime territories. This triggered a resistance from Jayee Rajguru, a devoted guardian of the king. Although Rajguru's conspiracy was discovered and brutally crushed, leading to his death in 1806, seeds of dissent had been sown. The loss of indigenous rule was a hard blow to the Paikas. Removed from their political backing and their rent-free land, they had to face new brutal revenue demands and the rise of absentee landlords, most of them from Bengal. The transition to a rupee-based tax system put additional pressure on the tribal groups, mounting their economic burdens. British control of salt resources along Odisha's coast from 1814 intensified these struggles, leading to acts of resistance like attacks on salt agents. By March 1817, the discontent transformed into an armed rebellion. About 400 Kondhs, armed with traditional weapons, marched from Ghumusar towards Khurda. They were joined by the Paikas under Bakshi Jagabandhu Bidyadhar Mahapatra, the erstwhile commander-in-chief of the Khurda king. They attacked British government quarters, set police stations afire, causing British casualties. Though the rebellion was ultimately put down by British troops and Jagabandhu spent years in hiding before surrendering in 1825, the Paika Rebellion left an indelible mark on the history of the region. It represented one of the first signs of resistance to colonial rule. It was a precursor to the broader independence movements that would sweep India in the next century. Even today, the Paika Uprising's legacy, particularly in Odisha, is used as a representation of local pride and resistance. In 2017, marking the rebellion's bicentenary, the then Odisha government requested that the central government acknowledge the Paika Bidroha as India's first war of independence, given its role in India's early independence movement.
See - Sada Elbalad
05-08-2025
- Entertainment
- See - Sada Elbalad
"Greenland 2: Migration" Lands 2026 Release Date
Yara Sameh 'Greenland 2: Migration' has landed a January 9, 2026 release date from Lionsgate. In the aftermath of a comet strike that decimated most of the earth, the film follows the Garrity family, played by Gerard Butler, Morena Baccarin and Roman Griffith Davis, as they're forced to leave the safety of their bunker in Greenland to traverse a shattered world in search of a new home. Lionsgate's 'Mutiny,' which was previously slotted for the January 9 date, now changes to a Summer 2026 release window. 'Greenland 2: Migration' also stars Amber Rose Revah, Sophie Thompson, Trond Fausa Aurvåg and William Abadie. The film is directed by Ric Roman Waugh, written by Mitchell LaFortune and Chris Sparling, and produced by Butler, Waugh, Basil Iwanyk, Erica Lee, Alan Siegel, Sébastien Raybaud, John Zois and Brendon Boyea. The pic is a sequel to the 2020 disaster film 'Greenland,' which starred Butler and Baccarin as John and Allison Garrity — a couple, with diabetic son Nathan, that flee as a comet hurtles towards Earth. It was distributed theatrically by STX Films and its international partners during the height of the COVID pandemic. The film opened at No. 1 at the box office in 26 countries, including Germany, France, Italy, Spain and Russia, grossing more than $52 million internationally. In the U.S., the film delivered a strong performance on PVOD before a popular run on Max. 'Greenland 2: Migration' is produced by Anton, STX Entertainment, Thunder Road Pictures and G-base Entertainment. STX is handling international distribution through its global network of partners. read more New Tourism Route To Launch in Old Cairo Ahmed El Sakka-Led Play 'Sayidati Al Jamila' to Be Staged in KSA on Dec. 6 Mandy Moore Joins Season 2 of "Dr. Death" Anthology Series Don't Miss These Movies at 44th Cairo Int'l Film Festival Today Amr Diab to Headline KSA's MDLBEAST Soundstorm 2022 Festival Arts & Culture Mai Omar Stuns in Latest Instagram Photos Arts & Culture "The Flash" to End with Season 9 Arts & Culture Ministry of Culture Organizes four day Children's Film Festival Arts & Culture Canadian PM wishes Muslims Eid-al-Adha News Israeli-Linked Hadassah Clinic in Moscow Treats Wounded Iranian IRGC Fighters Arts & Culture "Jurassic World Rebirth" Gets Streaming Date News China Launches Largest Ever Aircraft Carrier News Ayat Khaddoura's Final Video Captures Bombardment of Beit Lahia Business Egyptian Pound Undervalued by 30%, Says Goldman Sachs Videos & Features Tragedy Overshadows MC Alger Championship Celebration: One Fan Dead, 11 Injured After Stadium Fall Lifestyle Get to Know 2025 Eid Al Adha Prayer Times in Egypt Arts & Culture South Korean Actress Kang Seo-ha Dies at 31 after Cancer Battle Arts & Culture Lebanese Media: Fayrouz Collapses after Death of Ziad Rahbani Sports Get to Know 2025 WWE Evolution Results
