Thalakkal Chanthu, also spelled Thalakkal Chandu, was an archer and the commander-in-chief of the Kurichya soldiers of the Pazhassi Raja who fought against the British forces in the Wayanad jungles during the first decade of the 19th century. Chanthu started his career under Edachena Kunkan, who later promoted him to the rank of general. Pazhassi Raja and his other generals and troops regarded Chanthu as their most capable war leader.
The British East India Company imposed a high revenue tax on the agricultural produce of Wyanad farmers, causing widespread dissent. When a Company peon demanded paddy from a Kuruchiya man, Edachena Kunkan killed him. This prompted the entire Kuruchiya tribe to join hands with Edachana Kunkan in fighting against the British on behalf of Pazhassi Raja.
On 11 October 1802, a group of tribal soldiers, comprising 175 Kurichya archers led by Thalakkal Chandu and Edachena Kunkan, rebelled and captured the British fort at Panamaram, which was defended by the I battalion of 4th Bombay infantry. Commanding officer Capt. Dickinson, Lt. Maxwell, and the entire detachment of 70 soldiers guarding the fort were killed in action. The British forces launched a retaliatory attack and trapped Chanthu on 15 November 1805, and he was executed under a Koly tree. Edachana Kunkan was killed by the British army at Panniyil later, which is now called Pannichal, Kerala.
The Kerala State Government erected a memorial to Chanthu on 22 September 2012, near Panamaram Fort on the banks of the Kabini River. The memorial takes the form of a museum that displays weapon models used by Chanthu and his tribesmen, the Kurichiya archers, and the tribe’s traditional agricultural implements.
Thalakkal Chanthu
(★- 1805) – (Kerala)
Thalakkal Chanthu, also spelled Thalakkal Chandu, was an archer and the commander-in-chief of the Kurichya soldiers of the Pazhassi Raja who fought against the British forces in the Wayanad jungles during the first decade of the 19th century. Chanthu started his career under Edachena Kunkan, who later promoted him to the rank of general. Pazhassi Raja and his other generals and troops regarded Chanthu as their most capable war leader.
The British East India Company imposed a high revenue tax on the agricultural produce of Wyanad farmers, causing widespread dissent. When a Company peon demanded paddy from a Kuruchiya man, Edachena Kunkan killed him. This prompted the entire Kuruchiya tribe to join hands with Edachana Kunkan in fighting against the British on behalf of Pazhassi Raja.
On 11 October 1802, a group of tribal soldiers, comprising 175 Kurichya archers led by Thalakkal Chandu and Edachena Kunkan, rebelled and captured the British fort at Panamaram, which was defended by the I battalion of 4th Bombay infantry. Commanding officer Capt. Dickinson, Lt. Maxwell, and the entire detachment of 70 soldiers guarding the fort were killed in action. The British forces launched a retaliatory attack and trapped Chanthu on 15 November 1805, and he was executed under a Koly tree. Edachana Kunkan was killed by the British army at Panniyil later, which is now called Pannichal, Kerala.
The Kerala State Government erected a memorial to Chanthu on 22 September 2012, near Panamaram Fort on the banks of the Kabini River. The memorial takes the form of a museum that displays weapon models used by Chanthu and his tribesmen, the Kurichiya archers, and the tribe’s traditional agricultural implements.
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