A letter sent by Governor General of India to Colonel Arthur Wellesley in 1799 speaks that “to yield to would be set a precedent that would be fatal to British government in India”.
For those who don’t know – in 1799, a territorial dispute arose between British government in India and a vassal prince in Malabar about jurisdiction on a district named Wynad – which was an extension of Mysore Plateau but Malayalam in speech and character and ruled on by a Kerala Raja since early 14th century.
Issue was that during Treaty of Seringapatam of 1792, Wynad was not included in list of territories ceded by Tipu to British – that Tipu had not mastered Wynad was another issue – and hence British refused to hear argument of the Kerala royal clan who had ruled Wynad for four hundred years. British planned to annex Wynad to either South Canara or Coimbatore districts.
Not that Wynad was a valuable possession – Wynad as late as 1960 was heavily forested and inhabited mainly by a tribal population who even today constitute a major chunk of people there.
In 1799, Wynad was ruled by Kottayam Rajas who had their capital in Kottayam (also known as Kottayamangadi or Kottayampoyil) near Thalasseri in Kannur district. Wynad covered nearly two-third of kingdom of Kottayam but was thinly populated. Most of population of Kottayam was concentrated in western part of Kottayam which is now Thalasseri taluk of Kannur district. Kottayam is refered in British documents as Cotiote.
So why were British determined to annex a jungle district of no value – economic or military? Why would not they listen to argument of Kottayam Rajas who were ancient possessors of this district?
Vendetta – British nursed an active vendetta on the man who resisted their claim on Wynad. A man who in 1797 had severely defeated British across Northern Malabar in nearly 100 engagements and killed thousands of best British troops in four months of warfare.
In 1797, Bombay Governor Jonathan Duncan himself came to talk peace with this man who threatened to terminate whole of British presence from Malabaras British learnt that Tipu Sultan was prepared to send 6,000 men to serve under this rebel. Duncan notes with concern and surprise that – “an army that would have put even Tippoo Sahib to fright had made little impression on Cotiote Raja.”
He was even more rankled with thoughts of rest of Rajas of Northern Malabar join hands with rebel Cotiote Raja and wrote that “if Cherical, Cotiote, Cartinaad and Coorumbarnad were to join hands, not even our entire Indian force could defeat them on account of the peculiar geography of that country.” – Kingdoms listed above are neighboring kingdoms of Kottayam and covered whole of Northern Malabar.
British were rankled by the nightmarish scenario where they will be swept away from their recently acquired “province” of Malabar by a combination of Cotiote Raja and his discontented fellow Rajas supported by Tipu. Tipu had given up this country in 1792 and this zone had reputation for being the most turbulent part of Tipu’s kingdom – no effort of himself and his father Hyder Ali could bring this province under control.
Pepper was one of the main commodities of East India Company commerce and hence they were determined to hold on to Malabar at all costs as Malabar was only region where Black Gold grew. More than that - best pepper grew in country of rebellious Cotiote Raja.
Compromise of 1797 between this rebel Raja and Duncan was because of British fear that Tipu or French along with those plenty of open and hidden admirers of this rebel Raja in Malabar might join forces to annihilate British rule in Malabar and if that might happen – needless to say that it would throw a spanner in their plan to crush Tipu Sultan- as it would sabotage their plan to open a two front war on Mysore with one prong moving towards Mysore from Malabar coast via Coorg and South Canara.
It would have been better if there was no peace between Cotiote Raja and British in 1797 – because at most that would have made defeat and death of Tipu Sultan in 1799 impossibility and would have delayed British supremacy of India by decades or at least that would have rendered British effort to control Malabar futile as many rebels in Malabar even outside Kottayam as in 1797 many were willing to fight and die under Cotiote Raja for sake of freedom.
But with British victory on Tipu in 1799, Rajas of Malabar saw that their future would be better served if they ally with British and hence joined hands with British – eerily reminiscent of how Rajput Rajas minus Rana Pratap the Great joined hands with Akbar. Only exception in Malabar case was Cotiote Raja whose determination to uphold his independence and refusal to buckle before threats and his martyrdom would win him an admiration in mind of his people who remember their warrior Raja in numerous folk songs even to this day.
Cotiote Raja gave British no trouble during Fourth Anglo-Mysore War. But after war, when he found his ancient claim to Wynad rejected by British, he chose warpath. Though most of his fellow Rajas of Malabar had given up in 1798 to live in peace with British, he on no account would bow to intimidation.
So he joined a large rebel confederacy of Hindu princes across South India –with Dhoondaji Wagh, Krishnappa Nayak of Bullum, Dheeran Chinnamalai of Erode and Marudu brothers of Sivaganga – all of with whom he had warm personal ties also. Muslims also supported this enterprise – ex-soldiers of Tipu’s army along with local Muslim rebels from Southern Malabar also flocked to standards of Cotiote Raja.
Final war of Cotiote Raja to preserve his country’s integrity and freedom would last full seven years from 1799 to 1806 – It took 15,000 Company troops and a loss rate of as high as 70 percent before fires of war was doused – once and for all.
This man whom Duncan erroneously termed as Cotiote Raja in reality was a junior prince of Kottayam named Kerala Varma also known as Pazhassi Raja. Pazhassi was where a cadet branch of Kottayam royal clan was situated and though no Raja at any point of his life, his role as de facto head of state meant that he was seen and called as Raja by his people. British documents refer to Pazhassi Raja as Pychy Raja.
What will follow will be a biographical sketch of Kerala Varma Pazhassi Raja, man who Duncan noticed had an unearthly glow on his face and who in words of the man who became his nemesis was ---
....“so singular and extraordinary a character”…“had kept this province in a state of confusion, and agitated it with the most intricate and perplexing warfare in which best of officers and of troops have at various times been engaged to the melancholy loss of many valuable lives and the expenditure of as many lakhs of rupees".
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