Kattabomman, the First Among Freedom Fighters

Jagaveera Veerapandiya Kattabomman, Polygar of Panchalankurichi, was hanged from a tamarind tree at Kayathar in Tamil Nadu on 16 Oct 1799. His crime was refusal to pay taxes to the East India Company. Little did KC Jackson, Collector of Tirunelveli, realize that he had actually lit a fuse on Polygar revolt than put out the fire called Kattabomman.

Born on 02 January 1760 to Jagaveera Pandiyan and Arumugathammal, the Polygar of Panchalankurichi, Kattabomman revolted against British sovereignty when the Collector of Tirunelveli ordered him to pay taxes. The Nawab of Arcot, suzerain over Polygars of the south had failed to pay his dues to the Company and left it to the Company to collect the dues themselves. With this free hand, the Company had set about collecting huge amounts from the peasantry, to the peril of the country side. 

Initially Kattabomman agreed to pay the taxes as per norm and even went over to Ramanathapuram to meet the Collector. However, Jackson was haughty and made Kattabomman wait for days together even to consent to meet him. Incensed, Kattabomman returned to his fort and thereafter refused to pay taxes. The Company then sent an army to collect the taxes and bring Kattabomman. The Company army was defeated by Kattabomman and his allies.

The new collector of Tirunelveli, Lousington, changed the tactics and invited Kattabomman for talks. Playing on the Tamil sense of pride, Lousington lured Kattabomman to come alone, leaving his body guards away. When Kattabomman arrived with only his head of army, Sivasubramanya Pillai. Lousington arrested both. However, Kattabomman escaped with Pillai and reached Panchalankurichi back. War now was inevitable.

The mud fort at Panchalankurichi fell to the canons of the Company. However, an injured Kattabomman escaped to a forest near Pudukottai with handful of his followers. Pillai was arrested by British, after a battle with Kattabomman's troops near Nagalapuram. Pillai's head was severed by British and put up on a spike in Panchalankurichi. 

In the mean time, regional satraps like the King of Pugukottai and Polygars like Ettappan of Ettayyapuram aided the British and actually betrayed, arrested and handed him over to the British. The date was 02 Oct 1799. Lousington conducted a farce trial for nearly 15 days and on the 16th October, ordered that Kattabomman be hanged to death. Major Banerman of the Company hanged Kattabomman from a tamarind tree at Kayathar and left the body there as a warning to other Polygars. A great son of the Tamil people was thus betrayed, and hanged like an ordinary criminal.

Unfortunately for the British, hanging and shaming of Kattabomman did not bring about peace and subjugation of Tamil lands. Between March 1799 and July 1805, for over six years, the Polygars rose in revolt against the British Company. OOmaithurai, brother of Kattabomman, Maruthu Pandiyan brothers, Kerala Varma Pazhassi Raja of Malabar and Dheeran Chinnamalai Gounder, among others, led repaeted attacks on Company troops mostly adopting to guerrilla tactics. They attacked Company barracks in Coimbatore, Salem and Dindigul area, Trichy and elsewhere harrying the Company to no end. The King of Ramanathapuram actively supported the Polygars. Panchalankurichi fort, rebuilt by Oomaithurai became the epicenter of operations.

Eventually, forces led by Lt Col Agnew laid seige and eventually razed Panchalankurichi fort in May 1801. Oomaithurai and Maruthu Pandiyan brothers were captured , after their escape from the fort near Kalayar Kovil. They were hanged by the Company troops in November 1801 near Odanilai. Other Poligar rebels were slowly subdued over the next few years.

16th October 2018 would mark 219th Anniversary of the sacrifice by Kattabomman. It is a day that truly must mark Tamil pride with great solemnity. 

Government of India honoured Kattabomman with the release of a postage stamp and Indian Navy has a Naval station INS Kattabomman at Tuticorin. A memorial is built at Panchalankurichi and Kayathar to honour the great warrior.           

The Story of Bikaner Camel Corps

The Ganga Risala / Bikaner Camel Corps of Maharaja Ganga Singh of Bikaner

The Bikaner Camel Corps was a former army regiment that operated under the Imperial Service Troops of India and took part in the First World War and the Second World War. The Imperial Service Troops of India were the official armed forces of the princely states of India under the British Empire. The unit served along with the British Indian Army, when their service was demanded by the British administration. The British Indian regiment was also a part of the Presidency Armies in British India.

The Bikaner Camel Corps was formed in the year 1889 by Maharaja Ganga Singh of Bikaner state. The unit was initially raised as the Ganga Risala unit after the British authorities in India accepted the offer of the ruler to create an army of around 500 soldiers. The Princely State of Bikaner followed the tradition of utilising armed forces mounted on camels. Later in 1900, Maharaja Ganga Singh led the regiment of Ganga Risala during its participation in the Boxer Rebellion in China. The troops of the armed force later took part in the Somali Uprising in Somaliland from 1902 to 1904; and also fought in Egypt during the First World War. In the year 1915, the unit fought against Turkish forces at the Suez Canal.

In one engagement the Maharaja himself fired many rounds at the enemy, and after their defeat led the Ganga Risala in pursuit. Ganga Singh also fought on the French front and represented India at the Paris Peace Conference after the war. When India's membership in the proposed League of Nations was being denied, on the grounds that it was not a self-governing state, the Bikaner Maharaja successfully stated India's case: "Where it is a question of securing the peace of the world, the important fact must be borne in mind that India represents one fifth of the entire human race." The Bikaner Camel Corps also provided valuable military services during the Second World War in the Middle East. The unit was aided by the Bijay Battery, which was also a camel-mounted unit.

After the country acquired independence from the supremacy of the British Empire in India on 15th August 1947, the nation was segregated into 2 geographical parts by the Partition of India. Thus, the Union of India and the Dominion of Pakistan were formed. Accordingly the British Indian Army was also divided amongst the 2 newly formed nations. The Bikaner Camel Corps unit was assigned to the modern Army of independent India.

Later in the year 1951, the regiment was amalgamated with the Jaisalmer camel troops in order to raise the Ganga Jaisalmer Risala. Later it was unit with the Grenadiers and was designated as the 13th battalion. The Ganga Jaisalmer Risala was dismounted in 1974 and underwent conversion into standard infantry. It continues to serve as a regular infantry battalion under the name 13 Grenadiers (Ganga Jaisalmer). Post 1971 the unit has seen action in counter insurgency operations in the states of Punjab and Assam. The Ganga Risala still survives though as a part of the Border Security Force, retaining the name Bikaner Camel Corps. It has to its credit one Kirti Chakra and one Shaurya Chakra among numerous other awards. It is the only camel cavalry operated by present day armed forces.