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{{Short description|Indian Freedom Fighter and Queen of Sivagangai}}{{pp-sock|small=yes}}
{{Short description|Indian Freedom Fighter and Queen of Sivagangai}}
{{Use Indian English|date=July 2016}}
{{Use Indian English|date=July 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2018}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2018}}
{{Infobox royalty
{{Infobox royalty
| name               = Rani Velu Nachiyar
| name         = Rani Velu Nachiyar
| title             = Queen of [[Sivagangai]]<br />Princess of [[Ramanathapuram]]  
| title       = Queen of [[Sivagangai]]<br />Princess of [[Ramanathapuram]]
| image             = Velu Nachchiyar 2008 stamp of India.jpg
| image       = Velu Nachchiyar 2008 stamp of India.jpg
| caption           = Velu Nachchiyar on a 2008 stamp of India
| caption     = Velu Nachchiyar on a 2008 stamp of India
| reign             = c. 1780-c. 1790<ref name=r2>K. R. Venkatarama Ayyar (1938) ''A Manual of the Pudukkóttai State''. Sri Brihadamba State Press. p.720</ref>
| reign       = c. 1780-c. 1790<ref name=r2>K. R. Venkatarama Ayyar (1938) ''A Manual of the Pudukkóttai State''. Sri Brihadamba State Press. p.720</ref>
| coronation         = 1780
| coronation   = 1780
| full name         =
| full name   =  
| dynasty           = Sethupathi
| dynasty     = Sethupathi
| successor         = [[Vellacci]]<ref name=r2/>
| successor   = [[Vellacci]]<ref name=r2/>
| father             = Chellamuthu vijayaragunatha Sethupathy
| father       = Chellamuthu vijayaragunatha Sethupathy
| mother             = Muthathal Nachiyar
| mother       = Muthathal Nachiyar
| birth_date     = 3 January 1730
| birth_date   = 3 January 1730
| birth_place     = [[Ramanathapuram]], [[Tamil Nadu]], [[India]]
| birth_place = [[Ramanathapuram]], [[Sivaganga estate|Kingdom of Sivaganga ]]
| death_date     = {{death-date and age|25 December 1796|3 January 1730}}
(Modern day [[Tamil Nadu]], [[India]])
| death_place     = [[Sivaganga]], Tamil Nadu, India
| death_date   = {{death-date and age|25 December 1796|3 January 1730}}
| date of burial     = 25 December 1796
| death_place = [[Sivaganga]], [[Sivaganga estate|Kingdom of Sivaganga ]]
| place of burial   = [[Sivaganga]], Tamil Nadu, India
(Modern day Tamil Nadu, India)
| date of burial = 25 December 1796
| place of burial = [[Sivaganga]], Tamil Nadu, India
| spouse      = [[Muthu Vaduganatha Periyavudaya Thevar]]
}}
}}


