Exactly
240 years ago, a pall of gloom fell upon Srirangapatna on the Day of Light
celebrated as Deepavali when innocent members of 700 families of Mandayam
Iyengars were put to death under the order of Tipu Sultan. The offence they
committed was to have been born in the families related to those who wanted to
restore the kingdom of Mysore to its legitimate royal family from the clutches
of Tipu. What remained since then was a faded memory of a dreadful Deepavali
marked by the non-celebration of Deepavali by certain families. This triggered
a vigorous search by the members of these families who managed to collect
letters and documents of the period of massacre and presented them in a short
essay titled, “The Mysore Pradhans”.
Compiled
and written by M.A. Sreenivasachar, this essay traces the lineage of the
affected families from Thirumalai Ananthalwan, a disciple of Ramanujacharya who
was a native of Kirangur near Srirangapatna. The Hoysala king Vishnuvardhana gifted
him with eight villages (ashtagram). Later, after the Hoysala dynasty weakened,
these villages fell into the hands of the Palayakars. However, Ananthalwan
clans were serving the country as gurus to the king and in ministerial posts.
They also became the Pradhans (prime
ministers) in the Mysore royal court. Problems started after Hyder Ali rose
into power and conquered his master's kingdom in 1762.
The
exiled Mysore king, Krishnaraja Wadayar II
passed away a few years later. The Pradhan Govindarajiah (of Ananthalwan’s
lineage) was killed by Hyder. The two sons of the Pradhan, Tirumal Row and
Narayana Row became the confidante of the queen in exile, Maharani Lakshmammanny.
Dedicated to restoring the kingdom to the royal family, the two brothers
started reaching out to the British authorities to dislodge Tipu from the
throne.
It
was a long story of struggle for 24 years in that endeavour that ultimately
caused them lose their dear ones and their properties. The loss of the 700
families to Tipu’s fury was one of the bloody chapters in their long struggle.
It happened in 1783 when the English army succeeded in capturing Karur and
proceeded further towards Srirangapatna. At the same time, the Pradhans were
hatching a conspiracy with their friends to overthrow Tipu's government. Subraj
Urs and Narasinga Row guided the project in Srirangapatna. Aided by three
thousand Jettis, Mahrathas and others loyal to the king, a plan was made to
enter the fort, seize the treasury, and arrest every Mahamadan. The attack was planned on the night of 28th
July 1783. But Killedar Syed Mahamad, the head of the fort, discovered the plot
at the last minute and killed the conspirators including Subraj.
Tipu
was immediately informed of the conspiracy hatched by Tirumal Row. On coming to
know of the activities of the Pradhans in dislodging him with the help of the English
army, Tipu swung into action.
He
“ordered the arrest and imprisonment of all the relations of the Pradhans
and Subraj Urs &co.,including men, women and children to the extent of 700
families. They were chained with heavy irons and thrust into the dungeons of
Seringapatam. Pradhan Narayan Row was also captured and imprisoned, but he soon
managed to escape and join his brother. Tippu on his return to the capital
ordered a wholesale massacre of these 700 families, and had them mercilessly
put to death by one means or another. He also confiscated the Jaghirs and other
property enjoyed by the Pradhans and their relations,” writes the author of
the essay.
The massacre had taken place on the day of Deepavali in Shobhakrit year corresponding to 25th October, 1783. Among the documents produced in the essay, the letter written by the queen Lakshmammanny.... CONTINUE TO READ HERE
