page_title: Velu Thampi Dalawa
section_title: Career as Dalawa
hierarchical_section_title: Velu Thampi Dalawa / Career as Dalawa
caption_attribution_description: English: Sculpture of Velu Thampy Dalawa in the Secretariat campus, Thiruvananthapuram. മലയാളം: സെക്രട്ടറിയേറ്റ് അങ്കണത്തിലെ വേലുത്തമ്പി ദളവയുടെ പ്രതിമ.
context_page_description: Thampi Chempakaraman Velayudhan of Thalakulam was the Dalawa or Prime Minister of the Indian kingdom of Travancore between 1802 and 1809 during the reign of Bala Rama Varma Kulasekhara Perumal. He is best known for being one of the earliest individuals to rebel against the British East India Company's supremacy in India.
context_section_description: After Velu Thampi became Dalawa of Travancore he faced serious opposition from two relatives of the late Raja Kesavadas who sought assistance to get rid of him from their associates in Bombay. These letters were intercepted and presented to the Maharajah in a negative light and he ordered the immediate execution of the two men, Chempakaraman Kumaran Pillai and Erayiman Pillai. Having cleared the way, Velu Thampi became Dalawa with no opposition. The Madras Government sanctioned his appointment within a few months.
  Velu Thampi was not an able statesman like Ramayyan Dalawa or Raja Kesavadas, his immediate two predecessors. He was of rebellious nature. Within three years of the death of Raja Kesavadas the country was plagued with corruption and various problems caused by the banished Namboodiri Dalawa. Velu Thampi resorted to harsh punishments with a view to improve the situation. Flogging, cutting off of ears and noses as well as nailing people to trees were some of the punishments adopted during his term as Dalawa. Nevertheless, his harsh measures produced results and peace and order were restored within a year of Velu Thampi's accession to the Dalawaship.
caption: Sculpture of Velu Thampy Dalawa in the Secretariat campus, Thiruvananthapuram
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