Abbakka Chowta

Rani Abbakka Chowta was the first Tuluva Queen of Ullal who fought the Portuguese in the latter half of the 16th century. She belonged to the Chowta dynasty who ruled over parts of coastal Karnataka (Tulu Nadu), India. Their capital was Puttige.[Note 1] The port town of Ullal served as their subsidiary capital. The Portuguese made several attempts to capture Ullal as it was strategically placed. But Abbakka repulsed each of their attacks for over four decades. For her bravery, she came to be known as Abhaya Rani (The fearless queen).[1][2] She was also one of the earliest Indians to fight colonialism and is sometimes regarded as the 'first woman freedom fighter of India'.[3][4] In the state of Karnataka, she is celebrated along with Rani Kittur Chennamma, Keladi Chennamma and Onake Obavva, as the foremost women warriors and patriots.[5]

Abbakka Chowta
Rani of Ullal
Life size statue of the Chowta Queen Abbakka in Ullal
Reign1525 – 1570s
PredecessorTirumala Raya Chowta
SpouseBanga Lakshmappa Arasa
HouseChowta
ReligionJainism

Early life

The Chowtas followed the system of matrilineal inheritance (Aliyasantana) of Digambara Jain Bunt community by which Tirumala Raya, Abbakka's uncle, crowned her the queen of Ullal. He also forged a matrimonial alliance for Abbakka with Lakshmappa Arasa Bangaraja II, king of Banga principality in Mangalore.[6] This alliance was to later prove a source of worry for the Portuguese. Tirumala Raya also trained Abbakka in the different aspects of warfare and military strategy. The marriage, however, was short-lived and Abbakka returned to Ullal. Her husband thus longed for revenge against Abbakka and was to later join the Portuguese in their fight against Abbakka.[7]

Historical background

After overrunning Goa and taking control of it, the Portuguese turned their attention southwards and along the coast. They first attacked the South Kanara coast in 1525 and destroyed the Mangalore port. Ullal was a prosperous port and a hub of the spice trade to Arabia and other countries in the west. Being the profitable trading center that it was, the Portuguese, the Dutch and the British vied with one another for control of the region as well as the trade routes. They, however, had not been able to make much headway as the resistance from the local chieftains was very strong. The local rulers even forged alliances cutting across caste and religious lines.[8]

Abbakka's administration was well represented by Jains, Hindus as well as Muslims. Historical research also reveals that during her rule in the 16th century, Beary men had served as seamen in the naval force. Rani Abbakka had personally supervised the construction of dam at Malali; she had appointed Bearys for boulder work.[11] Her army too consisted of people of all sects and castes. She even forged alliances with the Zamorin of Calicut. Together, they kept the Portuguese at bay. The marital ties with the neighbouring Banga dynasty added further strength to the alliance of the local rulers. She also gained support from powerful king Venkatappanayaka of Bidnur and ignored the threat of Portuguese forces.[9]

Battles against the Portuguese

The Portuguese, clearly upset by Abbakka's tactics, demanded that she pay them tribute but Abbakka refused to yield. In 1555, the Portuguese sent Admiral Dom Álvaro da Silveira to fight her after she refused to pay them tribute.[10] In the battle that followed, Rani Abbakka once again managed to hold her own and repulsed the attack successfully.[11]

In 1557, the Portuguese plundered Mangalore and laid waste to it. In 1568, they turned their attention to Ullal but Abbakka Rani resisted them yet again. João Peixoto, a Portuguese general and a fleet of soldiers were sent by the Portuguese Viceroy António Noronha. They managed to capture the city of Ullal and also entered the royal court. Abbakka Rani, however, escaped and took refuge in a mosque. The same night, she gathered around 200 of her soldiers and mounted an attack on the Portuguese. In the battle that ensued, General Peixoto was killed,[11] seventy Portuguese soldiers were taken prisoners and many of the Portuguese retreated. In further attacks, Abbakka Rani and her supporters killed Admiral Mascarenhas and the Portuguese were also forced to vacate the Mangalore fort. [11]

The Portuguese not only regained the Mangalore fort but also captured Kundapur (Basrur). Despite these gains, Abbakka Rani continued to remain a source of threat. With the help of the queen's estranged husband, they mounted attacks on Ullal. Furious battles followed but Abbakka Rani held her own. In 1570, she formed an alliance with the Bijapur Sultan of Ahmed Nagar and the Zamorine of Calicut, who were also opposing the Portuguese. Kutty Pokar Markar, the Zamorine's general fought on behalf of Abbakka and destroyed the Portuguese fort at Mangalore but while returning he was killed by the Portuguese. Following these losses and her husband's treachery, Abbakka lost the war, was arrested and jailed. However, even in prison she revolted and died fighting.[11]

Folklore and legend

According to traditional accounts, she was an immensely popular queen and this is also attested by the fact that she is even today a part of folklore. The queen's story has been retold from generation to generation through folk songs and Yakshagana, a popular folk theatre in Coastal Karnataka. In Daiva Kola, a local ritual dance, the persona in trance recounts the great deeds of Abbakka Mahadevi. Abbakka is portrayed as dark and good looking, always dressed in simple clothes like a commoner. She is portrayed as a caring queen who worked late into the night dispensing justice. Legends also claim that Abbakka was the last known person to have used the Agnivana (fire-arrow) in her fight against the Portuguese. Some accounts also claim that she had two equally valiant daughters who fought alongside her in her wars against the Portuguese.

