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Journalism of Courage
Delivering a political speech for his new party Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (“Tamil Nadu Victory Federation” or TVK), Tamil actor Vijay said the TVK was the first to identify women leaders as its ideological mentors.
Vijay spoke about Rani Velu Nachiyar and Anjalai Ammal at the TVK’s inaugural state-level party conference in Vikravandi on Sunday (October 27). He also invoked the ideas of Periyar E V Ramasamy, K Kamaraj, and B R Ambedkar, with cutouts of the five leaders featuring prominently at the event.
Here is what to know about the two women.
Born in 1730 to King Chellamuthu Sethupathy and Queen Sakandhimuthal of the Ramnad kingdom in present-day Tamil Nadu, Velu Nachiyar was their sole heir. She was raised like a prince and learned horse riding, archery and South Indian martial arts such as kalaripayattu and silambam. The princess was a polyglot and well-versed in military strategy.
In 1746, she married Muthu Vaduganatha Periyavudaya Thevar, acting as a “friend, philosopher and guide” to the prince of Sivagangai. Despite attempts to fortify the kingdom, Sivagangai was invaded in 1772 by the British East India Company, which worked with the son of the Nawab of Arcot. King Muthu Vaduganathar lost his life in the battle.
Velu Nachiyar and her daughter Vellachi fled to safer ground in Dindigul, where they lived under the protection of Mysore Sultan Hyder Ali for eight years. Displaced from her kingdom, the queen plotted her revenge and enlisted the support of Hyder Ali and Gopala Naicker, the leader of the Marudu brothers. The siblings rebelled against the EIC and were later captured and executed.
Naicker was a prominent military commander who supported Velu Nachiyar in her fight against the British. He extended military support, while Hyder Ali helped her train and organise her army in exile.
In 1780, Velu Nachiyar fought against the British and reclaimed her kingdom. She ruled for a decade before passing it to her daughter in 1790. She died in 1796.
Today, Velu Nachiyar is regarded as Tamil Nadu’s ‘Veeramangai’ or brave lady, and among the first Indian queens to fight against British colonial power in India. TVK members earlier told The Indian Express that she inspired Vijay’s “grit to fight a formidable enemy”.
Vijay recognised Anjalai Ammal in his speech for her “selfless contribution during the freedom struggle” and for championing the cause of women in pre-independent India.
She was born in 1890 in Cuddalore, Tamil Nadu, to a family of weavers and became entrenched in activism early in life. After her marriage to Murugappan in 1908, the couple joined the freedom struggle.
In 1921, Anjalai Ammal joined the Non-Cooperation Movement (1919-22), deeply driven by Gandhian principles. This marked the start of a political career that saw her involvement in the Neil Statue Satyagraha — protesting a statue of Colonel James Neil, who had committed atrocities to suppress the 1857 revolt — as well as the Salt Satyagraha (1930) and the Quit India movement (1942). She also presided over the All India Women’s Congress in Madras in 1931.
She courted arrest on multiple occasions for inciting rebellion against the British and gave birth to her youngest son while serving a six-month sentence for protesting the salt laws. Although she was released on bail for her delivery, she was sent back to prison within two weeks of her son’s birth.
The British government barred her from meeting Mahatma Gandhi on his 1934 visit to Cuddalore. However, she wore a burqa and travelled in a horse-drawn carriage to meet him. He is believed to have then called her “South India’s Rani of Jhansi”.
Anjalai Ammal was the first woman to be elected to the Madras legislature, representing the Congress party, and remained politically active until she died in 1961.
