Rani Velu Nachiyar

Today i.e. January 3 is the birth anniversary of Rani Velu Nachiyar, a freedom fighter who became the first Indian queen to defeat the British and regain her annexed estate in 1780.

Rani Velu Nachiyar ranks first among female rulers who fought against the British colonial power. Born in 1730 AD to the King Sellamuthu Sethupathy and Rani Sakandhimuthal of Ramnad Kingdom, this scion of the Ramnada Royal family in Tamil Nadu gave good account of herself as a brave ruler who was a scholar in many languages including French, English, and Urdu.

Nachiyar became queen of the Sivaganga estate (present-day Tamil Nadu) in 1780 after her husband Muthuvaduganathaperiya Udaiyathevar’s death by combined forces of British soldiers and the son of the Nawab of Arcot.

In 1780 Rani Velu Nachiyar fought the British and won the battle. She ruled until 1790.

India paid tributes to her by issuing a commemorative postage stamp on 31^st December, 2008.

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