Latest revision as of 18:05, 12 December 2024

[edit] A brief profile

Anagha Jayakumar, Oct 30, 2024: The Indian Express

Rani Velu Nachiyar is believed to be among the first Indian queens to fight British rule, while Anjalai Ammal was dubbed “South India’s Rani of Jhansi” by Mahatma Gandhi.

Delivering a political speech for his new party Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (“Tamil Nadu Victory Federation” or TVK), Tamil actor Vijay said the TVK was the first to identify women leaders as its ideological mentors.

Vijay spoke about Rani Velu Nachiyar and Anjalai Ammal at the TVK’s inaugural state-level party conference in Vikravandi on Sunday (October 27). He also invoked the ideas of Periyar E V Ramasamy, K Kamaraj, and B R Ambedkar, with cutouts of the five leaders featuring prominently at the event. Here is what to know about the two women.

Velu Nachiyar, queen who fought British rule

Born in 1730 to King Chellamuthu Sethupathy and Queen Sakandhimuthal of the Ramnad kingdom in present-day Tamil Nadu, Velu Nachiyar was their sole heir. She was raised like a prince and learned horse riding, archery and South Indian martial arts such as kalaripayattu and silambam. The princess was a polyglot and well-versed in military strategy.

In 1746, she married Muthu Vaduganatha Periyavudaya Thevar, acting as a “friend, philosopher and guide” to the prince of Sivagangai. Despite attempts to fortify the kingdom, Sivagangai was invaded in 1772 by the British East India Company, which worked with the son of the Nawab of Arcot. King Muthu Vaduganathar lost his life in the battle.

Velu Nachiyar and her daughter Vellachi fled to safer ground in Dindigul, where they lived under the protection of Mysore Sultan Hyder Ali for eight years. Displaced from her kingdom, the queen plotted her revenge and enlisted the support of Hyder Ali and Gopala Naicker, the leader of the Marudu brothers. The siblings rebelled against the EIC and were later captured and executed.

Naicker was a prominent military commander who supported Velu Nachiyar in her fight against the British. He extended military support, while Hyder Ali helped her train and organise her army in exile. In 1780, Velu Nachiyar fought against the British and reclaimed her kingdom. She ruled for a decade before passing it to her daughter in 1790. She died in 1796.

Today, Velu Nachiyar is regarded as Tamil Nadu’s ‘Veeramangai’ or brave lady, and among the first Indian queens to fight against British colonial power in India. TVK members earlier told The Indian Express that she inspired Vijay’s “grit to fight a formidable enemy”.

Anjalai Ammal, ‘South India’s Rani of Jhansi’

Vijay recognised Anjalai Ammal in his speech for her “selfless contribution during the freedom struggle” and for championing the cause of women in pre-independent India.

She was born in 1890 in Cuddalore, Tamil Nadu, to a family of weavers and became entrenched in activism early in life. After her marriage to Murugappan in 1908, the couple joined the freedom struggle.

In 1921, Anjalai Ammal joined the Non-Cooperation Movement (1919-22), deeply driven by Gandhian principles. This marked the start of a political career that saw her involvement in the Neil Statue Satyagraha — protesting a statue of Colonel James Neil, who had committed atrocities to suppress the 1857 revolt — as well as the Salt Satyagraha (1930) and the Quit India movement (1942). She also presided over the All India Women’s Congress in Madras in 1931.

She courted arrest on multiple occasions for inciting rebellion against the British and gave birth to her youngest son while serving a six-month sentence for protesting the salt laws. Although she was released on bail for her delivery, she was sent back to prison within two weeks of her son’s birth.

The British government barred her from meeting Mahatma Gandhi on his 1934 visit to Cuddalore. However, she wore a burqa and travelled in a horse-drawn carriage to meet him. He is believed to have then called her “South India’s Rani of Jhansi”.

Anjalai Ammal was the first woman to be elected to the Madras legislature, representing the Congress party, and remained politically active until she died in 1961.

[edit] Introduction

CDS Mani , May 17, 2016: The Times of India

Asked to name warrior queens from the country, few would go beyond the Rani Laxmibai of Jhansi, and probably none would be able to name women from south India. Though history may make it seem that the first revolution of Independence in 1857 was an orchestration of north Indian rulers, Lucknow-based researcher Kirti Narain is bringing to the fore contribution of the forgotten heroes.

Narain says the popularly held belief that the revolution of 1857 was concentrated to north and central India was not true. “Southern India also responded to the first movement for Independence.Some of these southern rulers were women,“ says Narain who was in the city recently with her assistant Amina Hasan to delve into the Tamil Nadu government archives. Narain is engaged in a study , on participation of women in the 1857 uprising under the aegis of the Indian Council of Social Science Research and the Giri Institute of Development Studies, Aliganj in Lucknow.

Instead of going by British records, Narain's study has unearthed forgotten Indian writings. Backing her findings, Narain cites examples of powerful women like the 18th century Sivaganga queen Rani Velu Nachiyar, besides Belawadi Mallamma and Kittur Rani Chennamma of Karnataka.

“Rani Velu Nachiyar was the first queen of Tamil origin to fight against the British in India. She formed an army and fought and won against the British in 1780, with military assistance from Hyder Ali,“ says Narain, head of Giri Institute of Development Studies. Nachiyar, the princess of Ramanathapuram, was married to the king of Sivaganga, Muthuvaduganatha Periyaudaiyathevar. She was drawn into battle after her husband was killed by the British. Living under the protection of Hyder Ali of Mysore near Dindigul, Nachiyar was said to have come up with idea of a human bomb. She also formed a women's army and was one of the few rulers who regained her kingdom and ruled for 10 more years.

Inspiring women in the south was another queen from Karnataka Kittur Rani Chennamma. Born in 1791, she was best known for leading an armed rebellion against the East India Company in 1824. The resistance ended with her arrest and she was imprisoned for life.Adept at horse riding, sword fighting and archery from her youth, Channamma called for a war when the British refused to accept her adopted son as ruler. “Kittur Rani Chennamma was the first woman activist who fought a lonely , but courageous battle against the British. She did not succeed in driving them away , but she inspired many women,“ says Narain. Prior to these women, Belawadi Mallamma was a popular warrior queen from Bailhongal, in Belgaum district of Karnataka. She was the first woman to form a women's army to fight against the British and the Marathas in the 17th century. “Belawadi Mallamma fought with the Maratha king, Shiva ji, while defending her husband's kingdom. She was defeated and taken to Shiva ji, who was quite impressed by her valour and decided to return the kingdom.“

During the turbulence of revolt, there were many women who participated in their own way. While many gave away their jewellery to finance the revolution, some requested their masters to train them in warfare. “Our study also looks at unknown women and tribal women who have no identity. These women played a significant role in the revolt,“ says Narain.