The first thing that comes to mind when we say Veerapandiya Kattabomman is that he was a fighter, a freedom fighter against the British, and his famous verse. The history of Kattabomman was known to the people only through the 1959 film Veerapandiya Kattabomman. In this film, Veerapandiya Kattabomman was portrayed as a great warrior and a good king. This is why all the people think of him as a good man and a freedom fighter. But a historian has another kind of history of Kattabomman through a few small references found in the historical notes.
Kattabomman Dynasty
Veerapandiya Kattabomman was one of the Polygor who ruled Tamil Nadu in the 1600s and 1700s. The Madurai Nayaks also ruled Tamil Nadu during the same period. The Kattabomman dynasty was formed during the time of the Nayaks. Veerapandiya Kattabomman ruled the Panchalankurichi Palayam. The Palayam is like a district. A certain area was called the Palayam. When the Palaiya - karar(polygar) ruled Tamil Nadu, there were a total of 72 Palayams in Tamil Nadu.
Origin of Kattabomman Clan
In the early 1700s, there was no Palayam called Panchalankurichi but there was a Palayam called Ettaiyapuram. The king of the Ettayapuram Palayam was Ettappa Nayakkar. The one who worked as his servant was Katra Katta Pramaya, the chief of the clan of Veerapandiya Kattabomman.
The greed of Ettappa Nayak
Ettappa Nayak had a desire for his nearby Palayam called Chekkarapatti. Because of the abundance of natural resources in the Palayam. Kata Pramaya was further arousing this desire. Then Katra Katta Pramaya volunteered and said, "I will go to the Chekkarpatti and spy on you and let you know when the time comes. Then you will come with your army and attack the Chekkarapatti." After the king agreed to this, Katra Katta Pramaya went to Chekkarapatti and stayed.
Katra Katta Pramaya's Plan
After arrived Chekkarapatti, Katra Katta Pramaya plots a huge conspiracy. Going to the Pandyas excluded by the Nayaks who were the rulers at that time and said, "Ettappa Nayak is going to attack the Sekarappatti. You've to go with your army and attack Ettappa Nayak". After informing the Pandyas thus, Katra Katta Pramaya also went to Ettappa Nayak and said that you can now attack Chekkarapatti. Unaware of Katra Katta Pramaya's maneuver, Ettappa Nayakkar and his army invaded Chekkarapatti.
But the army of Ettappa Nayak was defeated before the army of the Pandyas who were already at the Chekkarapatti. Ettappa Nayak was very angry that Katra Katta Pramaya was the cause of this failure. But the Pandyas praised him as the reason for this victory and made him their army commander.
Panchalankurichi Palayam
Katta Paramaya was plotting to capture the Palayam from the Pandyas somehow. His plot was to go to the Nayaks and annihilate the Pandyas altogether, claiming that the descendants of the Pandyas were still alive. The Nayaks also annihilated the remaining Pandya dynasty and gifted the Palayam to Katta Pramaya. He later changed the name of the Palayam to Panchalankurichi. Thus a new Palayam called Panchalankurichi was formed.
The people there called him Kattabommalu because he cleverly captured a bridge. The Tamil name for it is Kattabomman. He later changed his name to Jegaveera Pandiya Kattabomman. Thus the dynasty of Kattabomman was formed and also got the name Pandiya. Many people mistakenly think that he belongs to the Pandyan dynasty and hence the name Pandiyan. That is completely wrong.
Family Tree
- Katra Katta Pramaya (Jegaveerapandiya Kattabomman I) 1709 - 1736.
- Pollapandiya Kattabomman 1736 - 1760.
- Jegaveerapandiya Kattabomman II 1760 - 1790.
- Veerapandiya Kattabomman 1790 - 1799.
These four were important people in the Kattabomman dynasty.
Jegaveerapandiya Kattabomman I
The originator of the Kattabomman dynasty and the founder of the Panchalankurichi Palayam is mentioned in some notes as the best in looting. He became the king in 1709 and ruled Panchalankurichi between 1709 - 1736. He was looting from the surrounding Palayam. Then he became the leader of south Palayam. At the same time, the rule of the Nayaks weakened and the rule of the Nawab began. Many Palayakar(polygor) refused to pay tribute to Sadiq Khan, the secretary of the Nawab of Arcot. So Sadiq Khan came to Kattabomman and offered to give you one-sixth of the ransom if you collect it from the Palayakar. Accepting this, Jegaveerapandiya Kattabomman used his force to collect ransom from all the Palayakar and thus got his share. Thus he received the title of "Chinna Nawab".
Pollapandiya Kattabomman
He became the king in 1736 and ruled Panchalankurichi between 1736-1760. During his time the English collected taxes from the Palayakar. At that time Tamil Nadu was divided into South Tamil Nadu under the leadership of Pollapandiya Kattabomman and Western Tamil Nadu under the leadership of Pulithevan. He did not pay a ransom to the British, so the British soldiers kidnapped his son and brother and later extorted money from them and rescued them. But in western Tamil Nadu, the hero Poolithevan sprayed them away.
Jegaveerapandiya Kattabomman II
He became the king in 1760 and ruled Panchalankurichi between 1760-1790. Jegaveera Pandiya Kattabomman II gave information about the British to the Dutch for money. Knowing this, the British went to war against Jegaveerapandiya Kattabomman II. Knowing this, Veerapandiya Kattabomman left his fort and his daughter and wandered from town to town. He then paid 30,000 Varagan demanded by the British and reclaimed the fort with his daughter. After this event, Jegaveerapandiya Kattabomman II was working for the British.
Veerapandiya Kattabomman
After his father, he became the king in 1790 and ruled Panchalankurichi between 1790-1799. During his reign, the British focused more on Tipu Sultan and did not focus on the Palayam. Taking advantage of this, Kattabomman did not pay taxes to the British and plundered the surrounding villages. Going beyond this he also earned the nickname "Kadharuthan Kattabomman" for piercing the ears of women who worked in the fields. Unable to bear the tyranny of the Kattabomman, the people appeal to Dorin, the then Collector.
After this, he started engaging in many misdeeds such as occupying the surrounding Palayam and doing panchayats. Collector Jackson, then newly appointed in 1797, looks at the Kattabomman's crime and writes him a letter. After this Kattabomman met and talked with Jackson. That is when the famous verse came into being. Finally, the British, unable to bear the atrocities of Kattabomman, destroyed his fort and then captured and hanged him.
End of Dynasty
Veerapandiya Kattabommanai was the last Palayakarar(King of Palayam) of the dynasty. After him, there was no emperor from the Kattabomman dynasty. The whole of Tamil Nadu was ruled by the British rulers. Through this article, you can know another angle of the history of Veerapandiya Kattabomman which may even surprise you. All of this information is taken from the notes of credible and eminent historians. So what is the real history of Kattabomman? That cannot be said for sure. But we can say for sure that this is also true.
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