Kittur Rani Channamma

About Kittur Rani Channamma:

• She was born in Kakati, a small village in today’s Belagavi district of Karnataka.
• She became queen of Kitturu (now in Karnataka) when she married Raja Mallasarja of the Desai family.
• After Mallasarja’s death in 1816, his eldest son, Shivalingarudra Sarja, ascended the throne.
• Before his death in 1824, Shivalingarudra adopted a child, Shivalingappa, as the successor.
• However, the British East India Company refused to recognise Shivalingappa as the successor of the kingdom under the ‘doctrine of lapse’.
• Key facts about the Kittur Rebellion
  • John Thackery, the British official at Dharwad, launched an attack on Kittur in October 1824.
  • In this first battle British forces lost heavily and the Collector and political agent, St. John Thackeray was killed by the Kitturu forces. 
  • Two British officers, Sir Walter Elliot and Mr. Stevenson, were also taken as hostages. 
  • However, the British army again attacked the Kittur Fort and captured it.
  • Rani Chennamma and her family were imprisoned and jailed at the fort in Bailhongal, where she died in 1829.

Q1: What was the Doctrine Of Lapse theory?

This doctrine stated that any princely state or territory directly influenced by the British East India Company would be annexed if the ruler died without a male heir. It prohibited such monarchs from adopting a son to ascend to their thrones.

News:Department of Posts issues a Commemorative Stamp to mark 200 Years of Kittur Vijayotsava