DEWAN OF ZAMORIN STABBED BY A PRINCE

He Was Saved by a British Doctor

I just finished reading the book, From Cauvery to Neela: A History of the Tamil Agraharams of Palakkad, by K N Lakshminarayanan. It is an excellent reference work on the Tamil brahmins of Palakkad, especially Kalpathi. It has nothing on two Tamil brahmin luminaries of Palakkad, L K Ananthakrishna Iyer and A S Panchapakesa Iyer. It does mention Swaminatha Pattar, the Dewan or Prime Minister of the Zamorin of Calicut, omitting the attempt on his life by the idiots of Padinjare Kovilakam of Calicut.

The book records:

"The agraharam residents are proud of their ancestors, who have left a trail of glory. Uddanda Sastrigal, Ramayyan Dalava, Swaminatha Pattar and other immigrants were honoured by the rulers of Kerala for their valour...Natives of the agraharam played an important part in the field of politics and statecraft. In the 1800s Subba Iyer and his army were sent to help the ruler of Travancore fight the British.General Nurani Venkatanarayana Iyer guarded the Mysore border. Swaminatha Pattar became Dewan to the Zamorin of Calicut in 1793. His descendants, bearing the title of 'Kariakar', live today in Chathapuram Agraharam."

The book mentions Shamnoth, Minister of the Zamorin, not knowing the person is none other than Swaminatha Pattar. The author quotes K Haridasan, who wrote, Palakkadan Charithram: "According to Shamnoth, Minister of the Zamorin,the roads pertaining to Palakkad constructed under Tipu's rule ran from Palakkad to Dindigul via Thathamangalam, Pollachi and Palani; from Feroke to Coimbatore via Angadipuram, Mannarkad and Palakkad".

In British records and Logan's Malabar Manual, Swaminatha Iyer or Swminatha Pattar is mentioned as Shamnath, not Shamnoth.

Logan has briefly described in the Malabar Manual, the attempt by  Ravivarma, a nephew in Zamorin's western Palace, suspecting Swaminatha Patter to be a double agent. Ofcourse, Swaminatha Iyer facilitated ceding the Zamorin territory to the British. But it was after the British had established themselves in Malabar after the treaty of Srirangapatna, by which Tipu was dethroned. The Zamorin had escaped to Travancore.

The Srirangapatna treaty, ending the rule of Tipu was signed on 22 February 1792. Following this, a number of treaties were signed by the British with Indian kings. On 18 August 1792, by a treaty with the Zamorin of Calicut, he was given the right to collect revenue and administer justice for one year. On 21 June 1793, an agreement was signed at the Palakkad Fort between Palakkad Raja Itti Kombi Achan and the Malabar Commissioners of the East India Company, William Gamul Farmer and Major Alexander Walker to restore the land to the Raja to rule. W G Farmer from Bombay presidency had been sworn in as Malabar Supervisor on 18 March 1792. Prior to that, Alexander Dow, W G farmer, William Page and Charles Boddam were sent as commissioners to Malabar, to study and give a report. Dow was the Military Commander at Tellicherry.

Ravi Varma (1745–1793) was a Samanta Nair warrior prince of the Royal House of Zamorins from Calicut who fought a two-decade long revolt against the Mysore Sultanate under Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan between 1766–1768 and 1774–1791, and later against the British East India Company in 1793. Born in 1745, Ravi Varma belonged to the Padinjare Kovilakam (Mankavu Palace), of the Zamorins Royal Family (Nediyirippu Swarupam), which had been ruling the Kingdom of Calicut for 600 years. The incumbent Raja of this family was popularly referred to as Zamorin or Samoothiri.Unlike his more famous contemporary and close personal friend Kerala Varma Pazhassi Raja, the prince-regent of Kottayam, very little is known about the personal lives of Ravi Varma and the other princes of the Padinjare Kovilakam.

Hyder Ali's invasion of Malabar in 1766 was met with stiff opposition by the local Nairs, who led by the Zamorin of Calicut, rose up in rebellion against the oppressive policies implemented by his regime. During Hyder's third invasion in 1767, as the Mysorean army was approaching the city gates, the Zamorin sent all his relatives to safe haven in Ponnani and immolated himself to avoid the humiliation of surrender and forced conversion to Islam. His nephew and successor, Krishna Varma continued the war until 1774, when he fled to Travancore. The abrupt end of the 600-year reign of the Zamorins created a leadership vacuum in the kingdom of Calicut, which resulted in the Eralppad (second-in-line successor to the throne)  Krishna Varma's assumption of the throne. Together with his nephew Ravi Varma and a small band of Nair warriors, Krishna Varma swore revenge against Hyder and Tipu. The ensuing insurgency struggle against the Mysorean army lasted until 1791.

Krishna Varma appointed Ravi Varma as the Commander of the armed forces of Calicut and for two decades tried in vain to thwart all efforts by Hyder and Tipu to subjugate his kingdom. Ravi Varma was, perhaps, the only Malabar prince to rise up in 1788 against the forced conversions and deportation of Nairs to Srirangapatna conducted by Tipu.

Krishnan Varma continued his fight against the invading Mysorean forces from South Malabar. He marched to Ponnani and then Tanur, and forced Hyder's troops to retreat. By the time he had fled to Travancore in 1774, Krishna Varma had managed to force Hyder Ali to cede many parts of Malabar to local rulers, who were supported by the East India Company.

The Mysorean invasion of Malabar had forced most of the royal Nair households to flee to Travancore, where they were helped to rehabilitate themselves by Dharma Raja. With most of royals in exile, the young princes of Padinjare Kovilakam took charge. Their immediate goal was to oust Mysorean garrisons from Calicut. Krishna Varma was the eldest man of this western branch – but it was his adventurous nephew Ravi Varma who took a role in military affairs. This uncle and nephew together with their junior male relatives prepared for war. Hyder's policy of torture and financial extortion of residents of Zamorin country also caused widespread resentment among masses and this drove people into arms of rebels. Mysorean exploitation thus gave birth to an 18-year cycle of reprisals and revolts.

During the monsoon of 1766, the whole of Zamorin domain rose in revolt but were disastrously defeated at Puthiyangadi near Ponnani after which they chose to fight only guerrilla warfare. To crush the rebellion, Hyder unleashed a reign of terror in which he murdered as many as 10,000 people in Zamorin country. But that proved to be of no use as rebels led by Ravi Varma once more rose up in 1767 and Hyder's army of some 15,000 men were trapped inside their stockaded camps across Zamorin country. 

A prince seventh in line of succession, the rebellion in the Southern Malabar was led by Ravi Varma. He also helped 30,000 Brahmins flee to Travancore.

In 1768, Hyder pulled out his troops from Zamorin country as well as from all of Malabar since they were on verge of defeat. Also Hyder was threatened with imminent attack by Marathas and Nizam and so he withdrew from Malabar. Hyder restored possessions to Rajas on condition that they pay him tribute. 

The new Zamorin who was in exile came back and took power in 1768 and princes of Padinjare Kovilakam were eclipsed till 1774. The Zamorin learnt little from past disasters—instead of building up his military force to meet Mysorean threat or paying tribute to Hyder to purchase peace and safety, he did neither. Instead he plunged his country into another war with Cochin – this was also last war between Cochin and Calicut (K V Krishna Ayyar).

In 1774, once more Hyder's troops invaded Malabar and Zamorin Raja fled to Travancore and thus princes of Padinjare Kovilakam once more rose to prominence. Krishna Varma became overall head and Ravi Varma, the commandant of rebel force. Ravi Varma's rebels made shrewd use of forest and mountainous landscape that covered most of Zamorin country. 

Ravi Varma moved his military HQ away from vulnerable Calicut and Ponnani to Kalladikode in Nedunganad province (Modern Ottapalam taluk). They also took war into enemy territories in Coimbatore district, one of the richest parts of Hyder's domain, which they looted and devastated in retaliation to Mysorean reprisals.

