Kittur, historically as Kittoor, is a ''
taluka
A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluka, or taluk) is a local unit of administrative division in some countries of South Asia. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administr ...
'' in the
Belagavi district of the
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 ...
n state of Karnataka. It was part of
Bailhongal
Bailhongal is a Taluk in Belagavi District of Karnataka state in southern India. Bailhongal Taluk is located towards the north-east part of Belagavi. The taluk headquarters is about 44 km from the district headquarters. The total geographi ...
taluka but was declared as an independent taluka on 23October 2012 by the Chief Minister of Karnataka on the inauguration of Kittur Utsav. It is 177th Taluk of Karnataka State. It is a place of historical importance because of the armed rebellion of
Kittur Chennamma
Kittur Chennamma (23 October 1778 – 21 February 1829) was the Indian Queen of Kittur, a former princely state in present-day Karnataka. She led an armed resistance against the British East India Company in 1824, in defiance of the Paramountcy ...
(1778–1829),
Rani of the State of Kittur against the
British East India Company
The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and South ...
, during which a British Commissioner,
St John Thackeray was killed.
History
On the outskirts of the town lie the ruins of the palace within a fort. The palace was the residence of the Rani Chennamma.
In the 18th century, Kittur was ruled by the
Marathas
The Marathi people ( Marathi: मराठी लोक) or Marathis are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who are indigenous to Maharashtra in western India. They natively speak Marathi, an Indo-Aryan language. Maharashtra was formed as a ...
, until the
Third Anglo-Maratha War
The Third Anglo-Maratha War (1817–1819) was the final and decisive conflict between the English East India Company and the Maratha Empire in India. The war left the Company in control of most of India. It began with an invasion of Maratha ter ...
, when it came under British suzerainty.
Kittur was ruled by Mallasaraja in the early 19th century. His only son predeceased him, and subsequently, he was succeeded by his wife, Queen Chennamma.
In connection with a disputed succession to this chiefship in 1824, St John Thackeray, Commissioner of Dharwad, was killed in a battle when approaching the Kittur fort. Later another unit stormed Kittur and captured
Queen Chennamma, who was imprisoned in Bailhongal Jail where she died. Rani Chennamma became a legend.
Her death was followed by subsequent revolts by her general
Sangolli Rayanna
Sangolli Rayanna was born on 15 August 1798 was a nineteenth century Indian revolutionary, military chief (''Shetsanadi)'' and warrior in the Kittur princely state in the present day Indian state of Karnataka. He was the ''Shetsanadi'' of the ...
, who was also considered a hero, destroying many British officers and records. He was later hanged in 1831.
The town lends its name to the fictitious coastal town in the 2008 novel ''
Between the Assassinations'' by
Aravind Adiga
Aravind Adiga (born 23 October 1974) is an Indian writer and journalist. His debut novel, '' The White Tiger'', won the 2008 Man Booker Prize.
Biography Early life and education
Aravind Adiga was born in Madras (now Chennai) on 23 October 197 ...
(
Belagavi District has no coast, which rules out the real Kittur being the setting).
See also
*
Rani Chennamma
*
St John Thackeray attack on Kittur
*
Belgaum
*
Bailhongal
Bailhongal is a Taluk in Belagavi District of Karnataka state in southern India. Bailhongal Taluk is located towards the north-east part of Belagavi. The taluk headquarters is about 44 km from the district headquarters. The total geographi ...
*
Sangolli Rayanna
Sangolli Rayanna was born on 15 August 1798 was a nineteenth century Indian revolutionary, military chief (''Shetsanadi)'' and warrior in the Kittur princely state in the present day Indian state of Karnataka. He was the ''Shetsanadi'' of the ...
References
External links
Kittur Fort on Google Maps
{{EB1911, wstitle=Kittur, volume=15, page=841
Villages in Belagavi district