The Life of Velu Thampi Dalawa

In the sweet town of Mannady in Pathanamthitta is a museum that glorifies one of the most feared & respected warriors of the Travancore dynasty. The life size statue of Velu Thampi Dalawa stands proudly at the entrance to make one remember his revolt against the corrupt & later the British. The museum houses a beautiful stone statue of Buddha along with some of the most unique artefacts which belonged to Velu Thampi including his daggers, swords & other weapons. The museum also has a collection of coins & manuscripts with portraits of all Travancore kings from Marthanda Varma to Sree Chithra Thirunal.

One look at the statue of Velu Thampi Dalawa makes you want to know more about him & how he influenced the masses to revolt against British Supremacy. Born in the 18th century to a Nair family he was named Velayudhan Thampi & was part of the family which held the title of Chempakaraman for having ownership of the Kanyakumari province under the Travancore kingdom. At a young age his interest in affairs of the government helped in becoming the Tahsildar of Mavelikkara. The Travancore rule was passed on to Bala Rama Varma at a very young age of 16 & his inability to understand the corrupt practices of his ministers brought the kingdom under unrest. The Dewan of Travancore was a very able nobleman by the name of Raja Kesavadas who died & Sankaran Nampoothiri was appointed as the Prime Minister. He along with his associates soon plundered the treasury & to make amends decided to levy additional taxes on revenues to be collected by the Tahsildars. Velu Thampi who was the Tahsildar of Mavelikkara met the King to make him understand the corruption & difficulty of the people to pay revenues which fell on deaf ears. Velu Thampi thus decided to revolt by uniting all the people of Travancore & surrounding the palace on all sides demanding the banishment of the Dewan & punishment of his associates. The King had to give in to this demand & Velu Thampi Dalawa was promoted as the Dewan of the Kingdom. The appointment was not so easy as the family of the old Devan Raja Keshavdas sent a letter of disapproval to Bombay which was intercepted by the Dalawa & he executed the men who had written the letter. The Madras government approved the appointment of Velu Thampi as the Dalawa & his appointment was unopposed.

Velu Thampi may have been a great tactician but he was not a great administrator like the earlier Dewan’s & his relation with the king was not a cordial one too. The most common way in which the Dalawa punished those opposing his decision was to either perform flogging or cut their ears, this barbaric way of punishment without trial was not taken well by the same people who got him to power. A section of the old ministers in the court decided to conspire against him & influenced the King to sign a death warrant. The Dalawa, when appraised by this, is said to have gone to Cochin to meet Major Macaulay who was fond of the Dalawa. The conspirators in the King’s court were found to be responsible for the murder of the Late Devan Raja Kesavdas & the Major armed Velu Thampi with a small force of soldiers to execute the conspirator which was carried out with ease. The king again had to give in to the Dalawa’s influence & was reinstated.

The life of Velu Thampi Dalawa had many ups & downs where he associated with people based on situations but deep down in his conscience he was an ardent patriot who believed in the well being of the people of Travancore. His friendship with Major Macaulay helped him end the 1804 mutiny of the Nair troops of the army in a gruesome manner. The insurrection of the Nair troops made the Travancore King Dharma Raja sign a treaty with the British in 1805 increasing the number of British troops stationed in Trivandrum & higher tributes for the battle losses. The ratification of the treaty meant that Travancore was indebted to the British & fell into huge financial liabilities which were not accepted by Dalawa who expressed his discontent to Major Macaulay. The Maharajah considered Dalawa as the main reason for the signing of the treaty as the British took advantage of the situation created by the mutiny to stamp authority. The Maharaja decided to dismiss Dalawa from his post & this decision was known by Dalawa who is said to have killed the envoy of the Resident. The dismissal of the Dalawa from Travancore was seen as an opportunity by the British to further strengthen their hold over Travancore. At the same time, there was growing discontent towards the British in the Kingdom of Cochin. The Dalawa of Cochin Paliath Achan also had a feud with Major Macaulay for protecting his rival & this brought together both Dalawa for a common cause. Velu Thampi Dalaway & Paliyath Achan decided to end the supremacy of the British in their respective kingdoms. The first organised revolt was in December 1808 where the plan was to capture the Cochin Fort & kill the resident which was a huge failure. The loss led Velu Thampi Dalawa to issue the famous Kundara Proclamation where he exhorted the nation to throw the British out. After the proclamation, the group attacked the Quilon garrison where the European troops killed most of Dalawa’s men & made him retreat further south to Aramboly. The British, determined to end the revolt, went to Aramboly & destroyed the pass which was captured by Velu Thampi. The troops were so large that Velu Thampi had to find shelter further in the mountains of Travancore. The acts of Velu Thampi Dalawa made the King denounce him & appointed an arch rival of Dalawa, Eravi Ummini Thampi as the mediator between Travancore & British. The British accepted the terms if Velu Thampi surrendered & a sum of Rs 50000 was placed as reward for his capture. Velu Thampi rejected the terms of surrender & took refuge with a priest in Mannady. The servant of Velu Thampi was captured by the British & he gave up the information of the Dalawa. The British surrounded the temple, Dalawa unable to find a way to escape committed suicide inside the temple. The relation of Velu Thampi Dalawa & the British had soured so much that post his death, the body was hung up on the gallows. Ummini Thampi who became the Dalawa took revenge by razing the house of Velu Thampi the remaining family members were banished so that no lineage of Velu Thampi would ever avenge his death.

The life of Velu Thami Dalawa is one that inspires many as he fought the British on his own terms without any assistance from either the French or Zamorins. The losses of the British made the masses and later freedom fighters realise the importance of organised rebellion. The famed sword of Velu Thampi Dalawa was kept as a prized possession by the Kilimanoor family & donated to the Indian government after Independence. Velu Thampi Dalawa is still considered to be an eminent personality in the annals of Kerala history & the museum helps us know about him more..