Birthday of Freedom Fighter Veerapandiya Kattabomman
Today is the birthday of legandary freedom fighter Veerapandiya Kattabomman
In 1791, Kattabomman became the king of the Ottapidaaram of Tirunelveli district. During the same period, the Tirunelveli district came under the rule of Britishers and Kattabomman refused to accept the sovereignty of British East India Company and opted to fight against them.
The war between the British and Kattabomman Nayak of Panchalankurichi Palayam in the then Tirunelveli region is often classified as the First Polygar war. In 1799, a brief meeting (over pending taxes) between Kattabomman and the British ended in a bloody encounter in which the British commander of the forces was slain by the former. A price was put on Kattabomman`s head prompting many Polygars to an open rebellion.
After a series of battles in the Panchalankurichi fort with additional reinforcements from Thiruchirapalli Kattabomman was defeated, but he escaped to the jungles in Pudukottai country. Here he was captured by Pudukottai Raja (after an agreement with the British) and after a summary trial Kattabomman was hanged in front of the public in order to intimidate them, near Kayatharu Fort, close to the town of Kovilpatti and in front of fellow Polygars too who had been summoned to witness the execution.
Today the place where he was hung became a lengadary place where pregnent ladies of that region visit and take the sand and apply it on their stomach with the belief that their unborn kid will become brave as Kattabomman. That is the legend you need to leave for your future generations.
IT IS BEST TO DIE THAN BEING A SLAVE FOR OTHERS, this is the mantra of those freedom fighters. Everyone knows 1857 as the war for independence, but here is a man who died for the same just 58 years ago but there is no place in freedom fighters history.
