Pazhassi Raja, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death

    

Pazhassi Raja

Prince Regent of Kottayam

Date of Birth: 03-Jan-1753

Place of Birth: Kannur, Kerala, India

Date of Death: 30-Nov-1805

Zodiac Sign: Capricorn


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About Pazhassi Raja

  • Pazhassi Raja (3 January 1753-30 November 1805) was born as Kerala Varma and was also known as Cotiote Rajah and Pychy Rajah.
  • He was a warrior Hindu prince and de facto head of the kingdom of Kottayam, otherwise known as Cotiote, in Malabar, India, between 1774 and 1805.
  • His struggles with the British East India Company is known as the Cotiote War.
  • He is popularly known as Kerala Simham (Lion of Kerala) on account of his martial exploits. Pazhassi Raja was a member of the western branch of the Kottayam royal clan.
  • When Hyder Ali of the Kingdom of Mysore occupied Malabar in 1773, the Raja of Kottayam found political asylum in Travancore.
  • Pazhassi Raja, the fourth prince in line for succession to the throne during this period, became one of the de facto heads of state, surpassing several older royal contenders.
  • He fought a war of resistance against the Mysorean army from 1774 to 1793.
  • On account of his refusal to flee and due to his effective resistance to Mysoreans, he gained firm support of his subjects. In 1792, after the Third Anglo-Mysore War, the East India Company imposed control in Kottayam in violation of an earlier agreement of 1790 which had recognised its independence.
  • Vira Varma, to whom Raja was a nephew, was appointed by the East India Company authorities as the Raja of Kottayam.
  • To meet revenue targets fixed by Company authorities, Vira Varma ordered an exorbitant tax to be collected from the peasantry and this move was met in 1793 by a mass resistance led by Pazhassi Raja, who had always been opposed to the Company's rule.
  • In 1796, the Company made an attempt to arrest Pazhassi Raja, but he evaded capture and instead fought back using guerilla warfare.
  • After a string of serious setbacks, the Company sued for peace in 1797.
  • The conflict was renewed in 1800 over a dispute on Wayanad and after a five-year-long war of insurgency, Pazhassi Raja was killed on 30 November 1805 in a gun-fight at Mavila Thodu (small body of water), in the present day Kerala-Karnataka border.

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