Era Of The Greatest Kodava Warrior - Kulletira Ponnanna

It was during the year 1782 when Kodava race saw one of its bravest military chieftain.  He was 6.2 feet tall, well-built warrior, Like I have always been telling in my write up’s Kodava history was more about protecting the dignity and sanctity of our mother land. Kodavas were one of the best warrior race in the entire south India and Kodava acquired these skills by birth as a blessing from their ancestors and mother nature.

Kulletira Ponnanna  had not lost single battle from the year 1782 to 1788 during his tenure as military chief of his regiment. It was the year 1782, Hyder Ali ordered his military to attack Kodagu, Hyder’s military commander Ghulam Ali marched towards Vira Rajendrapet with an army of 3000 soldiers. A massive war that lasted for 28 days was fought at Heggala when  Kulletira Ponnanna with his 1000 men army posed a strong resistance to Hyder’s army. The war ended with the defeat of Hyder Ali’s army and forced Ghulam Ali to retreat. This war was just the beginning of the rivalry Between Hyder Ali and Kodava warriors which later lasted for 2 generations. Kulletira Ponnanna was courageous and was very particular about inducting like-minded warriors in his troop. 

Kulletira Ponnanna played a vital role in evacuating Vira Raja, son of Linga Raja from the captivity of Tippu at Periyapatna in the year 1788. Vira Raja always admired the bravery and warfare skills of Ponnanna. Post his escape from the captivity Vira Raja wanted to regain his kingdom hence he seeked military help of Kulletira Ponnanna to wage a war against Tippu. In the same year a treaty was signed between Ponnanna and Viraraja at Virarajendranapete and the troops headed for war with Tippu and his army, Kulletira Ponnanna again win’s the war at Bisle ghat in the North to Manantvadi in the South By defeating Tippu and his army of thousands to help Vira Raja reclaimed his kingdom. By now Ponnanna was already a known name among many kingdom in south India. Meanwhile a dispute rose between the Kodagu Raja and Kote Raja for helping Nagappayya (nephew of Subbarasaya's who made in-charge of Coorg by Tippu) to take shelter in his kingdom. This lead to another war and again Kulletira Ponnanna with his army marched towards Cherakkal in Malabar and defeated Kote Raja in a war which lasted for few days.

Kulletira Ponnanna was one of the greatest chieftain of Kodava land and was considered as a threat to the many kingdoms around Kodagu. After he won the war against Kote Raja he marched towards Kushalnagara fort which was considered as garrison of Tippus army. Tippu had built this fort to stock weapons and cannons to wage war against Kodagu. Ponnanna had told his men that he wanted to end the carnage of innocents and Tippu’s dominance in Kodagu forever. Ponnanna’s army was reduced to few hundreds after the Malabar victory because of incessant war and travel. Despite this Ponnanna was determined to protect Kodava land and teach invaders a unforgettable lesson.  Ponnanna with his army launched a massive attacked on the Kushalnagar fort destroying the fort completely and defeated Tippu’s army by killing the fort commanders and most of his soldiers. Ponnanna also seized modern machinery stocked by Tippu’s army which was later used in future war against Tippu. Ponnanna was undoubtedly a greatest warrior of that decade, However the details about his death is still unclear. Few historians claim he had a natural death due to extreme fatigue and few other claims he was ingeniously  killed by serving him poisonous food post his victorious war in Kushalnagar by Tippu’s army men posing themselves as localities. Kulletira Ponnanna to this day is one of the most heroic chapter from the history of the warrior clan. He lived all his life protecting the Kodagu empire. May his legacy be remembered forever.

Mac Thimmaiah

M2thimmaiah@gmail.com

General Thimmaiah - A Legend and a Finest Strategist

Legends are born just once. I write this article in remembrance of the greatest warrior of modern history on his 55th death anniversary, General Kodandera Subbaiah Thimmaiah will be remembered forever.

General lived his life with a lot of passion, his commitment to his country and his army men was commendable. He was promoted to the rank of Major-General  on September 1947 just when India gained independence,  Post the assignation of Mahatma Gandhi, General Thimmaiah was the second most powerful man in India, first of course was Jawaharlal Nehru.

