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—œË±​è HISTORY OF MADURAI

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±€Ì¿º¥›​è MUSALMAN DOMINION - Chanda Sahib (1736-40)
​ª¨€Ì​è Fo r a tim e , C handa Sahib had e ve rything his own way. His succe ss was inde e d re garde d with
suspicio n and e ve n hostility by the Nawab of Arcot; but fa m ily re asons pre ve nte d a rupture ,
​Ø€° and C ha nda Sahib was le ft undisturbe d while he strengthe ne d the fortifications o f
Trichinoploy and a ppointe d his two brothe rs as governors of the strongholds of Dindigul and
—º¯​è Madura. It wa s a t this pe riod that he subjugate d the k ing of Tanjo re (though he did no t
anne x his te rritory), and co m pe lle d him to code k araik k al to the Fre nch.
…›​è µÒÅ
בⴳ A Maratha interlude (1740-43)
ƒã€À Unable to he lp the m se lve s, the k ing of Tanjore a nd Vanga ru Tirum a la de te rm ine d to call in
assistance of the Maratha s of Satara inBom bay. The se pe ople ha d the ir own grie va nce
µ€​¢Ÿ€× aga inst the Muham m adans of Arcot (with who m C handa Sahib was still ide ntifie d) be cause
the latte r had long de laye d paym e nt of the chouth, or o ne -fourth of the re ve nue s, which
¸–Ö À±¿½ the y had prom ise d in re turn for the withdrawa l o f the Marathas from the country, and the
discontinua nce o f the ir usual pre da tory incursions. The y we re a lso e ncourage d to atte m pt
°ÁÝ​ re prisals by the Nizam of Haidara bad, who je alous of the incre asing powe r of the Na wab and
care le ss of the loyalty due to co-re ligionists, would gladly have se e n his dange rous
À‘ת¥›​è subordinate brought to the ground.
—œò€î Ea rly in 1740, the re fo re , the Marathas a ppe are d with a vast arm y in the south and de fe ate d
À³€Ì and k ille d the Nawab of Arcot in the pass of Dam alche ruvu in North Arcot. The y the n cam e to
an unde rstanding with his son, the safdar Ali m e ntione d above , re cognise d him a s Nawab,
​‘¤​½ÌÅ and re tire d for a tim e .
µ‘​¿ºª¦îÅ C handa Sahib had m ade a faint pre te nce at he lping the Nawab to re sist the Mara thas, and
he how cam e to o ffe r his subm issio n to Sardar Ali. The prince s parte d with appare nt am ity,
þ°ï but at the e nd of the sa m e ye ar the Mara thas (at the se cre t invita tion o f Safdar Ali)
³–´³™​¦ sudde nly re appe a re d a nd m a de straight for Trichinopo ly. The ir te m pora ry withdrawal had
be e n de signe d to put chanda Sahib off his guard; and it so far succe e de d that Trichino poly
Ø࿽ÌÅ was ve ry poorly provisione d. The y inve ste d the town close ly, de fe ate d and k ille d the two
°ÑÀ½Í brothe rs of C ha nda Sahib above m e ntione d as the y advance d to his he lp from the ir
province s of Madura a nd Dindigul, and, afte r a sie ge of thre e m onths, com pe lle d the
​ÐÑ surre nde r of Trichinopoly. The y took C handa captive to Satara, and, disre garding the cla im s
µ‘À™​Ö of Vangaru Tirum ala, appointe d a Mara tha, the we ll-k nown Morari R ao o f Gooty, as the ir
gove rnor of the co nque re d k ingdom .
±Ï—µÖþ×Ó Musalman Authority reestablished, 1743
±Ï×èçÑ Morari R ao re m a ine d the re for two ye ars (it is not cle arly k nown what he did or how far his
authority e x te nde d) and he finally re tire d in 1743 be fore the invading a rm y of the Nizam ,
±ÏבÐÑ who m arche d south in that ye ar, re -e stablishe d his we ak e ne d authority in the C arnatic, and
±¯¨™​Ö in 1744 appointe d Anwar-uddin as Nawab o f Arcot.
