Rani Velu Nachiyar (3 January 1730 – 25 December 1796) was a queen of

Sivaganga estate The estate of Sivaganga ( ta, சிவகங்கை ஜமீன்), as per British records also known as Kingdom of the Lesser Marava, was a permanently settled ''zamindari'' estate in the Ramnad sub-division of Madura district, Madras P ...

from 1780–1790. She was the first Indian queen to wage war with the

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 Southea ...

in India IN, In or in may refer to: Places * India (country code IN) * Indiana, United States (postal code IN) * Ingolstadt, Germany (license plate code IN) * In, Russia, a town in the Jewish Autonomous Oblast Businesses and organizations * Indepen ...

. Remembering Queen Velu Nachiyar of Sivagangai, the first queen to fight the British
''The News Minute''. 3 January 2017 She is known by

Tamils The Tamil people, also known as Tamilar ( ta, தமிழர், Tamiḻar, translit-std=ISO, in the singular or ta, தமிழர்கள், Tamiḻarkaḷ, translit-std=ISO, label=none, in the plural), or simply Tamils (), are a Drav ...

as ''Veeramangai'' ("brave woman"). With the support of

Hyder Ali Hyder Ali ( حیدر علی, ''Haidarālī''; 1720 – 7 December 1782) was the Sultan and ''de facto'' ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore in southern India. Born as Hyder Ali, he distinguished himself as a soldier, eventually drawing the att ...

's army, feudal lords, the Maruthu Brothers,

Dalit Dalit (from sa, दलित, dalita meaning "broken/scattered"), also previously known as untouchable, is the lowest stratum of the Caste system in India, castes in India. Dalits were excluded from the four-fold Varna (Hinduism), varna syste ...

commanders, and Thandavarayan Pillai, she fought the East India company.

Life

Sivagangai Palace with Velunachiyar Statue

Velu Nachiyar was the princess of

Ramanathapuram Ramanathapuram (), also known as Ramnad, is a town and a municipality in Ramanathapuram district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the administrative headquarters of Ramanathapuram district and the second largest town (by population) in ...

and the only child of King Chellamuthu Vijayaragunatha Sethupathy and Queen Sakandhimuthathal of the

Ramnad kingdom The Kingdom of Ramnad or Ramnad estate was a permanently settled kingdom and later ''zamindari'' estate that existed in the Ramnad subdivision of the Madurai district and later Ramnad district of the erstwhile Madras Presidency in British Indi ...

. Nachiyar was trained in many methods of combat, including war match weapons usage, martial arts like

Valari A valari ( ta, வளரி) is a traditional weapon, primarily used by the Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. The valari resembles, and is used like, a boomerang. It has been used by the Tamil people in ancient battles, for protecting ca ...

Silambam Silambam is an Indian martial art originating in South India in the Indian subcontinent. This style is mentioned in Tamil Sangam literature. The World Silambam Association is the official international body of Silambam. Origin References in ...

, horse riding, and archery. She was a scholar in many languages and was proficient in languages like French,

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

and

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

Sivagangai Sivaganga () is a city and headquarters of the Sivaganga district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Sivaganga is a rani velunachiyar kingdom of Tamil Nadu. It is an important city in this district for official and commercial purposes. Its ni ...

, with whom she had a daughter. When her husband, Muthu Vaduganatha Periyavudaya Thevar was killed in a battle with EIC soldiers in 1780, she was drawn into the conflict. Velu Nachiyar ran away from Sivagangai as a fugitive and sought the help of Hyder Ali. Hyder Ali helped her with 5,000 soldiers and gunpowder weapons. Initially Hyder Ali refused but later agreed to help her with soldiers, arms and training. Velu Nachiyar sought the help of rich merchants as well. After eight years of planning along with support of many feudal lords, Tipu Sultan, Marudhu brothers and Thandavarayan Pillai she fought against the British East India Company. When Velu Nachiyar found the place where the EIC stored some their ammunition, Her commander Kuyili made a suicide attack on the ammunition depot, blowing it up. Nachiyar reinherited the kingdom of her husband, and ruled it for ten more years. In 1790, she was succeeded by her daughter

Vellacci Vellacci or Vellachi Nachiyar (1770-1793) was the second ruling queen of Sivaganga estate in 1790–1793. She is the daughter of Muthu Vaduganatha Periyavudaya Thevar and Velu Nachiyar. She was made the heir to the throne of Sivagangai by her mo ...

. She granted powers to her daughter with the

Marudu brothers The Marudhu Pandiyars (Periya Marudhu and Chinna Marudhu) were Diarchal Kings of Sivagangai, Tamil Nadu, India, towards the end of the 18th century. They were known for fighting against the East India Company. They were finally executed by t ...

to help with the administration of the kingdom. Velu Nachiyar died a few years later, on 25 December 1796.

Popular culture

*On 31 December 2008, a commemorative postage stamp in her name was released. *OVM Dance Academy of Chennai presenting "VELU NACHIYAR" a Grand Dance Ballet on Sivaganga Queen. *Professor A.L.I., a Tamil-American hip-hop artist, released a song dedicated to Velu Nachiyar entitled "Our Queen" as part of his ''Tamilmatic'' album in 2016. *On 21 August 2017, a grand dance ballet was conducted in Naradha Gana Sabha in Chennai depicting the life history of the queen Velu Nachiyar. The play was directed by Sriram Sharma, who researched on the Queen's life history for almost a decade.

References

External link

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nachiyar, Velu 1730 births 1796 deaths Indian female royalty Indian independence activists from Tamil Nadu Indian women in war Tamil monarchs Indian revolutionaries Indian independence movement People from Sivaganga district Women in 18th-century warfare 18th-century women rulers 18th-century Indian women 18th-century Indian people

Life

Popular culture

See also

References

External link