Kittur Chennamma

The Story

Born in 1778 in the family of a chieftain of the Lingayat community, Chennamma was trained from childhood in riding, swordsmanship, and the arts of rule. Married to Raja Mallasarja of Kittur, she governed beside him, and after his death she ruled Kittur in her own right — a queen respected for her justice and loved by her people.

When her son died in 1824, Chennamma adopted a boy as heir, as custom allowed — but the British refused to recognise the adoption and demanded that Kittur pass into their hands. The queen answered with war: in the battle of Kittur in 1824, her army defeated the British forces, captured their commander Thackeray, and killed their political agent — a stunning blow against the empire of Bhārat.

Reinforcements finally overwhelmed the small kingdom, and Chennamma was taken prisoner and confined in the fort of Bailhongal, where she died in 1829. But her defiance had lit the spark of the south: her commander Sangolli Rayanna carried on her war, and a century later the freedom movement of Bhārat honoured her as the first queen to fight the British with arms.