The whole of the Madura k ingdom now fe ll unde r the rule o f this latte r pote ntate . The re is
þ​‘€× re ason to be lie ve that he gove rne d it through his sons Mahfuz Khan a nd Muham m ad Ali,
both soon to play an im po rtant part in the history of the se districts. It is said that the Nizam
ÿÒŽÍ orde re d tha t Va ngaru Tirum ala sho uld be a ppointe d king of Ma dura;but, if such a n orde r
±Ï¢​ was e ve r m a de , it was disre garde d;and that fe e ble individual soon disappe are d finally from
the sce ne , po isone d, som e sa y, by Answe r-ud-din. As late as 1820, a de sce ndant of his,
þ×Õ–Ñ be a ring the sam e nam e , was in Madura e nde a vouring to obta in pe cunia ry assista nce from
Øϳµ​Ñ Gove rnm e nt. He and his fam ily live d ve llaik urichi in the Sivaganga zam indari a nd the ir
childre n we re the re until quite re ce ntly. It is said tha t the y still k e pt up the old from o f
„þÌ‘¨ having re cite d, on the first day o f C hittrai in e a ch ye ar, a long account of the ir pe digre e and
​ò ïÆ‘​À Í the boundarie s of the gre at k ingdom of which the ir fore be ars we re rule rs.
The rival Musalman parties
—ºÌÅºÕ–Ñ In 1748, ho we ve r, Chanda Sahib re ga ine d his libe rty and m arche d south in com pany with a
½³™þ​‘ª€¥ pre te nde r to the positio n o f Niza m o f Ha idarabad. The allie s we re succe ssful, Answe r up-din
was sla in at the gre at battle of Am bur in North Arcot, and C handa Sa hib succe e de d him . O ne
ƒÌ‘Àµ‘°½ÌÅ of his sons, Muham m ad Ali, fle d howe ve r to Trichinipoly and proclaim e d him se f Nawab
±Ïׯ«‘À€Ò the re , and so on m o st of the south of India was involve d in the struggle be twe e n the se
rivals. The Fre nch and the English (who had re ce ntly be e n fighting am ong the m se lve s, we re
​¥ Õ–Ñ now no m inally at pe ace , and conse que ntly both had m ore so ldie rs that the y k ne w what to
do with) too k side s in the conflict the (the form e r tak ing the part of C handa Sahib and the
þœÒÅ latte r tha t of Muham m ad Ali) and the cam paigns which followe d we re in re ality a disguise d
​×​›€​ struggle for the m aste ry of so uth India by the se two Europe a n nations.
It is not in any way ne ce ssary to follow the fortune s o f the war in de tail, as the y are
°¤€œ conce rne d le ss with Madura than with othe r districts furthe r north, and we m ay confine
ourse lve s to som e account of the e ve nts which dire ctly affe cte d the pre se nt m adura country.
In the se the Fre nch had little share . The ir e ne rgies we re chie fly co nfine d to the co untry
furthe r north. The English, howe ve r, o btaine d e ach ye ar he nce forth a m ore a nd m ore
pre dom inant share in the gove rnm e nt of Ma dura and Tinne ve lly, and the history of the se

tracts be com e s a chronicle of the East India C om pany’s de alings with the m .

ENGLISH PERIOD
Siege of Madura, 1751
In 1751, afte r se ve ral sta rtling truns of Fortune ’s whe e l, C handa Sahib was ve ry ge ne rally
re cognise d as Nawab of Arcot. Muha m m ad Ali, ho we ve r, ha d m any adhe re nts in Tinne ve lly
and Madura.
In this sa m e ye ar 1751, occurre d the first sie ge of the Madura fort of which any a ccount
survive s. O ne Alam Khan, a soldie r of fortune who had form e rly be e n in C handa Sahib’s
e m ploy cam e , sa ys orm e —‘To Madura, where his reputation as an excellent officer soon gained
him influence and respect. Which he employed to corrupt the garrison, and succeeded so well, that
the troops created him governor, and consented to maintain the city under his authority for Chanda
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the troops created him governor, and consented to maintain the city under his authority for Chanda
Saheb, whom he acknowledged as his sovereign.......The loss of this place, by cutting off the
communication between Tritchinopoly and the countries of Tinivelly, deprived Mahomed-ally of more
than one half of the dominions which at this time remained under his jurisadiction. On receiving the
news, Captain Cope offered his service to retake it. His detachment was ill-equipped for a siege, for
they had brought no battering cannon from Fort St. David, and there were but two serviceable pleces
in the city: with one of these three field pieces, two cohorns, and150 Europeans, he marched away,
accompanied by 600 of the Nabob’s (i,e., Nawab’s) Cavalry, commanded by another of this brothers
Adbul-wahab khan; and on the day that they arrived in sight of Madura, they were joined by the
army returning from Tinivelly. There were several large breaches in the outward wall; the gun fired
through one of them on the inward wall, and in two days demolished a part of it, although not
sufficient to make the breach accessible without the help of fascines. Difficult as it was, it was
necessary either to storm it immediately, or to relinquish the siege, for all the short of the great
gun were expended. The sepoys, encouraged by a distribution of some money, and a promise of
much more if the place should be taken, went to the attack with as much spirit as the Europeans.
