Veerapandiya Kattabomman (Kattabomman Nayakar)

 

Veerapandiya Kattabomman Karuthayya Nayakudu

Also known as Kattabomman was an 18th-century Palayakarrar ('Polygar') chieftain from Panchalankurichi of Tamil Nadu. He was born on 3rd January 1761 for Jagaveera Kattabomman and Arumugathammal. His ancestors migrated to Tamil Nadu from areas in present day Andhra Pradesh during the Vijayanagara period. Also known as Kattabomman Naykar he was among the earliest to oppose British rule in these regions. He waged a war with the British six decades before the Indian War of Independence occurred in 1857 in the Northern parts of India.

Kattabomman family resisted the East India Company rule starting from 1755, which marks the first expedition of company as documented. The expeditions against this particular family of polygar are registered later in 1760, 1791 and 1799. Out of the four expeditions, the last two were recorded to be the most resistive to the company rule. Both the cases of 1791 and 1799 ended with hangings of the Nayakars.

Veerapandiya Kattabomman is found to be the last of the Kattabomman Nayakar who waged war against the East Indian Company rule since their villages were forcibly taken into control for tax collection. His resistance continued for 8 long years starting from 1791 until his martyrdom in 1799. Subrahmanya Pillai  - chief manager of Kattabomman’s operations and Soundara Pandya Nayaka - close aid from Nagalapuram polygar family, were captured by the aid of their own greedy Ettayapuram polygar family led by Ettapan and were executed along with Veerapandiya. Subrahmanya Pillai was hanged at Nagalapuram and his head was sent to Panchalakuruchi on a spike for display. Soundara Pandya Nayaka was hanged at Gopolapurm.

Veerapandiya was hanged at Kaittur (kaythur) to downturn the activeness of polygars who offered maximum resistance to the company raj then. Several resisters who belonged to the family of Polygars were captured and sent to Palamkotta jail as prisoners.

Later on Veerapandiya’s younger brother Umai Durai, who escaped from the captivity, collectively waged war against the British with the support of other polygar family leaders. Even though he was deaf and dumb, he effectively led the rebellion for three long years from 1799 till his martyrdom in 1801. His bravery was applauded by the British themselves.

To honour the great personality and to commemorate the bicentenary of Kattabomman Nayakar’s martyrdom, govt. of India bought out a postal stamp in 1999. Also, India's premier communication nerve centre of the Indian Navy at Vijayanarayanam is named as INS Kattabomman. Even though there is not much written about these great people in literatures, Veerapandiya and other Kattabomman Nayakar’s are still alive in the minds of rural population. People revere them for their extreme sacrifice and bravery which stood guard for their freedom for more than six decades.

Reference: 
1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veerapandiya_Kattabomman
2. Page 172. A Polictical and General History of the district of Tinnevelly in the Precidency of… by Robert Cladwell.
3. Bandits and Kings : Moral Authority and Resistence in Early collonial India

Bhikaji Rustom Cama(Madam Cama)

Madam Cama was born on 24th September, 1861 at Mumbai in a rich Parsi family. Her mother’s name was Jayji and her father’s name was SorabjiFramji Patel. Her father and brother were big traders in Mumbai. They had a palatial residence at Cumballa Hill. The parents named their daughter as Bhikaji. Madam Cama, who completed her schooling in Mumbai, was fluent in four languages English, Gujarati, Hindi and Marathi.

On 3rd August, 1885 she was married to Rustom Khurshid Cama who was solicitor by profession, but soon she had to dessert her misbehaving husband who insulted her wifehood. Though the family life was destroyed she did not sit idle. She dedicated herself to social work. In 1896 Mumbai was struck with the Plague epidemic. During that time she, along with other females, served the patients at Parsi Fever Hospital. During the 1899 plague epidemic, she herself was infected with the disease. After recovering, on medical advice, she went to Europe. In Europe she stayed in Germany, France and Scotland for one year each. During her stay she underwent a surgery. On improvement in health, i.e. in 1905, she came to London. There she started participating in activities of Dadabhai Nowrojee’s ‘London India Society’. She became close to ‘India House’, which was the safe haven for Indian revolutionaries. She started delivering fierce speeches regarding Freedom of India, at places like Hyde Park in London. During the same time i.e. on 24th June, 1906 a young man named Vinayak Damodar Savarkar reached London.

The First Bomb Against The British

Remembering this teenager, who thought beyond the cliched thoughts attached to that age and mindset and attained martyrdom on this day - August 11, 1908

Khudiram Bose rose above us all at the age of 19. He fought till his last breath and gave his all to Free his mother from the evil plunderers.

Birth
On 3rd Dec 1889 in Habibpur(Medinipur, Bengal), Laxmipriya Devi and Troilokyanath Bose were blessed with a baby boy. They were ecstatic and named him Khudiram Bose. Unfortunately, they did not live long enough to enjoy their happiness. Khudiram was orphaned at the age of  6. His elder sister Anurupadevi and his brother-in-law Amritalal took the responsibility of bringing him up. He moved in with them to Tamlook where he was admitted to Hamilton school.

V V S Aiyar - Revolutionary Lawyer from South India

VVS Aiyar - Varahaneri Venkatesa Subramaniam Aiyar
 

VVS Aiyar was born on April 2, 1881 in a middle class Brahmin family in the suburb of Varahaneri in Tiruchi of today's Tamilnadu. After his early education, he studied in St. Joseph's College and took his B.A in History, Politics, and Latin. He studied for the Law profession and passed the Pleader (junior lawyer) examination from the Madras University in 1902. He then practiced as the pleader in the District courts of Tiruchi. Aiyar then moved to Rangoon in 1906 and started practicing as a junior in the Chambers of an English Barrister. From Rangoon, he left for London in 1907 and enrolled in Lincoln's Inn aiming to becoming a Barrister at Law. Soon in London, V.V.S. Aiyar came into contact with active members of India House an informal Indian Nationalist Organization. Under the influence of revolutionaries of India House, Aiyar began to take an active role in the struggle for Indian independence.

Grand Salutes To Panditji on his 107th Birthday

A great day to say "Shri" to the Blog!

He would be 107 years old today and I believe India would be a much better place if he could be here to guide us all.

He was born as Monikar Chandrashekhar Tiwari on July 23rd of 1906 in a small village called Bhavra in Madhya Pradesh into a religious Brahmin Family. Within the the next 25 years he grew up to be a man of many virtues and facets. I am talking about none other than our beloved Chandrashekhar Azad.

This man was a free spirit; a fresh bloom; a new current in the Indian Freedom Movement. He brought together many youngsters, motivated them to give their everything to free our motherland. He made the British Empire take a step back and realize they could not stay in power much longer here. Such was his courage and determination.