It was a time of turmoil in Pakistan and India, people could still not digest the fact that India was already divided into two nations, while Pakistan army stepped in, to take control over rioting Pakistan after the death of Mohammad Ali Jinnah, Back home in India the situation was no different. The country was going through extreme mutinying against the division and policy of the political leaders. India, today would have become another Military ruled nation had the General ordered his army to take over the country to bring situation under control and let me tell you no one would have dared to question him for his actions as he was heavily backed by Indian armed forces. However General was a man of vision and he firmly believed in a democratic India hence he ordered the army to bring situation into control, gain the confidence of citizens and install the faith in democratic India. Thimmaiah was a soldiers General, People of India need to thank General Thimmaiah for a democratic India, Its very unfortunate that the history text books in India education system only projects certain politicians responsible for the world’s largest democracy, But I would want to give the credit to Indian armed forces and General Thimmaiah for gifting us a democratic India. In 1957, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru visited the office of General Thimmaiah, the Chief of Army Staff. Nehru saw a steel cabinet behind his desk, and asked the General what it contained. The General replied that the top drawer contained the nation’s defense plans and documents pertaining to weaponries owned by Indian defense forces. The second one has documents concerned with the security and integrity of the nation and he stopped. Nehru asked, How about the Third one General ? to which General replied The third one has secret copy of plans for a military coup against you and few other politicians and smiled to ease out the tension he created in Nehru’s mind, after few seconds of silence Nehru responded with a smile but there was reflection of nervousness in his laughter. Nehru clearly knew General was capable of over throwing political parties out of power over night due to his reputation and his influence on eastern countries. General was a known name in many countries by then.  

General Thimmaiah a 20 year brave man from the land of warriors was commissioned into army in 1926 as Second Lieutenant of the highland light infantry later promoted to Lieutenant of 19^th Hyderabad Regiment. He mastered his soldiering skills battling the disobedient Pathan tribals near Pakistan occupied Kashmir post which he was posted to his battalion in Singapore by the British army. He was also promoted to the rank of Brigadier in the field on 25 March 1945 after his outstanding success at the battle in Burma during the Second World War when they defeated the Japanese Army.

He was the only Indian to have commanded a brigade in the Second World War. General represented the Indian Army at the surrender ceremony at Singapore in 1945, when Count Hisaichi Terauchi, the Supreme Commander of the Japanese Army in South East Asia, surrendered to Mountbatten. Thimmaiah was one of the most celebrated soldier by United Nations. General was appointed as Chairman of NNRC (Neutral Nations Repatriation Commission) and was deployed in Korea he also commanded the Indian brigade of the occupation force in Japan. By now the country knew the capability and gallantry of the General.

The first Kargil War in 1948 showed General Thimmaiah was one of the finest strategist Indian army ever had, After the Pakistani forces captured the Leh Ladak highway entering the Indian territory blocking all access for Indian army Major General  Kodandera Subbaiah Thimmaiah spearheaded one of the greatest victories for the Indian Army.  After a record-breaking landing at an airfield along with Air Cdre Meher Singh general ordered for deployment of Stuart light tanks at Zojila Pass at twelve thousand feet above sea level which gained Indian army an upper hand in the war, Generals love towards tanks was immense, He believed a well operated Tank can win any war at any terrain. Stuart light tanks deployment in first Kargil war was a huge risk since they were never used by Indian army before but General knew his weapons much better than anyone else.  After the tanks were deployed on first November 1948 the assault began and on 24^th November Kargil was re-occupied by Indian forces. In the year 1957 he took over as the Chief of the Indian Army.

Commissioning Krishna Menon , a leftist by thought as Indian Defense Minister by Jawaharlal Nehru didn’t go well with the commanding offers of Indian army since Krishna was already involved in a Jeep buying scam for Indian army. Krishna and General’s relation was a bitter one since Defense minister’s actions had already costed Indian army dearly with deaths of many soldiers at India-China border. General Thimmaiah offered to resign from defense forces following Menons actions and interference into the defense matters, However Nehru convinced Thimmaiah to withdraw his resignation but General resigned on 7 May 1961, after completing 35 years of distinguished military service.  It’s unfortunate that China attacked India just 15 months after Generals retirement and India lost the war.

