Two hundred years after it flashed against the Redcoats, the sword of Velu Thampi Dalawa, a minister of erstwhile Travancore who fought against the British decades before the 1857 revolt, is set to return to Kerala for a year.
For a long time, historians had no idea where the legendary sword of Velu Thampi had disappeared. Last year it was found in an obscure corner in the National Museum in Delhi.
Velu Thampi, a stern administrator, had led his forces against the then British President Macaulay in 1808. He had also issued the famous “Kundara proclamation” a year later calling upon the people to revolt against British rule.
However, the much superior British forces defeated his Nair troops in 1809 and Velu Thampi escaped to Mannadi near Thiruvananthapuram, where he hid in a Devi temple. When British troops surrounded the temple, Velu Thampi asked his brother to cut his throat to avoid being captured by the enemies. But the British wreaked vengeance by hanging his body on a tree for days.
The cultural affairs minister, Mr M.A. Baby, had earlier requested the Centre to hand over the sword to the state on the occasion of the 200th anniversary of the Kundara proclamation.
“I was informed by the Prime Minister’s office that we are getting the sword for a year,” he told mediapersons in Kollam. “We will decide where to exhibit it in consultation with the chief minister. We can’t keep it for ever since it is considered a national asset.” The construction of the Kundara proclamation memorial and the Velu Thampi Museum have been completed recently.