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Legends from the
South:
Veerapandiya Kattabomman |
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| The struggle for freedom from the British,
saw the emergence of many patriots who fought, made sacrifices
and even lost their lives defending the country. Exhibiting
great courage, Tamils were among those who sowed the seeds for
the freedom movement. One such pioneer was Veerapandiya Kattabomman. |
| Eighteen kilometres north west of Tirunelveli
lies the hamlet of Panchalankurichi, a place of historical significance.
The chieftains ruling Panchalankurichi put up stiff resistance
against the British East India Company, between 1798 and 1801. |
| Veerapandiya Kattabomman was a fearless chieftain
who refused to bow down to the demands of the British for agricultural
tax on native land, a brave warrior who laid down his life for
his motherland. The fight he launched in Panchalankurichi has
been hailed as the inspiration behind the first battle of independence
of 1857, which the British called the Sepoy Mutiny. |
| Azhagiya Veerapandiapuram (Ottapidaram of
today) was ruled by Jagaveera Pandiyan. He had a minister Bommu
who had migrated from Andhra Pradesh to Tamil Nadu who was a
brave warrior. He was known as Gettibommu in Telugu to describe
his strength and fighting qualities. This, over a period of
time, became Kattabomman in Tamil. Kattabomman ascended the
throne after Jagaveera Pandiyan, who had no issue, and later
came to be known as Adi Kattabomman, the first of the clan of
Kattabomman. |
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| Legend has it that during a hunting trip into the
forests of Salikulam (close to Azhagiya Pandiyapuram) Kattabomman
watched the spectacle of a hare chasing seven hounds. Kattabomman
was amazed at this miracle. Believing that the land possessed great
powers that could instil courage in people, he built his fort there
and named it Panchalankurichi. |
| Born in this clan of Adi Kattabomman was Veerapandiyan
on January 3, 1760 – the 47th king of Panchalankurichi –
to Jagaveera Kattabomman and Arumugathammal. He had two younger brothers
Dalavai Kumarasami and Duraisingam. Veerapandiyan was fondly called
‘Karuthaiah’ (the black prince), and Dalavai Kumarasami,
‘Sivathaiah’ (the white prince). Duraisingam, a good orator,
earned the sobriquet ‘Oomaidurai’, which actually meant
the very opposite – the dumb prince. |
| On February 2, 1790, Veerapandiyan, thirty, became
the king of Panchalankurichi. The Nawab of Arcot who had borrowed
huge sums of money from the East India Company gave them the right
to collect taxes and levies from the southern region in lieu of the
money he had borrowed. The East India Company took advantage of the
situation and plundered all the wealth of the people in the name of
tax collection. All the ‘poligars’ paid taxes except Veerapandiyan. |
| Kattabomman refused to pay his dues and for a long
time refused to meet Jackson the Collector of the East India Company.
Finally, he met Jackson at ‘Ramalinga Vilasam’, the palace
of Sethupathi of Ramanathapuram. The meeting ended in a skirmish in
which the Deputy Commandant of the Company’s forces, Clarke
was slain. Kattabomman and his men fought their way to freedom and
safety, but Thanapathi Pillai, Kattabomman’s secretary was taken
prisoner. |
| The Commission of Enquiry that went into the incident
fixed the blame on Jackson and relieved him of his post, thinking
the Company’s plan to take over the entire country gradually
could be marred by Jackson’s fight with Veerapandiya Kattabomman.
The new Collector of Tirunelveli wrote to Kattabomman calling him
for a meeting on 16th March, 1799. Kattabomman wrote back citing the
extreme drought conditions for the delay in the payment of dues and
also demanded that all that was robbed off him at Ramanathapuram be
restored to him. The Collector wanted the ruling house of Sethupathis
to prevent Kattabomman from aligning himself with the enemies of the
Company and decided to attack Kattabomman. |
| Kattabomman refused to meet the Collector and a
fight broke out. Under Major Bannerman, the army stood at all the
four entrances of Panchalankurichi’s fort. At the southern end,
Lieutenant Collins was on the attack. When the fort’s southern
doors opened, he was killed by Kattabomman’s warriors. |
| After suffering heavy losses, the English decided
to wait for reinforcements from Palayamkottai. Sensing that his fort
could not survive a barrage from heavy cannons, Kattabomman left the
fort that night. |
| A price was set on Kattabomman’s head. Thanapathi
Pillai and 16 others were taken prisoners. Thanapathi Pillai was executed
and his head perched on a bamboo pole was displayed at Panchalankurichi.
Veerapandiya Kattabomman stayed at Kolarpatti at Rajagopala Naicker’s
house where the forces surrounded the house. |
| Kattabomman and his aides fled from there and took
refuge in the Thirukalambur forests close to Pudukkottai. Bannerman
ordered the ruler of Pudukkottai to arrest Kattabomman. Accordingly,
Kattabomman was captured and on October 16, 1799 the case was taken
up (nearly three weeks after his arrest near Pudukkottai). After a
summary trial, Kattabomman was hanged unceremoniously on a tamarind
tree. The fort of Panchalankurichi was razed to the ground and all
of Kattabomman’s wealth was looted by the English soldiers. |
| A fort constructed by the Tamil Nadu Government
at Panchalankurichi in 1972 stands as a monument to this great hero
from the south who played a pivotal role in the freedom movement of
our country. |
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