Veerapandiya Kattabomman

Reign     2 February 1790 – 16 October 1799
Full name     Veemaraja Jagaveera Pandiya Kattabomman (Karuthaiah)
Born     3 January 1760
Birthplace     Panchalankurichi,Tamil Nadu
Died     16 October 1799
Place of death     Kayathar,Tamil Nadu
Cause of Death - Refused to give tax to the British
Source of Death - Hanged

Brothers
1.  Dalavai Kumarasami  (Sevathaiah)
2. Duraisingam. ’ (Oomaithurai)

 Kattabomman refused to pay his dues and for a long time refused to meet Jackson Durai, the Collector of the East India Company. Finally, he met Jackson at Ramalinga Vilasam, the palace of Sethupathi of Ramanathapuram. The meeting turned violent and ended in a skirmish in which the Deputy Commandant of the Company’s forces, Clarke was slain. Kattabomman and his men fought their way to freedom and safety, but Thanapathi Pillai, Kattabomman’s secretary was taken prisoner.

Kattabomman refused to meet the Collector and a fight broke out. Under Major Bannerman, the army stood at all the four entrances of Panchalankurichi’s fort. At the southern end, Lieutenant Collins was on the attack. When the fort’s southern doors opened, Kattabomman and his forces audaciously attacked the corps stationed at the back of his fort, and slew their commander Lt. Collins.

Veerapandiya Kattabomman hid in so many places including Thirumayam, Virachilai and finally stayed at Kolarpatti at Rajagopala Naicker’s house where the forces surrounded the house. Kattabomman and his aides fled from there and took refuge in the Thirukalambur forests close to Pudukkottai. Bannerman ordered the Raja of Pudukkottai to arrest Kattabomman. Accordingly, Kattabomman was captured and on October 16, 1799 the case was taken up (nearly three weeks after his arrest near Pudukkottai).
After a summary trial, Kattabomman was hanged unceremoniously on a Tamarind tree in Kayathar (near Thirunelveli).

Is Ettappam (Venkateshwara Ettappa Maharaja. ) a traitor :

              It is said that kings of Ettapayapuram were called so (ETTAPPAN) because of the fact that one of the Kings, named Nalama Nayak, accepted himself as a father to eight oprhaned siblings of another king who he defeated in the war.

From the early 1780’s the Ettayapuram family were good friends with the British and obtained much preferential treatment thus alienating them from the other warring/rebellious poligars. They were later accused by these poligars, especially Kattabomman of frequently offering information and troop support to the British. The Ettapap nayak in this discussion was named Venkateshwara Ettappa Maharaja.

              The History of Tinnevelly by Rev R Caldwell is a fine book covering all these events and the Poligar history if one needs the details. It quotes on Major Bannerman’s letter to the Secretary of the British Government.

“I have received a letter from Mr Lushington (Collector Tinnevelly) that he has received a letter from the Tondaiman (Pudukottai Poligar who was also aligned with the British) informing him that he had succeeded in his exertions to seize the person of Kattabomma Nayka”, and desiring to be furnished with orders respecting the disposal of that rebellious Poligar.

            Thus it becomes clear that the Pudukottai people were the ones who located and captured Kattabomman, not the Ettayapan Nayak or his people, as rumored.

It seems that Ma.Po.Si (Ma.Po.Sivanyanam) who wrote the dialogues for the film had some misunderstanding with the Ettappan family.