The Marudhu Pandiyars (Periya Marudhu and Chinna Marudhu) were '' de facto'' rulers of Sivagangai,

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

, India, towards the end of the 18th century. They were known for fighting against the

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

. They were finally executed by the EIC after being captured by them .

Childhood

Periya and Chinna Marudhu, sons of Mookiah Palaniappan Servai was native of Mukkulam, near Narikudi which was 18 miles away from Aruppukottai. Their mother Anandhayee alias Ponnathal was native of Pudhupatti near Sivagangai. Both the brothers were born at Mukkulam in the year 1748 and 1753 respectively. The first son was named as Vellai Marudhu, alias Periya Marudhu, and the second son as Chinna Marudhu.

Rebellion

In 1772,

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

had killed Muthuvaduganatha Thevar over his refusal to pay taxes. However Marudhu Pandiyar and Queen Velunachiyar escaped, and stayed with Gopala Nayak in Virupatchi for 8 years. After this time, an alliance of kingdoms led by the Pandiyar attacked Sivagangai and retook it in 1789. Both Maruthu Pandiyar were given high positions in the kingdom. They were good at aerodynamics and craftsmanship and is said to have invented the Valari, a variant of the

boomerang A boomerang () is a thrown tool typically constructed with airfoil sections and designed to spin about an axis perpendicular to the direction of its flight, designed to return to the thrower. The origin of the word is from Australian Aborigin ...

Death

The Marudhu Pandiyars, planned to wage war against

in India. They gave protection to Oomaithurai Kumaraswamy who was temporarily seeking refuge from the chaos of war. They along with the war leader, Sivagangai and many of their family members, were captured at Cholapuram and were killed at Tiruppattur. The Marudhu Brothers were hanged to death at the fort of Tirupputhur, which is now Sivaganga district, Tamil Nadu, on 24 October 1801. The Memorial Square of Maruthu Pandiyars is located at Kalaiyarkoil.

Honour

Maruthu Brothers are good in aerodynamics and invented many variants of spears and Valari. They also founded guerilla war tactic in India during the early stages of colonization. * A commemorative postage stamp of Marudhu pandyars was released in October 2004. * on December 15, 2007 Dr. Kalaignar M. Karunanithi, that day CM of Tamilnadu opened the 10 feet

Bronze Sculpture Bronze is the most popular metal for Casting (metalworking), cast metal sculptures; a cast bronze sculpture is often called simply "a bronze". It can be used for statues, singly or in groups, reliefs, and small statuettes and figurines, as w ...

of Marudhu pandyars holding the swords on a horse facing Madurai Mariamman Theppakulam * Every year, Maruthu Pandiyars Guru Poojai was greatly celebrated at their Memorial in Kalaiyarkoil in October 27. Its also a Public holiday only in Sivaganga district. Local Tamilians also worship them and there is a temple dedicated and located at Batu Dua Mariamman Temple, Sungai Petani,

Kedah Kedah (), also known by its honorific Darul Aman (Islam), Aman (دار الأمان; Arabic for 'The Safe Abode') and historically as Queda, is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia, located in the northwestern part of ...

state at

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

. A film called Sivagangai Seemai was made about their lives in 1959 .

Childhood

Rebellion

Death

Honour

See also

References

Further reading