Kattabomman: The Ultimate Warrior

Veerapandiya Kattabomman also known as Katta Bomman was an 18th century Indian Palaiyakkarar chieftain from Panchalankurichi and who was one of the earliest to oppose the British rule. He waged a war with the British six decades before Indian Was of Independence which occurred in 1857 in Northern parts of India. After a bloody war, he was captured by British and then hanged in 1799 CE. His fort was destroyed and his wealth looted by the British army.

Early Life

Veerapandiya Kattabomman was born to Jagaveera Kattabomman and Arumugathammal on 3rd January 1760. He had two younger brothers Dalavai Kumarasami and Duraisingam. Veerapandiyan was fondly called ‘Karuthaiah’ (the black prince), and Dalavai Kumarasami, ‘ Sevathaiah’.

Panchalankurichi:

Legend has it that during a hunting trip into the forests of Salikulam one of the Kattabommans watched the spectacle of a hare chasing seven hounds. Kattabomman was amazed at this miracle. Believing that the land possessed great powers that could instil courage in people, he built his fort there and named it Panchalankurichi.

On 2nd February 1790, Veerapandiyan, 30, became the king of Panchalakurichi as Veera Pandia Kattabomman supposed to be the 47th ruler of the region and the 5th ruler from the Kattabomman clan and a Palta – karrar of the Madurai Nayak kingdom.

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Role of Palayakkars:

After the collapse of the Vijayanagara Empire in the mid – 16th century, their governors of Tamil Nadu declared independence and established independent kingdoms. The old Pandiya country came to be governed by Naicker rulers in Madurai, who in turn divided their territories into 72 Palayams. They were franchised to a Palayakarrar or Poliger, who had to administer their territories, collect taxes, run the local judiciary, and maintain a battalion of troops for the Naicker rulers.

Origin of dispute:

The Palayakarrar of the old Madurai country refused to recognize the new Muslim rulers driving the Nawab of Arcot to bankruptcy, who also indulged in lavishes like building palaces before sustaining his authority in the region. The Nawab resorted to borrowing huge sums from the British East India Company, erupting as a scandal in the British Parliament. He finally gave the British the right to collect taxes and levies from the southern region in lieu of the money he had borrowed. The East India Company took advantage of the situation and plundered all the wealth of the people in the name of tax collection. Many of the Polygars submitted, only with the exception of Kattabomman.

Veerapandiya’s events:

Kattabomman refused to pay his dues and for a long time refused to meet Jackson the Collector of the East India Company. Finally, he met his at Ramalinga Vilasam. The meeting turned violent and ended in a skirmish in which the Deputy Commandant of the Company’s forces, Clarke was slain. Kattabomman and his men fought their way to freedom and safety, but Thanapathi Pillai, Kattabomman’s secretary was taken, prisoner. The new collector of Tirunelveli wrote to Kattabomman calling him for a meeting on 16th March 1799. Kattabomman wrote back citing the extreme drought conditions for the delay in the payment of dues and also demanded that all that was robbed of him at Ramanathapuram be restored to him. The collector wanted the ruling house of Sethupathis to prevent Kattabomman from aligning himself with the enemies of the Company and decided to attack Kattabomman. The British also instigated his longtime feuding neighbour Ettayapuram Poligar to make provocative wars over Kattabomman on their long-pending territorial disputes.

The British invasion:

On 5th September 1799, the British invaded Panchalamkurichi surprisingly when the whole of Panchalamkurichi subjects was at Tiruchendur at a festival celebration. The British Army was led by Major Bannerman. Kattabomman got to know the plans about the surprise attack well in advance by his well-managed informers. He kept his forces ready to meet the British invasion. Prior to commencement of the attack, Major Banerman through his messenger asked Kattabomman to surrender unconditionally. The brave Kattabomman said, " We are the sons of this soil. We live with prestige, honour and dignity and we let our soul die for the prestige, honour and dignity of our land. We don't bow down to the foreigners. We will fight to the death."

War with the British:

 The war started. Both the armies fought heavily. The British army faced strong resistance from the Kattabomman army and had to withdraw its forces. Major Banerman judged the use of cannons to break the clay fort and awaited the arrival of cannons from Palayamkottai. When the cannons arrived and bombarded the fort, the clay fort could not withstand the attack. During the war, Kattabomman lost his able General "Vellaiyathevan". Kattabomman killed many officers of the British army. On the last day of the war, Kattabomman was injured and he was taken away by his aides from Panchalamkurichi. Anticipating defeat to Kattabomman's force they took shelter in the palace of Kolarpatti Zamindar. The forces of his friendly enemy Ettappa Naicker surrounded the palace and once again Kattabomman and his aides made an escape. But his minister Thanapathi Pillai was arrested and killed at Nagalapuram and his head was placed at Panchalamkurichi.   After the escape, Kattabomman and his men took shelter in Thirukalampur forest which was under the domain of King of Pudukottai. When the British got the information about their hideout, they ordered the king of Pudukottai to trace them and hand them over to the British, else face the similar consequences as Kattabomman. Fearing death, the King of Pudukottai ordered his men to search for Kattabomman and hand him over to the British. On 24 September 1799, Kattabomman was arrested by the army of King of Pudukottai and was handed over to the British.   Kattabomman was sent to the Kayathar jail for custody. Court of trial against Kattabomman was ordered and was held on 16 October 1799. The British invited all the local Zamindars to witness the trial proceedings. The trial proceedings were fully fabricated in favour of the British. Kattabomman did not give up his honour, self-respect, dignity and prestige. He boldly argued for the right of his country and accused the British of their immoral and illegal occupation of our land. The British asked Kattabomman to request a Pardon to set him free. Kattabomman did not yield but said, "Do what you want to do, you cowards".  

The Last day of Veerapandiya Kattabomman:

 Kattabomman was awarded punishment "Hang until death". Kattabomman's end came on 16th October 1799, when he was hung on a tamarind tree at Kaythar. Some of the other noteworthy persons who were hanged along with Kattabomman were Veeraghechayan Naicker, Dali Ethalappa Naicker and Palayakarrars of Kaadalkudi, Nagalapuram Puthur, Vripachy, to death by hanging on charges of treason.