Onake Obavva | 11 Nov 2021

The Karnataka government has decided to celebrate ‘Onake Obavva Jayanti’ on 11^th November throughout the state from this year (2021).

About:
- Onake Obavva was a woman warrior who fought the forces of Hyder Ali single-handedly with a pestle (‘onake’ in Kannada) in Chitradurga in the 18th century.
- Hyder Ali, a ruler of the Mysore Kingdom and father of Tipu Sultan invaded the Chitradurga Fort, which was ruled by Madakari Nayaka in the 18^th century.
- Chitradurga Fort, locally known as Elusuttina Kote, (the fort of seven circles in Kannada), is situated in Chitradurga, 200 km northwest of Bengaluru.
  - Onake Obavva was the wife of soldier Kahale Mudda Hanuma, who was the guard of the fort.
Significance of Obavva:
- Obavva is considered to be the epitome of Kannada pride and celebrated along with other women warriors of Karnataka state like
  - Abbakka Rani (first Tuluva Queen of Ullal in coastal Karnataka who fought the Portuguese).
  - Keladi Chennamma (the queen of the Keladi Kingdom who is known for fighting against Mughal emperor Aurangzeb), and
  - Kittur Chennamma (Queen of Kittur known for the 1824 revolt against the British East India Company).
- Inspired by Onake Obavva, in 2018, the Chitradurga police started ‘Obavva Pade’, a squad of women police constables to protect and educate women in the district.