RANI
CHENNAMMA - INTERNATIONAL
News:
How Rani Chennamma’s
revolt against the British inspired a national campaign for women’s rights
What's
in the news?
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Recently, several social groups across the
country organized a national campaign Naanoo Rani Chennamma (I am Rani
Chennamma too) to commemorate 200 years of Rani Chennamma’s rebellion against
the British East India Company.
Rani
Chennamma:
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Kittur
Chennamma (1778 – 1829) was an Indian freedom fighter and
Rani of Kittur, a former princely state in Karnataka.
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She is one of the first women freedom
fighters to have fought against British
rule in India.
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She became queen of Kittur (now in
Karnataka) when she married Raja Mallasarja of the Desai family.
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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.
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She was defeated in the third war and was imprisoned at Bailhongal Fort
where she died in 1829.
Kittur
Utsav:
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Chennamma's legacy and first victory are
still commemorated in Kittur, during the Kittur Utsava annually held on 22–24 October.
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In 2007 a statue of Rani Chennamma was
unveiled at the Indian Parliament Complex by Pratibha Patil, the first woman
President of India. Chennamma was born in Kakati, a small village in today’s
Belagavi district of Karnataka.
Kittur
Rebellion:
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John
Thackery, the British official at Dharwad, launched an attack
on Kittur in October 1824.
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In this first battle British forces lost
heavily and the Collector and political agent, St. John Thackeray was killed by
the Kitturu forces.
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Two British officers, Sir Walter Elliot
and Mr. Stevenson, were also taken as hostages.
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However, the British army again attacked
the Kittur Fort and captured it.
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Rani Chennamma and her family were
imprisoned and jailed at the fort in Bailhongal, where she died in 1829.