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one
of
the
India's
freedom
fighter
Pazhassi
Raja
(3
January
1753
–
30
November
1805)
was
known
as
Kerala
Varma
and
was
also
known
as
Cotiote
Rajah
and
Pychy
Rajah.
He
was
a
warrior
Hindu
prince
and
de
facto
head
of
the
kingdom
of
Kottayam,
otherwise
known
as
Cotiote,
in
Malabar,
India,
between
1774
and
1805.
His
struggles
with
the
British
East
India
Company
is
known
as
the
Cotiote
War.
He
is
popularly
known
as
Kerala
Simham
(Lion
of
Kerala)
on
account
of
his
martial
exploits.
Pazhassi
Raja
was
a
member
of
the
western
branch
of
the
Kottayam
royal
clan.
When
Hyder
Ali
of
the
Kingdom
of
Mysore
occupied
Malabar
in
1773,
the
Raja
of
Kottayam
found
political
asylum
in
Kallara
near
Vikom
in
Kottayam
district
of
Kerala.
Pazhassi
Raja,
the
fourth
prince
in
line
for
succession
to
the
throne
during
this
period,
became
one
of
the
de
facto
heads
of
state,
surpassing
several
older
royal
contenders.
He
fought
a
war
of
resistance
against
the
Mysorean
army
from
1774
to
1793.
On
account
of
his
refusal
to
flee
and
due
to
his
effective
resistance
to
Mysoreans,
he
gained
firm
support
of
his
subjects.
In
1792,
after
the
Third
Anglo-Mysore
War,
the
East
India
Company
imposed
control
in
Kottayam
in
violation
of
an
earlier
agreement
of
1790
which
had
recognised
its
independence.
Vira
Varma,
to
whom
Raja
was
a
nephew,
was
appointed
by
the
East
India
Company
authorities
as
the
Raja
of
Kottayam.
To
meet
revenue
targets
fixed
by
Company
authorities,
Vira
Varma
ordered
an
exorbitant
tax
to
be
collected
from
the
peasantry
and
this
move
was
met
in
1793
by
a
mass
resistance
led
by
Pazhassi
Raja,
who
had
always
been
opposed
to
the
Company's
rule.
In
1796,
the
Company
made
an
attempt
to
arrest
Pazhassi
Raja,
but
he
evaded
capture
and
instead
fought
back
using
guerilla
warfare.
After
a
string
of
serious
setbacks,
the
Company
sued
for
peace
in
1797.
The
conflict
was
renewed
in
1800
over
a
dispute
on
Wayanad
and
after
a
five-year-long
war
of
insurgency,
Pazhassi
Raja
was
killed
on
30
November
1805
in
a
gun-fight
at
Mavila
Thodu
(small
body
of
water),
in
the
present
day
Kerala-Karnataka
border.
After
the
assassination
of
King
Pazhassi,
the
British
decided
to
kill
two
of
his
close
associates
(nephews)
Veera
Varma
and
Ravi
Varma,
who
supposed
to
be
the
next
rules
of
the
kingdom.
For
saving
life
and
family
members
they
escaped
from
British
army
and
intelligence,
they
stayed
few
days
in
Nilambur
palace,
then
in
Idapaly
Sworupam
and
finally
took
refuge
in
a
place
called
“Kallara
forest”
in
central
Travancore.
Unbeknownst
to
the
British,
the
brothers
and
their
family
traveled
by
"Thoni"
(boat)
to
Travancore
and
found
refuge
in
the
Vaikom
backwaters
in
heavy
rain
and
wind.
They
lived
on
a
place
where
they
escaped
from
water
to
land,
known
as
the
"kara
pattiya
idam"
means
the
place
or
land
where
they
rescued
from
water,
later
the
name
of
the
Kovilakam
restructured
and
called
Karavattidom
.
Today,
the
Kovilakam
lives
in
the
graveyard
village
of
Kottayam
district
under
the
name
'Karavattidam
Kovilakam'.
Descendants
of
Veera
Verma
and
Ravi
Verma
never
went
to
Malabar
again
for
fear
of
the
British
army
killing
their
descendants.
Their
idol,
Kallarabhagavathy,
is
worshiped
in
the
same
way
as
Porkali
Bhagavathy.
Even
after
the
end
of
the
British
ruling,
they
were
forced
to
flee
their
country
and
seek
refuge
in
another
place
as
refugees,
for
them
it
was
unable
to
bear
to
see
the
British
brutality
that
had
humiliated
them
in
public.
The
British
army
made
the
Pazhasi
Kovilakam
a
public
road
and
decided
to
kill
Pazhassi's
nephews
as
well.
British
intelligence
continued
to
try
to
track
down
Veera
Varma
and
Ravi
Varma
but
they
couldnt.
As
part
of
their
secret
mission
the
British
Collector
decided
to
pay
a
compensation
to
the
descendants
of
Pazhassi.
But
the
money
received
by
a
woman
from
Kizhake
Kovilakam,
a
related
family
those
who
were
not
part
of
any
rebellion.
However,
the
remaining
co-families
associated
with
the
Pazhassi
Kovilakam
later
became
known
as
the
Pazhassi
dynasty.
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