Historians say the foundation for the Amara Sullia Uprising was laid in the early 1830s.
Highlights
- In 1834, Chikka Veera Rajendra of the Haleri dynasty, the king of Kodagu, was deposed by the British
- After capturing the entire Mangalore city, the British Union Jack was lowered and the rebel flag was hoisted
- Many are unaware of Coastal Karnataka’s role in the fight against the British: Dayananda Kathalsar
Bengaluru:
In 1837, 20 years before the 1857 Sepoy Mutiny – the First War of Indian Independence – and nearly a hundred years prior to the Civil Disobedience Movement, the people of coastal Karnataka and Kodagu led an armed rebellion against the British and were successful in holding the port city of Mangalore (now Mangaluru) and other regions for nearly 13 days before the rebellion was crushed.
Dr Peter Wilson Prabhakar, a renowned historian from Dakshina Kannada, who narrated the timeline of events of the Amara Sullia Uprising to News9 opines that the foundation for the uprising against the British was built in the early 1830s.
In 1834, Kodagu king Chikka Veera Rajendra of the Haleri dynasty was deposed by the British leading to an immediate revolt in the region. (The British controlled Dakshina Kannada – South Canara – after Tipu Sultan’s death in 1799, while Kodagu was an independent state until 1834).
Swamy Aparampara started the revolt in Kodagu along with Hulikaadida (the one who killed a tiger) Nanjayya. But within two weeks, Aparampara was arrested in Manjarabad and hanged.
Another revolt led by Kalyanaswamy in 1835, who claimed to be a descendant of the former king of Kodagu, was crushed by the British. He was imprisoned and hanged to death in 1836.
This is when soldiers, who belonged to the army of Chikka Veera Rajendra, chose one among them named Putta Basappa and presented him as Kalyanaswamy to the people. They needed a figurehead as the real Kalyanaswamy was dead.
The soldiers trained Putta Basappa at a hill in Kodagu and presented him to the public as Kalyanaswamy.
Varying reasons for rebellion in South Canara-Kodagu
While the invasion of Kodagu resulted in a rebellion in the region, for the people of Sullia and Puttur in Dakshina Kannada the administration and revenue changes made by the British lit the fire.
“Earlier the Amara Sullia and Puttur Magane (revenue divisions) were under the control of the king of Kodagu. In 1834, it was separated from Kodagu and added into the Canara district,” Prabhakar told News9.
Earlier, in 1830-31, the British had made a major change to tax collection.
“Up to the 1830s, the revenue tax was in kind (payment in the form of goods like pepper etc). But in 1830-31, the people were asked to pay tax in cash and not in kind,” the historian said.
The high tax was a burden on the people, which sparked agitation.
“Separation of Sullia and Puttur from Kodagu, high taxes and payment in cash instead of kind, were the main reasons,” he added.
Before the rebellion in Kodagu in 1834, due to the imposition of these high taxes and change in the revenue system, there was a rebellion in South Canara.
It was popularly called “Koots” – meaning a group – rebellion. Almost the present Kasaragod, Dakshina Kannada and Udupi revolted against the British in 1830-31.
“While the Civil Disobedience Movement by Mahatma Gandhiji began in 1930, a hundred years before in South Canara, the no tax movement was started,” Prabhakar said.
1837 – The Amara Sullia Dange (Uprising)
In 1837, when the soldiers of Chikka Veera Rajendra, led by Kalyanaswamy (Putta Basappa) along with the people of Kodagu started moving towards Sullia. They travelled through the Bisle Ghat and not through the present route of Sampaje.
Through the ghats, the troops first entered Bellare and destroyed the British Treasury in Bangle Gudde.
After that, the troops were divided into three divisions. One was sent to Dharmasthala and Uppinangady. Another was sent to Kasaragod and Kumble.
The third division was sent to Puttur, through Bellare and Kumbra.
The first battle between the troops of Kalyanaswamy and the British took place on March 30, 1837, on the outskirts of Puttur.
The British were defeated. Those who survived retreated to Mangalore (presently known as Mangaluru) – it was where the British Collector was seated.
On March 31, the British Treasury in Puttur and the entire city were under the control of the peasants and soldiers led by Kalyanaswamy.
On April 5, the troops, who had gained military aid from the kings of Vittla and Belthangady, entered the port city of Mangalore and started capturing the city.
At the time the district headquarters of the British was located at the present-day Balmatta. After destroying the British buildings and plundering the district treasury, the entire Mangalore city area was captured.
The troops controlled the Amara Sullia region, Puttur, Bantwal and Mangalore for nearly 13 days. The British Union Jack was lowered and the rebel flag was hoisted in Bavuta Gudde – the hill with the flag – in Mangaluru.
This is also noted in the Dakshina Kannada District Gazetteer. Many believe the flag to be of the Haleri dynasty since the troops belonged to the Kodagu king Chikka Veera Rajendra.
Rebellion crushed by the British
The rebellion angered the British, who brought in reinforcements from Bombay and Madras Presidency.
The British then crushed the rebellion led by Kalyanaswamy and the peasants of the Amara Sullia and the surrounding regions. The movement was labelled by the British as the loot of Kalyanappa – Kalyanappana Katakayi – to lower its significance in the region.
“Kalyanaswamy, Beeranna Banta, Guddemane Appayya and Laxmappa Banga Arasa – the king of Nadavara – were hanged to death in present-day Bikarnakatte in Mangaluru,” historian Prabhakar said.
The others, who were captured, were deported to Singapore and other islands.
Anindith Gowda Kochi Baarike, who has authored the book on the uprising titled Recalling Amara Sulya that will be published soon, told News9 that not many know that in May-July 1837, a court marshall took place and the people who led the uprising were charged with treason.
“It was not a mutiny. It was a mass movement led by the people of the region,” he added.
Rich history forgotten
Many are unaware of the rich history of coastal Karnataka and its role in the fight against the British, says Dayananda Kathalsar, the president of the Karnataka Tulu Sahitya Academy.
“All the youth should love their mother tongue. Tulu, the ancient Dravidian language spoken by people in coastal Karnataka, should be included in the 8th schedule of the Constitution of India,” Kathalsar told News9.
Now, a ‘youth revolution’ for the Tulu language, Kathalsar added, is underway in Mangaluru.
“Nearly 25,000 people in Mangaluru have learned Tulu and its script after a ‘revolutionary’ effort by youth of the region,” he added.
“This shows that when the youth are led in the right directions, the impossible can be achieved.”
Kochi Baarike, the author of Recalling Amara Sulya, said that several areas in present coastal Karnataka could be called the “cradle of the Indian freedom movement”.
“Despite a mass movement, they were charged with treason. And till we got independence in 1947 – 110 years after the uprising – there was no avenue to discuss this,” Kochi Baarike said.
“The least we could do now is document what happened,” he added.
(Note: The timeline of the events of the Amara Sullia Uprising has been reported in this feature as narrated by historian Peter Wilson Prabhakar)
source: http://www.news9live.com / News Nine / Home> State> Karnataka / by Prajwal D’Souza / August 14th, 2022
