Velu Nachiyar
Rani Velu Nachiyar was an 18th century Tamil Queen of Sivaganga estate in South India. She is regarded as the first queen who fought against the British colonial power in India. She is also credited as the first person to apply human bomb.
Velu Nachiyar was born on January 3, 1730 as a princess of Ramanathapuram. She was the daughter ofChellamuthu Sethupathy. Nachiyar was trained in martial arts like Valari,Silambam, horse riding and archery. She was a scholar in many languages and she had proficiency in languages like French, English and Urdu.
She married the king of Siva Gangai and they had a daughter - Vellachi Nachiar. When her husband Muthuvaduganatha Udaiyathevar was killed by a few British soldiers, she was drawn into battle.
She escaped with her daughter, lived under the protection of Hyder Ali at Virupachi near Dindigul for eight years. During this period she formed an army and sought an alliance with Gopala Nayaker and Hyder Ali with the aim of attacking the British.
In 1780 Rani Velu Nachiyar fought the British face-to-face and won the battle. When she came to know about the ammunition store of the British, she arranged for a suicide attack. A loyal follower of the queen, Kuyili drenched herself with ghee and then set herself on fire before jumping into armoury and blowing it up. Kuyili is regarded as the first suicide bomber in the world.
Nachiar was one of the few rulers who regained her kingdom from the British invaders and ruled it for 10 more years till she died on 25th December 1796.