India Today
18-06-2025
- General
- India Today
June 18, the day Laxmi Bai, queen of Jhansi died and an icon of rebellion was born
In the history of colonial India, one woman's courage became legend. As the British tightened their grip through the Doctrine of Lapse and the flames of the 1857 Mutiny erupted, Rani Lakshmi Bai emerged as a formidable leader, rallying her people against overwhelming odds. With Major General Hugh Rose's forces closing in, her daring escape from Jhansi's besieged fort set the stage for a final, fateful stand in Gwalior. This is the story of a warrior queen who declared, 'Meri Jhansi Nahi Doongi (I will not surrender my Jhansi).'advertisementMajor General Hugh Rose stared at Jhansi's towering walls, his Central India Field Force poised for a decisive attack. The air crackled with tension, dust swirling under the boots of 4,300 men - sepoys, cavalry, and artillery - arrayed against Rani Lakshmi Bai's defiant stronghold. Rose, born in Berlin to British parents and weathered by battles from Russia to Poona, surveyed the fort's cannons. From a distance, he glimpsed the silhouetted figure of the warrior queen behind the Lakshmi Bai wore her trademark Jodhpurs with a bodice. Two pistols rested in holsters from her hips. A diamond on the hilt of a dagger, dipped in poison, sparkled under the sun. On her head was a cap, covered with a silk scarf, giving it the shape and swirl of a Watching the queen from a distance, only one phrase echoed in Rose's mind: 'Meri Jhansi Nahi Doongi.' The challenge hurled at the British steeled his resolve. Facing him was the lioness of Jhansi, and the daughter of Kashi, later immortalised by Subhadra Kumari Chauhan's stirring poetry. The lioness was ready to fight, like a (Banaras), The BirthplaceThe year of her birth is unknown. Some say she was born in 1828. Others think it was later. But the legend of Manikarnika – Manu - began with a cry piercing the sacred air by the Ganges in the holy city of Kashi (Banaras).Legend has it that the city was made of gold. But the evil deeds of its residents robbed Banaras of its glitter, turning it into an ordinary town. On the side facing the historic Kashi Vishwanath Temple and Aurangzeb's mosque on the Ganga ghat lived Moropant Tambe (originally Wai), a Karhade Brahmin courtier, and Bhagirathi, his beautiful wife. In their house was born a girl who would be hailed years later as a freedom named after the Ganga, was raised in the household of Baji Rao II in Bithoor, the Peshwas of the Maratha confederacy. Barely five, she sparred with sticks in Bithoor's dusty courts, outpacing boys twice her age. Among her sparring partners were future heroes - the Peshwa's sons Nana Saheb and Rao Saheb, and nephew Tatya a ride atop an elephant, she famously declared that one day she'd have dozens. Peshwa Baji Rao II, her mentor, saw a warrior's spirit. 'This girl,' he said, 'will carve her name in history.' Her fate was sealed. Destiny and Jhansi - The ShadowOrchha, a town on the Betwa River, is considered the kingdom of Lord Rama. One of his descendants built the fort of Jhansi in the early 17th century on a steep rock just 18 km away. According to legend, when the ruler of Orchha asked if the new fort was visible from his fort, he was told it appeared 'jhain-sa', like a shadow. Thus was born Jhansi, the gateway to Bundelkhand in modern Uttar was not foretold. During the British Raj, its ruler Ramchandra Rao demonstrated his loyalty to the British by offering to adopt the Union Jack as Jhansi's official flag. It was allowed. This exhibition of loyalty earned the family the right to rule Jhansi through their legal heirs in perpetuity. (The Ranee of Jhansi: DV Tamhankar)advertisementTrouble erupted when Gangadhar Rao ascended the throne amidst a succession battle. After his first wife passed away childless, Rao married Manikarnika. Their son, born in 1852, passed away within three months of birth. Soon, Gangadhar Rao also died because of dysentery, after adopting a relative, whom he named as the the adoption ran into a law passed by the Doctrine of LapseIn the chaos of 1853, the Doctrine of Lapse, Lord Dalhousie's ruthless policy, struck Jhansi like a thunderbolt. This British stratagem allowed the East India Company to annex princely states without direct heirs, dismissing adopted successors. When Raja Gangadhar Rao died, the British refused to recognise the adopted son as Jhansi's ruler, and annexed Jhansi in 1854. Manikarnika, revered as Lakshmi Bai after the Indian goddess of wealth, was reduced to a pleas to be recognised as Regent and her adopted son as king were