Circa 1772. The woods of Kalayarcovail were lined with defences. The second Rajah of Sivagangai, Muthuvaduganatha Peria Oodaya Thevar, was preparing for the last fight of his life. He had refused to bend his knee to the Nawab of the Carnatic (also known as the Nawab of Arcot) – and the penalty was war.
It was a battle between regional kingdoms, but the Nawab’s belligerents were not Indian. The British East India Company (BEIC) sent their own soldiers to fight the Nawab’s battles. This was in part due to the Sivaganga kingdom’s trade with the Dutch.
Two officers of the BEIC, Joseph Smith, and Benjour, attacked and conquered the town of Sivagangai. They then attacked the Kalayar Kovil forest from either side. Muthuvaduganatha died in the battle along with many of his followers, on June 25, 1772. Little did he know that his wife would one day gain revenge – and invent suicide bombing in the process.
Velu Nachiyar (1730-1796) was the Rajah’s queen and confidante; a well-educated lady who was also trained in martial arts, fencing, archery, spear throwing, and horse riding. It was her valour that won her the hand of the king of Shivaganga. But it was her skills at language (she is said to have been fluent in ten, including Urdu, English, French, and Sanskrit) that would save her life.
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