Person · palayakkarar chief
Veerapandiya Kattabomman
Also known as Kattabomman
The Panchalankurichi palayakkarar (feudal chief) Veerapandiya Kattabomman (3 January 1760 - 16 October 1799), who led the 1795-1799 South Indian Palayakkarar Wars against the British East India Company's revenue demands. Born in the Panchalankurichi palayam of Thoothukudi district, Kattabomman refused to pay the Company's tribute and defeated British forces at the 1799 Battle of Panchalankurichi. Captured by Jackson's forces and hanged publicly at Kayathar on 16 October 1799 — one of the earliest executed anti-colonial fighters in India. The 1952 Shivaji Ganesan Tamil film 'Veerapandiya Kattabomman' established his nationalist iconography. His kottai (fort) at Panchalankurichi is an ASI-protected site.
- Date
- 1760–1799
- Function
- Social reform & movement
- Confidence
- Established / referenced
Connections (1)
- AnalogueMarudu brothers
Veerapandiya Kattabomman and the Marudu Pandiyar brothers both led the South Indian Palayakkarar Wars (1795-1801) against the British East India Company. Kattabomman's execution at Kayathar on 16 October 1799 was explicitly used by the British to warn the Marudu Pandiyars not to continue resistance; the Marudus responded with the June 1801 Tiruchi Proclamation that extended the Palayakkarar struggle for another two years before being crushed in October 1801.
Sources
Standard biography; regional historiography.
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