Dheeran Chinnamalai (17 April 1756 – 31 July 1805) was a

Palayakkarar Palaiyakkarars, or Poligar, (as the British referred to them) in Tamil Nadu refers to the holder of a small kingdom as a feudatory to a greater sovereign. Under this system, ''palayam'' was given for valuable military services rendered by any in ...

and Pattakarar who fought against the

British East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and South ...

Early life

Dheeran Chinnamalai was born on April 17, 1756 in present-day Kangeyam, to a noble family. His birth name was Theerthagiri.

Polygar wars

Chinnamalai is one of the commanders in the Polygar Wars, notably during the Second Polygar War that took place in 1801–1802. After

Kattabomman Veerapandiya Kattabomman was an 18th-century Tamil Palayakarrar and king of Panchalankurichi in Tamil Nadu, India. He refused to accept the sovereignty of the British East India Company and waged a war against them. He was captured by the Brit ...

and

Tipu Sultan Tipu Sultan (born Sultan Fateh Ali Sahab Tipu, 1 December 1751 – 4 May 1799), also known as the Tiger of Mysore, was the ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore based in South India. He was a pioneer of rocket artillery.Dalrymple, p. 243 He i ...

's deaths in 1799, Chinnamalai sought the help of Dhondia Wagh and

Maruthu Pandiyar The Marudhu Pandiyars (Periya Marudhu and Chinna Marudhu) were Diarchal Kings of Sivagangai, Tamil Nadu, India, towards the end of the 18th century. They were known for fighting against the East India Company. They were finally executed by ...

and lead the local Pattakarars, notably Varanavasi Gounder and Vella Gounder of Erode, Chinnamalai's sister's husband Kumara Vellai of Perundurai and Somandurai Muchadayandi Vanaraya Gounder of Pollachi; Vettuva Gounder Pattakarars Appachi Gounder of Paramathi-Velur and Aravakurichi Periya Thambi; the

Naicker The Nayak is a historic Indian title conferred on Sardars, who were governors of feudal states in the Middle Ages. Today it is also a surname. Nayaks are mostly Hindu and few Sikhs, who follow Hinduism and Sikhism respectively. As a surname To ...

Polygars Palaiyakkarars, or Poligar, (as the British referred to them) in Tamil Nadu refers to the holder of a small kingdom as a feudatory to a greater sovereign. Under this system, ''palayam'' was given for valuable military services rendered by any in ...

of Dhali, Virupakshi and Ramagiri among others, to attack the British at

Coimbatore Coimbatore, also spelt as Koyamputhur (), sometimes shortened as Kovai (), is one of the major metropolitan cities in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located on the banks of the Noyyal River and surrounded by the Western Ghats. Coimbat ...

in 1800. British forces managed to stop the armies of the allies and hence Chinnamalai was forced to attack Coimbatore along with the above Polygars of

Kongu Nadu Kongu Nadu, also known by various names as Kongu Mandalam and Kongu belt, is a geographical region comprising present day parts of western Tamil Nadu, southeastern Karnataka and eastern Kerala. In the ancient Tamilakam, it was the seat of th ...

. His army was defeated and he escaped from the British forces. Chinnamalai engaged in

guerrilla warfare Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare in which small groups of combatants, such as paramilitary personnel, armed civilians, or irregulars, use military tactics including ambushes, sabotage, raids, petty warfare, hit-and-run ta ...

and defeated the British in battles at

Cauvery The Kaveri (also known as Cauvery, the anglicized name) is one of the major Indian rivers flowing through the states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The Kaveri river rises at Talakaveri in the Brahmagiri range in the Western Ghats, Kodagu d ...

in 1801, Odanilai kangeyam in 1802 and Arachalur in 1804.

Death

Some sources say he was hanged at

Sankagiri Fort Sankagiri Fort is a historical fort maintained by the Archaeological Survey of India. It is located 22 km from the city of Erode and 38 km from Salem, Tamil Nadu, Salem. Sankari or Sankagiri is the town located around this place. The ...

on 2 August 1805, as also were his two brothers; other sources give the date as 31 July.

Legacy

Statues and memorials commemorating Chinnamalai exist in

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

Tiruchirappalli Tiruchirappalli () ( formerly Trichinopoly in English), also called Tiruchi or Trichy, is a major tier II city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Tiruchirappalli district. The city is credited with be ...

Erode Erode () is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Erode is the seventh largest urban agglomeration in the state, after Chennai, Coimbatore, Madurai, Tiruchirapalli, Tiruppur and Salem. It is also the administrative headquarters of the ...

and Odanilai. On 31 July 2005, a commemorative postage stamp commemorating him was released by

India Post India Post is a government-operated postal system in India, part of the Department of Post under the Ministry of Communications. Generally known as the Post Office, it is the most widely distributed postal system in the world. Warren Hastings ...

. Until 1997,

Tiruchirapalli Tiruchirappalli () ( formerly Trichinopoly in English), also called Tiruchi or Trichy, is a major tier II city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Tiruchirappalli district. The city is credited with bein ...

division of

Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation Ltd. - (TNSTC) is a Government owned public transport bus operator in Tamil Nadu, India. It operates Intercity bus services to cities within Tamil Nadu, and from Tamil Nadu to its neighbouring states. It a ...

was known as Dheeran Chinnamalai Transport Corporation. The headquarter of Erode Municipal Corporation was named after him.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chinnamalai, Dheeran 1756 births 1805 deaths Indian revolutionaries Tamil monarchs People from Erode district People executed by British India by hanging