In November 1788, the Mysore forces under Tipu attacked Calicut and captured the Karanavappad of Manjeri. Their assaults were met with resistance by the Nairs of Calicut and southern Malabar led by Ravi Varma and other princes of the Padinjare Kovilakam. Tipu sent 6,000 troops under his French commander, M. Lally to raise the siege, but failed to defeat Ravi Varma. By 1779, Hyder had enough of war with Ravi Varma and invited him for talks to his camp in Calicut. But some unusual troop movements around the guest-house where he was staying roused his suspicions that Hyder was planning to arrest him and so he left immediately to Kalladikode.

During the 1780s, Ravi Varma led a successful rebellion against the Mysore forces. Though Tipu conferred on him a jaghir (vast area of tax-free land) mainly to appease him, the Zamorin prince, after promptly taking charge of the jaghir, continued his revolt against the Mysore power, more vigorously and with wider support. He soon moved to Calicut, his traditional area of influence and authority, for better co-ordination. Tipu sent a large Mysore army under the command of M. Lally and Mir Asrali Khan to defeat the Zamorin prince at Calicut. It is believed that Ravi Varma assisted several members of the priestly community (almost 30,000 Nambudiris) to flee the country and take refuge in Travancore.

In 1782, Ravi Varma's men recaptured all of Zamorin country and even helped British to capture forts of Calicut and Palakkad. But in 1784, Tippu got Malabar back by the Treaty of Mangalore and once more Ravi Varma had to deal with Mysorean troops.

There was widespread disturbance after hefty land tax was introduced in Malabar by Arshad Beg Khan, Tipu's Governor. Athan Kurikkal of Manjeri rose in protest with riots. Arshad Beg sought the help of Ravivarma to deal with the rioters.Varma joined hands with the Coorg Muslims and chopped off the hands and legs of the Mappila rioters. Beg rewarded him with a pension and the position of a jagirdar.

Tipu bribed Ravi Varma in hope that he will give up war and submit to Mysore authority. But Ravi Varma's dream was  restoration of  former prestige. So he kept up irregular warfare to harass Mysore army of occupation. But even so, prospects of peace became brighter by 1788 when Krishna Varma even visited Tipu in Calicut for peace talks. Krishna Varma sent an agent for peace talks. (Ayyar)

Tipu's promise was restoration of Zamorin country to the Zamorin on one condition – Zamorin must help him in conquest of Travancore. Tipu even sent a large sum to Krishna Varma to bribe him. But even so Varma refused to agree. Some account says that his refusal was because of Tipu's forcible conversions.( Ayyar )

Tipu angry at his failure in negotiations unleashed a wave of savage religious persecution and Ravi Varma and rebels rose up and seized whole of Southern Malabar, marched and captured Calicut in 1788. Even though a Mysore army under French general Lally recaptured Calicut the same year, Ravi Varma and his rebels still dominated most of Zamorin country.

Mankav Kovilakam/Harimohan

According to Logan, In 1789, Tipu came with a vast army and Ravi Varma and men were forced to flee to forests. Towns and villages were seized by Tipu's troops but they reached nowhere in jungle warfare with Ravi Varma and his partisans. In 1790, Tipu invaded Travancore only to be checked by Dharma Raja's troops and this provoked British to attack Mysore in retaliation.Travancore was under British protection as per Mangalore Treaty. Soon rebels of Malabar also joined hands with British. 

In 1790, a British force of 2,000 men under Colonel James Hartley landed in South Malabar to deal with Mysore army of 9,000 Sepoys and 4,000 Mappilas. Ravi Varma rushed to aid with 5,000 of his best Nairs and that helped to turn tide in favour of British. Hartley in his letter to Governor-General Charles Cornwallis, stated that this victory was of decisive importance to British success in Third Anglo-Mysore War. Hartley received command of a detachment sent to the coast of Cochin to aid the company's ally, the Raja of Travancore. In May, Hartley received orders to invest Palakkad, an important fortress dominating the pass which leads through the western Ghauts into Mysore. On arriving within forty miles of the place, Hartley heard that it had already surrendered.

He, however, continued his march, and occupied himself partly in collecting supplies for the main army at Tiruchirapally, and partly in watching any movement of Tipu's troops to the south-west. On 10 December, he inflicted a crushing defeat on vastly superior forces under Hussein Ali, Tipu's general, at Calicut. The remnant of the beaten army was pursued to Feroke, where it surrendered, and that fortress was occupied by the British. On the outbreak of War with France in 1793, Hartley held command of the expedition which captured the French settlement of Mahé in Malabar ( In May 1796, he was made a Major-general, and appointed to the staff in India. He returned to Bombay in 1797. In addition to his military rank he was now made a supervisor and magistrate for the Province of Malabar.He died after a very short illness on 4 October 1799, at Kannur).

Ravi Varma and his uncle Krishna Varma were angered when the faint hearted Zamorin  in exile agreed to terms that made Calicut a dependency of the British. They were even more angered by the fact that it was Swaminatha Pattar, the prime minister of the exiled Zamorin who persuaded latter to surrender to the British. From their stronghold in Nedumganad, Ravi Varma and his men contacted Pazhassi Raja and his partisans. He even sheltered a large number of Pazhassi fugitives and even began to collect tax from the Zamorin country without British permission. He warned Swaminatha Pattar not to betray his country to British any more and even threatened death if the latter did not mend his ways. The British soon accused Ravi Varma of conspiracy to undermine the British rule and warned that severe punishment would be given to Ravi Varma and nephews if they harmed Swaminatha Pattar or if they tried to rule the country without British permission. The British government asked Ravi Varma to pay 100,000 rupees immediately.

In 1793, Krishna Varma died at Karimpuzha in Nedunganad. Ravi Varma decided to continue the war with the British and so he contacted Pazhassi Raja and Mappila rebels of Southern Malabar along with the discontented princes of Palakkad and even with his old enemy Tipu  for joint action- his aim was to oust the British from Malabar. The British offered rewards for information about the whereabouts of Pazhassi Raja (3000 pagodas), Vira Varma Raja (1000 pagodas), and Ravi Varma Raja (1000 pagodas).

The Mappilas under Manjeri Athan Kurikkal captured Arshad Beg Khan,Tipu's Commander.Tipu offered the Zamorins their power back if Khan is released, and if he is helped to capture Travancore. They refused. Swaminatha Pattar was sent to Mysore to Negotiate, in January, 1789. In the next year he handed over appeals of Veluthampi Dalawa, the rebel Dewan of Travancore, to the British.

The Zamorin, who had returned from Travancore, tried to channel all trade through himself, taking a cue from Travancore. At Thalassery, Swaminatha Pattar had an argument with Chakkara Moosa ( Choucara Moosa in British records) and Moosa threatened him. Pattar promptly lodged a complaint with the British. Moosa, in addition to timber, had agreed to supply 20 candys of cardomom to the Company, but had failed.

Patttar took part in the discussions on the final treaty with the Zamorin Manavikrama Raja and the British Malabar Supervisor W G Farmer on 18 August 1792. Pattar had convinced the Zamorin to sign the treaty. Pattar became the Agent of the british to collect pepper and the Zamorin removed him from his service for not sharing the pepper revenue. By the next year, Pattar became an administrator of the Company. Pattar also secured the plush revenue from export and customs of Calicut Port. He was paid one percent from the Zamorin's revenue collections. Zamorin thus lost all the revenue income. This infuriated the idiots of the Padinjare Kovilakam. Pattar had promised restoration of the Palakkad land to the Kovilakam and trade ties with the British. But as legal attorney to the Zamorin, he took away even the remaining revenue of the Zamorin. Pattar became very nervous when Ravivarma and others began collaborathing with Pazhassi Raja. Pattar sought protecton of the British and the Malabar Supervisor James Stevens in turn, warned Ravivarma.

A year later, Ravivarma invited  Swaminatha Pattar, to Padinjare Kovilakam in Mankavu. The palace has a Bhagavathy Temple in the middle. The Trisala temple was built by a Zamorin popularly known as Karyasthan Thampuran. This temple is dedicated to the goddess Bala Durga. The Devi is worshipped as a small girl playing with a ball in one hand. It is believed that Trisala Bhagavathi is the younger sister of Sree Valayanad Devi, the family deity of the Zamorin’s Swaroopam.

