Justice Radhabinod Pal

*  Radhabinod Pal was born on 27 January 1886 in a small village of Salimpur, Kushtia District, East Bengal, present Bangladesh.

* Justice Radhabinod Pal was a member of the UNO International Law Commission from 1952 to 1966.

* He studied mathematics at Presidency College, Calcutta and constitutional law at Law College of the University of Calcutta.

* His contribution to the formulation of the British Indian Income Tax Act of 1922 was much appreciated.

* He was appointed as a legal advisor in 1927 by the British Government of India.

* From 1923 till 1936, he also worked as a professor at the Law College of the University of Calcutta.

* In 1941 Pal became a judge of the Calcutta High Court.

* He became Vice-Chancellor of the University of Calcutta in 1944.

* He represented British India as a member of the tribunal of judges officiating at the Tokyo Trials in 1946.

* He had following observation to make during the trial.

* In deliberations with judges from 10 other countries, he was not in favour of the use of the legal concept of conspiracy in the context of pre-war decisions by Japanese officials. He objected to the tribunal to retrospectively apply (nulla poena sine lege) the new concept of Class A war crimes – waging aggressive (also known as crimes against peace) – and crimes against humanity (that had already been used ex post facto at the Nuremberg Trials).

* Justice Pal was the only voice of dissent in the tribunal's verdicts of guilt in the cases of defendants charged with Class A war crimes.

* His has influencing arguments supported by the judges from the Netherlands and France. All these three judges recorded dissenting opinions. As per the rules, all sentences were decided by a majority Verdict. Justice Radhabinod Pal was the only judge who submitted a judgment that all defendants were not guilty.

* He passed away in on 10 January 1967.

* In Japan Justice Radhabinod Pal is highly regarded and was a precursor to Indo-Japanese relations. In Japan the Yasukuni Shrine and the Kyoto Ryozen Gokoku Shrine have monuments specially dedicated to Judge Pal.

Kittur Chennamma (symbol of the independence movement in India)

She is one of the first female freedom fighters in India to resist British colonization. In defiance of the doctrine of lapse and to retain control over her territory she fought against the British East India Company in 1824. She was defeated in the third war. She died in a prison.

Beginning

On 23 October 1778, Kittur Rani Chennamma was born, in Kakati, a small village in the present day Belagavi District of Karnataka, India. From a young age she received training in horse riding, sword fighting and archery. She belonged to the Lingayat community.
At the age of 14, she was married to Raja Mallasarja of the Desai family.

Fight for supremacy of Kittur from the British

Following the death of her husband and Son in 1824, Rani Chennamma adopted Shivalingappa in the year 1824 and made him the heir to the throne. Rani Chennamma was left with the volatile state of Kittur and an uphill task to save it from the British. The East India Company ordered Shivalingappa’s expulsion, on the pretext of the Doctrine of Lapse and did not recognize the new ruler and notified Kittur to accept the British regime.
Her request to Mountstuart Elphinstone, Lieutenant-Governor of the Bombay Presidency was turned down, and war broke out. The Britishers were eyeing the treasure and jewels of Kittur, which was valued at around 1.5 million rupees. The British forces consisted of more than 20,000 men and 400 guns.

First War

In the first round of war, during October 1824, St John Thackeray, collector and political agent was killed in the war and British forces lost heavily. A lieutenant of Chennamma, Amatur Balappa was mainly responsible for his killing and losses to British forces. Two British officers, Sir Walter Elliot and Mr. Stevenson were taken as hostages. They were released with an understanding with Chaplin (Commissioner of Dharwad) that the war would be terminated but Chaplin did not keep his word and continued the war with more forces.

Second War

During the second assault, Rani Chennamma fought fiercely with the aid of her lieutenant, Sangolli Rayanna. She was captured and imprisoned at Bailhongal Fort. She died in prison on 21 February 1829. Chennamma helped by her lieutenant Gurusiddappa in the war. Sub collector of Solapur, Mr. Munro, who was nephew of Thomas Munro was killed.
Sangolli Rayanna, was the army chief of Kittur Kingdom, he continued the guerrilla war to 1829. He wanted to install Shivalingappa the adopted boy of Rani Chennamma as the ruler of Kittur. Using Guerrilla war fare for the first time, Sangolli Rayanna gave a valiant fight. Rayanna's own uncle betrayed and Britishers captured and hanged him.

Celebrations

Every year, from 22nd to 24th of October, Chennamma's legacy and first victory are commemorated during the Kittur Utsava.

Statue at Parliament House complex, New Delhi

On 11 September 2007 a statue of Rani Chennamma was unveiled at the Indian Parliament Complex in her memory.
There are statues commemorating her at Bangalore, Belgaum and Kittur.

Burial place

The burial place of Rani Chennamma is in Bailhongal taluk.

