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Chikavira Rajendra or Chikka Vira Rajendra (
Kannada Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...
: , ''cika/cikka vīrarājendra'') (also in other variations, including Chikkaveera Rajendra), was the last ruler of the Kodagu (Coorg) kingdom in
South India South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, as well as the union territo ...
. His actual name was Vira Rajendra, but this was the name of his uncle as well; as both of them were rulers of Kodagu, the prefix ''Chikka'' (
Kannada Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...
and
Kodava Takk The Kodava (''Kodava takk'', meaning 'speech of Kodavas', in the Kodava language, alternate name: Coorgi, Kodagu) is an endangered Dravidian language and it is spoken in Kodagu district in Southern Karnataka, India. The term Kodava has t ...
for ''Younger'') is used as a distinguisher. He was a son of
Linga Rajendra II Linga Rajendra II or Linga Raja II was the ruler of Kodagu Kingdom (r.1811-1820). He renovated Madikeri Fort Madikeri Fort also called Mercara Fort is a fort in Madikeri, in the Kodagu district of the Indian state of Karnataka, first built b ...
.


Annexation of the kingdom

On 24 April 1834 CE, he was deposed and exiled by the
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...
; his kingdom was annexed into
British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...
as a separate chief commissionership. He spent some years in Benares before going to England along with his favourite daughter Gouramma to plead in court for the return of his kingdom.


London

The Rajah had lived in Benares for 14 years on an annual allowance of £12,000. One of his daughters, Muddama Mussamat (Ganga Maharani), became the third wife of
Jung Bahadur Rana Maharaja Jung Bahadur Kunwar Ranaji, (born Bir Narsingh Kunwar ( ne, वीर नरसिंह कुँवर), 18 June 1817; popularly known as Jung Bahadur Rana (JBR, ne, जङ्गबहादुर राणा)) () belonging to the ...
marrying at Benares in December 1850. He travelled to England by the ''Euxine'', reaching Southampton on 12 May 1852 with two wives and his daughter accompanied by Major Drummond. They were moved to Radley's Hotel after dark and then on to London the next day by train. A local newspaper noted that the Rajah had given up his caste but his six servants were vegetarian and teetotalers who cooked in the open air behind the hotel and slept in the passages or under tables in the hotel. Reaching London, the Ex-Rajah of Coorg made several pleas. On 18 November 1853, a letter was published in the ''London Standard'' where he described his situation. He pointed out that his uncle had helped General Abercrombie and the Bombay Army to pass through Coorg and join Cornwallis in 1799 and thereby helped the East India Company in its campaign against Tipoo Sultan. He also wrote about his brother-in-law Chen Busawah who made away to Mysore against the family in 1830. Chikka Rajendra had then requested the British to deliver Chen Busawah, who had also murdered some officers in the course of his escape into Mysore. The East India Company had responded that they could not deliver Chen Busawah as he had sought their protection. Some time later an East India Company messenger passing from Malabar to Mysore was detained by Chikka Rajendra. When he was not released, the Company forcibly took over the palace (taking away possessions that he claimed were worth £160,000). He had been held at Benares for 14 years and claimed that he was to be returned £180,000. He then went on to set the record right: His health declined and he died on 24 September 1859 at his residence 20, Clifton Villas, Warwick Road, Maida Hill West. His body was buried in
Kensal Green Cemetery Kensal Green Cemetery is a cemetery in the Kensal Green area of Queens Park in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London, England. Inspired by Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, it was founded by the barrister George Frederick ...
.


In literature and media

The famous
Kannada Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...
litterateur and
Jnanpith Award The Jnanpith Award is the oldest and the highest Indian literary award presented annually by the Bharatiya Jnanpith to an author for their "outstanding contribution towards literature". Instituted in 1961, the award is bestowed only on Indian w ...
recipient,
Masti Venkatesha Iyengar Masti Venkatesha Iyengar (6 June 1891 – 6 June 1986) was a well-known writer in Kannada language. He was the fourth among Kannada writers to be honored with the Jnanpith Award, the highest literary honor conferred in India. He was popularly re ...
, wrote a critically acclaimed book, ''Chikavira Rajendra'', based on the life and times of that ruler. This book is widely noted for its balanced handling of the subject; it neither comprises a litany of the supposed misdeeds of the protagonist, nor emerges as a tract against the British. The book is redolent with the culture and ethos of its milieu, being
Kodagu Kodagu (also known by its former name Coorg) is an administrative district in the Karnataka state of India. Before 1956, it was an administratively separate Coorg State, at which point it was merged into an enlarged Mysore State. It occupies ...
in the mid-19th century. In the novel, Iyengar portrays Chikka Virarajendra as having had only one close confidant – his childhood friend, unta 'lame'Basava. In one instance, the king is depicted as having killed his sister's infant child (the son of his sister Devammaji and his brother-in-law Chenna Basava) in a fit of rage. With support for his rule rapidly diminishing, Chikka Virarajendra is on course for an all-out conflict with the British Raj and takes refuge in
Nalknad Palace Nalknad Palace or Nalkunadu ( kn, ನಾಲ್ಕುನಾಡು ಅರಮನೆ, Nalkunadu / Nalnad aramane), called ''Naalnaad Aramane'' in the local Kodava language, is a palace located in the Kodagu district of the Indian state of Karnataka. ...
. The king kills Basava, charging him with sedition. (In reality Kunta Basava dies later when the British enter Kodagu, he is killed by unknown people) Chikka Virarajendra is unable to resist the British attack and with the invasion complete, is sent to
exile Exile is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons and peoples suf ...
in 1834. Iyengar won India's literary
Jnanpith Award The Jnanpith Award is the oldest and the highest Indian literary award presented annually by the Bharatiya Jnanpith to an author for their "outstanding contribution towards literature". Instituted in 1961, the award is bestowed only on Indian w ...
in 1983. A television show based on this Kannada novel, named ''Anthimaraju'', was scheduled to be broadcast in 1992 by
Doordarshan Doordarshan (abbreviated as DD; Hindi: , ) is an Indian public service broadcaster founded by the Government of India, owned by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and one of Prasar Bharati's two divisions. One of India's largest bro ...
,
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
's state run television network. The show was withdrawn by the network following protests from the
Veerashaiva Veerashaivism is a sect within the Shaivism fold of Hinduism. According to tradition, it was transmitted by ''Panchacharyas'', ( kn, ಪಂಚಾಚಾರ್ಯರು, paṃcācāraya from sa, पंचचार्य, pañcācārya), or five ...
community and Kodavas over the depiction of this king as "devil incarnate".Minute of Dissent to the Report of the Joint Committee, Indian Parliament
. 7 August. 1992


See also

*
History of Kodagu The district of Kodagu in present-day Karnataka comprises the area of the former princely state of the same name. Early history The earliest mention about Coorg can be seen in the works those date back to Sangam period (300 BCE - 300 CE). ...
*
Coorg War The Coorg War was fought between the British East India Company and the State of Coorg in 1834. Defiance of the Raja of Coorg (Chikka Virarajendra), a small state in South India, led to a short but bloody campaign in 1834. In February 1834, ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chikka Virarajendra History of Karnataka History of Kodagu district Coorg Kannada literature 1800s births