Polygar War
Encyclopedia
Polygar War or Palayakarar Wars refers to the wars fought between the Polygars (Palayakarrars) of former Madurai
Kingdom in Tamil Nadu
, India
and the British East India Company
forces between March 1799 to May 1802. The British finally won after carrying out long and difficult protracted jungle
campaigns against the Polygar armies and finally defeated them. Many lives were lost on both sides and the victory over Polygars made large part of territories of Tamil Nadu coming under British control enabling them to get a strong hold in India.
Palayam in the then Tirunelveli
region is often classified as the First Polygar war. 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 Thiruchirapalli Kattabomman was defeated, but he escaped to the jungles in Pudukottai country. Here he was captured by Pudukottai Raja (after an agreement with the British) and after a summary trial Kattabomman was hanged in front of the public in order to intimidate them, near Kayattar Fort, close to the town of Kovilpatti and in front of fellow Polygars too who had been summoned to witness the execution.
Subramania Pillai, a close associate of Kattabomman Nayak, was also publicly hanged and his head was fixed on a pike at Panchalankurichi for public view. Soundra Pandian Nayak, another rebel leader, was brutally done to death by having his head smashed against a village wall. Kattabomman’s brother Oomaidurai was imprisoned in Palayankottai prison while the fort was razed to the ground and his wealth looted by the troops.
in 1800. The leaders were more cohesive and united with people from Kerala
and Mysore taking part. The Second Polygar War marked the joining of the entire western Tamil Nadu
with the Malabar and south Mysore regions (which was under British dominion after the death of Tipu Sultan
). It was commandeered by the Kongu Chieftain Theeran Chinnamalai, with a vast army under him. He settled down at Odanilai and constructed a fort there to continue his fight against the British whom he defeated in battles at Cauvery in 1801, Odanilai in 1802 and Arachalur
in 1804. Later, Theeran Chinnamalai left his fort to avoid cannon attack and engaged in guerrilla warfare while he was stationed at Karumalai in the Palani region. He was betrayed by his cook and captured by the British who hanged him at Sankagiri Fort on July 31, 1805.
The Other Palayakarar army initially made surprise attacks at night on the British barracks
causing heavy damage but went into a full scale war after the death of Tipu Sultan. The war, often classified as guerilla warfare in nature, made it very difficult for the British troops to suppress.
The Palayakarrars were all in control of their forts, had artillery and even had a weapon manufacturing unit in Salem
and Dindigul
jungles. They also received clandestine training from the French
in the Karur
region.
The confederacy of the new forces consisted of Maruthu Pandiyar
Brothers of Sivaganga
, Gopal Nayak of Dindigul, Kerala Varma Pazhassi Raja of Malabar and Krishnappa Nayak and Dhoondaji of Mysore.
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 often had artillery and resisted stubbornly and the storming of their hill-forts proved on several occasions sanguinary work.
By May 1801, it had reached the Southern provinces where Marudu Pandian, Melappan and Puttur provided the leadership. Oomathurai, the brother of Kattabomman Nayak emerged as a key leader. In February 1801, Oomathurai and two hundred men by a clever tactic took control of Panchalankurichi Fort, in which Oomathurai's relatives were imprisoned. Its fort now re-occupied and reconstructed by rebel forces Panchalamkurichi became the nerve centre of the uprising.
British dismay was boundless. As one eyewitness put it: 'to our utter astonishment, we discovered that the walls which had been entirely levelled were now rebuilt and fully manned by about fifteen hundred Poligars'.
Three thousand armed men of Madurai
and Ramanathapuram
dispatched by Marudu Pandiyan Brothers joined up with the Panchalankurichi
forces.
of Mysore quickly asserted itself. The British had better artillery compared to the Polygar troops who had country-made gunfire artillery, barring a few proper ones received from erstwhile Tipu Sultan's army. The war being regional in nature, the British forces could easily mobilize additional forces from other regions.
Eventually the Polygar forces based at Panchalankurichi
were crushed and by the orders of the colonial government, the site of the captured Panchalankurichi Fort was ploughed up and sowed with salt and castor oil
so that it should never again be inhabited.
