Polygar Wars

The Polygar Wars or Palaiyakkarar Wars were wars fought between the Polygars (Palaiyakkarars) of the former Tirunelveli Kingdom in Tamil Nadu, India and the British East India Company forces between March 1799 to May 1802 or July 1805. The British finally won after carrying out gruelling protracted jungle campaigns against the Polygar armies and finally defeated them. Many lives were lost on both sides and the victory over the Polygars brought large parts of the territories of Tamil Nadu under British control, enabling them to get a strong hold in Southern India.

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 Tiruchirapalli, Kattabomman was defeated, but he escaped to the jungles in Pudukottai country. He was captured by the British with the help of Ettappan, Pudukottai Raja after his backroom agreement with the British. After a summary trial, Kattabomman was hanged in front of the public in order to intimidate them in Kayatharu.

Subramania Pillai, a close associate of Kattabomman, was also publicly hanged and his head was fixed on a pike at Panchalankurichi for public view. Soundra Pandian, another rebel leader, was brutally killed by having his head smashed against a village wall. Kattabomman’s brother Oomaidurai was imprisoned in Palayamkottai prison while the fort was razed to the ground and wealth looted by the troops.

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