Trisala Bhagavathy Temple

During the Hyder and Tipu invasions, the members of the Padinjare Kovilakam escaped to  Travancore where the then Maharaja , Karthika Thirunal Rama Varma ( Dharma Raja) welcomed them and gave Kunnathur Kovilakam in Kollam for their domicile. When the situation in Calicut became normal and peaceful, the Zamorin rehabilitated his family members to a place in Calicut close to the Valayanad Devi temple. At that time, this area was in the custody of Mangalassery Nair family,and they  had given this plot to the Zamorin for building the kovilakam. At that time this place was a wilderness. There was an ancient temple of Bala Durga which was demolished at the time of the Muslim invasion of Malabar. The lore is that, at the time of clearing the trees for building the kovilakam, the hatchet of one of the labourers touched a stone and blood oozed from it. Seeing this strange phenomenon, the matter was reported to the Zamorin. At the deva prasna it was revealed that the sila was the idol of Bala Durga. Accordingly, a temple was built on the spot and the worship began. The sankalpa of the deity is that of the devi of Kanyakumari.

Ravivarma and his nephew Ravi Varma Unni Raja II (Ravi Varma Unni Nambi) lured Pattar to the temple and confronted him there. An irate Ravivarma and his nephew stabbed the Dewan. He was saved by treatment of a British surgeon named Wye, according to Logan. John William Wye was the Acting Collecotor of Valluvanad, and was Assistant Surgeon of the Bombay Medical Establishment of the Company.The Rani, agonized by this terrible act that amounted to brahmahathya, consulted the astrologers, conducted a puja and a Brahmarakshas idol was installed.

After this, Ravi Varma fled towards Wynad to join the Pazhassi Raja. He was joined by the  notorious Mappila bandit chief Unni Mootha Mooppan, few Coimbatore Gounders and Palakkad Kunhi Achan. Mooppan was a relative of Athan Kurikkal. Ravivarma was followed on the way by Captain Burchall and his men to Anamalai.They escaped to Travancore. The Company offered Rs 5000 for their capture. Ravivarma joined Pazhassi Raja in the second revolt. In 1793 he was caught and sent to Cherpulassery where he died in captivity. Official version for the death Ravivarma was, complications that arose from an old bullet injury. Very unlikely. Ravi Varma's nephew Ravi Varma junior along with his four brothers also died in suspicious circumstances during their imprisonment.There is no evidence either to prove that Ravi Varma the elder and his five nephews were executed in captivity, though it is a strong possibility. He was cremated at his stronghold of Kalladikode. Rebel leaders of Malabar – Pazhassi Raja included – mourned the death of Ravi Varma.

The rest of Padinjare Kovilakam princes evaded British capture and kept a large part of Southern Malabar in a state of chronic disturbance. It was only in 1797 that they agreed to surrender to the British. This four-year-long rebellion by Calicut princes is not a well recorded event in Malabar history. 

James Hartley

During the war with Mysore troops, Ravi Varma commanded the largest rebel force in Malabar and it  proved to be vital for British victory in Third Anglo-Mysore War. In spite of all these factors, Ravi Varma belongs to that class of leaders who are almost lost to history.

It was Swaminatha Pattar's idea to form a native batallion of Nairs called Kolkars to fight the local war lords, that the British implemented. It was commanded by Captain Joseph Watson. Pazhassi Raja was finally confronted by Watson and the Kolkars including Kanara Menon.

Logan's Malabar Manual, in the same context, has referred to some anti social Mappila bandits. In March 1799, the Puthiyangadi Thangal,descendant of an arab family got continuance of an exemption from the payment of revenue in his property, originally granted to him by the second Raja of Calicut in 1791.This was to restrain Mappilas by him, from resorting to 'lawless habits'. The ring leaders of these anti social Mappilas were, Unni Mootha Mooppan, Athan Kurikkal and Chemban Pokkar. A formidable combination was formed by them instigated by a spirit of revenge for the punishment inflicted on some of their connections, especially on Adam Khan, the brother in law of Kurikkal, who was executed for murder. The combination became alarming after an abortive attempt made by the Assistant Collector T H Baber to seize Chemban Pokkar, who had escaped from the Palakkad Fort. Baber's party was repulsed. This encouraged Pokkar to make a daring attempt on the life of G Waddel, the Southern Superintendent, while he was proceeding from Angadippuram to Orampuram. In this, Pokkar was secretly abetted by Kurikkal, who had in 1790,  joined the Company's service as the head of police in Eranad.

To put the record straight, Travancore Dewan Ramayyan Dalawa was not from Palakkad. Ramayyan (Death January 1756 ) was born in Yerwadi, a village in Tirunelveli district, Tamil Nadu, to which his family originally belonged. When he was six years of age, his poor father gave up his native village and came to Thiruvattar and settled at a hamlet known as Aruvikara in the Kalkulam Taluk in the modern-day Kanyakumari District of Tamil Nadu. When he was twenty years old, he lost his parents, who he survived along with their other three sons and one daughter.

Ramayyan

After the death of his parents, Ramayyan frequently visited Thiruvananthapuram, attracted to it by the never ending festivities and celebrations, which always drew great crowds of Tamil Brahmins from all over Travancore and neighbouring regions of modern-day Tamil Nadu. On one occasion he decided to stay back and seek some employment, in which, owing to his superior intelligence and ability, he was successful. He was employed as an assistant to the Athiyara Potti  of Vanchiyoor, a member of the Ettara Yogam or the Council of Eight and a Half who controlled the Padmanabhaswamy temple and a man of great power and influence.

One evening, when the Maharaja Marthanda Varma was dining at Atthyara, he noticed Ramayyan, who impressed him by dealing with a minor yet significant incident with great sense and intelligence. The pleased Marthanda Varma asked  Athiyara Potti to let him take the young boy into his service. Ramayyan became a servant of the Maharaja. Ramayyan from being appointed at a minor post in the Palace management, soon rose in the Maharaja's favour and was appointed Palace Rayasom or Under Secretary. When the then Dalawa / Dewan of Travancore, Arumukham Pillai died in 1736, Ramayyan replaced him.

The entire territorial extent of Travancore , between the river Periyar and Cape Comorin was attained with the efforts of Ramayyan. It was due to the combined efforts and conquests of Marthanda Varma with Ramayyan, that the kingdoms of Kayamkulam, Madathinkoor (Mavelikkara), Elayadathu Swaroopam, Kollam, Ambalapuzha etc. were annexed to Travancore and the Dutch were defeated in the Battle of Colachel. Several favourable treaties were signed with the British under his Dalawaship while the Kingdom of Cochin and the Zamorin accepted the suzerainty of Travancore.

Ramayyan  resided in Mavelikkara, where he had a palace built by Marthanda Varma. After the death of his wife, Ramayyan married a Nair lady from the Edassery family, Mavelikara. After his death, Ramayyan's descendants left to Pudukkottai in Tamil Nadu and settled there. His Nair wife was given gifts and presents and special allowances from the Travancore government in recognition of his services to the state while his own descendants were bestowed with the honorific title of Dalawa. Ramayyan died in 1756. 

Marthanda Varma  followed his faithful servant in 1758. The last Dewan of Travancore, P G N Unnithan hailed from the Edassery Pattaveettil Family of Mavelikkara which had a history of high military service to the Travancore Royal Family. His father Ittamar Koil Thampuran was from the Haripad Palace and a nephew of Kerala Varma Valiya Koil Thampuran.

Ramayyan Dalawa's two sons and one daughter moved back to Tamil Nadu after his death. His family finally settled in the erstwhile Pudukkottai, a princely State in Tamil Nadu. The then king of Pudukkottai, who had a good rapport with the Travancore state, offered Dalawa's descendants the entire village of Sithanavasal.

Uddaṇḍa Śāstrī, author of Kokila Sandesam, definitely found patronage at the Zamorin's Court. He was a 15th-century Tamil brahmin from a village whose learning and scholarship was so great that even the parrots were reciting the Vedas as the koil flies past- he made his way west, seeking patronage, and eventually ended up in Kerala where he is said to have married a lady from Chendamangalam, which leads some to assume the poem's heroine, of the Marakkara household in Chendamangalam, was in fact his wife.

