Introduction
The establishment of British hegemony over different parts of Kerala was followed by several armed insurrections and popular upheavals organized by the patriotic elements of the population who were determined to overthrow British authority to regain the lost independence. The dispossessed princes and chieftains and aggrieved sections of the population like the peasantry and the tribal communities were in the forefront of these insurrections and upheavals. One of the most serious of the rebellions organized against the British was the one associated with the name of Kerala Varma, popularly known as Pazhassi Raja. A heroic figure in the history of Kerala who belonged to the western branch of the Kottayam ruling family with headquarters at pazhassi. The Raja was an immensely popular hero in that area, for he was one of the few princes who did not leave his people in lurch and seek asylum in Travancore during the period of the Mysorean invasion. He had collaborated with the British in their was against Tipu’s forces on the distinct understanding that at the end of the hostilities the independence of Kottayam would be recognized. However, the British failed to honour the commitment when Malabar as a whole came under their control under the treaty of sSrirangapatanam. They ignored the claims of Pazbassi Raja and proceeded with their own arrangements for the administration of Kottayam. This made a confrontation with Pazhassi Raja inevitable.
Pazhassi Revolt I
The first Pazhassi Revot (1793-97) was a reaction against the mistaken revenue policy of the British1. The Mysore rules had followed the policy of collecting revenues directly from the cultivators. But the British administrators abandoned this policy and entrusted the revenue collection in the various dominions to the respective Rajas who paid lump sums to the Government. These Rajas resorted to heavy assessments which the people found exceedingly difficult to honour. There were forced collections as well. All this evoked strong reactions among all sections of the people. The situation in Kottayam took a grim turn as the people took to direct action. The situation became more explosive when the British leased Kottayam to the Raja of Kurumbranad, the uncle of Pazhassi Raja, ignoring the latter’s legitimate claims. Pazhassi Raja and his people considered this as a deliberate act of betrayal on the part of the British2. Pazhassi Raja decided to challenge the action of the British by organising an open rebellion against the foreign power. He prevented the English from collecting the revenue in Kottayam and threatened to cut down the pepper vines of the Company’s officials persisted in their move to collect the revenue. The English were forced to make some concessions. However, they renewed the lease granted to the Kurumbranad Raja for another five years in disregard of the Pazhassi Raja’s claims. The Raja strongly resented the British action and remained in a state of open rebellion till 1797.
During the first phase of the Pazhassi Revolt which covered the period from 1793 to 1797 the British failed in their efforts to crush the rebels. The hill tribes of the Kurichiyas and Kurumbars stood steadfastly by him the British made a futile attempt to seize the Raja in his own palace at Pazhassi. Having become conscious of the futility of waging pitched battles against the English on the plains, the Raja and his men withdrew into the jungles of Wayanad and resorted to guerrilla tactics. The British troops under the command of Col. Arthur Wellesley went into action against the Pazhassi troops but they could not withstand the guerrilla warfare indulged in by the rebels. The British troops stationed at various strategic points in Wynad were forced to withdraw under threat of annihilation. The outbreak of the fourth Mysore war compelled the British to come to terms with the Raja and ensure a temporary cessation of hostilities. The lease granted to the Raja of Kurumbranad was cancelled and Pazhassi Raja3 was prevailed upon to call off the rebellion. However, future events were to show that the Raja’s submission to the British was only a tactical move, for in 1800 he again unfurled the flag of rebellion against the British.
Pazhassi Revolt II
The second Pazhassi Revolt (1800-05) an off shoot of the fourth Mysore was, had all the ingredients of a mass upsurge. As Wynad had not been formally ceded by Tipu to the Company, the Raja resisted British attempts to collect revenue from the area. Pazhassi raja’s charisma enabled him to gather people of all castes, classes and faiths under his banner. The Nairs, Kurichias. Local Mappilas, and Muslims from outside formed the backbone of his army. The Wynad region provided ample opportunities to the Pazhassi troops to indulge on it and run tactis.
The British army stationed itself in full strength in Wynad and tried to cut off the Raja from his men in south Malabar. By May 1801 the British troops captured all places of strategic importance in Wynad and forced the Raja to become a wanderer. Many of the Raja’s supporters were captured and hanged. The Raja’s surrender seemed imminent. The British proclaimed an amnesty in August 1801, but it failed to evoke any positive response. The Pazhassi troops continued their rebellions activities. In October 1802 they captured the Panamaram fort and put its garrison of 70 men to death. The operation was led by Edachenna Kungan Nair and the Kuricliya hero Talakkal Chandu. The Wynad passes and the entire route from Mysore to Mananthavadi came under the control of the rebels.