Memory

Abbakka's memory is much cherished in her home town of Ullal. The "Veera Rani Abbakka Utsava" is an annual celebration held in her memory. The Veera Rani Abbakka Prashasti award is given to distinguished women on the occasion.[12] On January 15, 2003, the Indian postal department issued a special cover on Rani Abbakka. There have been calls to name the Bajpe airport.[13] A bronze statue of the queen has been erected in Ullal and another in Bangalore.[14] The Karnataka Itihasa Academy has called for renaming the Queen's road in the state capital as 'Rani Abbakka Devi road'.[15] A special police force in dakshina kannada is also launched in the name of "Rani Abbakka Pade" to deal with the issues related to women in the district.[16]

Rani Abbakka-class patrol vessel

The Indian Coast Guard ship ICGS Rani Abbakka, the 1st of a series of five inshore patrol vessels (IPV) built at Hindustan Shipyard Ltd is named after Abbakka Mahadevi was commissioned in Visakhapatnam on January 20, 2012, and is based in Chennai.[17][18]

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See also

Footnotes
  1. There are four places in Karnataka and Kerala whose modern name is Puttige or similar. None seems to have ever been larger than a village. Another candidate for the place is Puttur, a town which is the seat of a modern taluk (which also includes one of the villages called Puttige). An unsourced statement in the corresponding article in Kannada Wiki calls Puttur "the capital of a dynasty of kings" (Kannada: ವಂಶದ ಅರಸರ ರಾಜಧಾನಿಯಾಗಿತ್ತು).

Notes
  1. "Queen Abbakka's triumph over western colonisers". Press Information Bureau, Govt., of India. Retrieved 25 July 2007.
  2. "The Intrepid Queen-Rani Abbakka Devi of Ullal". Archived from the original on 7 August 2007. Retrieved 25 July 2007.
  3. "Include Tulu in Eighth Schedule: Fernandes". Rediff.com. Retrieved 25 July 2007.
  4. "Blend past and present to benefit future". Times of India. Retrieved 25 July 2007.
  5. Freedom Fighter of the Coast, Rani Abbakka.
  6. K. Sanjiva Prabhu (1977). Special Study Report on Bhuta Cult in South Kanara District. Controller of Publications, 1977. pp. 9–12. Retrieved 13 March 2015.
  7. Ponvannan, Gayathri (31 January 2019). Unstoppable : 75 stories of trailblazing Indian women. Hachette Book Publishing India Pvt Ltd. p. 272. ISBN 9789388322003.
  8. Garodia Gupta, Archana (January 2019). The women who ruled India : leaders, warriors, icons,. Hachette Books. p. 312. ISBN 9789351951520.
  9. Sarojini Shintri, Kurukundi Raghavendra Rao (1983). Women freedom fighters in Karnataka. Dharwad: Prasaranga, Karnatak University. pp. 13, 14.
  10. Kudva, Venkataraya Narayan (1972). History of the Dakshinatya Saraswats. Madras: Samyukta Gowda Saraswata Sabha. pp. 107–110.
  11. Kumar Mishra, Kailash (January 2002). "ABBAKKA RANI : THE UNSUNG WARRIOR QUEEN" (PDF). Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts.
  12. "M.P. Prakash calls for revival of local culture". Chennai, India: Deccan Herald. 9 January 2006. Archived from the original on 9 August 2007. Retrieved 25 July 2007.
  13. "Name Mangalore airport after Rani Abbakka: Dhananjaya". Times of India. 30 December 2002. Retrieved 25 July 2007.
  14. "Highlight freedom fighters' role in books, says Ashok". Chennai, India: The Hindu. 27 January 2007. Retrieved 25 July 2007.
  15. "Academy demands awards for historians". Indian Express. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 25 July 2007.
  16. {{|ur1 = https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Mangalore/special-women-police-force-launched/article27052533.ece/amp/#aoh=15886947409848&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&amp_tf=From%20%251%24s }}
  17. "Coast Guard Inducts New Indigenous IPV Rani Abbakka". Livefist. Retrieved 1 November 2016.
  18. Ministry of Defence (20 January 2012). "1st Inshore Patrol Vessel Commissioned into Coast Guard". Press Information Burea. Retrieved 20 January 2012.

References
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