The World Philately News Dt: 31.07.2021

*TODAY*

*Death Anniversary of Dheeran Chinnamalai*

Dheeran Chinnamalai, born as Theerthagiri on April 17, 1756, at Melyapalam in Erode district, to Rathina Swamy and Periyaatha. He had an elder brother Kulandhaisamy and three younger brothers-Thambi, Kilothar and Kuttisamy and Parvatham, his younger sister.

His grandfather Kottravel Sarkkarai Mandraadiaar was one of the larger land owners, and his father looked after their lands in Melyapalam. While Kulandhaisamy and Kuttisamy, were involved in farming, Theerthagiri along with Thambi and Kilothar took care of administration and safety of the villages under their jurisdiction. Along with his brothers he was well trained in the martial arts, archery, horse riding. They also took part in village panchayats, and learnt how to settle family and land disputes.

The Kongu region, then was part of the Mysore kingdom under Hyder Ali, during the later half of the 18th century. The diwan Muhammad Ali who was in charge of tax collection, followed rather unfair practices, sometimes even grabbing lands. Theerthagiri and his brother confronted Muhammad Ali between Sennimalai and Shivanmalai, and recovered the taxes he had forcibly collected. A furious Muhammad Ali, threatened them that Kongu being under Hyder Ali, the consequences would be severe. Theerthagiri shot back, saying Kongu would not accept Hyder’s rule, and it was capable of governing itself. And this was when he got the name of Chinnamalai, when it’s believed he stated to the Diwan- “I am Chinnamalai who reigns between Sennimalia and Shivanmalai”.

Hyder Ali, as expected struck back, sending an army to Kongu to attack Chinnamalai. However Chinnamali, routed Hyder’s army on the banks of the Noyyal river. This only enraged Muhammad Ali even more, and vowed to wreak vengenance. Knowing Ali’s intentions, Chinnamalai himself began to build up his army. However Hyder was more preoccupied with the Nizam, British and Marathas, with whom he was in constant conflict, and so that attack never took place.

When Tipu Sultan took over in 1782, he adopted an even more aggressive policy towards the British. And in order to fight against the British, he requested the Tamils of Kongu, to help him out. Dheeran and his brothers responded to that, as also their trusted commanders, Velappan and Karuppan. Chinnamalai himself was the commander of the Kongu regiment in the Mysore Army, and took active part in the 3rd and 4th Mysore Wars. However with the death of Tipu in 1799, Chinnamalai returned to Kongu along with Karuppan. Velappan however was captured by the British and he later became their agent. Chinnamalai, had the benefit of receiving French training during his stint with Tipu Sultan.

On his return to Kongu, Chinnamalai built a fortress at Odaanillai and settled there along with his army, waiting for the right time to strike. He also reached out to the rulers of Malabar and Salem, hoping for a larger alliance against the British. Recognizing that Chinnamalai was a grave danger, the British tried to get him to sign a pact, where he was promised favors in return for accepting their sovereignity. He however refused to sign the pact, fully knowing it would result in war.

Chinnamalai’s defiance annoyed the British, a man with no title, technically not a ruler, yet refusing to accept their sovereignity, this when most of the Rajahs had surrendered to them. In 1801, they sent a troop of soldiers under Colonel Maxwell, however Chinnamalai having got advance news of the attack, defeated the British on the banks of the Noyyal. Maxwell returned again in 1802, and a long siege of Odaanillai fort, ended in total defeat for the British, and Maxwell himself was beheaded.

The British though furious, waited for the right opportunity and they got it in 1804, when during a particular day, Chinnamalai and his entire army would be attending the Arasalur Amman temple festivities. They felt this was the best chance and sent an army to capture Odaanilai under General Harris, who had led the campaigns in Mysore. Chinnamalai however got the news, and stayed back at the fort, with his contingent, while some went to the temple. Harris was taken by surprise when he attacked the fort, and Chinnamalai stormed out, throwing hand grenades, forcing Harris to retreat.

The British were now more determined than ever, and built up a huge army to take down Chinnamalai, with men from Kallikudi and cannons from Madras. With 140 cannons and 30,000 men, Harris attacked Odaanilai, and surrounded the fort, demanding Chinnamalai to surrender. However, they found that the fort was abandoned, and also found a note from Velappan, whom they had captured. The fact is Velappan was acting as a double agent, for Chinnamalai, while on the British side. Harris executed Velappan, and also razed the fort to the ground using cannons.

Chinnamalai and his brothers now lived in exile, at a place called Karumalai near Palani, often using disguises to venture into the towns. One of the persons they would often meet was Nallappan a cook, who gave them refuge and food too. It was this very Nallappan who would betray them to the British, informing them of the whereabouts. And on one night when Chinnamalai and his brothers were having dinner, Nallapan signalled the British, who stormed the house from all sides.

An enraged Chinnamalai strangled Nallapan, to death before the British captured him, his brothers and their commander Karuppan. He was taken to the Sangagiri fort, and a 4 person tribunal demanded that he pay taxes, accept the British sovereignity. With Chinnamalai refusing to do so, he was sentenced to death. And on July 31, 1805, Dheeran Chinnamalai, his brothers and Karuppan were all hanged to death at Sangagiri fort. Another brave son of India, gave up his life fighting the British.