[[file:Sivagangai Aranmanai.jpg|thumb|250px|right|Sivagangai Palace With Rani Velu Nachiyar Statue]]
'''Rani Velu Nachiyar''' (3 January 1730 – 25 December 1796) was a queen of [[Sivaganga estate]] from {{circa}} 1780–1790. She was the first Indian queen to wage war with the [[East India Company]] [[Company rule in India|in India]].<ref>Rohini Ramakrishnan (10 August 2010) [https://web.archive.org/web/20110629040635/http://www.hindu.com/yw/2010/08/10/stories/2010081050290300.htm Women who made a difference]. ''The Hindu''.</ref><ref name=r1>[http://www.thenewsminute.com/article/remembering-queen-velu-nachiyar-sivagangai-first-queen-fight-british-55163  Remembering Queen Velu Nachiyar of Sivagangai, the first queen to fight the British]. ''The News Minute''. 3 January 2017</ref> She is known by [[Tamils]] as ''Veeramangai'' ("brave woman").<ref>{{cite news|title=Veeramangai Velu Nachiyar|url=https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/blink/cover/veeramangai-velu-nachiyar/article26016399.ece|newspaper=The Hindu Business Line|date=18 January 2019|location=Chennai, India}}</ref> With the support of [[Hyder Ali]]'s army, feudal lords, the Maruthu Brothers, [[Dalit]] commanders, and Thandavarayan Pillai, she fought the East India company.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Journeys_English_Course_Book_6/WgxL4eT2ayYC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Velu+Nachiyar&pg=PA78&printsec=frontcover |title= Journeys English Course Book 6|page= 78  |date= 2007 |publisher= Pearson Education India}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Reminiscing_Herstories/THslEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Velu+Nachiyar+haider+ali&pg=PA28&printsec=frontcover |title= Reminiscing Herstories |page= 28 |date= March 24, 2021 |publisher= BFC Publications }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Uphill, for history's sake|url=http://www.hindu.com/mp/2007/12/24/stories/2007122450130300.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080228192224/http://www.hindu.com/mp/2007/12/24/stories/2007122450130300.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=28 February 2008|date=24 December 2007|location=India|newspaper=[[The Hindu]]|author=Soma Basu}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.google.com/books/edition/Power_Women/wHQxEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=kuyili%20dalit |title= Power Women |page= All |date= September 13, 2021 |publisher= Bloomsbury Publishing }}</ref>


'''Rani Velu Nachiyar''' (3 January 1730 – 25 December 1796) was a queen of [[Sivaganga estate]] from {{circa}} 1780–1790. She was the first Indian queen to wage war with the [[East India Company]] [[Company rule in India|in India]].<ref>Rohini Ramakrishnan (10 August 2010) [https://web.archive.org/web/20110629040635/http://www.hindu.com/yw/2010/08/10/stories/2010081050290300.htm Women who made a difference]. ''The Hindu''.</ref><ref name=r1>[http://www.thenewsminute.com/article/remembering-queen-velu-nachiyar-sivagangai-first-queen-fight-british-55163  Remembering Queen Velu Nachiyar of Sivagangai, the first queen to fight the British]. ''The News Minute''. 3 January 2017</ref> She is known by [[Tamils]] as ''Veeramangai'' ("brave woman").<ref>{{cite news|title=Veeramangai Velu Nachiyar|url=https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/blink/cover/veeramangai-velu-nachiyar/article26016399.ece|newspaper=The Hindu Business Line|date=18 January 2019|location=Chennai, India}}</ref>
==Life==
[[File:Sivagangai Palace with Velunachiyar Statue.jpg|thumb|left|Sivagangai Palace with Rani Velu Nachiyar Statue]]


==Life==
Velu Nachiyar was the princess of [[Ramanathapuram]] and the only child of King Chellamuthu Vijayaragunatha Sethupathy and Queen Sakandhimuthathal of the [[Ramnad estate|Ramnad kingdom]].
Velu Nachiyar was the princess of [[Ramanathapuram]] and the only child of King Chellamuthu Vijayaragunatha Sethupathy and Queen Sakandhimuthathal of the [[Ramnad estate|Ramnad kingdom]].
Nachiyar was trained in many methods of combat, including war match weapons usage, martial arts like [[Valari]], [[Silambam]], horse riding, and archery. She was a scholar in many languages and was proficient in languages like [[French language|French]], [[English language|English]] and [[Urdu]].<ref name=r1/> She married the king of [[Sivagangai]], with whom she had a daughter.