rejected, despite favourable reports from the British political agent. Lakshmi Bai was confined to a life of obscurity on the fringes of Jhansi. But the circle of life was Mutiny - Queen's GambitBy 1857, discontent simmered across India, fueled by British insensitivity towards peasants and artisans. There were fears of forced conversions, most notably through the alleged mixing of bones in wheat flour for soldiers, and the rumoured use of cow and pig fat in rifle cartridges, an affront to Hindu and Muslim May, the Indian Mutiny erupted in Meerut, spreading like wildfire to garrisons across the north, including Jhansi. On June 7, 1857, Jhansi's sepoys rose in revolt, seizing the Star Fort, a British outpost within the city. Many British residents sought refuge there, hoping for June 8, the mutineers, led by risaldar Kala Khan, besieged the fort. After negotiations, the British surrendered, expecting safe passage, but were massacred near Jakhan Bagh, just outside the city Bai's involvement in the Jhansi massacre of 1857 remains contested. British accounts, such as those of her lawyer John Lang, suggest she lacked control over the mutineers, who acted independently. Her letters to British officials, dated June 1857, claim she protected some Europeans and sought to maintain order, yet her role was scrutinised (National Archives of India). Conversely, other British reports accused her of complicity, arguing she failed to intervene. Evidence suggests she was overwhelmed by the chaos, caught between her people's fury and her limited power. The massacre, nonetheless, established Jhansi as a rebel stronghold and marked Lakshmi Bai as a British Ruler ReturnsWith the British expelled, the mutineers declared Lakshmi Bai the ruler of Jhansi in June 1857. Some accounts suggest the mutineers offered her leadership in exchange for a payment of 1,00,000 rupees, threatening to appoint Sadasheo Rao, a relative of the deceased Maharaja, if she assumed power, not as a passive figurehead but as a determined leader. By late 1857, she had solidified her rule, organising a force of roughly 10,000 troops. These included sepoys, volunteers, and a women's brigade, called the Amazons of Jhansi. Historical accounts suggest every woman in Jhansi was trained to ride and shoot. With her army ready, the Rani of Jhansi was waiting for the British 1858, The Noose TightensMarching from Bombay through Indore, Hugh Rose's Central India Field Force reached Jhansi in March 1858, intent on crushing the rebellion's heart. By now, the rebellion had been crushed everywhere, only isolated pockets of challenge, like Jhansi, British army, equipped with heavy artillery and disciplined troops, was led by a great leader. Its batteries were loaded with heavy firepower. Facing them was a rag-tag coalition led by the young March 24, Rose commenced a relentless bombardment, targeting Jhansi's walls with cannon fire. The fort, built on a steep rock, was a natural stronghold, but its defenses strategy was methodical: weaken the walls, then storm the city. By early April, after days of bombardment, breaches appeared in Jhansi's that Jhansi was about to fall, British troops launched a full-scale assault, scaling the walls under heavy Fall and The EscapeLakshmi Bai, realising the fort could not hold, made a daring decision. On the night of April 4-5, as the British tightened their grip, she escaped with a small retinue, including her adopted claims she leapt from the fort's walls on horseback, though accounts vary. British records confirm her escape, noting her route toward Kalpi, where she joined rebel leaders like Tatya fell to Rose's forces. But Lakshmi Bai's escape marked not defeat but defiance. The rebels fought at Kalpi, where they were defeated. At this point, Tatya Tope suggested a daring a part of the Maratha confederacy, was still supporting the British. Unlike other kingdoms of the region, it had not joined the 1857 rebellion, its soldiers, though restive, had not supported the revolt by sepoys of other states. Tope outlined a plan for attacking Gwalior, and turning its formidable fort into a bastion of the June 1, 1858, Tope, alongside Rani Lakshmi Bai and Rao Sahib, pounced on Gwalior. The pro-British Maharaja of Gwalior fled as the rebels seized the fort, declaring Hindavi Swaraj under Nana Saheb Peshwa. They persuaded the Gwalior contingent to join their cause. Celebrations broke out throughout north India, people assumed the end of British Raj was imminent with the impregnable Gwalior fort now under the control of Nana Saheb, Tope and Lakshmi Rose's army was still pursuing them. The defining battle of the rebellion was 17, 1858, GwaliorGeneral Hugh Rose's army started