Remembering Queen Velu Nachiyar & her Commander Kuyili Who defeated the British & recaptured Sivagangai
Most Indian History textbooks are written by people who were not patriots. These textbooks not covered real patriots, warriors who sacrificed their lives for the betterment of the nation, they especially neglected our female warriors and never included in history. Here in this lesson, we will cover the story of a brave Indian Queen and about her commander who Overthrow uprooted the British empire from Ramanathapuram, Tamil Nadu.

Veeramangai (Brave woman) Of Tamil Nadu:
Velu Nachiyar Born in 1730 at Ramanathapuram, was the first queen to fight against the British colonial power in India. She is Popularly known as ‘veeramangai’ (brave woman) in Tamil because She did this in 1780, 77 years before the First War of Independence. she was the first to use suicide bombing in history, with her commander-in-chief Kuyili.
Wedded To Muthuvadugananthur Of Sivagangai:
When she was 16, married to Muthuvadugananthur Udaiyathevar, the prince of Sivagangai. They had a daughter called Vellachi.
They ruled over the kingdom for over two decades – from 1750 to 1772. In 1772, the Nawab of Arcot and the British troops both
united and invaded Sivagangai.
They killed Muthuvadugananthur in a battle known as the
Kalaiyar Koil war. Anyhow Velu Nachiyar escaped from his kingdom with her daughter & reached Dindigul, she lived there for eight years under the shelter of Gopala Nayaker.
Formed an army with Gopala Nayakker & Hyder Ali :
There she meets with Hyder Ali the ruler of Mysore(father of Tipu Sultan) & Formed an army with Gopala Nayakker & Hyder Ali .
In the year of 1780 Velu Nachiyar with the help of the Army bravely defeated the British an found out the place where the Britishers stored their ammunition.
A suicide attack was then done to destroy all of it.
First Female Suicide attacker in history to Destroy British ammunition :
Kuyili, the commander-in-chief, carried out the self-destruction mission. She immersed herself in ghee and set herself on fire before jumping into the ammunition store to destroy everything with British forces.
Kuyili was known for her bravery and unconditional love for her motherland, and was always ready to sacrifice her life.
She was faithful to the queen and considered to be Velu Nachiyar’s adopted daughter. Velu Nachiyar trusted only two lady warriors the most
– Kuyili and Udaiyaal.
In this way, the mission was succeeded and She got back to her kingdom.
January 3rd: Birth anniversary Of Velu Nachiyar:
On July 18, 2014, the then Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu Jayalalithaa inaugurated the Veeramangai Velu Nachiyar Memorial in Sivagangai and also declared that January 3 will be celebrated every year as her birth anniversary.
373