South Indian Rebellion

South Indian Rebellion (A.D 1800 - A.D 1801)

1. SOUTH INDIAN REBELLION (A.D 1800 - A.D 1801) By Dr. Baby Rani M. (Dept of History) V.V.Vanniaperumal College for Women Virudhunagar

2. INTRODUCTION According to Dr.K.Rajayyan , it was the first war of Independence during the 19 th Century British interference in the administration of the natives due to Political instability Success of the British in the Carnatic and Mysore Unnecessary political affected the smooth working of the Palayam’s chieftains and the villages As a result they decided to rise in rebellion

3. CAUSES FOR THE REBELLION 1.POLICY OF ANNEXATION First and foremost cause – the company decided to annex the natives When East India Company founded at Madras, Tamilnadu was divided into number of political divisions Ruled by poligars , Kings and Chieftains There were political disharmony among them They acted as enemies The British utilised this opportunity and annexed Salem, Coimbatore, Dindigul, Wayanad, Malabar and denied their legitimate rights The natives vehemently opposed the policy of annexation

4. 2.ATTITUDE OF THE PUPPET STATES Some states accepted the supremacy of the company They paid tribute regularly They maintained their status quo So they were called as Puppet States (ex., Pudukottai, Thanjavur and Travancore) The Company guaranteed their protection But imposed military expenses on them In course of time unnecessarily interfered in their internal administration They waited for an opportunity

5. 3.TREATY OF 1787 Muhammad Ali signed a treaty with the British in 1787 To get its support and suppress the ancillary powers By this treaty, he surrendered his forts to the British Accepted the supremacy of the Company The right to demolish the forts were also entrusted with them He accepted to pay 4/5 Of his annual revenue to the British In 1793, another treaty was signed By which the right of collecting tribute directly from the Poligars It affected the welfare of the Poligars These affected Poligars waited for an opportunity

6. 4.AFFAIR OF SERFOJI In 1776 with the support of the British, Tiljaji ascended the throne After his death the son of Serfoji claimed the throne But they supported Amir Singh by getting many concessions Took over the revenue administration Wounded the minds of the patriotic Poligars

7. 5.RISE OF NATIONALISM Exploitation by the British affected the natives It weakened many of the intellectuals They used palm leaves for writing revolutionary ideas Communicated them from place to place It induced patriotic fever of the natives

8. 6.OTHER REASONS Economic exploitation by collecting huge taxes, war expenses, huge rate of interest Method of collection of taxes Heavy unlawful taxes were imposed; Villages who refused to pay the tax were punished punished Properties were confiscated Atrocities of the bidders

9. FORMATION OF THE LEAGUE Politically, socially and economically affected natives formed alliances So regional leagues came into existence

10. FORMATION OF REGIONAL LEAGUES LEADER NAME OF THE LEAGUE REGION Veerapandya Kattabomman Tirunelveli League Poligars of Panchalamkuruchi Many Poligars of south Tamilnadu Gapala Nayak Dindigul League The Poligars of Manaparai Kallar Nadu Salem Khan-I-Jahan Coimbatore League The Poligars in Coimbatore Kerala Varma Malabar Malabar Region

11. Marudhu Brothers

12. The Peninsular Confederacy Marudhu brothers of Sivaganga took the leading role Early attempts were failed due to The death of Tipu The failure of the Poligar Rebellion Execution of Kattabomman Marudhu Pandyan rose to the accusation He gave shelters to the insurgents of Tirunelveli league Strengthened the alliance

13. SUPPORT OF OTHERS 3 missions were sent to get the help of Dhoondaji Waug of Shimoga They made confederacy In the intermediate age the union was strengthened by an alliance between one regional leader and another Final stage, a regional chief enters into an agreement with a number of relational leagues

14. THE VIRUPAKSHI CONSPIRACY On April 29, 1800 the rebel chiefs met at Virupakshi Palani To launch an offensive against the British from Coimbatore Dindigul league and Khan-I-Jahan’s forces would be sent Dhoondaji waug’s forces would join them Then would rise in rebellion

15. ATTACK OF THE REBELS Rebels raised disturbances against the British in Sathyamangalam, Tharapuram , Thalamalla and Coimbatore Satyamangalam battle was historically important Steady resistance at Madurai, Tanjore, Ramanathapuram and Sivagangai Defeated the British in a number of battle More natives joined the battle

16. ARRIVAL OF AGNEW Irritated by the act of Marudhu , Agnew issued a proclamation It condemned the activities of Marudhu Pandyan Requested the natives to join the side of the British British govt sent an army under the command of Colonel Agnew He sent an army to Sivagangai AGNEW PROCLAMATION Colonel Agnew

17. THE TRICHY PROCLAMATION OF MARUDHU PANDIYAN SERVAIKARAR ALIAS CHINNA MARUDHU OF SIVANGANGAI

18. THE TRICHY PROCLAMATION OF MARUDHU PANDIYAN SERVAIKARAR ALIAS CHINNA MARUDHU OF SIVANGANGAI

19. In 1801, OomaiDurai , the brother of Kattabommu of Panchalamkurichi escaped to Sivagangai after the Second Panchalamkurichi Battle. T ogether they carried out the fight against the British East India Company and the Arcot Nawab, Pudukkottai Tondaiman , Tanjavur Maharaja and the Pro-British Palayakarars alliance. During the course of the war, Marudhu Pandiyan issued a proclamation to all the people of India to fight against the British and chase them out from India MARUDHU PANDYAN PROCLAMATION

20. MARUDHU PANDYAN PROCLAMATION Marudhu proclamation requested the people to render assistance to the confederate army Copies were pasted on the entrance of the Nawab bungalow at Tiruchi And on the outer wall of the Aranganathan temple of Tiruvarangam It kindled the minds of the natives Nearly 20000 men were recruited in Marudhu’s army

21. THE BATTLE OF KALAYARKOIL On 29 th May 1801 similar rebel attacks ans the conpany’s counter attacks in Kamudi , Trippuvanam , Manamadurai, Paramakudi and Ramnad The British army attacked Kalayarkoil on 30 Sept 1801 Native army was severely defeated Marudhu Pandyan was wounded He was captured at Cholapuram Oomaidurai was arrested Arrested were hanged in different places on different days

22. CONCLUSION This Rebellion was the last revolt of the Poligars To prevent similar outbreaks the British undertook certain measures Jungles were cleared Orders were issued to the villagers to clear off the forests within their limits Roads were laid on the jungle of Coimbatore, Madurai and Malabar to provide quick movements of the troops The success of the British in the rebellion enabled them to consolidate their position in South India