The colonial forces quickly overpowered the remaining insurgents. The Marudu brothers and their sons were put to death, while Oomathurai and Sevathaiah were beheaded at Panchalankurichi on 16 November 1801. Seventy-three of the principal rebels were sentenced to perpetual banishment. So savage and extensive was the death and destruction wrought by the British that the entire region was left in a state of terror.
(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.
and his two brothers,hanged in Odanali on Aadi 18, and also around Kattabomman and the Maruthu Pandiyar
Brothers. Long after Kattabomman's execution, Kayathar, Kattabomman's place of death, became and remained a site of political pilgrimage.
Madurai
Madurai is the third largest city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. It served as the capital city of the Pandyan Kingdom. It is the administrative headquarters of Madurai District and is famous for its temples built by Pandyan and...
Kingdom in Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and the British East India Company
British East India Company
The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...
forces between March 1799 to May 1802. The British finally won after carrying out long and difficult protracted jungle
Jungle
A Jungle is an area of land in the tropics overgrown with dense vegetation.The word jungle originates from the Sanskrit word jangala which referred to uncultivated land. Although the Sanskrit word refers to "dry land", it has been suggested that an Anglo-Indian interpretation led to its...
campaigns against the Polygar armies and finally defeated them. Many lives were lost on both sides and the victory over Polygars made large part of territories of Tamil Nadu coming under British control enabling them to get a strong hold in India.
First Polygar War 1799
The war between the British and Kattabomman Nayak of PanchalankurichiPanchalankurichi
Panchalankurichi is a small but historic village, 3 km from Ottapidaram and 18 km from Thoothukudi in Thoothukudi district, Tamil Nadu, India. Panchalankurichi was once a Palayam and is best known as the birth place of Veerapandiya Kattabomman, a 17th century Palayakarrar , who opposed the British...
Palayam in the then Tirunelveli
Tirunelveli
Tirunelveli , also known as Nellai , and historically as Tinnevelly, is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the headquarters of the Tirunelveli District and the sixth biggest city in Tamil Nadu...
region is often classified as the First Polygar war. 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 Thiruchirapalli Kattabomman was defeated, but he escaped to the jungles in Pudukottai country. Here he was captured by Pudukottai Raja (after an agreement with the British) and after a summary trial Kattabomman was hanged in front of the public in order to intimidate them, near Kayattar Fort, close to the town of Kovilpatti and in front of fellow Polygars too who had been summoned to witness the execution.
Subramania Pillai, a close associate of Kattabomman Nayak, was also publicly hanged and his head was fixed on a pike at Panchalankurichi for public view. Soundra Pandian Nayak, another rebel leader, was brutally done to death by having his head smashed against a village wall. Kattabomman’s brother Oomaidurai was imprisoned in Palayankottai prison while the fort was razed to the ground and his wealth looted by the troops.
Second Polygar War 1800-1805
Despite the suppression of the First Polygar War in 1799, rebellion broke out again in 1800. The Second war was more stealthy and covert in nature. The rebellion broke out when a band of Polygar armies bombed the British barracks in CoimbatoreCoimbatore
Coimbatore , also known as Kovai , is the second largest city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is a major commercial centre in Tamil Nadu and is known as the "Manchester of South India"....
in 1800. The leaders were more cohesive and united with people from Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
and Mysore taking part. The Second Polygar War marked the joining of the entire western Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...
with the Malabar and south Mysore regions (which was under British dominion after the death of Tipu Sultan
Tipu Sultan
Tipu Sultan , also known as the Tiger of Mysore, was the de facto ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore. He was the son of Hyder Ali, at that time an officer in the Mysorean army, and his second wife, Fatima or Fakhr-un-Nissa...
). It was commandeered by the Kongu Chieftain Theeran Chinnamalai, with a vast army under him. He settled down at Odanilai and constructed a fort there to continue his fight against the British whom he defeated in battles at Cauvery in 1801, Odanilai in 1802 and Arachalur
Arachalur
Arachalur is a panchayat town in Erode district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. It is located 25 miles from Erode. Good villages - Elevanatham is the first good village in the list.Its nearbye of 8 km from arachalur.:Demographics...
in 1804. Later, Theeran Chinnamalai left his fort to avoid cannon attack and engaged in guerrilla warfare while he was stationed at Karumalai in the Palani region. He was betrayed by his cook and captured by the British who hanged him at Sankagiri Fort on July 31, 1805.
