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Birth Anniversary of Rani Velu Nachiyar
- 05 Jan 2026
- 2 min read
The Prime Minister paid tribute to Rani Velu Nachiyar on 3rd January 2026 on her 296th birth anniversary.
- About: Rani Velu Nachiyar, also known as ‘Veeramangai’, was born on 3rd January 1730 in the Ramnad Kingdom of Ramanathapuram in present-day Tamil Nadu.
- Pioneer of Anti-Colonial Resistance: She is revered as the first Indian queen to launch an organised armed resistance against the British East India Company, asserting indigenous self-rule long before the national freedom movement.
- Her revolt represents the earliest phase of organised anti-colonial assertion in South India.
- Ruler of Sivaganga: After the death of her husband Muthuvaduganathaperiya Udaiyathevar, she ascended the throne of Sivaganga in 1780 and ruled till 1790, restoring indigenous political authority in the region.
- She died on 25th December 1796, a few years after the end of her reign.
- Military Innovations: She deployed the first recorded human bomb in Indian military history as a tactical weapon against colonial forces.
- She also organised the first trained women’s military unit, institutionalising women’s participation in warfare in the late eighteenth century.
- Expertise: A polyglot ruler, she was proficient in French, English and Urdu, reflecting her intellectual depth and diplomatic acumen.
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