Nachiyar was trained in many methods of combat, including war match weapons usage, martial arts like [[Valari]], [[Silambam]], horse riding, and archery. She was a scholar in many languages and was proficient in languages like [[French language|French]], [[English language|English]] and [[Urdu]].<ref name=r1/> She married the king of [[Sivagangai]], with whom she had a daughter. When her husband, [[Muthu Vaduganatha Periyavudaya Thevar]] was killed in a battle with [[Presidency armies|EIC soldiers]], she was drawn into the conflict. She escaped the battlefield with her daughter.<ref>{{cite news|title=Uphill, for history's sake|url=http://www.hindu.com/mp/2007/12/24/stories/2007122450130300.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080228192224/http://www.hindu.com/mp/2007/12/24/stories/2007122450130300.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=28 February 2008|date=24 December 2007|location=India|newspaper=[[The Hindu]]|author=Soma Basu}}</ref>
When her husband, [[Muthu Vaduganatha Periyavudaya Thevar]] was killed in a battle with [[Presidency armies|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.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Journeys_English_Course_Book_6/WgxL4eT2ayYC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Velu+Nachiyar&pg=PA78&printsec=frontcover |title= Journeys English Course Book 6|page= 78  |date= 2007 |publisher= Pearson Education India}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Reminiscing_Herstories/THslEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Velu+Nachiyar+haider+ali&pg=PA28&printsec=frontcover |title= Reminiscing Herstories |page= 28 |date= March 24, 2021 |publisher= BFC Publications }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Uphill, for history's sake|url=http://www.hindu.com/mp/2007/12/24/stories/2007122450130300.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080228192224/http://www.hindu.com/mp/2007/12/24/stories/2007122450130300.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=28 February 2008|date=24 December 2007|location=India|newspaper=[[The Hindu]]|author=Soma Basu}}</ref>


During this period, she formed an army and sought an alliance with [[Hyder Ali]] with the aim of launching a campaign against the East India Company in 1780. When Velu Nachiyar found the place where the EIC stored some their ammunition, she arranged a [[suicide attack]] on the location, blowing it up.<ref>{{cite news|title=Of woman power and Tamizh glory|url=https://www.news18.com/news/india/of-woman-power-and-tamizh-glory-375394.html|newspaper=IBN Live|date=14 June 2011|location=Chennai, India}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Tamil Nadu to build memorial for freedom fighter Kuyili |url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/Tamil-Nadu-to-build-memorial-for-freedom-fighter-Kuyili/articleshow/20075937.cms|access-date=13 August 2014 |newspaper=Times of India |date=16 May 2013 |location=Chennai, India}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=A Durga A Day-Day 6: Mata Katyayini-Rani Velu Nachiyar and Kuyili|url=https://medium.com/@surashiva/a-durga-a-day-day-6-mata-katyayini-rani-velu-nachiyar-and-kuyili-2-durgas-for-today-cb9294203134|date=15 October 2018|location=Chennai, India}}</ref> Nachiyar reinherited the kingdom of her husband, and ruled it for ten more years.<ref>Rohini Ramakrishnan (14 August 2010) [https://web.archive.org/web/20110629132608/http://www.thehindu.com/life-and-style/kids/article560774.ece Women who made a difference]. ''The Hindu''.</ref> In 1790, the throne was inherited by her daughter [[Vellacci]].<ref name=r2/> She granted powers to her daughter with the [[Maruthu Pandiyar|Marudu brothers]] to help with the administration of the kingdom in 1780. Velu Nachiyar died a few years later, on 25 December 1796.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sivaganga.tn.nic.in/history.htm |title=History-Sivaganga district|publisher=Sivaganga dist. – Tamil Nadu govt., India|access-date=24 November 2011}}</ref>
When Velu Nachiyar found the place where the EIC stored some their ammunition, Her commander Kuyili <ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.google.com/books/edition/Power_Women/wHQxEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=kuyili%20dalit |title= Power Women |page= All |date= September 13, 2021 |publisher= Bloomsbury Publishing }}</ref> made a suicide attack on the ammunition depot, blowing it up.<ref>{{cite news|title=Of woman power and Tamizh glory|url=https://www.news18.com/news/india/of-woman-power-and-tamizh-glory-375394.html|newspaper=IBN Live|date=14 June 2011|location=Chennai, India}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Tamil Nadu to build memorial for freedom fighter Kuyili |url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/Tamil-Nadu-to-build-memorial-for-freedom-fighter-Kuyili/articleshow/20075937.cms|access-date=13 August 2014 |newspaper=Times of India |date=16 May 2013 |location=Chennai, India}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=A Durga A Day-Day 6: Mata Katyayini-Rani Velu Nachiyar and Kuyili|url=https://medium.com/@surashiva/a-durga-a-day-day-6-mata-katyayini-rani-velu-nachiyar-and-kuyili-2-durgas-for-today-cb9294203134|date=15 October 2018|location=Chennai, India}}</ref>  
Nachiyar reinherited the kingdom of her husband, and ruled it for ten more years.<ref>Rohini Ramakrishnan (14 August 2010) [https://web.archive.org/web/20110629132608/http://www.thehindu.com/life-and-style/kids/article560774.ece Women who made a difference]. ''The Hindu''.</ref>  