The poet is supposed to have acquired the title Uddaṇḍa, which means 'pre-eminent', literally 'one who has a stick upraised'), from the Zamorin court of Calicut where he found patronage; his original name was Irugupanātha; it was this verse, the very first words the poet spoke to the Zamorin, which is said to have earned him his name:

उद्दण्डः परदण्डभैरव भवद्यात्रासु जैत्रश्रियो
हेतुः केतुरतीत्य सूर्यसरणिं गच्छन् निवार्यस्त्वया ।
नो चेत् तत्पटसम्पुटोदरलसच्छार्दूलमुद्राद्रवत्
सारङ्गं शाशिबिम्बमेष्यति तुलां त्वत्प्रेयसीनां मुखैः ॥

Tamil brahmins should also be proud of the fact that Variyankunnath Kunjahammad Haji, the fanatic gangster behind the Hindu pogrom of 1921 in Malabar was caught alongwith 21 rebels by S I Ramanatha Iyer, on 7 January,1922, at Chokkad, Nilambur. 

Finally, my mother belonged to Mankavu-a Tamil brahmin family, which was in the service of Padinjare Kovilakam, but not in anyway related to Swaminatha Iyer.

_______________________________

Reference:

1.Ayyar, K. V. Krishna (1938)/ The Zamorins of Calicut
2.Buchanan, Francis (1807) / A journey from Madras through the countries of Mysore, Canara and Malabar
3.Dale, Stephen Frederic (1980) / Islamic society on the South Asian frontier: the Mappilas of Malabar, 1498–1922
4.India, Director of Census Operations, Kerala (1981)/ Census of India, 1981: Special Report, Controller of Publications
5.Logan, William (1887) / Malabar manual, Volume 1
6.Menon, A. Sreedhara (1962) / Kerala District Gazetteers
7.Narayanan, M.G.S. (2006) / Calicut: The City of Truth Revisited/University of Calicut

8.K N Lakshminarayanan / From cauvery to Neela

© Ramachandran 

CONVICTED,PALAKKAD RAJA DIES IN JAIL

Alexander Walker Compiled a Book on Malabar Plants

The kingdom of Palakkad,I have felt,doesn't offer much in intrigues,except Kombi Achan inviting Hyder Ali to attack the Zamorin.But now I find there was a murder committed by the king,Itti Kombi Achan,for which he was imprisoned by the British and he died in jail.

The Sreerangapattanam treaty,ending the rule of Tipu was signed on 22 February 1792.Following this,a number of treaties were signed by the British with Indian kings.On 18 August 1792,by a treaty with the Zamorin of Calicut,he was given the right to collect revenue and administer justice for one year.On 21 June 1793,an agreement was signed at the Palakkad Fort between Palakkad Raja Itti Kombi Achan and the Malabar Commissioners of the East India Company,William Gamul Farmer and Major Alexander Walker to restore the land to the Raja to rule.W G Farmer from Bombay presidency had been sworn in as Malabar Supervisor on 18 March 1792.Prior to that,Alexander Dow, W G farmer,William Page and Charles Boddam were sent as commissioners to Malabar,to study and give a report.Dow was the Military Commander at Tellicherry.In British records,the Raja's name is Coomby Acheen.However,the rule of the Raja didn't last long.

The British government was not happy with the arrangement,and the powers of the Raja were gradually usurped by the Britishers.His power to preside over criminal cases in the Cherplassery and Calicut courts was taken over by them.In October 1796,the British brought an end to the Raja's authority to collect taxes.The Raja was prohibited from collecting any other cash by Supervisor  James Stevens.The tax collectors appointed by the Raja were asked to pay the collected amounts directly to the British government.

Two criminal charges were filed in July 1798 against the Raja.According to Logan's Malabar Manual ( Vol 1,Chapter 3),in April the Raja killed Ullattil Kandan Nair;he gouged out Parameswaran Kutty's eyes.Parameswaran was a brahmin.The Raja left his home in Kalpathi on 7 July 1798 and absconded.The Britishers got information same day.A proclamation offering Rs 5000 was issued for his capture.Raja surrendered on 6 September 1798,before Commandant of Palghat Fort, Major James Romney.He was jailed in Tellicherry Fort,where he died on 2 March,1799.Probably,he was executed.The same fort had been used as a prison to confine Hyder Ali's army.

The East India Company brought the entire area and administration of Palakkad under their control on 10 Ocober 1799.According to the recommendation contained in the report submitted by Thomas Warden,the Palakkad raja family was granted a pension.This ended the rule of the Tarur Swaroopam or the Palakkad dynasty.Under the terms of the take over,the Raja was allowed to keep all his royal possessions,landed properties,and status of Raja.The British introduced a yearly Malikhan to the senior Raja and the four Sthanis,the royals next to him in seniority.The trustees of the raj's family retained their hold on the administration of the Kalpathy temple.

Palakkad Fort

The period from 1732 to 1757 was a time of turbulence for the Raja,who faced intermittent attacks from the Zamorin of Calicut.The conflict between the two culminated in the invasion of Hyder Ali.The Zamorin attacked Palakkad in 1732,1745 and 1757 and in 1757 defeated the Raja,and captured the then capital Chokkanathapuram.The Raja sought the help of Hyder Ali to contain the Zamorin.Hyder Ali sent his brother in law,Makhdum Ali in 1757 and the Zamorin retreated.Hyder Ali,after establishing his rule in Mysore in 1761,came to Palakkad,with the intention of fighting the Zamorin,who in the meantime had withdrawn from Palakkad.Palakkad became a kingdom under the domain of Hyder Ali.

Hyder Ali began constructing the Fort,and was completed by his son Tipu Sultan.Kallekulangara Raghava Pisharody, a friend of Ittikombi Achan, was asked to identify land to build a fort.Pisharody was an architect as well as an astrolger,who wrote Ravanodbhavam Kathakali play.Distinct from the mud forts of the time,a decision was taken to build a fort out of solid rock.The foundation stone was laid by Makhdum Ali.While the main gate faced North,the armoury was on the western side.Hyder found it an ideal place for improving the communication links between Coimbatore and Malabar,for launching his Malabar jihad.The work was over by 1766.It was designed by a French engineer.

Hyder soon took Ittikombi Achan prisoner at Srirangapattanam,as he tried to move away from him.Hyder handed over the task of collecting taxes to Ittipangi Achan,his favourite.The fort was a major scene of action in 1782,during the second Anglo-Mysore war,when forces of Sardar Khan and Major abbington faced each other.It was from this fort that Tipu and his French commnder M Lally began their march against the British.

On 15 November 1784,the Fort was captured by the British under Colonel William Fullarton,after a 11 day siege,with the help of the Zamorin,but was recaptured by Tipu.The war between Tipu and the British ended in 1784.Malabar was ruled by the muslims during 1784-1791.Tipu constructed the road from Palakkad to Dindigul via Thathamangalam,Pollachi and palani;from Feroke to Coimbatore via Palakkad,and from Kottakal to Coimbatore,via Angadipuram,Mannarkad and Palakkad.

Fullarton was the soldier who had led the British force against Kattabomman.

On 21 September 1791,Malabar Brigade Major Lt Colonel Alexander Stuart captured the Fort and Palakkad came under British rule.The Palakkad Raja gave the British secret help.This was extended with the clear understanding that after the capture of the Fort,the land would be returned to the Raja to rule.In the same year,Raja Itti Pangi Achan died and Itti Kombi Achan took over.The British set up a prison inside the Fort.It housed local chieftains who refused to yield.The Fort could house 10,000 soldiers at a time.

The Fort was used by the Mysore army to mint coins.The plan was to replace the existing Veerarayan Panam with another coin called Hydari.Later,a new coin Suktan Panam was minted at the Fort.

Kochi King Ramavarma Sakthan Thampuran met Tipu at the Fort,in 1788.Tipu revealed his plan to attack Travancore.When Tipu asked for Kochi's help,sakthan evaded the question.From the Fort,Tipu wrote to the Travancore King karthika Thirunal Ramavarma ( Dharmaraja ) demanding suzerainty.

