How Kittur Rani Chennamma brought the Britishers on knees?

Hello reader friends, How are you all I hope everyone is good and being healthy. Today from our Indian History, we are going to talk about a women freedom fighter Kittur Rani Chennamma:

• who brought the Britishers to their knees and demanded amnesty.
• whose name comes earlier than Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi.

Let's know about such brave and valiant Queen Chennamma.

Kittur Rani Chennamma

Who was Kittur Rani Chennamma?

Kittur Rani Chennamma was born in Belgaum, Karnataka, India on 23 October 1778 to Gulappa Desai. From childhood, she was different from other girls. She played less with her friends and was fond of horse riding, sword fighting, archery. So her father Gulappa made her very proficient in weaponry.

Her weaponry skills took her ahead a lot. She was proficient in weapons and scriptures and was also beautiful in appearance. When she was suitable for marriage, her father found a suitable idol and married her to King Mallasarj of Kittur (in Karnataka).

Under what circumstance did Rani Chennamma have to take over the throne of Kittur?

The married life of Rani Chennamma and Raja Mallasarj was going on happily. One day in a happy life, King Mallasarj died suddenly. The throne of Kittur had fallen vacant and the throne could not be kept vacant. Also they didn't have any son for the manage the throne.

Shivalinga, the son of King Mallasarja's second wife Rudramma, was set on the throne. But he also died within a year. Now the throne of Kittur could not be left vacant so Chennamma herself took over the throne of Kittur.

Why did the British want to take over Kittur?

The British had laid down the law in India at that time that if a town did not have a king or a king's heir to take over the throne, the British would take over that town. The state grab policy of the British was also called the Khalsa policy. The town of Kittur was also without a male king and a widowed queen was ruling on the throne of Kittur.

Thacker, a british officer, came to know that Rani Chennamma was ruling on the throne. The British already knew that Kittur was rich in treasure. The British had been preparing to loot that treasure for a long time. So the British wanted to take possession of Kittur.

Why did Rani Chennamma decide to go to war with the British?

As Thacker came to know that there is no king but a queen ruling in Kittur town, he immediately wrote a letter to Chennamma, Queen of Kittur. He said that the rule of Kittur should be handed over to the British and if not handed over, the British would invade Kittur.

writing letter

As soon as Rani Chennamma received the letter, a meeting was called in the court and the war was discussed. The preparations for the war were started by calling the generals and soldiers of Kittur. Kittur Rani Chennamma wrote a letter to reply to Thacker and refused to hand over the kingdom.

How Kittur Rani Chennamma brought the Britishers on knees?

Rani Chennamma straight away refused to hand over her kingdom to the British. So General Thacker invaded Kittur with his troops. He considered Rani Chennamma to be a weak woman. But she fought so bravely with her army that Thacker had to leave his arms and run away.

Battle Field

Losing the battle with Rani Chennamma, Thacker did not sit still. He again invaded Kittur two days later. But again Kittur Rani Chennamma defeated the British army with her full strength and the help of the general.

Rani Chennamma, on the other hand, cut the enemy's throats with her sword and captured many of the soldiers. But the British soldiers fell on their knees to Rani Chennamma and asked Rani Chennamma for forgiveness. Rani Chennamma took pity on the soldiers and left them.

How Rani Chennamma was defeated by the British?

The British lost twice in the war with Kittur Rani Chennamma. Kittur was a small town and the British could not bear to lose to a woman. So the British were preparing to re-invade Kittur. Thacker lured some of the greedy people of Kittur towards himself. Enemies mixed water in Kittur's ammunition so that it could not be used in battle.

Even so, Rani Chennamma was not at all afraid of the enemy and fought bravely. Rani Chennamma was eventually imprisoned due to the cannon ammunition not being used in time and the traitorous people.

Conclusion:

In this article we have seen that even after the death of her husband and son, Kittur Rani Chennamma strengthened her mind by forgetting all her sorrows and was ready to face the British to save Kittur. If some greedy people had not supported the British, the history of Kittur would have been different today.

Rani Chennamma was fighting for her country even while being imprisoned by the British and died in captivity on 21 February 1829. Even today "Kittur Utsav" is celebrated every year from 22nd to 24th October in memory of Kittur Rani Chennamma in Karnataka, India

So readers, how did you like the story of Kittur Rani Chennamma? What are the things which should be added more in this article? If anything is remaining about Kittur Rani Chennamma in this article feel free to comment in the comment box.

Thank you very much for reading this article till the end.

If you liked the article then do share it with your family and friends.

We will meet again very soon in another article with such another women freedom fighter from Indian History, till then take care.