The Other Palayakarar army initially made surprise attacks at night on the British barracks
Barracks
Barracks are specialised buildings for permanent military accommodation; the word may apply to separate housing blocks or to complete complexes. Their main object is to separate soldiers from the civilian population and reinforce discipline, training and esprit de corps. They were sometimes called...
causing heavy damage but went into a full scale war after the death of Tipu Sultan. The war, often classified as guerilla warfare in nature, made it very difficult for the British troops to suppress.
The Palayakarrars were all in control of their forts, had artillery and even had a weapon manufacturing unit in Salem
Salem District
Salem District is a district of Tamil Nadu state in southern India. The city of Salem is the district headquarters. Other major towns in the district are Mettur, Omalur and Attur...
and Dindigul
Dindigul
Dindigul is a town and municipality in the Tamil Nadu state of southern India. The name Dindigul comes from the Portmanteau of “Thindu” meaning pillow and “kal” meaning Rock and refers to the bare hill dominating the city’s both land and skyscape...
jungles. They also received clandestine training from the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
in the Karur
Karur
Karur is a large town and a municipality in Karur district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu situated on the banks of Amaravati. Karur district was formed on 30 September 1995 by trifurcating Tiruchirappalli district. It is the administrative headquarters of Karur District. Karur has a very long...
region.
The confederacy of the new forces consisted of Maruthu Pandiyar
Maruthu Pandiyar
The Marudhu Pandiyar brothers ruled Sivagangai, Tamil Nadu towards the end of the 18th century...
Brothers of Sivaganga
Sivaganga
Sivaganga, also known as Sivagangai, is a town and a municipality in Sivaganga district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the administrative headquarters of Sivaganga district.-Geography:...
, Gopal Nayak of Dindigul, Kerala Varma Pazhassi Raja of Malabar and Krishnappa Nayak and Dhoondaji of Mysore.
The British
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....
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 often had artillery and resisted stubbornly and the storming of their hill-forts proved on several occasions sanguinary work.
By May 1801, it had reached the Southern provinces where Marudu Pandian, Melappan and Puttur provided the leadership. Oomathurai, the brother of Kattabomman Nayak emerged as a key leader. In February 1801, Oomathurai and two hundred men by a clever tactic took control of Panchalankurichi Fort, in which Oomathurai's relatives were imprisoned. Its fort now re-occupied and reconstructed by rebel forces Panchalamkurichi became the nerve centre of the uprising.
British dismay was boundless. As one eyewitness put it: 'to our utter astonishment, we discovered that the walls which had been entirely levelled were now rebuilt and fully manned by about fifteen hundred Poligars'.
Three thousand armed men of Madurai
Madurai
Madurai is the third largest city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. It served as the capital city of the Pandyan Kingdom. It is the administrative headquarters of Madurai District and is famous for its temples built by Pandyan and...
and Ramanathapuram
Ramanathapuram
Ramanathapuram , also known as Ramnad, is a city and a municipality in Ramanathapuram district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the administrative headquarters of Ramanathapuram district.-Tourism:...
dispatched by Marudu Pandiyan Brothers joined up with the Panchalankurichi
Panchalankurichi
Panchalankurichi is a small but historic village, 3 km from Ottapidaram and 18 km from Thoothukudi in Thoothukudi district, Tamil Nadu, India. Panchalankurichi was once a Palayam and is best known as the birth place of Veerapandiya Kattabomman, a 17th century Palayakarrar , who opposed the British...
forces.
Defeat
The British finally won after a long expensive campaign that took more than a year. However, the superior British military who had recently defeated the powerful Tipu SultanTipu Sultan
Tipu Sultan , also known as the Tiger of Mysore, was the de facto ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore. He was the son of Hyder Ali, at that time an officer in the Mysorean army, and his second wife, Fatima or Fakhr-un-Nissa...
of Mysore quickly asserted itself. The British had better artillery compared to the Polygar troops who had country-made gunfire artillery, barring a few proper ones received from erstwhile Tipu Sultan's army. The war being regional in nature, the British forces could easily mobilize additional forces from other regions.