Machat Ilayath prepared the horoscope of Tipu at the Fort.Tipu had brought a parrot tied with a golden chain and asked Ilayath to predict its death first.When Ilayath prophecied that the parrot would live for sme more time,Tipu took a swipe at the parrot with his sword.The sword missed its mark and instead hit the chain,freeing the bird.Ilayath wrote Tipu's horoscope and warned Tipu against remaining in the fort for long.

Slave trade was carried out in the fort-The price for one slave was 200-250 panam,during Hyder Ali.Two or three child slaves could be bought for 100 panam.

Ravivarma of the Zamorin family,who was the Commander of the Calicut force was captured by the British in 1793 and died in captivity at Cherpulassery.His nephew, also named Ravi Varma, was also arrested by the British and died in prison the same year.Ravi Varma has the distinction of being the first Malabar prince to rise up in 1788 against the forced conversions and deportation of Nairs to Seringapatam conducted by Tipu. He was a key figure in the anti-Mysore uprising in southern Malabar. After 1792, he broke his longstanding alliance with the British, and waged war against them.

We saw that Major Alexander signed an agreement with Itti Kombi achan.Alexander was a multi faceted personality.Brigadier-general Alexander Walker (1764-1831) made a collection of Persian, Sanskrit and Arabic manuscripts, presumably while Governor of Baroda.While he was Major in Malabar,he alongwith his clerk,Callinguel Cunhy Coroo,compiled four volumes,which were discovered by Lisa Rosner in 2018,at Edinburgh.

Walker was born in 1764 in Collessie, Scotland, the eldest of five children. His father William, a Church of Scotland minister, died when the boy was seven. Although he was able to study at the grammar school and university at St Andrews, he later recalled that 'poverty was vouchsafed... as a Counter balance to Family Pride [and its] younger Branches had to seek their fortunes in distant lands'.

His transition to adulthood would occur in India.A cadet in the East India Company from 1780, Walker sailed to Bombay in 1781.

While in his mid-teens, in 1780, Alexander Walker (born 12 May 1764) was appointed as a cadet in the service of the East India Company. In 1782 he became an ensign and in the same year took part in campaigns against the forts of Hyder Ali on the Malabar Coast. Walker was also present at Mangalore during the siege by Tipu and its subsequent surrender in January 1784. In 1788, after a period in enemy hands, and after taking part in an expedition to the north-west coast of America undertaken by the Bombay government, he was made a lieutenant and was sent with the expedition to relieve the Rajah of Travancore in 1790. In 1791, he was an adjutant.

On the conclusion of this stage of the war against Tipu, a commission was nominated to regulate the affairs of Malabar, and Walker was appointed as an assistant. On the arrival in Malabar of General James Stuart (d. 1793), commander-in-chief of the army in Bombay, he became his military secretary. In 1797, Walker was made captain, and the same year he became quartermaster-general of the Bombay army with the rank of Major. In 1799, he took part in the last war against Tipu and was present at the fighting at Seedaseer and at the siege of Srirangapatnam during which Tipu was killed.

British Forces crossing a river,c.1790/William Daniell 

In 1800, Walker was sent to the Mahratta states with the intention of pacifying and reforming the region and the Mahratta confederacy. Discontent in Baroda culminated in the insurrection of Mulhar Rao in 1801, though this was put down by 1802. In June 1803, Walker was appointed political Resident at Baroda and he succeeded in establishing an orderly administration there. His career continued in India, and he attained the rank of lieutenant-general in 1808. In 1810 he returned to Britain, to his estate of Bowland in Edinburgh and Selkirk, and he retired from service in 1812. In 1810, he obtained leave to quit India in pursuit of a more settled life at his newly purchased Bowland estate near Galashiels and Edinburgh. He married Barbara Montgomery on 12 July 1811.

Ten years later in 1822 he was called back from his retirement to the government of St. Helena which was under the administration of the East India Company. There he had the rank of brigadier-general. While in St. Helena, he improved the island's agriculture and horticulture. Brigadier-General Alexander Walker died in Edinburgh on 5 March 1831.The National Library of Scotland holds a vast archive of Walker's correspondence and papers, running to almost 600 large volumes, many of which he had prepared for publication. Among these is a hefty journal titled Voyage to America, 1785, which was finally published nearly 200 years after the event.

Alexander Walker

Bowland House, with its many Indian curiosities, 'notably of representatives of the Hindoo pantheon',was an ideal setting for Walker to work on his various Indian histories, and his accounts of Indian customs and beliefs. He also revisited his concerns about Britain's role in India, adding to the thoughts he had penned in 1811 during his passage home. Noting then that the East India Company, with its 200,000 men, was £30 million in debt, he reflected that British power in India was 'maintained at the expense of the parent state... guaranteed not only by the blood but the treasure of England'. In a private correspondence from 1817 to 1819 he built a compelling case for 'an unusual and unpopular expedient. A proposal to contract the bounds of our territories, and to relinquish the fruits of conquest...' Although opening the argument with fiscal concerns, Walker's proposal for radical reform broadened as he acknowledged a deep-rooted hostility and degrading dependence among the subjugated Indian populace: 'We have left wounds in every quarter, and produced everywhere discontent: the confidence which was once reposed in our moderation and justice is gone. We have made use of treaties, contracted solely for protection, as the means of making violent demands... Every individual almost above the common artizan and labourer suffers by our system of government.'

Alexander had a close working relationship with Kallingal Kunji Koru ( Indian spelling) in the EIC revenue office in Calicut.They together compiled four manuscript volumes on plants of Malabar. Two of these consist of illustrations and are held by the Centre for Research Collections at the University of Edinburgh. The other two consist of descriptions of each illustration, and are held, together with the rest of the Walker of Bowland archive, in Special Collections at the National Library of Scotland. Both sets are clearly attributed to Walker and contain his bookplate. They are numbered, and the descriptions in the NLS volumes match the illustrations with the corresponding number in the CRC volumes. Internal evidence suggests that the illustrations and descriptions were compiled while Walker was stationed in Malabar from 1799-1801, and that he wrote the introduction and back matter some years later, perhaps during his retirement in the 1820s. It's not clear why these volumes, so obviously connected to each other, ended up in separate collections.

Walker makes it clear that the volumes were based on native informants, and that makes them very interesting to modern historians.As Walker made clear, he made no claims to being a scholar. Indeed, he wrote, "As a science I knew little or nothing of Botany." But he knew how to develop cordial relations with local elites -- as he put it, "men of rank, of property, of education" -- because that was, in fact, an important part of his position with the Malabar Commission, charged with governing the region after the Mysore Wars. For that reason, when he "wished to obtain some knowledge of the natural productions of this beautiful Country," he requested "the assistance of some intelligent natives" in obtaining "drawings and descriptions of many plants. One native made the drawings, and the account of the plants was translated from the writing of another. Specimens of plants that I was not acquainted with were brought from a distance for my observation and instruction. The drawings were made in my presence."

This was not undertaken as part of his formal responsibilities as administrator. Instead, he framed it as a pleasant way for him to interact with local allies. As Walker explained in the front matter to the volumes, "In the remote regions of India I was frequently in situations where the Natives were my only Society. I found their conversation amusing and interesting. I was instructed in their manners and habits. In the process of communication they threw off that reserve which they commonly shew in their intercourse with Europeans...It was no difficult matter to acquire their confidence. It was only necessary to convince them that I had their good at heart. They were good humoured and easy to please. It was this disposition under these circumstances doubtless, that made them do many things that were agreeable to me, and which they perceived I was desirous of."

Walker here presents himself as a compiler of vernacular knowledge, in a style we can find elsewhere in his archive. But the image conjured from the back matter is quite different. The text states that the compiler took descriptions of "different trees, herbs, and vinegars" from native Malabar translations of Sanskrit texts. It also includes the comment, "The height and thickness of trees are...guessed; but a little experience in looking at objects with a view to their measurement enables a person to form a judgement tolerably accurate of this circumstance. The trees are measured from the ground to the highest leafy branch; the thickness is taken by a line through the center of the trunk at its greatest diameter."

