MMA-KAS, in collaboration with the Colours of Glory Foundation, hosted a discussion on the theme of the book Unconquered Horizons: Southern India’s Resistance Icons, authored by Capt. D.P. Ramachandran (Veteran), Founder & Chairman of the Colours of Glory Foundation.
It all began here in down south
Capt. D P Ramachandran
Author
As a young boy growing up in the 1950s, I was tormented by the history I learned in school, which portrayed India as being subjugated by much smaller European countries. How could foreigners come here and rule over us? It was something my young mind couldn’t comprehend.
The sense of shame I felt was so intense that I told my father his entire generation was full of cowards. He defended himself saying he never served the British but only the Maharaja of Travancore. I pushed him further, arguing that Travancore was a princely state that had accepted British supremacy. It took years of growing up and much learning about our country’s past before I could reconcile with the actions of our previous generations.
Laying the Red Carpet for the British
One great consolation was realising that we were not truly cowardly but rather disorganised. The concept of India as a nation had not yet been born. There was no central authority to unite us. The once-powerful Mughal Empire was disintegrating, and the Marathas, who had emerged as the greatest challengers to the Mughals under Chhatrapati Shivaji, had also splintered into factions. Adding to this disarray were the numerous rajas and nawabs—some of our native rulers—so self-centered and short-sighted that they laid out the red carpet for the colonialists. With their opulent lifestyles and internecine strife, they were the greatest villains in the colonial drama. I don’t even blame the British as much as I blame these figures. The British, after all, simply took what was there for the taking.
If anyone showed even a modicum of self-respect during that era of disgrace, it was the personalities I attempt to portray in this book (Unconquered Horizons: Southern India’s Resistance Icons), at least in the context of southern India. I’m sure like-minded individuals existed elsewhere in India as well, but the southern chapter was unique. Nowhere else in India did the British face such stubborn resistance from ordinary people. These individuals were led by exceptionally noble native leaders who cared for their people and loved their land of birth.
A Narrative with Vested Interests
Somehow, these stories of resistance don’t find a place in the general narrative of Indian history. Even after independence, our historians followed a narrative that was espoused by the British. That narrative was intended for the shareholders of the East India Company in England, painting rosy pictures of British victories, starting with Plassey. But Plassey was no battle at all—the enemy generals were bribed to desert the battlefield.
The entire North was a cakewalk for the British. In contrast, they had to fight half a century of bloody battles to subjugate the South and the whole of peninsular India. Even in this period, their history highlights only the defeat and killing of Tipu Sultan and the overcoming of the Maratha Confederacy. The innumerable struggles in the South get obscured. It was during my research on the history of the South Indian soldiery—the predecessors of today’s Madras Regiment, Madras Engineers, and some southern-origin cavalry and infantry regiments in the Indian Army—that I discovered these magnificent men and women who valued their honour more than their lives.
I would feel it a sacrilege if I didn’t tell their story. Of the 15 personalities I’ve chosen to highlight, only three died of natural causes. Ten were either killed in action or executed. One was killed during an escape attempt, and one was tortured to death while incarcerated. That speaks volumes about their sacrifice. I feel their immortal spirits loom large over India’s horizon, inspiring us and future generations.
The unknown other side
Dr. Nanditha Krishna
Historian and Founder
C.P. Art Centre
My focus has been on ancient Indian culture, which means my historical knowledge largely ends in the 7th century AD. Until recently, I didn’t pay much attention to events beyond that period. However, three years ago, during the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, the Government of India contacted our institute to contribute to a website on unknown heroes and heroines of India. We compiled around 440 names and added them to the website. This research made me realise how much South India contributed to the freedom movement—perhaps even more than other parts of India.
While Bhagat Singh is celebrated for assassinating a police officer, few remember Vanchinathan, who assassinated a British collector, Robert Ashe. Ashe was responsible for closing down V.O. Chidambaram Pillai’s Swadeshi Shipping Company, revoking his barrister’s license, arresting him, and destroying him. Vanchinathan, enraged by this, shot Ashe and immediately took his own life, leaving behind a letter dedicating his sacrifice to his motherland. These are the great heroes of our freedom struggle. Unfortunately, while we are well-acquainted with the freedom fighters from North India, we know very little about those from South India. We learn in detail about Robert Clive and Warren Hastings, but hardly anything about those who opposed them.
As early as 1674, Sardar Ali, the chief of the Mysore-Calicut province, laid siege to the British military barracks at Thalassery for 18 months. In 1718, native sepoys rebelled against the East India Company at Vishakhapatnam, though they were all killed. In 1775, the Madras Council decided to send the ninth battalion stationed at Trichy to Bombay, but the soldiers refused. The acting Commandant, Muctoom Sahib, and his associates were executed by being blown away from the mouth of a cannon. Similarly, in 1795, Indian sepoys in the Madras army who refused to fight the Dutch in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) were also blown away by cannons.
Not long ago, I watched a film about Kunjali Marakkar. Until then, I hadn’t known that the Marakkars, a family that spanned four generations, were instrumental in defending the western seaports against the Portuguese in Kerala. If there are no Portuguese in Kerala today, it is because of the Marakkar family. We also had women like Rani Abbakka Chowta and Kittur Rani Chennamma who fought against the British and sacrificed their lives. These queens suffered immensely, as women often do in times of war.