blasting the Gwalior fort. Despite initial resistance, the rebels were outgunned and outnumbered. The British artillery and cavalry overwhelmed their defenses. On June 18, Lakshmi Bai, dressed as a male soldier, made a daring attempt to break through British lines but was fatally wounded in combat near British were unaware of her death for two days. One report said she was shot and killed near Phool Bagh batteries. Another British account suggests she was with Rao Sahib and Tatya Tope, observing advances, and was struck by bullets and a sabre, surviving briefly before being carried toward Phool Bagh, where she was biggest compliment came from General Rose. He acknowledged her as the bravest and best military leader of the rebels. Unlike most of the rebels, she vowed to fight till the end, and perished on the death marked a devastating blow to the rebellion. The British recaptured Gwalior soon after, consolidating their control. Tatya Tope continued guerrilla attacks on the British before being captured and hanged. The Peshwa turned into a sanyasin, but was caught and Bai's martyrdom became an Indian legend, which is still sung with pride. Because of her, Lakshmi Bai is not just a name, it is a synonym for courage and defiance - Meri Jhansi Nahi Reel
Scroll.in
08-06-2025
- General
- Scroll.in
Lucknow to Stirling: Ghosts of 1857 in a Scottish Museum
Rudyard Kipling's Kim – that iconic novel of the Raj – first appeared as a serial in McClure's Magazine in December 1900, a month before the death of Queen Victoria. At this point, the British Empire was arguably at its strongest. The event that extended Victoria's reign to India was the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857, now referred to as the Indian Uprising or the Great Rebellion. After this, British rule in India passed from the East India Company to the British Crown. Most references to the events of 1857-58 in Kim come from an old Indian villager, 'who had served the [British] government in the days of the Mutiny as a native officer…' He goes on to describe his loyal service for the Company army: 'Nine wounds I bear; a medal and four clasps and the medal of an Order, for my captains, who are now generals, remembered me when the Kaisar-i-Hind had accomplished fifty years of her reign…' Kaisar-i-Hind was the title Queen Victoria assumed as she was proclaimed the Empress of India in 1877. The queen marked the golden jubilee of her reign in 1887, at an event in which several Indian princes and soldiers participated. Exactly a century after Kim, a young British author, born to a Jamaican mother and an English father, debuted with her bestselling novel White Teeth (2000), which turns 25 this year. By the time the English-speaking world woke up to Zadie Smith, the British Raj was, to quote Charles Dickens, as 'dead as a doornail'. Even the English men's cricket team, for long a symbol of the Raj, had a captain who was born in Madras (now Chennai) and had an Indian father. Yet, the 'Mutiny' continued to haunt the multicultural Britons of White Teeth, in which a Bangladeshi immigrant named Samad Iqbal, who had fought for the British Indian Army in World War II, claims to be a great grandson of Mangal Pande, a soldier in the Company army often credited with instigating the rebellion of 1857. The empire was instrumental in Britain's rise as a modern nation state and, in the history of the British Empire, there are few events that left a mark as lasting as the Mutiny of 1857, as reflected in English fiction from Kipling to Zadie Smith. The 'Mutiny', in the shared histories of Britain and India, is today an enduring symbol of the horrors of colonialism for a contemporary Britain grappling with immigration from former colonies such as India. Sitting in a castle in Scotland, a small piece of mutiny-era Lucknow bears the weight of this shared history. A Scottish regiment Trophies of the British triumph over the Indian 'mutineers' occupy pride of place at the Regimental Museum of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, deep inside one of the several grey stone buildings of the Stirling Castle in Scotland. The Highlanders were a Scottish regiment that became famous as 'The Thin Red Line' in 1854 during the Crimean War. Journalist WH Russell, who gave them this epithet, was also present in India as a correspondent of the Times during the latter stages of the Mutiny. The Highlanders were instrumental in the British campaigns during the Indian Uprising, playing a major role in the Siege of Lucknow, when the British Residency there and its British and Indian inhabitants were besieged for several months by the sepoys. The siege began in June 1857, British reinforcements