Maveeran Alagumuthu Kone (11 July 1710 – 19 July 1759), from Kattalankulam in

Thoothukudi District Thoothukudi District is one of the 38 districts of Tamil Nadu state in southern India. The district was formed by bifurcation of Tirunelveli district on 20 October 1986. Thoothukudi is the district headquarters and largest city of the distric ...

, was an Indian polygar who revolted against the British presence. In

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...

he waged a war against the

Presidency armies The presidency armies were the armies of the three presidencies of the East India Company's rule in India, later the forces of the British Crown in India, composed primarily of Indian sepoys. The presidency armies were named after the presidenc ...

from 1750 - 1759. Alagumuthukon was the first freedom fighter in India. Born into a Konar family, he became a military leader in the town of

Ettayapuram Ettayapuram is a panchayat town in Thoothukudi district of Tamil Nadu, India. It is the birthplace of Tamil poets Mahakavi Bharathiar and Umaru Pulavar. Muthuswami Dikshitar, one of the triads of Carnatic music, was patronized in his final years ...

and ruler of Kattalangulam, As military commander of Ettayapuram army. Chinna Alagumuthukone born in 1729. After the death of his father in 1750, the same year Alagumuthukone was crowned king. In 1750, the British warned the Kattalangulam and Ettayapuram Palayam to pay taxes. Alagumuthukone was furious with the report of the British. A consultative committee was held in Ettayapuram palace under the leadership of Jegaveerarama Ettappar,

Chinna Alagumuthu Kone Chinna may refer to: * Earl "Chinna" Smith (born 1955), Jamaican guitarist * Chinna, Dalmatia, an ancient Illyrian settlement * ''Chinna'' (1994 film), a 1994 Kannada film * ''Chinna'' (2005 film), a 2005 Tamil-language film * Chinna (Telugu act ...

(his brother 1729–1755) and Alagumuthukone. In this, Alagumuthukone ordered that none of the villagers should pay taxes. He also sent a reply letter to the British government. It has been said that why should we pay taxes to the white man who came to do business in our country? He threatened that the heads of the British will roll on the soil of Kattalangulam if they come with the intention of collecting taxes. Shocked, the British government sent an English force to Kattalangulam in 1751. Alagumuthukon's soldiers who surrounded the British army that came to Kattalangulam cut down the British. With the help of chinna alagumuthukone kone, Alagumuthukone fought many battles against the British. In 1755,the Alagumuthukone, the war force of Alagumuthukone along with the Travancore force fought against Colonel Eron Keran's army and won. Alagumuthu kone was defeated in battle against the British and

Maruthanayagam Maruthanayagam Pillai (1725 – 15 October 1764), was the commandant of the British East India Company's Madras Army . He was born in a Tamil Vellalar family in a village called Panaiyur in British India, what is now in Nainarkoil Taluk, Raman ...

's forces in 1759. By Maruthanayaka's maneuver, Alagumuthukone stood smiling in front of the cannons and was blasted by the cannon and shattered into thousands of pieces. Stamp of India - 2015 - Colnect 637810 - Alagumuthu kone

Stamp of India - 2015 - Colnect 637810 - Alagumuthu kone

Legacy

In his memory, the government of Tamil Nadu conducts a Pooja ceremony every year on 11 July. A documentary film based on his life was released in 2012. As a tribute to Kone, the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, c ...

released a

Postage Stamp A postage stamp is a small piece of paper issued by a post office, postal administration, or other authorized vendors to customers who pay postage (the cost involved in moving, insuring, or registering mail), who then affix the stamp to the fa ...

featuring him on 26 December 2015.

References

Indian rebels 1710 births 1759 deaths People from Tirunelveli district Indian revolutionaries Indian independence activists from Tamil Nadu Revolutionary movement for Indian independence Polygar Wars People from Tamil Nadu {{India-stub