Kittur Rani Chennamma was one of India’s earliest freedom fighters. The valiant queen defeated the British in an armed assault in October 1824. However, she was captured and imprisoned in the second armed assault notwithstanding the fierce resistance put up by her and her army and breathed her last in British imprisonment on February 21, 1829.
The British had refused to accept her adopted son Shivalingappa as the heir to the throne of Kittur (now in Karnataka) and ordered Rani Chennamma to exile him using the policy of paramountcy and complete authority. The brave queen defied the arbitrary and unjust order and decided to take up arms to protect her kingdom.
