Kingdom of Pudukkottai

Kingdom of Pudukkottai/Princely State of Pudukkottai
1680–1947
Flag
Map of Pudukkottai
Status	Kingdom (Subordinate to Ramnad until 1800). Princely state under the paramountcy of the British Raj (1800–1947)
Capital	Pudukkottai
Common languages	Tamil, English
Religion	Hindu
Government	Principality
Ruler
• (first)1680–1730	Ragunatha Raya Tondaiman
• (last)1928–1947	Rajagopala Tondaiman
History
• Established	1680
• Disestablished	1947
Preceded by Succeeded by Madurai Nayaks Ramnad estate India

Pudukkottai (Template:Lang-ta) was a princely state in the Madras Presidency which existed from 1680 to 1947. It was one of the five princely states that were under political control of the Government of Madras.

Location

The state of Pudukkottai comprised the whole of the modern district of Pudukkottai in Tamil Nadu and extended from 10 degrees 7' to 10 degrees 44'N latitudes and 78 degrees 25' and 79 degrees 12' E longitudes. It is bounded on the north and west by Tiruchirapalli district, on the south by Madurai district and on the east by Thanjavur district. The kingdom did not have fixed boundaries and was called "Tondaiman country" until the end of 18th century. The kingdom started to have fixed boundaries since early 19th century. It extended for 52 miles from east to west and 41 miles from north to south and encompassed an area of 1,178 square miles. G A N I

History

Pudukottai means New Fort and seems to refer to a fort built in early 18th century in what became the capital city of the kingdom. During the Sangam times, Pudukkottai had been ruled by the Chola kings. Later, it was under the occupation of an obscure people called the Kalabhrars. From the 6th to the 14th century AD, Pudukkottai was successively ruled by the Pallavas, Cholas and the Pandyas. When the Pandya kingdom was conquered by Malik Kafur, Pudukkottai came under the rule of Muslim sultans who held power for about 50 years before being vanquished by the Vijayanagar kings. When the Vijayanagar kingdom disintegrated, Pudukkottai came under the rule of the Nayaks of Madurai from whom Raghunatha Kilavan, the sethupathi of Ramnad wrested the country in 1680 and appointed Raghunatha Tondaiman as the viceroy.

Raghunatha Raya Tondaiman was the first ruler of Pudukottai. The land surrounding Pudukottai was gifted to him as an honour for his services to Sri Ranga Raya, King of Vijaynagar on his trip to Rameswaram.

Tondaimans provided military aid to British and Nawab of Arcot in the 1752 siege of Tiruchirapally, against Haidar Ali and Tippu Sultan and finally against the Palaiyakkarars. This act by the Tondaimans spared the kingdom from being assigned zamindari status and was instead assigned as a princely state.

Population

The state was populated mostly by Valaiyars, Pallars, Kallars and Chettiars. Significant number of Brahmans were invited to settle in land grants provided by Tondaiman kings.

The population statistics for Pudukkottai state from 1871 to 1941 are given below:

Year	1826	1871	1881	1891	1901	1911	1921	1931
Population	211,742	316,695	302,127	373,096	380,440	411,694		400,686

The state had one town (Pudukkottai) and 377 villages.

Religion

The kingdom was predominantly Hindu. However, there were significant Muslim and Christian populations.

According to the 1901 census, there were 353,723 Hindus who formed 95% of the state's population. Muslims who numbered 12,268 formed 3.2% of the population while the Christians numbering 14,449 formed 3.8% of the population.

Administration

Pudukkottai was administered by a council headed by the Raja. This Council was made up of the Raja, the Diwan or Prime Minister, and a Councillor. In 1902, a legislative council was established with 30 members nominated by the heads of departments and by public institutions. The Government of Madras was represented by a political agent. From 1800, when the first Political agent was appointed, till 1840, the Political Agent was usually the Resident at Tanjore, from 1840 to 1865, the Agent was the Collector of Madurai and from 1865 to 1947 the agent was the Collector of Trichinopoly. All the decisions made by the Diwan are passed to the Madras Government for approval before they become the law.

Police

The Superintendent of police in Trichinopoly District is ex-officio Superintendent of the force within the State. In 1909, the police force of Pudukkottai state consisted of one chief inspector, 5 inspectors, 28 head constables, and 229 constables. There are 23 police stations.

Sub-Divisions

For administrative purposes, the state was divided into three taluks: Kolattur, Alangudi and Thirumayam, each under the authority of a Tahsildar who was responsible for land revenue.

Judiciary

The judiciary of the state in under the control of the Dewan. There was one Chief Court in Pudukkottain town and ten Small Cause Courts in rural areas of Pudukkottai. Europeans were not subject to the jurisdiction of the courts. Offenses involving Europeans were handled by the Political Agent.

Revenue

In 1903–04, the revenue of the State amounted to Rs. 11,28,00 while the total expenditure was Rs.10,21,000.

Currency

The currency of the state was the British Indian rupee, but apart from British Indian coins, coins called Amman kasu which were locally minted were also used. The coin bears on one side the motif Vijaya, the Telugu word for "victory", while on the other side of the coin is representation of goddess Brihadamba.

Agriculture, Industry and Manufacture

The chief products of Pudukkottai were silk, cotton, rush mats, bangles, bell-metal vessels and perfumes. And classic mobile

Trade

The chief exports of Pudkkottai were perfumes, groundnuts, Nux vomica seeds, avaram blocks used for tanning leather and acacia bark used in distilleries. The chief imports are salt, rice, European piece-goods, and tobacco.

List of kings of Pudukkottai

Ramachandra Tondaiman, king of Pudukkottai, at hs durbar, ca. 1858

• Raghunatha Raya Tondaiman (1686–1730)
• Vijaya Raghunatha Raya Tondaiman (1730–1769)
• Raja Raghunatha Tondaiman (1769– December 1789)
• Vijaya Raghunatha Tondaiman (December 1789 – February 1, 1807)
• Vijaya Raghunatha Raya Tondaiman (February 1, 1807 – June 1825)
• Raghunatha Tondaiman (June 1825 – July 13, 1839)
• Ramachandra Tondaiman (July 13, 1839 – April 15, 1886)
• Marthanda Bhairava Tondaiman (April 15, 1886 – May 28, 1928)
• Rajagopala Tondaiman (October 28, 1928 – August 15, 1947)

List of Major Zamins under Pudukkottai

• Palayavanam Zamin
• Nagaram Zamin

References

• The Imperial Gazetteer of India, Volume XX. London: Clarendon Press. 1908.
• Trichinopoly District Gazetteer, Volume I. London: Clarendon Press. 1907.
• B. Dirks, Nicholas (1993). The Hollow Crown: Ethnohistory of an Indian Kingdom. University of Michigan. ISBN 047208187X, ISBN 9780472081875.