The first wall was passed without resistance, and at the foor of the breach in the second appeared
three champions, one of them a very bulky man in compleat armour, who fought manfully with their
swords, and wounded several of the forlorn hope, but were at last with difficulty killed. Whilst the
troops were mounting the breach, they were severly annoyed by arrows, stones, and the fire of
matchlocks; not with standing which they gained the parapet, where the enemy had on each side of
the entrance raised a mound of earth, on which they had laid horizontally some palm trees
separated from each other, and through these intervals they thrust their pikes. The troops of
Mahomed-ally, encouraged by this repulse, no longer concealed their disaffection,and 500 horse,
with 1,000 peons, went over to Allum Khan before the English broke up their camp, and two or three
days after, near 2,000 more horsemen deserted likewise to the enemy.’
Afte r ruling Madura for a ye ar, Alam Kha n we nt to Trichinopoly to tak e part in the fighting
which was going on the re , a nd was k ille d in 1752. Be fo re le aving m adura he appo inte d one
Maya na, a re latio n, to be gove rnor o f Madura , and one Nabi Khan to co m m and Tinne ve lly.
The se two m e n and Muham m ad Bark i, son-in-low of the latte r o f the m , we re the signa torie s
to a pa pe r which Muham m ad Ali afte rwards produce d a s e vide nce of his title to the
so ve re ignty o f Madura and Tinne ve lly.
Col, Heron’s expendition, 1755
As the be ginning of 1755 Muham m ad Ali se nt a nothe r e x pe dition to re duce the se two
districts to obe die nce . It co nsiste d of 500 Europe ans a nd 2,000 se poys furnishe d by his ally
the English East India C om pany and com m ande d by C olone l He ro n, a nd of 1,000 horse le d
by Mahfuz Khan, Muham m ad Ali’s e lde r bro the r. The 2,000 se poys we re in charge o f
Muham m ad Yusuf Khan, a distinguishe d native office r of the C om pany whom we shall m e e t
aga in.
This force too k Madura without any opposition (Mayana had ne gle cte d its fortification and
de ple te d its garrison) and the n se ize d the te m ple o f Kovilk udi, e ast of the town, W he re
Maya na ha d tak e n re fuge . From this building the English soldie rs unthink ingly ca rrie d o ff
those little m e tal im a ge s of the go ds of the k allans which brought the m so m uch trouble in
the Nattam pass (se e the acco unt of this place on p.289) on the ir way back .
Mahfuz khan rents the country
Be fo re C o lone l He ron le ft, Mahfuz - having, according to O rm e , 'C ontrive d e ve ry m e ans to
m ak e the state o f the province appe ar le ss a dvantage ous than it re ally wa s--o btaine d from
him a le ase of the Madura and Tinne ve lly districts at an annual re nta l of 15 la k hs o f rupe e s.
C olo ne l He ron's conse nt to the arrange m e nt is de cla re d to have be e n ha ste ne d by the o ffe r
of a conside ra ble pre se nt.
