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Kittur Chennamma (23 October 1778 – 21 February 1829)^[1] was the Rani of Kittur, a former princely state in Karnataka. She led an armed force against the British East India Company in 1824 in defiance of the doctrine of lapse in an attempt to maintain Indian control over the region, but was defeated in the third war and died imprisoned. One of the first female rulers to rebel against British rule, she has become a folk hero in Karnataka and symbol of the independence movement in India.

Early life

Kittur Chennamma was born on 23 October 1778, in Kakati, a small village in the present Belagavi District of Karnataka, India. She belonged to the Lingayat community and received training in horse riding, sword fighting and archery from a young age.

She married Raja Mallasarja of the Desai family at the age of 15.

Fight to retrieve supremacy of Kittur from the British

Chennamma’s husband died in 1824, leaving her with a son and a state full of volatility. This was followed by her son’s death in 1824. Rani Chennamma was left with the state of Kittur and an uphill task to save it from the British. Following the death of her husband and son, Rani Chennamma adopted Shivalingappa in the year 1824 and made him the heir to the throne. This irked the East India Company, who ordered Shivalingappa’s expulsion, on the pretext of the Doctrine of Lapse . This doctrine was based on the idea that in case the ruler of an independent state died childless, the right of ruling the State reverted or ‘lapsed’ to the sovereign. The state of Kittur came under the administration of Dharwad collectorate in charge of St John Thackeray of which Mr. Chaplin was the commissioner, both of whom did not recognize the new ruler and regent and notified Kittur to accept the British regime.

Rani Chennamma sent a letter to Mountstuart Elphinstone, Lieutenant-Governor of the Bombay Presidency pleading her cause, but the request was turned down, and war broke out.^[2] The British tried to confiscate the treasure and jewels of Kittur, valued at around 1.5 million rupees.^[3] They attacked with a force of 20,797 men and 437 guns, mainly from the third troop of Madras Native Horse Artillery.^[4]
In the first round of war, during October 1824, British forces lost heavily and St John Thackeray, collector and political agent,^[5] was killed in the war.^[2] Amatur Balappa, a lieutenant of Chennamma, was mainly responsible for his killing and losses to British forces.^[6] Two British officers, Sir Walter Elliot and Mr. Stevenson^[5] were also taken as hostages.^[2] Rani Chennamma released them with an understanding with Chaplin that the war would be terminated but Chaplin continued the war with more forces.^[2] During the second assault, Subcollector of Solapur, Mr. Munro, nephew of Thomas Munro was killed.^[5] Rani Chennamma fought fiercely with the aid of her lieutenant, Sangolli Rayanna, but was ultimately captured and imprisoned at Bailhongal Fort, where she died on 2 February 1829.^[2] Chennamma was also helped by her lieutenant Gurusiddappa in the war against British.^[7]

Sangolli Rayanna continued the guerrilla war to 1829, in vain, until his capture.^[2] He wanted to install the adopted boy Shivalingappa as the ruler of Kittur, but Sangolli Rayanna was caught and hanged. Shivalingappa was arrested by the British.^[2] Chennamma's legacy and first victory are still commemorated in Kittur, during the Kittur Utsava held on 22–24 October annually.

Statue at Parliament House complex, New Delhi

On 11 September 2007 a statue of Rani Chennamma was unveiled at the Indian Parliament Complex by Pratibha Patil, the first woman President of India.^[8] On the occasion, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Home Minister Shivraj Patil, Lok Sabha Speaker Somanath Chatarjee, BJP leader L. K. Advani, Karnataka Chief Minister H. D. Kumaraswamy and others were present, marking the importance of the function.^[9] The statue was donated by Kittur Rani Chennamma Memorial Committee and sculpted by Vijay Gaur.^[9]

There are also statues commemorating her at Bangalore,Belgaum and Kittur.^[10]

Burial place

Rani Chennamma's samadhi or burial place is in Bailhongal taluk, but is in neglected state with poor maintenance and the place is surrounded by a small park maintained by Government agencies.^[10]

In popular culture

• The heroics of Kittur Rani Chennamma are sung by folk in the form of ballads, lavani and GiGi pada.^[11]
  


• 
  Kittur Chennamma is a 1962 film in Kannada, directed by B. Ramakrishnaiah Panthulu.^[12]
  


• Coast guard ship "Kittur Chennamma" was commissioned in 1983 and decommissioned in 2011.^[13]
  


• The Indian Railways train Rani Chennamma Express connecting Bangalore and Kolhapur is named after her.


• 
  Raiganj University Associate Professor Pinaki Roy's essay "Alternative History: A Postcolonial Rereading of Naikar’s The Queen of Kittur", published in the Indian Journal of Multidisciplinary Academic Research (ISSN 2347-9884), 1(2), August 2014: 105-15, offers several instances of critical references to literary representations of the Queen of Kittur.


• 
  Rani Channamma University in Belagavi is named in her honour.


• In the Season 3 Episode 4 : "Reload" of The Expanse after running low on PDC (Point Defence Cannons) ammunition James Holden's crew board the Kittur Chennamma to scavenge its remaining munitions and whilst on board the ship they find survivors. Three are rescued and receive treatment on board the Rocinante. The crew of the Roci repair the K.C. enough to safely return to a Martian Congressional Republic controlled area, and give it back to its remaining crew along with a message to give to their C.O. from Chrisjen Avasarala, asking it to be sent along to UNN Admiral Souther.

External links

• Paintings of Kittur Rani Chennamma


• 
  Karnataka Goddess of Courage: Kittur Rani Chennamma (an article) by S. Srikanta Sastri
  

References