Kittur Rani Chennama: One of the first female freedom fighters of India

Women of the 18th or 19th century were brave enough to run an administrative state or a region. It is because they had the support of their husbands and their regional people. Not only that, they followed their tradition in the same order until the capture of British Colonialisation. They followed the heirloom tradition: if a King died, the next King would be his son; if that son was very young, he would be the future King until then his mother, the Queen would rule the region. It looks like it was very easy to be Queen in that period, but still, she is a woman. She has her own trouble, like she may become the mistress of her husband’s brother or the enemy King who fought in war and captured the region. The people may not accept her and so on. So being a woman even as a Queen is also not easy in this world. Still, there were many notable Queens who had made their contribution in India is quite a number. They succeeded in their role because of their bravery and willpower. Like that here we are about to see one such Queen, Kittur Rani Chennamma.

Personal Life:

Rani Chennamma was born on 23rd October 1778 in Kakati a small village. Kakati village is now in the present-day Belagavi District of Karnataka, India. Chennamma was very well trained in horse riding, sword fighting and archery during her childhood. She got married at the very young age of 15 to Raja Malla Sarja of the Desai family. He ruled the Kittur province; Kittur is an area between Dharwad and Belgaum city. Chennamma was an admirer of Raja Malla Sarja since the age of 9.

Chennamma and Malla Sarja had a son named, Shivalingarudra Sarja. In 1816, King Malla Sarja died who left behind Chennamma and his song clueless. But as per the norm, Shivalingarudra ascended the throne of Kittur province. Soon Shivalingarudra’s health worsen. Due to his fallen health, Chennamma took up the reign of Kittur. It is seen that either Chennamma or Shivalingarudra adopted a child named, Shivalingappa as their next heir for the throne of Kittur. Shivalingarudra Sharja died in 1824 after his illness.

Battle against the British:

British colonialism brought many changes in the administration of India after they defeated the Marathas, Tippu and Hyder Ali.  One such change is the Doctrine of Lapse, which was introduced by Lord Dalhousie. The Doctrine of Lapse was a policy of annexation brought by the East India Company. This policy states that “if an Indian King or ruler died without any heir of their own their kingdom does not belong to them anymore, that kingdom would lapse and become the part of East India Company’s territories. It is also against the rule that they must not bring up any adopted person to be their heir for their kingdom”.

When Shivalingappa was adopted as the next heir for Kittur’s reign, this became sensational among the East India Company. The East India Company severely opposed this matter by stating the policy, Doctrine of Lapse. Soon over, Kittur province came under the control of the Dharwad City Collectorate, St. John Thackeray along with the commissioner of Dharwad City, Mr. Chaplin.

To clear this problematic issue, Rani Chennamma sent a letter to support her in this case to Mount Stuart Elphinstone, Lieutenant and Governor of the Bombay Province. But they neglect the letter that is in favour of her. Lately, in 1823 a war broke out because of this issue. The British in the first place sent their soldiers to guard the treasury and crown jewels of Kittur which was almost valued at 1.5 million. To fight the war, the British army sent around 20,100 soldiers to Kittur. In October 1824, the first round of war began. In this round, the British army faced a loss and also St. John Thackery was killed by Amatur Balappa, a lieutenant of Rani Chennamma. Sir Walter Elliot and Mr Stevenson also became the captives in the first round of the war.

Later, Rani Chennamma was betrayed by the commissioner of Dharwad city, Mr. Chaplin. He assured if she released the two of his British Officers in a deal this war would be terminated, but he failed his deal by continuing the war with more forces. This led to the second round of the war in Kittur province. In the second round, the sub-collector of Solapur, Munro, who is also the nephew of Thomas Munro was killed. Rani Chennamma bravely fought for her province and her country to save them from the Britishers. Rani Chennamma along with his Deputy, Sangolli Rayanna fought the war endlessly. But in the long run, Chennamma was captured and imprisoned by the Britishers at Bailhongal Fort.

Sangolli Rayanna continued the war underground till 1829. Rayanna’s only aim is to make Shivalingappa, the adopted son of Chennamma the ruler of Kittur province. Unfortunately, Rayanna was also captivated and hanged by the Britishers. Shivalingappa was also arrested by the British. In the meantime, Rani Chennamma’s health worsened and also died during her imprisonment at Bailhongal Fort on 21st February 1829.

It is seen from the sources that Shivalingappa was taken into the British Custody and was sent to a British school in Dharwad, where he received his studies. After his studies, he joined the British Army and served as a Soldier. Shivalingappa also lived a faraway life from being the adopted son of Kittur Rani Chennamma.

Rani Chennamma’s memorial:

After her death, Rani Chennamma was buried in Bailhongal taluk in the state, of Karnataka. Her burial place became a memorial; now it was surrounded by a small park and it is maintained by the Government of India. Rani Chennamma’s first Victory is still remembered and celebrated in Kittur during the Kittur Utsav which is held every year on 22nd and 24th October.

Legacies:

• On 2007, September 11, a statue of Rani Chennamma was unveiled by the former first women President of India, Pratibha Patil at the Indian Parliament Complex. This statue was donated by the Kittur Rani Chennamma Memorial Committee.
• In 2007, the Indian Government honoured her by issuing a postage stamp in her name.
• Many books were published in dedication to Kittur Rani Chennamma and her fierce fight with the British East India Company.
• It is also seen that Rani Chennamma was also one of the first women who started the fight against the East India Company.