In the description of the "Konna" tree -- Kanikonna, or Golden Shower Tree, the state flower of Kerala -- it certainly seems to be Walker who explains to us that it is "a tree of middling size...with yellow flowers and seed in pods. The flowers are used in celebrating the feast of Vishu. It is necessary that the flower should be the first object presented to the sight of a Malabar on the morning of the day dedicated to that God." But then the second voice chimes in to provide more detail: "The flower is put in a basin, where a little rice is deposited, with it a bit of gold, usually a gold fanam [coin] and a coconut, the whole covered over with a clean cloth. On the morning of the feast of Vishu each person of a family as they rise lifts the cloth that conceals the flower with circumspection and takes a reverential view of the flower. The observance of this ceremony ensures comfort and prosperity for the remainder of the year. The neglect of it will surely be attended with disgrace and distress."

Barbara,Alexander's wife

After making a thorough search through his archives, Lisa Rosner found that,the other voice in Alexander's writings belong to Kallingal Kunji Koru.The clearest evidence comes from the similarities between Walker's plant materials and another four-volume set in the Walker of Bowland archives, on Malabar castes. Like the plant volumes, this consists of two volumes of illustrations and two volumes of descriptions, with corresponding numbers linking the two sets. Unlike the plant volumes, Walker tells us exactly where he got his information. "I am indebted," he wrote,

...for the account of the distinction and establishment of Castes in Malabar to Callinguel Cunhy Coroo who was a Tien and consequently of the fourth class. Cunhy Coroo was my Menon or Clerk; and was a man full of information and intelligence. He had a superior and a manly understanding. His notions were liberal and in general of great practical soundness. I had many reasons to think well of his probity and principles, as well as of his understanding. He was a friend for whom I entertained a sincere esteem, and who from his attachment and integrity deserved my confidence. Cunhy Coroo tho' of a low Caste was conversant with the Sanskrit writings and literature of his Country, and had an extensive knowledge of the resources, the Institutions, and peculiar usages of Malabar.

Tien means,he was from the Thiyya caste. The archives contain a series of letters from Cunhy Coroo to Walker that make it clear the esteem went both ways. "My Honored Sir," Cunhy Coroo wrote to Walker,

It is a long time since I had the happiness of receiving a line from you but this I hope is merely on account of your being occupied in the more serious affairs of the Company...

I beg leave also to say that I on my part have been very neglectful since the receipt of your letter to me dates in May last...but this was entirely owing to my not having any thing particular to communicate, [and not from] want of respect or attachment to you...

By the Blessing of God and Secondly by your favour, I still remain in the same situation in the Principal Collectors Office. This together with a small extent of merchandize I carry on now does provide me and my family sufficiently for the present. I beg leave also to inform you that I have lately built a Pattamar boat valued about 15000 Rupees, and with which I traffic to Bombay.

As I have the greatest desire to see you...and then only would be happy I will thank you to let me know of your arrival at Bombay...or I shall be prepared to see you on the coast...

From other letters we know that Cunhy Coroo oversaw translations of traditional Malabar manuscripts for Walker, packed and shipped plants for him, sent him gifts on his own account, and kept Walker informed on East India Company affairs in the district. We also can learn that Cunhy Coroo was well-regarded by other EIC administrators, who frequently consulted with him, as Walker had, on Malabar customs, laws, and traditions. It is very probable that he was the "intelligent native officer of the revenue" mentioned by Francis Buchanan in his published survey of Malabar, who took Buchanan into the field to explain local agricultural practices (Buchanan 2:477).

The archives indicate that the relationship between the two men was rooted in mutual self-interest as well as esteem.Alexander was at that point only an acting, not a commissioned major, and his appointment rested on the continuation of the Malabar Commission. But the East India Company was riven by factions, and the Malabar Commission's supporters were not in the ascendant. It was very much to his advantage to have allies among the Native employees of the company, whose expertise was essential for smooth collection of both revenue and local intelligence.

Cunhy Coroo, for his part, had every reason to appreciate Walker's support. Under the less sympathetic administrator who succeeded Walker, several Brahmins were appointed to the revenue office, and they "take every opportunity of showing themselves as fac totum," Cunhy Coroo wrote. If he, or any of the other employees who had served under Walker "chanced to have the least occasion," to speak to the administrator, "it is envied by them." They might have been frozen out of the revenue office permanently, had not another shift in the political climate replaced the unsympathetic administrator with one who had a better appreciation of Native expertise. The archives suggest that Cunhy Coroo's correspondence, and Walker's support, were significant factors at the local level in that political shift.

Plants of Malabar/Illustration from Alexander archives

Their correspondence began with a formal request from Walker, while still part of the Malabar Commission:

To Cunhy Coroo:

No proper account has yet been obtained of the nature of the landed tenures in Malabar. The accompanying papers contain four several accounts differing from each other. I wish to reconcile them so that the names may agree together and the errors of each particularly pointed out -- I want besides an exact account and history of all the kinds of landed tenure in Malabar. This is requisite to be finished as soon as possible...

Cunhy Coroo's response was enormously detailed and touched on many aspects of legal and agricultural practice.We learn that when it is time for the cultivator to pay the landholder what he owes, the calculation was based in part on the stages of growth of the chief agricultural products, like the jack tree and the coconut. In fact, in the sections on the coconut and jack trees there are detailed charts on how much landholder and cultivator are owed, based on the size and growth of the plants.

That, then, is the explanation of the anomalous drawings of jack trees and coconuts,depicting stages of growth.

I am reminded of Hortus Malabaricus,a comprehensive treatise that deals with the properties of the flora of the Western Ghats region principally covering the areas now in the Indian states of Kerala, Karnataka and Goa.Written in Latin, it was compiled over a period of nearly 30 years and published in Amsterdam during 1678–1693.The book was conceived by Hendrik van Rheede, who was the Governor of Dutch Malabar at the time.The Hortus Malabaricus comprises 12 volumes of about 500 pages each, with 794 copper plate engravings. The first of the 12 volumes of the book was published in 1678, and the last in 1693. It is believed to be the earliest comprehensive printed work on the flora of Asia and the tropics.

Mentioned in these volumes are plants of the Malabar region which in his time referred to the stretch along the Western Ghats from Goa to Kanyakumari. The book gives a detailed account of the flora of Kerala, along with sketches and detailed descriptions. Over 742 different plants and their indigenous science are considered in the book. The book also employs a system of classification based on the traditions adopted by the practitioners of that region. Apart from Latin, the plant names have been recorded in other languages including Malayalam, Konkani, Arabic, English.

Hendrik van Rheede is said to have taken a keen personal interest in the compilation of the Hortus Malabaricus. The work was edited by a team of nearly a hundred including:
The physician Itti Achuden and the Brahmins Ranga Bhat, Vinayaka bhat and Appu Bhat.
Amateur botanists, such as Arnold Seyn, Theodore Jansson of Almeloveen, Paul Hermann, Johannes Munnicks, Joannes Commelinus, Abraham a Poot.
Technicians, illustrators and engravers, together with the collaboration of Dutch East India Company officials, and clergymen including D. John Caesarius and the Discalced Carmelite Mathaeus of St. Joseph’s Monastery at Varapuzha.

Van Rheede was also assisted by the King of Cochin and the ruling Zamorin of Calicut. 

Prominent among the Indian contributors was the  physician Itti Achuden, a Thiyya Vaidyan of the Mouton Coast of Malabar whose contribution was examined by three Brahmins named Ranga Bhat, Vinayaka Pandit and Appu Bhat.The ethnomedical original information in the work was provided by Itti Achuden and the three Brahmins, working on it for two continuous years morning and evening. Their certificate to this effect is given in the first volume of the book. A grand memorial to them is erected in Kochi.
_________________________________________________

Reference:

1.K N Laksminarayanan/From Cauvery to Neela:A History of Tamil Agraharams of Palakkad
2.Dr Lisa Rosner/Making Sense of Malabar:The Major,The Menon and the Meaning of Plants

3.Walker, Alexander/Centre for Research Collections, University of Edinburgh. Drawings of Trees and Plants on the Malabar Coast, 2 volumes

4.Regikumar, J., ed. Graeme's Report of the Revenue Administration of Malabar 1822. Reprint edition. Kerala State Archives: Government of Kerala, 2010

5.Buddle, Anne. The Tiger and the Thistle: Tipu Sultan and the Scots in India 1760-1800. Edinburgh : Trustees of National Gallery of Scotland, 1999.

