Thalakkal Chanthu, also spelled Thalakkal Chandu, was an archer and commander-in-chief of the

Kurichya Kurichiya or Kurichiyar also known as Hill Brahmins

soldiers of the

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 ...

who fought British forces in the

Wayanad Wayanad () is a district in the north-east of Indian state Kerala with administrative headquarters at the municipality of Kalpetta. It is the only plateau in Kerala. The Wayanad Plateau forms a continuation of the Mysore Plateau, the southern ...

jungles during first decade of the 19th century.

Career

Chanthu began his career under Edachena Kunkan, who later promoted him to the rank of general. Pazhassi Raja and his other generals and troops saw Chanthu as their ablest war leader.

Panamaram fort massacre

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 Southea ...

fixed a high revenue tax on agricultural produce of Wyanad farmers causing widespread dissent. One of the Company peons was killed by

Edachena Kunkan Edachena Kunkan (also known as Edachena Kunkan Nair) was a Wayanad Nair noble from Tirunelli, Wayanad, Kerala, India who joined the war effort of Pazhassi Raja during the 1770s and became commander of the Raja's army. His younger brothers (Edachen ...

when the peon demanded paddy from a Kuruchiya man. This prompted the entire Kuruchiya tribe to join hands with Edachana Kunkan who was carrying on a fight against the British on behalf of Pazhassi Raja. The rebellion on 11 October 1802 by a group of tribal soldiers (comprising 175 Kurichya archers), led by Thalakkal Chandu and Edachena Kunkan, captured the British fort at

Panamaram Panamaram is a village in Wayanad district in the state of Kerala, India. Demographics India census, Panamaram had a population of 11651 with 5891 males and 5760 females. Panamaram River Panamaram River is a tributary of the Kabani River ...

which was defended by the I battalion of 4th Bombay infantry. Commanding officer Capt. Dickinson and Lt. Maxwell were killed in action along with entire detachment of 70 soldiers which was guarding the fort. The British forces launched a retaliatory attack and trapped Chanthu on 15 November 1805. He was executed under a Koly tree. Edachana Kunkan committed suicide when he was surrounded at Panniyil later (now called Pannichal, Kerala).

Memorial

The Kerala State Government installed a memorial to Chanthu on 22 September 2012, near Panamaram Fort on the banks of the Kabini river. In the form of a museum, the memorial displays weapon models used by Chanthu and his tribesmen, the Kurichiya archers and the tribe's traditional agricultural implements.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chanthu, Thalakkal Year of birth missing 1805 deaths Indian Army personnel Indian male archers Cotiote War People from Wayanad district Indian independence activists from Kerala Archers from Kerala 19th-century sportsmen 18th-century Indian people