brave Polygar (feudal title) chieftain in Tamil Nadu in the 18th century, Veerapandiya Kattabomman waged a war against the Britishers 60 years before the Indian War of Independence started in the northern part of India.
Polygars were feudal lords who were appointed as military chiefs and administrative governors since the time of the Vijayanagara Empire in parts of Southern India. They were given the charge of a group of villages, collected taxes from the peasants and in time, they almost acted as independent chieftains. When the East India Company started seizing control of the region, they came in conflict with the polygars on the question of who would collect taxes – the Company wanted to control them and secure the rights to collect taxes, as well as control territory. Kattabomman refused to give in to the British and waged a war against them. This is often called the First Polygar War of 1799.
Kattabomman was ultimately captured, sentenced to death and publicly hanged at Kayatharu in 1799. To commemorate the bicentenary of Kattabomman’s hanging, the Government of India released a postal stamp in his honour.