After defeating the French and theirIndian allies in the three Carnatic Wars, the
East India Company began to consolidateand extend its power and influence. However,local kings and feudal chieftains resisted this.The first resistance to East India Company’sterritorial aggrandisement was from PuliThevar of Nerkattumseval in the Tirunelveliregion. This was followed by other chieftainsin the Tamil country such as Velunachiyar,Veerapandiya Kattabomman, the Marudhubrothers, and Dheeran Chinnamalai. Knownas the Palayakkarars Wars, the culmination ofwhich was Vellore Revolt of 1806, this earlyresistance to British rule in Tamilnadu is dealt
with in this lesson. The organized resistance of thepalayakkarars under Puli Thevar gave anopportunity to the English to interfere directlyin the affairs of Tirunelveli. Aided by theRaja of Travancore, from 1756 to 1763, thepalyakkarars of Tirunelveli led by Puli Thevarwere in a constant state of rebellion against theNawab’s authority. Yusuf Khan (also knownas Khan Sahib or, before his conversion toIslam, Marudhanayagam) who had beensent by the Company was not prepared toattack Puli Thevar unless the big guns andammunition from Tiruchirappalli arrived.
As the English were at war with the French,as well as with Hyder Ali and Marathas, theartillery arrived only in September 1760. YusufKhan began to batter the Nerkattumsevalfort and this attack continued for about twomonths. On 16 May 1761 Puli Thevar’s threemajor forts (Nerkattumseval, Vasudevanallur
and Panayur) came under the control ofYusuf Khan.
During her period in hiding, Velunachiyarorganised an army and succeeded in securingan alliance with not only Gopala Nayakarbut Hyder Ali as well. Dalavay (militarychief) Thandavarayanar wrote a letter toSultan Hyder Ali on behalf of Velunachiyarasking for 5000 infantry and 5000 cavalry todefeat the English. Velunachiyar explainedin detail in Urdu all the problems she hadwith East India Company. She conveyed herstrong determination to fight the English.Impressed by her courage, Hyder Ali orderedhis Commandant Syed in Dindigul fort toprovide the required military assistanceOn his return to Panchalamkurichi,
Kattabomman represented to the MadrasCouncil about how he was ill-treated by
the collector Jackson. The Council askedKattabomman to appear before a committeewith William Brown, William Oram andJohn Casamajor as members. Meanwhile,Governor Edward Clive, ordered the releaseof Sivasubramanianar and the suspension ofthe Collector Jackson. Kattabomman appearedbefore the Committee that sat on 15 December1798 and reported on what transpired in
Ramanathapuram. The Committee foundKattabomman was not guilty. Jackson was
dismissed from service and a new Collector S.R.Lushington appointed. Kattabomman clearedalmost all the revenue arrears leaving only abalance of 1080 pagodas.
In May 1799, Lord Wellesley issued ordersfrom Madras for the advance of forces fromTiruchirappalli, Thanjavur and Madurai toTirunelveli. Major Bannerman commanded thetroops. The Travancore troops too joined theBritish. On 1 September 1799, an ultimatumwas served on Kattabomman to surrender.
Kattabomman’s “evasive reply” promptedBannerman to attack his fort. Bannerman
moved his entire army to Panchalamkurichi on 5September. They cut off all the communicationsto the fort. Bannerman deputed Ramalinganar
toconveymessageaskingKattabommantosurrender.Kattabommanrefused.Ramalinganar gathered all the secrets of theFort, and on the basis of his report, Bannerman
decided the strategy of the operation. In a clashat Kallarpatti, Sivasubramanianar was taken aprisoner.Despite the suppression of Kattabomman’srevolt in 1799, rebellion broke out again in 1800.In the British records it is referred to as the
Second Palayakarar War. It was directed by aconfederacy consisting of Marudhu Pandyan ofSivagangai, Gopala Nayak of Dindugal, KeralaVerma of Malabar and Krishnappa Nayakand Dhoondaji of Mysore. In April 1800 they
meet at Virupachi and decided to organise anuprising against the Company. The uprising,which broke out in Coimbatore in June 1800,soon spread to Ramanathapuram and Madurai.The Company got wind of it and declared war
on Krishnappa Nayak of Mysore, Kerala Varmaof Malabar and others. The Palayakars ofCoimbatore, Sathyamangalam and Tarapuramwere caught and hanged.
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