==Popular culture==
In 1790, she was succeeded by her daughter [[Vellacci]].<ref name=r2/> She granted powers to her daughter with the [[Maruthu Pandiyar|Marudu brothers]] to help with the administration of the kingdom. Velu Nachiyar died a few years later, on 25 December 1796.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sivaganga.tn.nic.in/history.htm |title=History-Sivaganga district|publisher=Sivaganga dist. – Tamil Nadu govt., India|access-date=24 November 2011}}</ref>


On 31 December 2008, a commemorative postage stamp in her name was released.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.indiapost.gov.in/Stamps2008.html|title=India Post – Stamps 2008|publisher=Postal department, Government of India }}</ref>
{{clearleft}}


OVM Dance Academy of Chennai presenting "VELU NACHIYAR" a Grand Dance Ballet on Sivaganga Queen.
==Popular culture==
 
*On 31 December 2008, a commemorative postage stamp in her name was released.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.indiapost.gov.in/Stamps2008.html|title=India Post – Stamps 2008|publisher=Postal department, Government of India }}</ref>
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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://professorali.com/2016/03/07/international-womens-day|title=International Women's Day Dedication to Queen Velu Nachiyar |date=7 March 2016 |publisher=professorali.com}}</ref>
*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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://professorali.com/2016/03/07/international-womens-day|title=International Women's Day Dedication to Queen Velu Nachiyar |date=7 March 2016 |publisher=professorali.com}}</ref>
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.
*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.


==See also==
==See also==
* [[Indian independence activists]]
* [[Indian independence movement]]
* [[Kuyili]]
* [[Puli Thevar]]
* [[Puli Thevar]]
* [[Indian independence movement]]
* [[Indian independence activists]]
* [[Vellore mutiny|Vellore mutiny of 1806]]
* [[Vellore mutiny|Vellore mutiny of 1806]]
* [[Kuyili]]
* [[Suicide attack|Suicide Attack]]


==References==
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{reflist}}
==External link==
{{Commonscatinline}}


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[[Category:1796 deaths]]
[[Category:Indian female royalty]]
[[Category:Indian female royalty]]
[[Category:Indian independence activists from Tamil Nadu]]
[[Category:Indian women in war]]
[[Category:Indian women in war]]
[[Category:Indian Tamil people]]
[[Category:Tamil history]]
[[Category:Tamil monarchs]]
[[Category:Tamil monarchs]]
[[Category:Indian revolutionaries]]
[[Category:Indian revolutionaries]]

Latest revision as of 09:44, 2 July 2023


Rani Velu Nachiyar
Queen of Sivagangai
Princess of Ramanathapuram
Velu Nachchiyar 2008 stamp of India.jpg
Velu Nachchiyar on a 2008 stamp of India
Reignc. 1780-c. 1790[1]
Coronation1780
SuccessorVellacci[1]
Born3 January 1730
Ramanathapuram, Kingdom of Sivaganga (Modern day Tamil Nadu, India)
Died25 December 1796 (1796-12-26) (aged 66)
Sivaganga, Kingdom of Sivaganga (Modern day Tamil Nadu, India)
Burial25 December 1796
Sivaganga, Tamil Nadu, India
SpouseMuthu Vaduganatha Periyavudaya Thevar
DynastySethupathi
FatherChellamuthu vijayaragunatha Sethupathy
MotherMuthathal Nachiyar