arrived in September, but fighting continued till the Residency was finally evacuated in November 1857. The siege later inspired Alfred Tennyson's 1879 poem The Defence of Lucknow, which also features the Highlanders. The Regimental Museum of the Highlanders houses several exhibits from the siege as symbols of their military triumph. These include gallantry medals such as the Victoria Cross awarded for the 'Relief of Lucknow', memoirs by soldiers who survived, military uniforms, paintings of British attacks and weaponry such as bayonets and swords. One of the exhibits is a letter by the Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson (who wrote Treasure Island and created Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde) to Sergeant Forbes Mitchell expressing his sympathy and pride after reading the Sergeant's memoir on the Mutiny. The exhibits represent the power of British arms but are not beyond the troubling questions of the violence and exploitation experienced by the subjects of the Raj. How should an army acknowledge the effects and the implications of its actions? Can it commemorate its past in terms other than valour, sacrifice and an implied antipathy against the 'enemy'? Does it have an obligation to justify its actions, particularly when it fights for an empire – which, by its very nature, is an exploitative institution? In an age when war is consumed on prime-time television, how does an army, and more importantly, a society, make peace with war? In their 2018 book, East India Company at Home, 1757-1857, historians Margot Finn and Kate Smith argue that British material culture and even its built environment were profoundly influenced by objects and designs that originated in the colonies. This took place within a larger network of the exchange of people and objects in the wake of imperialism. The Stirling Castle reflects this due to its association with the English royal family, and can be considered a version of the English country house, which refers to mansions owned by aristocratic families in the English countryside. At the same time, the exhibits in the castle are material symbols of centuries of British political, military, cultural and commercial involvement through its empire in India. In Stirling, perhaps the most poignant of these symbols of the Uprising is a small piece of masonry from the Lucknow Residency kept beside a musket ball. While other objects such as uniforms, paintings and memoirs are attributed to individuals (the museum even has a flag seized from the 'rebels'), there is a haunting sense of emptiness, of the ruins of war, in that pale red fragment of a building (considerably faded with time) and the small black sphere, almost like a pebble, which represents many others like it that had killed hundreds of British and Indians alike. It is a fragment of Lucknow, a centre of Awadhi culture, which lives on behind a glass enclosure in a castle that was itself the site of centuries of bloody warfare between the Scots and the English. Sunset of the empire What conventional British history has termed the 'Sepoy Mutiny' has for long been known to Indians as the 'Indian Uprising' and even as an early struggle for independence. Another layer to this is that exhibits in Stirling are part of the collections of the British Army, situated in Scotland, which continues to debate if it wants independence from Britain. Museums across Britain are becoming increasingly conscious of the necessity of acknowledging uncomfortable aspects of British history such as slavery and imperialism. The Hunterian Museum, which is a part of the University of Glasgow, and the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, also in Glasgow, highlight the contribution of slavery and colonialism in the establishment of these institutions. No longer an empire on which the sun never sets, contemporary Britain (and the United Kingdom) finds itself having to acknowledge the violence that built the Raj at a time when 16% of the UK's population was born abroad. Even during the Mutiny, the Calcutta Review (a leading Anglo-Indian periodical) realised that the Siege of Lucknow would go down in history as a significant event, as much for the bloodshed as for its implications for the future of both Britain and India: 'when much that seems brightest to us has been blotted by time out of the book of history, the page which contains the defence of Lucknow will remain as clear as ever.' The author wishes to thank the Research Society for Victorian Periodicals for a travel grant, which allowed him to visit the UK. He also thanks Rod Mackenzie, the curator of the Argylls Museum, for permission to use the image of the exhibit.
