page_title: Pazhassi Raja
hierarchical_section_title: Pazhassi Raja
caption_attribution_description: English: Kerala Varma Pazhassi Raja, the ruler of Kottayam Kingdom, Near Thalassery, Kerala. The leader foremost people uprising against the British in India. മലയാളം: കേരളത്തിൽ ബ്രിട്ടീഷ്‌ സാമ്രാജ്യത്തിനെതിരെ ആദ്യം യുദ്ധം പ്രഖ്യാപിച്ച നാട്ടുരാജാക്കന്മാരിലൊരാളായിരുന്ന കേരളവർമ്മ പഴശ്ശിരാജ.
context_page_description: Pazhassi Raja was born as Kerala Varma and was also known as Cotiote Rajah and Pychy Rajah. He was a warrior Hindu prince and de facto head of the kingdom of Kottayam, otherwise known as Cotiote, in Malabar, India, between 1774 and 1805. His struggles with the British East India Company is known as the Cotiote War. He is popularly known as Kerala Simham on account of his martial exploits.
  Pazhassi Raja was a member of the western branch of the Kottayam royal clan. When Hyder Ali of the Kingdom of Mysore occupied Malabar in 1773, the Raja of Kottayam found political asylum in Travancore. Pazhassi Raja, the fourth prince in line for succession to the throne during this period, became one of the de facto heads of state, surpassing several older royal contenders. He fought a war of resistance against the Mysorean army from 1774 to 1793. On account of his refusal to flee and due to his effective resistance to Mysoreans, he gained firm support of his subjects.
  In 1792, after the Third Anglo-Mysore War, the East India Company imposed control in Kottayam in violation of an earlier agreement of 1790 which had recognised its independence.
context_section_description: Pazhassi Raja (3 January 1753 – 30 November 1805) was born as Kerala Varma  and was also known as Cotiote Rajah and  Pychy Rajah. He was a warrior Hindu prince and de facto head of the kingdom of Kottayam, otherwise known as Cotiote, in Malabar, India, between 1774 and 1805. His struggles with the British East India Company is known as the Cotiote War. He is popularly known as Kerala Simham (Lion of Kerala) on account of his martial exploits.
  Pazhassi Raja was a member of the western branch of the Kottayam royal clan. When Hyder Ali of the Kingdom of Mysore occupied Malabar in 1773, the Raja of Kottayam found political asylum in Travancore. Pazhassi Raja, the fourth prince in line for succession to the throne during this period, became one of the de facto heads of state, surpassing several older royal contenders. He fought a war of resistance against the Mysorean army from 1774 to 1793. On account of his refusal to flee and due to his effective resistance to Mysoreans, he gained firm support of his subjects.
  In 1792, after the Third Anglo-Mysore War, the East India Company imposed control in Kottayam in violation of an earlier agreement of 1790 which had recognised its independence. Vira Varma, to whom Raja was a nephew, was appointed by the East India Company authorities as the Raja of Kottayam. To meet revenue targets fixed by Company authorities, Vira Varma ordered an exorbitant tax to be collected from the peasantry and this move was met in 1793 by a mass resistance led by Pazhassi Raja, who had always been opposed to the Company's rule. In 1796, the Company made an attempt to arrest Pazhassi Raja, but he evaded capture and instead fought back using guerilla warfare. After a string of serious setbacks, the Company sued for peace in 1797. The conflict was renewed in 1800 over a dispute on Wayanad and after a five-year-long war of insurgency, Pazhassi Raja was killed on 30 November 1805 in a gun-fight at Mavila Thodu (small body of water), in the present day Kerala-Karnataka border.
caption: Painting of Pazhassi Raja by Raja Ravi Varma displayed in Pazhassiraja Museum, Kozhikkode
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