While the entire country is aware of the valiant queen Rani Laxmibai, popularly known as ‘Jhansi ki Rani’, there are other woman freedom fighters from the southern part of the country who deserves just as much praise as Rani Laxmibai. One such fighter is Rani Chennamma, the Queen of Kittur who led a rebellion against the British in 1824.
Early Life
Rani Chennamma was born in the Kakati village located in present day Belagavi in Karnataka on October 23, 1778. She belonged to the Lingayat community and received training in horse riding, martial arts, archery and sword fighting from a very young age. Chennamma’s tales of bravery started resounding throughout the region right from her childhood.
At 15 years of age, she married Mallasarja Desai, the king of Kittur, thus becoming the Queen of Kittur. She had a son from her marriage with the king, both of whom died in 1824 and 1816 respectively. It was after this that she adopted Shivalingappa to make him her heir to the throne.
Doctrine of Lapse
The Doctrine of Lapse was devised by Lord Dalhousie, Governor-General of India (1848–56), to deal with questions of succession to Hindu Indian states. It was a corollary to the doctrine of paramountcy, by which Great Britain, as the ruling power of the Indian subcontinent, claimed the superintendence of the subordinate Indian states and so also the regulation of their succession. The Doctrine of Lapse primarily dictated that adopted children of Indian rulers did not carry the right to succeed them as the heir to the throne.
Chennamma’s declaration of Shivalingappa to be the rightful heir to the throne was a direct confrontation of the British challenging the Doctrine of Lapse, thus triggering the British to launch an attack on Kittur. Unfazed by this, she sent a letter to Lord Elphinstone, the then Governor of the Bombay Presidency, who obviously turned it down. This was followed by demands to surrender her kingdom, as well as the vehement refusal of the British to accept Chennamma as the ruler which eventually led to the break out of a war.
One of the many wars before the 1857 war of Independence
The British attempted to carry out a rampage in Kittur with a force of 20,000 men and artilleries mainly from the third troop of the Madras Native Horse Artillery. They tried to pillage Kittur’s treasures and jewels, valued around ₹15 lakh but were unsuccessful.
In the first round of war, during October 1824, the British forces lost heavily. St John Thackeray, Collector and political agent, was killed in the war. Amatur Balappa, a lieutenant of Chennamma, was mainly responsible for his killing and losses to British forces. Two British officers, Sir Walter Elliot and Stevenson were also taken as hostages.
Following the humiliating defeat, the British called Rani Chennamma to the negotiating table to secure the hostages while giving a word that the war would not be continued. Rani Chennamma released them with an understanding with Chaplin that the war would be terminated. However, it turned out to be an act of deception.
The British forces returned with a much larger force and the second war was fought for 12 days by Chennamma and her allies. During the second assault, Munro, the Sub Collector of Solapur who was also the nephew of Thomas Munro was killed. Chennamma was also helped by her lieutenant Gurusiddappa in the war against the British.
Like in every story, two soldiers of her own army Mallappa Shetty and Vankata Rao turned out to be traitors. THey had mixed mud and cow dung in the gun powder for the canons.
However, Rani Chennamma fought fiercely with the aid of her lieutenant, Sangolli Rayanna, but was ultimately captured and imprisoned at Bailhongal Fort, where she died on 21 February 1829. Throughout her imprisonment Chennamma spent her time by reading Hindu scriptures and performing pooja.
Legacy
Every year, the Kittur Utsava is celebrated during the month of October to commemorate her first victory against the British forces.
On September 11, 2007, Rani Chennamma’s statue was unveiled at the Indian Parliament complex in New Delhi by the then President Pratibha Patil. The statue was sculpted by Vijay Gaur and was donated by the Kittur Rani Chennamma Memorial Committee. Two other statues of Rani Chennamma have also been installed at Bangalore and Kittur.
However, her burial place maintained by the state government agencies remains in a neglected state.
Even though our history pages have failed to recognize Kittur Chennamma, she remains alive as an inspirational woman through local legends and folklore.