Tamils & the many wars of Independence: pre-1857

Tamils & the many wars of Independence: pre-1857

Subject : History

Section: Modern History

Context:

In his Independence Day speech, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin chronicled the lives of a dozen Tamil freedom fighters, each of whom took on the British in their own Dravidian territories before 1857 — the year that is usually marked as the start of the Indian freedom struggle.

Puli Thevar

• Stalin began with the story of PuliThevar, who ruled Nerkattumseval, near Tenkasi in southern Tamil Nadu, and who, in 1755, told the East India Company that “not even a grain can be paid as tax”.

‘Maaveeran (Great Warrior)’ Marudhanayagam

• Another historical character Stalin spoke about was ‘Maaveeran (Great Warrior)’ Marudhanayagam, a 17th-century warrior who emerged as a commander of sepoys under the British, served as the ‘governor’ of Madurai and even defeated Hyder Ali in a battle.
• In 1764, Marudhanayagam, from Panaiyur adjacent to Sivagangai, took on the British in a spirited battle and was killed in 1764 after he refused to surrender.

Kattabomman

• Kattabomman, an 18th-century king of Panchalankurichi in Tamil Nadu, is a household name in the state, someone whose daring resistance to the East India Company is often invoked to arouse Tamil pride.
• In 1799, Kattabomman was hanged to death for waging a war against the British. In his speech, Stalin had quoted Kattabomman, who famously said, “Ask me to donate, I will. Ask me to pay tax, I will not.”
• He fought 1^st Poligar war against British in 1799.

Sundaralingam and Vadivu

• Sundaralingam, captain of Kattabomman’s army, and his cousin Vadivu, who had launched a suicide attack on the British.

VeluNachiyar

• The first Indian queen who fought the British
• She mobilised a battalion of women to capture Sivagangai from the British.

Kuyili

• VeluNachiyar’s army commander, who set herself ablaze and jumped into the armoury of the East India company — and who is often called the “first woman martyr” in Indian history.

ChinnaMarudhu and PeriyaMarudhu

• They were brothers who faced British cannons with their valaris (a traditional, deadly weapon shaped like a boomerang).

DheeranChinnamalai and Pollan

• DheeranChinnamalai who was sent to the gallows in 1805, and his captain and spy, Pollan, who was shot dead by the British.
• Chinnamalai is one of the commanders in the Polygar Wars, notably during the Second Polygar War that took place in 1801–1802

Vellore mutiny

• The Vellore Mutiny predated the Indian Revolt of 1857 by about 50 years. It erupted on 10^th July 1806 in Vellore, present-day Tamil Nadu, and lasted only for a day, but it was brutal and shook the British East India Company. It was the first major mutiny by the Indian sepoys in the East India Company.
• The immediate causes of the mutiny revolved mainly around resentment felt towards changes in the sepoy dress code, introduced in November 1805. Hindus were prohibited from wearing religious marks on their foreheads while on duty, and Muslims were required to shave their beards and trim their moustaches.