Muhammad yusuf sent to quiet it
Mahfuz Kha n's adm inistration was a total failure , and in 1756 the com pany saw that the
tim e for m o re de cisive action ha d com e . Not be ing able to spare any Euro pe ans, the y
de spatche d to the so uth the Muham m a d Yusuf alre ady m e ntione d, the com m andant of all
the ir se poys. He wa s se nt with so m e 1,400 m e n and give n orde rs to com bine the m with the
troops of Ma hfuz Kha n and the Nawab and tak e com m and of the whole .He passe d through
Madura, on his wa y to the Tinne ve lly country, in April 1756, and the following passage from
O rm e a ptly illustrate s the re asons which had le d to his be ing se nt to the so uth and the
difficultie s with which he had to conte nd:-
'During this pro gre ss Moho m e d Issof had not be e n able to co lle ct any m o ne y from the
re ve nue s, for the m ainte nance of his troo ps; be cause the ravage s of the polyga rs had
ruine d m ost of the village s and cultiva te d lands of the country through which hapasse d; and
the re al de trim e nt of the se de vasta tions was incre a se d by the pre te nce s the y furnishe d the
land-holde rs to falsify the ir accounts, and ple d e xe m ptions for m ore tha t the y had lost. He
found Ma phuze C awn in gre ate r distre ss than him se lf, unable e ithe r to fulful the stlpulations
at which he had re nte d the co untry from colo ne l He ron, o r to suppy the pay of the
com pany's se poys le ft with him unde r the co m m and of je m aul sa he b, or e ve n to furnish
e no ugh, e x clusive of long arre a rs, for the daily subsiste nce of his own tro ops. This distre ss

naturally de prive d him of the ne ce ssary authourity o ve r the Je m m adars, or office rs of his
cava lry, who in Indostan, as the ancie nt m e rce na ry ca ptains of Italy, hire out the ir bands,
and gain not a little by the barga in. Eve ry k ind of disorde r lik e wise pre va ile d in all the othe r
de partm e nts of his adm inistra tion, at the sam e tim e that the indole nce and irre soultio n o f
his own chara cte r confirm e d all the e vils which had be e n intro duce d into his go ve rnm e nt.
Mahfuz khan rebels
By July o f the Sam e ye ar, the country was toall appe arance tranquil, a nd the two le ade rs
se parate d-Muham m ad Yusuf going to Tinne ve ly to wn and Mahfuz Khan to Madura. As soon
as the latte r and arrive d a t that place , his ca valry (2,000 pick e d m e n) surro unde d his
house , he ade d by the gove rnor of the town, and de clare d that the y would not m ove until
the y we re give n the ir arre ars o f pay -- som e se ve n lak hs of rupe e s. At the sa m e tim e thre e
com panie s of Ma dras se poys who we re in Madura we re disarm e d and turne d out; and the
brothe r of the Muha m m ad Bark i a lre ady m e ntione d above e nte re d the fort with 2,000
Kallans who m he had colle cte d in the Nattam country. The Standard o f re volt was the n
ope nly raise d and invitations we re issue d to all the poliga rs to assist in re -e stablishing the
gove rnm e nt of Ma hfuz Khan.
The se says we re doubtle ss tak e n with the k nowle dge and approval of Mahfuz k han and we re
inspire d by the fact that in July the C o m pany ha d farm e d out the Tinne ve lly country fo r
e le ve n lak hs of rupe e s to a ce rtain Mudali, this m an be ing grante d ple nary civil and crim inal
jurisdictio n within it and be ing bound to m aintain no t le ss than, 1,000 of the com pany's
se poys.
He aring what had happe ne d, Muha m m ad Yusuf m arche d a t once on Ma dura, a nd o n the
10th August cam pe d ne ar Tiruppara nk unram , which was strongly he ld by the re be ls. His
who le force was only 1,500 se poys and six fie ld-pie ce s, so se e ing that it wo uld be use le ss to
atte m pt to storm the place , he se nt for instructions to C aptain C alliaud, who was a t
Trichinopoly. That office r cam e ove r and atte m pte d to ne gotiate with the re be ls. His e fforts
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Trichinopoly. That office r cam e ove r and atte m pte d to ne gotiate with the re be ls. His e fforts
we re vain a nd a de sulto ry war be gan which ra vage d the who le district.
Capt. Calliand’s attacks on Madura, 1757
In May 1757 C aptain C alliaud m ade a ga llant e nde avour to carry the Madura fortre ss by a
night surprise , but wa s re pulse d with loss. O rm e give s the following account of the affair,
which is of inte re st as containing a de scription of fo rtifications which have no w utte rly
disappe are d. A re fe re nce to the m ap of the town in 1757 facing P.265 will m ak e this cle are r,
and it will be se e n tha t the assault was de live re d ne a r whe re the pre se nt m ate rnity hospital
sta nds.
