Monday, January 16, 2012
The Royal Rebel of Kottayam ( karala in india )
Kerala Varma Pazhassi Raja:- he Royal Rebel of Kottayam ( karala in india )
THE night of November 29, 1805 was surprisingly hot and
humid in the jungles beyond Wayanad. A small army of rebels from Malabar had
crossed over to the Mysore side and was holed up there, hiding from the
British. None of them could sleep properly and there was a sense of unease.
The next morning, their leader,
Kerala Varma, was up early. It was an important day for him, his mother's death
anniversary. He bathed in the Mavila Thodu, and finished his prayers. He
discussed strategy with his men for a while, and then they formed a protective
circle around him as he sat on the bank and the ceremonies began. Suddenly, in
the middle of the rituals, they found themselves surrounded by the English army
under Sub-Collector Thomas Harvey Baber.
Bullets were fired and the men
scattered. His men pleaded with Kerala Varma to escape, but he refused. In the
ensuing confusion, a bullet caught him in the chest. With a prayer to
Sriporkali, the goddess of Pazhassi, he collapsed on the bank. His men stood
helpless, watching the end of their only hope of freedom.
Ingenious tactics
The story of Pazhassi Raja Kerala
Varma isn't well known outside Kerala, but he was one of our country's first
freedom fighters. He had to reckon with the armies of the Mysore rulers as well
as the British. The British first used him against Tipu's army and then reneged
on their treaty, coming in to usurp the land. He was forced to flee his palace
in Kottayam with a band of trusted followers and spent the rest of his days in
the treacherous Wayanad jungles, refusing to give up, and inflicting grave and
humiliating injuries on the British. His survival depended on the loyalty and
resilience of his subjects under British pressure and the ingenuous strategies
he employed to evade and attack the enemy. Using guerrilla tactics and informers,
he kept the British on tenterhooks for longer than any other regional ruler.
When the British brought out their trump card, Colonel Arthur Wellesley, the
strategy worked and ended in the death, if not capture, of the royal
rebel.Pazhassi Raja Kerala Varma was exposed to warfare from his early teens.
Many of his family members and several well-placed Nair families fled south
because of local skirmishes and confrontations with Hyder Ali. But Kerala Varma
stayed on in Pazhassi, determined to face the invaders, protect his people and
remain close to the family deity, Sriporkali. Pazhassi's first revolt against
the British began in 1793. The people were unhappy over the tax collections and
the neglect of their welfare. The British selected a pliable administrator for
Kottayam, ignoring Kerala Varma's claim, and gave him complete authority. The
move was so blatant that even some British reports questioned its wisdom.
Uncanny knowledge
The British soon realised that they
were up against a formidable enemy in Kerala Varma. Even when his palace was
ransacked and he had to seek refuge in the mountains, he continued to frustrate
their efforts with his guerrilla tactics. With the help of tribals and an
uncanny knowledge of the treacherous jungles, he and his men indulged in
cat-and-mouse games that depleted the strength of the British forces, and soon
their single-point agenda was to claim the Raja's head. They accomplished this
by befriending a dependant of Kerala Varma, a man who had come to him as a boy
on the brink of starvation and grown up under his care. This man,
Pazhayaveettil Chandu, knew the Raja and his hiding place intimately, and had
no qualms about sharing his knowledge with the British. Kerala Varma was
devastated by this betrayal. Even as they moved away to the Mysore side of the
forest, they all sensed that the end was imminent.
There are no contemporary portraits
of Kerala Varma that show his likeness, but word-pictures remain. Walter Ivor,
a member of the former British Court of Directors, happened to be present
during a discussion before the first peace treaty with Kerala Varma was signed.
He describes a small man with a smile. His followers seemed to love and respect
him greatly. Later, the Governor, Jonathan Duncan, who met the Raja in the Tellicherry
Fort, had this to say about him: "Pazhassi Raja had long hair and a short
thick beard, and was a small man. Sometimes he was in the habit of wearing a
red cap. His face radiated a great glow."
His nemesis, Baber, was an
energetic young man, reputed to be purposeful and correct. He made sure that
people would see Pazhassi Raja's death as the death of a great king and not
simply that of an enemy. He placed the body in his own palanquin, and the last
rites were performed in a manner befitting a royal departure. Baber described
the Raja as an "extraordinary and singular character".
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