Rani Velu Nachiyar (3 January 1730 – 25 December 1796) was a queen of Sivaganga estate from c. 1780–1790. She was the first Indian queen to wage war with the East India Company in India.[2][3] She is known by Tamils as Veeramangai ("brave woman").[4] With the support of Hyder Ali's army, feudal lords, the Maruthu Brothers, Dalit commanders, and Thandavarayan Pillai, she fought the East India company.[5][6][7][8]

Life[edit]

File:Sivagangai Palace with Velunachiyar Statue.jpg
Sivagangai Palace with Rani Velu Nachiyar Statue

Velu Nachiyar was the princess of Ramanathapuram and the only child of King Chellamuthu Vijayaragunatha Sethupathy and Queen Sakandhimuthathal of the Ramnad kingdom. Nachiyar was trained in many methods of combat, including war match weapons usage, martial arts like Valari, Silambam, horse riding, and archery. She was a scholar in many languages and was proficient in languages like French, English and Urdu.[3] She married the king of Sivagangai, 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.[9][10][11]

When Velu Nachiyar found the place where the EIC stored some their ammunition, Her commander Kuyili [12] made a suicide attack on the ammunition depot, blowing it up.[13][14][15] Nachiyar reinherited the kingdom of her husband, and ruled it for ten more years.[16]

In 1790, she was succeeded by her daughter Vellacci.[1] She granted powers to her daughter with the Marudu brothers to help with the administration of the kingdom. Velu Nachiyar died a few years later, on 25 December 1796.[17]

Popular culture[edit]

  • On 31 December 2008, a commemorative postage stamp in her name was released.[18]
  • 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.[19]
  • 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.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 K. R. Venkatarama Ayyar (1938) A Manual of the Pudukkóttai State. Sri Brihadamba State Press. p.720
  2. ↑ Rohini Ramakrishnan (10 August 2010) Women who made a difference. The Hindu.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Remembering Queen Velu Nachiyar of Sivagangai, the first queen to fight the British. The News Minute. 3 January 2017
  4. ↑ "Veeramangai Velu Nachiyar". The Hindu Business Line. Chennai, India. 18 January 2019.
  5. ↑ "Journeys English Course Book 6". Pearson Education India. 2007. p. 78.
  6. ↑ "Reminiscing Herstories". BFC Publications. 24 March 2021. p. 28.
  7. ↑ Soma Basu (24 December 2007). "Uphill, for history's sake". The Hindu. India. Archived from the original on 28 February 2008.
  8. ↑ "Power Women". Bloomsbury Publishing. 13 September 2021. p. All.
  9. ↑ "Journeys English Course Book 6". Pearson Education India. 2007. p. 78.
  10. ↑ "Reminiscing Herstories". BFC Publications. 24 March 2021. p. 28.
  11. ↑ Soma Basu (24 December 2007). "Uphill, for history's sake". The Hindu. India. Archived from the original on 28 February 2008.
  12. ↑ "Power Women". Bloomsbury Publishing. 13 September 2021. p. All.
  13. ↑ "Of woman power and Tamizh glory". IBN Live. Chennai, India. 14 June 2011.
  14. ↑ "Tamil Nadu to build memorial for freedom fighter Kuyili". Times of India. Chennai, India. 16 May 2013. Retrieved 13 August 2014.
  15. ↑ "A Durga A Day-Day 6: Mata Katyayini-Rani Velu Nachiyar and Kuyili". Chennai, India. 15 October 2018.
  16. ↑ Rohini Ramakrishnan (14 August 2010) Women who made a difference. The Hindu.
  17. ↑ "History-Sivaganga district". Sivaganga dist. – Tamil Nadu govt., India. Retrieved 24 November 2011.
  18. ↑ "India Post – Stamps 2008". Postal department, Government of India.
  19. ↑ "International Women's Day Dedication to Queen Velu Nachiyar". professorali.com. 7 March 2016.

External link[edit]

Retrieved from "https://en.bharatpedia.org/w/index.php?title=Velu_Nachiyar&oldid=387424"