'The inward wall of Ma dura is 22 fe e t high, including the pa rape t, which rise s six a bove the
ram part : at the dista nce of e ve ry 100 yards or le ss (for e x act sym m e try has not be e n
obse rve d) are square towe rs. The fausse -bra y is 30 fe e t broad, a bove which the outward
wall rise s only five fe e t, but de sce nding to the bottom of the ditch is II on the outside .
Midway be twe e n e ve ry two towe rs of the inward wall, is a sim ilar pro je ction in the outward,
with loo p-hole s which com m and the ditch, and flank the inte rm e diate part of the wall, in
which a re none : but the whole parape t o f the inward will ha s loo p-hole s, so ha ve som e of its
towe rs, and the re st e m brasure s for canno n. The Spot chose n to a tta ck e d was the first towe r
on the le ft hand of the we ste rn gate way, be ing the only part whe re the fausse -bray was cle a r
of the thick thorny bushe s, which had no t injudicio usly be e n suffe re d to ove rrun it in e ve ry
othe r; but the ga rrison, trusting to this de fe nce , had e ntire ly ne gle cte d the ditch, which, by
continual drifts afte r rain, was alm ost chock e d up to the le ve l of the plain. The party allotte d
to the attack we re 100 Eurrope ans, and 200 se poys; the re st o f the troo ps re m aine d in the
wate rcourse (se e the m ap), re ady to suppo rt the e vent. C a lliaud le d the pa ry him se lf, to
who m the m e tho d of attack was care fully e x pla ine d, and strict sile nce e njoine d. The fre m ost
m e n carrie d the six shorte r le dde rs inte nde d for the outwa rd wall; the ne x t, the six longe r,
for the inward; as soon as twe nty of the party had go t into the fausse -bra y, it was inte nde d
that the y should im m e diate ly tak e ove r the longe r le dde rs, which the y we re to plant, as
re ce ive d, aga inst the towe r, but not a m an wa s to m ount, until a ll the six la dde rs we re fix e d,
and the n no m o re than thre e at a tim e o n e ach ladder.
'The fist ladde rs we re plante d, and C alliaud, with the first so m e n, had got into the fa usse -
bray, had tak e n ove r one of the longe r ladde rs, and had plante d it a gainst the towe r, whe n
the ir ho pe s we re inte rrupte d by one of those accidents which from the ir triviality e scape the
m ost a tte ntive pre caution. A do g, accoustom e d to ge t his m e a ls at the m e sse s of som e o f
the soldie rs, had accom panie d the m all the way from Se cunde rm a lly (Tirupparank unram )
into the ditch, and, proba bly from anx ie y at not being able to follow his m a ste rs into the
fause -bray, be gan to ba rk ; which wa s so on answe re d by the bark ing o f a nothe r dog on the
ram part, a nd the ye lps of bo th awak e ne d the ne are st ce ntinal, who, crying o ut ''The
e ne m y", rouse d the guard at the ga te way, which re paire d im m e dia te ly to the towe r. The
so ldie rs in the fausse -bray, finding the alarm tak en, inste ad of continuing to ge t ove r the
re st of the ladde rs, e nde a voure d to m ount on that alre a dy plante d, but crowde d on it so
m any toge the r, that it curshe d unde r the m . This com m unicate d the confusion to those in
the ditch, and no one a ny lo nge r did what he ought. In the m e antim e , the ga rrison
incre asing on the ram part hung out blue lights o f sulphur, a nd discove ring the whole party
be gan to showe r on the m arrows, sto ne s, lance s, and the shot of fire -arm s. O n which
calliaud orde re d the re tre at, a nd anothe r wo unde d, both we re se poys, sta nding on the
gla cis.
