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Kittur Chennamma

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For the 1961 film, seeKittur Chennamma (film).

Kittur Chennamma(14 November 1778 – 21 February 1829) was the Indian Queen ofKittur,a formerprincely statein present-dayKarnataka.She led anarmed resistanceagainst theBritish East India Company,in defiance of theParamountcy,in an attempt to retain control over herdominion.She defeated the Company in the first revolt, but died as aprisoner of warafter the second rebellion. As one of the first and few female rulers to lead kittur forces againstBritish colonisation,she continues to be remembered as afolk heroinein Karnataka, she is also an important symbol of theIndian independence movement.

Kittur Rani Chennamma
Statue of Rani Chennamma inBengaluru
Born
Chennamma

(1778-11-14)14 November 1778
Kakati,Belagavi District,present dayKarnataka,India
Died21 February 1829(1829-02-21)(aged 50)
Bailhongal,Bombay Presidency,Company Raj
NationalityIndian
Other namesRani Chennamma, Kittur Rani Chennamma
Known forRevolt against the BritishEast India Company
Royal standard of Kittur Chennamma, atKittur Fort

Early life

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Kittur Chennamma was born on 14 November 1778, in Kakati, a small village in the presentBelagavi Districtof Karnataka, India. Kakati was a small deshgat (a small princely state). Chennamma's father was Dhulappa Desai and her mother's name was Padmavati. She belonged to theLingayatcommunity and received training in horse riding, sword fighting and archery from a young age. She married Raja Mallasarja of theDesaifamily at the age of 15, after looking up to him since the age of 9,[1][2]

Conflict against the British

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Chennamma's husband died in 1816, leaving her with a son and a state full of volatility. This was followed by her son's death in 1824. Rani Chennamma was left with the state of Kittur and an uphill task to maintain its independence from the British. Following the death of her husband and son, Rani Chennamma adopted Shivalingappa in the year 1824 and made him heir to the throne. This irked the East India Company, who ordered Shivalingappa's expulsion. The state of Kittur came under the administration ofDharwadcollectorate in charge ofSt John Thackerayof which Mr Chaplain was the commissioner, both of whom did not recognize the new rule of theregent,and notified Kittur to accept the British control.

This is seen as a predecessor of the laterDoctrine of lapsePolicy introduced later byLord Dalhousie,Governor General of India, to annex independent Indian States from 1848, a doctrine based on the idea that in case the ruler of an independent state died childless, the right of ruling the State reverted or "lapsed" to thesuzerain.

In 1823, Rani Chennamma sent a letter toMountstuart Elphinstone,Lieutenant-Governor of theBombay provincepleading her case, but the request was turned down, and war broke out.[3]The British placed a group of sentries around thetreasuryandcrown jewelsof Kittur, valued at around 1.5 million rupees upon the outbreak of war in order to protect them.[4]They also mustered a force of 20,797 men and 437 guns, mainly from the third troop of Madras Native Horse Artillery in order to fight the war.[5]In the first round of war, during October 1824, British forces lost heavily and St John Thackeray, collector and political agent,[6]was killed in the war.[3]Amatur Balappa, a lieutenant of Chennamma, was mainly responsible for his killing and losses to British forces.[7]Two British officers,Sir Walter Elliotand Mr Stevenson[6]were also taken as hostages.[3]Rani Chennamma released them with an understanding with Chaplain that the war would be terminated but Chaplain continued the war with more forces.[3]During the second assault, subcollector ofSolapur,Munro, nephew ofThomas Munrowas killed.[6]Rani Chennamma fought fiercely with the aid of her deputy,Sangolli Rayanna,but was ultimately captured and imprisoned atBailhongalFort, where she died on 21 February 1829 due to health deterioration.[3]

Sangolli Rayannacontinued the guerrilla war to 1829, in vain, until his capture.[3]Rayanna wanted to install the adopted boy Shivalingappa as the ruler of Kittur, but Rayanna was caught and hanged. Shivalingappa was also arrested by the British.[3]Chennamma's legacy and first victory are still commemorated in Kittur, during the Kittur Utsava held on22–24Octoberevery year.

