Pazhayaveettil Chandu Nambiar also known as Pazhayamviden Chandu was a general of

Pazhassi Raja Pazhassi Raja () (3 January 1753 – 30 November 1805) was known as Kerala Varma and was also known as Cotiote Rajah and Pychy Rajah. He was a warrior Hindu prince and de facto head of the kingdom of Kottayam, otherwise known as Cotiote, in ...

whose betrayal led to death of his Raja and British victory in

Cotiote War The Cotiote War (Kottayathu war) refers to a series of continuous struggles fought between the Cotiote king, Pazhassi Raja Kerala Varma, and the East India Company across a span of thirteen years between 1793 and 1806. Pazhassi Raja aimed to pr ...

Early life

Originally from a poor family, due to starvation he joined the retinue of Pazhassi Raja as a boy. Pazhassi Raja loved him as his own son and was impressed by the ability and courage of Chandu. So he gave the best training to Chandu in war and administration and appointed him as a ''Karyakar'' or minister. Raja also made Chandu, a commoner by birth, into a noble. Raja asked a

Nambiar Nambiar may refer to: *Nambiar (Ambalavasi caste), a Hindu caste in Kerala *Nambiar (Nair subcaste), an Indian caste from North Malabar People *A. C. N. Nambiar (1896–1986), Indian nationalist and first Indian ambassador to Germany *Aneil Namb ...

noble clan of Pazhayveedu to adopt him. Thus Chandu became Pazhayaveettil Chandu Nambiar and hence came his nickname Pazhyamviden.

Marriage

Raja also arranged his marriage with a lady named Unniamma, who was sister of famous Kaitheri Ambu. Ambu, who probably detected the true self of Chandu, was reportedly not very pleased with this alliance. He consented only because he could not say no to Raja.

Military service

Chandu fought bravely in Pazhassi Raja's warfare with

Mysore Mysore (), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern part of the state of Karnataka, India. Mysore city is geographically located between 12° 18′ 26″ north latitude and 76° 38′ 59″ east longitude. It is located at an altitude of ...

troops. He was reputedly one of the ablest fighters in whole of

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

of his time and he was very arrogant about it.

Double agent

Chandu after 1793 openly broke off his ties with Raja and joined forces with his uncle Vira Varma and then, with English East India Company. But he was a spy who informed his master Kerala Varma Pazhassi about moves and plans made by enemies. He even came close to Wellesley who mention about him in his dispatches "Supplementary Dispatches of Arthur Wellesley",Edited, 1858 as ''Pye Vittil Chandoo''.

Betrayal of his Raja

In 1805, Chandu disclosed all secrets about Pazhassi war machine to English which resulted in complete collapse of rebel resistance and even surprised Pazhassi Raja in his hideout where he was killed in a gun battle. Chandu is reportedly said to have betrayed his master for money.

Death

He died in mysterious circumstances - he was found murdered most probably by Pazhassi partisans in revenge. It is also said that it was English who did that as they felt he had outlived his utility, and also as a punishment for espionage he did for rebel Raja for nearly 12 years.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chandu, Pazhayamviden Military personnel from Kerala Cotiote War