In July he m ade anothe r atte m pt a t the sam e spot, which was aga in unsucce ssful. O rm e
de scribe s it as unde r:-

"The ga bions, fascine s, and platform s, we re pre pare d in the ca m p; and as soon as all we re
re ady, the troops allotte d m arche d on the 9th at night to the wate rcourse which runs to the
we st of the city, and raise d the ba tte ry against the curtain be twe e n the gate way and the
towe r which had be e n atte m pte d by e scalade of the Ist of Ma y. It m ounte d two e ighte e n-
pounde rs, with four fie ld-pie ce s, was finishe d be fore the m orning, and at day-bre ak be gan
to fire . The parape t of the fausse -bra y was soo n beate n down, and the inward wall, although

stro ng, was by noo n shak e n so m uch, tha t the parapet of this lik e wise fe ll e ntire ly, and the
wall itse lf was sufficie ntly shatte re d, to pe rm it a m a n to clam be r to the top; but, in this short
tim e , the garriso n had stak e d the ram part be hind with the trunk s of palm e ira tre e s se t on
e nd; a fe w shot k nock e d down sam e , nor could a ny of the m have be e n firm ly fix e d, and to
le a ve the e ne m y no m ore tim e to pre pare furthe r de fe nce s, C alliaud re solve d to sto rm
im m e diate ly. O f the Europe a ns, o nly the artile ry-m en we re le ft a t the batte ry; all the
batta lion-m e n, who we re 120, m arche d, followe d by the co m pany o f coffire e s and the y by
400 se po ys. C alliaud le d the Europe ans, a nd Mahom e d Issoo f the se poys. The garrison had
discipline d 300 o f the ir m atchlock m e n as se poys; who , altho ugh m uch, infe rior to the se
troops, we re im prove d far be yo nd the ir form e r sta te , the se we re poste d o n the we ste rn
gate way, which proje cting be yond the fausse bray into the ditch, flank e d the towe r a tta ck e d;
and m ultitude we re dro wde d on the ra m parts, but we re im m e diate ly tum ble d down de a d, o r
m ortally wounde d. This re pre sse d the ardour of those who we re fo llowing: a n office r throw
out im prude nt words, and the infirm ity visibly ca ught the who le line , notwithstanding the
e x hortations and activity of C allia nd, who was in the fausse -bra y dire ctingthe assault.
W ho se e ve r m o unte d afte rwards cam e do wn without ge tting to the top, pre te nding the
im possibility, altho ugh the dange r. W as as gre at in the fause -bra y be low;for, be side s the
showe r of othe r annoyance s, the e ne m y had pre pare d ba gs and pipk ins fille d with m e re
powde r, to which the y se t fire as the y tosse d the m down on the he a ds of the assaila nts, and
the scorch of the e x plosio n was ine vitable a nd intole ra ble . Nove rthe le ss, C oliaud co ntinue d
the assault half an hour; whe n finding that no com m and was any longe r obe ye d, and tha t
m uch loss had be e n sustaine d, he orde re d the re tre a t. Four of the brave st se rhe ants we re
k ille d, a nd a s m a ny wounde d and so othe r Europe ans we re e ithe r k ille d, and as m any
wounde d; of the C offre e s I0, of the se poys I00 we re disa ble d, but fe w of this body we re
k ille d, and fe we r die d afte rwards of the ir wounds.
Eve ntua lly the place wa s give n up to Ca ptain C alliaud on his paying the re be ls Rs.1,70,000.
Anarchy again prevails
The re sults we re sm a ll. Disturba nce s still pre vaile d e ve ry whe re ; the Kallans ra vage d the
country in e ve ry dire ction; the gre at Haidar Ali, the so ldie r of fortune . who was Madura and
was with difficulty be ate n off; and no re ve nue wo rth m e ntioning could be colle cte d. The
com pany trie d in vain to induce the Na wab of Arcot to re call his brothe r, Mahfuz Khan, who
was undoubte dly the cause of all the trouble , and soo n a fte rwards the ir ne e ds, e lse whe re
com pe lle d the m to withdra w Muham m ad Yusuf.
His de parture was the signal for wilde r anarchy than e ve r. The com pa ny's garrison in Madura
could only just colle ct, from the country dire ctly unde r its walls, e nough re ve nue to suppo rt
the m se lve s; on the north the Kallans, a nd in the south Ma hfuz Khan ha d thrown him se lf
into the arm s of the principal poligars a nd was be yond the re ach of argum e nt or re aso n.
