About Rani Velu Nachiyar:
- Rani Velu Nachiyar (1730–1796) was an 18th-century queen of Sivaganga in present-day Tamil Nadu.
- She was the princess of Ramanathapuram and the only child of Raja Chellamuthu vijayaragunatha Sethupathy and Rani Sakandhimuthal of the Ramnad kingdom.
- She is also known as
- Skills: She was trained in handling various weapons, horse riding, archery, and traditional martial arts such as Silambam and Valari.
- She was also a distinguished scholar. She was proficient in multiple languages, including Tamil, English, French, and Urdu.
- Contributions of Rani Velu Nachiyar:
- Strategic Alliances: She forged strategic alliances with Hyder Ali of Mysore and Gopala Nayaker.
- She raised a formidable army that included a dedicated women’s battalion and the queen named her women’s army “Udaiyaal” in her adopted daughter’s honour.
- Her army commander Kuyili, participated is considered the “first woman martyr” and the first suicide bomber in Indian history.
- She was the first queen to fight for freedom from the British in India. She granted powers to the Marudu brothers to administer the country in 1780.