6.Buchanan, Francis. A Journey from Madras through the countries of Mysore, Canara and Malabar

© Ramachandran 

THE MURDER OF RAJA KESAVADAS

The Cause of his Death was Arsenic Poisoning

Raja Kesavadas(1745-1799) was the first individual in Travancore to be raised to the position of Dewan, showing an amazing ability in different spheres, as varied as finance, commerce, infrastructure and military. Enjoying complete freedom under Dharmaraja, appointing his relatives to key posts in the palace, he virtually reigned supreme and the British gave him the title, Raja. The death of the King pushed him into misery, losing all his assets, and eventually, the coterie around the new King, poisoned him to death, making him a tragic figure in the history of Travancore.

Accounts of his life indicate that Kesavan was an illegitimate son of a woman called Kaliamma Pillai, of Kunnathur in Vilavamkode. His father is said to be a Chief in the army, who allowed the destitute Kaliamma to stay in his home when she sought a job in the palace. Everything about his father seems to be fiction: he doesn't have a name, and the biographers of Kesavadas escape midway through the story saying his father left his job and became a Sannyasin. Later, she lived with a Thriprayar-born priest of the Munchira Madam temple and had four more children: Kumaran Thampi, Thathi Pillai, Chempakakutty Pillai and Neelamma Pillai. Police Commissioner K Padmanabhan Thampi and Dr K Raman Thampi were from the Thathi Pillai family branch. 

After becoming Dewan, Kesava Das built homes for each of his sisters, at Kunnathur, Kakkurichi and Thevikode, and his mother lived with the younger sister at Kunnathur. Kaliamma had a brother, Raman, whom the historian P Sangunni Menon mistook as the father of Kesavadas, thereby referring to him, as Raman Kesavan, or, the historian just gave a name for the father.

Kesavadas Statue, 2013

Acute poverty drove the uneducated Kesavan at age 12 to win daily bread for the family and he joined as an apprentice accountant of a Chettiar at Puthukkadai. The Chettiar was also a kind of secretary to the influential trader, who owned a fleet of ships, Poovar Pokku Moosa Marikkar, with a large warehouse at Thengapattinam. Kesavan joined Marikkar at Thengapattinam, picked up a few languages from workers of the ships, and the knowledge of Hindi helped him to land a job at the palace when he accompanied Marikkar to see Dharmaraja. The King, on holiday, was miserably trying to prepare a reply in Hindi, to a letter from the Carnatic Nawab. Kesavan was assigned the job to write the palace orders and became Rayasam (Head, Commerce) in 1765 and Samprathi (Head, Finance)  in 1768. 

Palino da San Bartolomeo, the Carmelite missionary who came to India towards the end of July 1776,  in his book,  A Voyage to the East Indies, mentions meeting Kesavadas as Samprathi. Samprathi was an important job in the palace. Paulinus has described a meeting with Dharmaraja from which we understand that the missionary had learnt Amarakosam! Paulinus met the King again in 1784, with Portuguese grammar. He interfered in the conflicts Christian laymen had with the priests, on behalf of the King, in which Kesavadas helped him. He also records, Kesavadas spoke to him about Hindu scriptures.

He was in the position of Samprathi for 20 years, when the attack of Tipu Sultan became imminent. Hyder Ali, after Cochin agreed to give him, two lakhs and eight elephants as tribute,  pressurized Travancore, for 15 lakhs and 30 elephants. Since the state had the support of the English East India Company and Carnatic Nawab, the King rejected the demand. In 1788, when, Krishnan Chempaka Raman was promoted as Dalava, Kesavadas replaced him as Sarvadhikaryakkar, or, Chief Secretary. Dharmaraja retired to Aluva, performed a Yaga and went to Mavelikkara. Krishnan Chempaka Raman passed away, and on 22 September 1789, Kesavadas was made Dalava, but he preferred the title, Dewan, and changed his name to Kesavadas, from Kesava Pillai.

War with Tipu

 

He brought pepper and cardamom under state monopoly, raising funds for war efforts. He bought the Kodungallur, Azhikotta (Ayikotta) Forts from the Dutch on 21 July 1789, for 3 lakhs, blocking the entry of Tipu to Cochin and Travancore. The angry Tipu decided to seize the Forts, started the march from Coimbatore, and entered Cochin in November. He sent a letter to Dharmaraja with three demands. (1) All the Malabar royal family members who have sought asylum should be sent back. (2) The forces from Kodungallur and Azhikotta should be withdrawn since the agreement with the Dutch is invalid. (3) Since Mysore has suzerainty over Cochin, Travancore should demolish the Nedunkotta that it has built in Cochin.

Dharmaraja

Dharmaraja refused to accede to the demands, replying he is related to Malabar; he himself was the son of an adopted Kolathiri Princess. Another threat fell upon Travancore when Governor John Holland declared Travancore buying the Forts, invalid. Raja appointed Kesavadas the Military Chief to devise the war strategy.

Tipu reached Thrissur on 14 December and breached the Fort on the morning of the 29th. They were defeated by the Travancore forces on 1 January 1790. Tipu, who got injured, falling in the trench, became lame for life. His palanquin, crest, rings and the ornaments on his body were confiscated by Travancore. The casualty on the Travancore side was 200;2000 on Tipu's side, if the history written by Dewan T Madhava Rao, could be believed. From Tipu's side, Jeevanna Rao, Buttaiya, one Rajput and five Europeans were taken prisoners. The Europeans were imprisoned at Udayagiri Fort and the others in Padmanabhapuram. Records show all of them were given, rice and ghee. Mohibul Hassan, the historian, has accepted the letter written by Tipu to Governor John Holland, which portrays the war as just a border dispute. Tipu's force was 15,000 strong. One doesn't need such a huge force to negotiate a border dispute.

Paulinus

The furious Tipu came again in April with reinforcements. Nedunkotta, which was built taking 13 years, was demolished within 6 days. The Travancore force retreated to Kodungallur, and the Travancore force under Captain Flory in Kodungalur Fort, fled from the scene. The army of Tipu under M Laly, on 8 May, razed the Fort to the ground. Tipu reached Aluva. Kesavadas returned to Thiruvananthapuram and wrote a letter to the Governor General Cornwallis in Kolkata, against the Holland brothers, John and Edward, who were Governors of Madras from 1789 February to 1790 February,  complaining about the English Force remaining neutral. Edward Holland was Governor for only 7 days. The rampage of the victorious Tipu has been described by Paulinus, who was staying at Varapuzha. There was an exodus of refugees. The Hollands, known for bribes, had been removed, and William Medows had taken over. 

The British declared war against Tipu.

The retreated Kesavadas was asked to go back to the North by the Raja. Tipu, making Aluva his camp, unleashed cruelties in Alangad, Paravur and Kunnathunad.For the fortunate Kesavadas, nature interfered, and monsoon rained early in May. The gunpowder of Tipu became damp. The movement was made impossible by the floods in the Periyar River. When the news came that the English planned to attack Srirangapattana, Tipu returned on May 24. He never came back. Kesavadas went and stayed at Srirangapattana, to help the British in the war. A letter he is supposed to have written from there, requesting more funds, is there in the history written by Sangunni Menon-it has a lot of Islamic words. But the important thing in the letter is the reference to Samprathi Kunjuneelan Pillai, in the last line. It says the letter should be read by Pillai and then, he should brief the Raja. Kunjuneelan Pillai became the central character in the murder of Kesavadas, later.