Yusuf Khan again despateched
The Co m pany a ccordingly se nt back Muham m ad Yusuf to the country, re nting both Madura
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The Co m pany a ccordingly se nt back Muham m ad Yusuf to the country, re nting both Madura
and Tinne ve ly to him for the ve ry m ode rate sum of five la k hs annually. He re turne d in the
spring of 1759 and be gan by te a ching the Kallans a who le so m e le sson. C utting ave nue s
through the ir woods, he sho t the m do wn witho ut m e rcy as the y fle d, or e x e cute d as
m ale factors any who we re tak e n priso ne rs. He we nt on to re duce the re st of the country to
orde r, and so on had sobe re d all the poligars and m ade him se lf e x tre m e ly powe rful. He
e ve n had the audacity to m a k e war on the k ing of Trava nco re without the k nowle dge o r
conse nt of the com pany. In 1761, and again in 1762, he offe re d to le ase Tinne ve lly and
Madura for four ye ars m o re at se ve n lak hs pe r annum . His offe r wa s re fuse d, and--whe the r
he was e nra ge d at this, or whe the r he thought him self powe rful e no ugh to de fy his m aste rs-
- he shortly a fte rwards thre w off his alle giance and be ga n to co lle ct troops.
He rabels and is hanged, 1764
In 1763, the re fore , a strong fo rce wa s se nt against him and he was be sie ge d in Madura in
Se pte m be r. His frie nds ne a rly all de se rte d him , but he he ld out until O ctobe r 1764 with
gre a t e ne rgy and sk ill, re novating and stre ngthe ning the fort a t gre at e x pe nse --he is said
to have 'e ntire ly re pa ire d' its e ast face and constantly e m plo ye d 3,000 laboure rs about it--
and re pe lling the chie f assault with a loss of 120 Euro pe ans (including nine office rs) k ille d
and wounde d. At the e nd of that tim e little re al progre ss against him had be e n m ade ,
e x ce pt that the pla ce was now rigorously block ade d, but he was tre a che rously se ize d by one
Marchaud, the office r in cha rge of the Fre nch continge nt, and ha nde d ove r to Major Charle s
C am pbe ll, who co m m ande d the English am ong the be siege rs. He was ignom iniously hange d
ne a r the ca m p, about two m ile s to the we st of Ma dura, and his bo dy was burie d at the spot.
A sm all square m o sque was afte rwards e re cte d o ve r the tom b. It is still in e x iste nce --to the
le ft of the re ad to Dindigul, a little be yond the toll-ga te --and is k nown a s 'Khan Sahib's
pallivasal.'
His character
Tradition has m any storie s to te ll of this re m ark able m an, who is co m m only k no wn in
Madura as Khansa, a n abbre vlation for Khan Sa hib. He was bo rn in the R am m nad country
and wa s originally a Hindu of the Ve llala C aste . He ra n away from his hom e , to ok Se rvice
unde r a Europe a n for thre e ye ars in po ndiche rry, was dism isse d, se rve d unde r anothe r
Europe an (who e ducate d him ), we nt to the Na wab's co urt, ro se rapidly in the a rm y, m arrie d
a parangi wom an and e ve ntually, as has be e n se e n, be cam e C om m a ndant o f all the
C om pa ny's se poys. His e x e cutive ability is sufficiently indicate d in the re po rt (se e be low)
from C olone l Fullarton - date d March, 1785 a nd e ntitle d 'A vie w of the English inte re sts in
India '--which was re publishe d in Ma dras in1867. This says that in Tinne ve lly and Madura 'his
who le adm inistration de note d vigour and e ffe ct. His justice was unque stione d, his word
una lte rable ; his m e asure s we re happily com bine d and firm ly e x e cute d, the guilty ha d no
re fuge from punishm e nt.' It conclude s by sa ying that his e x am ple shows that 'wisdo m ,
vigour and inte grity are of no clim ate or com ple x io n.'
Haidar Ali’s invasion, 1780
Afte r Muham m ad Yusuf's de ath, the re ve nue adm inistra tion of Madura wa s e ntruste d to one

Abiral Khan Sahib, who conducte d it une ve ntfully for som e six ye ars. He had no m ilitary
powe r, and the country was co m m ande d by British office rs. The te rm s of office o f his
num e rous succe ssors we re e qually de vo id o f e pisode , and it was not untill 1780 that any
change of note occurre d. In that ye ar Ha idar Ali (who ha d by now m a de him se lf k ing o f
Mysore ) pre pe trate d his fa m ous inva sion of the C arnatic--pillaging, burning a nd slaying until
the country was one black e ne d waste .