General proved “Once a solider always a solider” post his retirement from Indian army United Nations sought his services yet once again where he was appointed as the Commander of UN Forces in Cyprus (UNFICYP) in July 1964. He passed away during his tenure at UNFICYP on a unfortunate day of 17th December 1965. There are a lot of speculation pertaining to his death , people close to him claimed it could not be a natural death since his body had turned blue however government of India didn't bother to investigate this matter and to this date it's not really clear how the greatest General of Indian army passed away.  The Republic of Cyprus, also honored him by issuing a commemorative stamp in his memory in 1966. General Thimmaiah was one of the Greatest Solider and a finest strategist this country will ever see.  It’s also very disheartening to see that a man of his caliber not celebrated as a greatest warrior in his own country while Singapore, Japan and united nation organization consider him as a greatest warrior of all time. May his legacy be remembered forever and may he inspire the youths of this nation to protect and uphold the integrity of national pride.

Mukkatira Mac Thimmaiah

M2thimmaiah@gmail.com

                                                                                                                                                                             

Kodavas First War With British

Kodagu, the land of unsung heroes. Until about early 19th century Kodava race were one of the most fierce tribe in south India. The first war of Indian independence began in 1857 when Indian’s retaliated to the slavery under the British raj. However down south in Kodagu state the war against British was first fought in the year 1783. The land which has given India army one of its finest soldiers were one of the first tribes to retaliate against the British when the Brits marched from Mysore state towards Kodagu to conquer the princely state of Kodavas. The first war against British army was commanded by Codava nayak Mathanda Appacha, Appacha lead the troop of 500 Kodava warriors in bare foot and Voddikatti (Sword used by Kodava Warriors) to attack the mighty British army which was well equipped with cannons and cartridge. This war lasted for 35 days near today’s Harangi water reservoir, Kushalnagara. The Kodava tribe received very less causalities since they were very less in number and were scattered across the dense forest which made it difficult for the Brit army to Hunt down Kodavas. Though the enemy army was well trained and equipped with modern machines to assist them in the war they failed in front of the never say die attitude of the Kodava tribe. Kodavas were the masters of the guerilla war. Appacha and his army knew terrain much better than Brits could even think off, and the warriors attacked the British when they least expected, most of the attack were carried out during early morning hours or during the late night to take the advantage of the terrain. Appacha along with his army of 500 warriors managed to kill more than 1200 Brit army person which included 3 British officers and forced the British army to return back to Mysore, Thus marking their first victory to protect the Kodava land from the British.

Peeche katti

Weapons were integral part of the tribe living in dense forest of Kodagu. Every tribe around the world did have weapons designed by themselves to making living easy and fighting the odds. Kukri of Gurkas, Talwar of the Sikhs, Axe of the Kalinga tribe are just few examples of how people depended on weapons for their survival. Similarly Peeche Katti and Vodi Katti were couple of weapons which Kodava tribe have been using from centuries. Peech Katti which basically translates as tender knife or small knife was used by kodava in their day to day activities. Let me try to shed some information on this 

Peechekatti was usually handed over to a Kodava teenager from the eldest in the tribe post his first hunt or war. The weapon was made of iron which resembled more like a dagger and had a scabbard made of bamboo Stem and tucked in a cloth like belt (Chale) the scabbard was later replaced with rosewood. Peechekatti was always considered by as a sacred weapon by Kodava tribe since it was a matter of pride to earn it and was used for all sacred work including wedding and cremation of the Kodava warriors. Kodava warriors used peechekatti as a last savior to kill enemies in war. Peechekatti gained its new look after Linga raja started gifting golden and silver peechkatti to Kodava warriors who displayed tremendous courage in war against the enemies of his kingdom. It is said most Kodava warriors did possess peechkatti made of Gold during the king’s rule and this is how a native dagger like weapon covered with bamboo scabbard was replaced with gold and silver. Few clans in Kodava tribe used to bury or burn the peechkatti along with the body of the warrior who attained martyrdom, however few others used to passed on the peechekatti of the martyr to his next generation. Few such peechekatti owned by prominent Kodava warriors like Doddaiah are still preserved in British museum (UK) and in Madras museum (India).  Peechekatti has always been an important part of every Kodava warriors life and every such peechekatti preserved by few families in their Kaimada or balyamane tells the story of the legacy of Kodava warriors of that particular clan.