Eventually the Polygar forces based at Panchalankurichi
Panchalankurichi
Panchalankurichi is a small but historic village, 3 km from Ottapidaram and 18 km from Thoothukudi in Thoothukudi district, Tamil Nadu, India. Panchalankurichi was once a Palayam and is best known as the birth place of Veerapandiya Kattabomman, a 17th century Palayakarrar , who opposed the British...
were crushed and by the orders of the colonial government, the site of the captured Panchalankurichi Fort was ploughed up and sowed with salt and castor oil
Castor oil
Castor oil is a vegetable oil obtained from the castor bean . Castor oil is a colorless to very pale yellow liquid with mild or no odor or taste. Its boiling point is and its density is 961 kg/m3...
so that it should never again be inhabited.
The colonial forces quickly overpowered the remaining insurgents. The Marudu brothers and their sons were put to death, while Oomathurai and Sevathaiah were beheaded at Panchalankurichi on 16 November 1801. Seventy-three of the principal rebels were sentenced to perpetual banishment. So savage and extensive was the death and destruction wrought by the British that the entire region was left in a state of terror.
Results
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 TreatyCarnatic Treaty
The Carnatic Treaty was signed on July 31, 1801. Based on the terms of the treaty, the Nawab of Arcot ceded all his lands to British rule, including the territory of the polygars. He was paid two hundred rupees in exchange....
(31 July 1801), the British assumed direct control over Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...
. 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.
Later day folklore
In subsequent years, a good deal of legend and folklore would develop around Dheeran ChinnamalaiDheeran Chinnamalai
Dheeran Chinnamalai was a Kongu chieftain and Palayakkarar from Tamil Nadu who rose up in revolt against the British East India Company in the Kongu Nadu, Southern India...
and his two brothers,hanged in Odanali on Aadi 18, and also around Kattabomman and the Maruthu Pandiyar
Maruthu Pandiyar
The Marudhu Pandiyar brothers ruled Sivagangai, Tamil Nadu towards the end of the 18th century...
Brothers. Long after Kattabomman's execution, Kayathar, Kattabomman's place of death, became and remained a site of political pilgrimage.
See also
- Indian rebellion of 1857Indian Rebellion of 1857The Indian Rebellion of 1857 began as a mutiny of sepoys of the British East India Company's army on 10 May 1857, in the town of Meerut, and soon escalated into other mutinies and civilian rebellions largely in the upper Gangetic plain and central India, with the major hostilities confined to...
- Veerapandiya KattabommanVeerapandiya KattabommanVeerapandiya Kattabomman also known as Kattabomman was an 18th century Palayakarrar chieftain from Panchalankurichi of Tamil Nadu, India and the 47th King of Panchalankurichi who fought the British. His ancestors migrated to Tamil Nadu from areas in present day Andhra Pradesh during the...
- Dheeran ChinnamalaiDheeran ChinnamalaiDheeran Chinnamalai was a Kongu chieftain and Palayakkarar from Tamil Nadu who rose up in revolt against the British East India Company in the Kongu Nadu, Southern India...
- Maruthu PandiyarMaruthu PandiyarThe Marudhu Pandiyar brothers ruled Sivagangai, Tamil Nadu towards the end of the 18th century...
- Veeran SundaralingamVeeran SundaralingamSundaralinga Kudumbanar , also known as "Veeran" Sundaralingam , was an 18th century CE general from Tamil Nadu, India. He was born in Gavarnagiri village in Tuticorin district. He was a general of the Poligar Veerapandiya Kattabomman in his fight against the British East India Company. He belonged...
- OomaithuraiOomaithuraiOomathurai , died 16 November 1801) was an Indian Poligar from Tamil Nadu, who fought against the British East India Company in the Polygar Wars. He was the younger brother of Veerapandiya Kattabomman.-Biography:...
- Rani Velu NachiarRani Velu NachiarRani Velu Nachiyar was an 18th century Indian Queen from Sivaganga. Rani Velu Nachiyar is the first Queen of Tamil Origin to fight against the British in India. -Her life:...
- Tipu sultanTipu SultanTipu Sultan , also known as the Tiger of Mysore, was the de facto ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore. He was the son of Hyder Ali, at that time an officer in the Mysorean army, and his second wife, Fatima or Fakhr-un-Nissa...
- Hyder AliHyder AliHyder Ali was the de facto ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore in southern India. Born Hyder Naik, he distinguished himself militarily, eventually drawing the attention of Mysore's rulers...