Wellesley

Travancore paid 14 lakhs as war expenses and was asked to pay 10 lakhs every year, for protection. On his return from Srirangapattana, Kesavadas was briefed on the debt, and by his efforts, Governor General Cornwallis waived further payment. Kesavadas concentrated on the rehabilitation of the royal family members from Malabar. Surprisingly, the Zamorin, who was then 70 plus, wished to stay in Travancore again, and the Crown Prince, Krishna Raja was sent to Kozhikode, instead. The continued stay of the Zamorin affected the life of Kesavadas directly, because the Jayanthan brothers of Uthiyeri, Malabar, who plotted against him, had come with the Zamorin, though there is no record to show the Zamorin wished to be adopted to the Venad family!

In the peaceful atmosphere that followed, Kesavadas built the Alapuzha port and stayed there. He built a house for the Chettiar, who gave him his first job. Most of the families of Travancore began naming their male child, Kesavan. He took the initiative in signing the treaty of April 26, 1798, with the British, after Lord Wellesley became Governor General, in May. Wellesley, in appreciation, gave him the title Raja.

Napoleon

Fortunes dwindle

The fortunes of Kesavadas began to dwindle, after the death of Dharmaraja on 17 February 1798. He lived only a year more, poisoned to death on 21 April 1799.

The successor of Dharmaraja, Balarama Varma (1798-1810) was just 16, with no administrative experience because, till that time, Kesavadas was only informing the King, after taking decisions himself. The prince was never part of the administration. Dharmaraja had become a puppet of Kesavadas and the British. The suzerainty of Carnatic Nawab over Travancore was transferred to the British by the treaty of 1798, by Kesavadas. He would have continued to be powerful, had he been successful in improving the financial mess. 

Kesavadas continued to be the Dewan for the next year, till the new King finished observing the obsequies of the dead uncle. The Sraddha, after a year, was celebrated with an extravaganza by Kesavadas, trying to get into the good books of the new King. Dharmaraja had four consorts; the young Balarama Varma also had four women from those four families. The Thampis from those houses advised him, in the absence of Kesavadas, who was stationed at Alapuzha. The distance between them became huge, and Balarama Varma took the reins after the Sraddha. All the key positions were held by the relatives of Kesavadas: his brother-in-law, Padmanabhan Chempaka Raman was, Kizhakumukham Sarvadhikaryakkar. His nephew, Irayimman Thampi(not the poet), was in Thekkumukam, with the title, Peshkar. The army was divided into two, making his brother, Kumaran Thampi, a General and the Chief of one Division. His loyal official Kunjuneelan Pillai was Samprathi. The British, made, Major John Alexander Bannerman, an old friend of Kesavadas, who was the Commander of the Subsidiary Force, a Resident of Travancore and Cochin. Since Bannerman(1759-1819), who captured and hanged, Veerapandya Kattabomman, was staying in Cochin, the friendship with Kesavadas grew since, Alapuzha was, close.

Guanxu

In these circumstances, it was difficult to remove Kesavadas. But Balarama Varma, who depended on the Jaynthan Nambudiri brothers from Uthiyeri (Udayagiri), avoided every encounter, with Kesavadas. The brothers, Jayanthan Sankaran, Jayanthan Jayanthan and Jayanthan Subramanyan had entered the palace service through the good offices of, Zamorin, who had sought asylum in Thiruvananthapuram. Jayanthan Sankaran influenced the King to cede the area known as Karappuram(Cherthala), to Cochin, and the messenger, Thottappaya Nambudiri, with the order was intercepted by Kesavadas at Paravur, Kollam, en route to Cochin, and the order was torn into pieces. When Jayanthan was carried, in a procession, on a palanquin, used by Dharmaraja, Kesavadas admonished him, saying it was seditious. The palanquin after the death of the King had to be abandoned, at the Pallakkupura, at Pondar Street, Sreekanteswaram, because the dead body was carried in the palanquin, to the burial ground. Kesavadas was suspended immediately, and put under house arrest.

Kesavadas

Kesavadas died on the arattu day at Sreevaraham, Thiruvananthapuram, 21 April 1799, in front of a relative's house, after returning from a dinner at the Palace. The French doctor Seytres, who was appointed the Commission to inquire into the death, reported to Resident Colin Campbell Macaulay (1759-1836), who took over in January 1800, that Kesavadas, after dinner, had complained of stomach pain and numbness of the tongue. Though the King was against the inquiry, the Resident ordered the arrest of the accused, Kunjuneelan Pillai. The King vouched for his innocence and even the relatives of Kesavadas didn't accuse him. The doctor's diagnosis was that Kesavadas died of food poisoning. The charge sheet accused Kunjuneelan Pillai of paying Rs 2000 for mixing the poison in the food.

When Macaulay went on military duty to Palayamkottai, all the relatives of Rajakesavadas were murdered, including General Kumaran Thampi, the only brother of Kesavadas and nephew Peshkar Irayimman Thampi. Kunjuneelan Pillai was held responsible for killing both. Though Pillai may have been responsible for killing Kumaran and Irayimman, who were ambitious, the role of Kunjuneelan in the murder of Kesavadas is disputed, because, he was loyal to Kesavadas, was personally recruited by him, and he was not in the good books of the  Dewan Velu Thampi. While Velu Thampi was once loyal to Macaulay, Kunjuneelan was steadfast in his loyalty to Travancore. Kunjuneelan was selected Samprathi by Kesavadas when he left that job for the position of Dewan. Kunjuneelan was removed from that post after the murder of Kesavadas and Jayanthan Subramanyan was appointed instead. If he had poisoned Kesavadas, he would have been in the post, if not promoted.

Veluthampi

The public suspected that the sorcerer Palanattu Nambudiri, married to the sister of the Jayanthan brothers, was behind the murder. He was put on trial for practising black magic and was deported from the state. Kunjuneelan was on very good terms with Balarama Varma, hence, hated by Macaulay. Not only the King, the brother-in-law of Kesavadas, Parassala Padmanabha Pillai, had also exonerated, Kunjuneelan. The four people, who had testified against Kunjuneelan had detracted later. But the Chief of Army, Marthandan Cempaka Raman and Chief Secretary, Krishnan Chempakaraman had held Kunjuneelan guilty, in the murder of Kumaran and Irayimman. 

When the Chief, Marthandan Chempaka Raman had only the position of Colonel, Kumaran Thampi was appointed creating the senior post of General. Likewise, Kesavadas had created the new post of Peshkar to accommodate his nephew. Kumaran Thampi had sent letters of protest to the British when Ayyappan Chempakaraman was made Dewan after Jayanthan Sankaran and when his own brother-in-law Parassala Padmanabha Pillai was appointed Dewan. Kumaran and Irayimman were killed when Kumaran continued to send letters after Velu Thampi became Dewan. The suspicion that Kunjuneelan was behind the King's order to kill Velu Thampi also seems baseless. The jobless Kunjuneelan was called to Thiruvananthapuram, from Padmanabhapuram, by the King, sending a messenger, and reinstated.

Simon Bolivar

In reverse diagnosis by famous Neurologist Dr K Rajasekharan Nair, the cause of the death of Kesavadas has been ascertained as arsenic poisoning,based on the symptoms. He is not in bad company-Napoleon Bonaparte died of arsenic poisoning, 22 years after him, in 1821. The cause of death was found by examining the preserved hair, from his dead body. Simon Bolivar and second to the last emperor of China, Guangxu were also the victims of arsenic, mixed in food. Chempaka Raman Pillai, Foreign Minister in the INA provisional government was, poisoned to death by Hitler. It was a slow death from food poisoning.

There is no evidence, but the death of King Balarama Varma (1782-1810), when he was just 28, is suspected to be a murder. Coronated on 18 February 1798, he ruled for 12 years, a country in turmoil, seeing the rebellion and suicide of Velu Thampi, in February 1809. The King died in mysterious circumstances, on November 7, 1810.

Reference:
1. Raja Kesavadas/V R Parameswaran Pillai
2. Marthandavarma Muthal Munro Vare/K Sivasankaran Nair
3. Tragic End of Raja Kesavadas and his Family/Dr B Sobhanan
4. A Voyage to the East Indies/Paulinus

See my Post,MURDER OF KOTTAYAM KERALA VARMA