Scottish Sun
25-04-2025
- Health
- Scottish Sun
I told my 18-year-old girl ‘I love you, be good' as I waved her off to a festival… then got the call every parent dreads
Janine Milburn is warning others about the dangers of the festival circuit FESTIVAL FEARS I told my 18-year-old girl 'I love you, be good' as I waved her off to a festival… then got the call every parent dreads Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) TUCKED away in Janine Milburn's car is a pair of trainers belonging to her beloved daughter Georgia Jones. On her bed is a cushion, made from one of Georgia's favourite jumpers. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 7 Janine Milburn lost her daughter Georgia Jones in 2018 Credit: Olivia West 7 Georgia died after taking high dose MDMA at Mutiny festival Credit: PA:Press Association 7 Janine says she still struggles to believe she will never see her little girl again, seen here together at Gerogia's christening Credit: Olivia West But Georgia isn't away at university, or travelling the world, tragically Janine will never see her beloved daughter again. It has now been almost seven years since Georgia, 18, died from an MDMA overdose at Mutiny festival in Cosham near their home in Havant. For Janine, 48, the loss of her daughter in May 2018 remains unbearable but, as festival season begins, she's determined to spare another mother the same agony. Janine, who lives with Georgia's stepdad, health and safety investigator Daniel Milburn, 48, now campaigns for drug awareness going into schools to talk about the issues. She says she never could have imagined that her daughter would have fallen victim to the peer pressures of casual drug use. Worryingly you can buy two pills of ecstasy for a fiver from a ruthless dealer who just wants to offload his stock and you don't have a clue what's really in it. Janine Milburn The support worker says, 'Georgia was meeting her friends at the festival and as I waved her off, my last words were, 'I love you, be good, be careful, I'll see you when you get home'. 'Instead at 4.30pm I got the call every parent dreads.' Georgia's older sister, Danielle, now 28, who was at the festival with her old friends told Janine that Georgia was with the paramedics. 'Two friends of theirs had found Georgia on her own, stumbling, gurning and barely coherent,' Janine says. 'Then she started fitting, which lasted for 50 minutes. I got to the festival just in time to see her being loaded into the ambulance. I watched in horror as my son, 16, was killed by super-strength ecstasy – my warning to parents ahead of Glastonbury 'At that time I didn't think it was that serious – I even told Daniella to stay and enjoy herself, thinking there was no reason to ruin her day.' Tragically Janine was wrong. Georgia had taken the class A drug ecstasy (MDMA) at the festival. The drug raises the body temperature and Georgia's was off the scale and her body went into shut down mode - her heart stopped twice in the ambulance. When they arrived at the hospital Janine waited in the family room while medics fought to save Georgia's life. Just 40 minutes after they arrived her heart had stopped again and the consultant advised Janine to call in family members to say their goodbyes. 'It felt unreal,' remembers Janine. 'I couldn't believe it was happening. 7 Georgia was just 18 years old when she died, it had been her first time taking the drug Credit: Solent 7 The drug had caused her temperature to spike and her body to shut down. Pictured: Tributes left for Georgia at the festival Credit: Paul Jacobs/ 7 Tommy Cowan also lost his life after taking 'Silver Audi' tablets that day Credit: PA:Press Association 'Strangely I felt cross with her, it was such a waste of such a beautiful girl. 'Doctors came in and told us that her heart had stopped again, her lungs were filling with blood and stomach acid and vomit and there was nothing more she could do.' Georgia was pronounced dead at 8.20pm, just six hours after taking the drug. 'Nothing prepares you for losing a child,' Janine says. 'All I could think was why, why did she take those pills? 'We stayed with her in the room, saying our goodbyes until 11.30 that night. I was numb with grief – it was horrendous.' The family held her funeral at the local crematorium, on 22 June 2018. 'We had a horse drawn carriage and a beautiful white hearse,' Janine says. 'Hundreds of people came, everyone wore something yellow as it was her favourite colour and we played Rise Up by Andra Day. 'Afterwards we went to her favourite pub – it was her last party and she'd have loved it.' Despite her crushing grief Janine was determined from the start to try to warn others about how fatal ecstasy could be – posting on Facebook about her beloved daughter's death in the hope that it would stop people from taking the drug. Janine says, 'There was a stigma from the start about her death – as if she hadn't been brought up properly if she ended up taking drugs. 'But Georgia wasn't into drugs. 'Like many teenagers she'd dabbled with weed and tried cocaine, but she hadn't touched drugs for months and was working in a care home for people with learning difficulties which she loved. The only good thing that can possibly come from this is raising awareness that might save other people Janine Milburn 'She was friendly and outgoing but not a party animal. She loved going to the cinema or just curling up at home on the sofa with her border collie dog Maysie, and she adored horses. 