Kannavath Sankaran Nambiar (c. 1760 – 27 November 1801) was the

prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

, or ''Sarvadikaryakar,'' 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 ...

in what is today

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 ...

. Sankaran led rebel forces 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 ...

in two campaigns before he was captured and executed. The word "Kannavath" means "that which is associated with Kannavam".

Kannavam Kannavam is a Village in Thalassery Taluk in Kannur District of Kerala State, India. It comes under Chittaripparamba Panchayat. It is located south east of District headquarters Kannur, east of Kuthuparamba and from State capital Thiruvana ...

is a village in Thalasseri taluk of Kannur district in the

State of Kerala State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

. However, "Kannavam" is also the name of the dominant feudal

Nair The Nair , also known as Nayar, are a group of Indian Hindu castes, described by anthropologist Kathleen Gough as "not a unitary group but a named category of castes". The Nair include several castes and many subdivisions, not all of whom histo ...

(Nambiar) clan resident to this village.''Malabar Manual'', William Logan, 1887 The Kannavath Nambiars were vassals of Kottayam Raja. They were once the richest landlords in Northern Malabar. Sankaran was born into this feudal clan.

Early life

As a teenager, Sankaran joined

's war effort to oust Mysoreans from

Kottayam Kottayam () is a municipal town in the Indian state of Kerala. Flanked by the Western Ghats on the east and the Vembanad Lake and paddy fields of Kuttanad on the west. It is the district headquarters of Kottayam district, located in south- ...

. Pleased with Sankaran's courage, determination, loyalty along with his skill in diplomacy and administration, the Rajah appointed him as his prime minister. One of Pazhassi rajah's main headquarters was located in Todikulam, part of Sankaran's fief. Much of Sanakaran's fief was covered with mountains and woods inhabited by Kurichia tribesmen. These tribesman assisted Sankaranin the campaigns against Mysore and the British.''Kerala Simham'', Sardar KM Panikkar, 1941

War with British

During first war with British, Sankaran along with Kaitheri Ambu, played a major role. He was present in Todikulam when Pazhassi's troops, entrenched in a fortified temple, fought the British in 1797. The British suffered severe losses in this battle, including the deaths of senior leaders Captain Bachelor and Captain William Brown.''Vadakkan Aithihyamaala'', Vanidas Elayavoor, 1986 In June 1800, Sankaran collected a large band of rebels to fight the British again. The British, on 4 August 1801, proclaimed him an outlaw and imposed the death penalty on him. Sankaran and his men helped the Rajah evade capture and came into agreement with rebels in South Malabar like Manjeri Athan Gurikkal. Sankaran also conducted

guerilla warfare Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare in which small groups of combatants, such as paramilitary personnel, armed civilians, or irregulars, use military tactics including ambushes, sabotage, raids, petty warfare, hit-and-run tactic ...

against the British troops.

Arrest and execution

On 27 November 1801, Sankaran and a small band of rebels were camped at

Kuttiyadi Kuttiady is one of the Major towns situated in the north-eastern part of Kozhikode district of Kerala, India. It is located from Vadakara and from Kozhikode. Kuttiady is situated in the slopes of the Western Ghats. The four-sided junction o ...

. A local resident betrayed them to the British, who captured the rebels and transported them to Kannavam. In Kannavam, on the execution grounds, the British repeatedly promised Sankaran a pardon and reward if he revealed Pazhassi Raja's hideout. Sankaran rebuffed the offer. He informed the British that "he will get a far greater reward in heaven if he remained loyal to his Raja." His son, his nephew, his brother and his other followers also refused. Sankaran then reportedly put the noose around his neck with his own hands and his followers did the same.Account of George Strachan
/ref> The following morning. the residents of Kannavam saw their corpses still hanging, as they had not yet been buried. The place of execution for Sankaran and his followers is now a memorial site called as ''Kuritikalam'' or ''Plot of Blood Sacrifice''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nambiar, Kannavath Sankaran 1760 births 1801 deaths Indian diplomats