Assignment of the revenue to the company, 1781
In the ne x t ye a r the Nawab Muham m ad Ali, assigne d to the com pany the re ve nue s of the
carnatic to de fray the co st of the war with Ha idar Ali, and a 'C om m itte e of Assigne d
R e ve nue ', consisting of six officials, wa s appo inted to adm iniste r the m . Unde r this body, in
e ach of the districts co nce rne d, was a 'R e ce ive r of Assigne d R e ve nue '. The first so se nt to
Madura--Virtually its first C olle cto r--was Mr.Ge orge proctor. His adm inistra tion was not
succe ssful, a nd he wa s (appare ntly) followe d in 1783 by Mr.Eyle s Irwin.
Col. Fullarton’s expedition,1783
But the country re quire d qule ting be fore it could be succe ssfully adm iniste re d, a nd in the
sa m e ye ar the C olone l Fullarto n who has alre ady be en m e ntione d was se nt into it with a
stro ng force . His re po rt above cite d affords a m ple e vide nce o f the ne ce ssity for this ste p. It
sa ys that--
'Ne arly one hundre d thousa nd poligars and C olle rie s we re in arm s throughout the southe rn
province s, a nd, be ing conside re d hostile to Gove rnm e nt, lo ok e d to public confusio n as the ir
sa fe guard a gainst punishm e nt. Yo ur southe rn force was ina de quate to re pre ss the se
outra ge s and to re trie ve your a ffairs. The tre asury was draine d the country de populate d, the
re ve nue s e x acte d by the e ne m y, the troo ps undiscipline d, ill-paid poorly fe d and
unsucce ssfully com m ande d. During the course of the se proce e dings, your southe rn
province s re m aine d in the ir fo rm e r confusio n. The poligars, C ole rie s, and othe r tributarie s,
e ve r since the com m e nce m e nt of the war (with Haida r Ali) had thrown off a ll appe a rance of
alle giance . No civil arra nge m e nt could be atte m pte d without a m ilitary force , a nd nothing
le ss than the who le arm y se e m e d ade quate to the ir re duction, whicle such a conside rable
portion of the southe rn province s re m aine d in de fiance o f the C o m pany's Gove nm e nt, it was
va in to think o f supporting the curre nt cha rge s of e sta blishm e nt, far le ss co uld we hope to
re duce the arre ars, and to pre pare fo r im portant ope ratio ns, in the proba ble e ve nt of a
re com m e nce m e nt o f hostilitie s. It be cam e indispe nsa ble , the re fore , to re store the
transquility of those province s by vigorous m ilitary m e asure s as the only m e ans to re nde r
the m prote ctive o f re ve nue .
C olo ne l Fullarton subdue d the po ligars of Me lur and Sivaganga a nd the n passe d
so uthwards; and his principal fighting was inTinne ve lly.
In June 1785, in conse que nce of orde rs from supe rior authority, the a ssignm e nt of the
re ve nue s was surre nde re d to the Nawab of Arcot, the C om m itte e of Assigne d R e ve nue was
disso lve d, and the civil adm inistration o f the C om pany, with all its num e rous advantage s,
ce ase d for se ve n ye ars.
Assumption of the revenue, 1790
In August 1790 the Ma dras Gove rnm e nt, finding it im possible to induce the Na wab e ithe r to
contribute his share o f the e x pe nse s of the alliance with the Co m pany or to re -introduce the
assignm e nt o f the re ve nue s, took po sse ssion o f the C ountry by proclam atio n, without
tre aty. A Board of Assum e d R e ve nue , which was a de pa rtm e nt of the Board of R e ve nue
e stablishe d in 1786, was constitute d to a dm iniste r the te rritorie s, and C olle ctors we re
appointe d to the various districts. Mr.Ale x ande r McLe o d was se nt down in 1790 as C olle cto r
of Dindigul.
The company collects the peshkash, 1792
In July 1792 the Nawab a nd the com pany e nte re d into a ne w tre aty by which the la tte r
unde rtook to colle ct a t the ir own e x pe nse a nd risk the whole o f the pe shk ash, o r tribute ,
due fro m the poligars and with the e x ce ption of a fe w districts -- am o ng which we re Madura
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due fro m the poligars and with the e x ce ption of a fe w districts -- am o ng which we re Madura
prope r and Tinne ve lly,which we re to re m ain in the com pa ny's hands till the re ve nue e qualle d
the a rre ars which had accrue d-the re st of the country was to be re store d to the m ana ge m e nt
of the Nawab o n C e rtain conditions.
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