Indian conflict between the British East India Company and Polygars
The
Polygar Wars
or
Palaiyakkarar Wars
were wars fought between the
Polygars
(
Palaiyakkarars
) of the former
Tirunelveli
Kingdom in
Tamil Nadu
,
India
and the
British East India Company
forces between March 1799 to May 1802 or July 1805. The British finally won after carrying out gruelling protracted
jungle
campaigns against the Polygar armies. Many people died on both sides and the victory over the Polygars brought large parts of the territories of Tamil Nadu under British control, enabling them to get a strong hold in Southern India.
First Polygar War
[
edit
]
The Polygar Wars were a series of wars fought by a coalition of
Palaiyakkarar's
against the British between 1750 and 1805. The war between the British PULITHEVAR is often classified as the First Polygar war (1752 to 1767). The war between the British and
Kattabomman
Nayak of
Panchalankurichi
Palayam in the then
Tirunelveli
region is the second Polygar war in history.
[
citation needed
]
In 1799, a brief meeting (over pending taxes) between Kattabomman and the British ended in a bloody encounter in which the British commander of the forces was slain by the former. A price was put on Kattabomman's head prompting many Polygars to an open rebellion.
After a series of battles in the
Panchalankurichi fort
with additional reinforcements from
Tiruchirapalli
, Kattabomman was defeated, but he escaped to the jungles in
Pudukottai
country. He was captured by the British with the help of
Ettappan
,
Pudukottai
Raja after his backroom agreement with the British. After a summary trial, Kattabomman was hanged in front of the public in order to intimidate them in
Kayatharu
.
Subramania Pillai, a close associate of Kattabomman, was also publicly hanged and his head was fixed on a pike at Panchalankurichi for public view. Soundra Pandian, another rebel leader, was brutally killed by having his head smashed against a village wall. Kattabomman's brother
Oomaidurai
was imprisoned in
Palayamkottai Central Prison
while the fort was razed to the ground and wealth looted by the troops.
Second Polygar War
[
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]
Despite the suppression of the First Polygar War in 1799, a rebellion broke out again in 1800. The Second Polygar War was more stealthy and covert in nature. The rebellion broke out when a band of Palayakkarar armies bombed the British barracks in
Coimbatore
. In the war that followed,
Oomaithurai
allied himself with
Maruthu Pandiyar
and was part of a grand alliance against the company which included
Kerala Varma Pazhassi Raja
of Malabar.
The Palayakarrars had artillery and a weapon manufacturing unit in
Salem
and
Dindigul
jungles. They also received clandestine training from the
French
in the
Karur
region.
[1]
Dheeran Chinnamalai Gounder
headed the western Tamil Nadu popularly known as Kongu Nadu. The British columns were exposed throughout the operations to constant harassing attacks and had usually to cut their way through almost impenetrable jungles fired on from undercover on all sides. The Polygars resisted stubbornly and the storming of their hill-forts proved on several occasions sanguinary (involving or causing much bloodshed) work.
The British finally won after a long expensive campaign that took more than a year. The Company forces led by Lt. Colonel Agnew laid siege to the
Panchalankurichi
fort and captured it in May 1801 after a prolonged siege and artillery bombardment. Oomaithurai escaped the fall of the fort and joined Maruthu brothers at their jungle fort at Kalayar Kovil. The Company forces pursued him there and eventually captured Kalayar Kovil in October 1801. Oomaithurai and the Maruthu brothers were hanged on 16 November 1801 at Tiruppathur (Sivagangai Dist.).
Results
[
edit
]
The suppression of the
Polygar
rebellions of 1799 and 1800-1805 resulted in the liquidation of the influence of the chieftains. Under the terms of the
Carnatic Treaty
(31 July 1801), the British assumed direct control over
Tamil Nadu
. The Polygar system which had flourished for two and a half centuries came to a violent end and the company introduced a
Zamindari
settlement in its place.
[
citation needed
]
Later day folklore
[
edit
]
In subsequent years, legend and folklore developed around Alagu muthu kone, Dheeran Chinnamalai, Kattabomman and Maruthu Pandiyar.
[
citation needed
]
See also
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]
Notes
[
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]
References
[
edit
]
- Dirk, Nicholas
(1988),
The Hollow Crown: Ethnohistory of an Indian Kingdom
, pp. 19?24,
ISBN
978-0-521-05372-3
- Francis, W. (1989),
Gazetteer of South India
, vol. 1, Mittal Publications, p.
261
Further reading
[
edit
]
https://www.livehistoryindia.com/story/people/the-polygar-heroes-of-tamil-nadu
- N. Rajendran, National Movement in Tamil Nadu, 1905-1914 - Agitational Politics and State Coercion, Madras Oxford University Press.
- M.P. Manivel, 2003 - Viduthalaipporil Virupachi Gopal Naickar (Tamil Language), New Century Book House, Chennai
- Prof. K.Rajayyan M.A., M.Litt, A.M. Ph.D., A History of Freedom Struggle in India
- Prof. K.Rajayyan M.A., M.Litt, A.M. Ph.D., South Indian Rebellion - The First War of Independence (1800?1801)
- Welsh, James
(1830).
"Poligar War"
.
Military Reminiscences: Extracted from a Journal of Nearly Forty Years' Active Service in the East Indies
. Vol. 1 (Two volume, 2nd ed.). Smith, Elder, and Company. pp.
81
?135.
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