Books

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  • Khare Khare Kitturu BandayabyM. M. Kalburgi.[8]
  • Kitturu Samsthana Sahitya- Part III byM. M. Kalburgiand Part I, Part II by others.[9]
  • Kitturu Samsthana Dakhalegaluby A.B.Vaggar.[10]
  • Kitturu Rani Chennammaby Sangamesh Tammanagoudar[11]

Memorials

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Burial place

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Rani Chennamma'ssamadhior burial place is in Bailhongal.[12]

Statues

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Parliament House, New Delhi
Statue of Kittur Chenamma nearBelagavitown hall.

On 11September 2007 a statue of Rani Chennamma was unveiled at theIndian Parliament ComplexbyPratibha Patil,the first woman President of India.[13]On the occasion, Prime MinisterManmohan Singh,Home MinisterShivraj Patil,Lok SabhaspeakerSomnath Chatterjee,BJPleaderL. K. Advani,Karnataka Chief MinisterH. D. Kumaraswamyand others were present, marking the importance of the function.[14]The statue was donated by Kittur Rani Chennamma Memorial Committee and sculpted byVijay Gaur.[14]

Others

There are also statues commemorating her atBengaluru,Belagavi,KitturandHubballi.[12]

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Kittur Rani Chennamma on a 1977 stamp of India

References

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  1. ^"Rani Chennamma of Kitturu".pib.nic.in.Retrieved17 April2022.
  2. ^"Rani Kittur Chennamma: India's Valiant Freedom Fighter".pib.nic.in.12 June 2017.Retrieved17 April2022.
  3. ^abcdefgGopalakrishnan, Subramanian (Ed.) (2007).The South Indian rebellions: before and after 1800(1st ed.). Chennai: Palaniappa Brothers. pp. 102–103.ISBN9788183795005.
  4. ^Disturbances at Kittur and the death of Mr. Thackeray.London: Parbury, Allen, and Company. 1825. pp. 474–5.
  5. ^Asiatic Journal Vol.3 (1830).The Occurrences at Kittur in 1824.London: Parbury, Allen, and Co. pp. 218–222.{{cite book}}:CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  6. ^abcO'Malley, Lewis Sydney Steward (1985).Indian civil service, 1601–1930.London: Frank Cass. p. 76.ISBN9780714620237.
  7. ^"Restore Kittur monuments".The Hindu.1 October 2011.Retrieved13 November2012.
  8. ^"ಖರೇ ಖರೇ ಕಿತ್ತೂರು ಬಂಡಾಯ".bookbrahma.Retrieved22 October2022.
  9. ^"ಕಿತ್ತೂರು ಸಂಸ್ಠಾನ ಸಾಹಿತ್ಯ -ಭಾಗ ೩".bookbrahma.Retrieved22 October2022.
  10. ^"ಕಿತ್ತೂರು ಸಂಸ್ಥಾನ ದಾಖಲೆಗಳು".bookbrahma.Retrieved22 October2022.
  11. ^"ಕಿತ್ತೂರು ರಾಣಿ ಚೆನ್ನಮ್ಮ".bookbrahma.Retrieved22 October2022.
  12. ^ab"Kittur Rani Chennamma's samadhi lies in neglect".The Times of India.30 October 2012.Archivedfrom the original on 20 July 2013.Retrieved6 November2012.
  13. ^"Pratibha unveils Kittur Rani Chennamma statue"Archived6 November 2014 at theWayback Machine,news.oneindia.in
  14. ^ab"Kittur Rani statue unveiled".The Hindu.12 September 2007. Archived fromthe originalon 7 January 2008.Retrieved5 November2012.
  15. ^Datta, Amaresh, ed. (1988).Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature: devraj to jyoti, Volume 2.New Dehi: Sahitya Akademi. p. 1293.ISBN9788126011940.
  16. ^"Kittur Chennamma (1962)",imdb
  17. ^Varma, Dinesh M (28 June 2011)."Coast Guard to acquire 20 ships, 10 aircraft".The Hindu.Retrieved13 November2012.
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