Kuyili’s Sacrifice
However, the anti-British revolution truly began in Tamil Nadu, and it was fierce. Leaders like Puli Thevar, Rani Velu Nachiyar, Kattabomman and his brothers, the Marudu brothers, and Dheeran Chinnamalai chose death over submission to the British. When Rani Velu Nachiyar’s husband was killed in 1780, she fled Sivaganga, where he had been king. For eight years, she built up an army of 4,000 women, led by the commander Kuyili. When they realised they couldn’t defeat the British in direct combat, Kuyili made an extraordinary sacrifice—she doused herself in oil, set herself alight, and leapt into the British ammunition depot, destroying it. The British were forced to sign a treaty with Rani Velu Nachiyar, and she ruled her kingdom. Her daughter too succeeded her on the throne.
We all know about the Palaiyakkarars, or Poligars, who protected the people and collected taxes, which the East India Company coveted. This led to a series of wars. Thanks to actor Sivaji Ganesan’s portrayal of Kattabomman in a popular film, we know about Kattabomman and his subsequent hanging. However, there were others like Puli Thevar, Chinnathambi Varaguna, and the Kallar tribes, who also waged battles. These uprisings often ended in public hangings and massacres—not just of the fighters, but of the entire population of those regions, including women and children. Dheeran Chinnamalai, the Palayakkarar of Palayamkottai, rebelled against both Hyder Ali and the British but was ultimately captured due to a betrayal.
The Vellore Mutiny
You have probably heard of the Great Vellore Mutiny in 1806 when the British Indian Army rebelled against the British. Hindu sepoys were prohibited from wearing religious marks on their foreheads, while Muslim soldiers were forced to shave their beards and trim their moustaches. Turbans were replaced with hats. During the rebellion, the rebels killed 14 British officers and 115 men of the 69th regiment. Unfortunately, a relief force of British cavalry arrived from Arcot. The Nawab of Arcot was a staunch supporter of the British, and the superior British weaponry won the day. As usual, some men were shot from cannons, others were hanged, and the rest were deported to Malaya.
The Marudu brothers, Periya Marudu and Chinna Marudu, were perhaps the first Indians to conceive of India as a unified nation. In 1801, they called on the people to drive away the British. This led to the second Poligar War, which resulted in further deaths. The Marudu brothers issued a proclamation known as the Jambu Dweepa Prakadanam, which shook the East India Company. They posted it on the Trichy fort and at the Srirangam temple, urging all sections of society to unite against the Europeans. There were many others like Narasimha Reddy, Veera Rajendra Wodeyar, Pazhassi Raja, and Velu Thambi who also took up arms against the British.
Despite all this, our textbooks still glorify the British while downplaying the contributions of Indians. We must use our influence to ensure that NCERT and state governments include the stories of these freedom fighters in social science textbooks.
The Discrepancy in Teaching History
Air Marshal M Matheswaran AVSM, VM, Ph.D.,
Chairman & President of The Peninsula Foundation, Chennai
The primary source for much of our historical learning has been The History of India by Vincent Smith. During the Gupta period, there was an emperor named Samudra Gupta, who embarked on a campaign of conquest, advancing almost to the northern borders of Tamil Nadu. Vincent Smith describes him as a great emperor and even calls him the “Napoleon of India.” However, Napoleon came 1,300 years later. Realistically, Napoleon should be called the “Samudra Gupta of France.” Why is this discrepancy? Because Vincent Smith’s history book became a foundational text for much of our learning.
At school, we had a wonderful library that included R.C. Majumdar’s five volumes of Indian History. Yet, in all those volumes, there were no more than 50 to 100 pages dedicated to South Indian history. The only book I found that thoroughly covered some aspects of South Indian history and its significance was A.L. Basham’s work, and ironically, Basham was British.
We know that Europeans first arrived in the 17th century as traders, only to eventually become occupiers. When you analyse the history of South India, particularly the Tamil region, you see that the Cheras, Cholas, Pandyas, and later the Pallavas were frequently at war with each other. We had a period of internal conflict lasting 2,000 years, with each kingdom trying to dominate the others. But when an invasion from the north occurred, the Tamil kingdoms united. Unfortunately, the Cheras, Cholas, and Pandyas disappeared after 2,000 years of continuous existence. Kerala became fragmented into smaller kingdoms.
Then came the magnificent Vijayanagar Empire, which emerged in the aftermath of Malik Kafur’s invasions. However, the Battle of Talikota brought an end to the Vijayanagar Empire, leading to further fragmentation. The Palayams, which were administrative units under Vijayanagar, lost their central authority. As a result, the East India Company stepped in. Using the Nawab of Arcot, they invited 32 chieftains to a supposed peace meeting, only to imprison them and later exile them to Penang or Burma. The East India Company then recruited Indian sepoys, and it was this Indian army under their command that ultimately defeated many of our valiant heroes.
We need to promote India’s proud military heritage
Rear Admiral R K Dhingra VSM,
Flag Officer Command
Tamil Nadu & Puducherry Naval Area
Stories of strife, struggle, war, and sacrifice need to be shared. The famous war of 1971 has been well-documented, and much has been written and said about it, largely because we are fortunate to have many firsthand witnesses who can share their stories. Without books like the one authored by Captain Ramachandran, the significance of the sword might have risked being forgotten.
In my 33 years of service, this is my first appointment in Southern India, and I feel immense gratitude to both the Service and God for this opportunity. Chennai has been our home for the last 16 months, and I can safely say that the history lessons in school never taught me as much about the Cholas, Cheras, Pandyas, Satavahanas, and Pallavas as I have learned in this region over the past year and a half. Whether it’s the mesmerizing temple architecture, the historical trade routes, or the countless stories of brave kings from the region, the more I discover, the more there is to learn.
Military history would indeed be limited to only a handful of people if it were not shared with the world. Kudos to the Colours of Glory Foundation for its selfless service in promoting awareness of India’s proud military heritage—especially for highlighting how the southern states played an equal part in India’s journey toward independence and in the rebirth of the nation. History, if not told, will fade away into oblivion.
