The Pazhassi Revolt was one of the most significant revolts in South India against the British. The British had established their authority over Malabar. Their wrong attitude to justice caused the Revolt. Kerala varma Pazhassi raja was a member of the Kottayam Dynasty of Malabar. In the beginning, he was in friendly terms with the British. In the Mysore wars, he even helped them. As a reward for his help, the British granted him the right to collect taxes from people.
But when Malabar came under their authority, the British forgot this promise. The right to collect taxes was given to an uncle of Pazhassi, the King of Kurumbanad. This King charged the people heavy taxes and used very cruel methods to get the money from them. It was in this context that Pazhassi rebelled against the British.
There were two stages in the Pazhassi Revolt. The 1st stage is from 1793 to 1797. Pazhassi started his revolt by preventing the tax collection for the British. Pazhasi’s army consisted of Muslim and Nair farmers and members of Kurichi tribe. It strongly withstood the attacks by the Company’s army. Pazhassi ‘ requested the help of Mysore to drive away the British from Wayanad. The British army was continuously defeated and in 1797, it withdrew from Wayanad, making an agreement with Pazhassi. With this, the first stage ended. The 2nd stage of the Revolt started in 1800.
The reason was the move of the British to take over Wayanad. With the help of the Kurichis and Kurumbars in his army, Pazhassi withstood the attacks. Finally, Wellesley defeated Pazhassi in a bitter battle. Pazhassi still continued his resistance. But an army under Thomas Harvey Bebar, a sub-collector of Thalassery, defeated Pazhassi on 30 November 1805, In the battle, Pazhassi lost his life.
