Onake Obavva
- November 11, 2021
- Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
- Category: DPN Topics
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Onake Obavva
Subject – History
Context – Karnataka’s celebration of her bravery
Concept –
- From this year, the Karnataka government has decided to celebrate ‘Onake Obavva Jayanti’ on November 11 throughout the state
- She was a woman warrior who fought the forces of Hyder Ali single-handedly with a pestle (‘onake’ in Kannada) in Chitradurga in the 18th century.
- Onake Obavva died fighting the troops of Hyder Ali, a ruler of the Mysore Kingdom and father of Tipu Sultan, when he invaded the Chitradurga Fort, which was ruled by Madakari Nayaka in the 18th century.
- Chitradurga Fort, locally known as Elusuttina Kote, (the fort of seven circles in Kannada), is situated in Chitradurga, 200 km northwest of Bengaluru.
- The hole through which Hyder Ali’s soldiers entered is called ‘Onake Obavvana Kindi’ (kindi means hole in Kannada) and has become a tourist spot along with the Chitradurga Fort.
- Inspired by Onake Obavva, in 2018, the Chitradurga police started ‘Obavva Pade’, a squad of women police constables to protect and educate women in the district.
Other women warriors of Karnataka
- Abbakka Rani (first Tuluva Queen of Ullal in coastal Karnataka who fought the Portuguese),
- Keladi Chennamma (the queen of the Keladi Kingdom who is known for fighting against Mughal emperor Aurangzeb), and
- Kittur Chennamma (Queen of Kittur known for the 1824 revolt against the British East India Company).