At this juncture the British Collector Major Macleod introduced some unpopular measures which only aggravated the situation. He announced a steep increase in land revenue and revision of the table of exchange. This provoked a virtual rebellion in all parts of the country. Macleod was forced to resign his office. The Pazhassi troops came out of their retreat in the Wynad jungles and made common cause with the people in the plains.
Violent disturbances broke out all over the area. The Company’s spice plantation at Anjarakandi was devastated. The British rushed reinforcements to Wynad and also raised a para-military force of 1200 persons (Kolkars) recruited from among the local people to deal with the small bands of Pazhassi troops roaming about the countryside.
Martyrdom of Pazhassi Raja
Early in 1804 Thomas Harvey Baber, an officer of exceptional ability, came as Sub-Collector of Talasseri. He took a series of steps to crush the Pazhassi revolt. The people residing in each locality were made responsible for non co-operation with the rebels and for supplying timely information to the authorities in regard to rebel movements. Those who failed to pay heed to this directive became victims of reprisals at the hands of the British. The British Government announced handsome rewards for the capture of the Pazhassi Raja and his immediate associates. The reward for apprehending the Raja was Rs. 3,000 while those for eleven others ranged from Rs. 300 to Rs. 1,000. The announcement was followed by a systematic hunt for the capture of the Raja and his men. One of the immediate victims of the hunt was Talakkal Chandu, the Kuruchiya hero. This was a serious blow to the Paxhassi cause. The Raja and his men were now forced to confine themselves to an inaccessible portion of the Wynad jungles. On November 30,1805 the British troops surrounded his hide-out and shot him dead on the banks of a rivulet. Local tradition, however, tells that the Pazhassi Raja committed suicide by swallowing a diamond as he wanted to save himself the humiliation of being captured alive by the British. His immediate followers were either killed on the spot or captured prisoners along with his ailing wife. The Raja’s dead body was cremated with the customary honours. T.H. Baber has made the following observation, “I was induced to this conduct from the consideration that although a rebel, he was one of the natural chieftains of the country and might be considered on that account as a fallen enemy”.
An Estimate of Pazhassi
Kerala Varma Pazhassi Raja has a place of pre-eminence in the gallery of the great freedom fighters of India. Though not a nationalist in the modern sense of the term he was a patriot with an indomitable will of his own. The story of his fight against the British is an epic of heroism and sacrifice in defence of a just cause. A born leader of men endowed with exceptional abilities of a high order, he had a magic hold on the minds and hearts of his fellowmen and was a source of boundless inspiration to them in the pursuit of their noble goal. T.H. Baber testifies to the Raja’s amazing popularity. He says, “In all classes, I observed a decided interest in the Pychy (Pazhassi) Raja towards whom the inhabitants entertained a regard and respect bordering on veneration which not even his death can efface. “Baber also testifies to the determined and dignified manner in which his royal adversary behaved even in the moment of death. When one of his own countrymen, Karunakara Menon, an employee in the Company’s service approached the Raja in his dying moments, “this extraordinary personage” , says Baber, “though in the moment of death, called out in the most dignified and commanding manner not to approach and defile his person”.
The revolt of the Pazhassi Raja was a people’s revolt in every sense. All classes of people were actually involved in it. The active involvement of the tribal communities of the Kurichiyas and Kurumbar has lent it the dimensions of an agrarian upheaval as well. The theme of Sardar K.M. Panikkar’s Malayalam novel Kerala Simham is the heroic Pazhassi struggle. In the preface to this novel the noted historian has expressed the view that it was in the course of his campaigns against the Pazhassi Raja in the hills and jungles of Wynad that his adversary Col. Arthur Wellesley (the later Duke of Wellington, hero of Waterloo) learnt the technique of guerilla warfare which he used with a high degree of success against the forces of Napoleon in the Peninsular War in Spain. Pazhassi Raja’s martyrdom has made him a cult figure in the history of Kerala and it has won for him a niche in the hearts of the people of Kerala for generations to come.
Dr. Anand Lali Seena, Asst. Professor, Dept. of History, Sree Ayyappa College for Women, Chunkankadai.
References
- A.Sreedhara menon, Kerala and freedom struggle,1997, p.328.
- P.K.K.Menon, History of freedom movement in kerala, 1972, p.73
- K.Damodaran, C.Narayanapillai, Keralathile swathantriya samara, 1987, p.908
- A.Sreedhara menon, Kerala and freedom struggle, 1997, p.29.
- K.N.Panikkar,Against lord and state,1989, pp.136-38
- M.S.Nair,Swatantriya samara kasarkod talukil, 1984, p.18
- T.K.Ramakrishnan, Keralathile karshaka prasthanam,1990, p.14
- P.Narayanan Nair, Aranoottandilude, 1973, p.14
- A.K.Gopalan, Manninuvendi, 1997, p.239.