Pazhassi Raja

Veera Kerala Varma Pazhassi Raja, known as the Lion of Kerala, was the ruler of the Kingdom of Kottayam in present day northern Kerala and one of the first martyrs in India in the struggle against the British. He achieved the title Veera (brave) when he died fighting a guerrilla war against British occupation.

The late 18th century was a time of wars for the British. The Americans had declared Independence, from the British, in 1776 and the French Revolution happened between 1789 and 1799. King George III ruled Britain while George Washington was the President of United States in the 1790s. In South Asia, at that time, the Marathas and Tipu Sultan of Mysore were fighting the British. It was at this time that Kerala Varma Pazhassi Raja revolted against the British in present day Kerala.

In their fight against Tipu Sultan, Pazhassi Raja had helped the British, but following the Mysore withdrawal, their relationship fell apart. His fight was not a freedom struggle, but was triggered by the British taxation rules and the first revolt happened between 1793 and 1797. It is at this point that standard text books mention him and little is known about his early life.

When Kerala was ruled from Mysore by Tipu and Haider, their officers used to collect taxes directly from the farmers bypassing the land lords, but the British changed this and decided to collect taxes directly from the Kings. The amount fixed as tax by the British was unreasonable and people did not have the capacity to pay that much. Faced with revolts from people, the kings were unable to collect the taxes.

After Tipu left, the British ignored Pazhassi Raja and gave the land around Kottayam to his uncle on lease. This insult to Kerala Varma, who was loved by his people, also helped in triggering the revolt. Pazhassi Raja stopped collecting taxes in Kottayam and this upset the British. Since the king was popular, they could not do anything but stop collecting tax for a year, but to add more insult, they extended the lease given to his uncle for another five years. On June 28, 1795, Pazhassi Raja challenged the British by stopping all tax collection and giving refuge to people who were considered revolutionaries by the British.

The Army was deployed in Kottayam and troops under Lt. Gordon tried to arrest the king in his palace, but he had already escaped. The British negotiated with him and allowed him to return, but another misunderstanding caused him to flee again to the mountains of Wynad. It should be understood that Pazhassi belonged to the Kottayam Royal Family which is near Thalassery in Kannur district.

Showing that there are no permanent enemies or friends, he sought the help from Mysore, from the same people he helped the British fight. The year 1797 saw a series of revolts resulting in the loss of lives for many British soldiers and they were forced to withdraw. With an army of thousands of Nairs, Pazhassi inflicted such defeat on the British that they were forced to retreat and negotiate. The lease with his uncle was canceled and Pazhassi agreed to live peacefully with the British.

In 1799, after the fall of Srirangapatnam, the British decide to take over Wynad which Pazhassi claimed as his own. The peace treaty was broken and with an army of Nairs and Kurichiyas, Pazhassi decided to wage a guerilla war from the mountains of Wynad. The fighting started in June 1800, and the British strategy was to isolate Pazhassi from his Southern Malabar supporters. They succeeded and Pazhassi was left roaming in the forests with his wife and few supporters.

His supporters like Chuzhali Nambiar, Peruvayal Nambiar and Kannavathu Shankaran Nambiar were caught and hanged, but this did not halt Pazhassi. In 1802 Edachena Kangan Nair and Thalakkal Chanthu captured Panamaram Fort and killed the 25 British soldiers there and this victory brought a new vigor to the resistance movement.

An increase in tax at this stage upset the local population which rose in revolt. The Pazhassi soldiers made use of this and inflicted more damage on the British. Besides this the British troops caught diseases and it looked like they were in deep trouble.

Pazhassi Raja is a forthcoming biopic magnum opus historical film directed by Hariharan, and the screenplay is written by M.T. Vasudevan Nair. It stars Mammootty, Manoj K. Jayan, Thilakan, Padmapriya and Sarath Kumar in the lead roles with Kanika Subramaniam, Peter Handley Evans, Harry Key, and Jagathi Sreekumar in other pivotal roles. The film's score and soundtrack is written by acclaimed composer Illayaraja. Sound mixing is by Oscar Award Winner, Resul Pookutty. The film will subsequently be dubbed and released in Tamil, Telugu and Hindi on the same date.