'She was just an ordinary teenage girl. 'That's why I campaign and go into schools to talk about drugs. 'We mustn't shut down the conversation but keep talking about it, to raise awareness that Georgia could be any one's daughter.' At Georgia's inquest in November it was confirmed she'd taken two double strength MDMA pills which caused her organs to fail. Tragically Georgia wasn't the only young person to die at the festival, Tommy Cowan, 20, also died after taking two of the high dose 'Silver Audi' pills. At his inquest the coroner, David Horsley said there was a 'drugs culture' surrounding festivals, one he felt that more and more young people were falling victim to. Janine agrees and as well as talking to pupils at school about the dangers, she campaigns to make festivals safer for young people by having facilities to test drugs on sites. She says, 'The only good thing that can possibly come from this is raising awareness that might save other people. 'We need to talk about the realities of drugs, teenagers need to be educated about them. SIGNS YOUR TEEN IS BUYING DRUGS... A TEEN's changing behaviour could indicate any manner of mental health problems, says Gillian Collier, regional child criminal exploitation lead for drug and alcohol charity We Are With You. But these actions could signal your child is buying drugs online… THEY LEAVE THE ROOM EVERY TIME THEIR PHONE PINGS IF your teen starts using the phone less in your presence, it could be a sign they are hiding something from you. Watch out for them leaving the room as soon as they get a notification. Or they might just turn it onto silent constantly. THEY BECOME VERBALLY ABUSIVE TEENS can go into fight or flight mode when faced with being caught out. They might start shouting, crying or having a tantrum if they feel they're in danger of being discovered with drugs. THEY HAVE A NEW GROUP OF FRIENDS ONE of the main indicators of substance abuse is a new friendship group. Bluebirds fly with bluebirds – those using substances usually hang around with each other. They might also leave people they have been pals with for years. THEY'VE STARTED TO DRESS DIFFERENTLY YOU may see your teen trying to fit in, especially if they've started hanging out with new people who use drugs. One minute they're in Levis with long hair, and the next they're in tracksuit bottoms with cropped hair – as that's what their new group wears. THEY'RE DISAPPEARING MORE AND MORE THEY could be leaving the house and not coming home for a few hours. They might want to stay out longer to wait for the effect of the drugs to wear off. Do they smell different? Have their eyes changed? Look at behaviour when they return. THERE'S A CHANGE IN THEIR APPETITE THERE are many reasons why young people might experience a change in appetite, including mental health issues. And different substances can have different effects. For instance, cannabis users might get hungrier, while cocaine and amphetamines can make you lose your appetite. 'Georgia took those pills blindly, she didn't have a clue what she was doing or about safety. 'Worryingly you can buy two pills of ecstasy for a fiver from a ruthless dealer who just wants to offload his stock and you don't have a clue what's really in it. 'Being at a festival is a perfect storm, you feel like you're almost in a different world, there are distractions, other people on drugs, you let your defences down.' With festival season once more approaching Janine is worried about other people falling victim to drugs. She says: 'I get so frustrated, there are so many things that could be put in place, bag searches need to be far more rigorous, there should be drug testing so young people at least know what they're getting, there should be more security and less people allowed in – many are getting bigger every year. I will never be the same person, and above all I have such a fierce longing to see her again Janine Milburn 'And this year I'm sure there will be more deaths, more parents joining the club that no one wants to be in – I always reach out to them when it inevitably happens.' Janine says that, while her family has celebrated happy occasions since Georgia's death, moving on has been near impossible. She explains: 'Georgia's death was devastating, I still grieve for her every day, Danielle has two sons now – they both have George for their middle name – it's agonising that they'll never know their aunt. 'And even such happy occasions as having a grandchild are tinged with grief, because I so want Georgia to be there and part of them. 'The dress she was supposed to wear for the next day of the festival still hangs in her wardrobe. 'I still wear her outdoor coat and I wear the Pandora bracelet I gave her for her 18th, it was supposed to be filled with charms, one for every birthday instead it's just got the first one we bought – an amethyst. 'I will never be the same person, and above all I have such a fierce longing to see her again. 'That's why I have to talk about her, even if I just stop one other person from taking drugs and save one other mother from feeling this pain, then it's worth it.' You can find out more about Janine's work at Georgia Jones Don't Go with the Flo.
