If you’ve kept up with the futuristic sci-fi web series ‘The Expanse’, you may have come across a rather cheeky Easter egg – MCRN Kittur Chennamma (ECS-211) – the name of a Morrigan-class patrol destroyer which was quickly knocked out of action against the United Nations Navy.
But Kittur Chennamma is more than just an Easter egg – a valiant freedom fighter who was an integral part of our freedom struggle from the British.
Unsung hero Rani Chennamma was one of the first Indian rulers to rebel against the East India Company, in 1824.
She was also one of the first women freedom fighters – giving the British a run for their money and redefining the role of women in a time where their role was constricted to domestic spaces.
Born on 23 October 1778 in Kakati in Karnataka, she was trained in warcraft from a young age. Her exemplary skill made her the talk of the town.
Remarkably, 23 October is also the day when Subhash Chandra Bose inaugurated the all-women Rani Jhansi Regiment in Azad Hind Fauj.
When she was 15, she was married to Raja Mallasarja Desai, the king of Kittur, who passed away in 1816. Subsequently, their only son (and heir to the throne) died in 1824. She adopted a boy called Shivalingappa to take his place, which didn’t bode well with the British as it violated the Doctrine of Lapse.
The Doctrine of Lapse said that a kingdom could be annexed into the British Empire if its ruler was “manifestly incompetent or died without a male heir”.
Rani Chennamma appealed against the Doctrine to Lord Elphinstone, then Lieutenant-Governor of Bombay, asking for her son to be king despite the British having ordered his exile. Her plea was rejected and the kingdom usurped in 1824.
On 21 October 1824, the British attacked Kittur with 20,000 men and 400 guns because Rani Chennamma continued to defy them. They wanted to rob the treasure, thereby economically weakening Kittur and strong-arming her into giving it up.
Little did they know what awaited them.
Rani Chennamma defeated the British in the first round of the battle despite having fewer numbers on her side and dealt a massive blow to the British.
Sir Walter Elliot and Mr Stevenson – two British officials – were taken hostage to be used in later negotiations. She demanded that she and her son be allowed to rule in exchange for the hostages. Commissioner Chaplin from East India Company agreed and the two were released.
But the British troops launched another attack, this time having two of her soldiers betray her by mixing cow dung with gunpowder. She lost the battle and was imprisoned for life at Bailhongal Fort where she passed away on 21 February 1829.
Rani Chennamma was buried in Bailhongal taluk.
She is celebrated even now, not only in folklore, songs, ballads, lavanis and GiGi pada but also during the Kittur Utsava held from 22-24 October in Kittur.
Rani Chennamma became a symbol of women’s participation in the freedom struggle, giving way to the likes of Rani Laxmibai, Rudramma Devi, Begum Hazrat Mahal, Mallamma, Velu Nachiyar, among others.
(With inputs from ‘Rani Chennamma of Kitturu’)
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