*Tamilvanan Philatelist*

Remembering Legendary singer
*Mohammed Rafi* on his
🌹 *41st Death Anniversary* 🌹

24.12.1924 to 31.7.1980

Courtesy Mr Sunil Upadhaya

Dhanpat Rai Srivastava (31 July 1880 — 8 October 1936), better known by his pen name Munshi Premchand was an Indian writer famous for his modern Hindustani literature. He is one of the most celebrated writers of the Indian subcontinent, and is regarded as one of the foremost Hindi writers of the early twentieth century.

His novels include Godaan, Karmabhoomi, Gaban, Mansarovar, Idgah. He published his first collection of five short stories in 1907 in a book called Soz-e Watan.

Courtesy Mr Baskaran SIPA

On preparation for their independence in 1962,Kuwait had started issuing their own stamps in their name, from 1958-59, but with value in Rupees and Naye Paise. Only after Independence from being a British Protectorate, were they able to use their own currency named Dinars and Fils, instead of Rupees and Naye Paise.

Allan Octavian Hume, CB ICS (4 June 1829 – 31 July 1912) was a British member of the Imperial Civil Service (later the Indian Civil Service), a political reformer, ornithologist and botanist who worked in British India. He was the founder of the Indian National Congress. A notable ornithologist, Hume has been called "the Father of Indian Ornithology"

Courtesy Mr Baskaran SIPA

*Udham Singh,* hanged by the British Government in the Pantone Villa Jail, London, on 31 July 1940, was a revolutionary belonging to the Ghadar Party best known for his assassination in London of _Michael O' Dwyer,_ the former lieutenant governor of the Punjab in India, on 13 March 1940. The assassination was in revenge for the _Jallianwala Bagh massacre_ in Amritsar in 1919. Singh was subsequently tried and convicted of murder and hanged in July 1940. While in custody, he used the name Ram Mohammad Singh Azad, which represents the three major religions of Punjab and his anti-colonial sentiment.

Courtesy: Mr Rajeev Kholi

Damodar Dharmananda Kosambi (31 July 1907 – 29 June 1966) was an Indian polymath with interests in mathematics, statistics, philology, history, and genetics.

He contributed to genetics by introducing the Kosambi map function. In statistics, he was the first person to develop orthogonal infinite series expressions for stochastic processes via the Kosambi –Karhunen –Loève theorem. He is also well known for his work in numismatics and for compiling critical editions of ancient Sanskrit texts. He was also a Marxist historian specialising in ancient India who employed the historical materialist approach in his work. He is particularly known for his classic work An Introduction to the Study of Indian History.

He is described as "the patriarch of the Marxist school of Indian historiography". Kosambi was critical of the policies of then prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru, which, according to him, promoted capitalism in the guise of democratic socialism.

The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) is an autonomous body responsible for co-ordinating agricultural education and research in India. Union Minister of Agriculture serves as its President. It is the largest network of agricultural research and education institutes in the world.

As of January 2020, ICAR has following institutions:

1. 4 Deemed Universities

2. 65 ICAR Institutions

3. 14 National Research Centres

4. 6 National Bureaux

5. 13 Directorates/Project Directorates

Courtesy Mr Baskaran SIPA

Durga Prasad Chaudhary fondly known as "Kapitan Sahib" was a nationalist, freedom fighter and journalist.

He was inspired by Mahatma Gandhi's fight against the tyranny of foreign rule and became his dedicated disciple. Before the Salt Satyagraha, he was appointed as Captain of Seva Dal, a position he held till 1945. He was imprisoned many times.

He started "Dainik Navajyoti" to propagate the ideals of Gandhi and also did commendable work for the upliftment of farmers.

The Municipal Corporation Building, located in South Mumbai is a Grade IIA heritage building opposite to the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (a UNESCO World heritage site) at the junction of Dadabhai Naoroji Road and Mahapalika Marg. It is also known as the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation Building, or BMC building for short.

As the name suggests, the ‘V’ shaped building houses the civic body that governs the city of Mumbai, the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai. It is said to be the largest civic organization in India as well as in Asia covering an area of 434 sqkm.

Courtesy Mr Baskaran SIPA

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INDIAN PERFORMANCE IN SAVPEX 2021, ONE FRAME NATIONAL VIRTUAL EXHIBITION OF SOUTH AFRICA, 2021

South African One Frame Virtual Philatelic Exhibition hosted by The Philatelic Society of the Orange Free State under the auspices of the Philatelic Federation of South Africa was conducted from 22nd to 25th July 2021.

The Exhibition was competitive “One Frame Virtual Exhibition” and open to all members of Societies affiliated to The Philatelic Federation of South Africa (PFSA) and all members of Federations affiliated to the Fédération Internationale de Philatélie (FIP) thus PCI was also invited to send entries from India. There were 117 exhibits in 12 class from 22 countries including 10 entries from India . Rajesh Paharia’s was appointed as its Co-coordinator and Jury from India.

90 Marks

Piyush Khaitan, 1st Aerial Post

87 Marks

Capt Vijay Wadhwa, Evolve – Beaks

85 Marks

Dr Narendra Saboo, Portuguese India

72 Marks

Aditya Singh, Yoga

71 Marks

O P Kedia, Dewas War Contribution Stamp

70 Marks

Piyush Khaitan, Postal Message Service by Red Cross