Descendants

The descendants of Kittur Rani Chennamma reside at Kittur and Khanapur in Belagavi district and Gadhinglaj in Kolhapur district of Maharashtra. About 11 families are identified as descendants of Kittur Ki Rani Chennamma

Abbakka Chowta 'First woman freedom fighter of India”

1. Rani of Ullal
2.  Ruled from 1525 – 1570
3.  Predecessor: Tirumala Raya Chowta (Uncle & Mentor)
4.  Dynasty: Chowta
5.  Religion: Jainism
6.  Religion: Jainism

She ruled over parts of coastal Karnataka (Tulu Nadu), India. Puttige was the capital City.Ullal was strategically located and the Portuguese made several attempts to capture it. Rani Abbakka repulsed each of Portuguese attacks for over four decades. She came to be known as Abhaya Rani (The fearless queen) because of her bravery.

Early life

The Chowtas followed Aliyasantana(matrilineal inheritance) of Digambara Jain Bunt community. Abbakka's uncle,Tirumala Raya crowned her the queen of Ullal. Abbakka married Lakshmappa Arasa Bangaraja II, king of Banga in Mangalore. This proved a source of worry for the Portuguese. Abbakka was trained by her uncle Tirumala Raya in various aspects of warfare and military strategy. Her marriage was short-lived. Her husband longed for revenge against Abbakka. He later joined hands with the Portuguese against Abbakka.

Historical background

After Goa the Portuguese moved southwards along the coast. They attacked the South Kanara in 1525 and destroyed the Mangalore port.
Ullal was a prosperous and profitable trading center, the Dutch, the Portuguese, and the British wanted to control the regionand the trade routes. They, faced resistance from the local chieftains and the local rulers who forged alliances across caste and religion.
Abbakka's had even representation of Jains, Hindus and Muslims in her administration. Beary men had served as seamen in the naval force of Ullal kingdom. She appointed Bearys for boulder work.She supervised the construction of Malali dam; her army consisted of people from all sects and castes. She forged alliances with the Zamorin of Calicut. Initially the marital ties with the Banga dynasty added strength to the alliance. She gained support from king Venkatappanayaka of Bidnurwho was very powerful and Portuguese were no threat.

Battles against the Portuguese
The Portuguese were upsetand demanded tribute but Abbakka refused. Under Admiral Dom Álvaro da Silveirain 1555, the Portuguese sent an army to fight her. In the battle, Rani Abbakka managed to hold her own and repulsed the portugueseattack successfully.

He Portuguese plundered Mangalore in 1557. In 1568, turned to Ullal but Abbakka Rani resisted them again. The Portuguese Viceroy António Noronha sent João Peixoto, a Portuguese general and a fleet of soldiers. They captured the city of Ullal and also entered the royal court. Abbakka Rani, escaped from the fort and the same night, with around 200 soldiers, sheattacked the Portuguese and in the battle, General Peixoto was killed,Portuguese soldiers were taken prisoners and many retreated. Rani Abbakka and her alliance partners killed Admiral Mascarenhas and the Portuguese vacated the Mangalore fort.
The Portuguese regained the Mangalore fort and captured Kundapur (Basrur) as well. Abbakka Rani continued to be a source of threat. Portuguese mounted attacks on Ullal, with the help from queen's estranged husband. In the following battles Rani Abbakka held her own. In 1570, she with the Bijapur Sultan of Ahmed Nagar and the Zamorine of Calicut formed an alliance. They also opposed the Portuguese. The Zamorine's general Kutty Pokar Markar destroyed the Portuguese fort at Mangalore but he was killed, while returning, by the Portuguese. Followingher husband's treachery and the losses, Abbakka lost the war. She was arrested and jailed. She revolted in prisonand died fighting.

Legend & Folklore

She was an immensely popular queen andeven today,she is a part of folklore. Through many folk songs and Yakshagana, (a popular folk theatre in Coastal Karnataka) Rani Abbakka's story has been retold from generation to generation. The great deeds of Abbakka Mahadevi are recounted in Daiva Kola, (local ritual dance).
Abbakka is portrayed as caring queen who was dark and good looking, always dressed like a commoner. She worked late into the night dispensing justice. It is claimedthat Abbakka was the last person to use the Agnivana (fire-arrow) against the Portuguese. She had two equally valiant daughters who fought alongside her against the Portuguese.

Remembering Rani Abbakka

Rani Abbakka is much cherished in Ullal and rest of Karnataka. Thereis an annual celebration in her memory"Veera Rani Abbakka Utsava". Distinguished women are given “The Veera Rani Abbakka Prashasti” award on the occasion. Indian postal department issued a special postage stamp remembering Rani Abbakka, on January 15, 2003. There is a bronze statue erected in the memory of the queen in Ullal and Bangalore."Rani Abbakka Pade", is a special police force in dakshina Kannadato deal with the issues related to women.

Rani Abbakka-class patrol vessel

Honouring Rani Abbakka, Indian Coast Guard ship named ICGS Rani Abbakka. It is the 1st of a series of five inshore patrol vessels (IPV). It was built at Hindustan Shipyard Ltd. It was commissioned in Visakhapatnam on January 20, 2012, it is based in Chennai.

Onake Obavva The warrior of Chitradurga

She belonged to the Holayas (Chalavadi) community Onake Obavva was a brave woman fought the forces of Hyder Ali single-handedly with an Onake, a household implement (Pestle). The rocky fort of Chitradurga was surrounded by watchtowers and her husband worked as a guard. As the foremost women warriors and patriots, she along with Kittur Chennamma , Abbakka Rani, and Keladi Chennamma is celebrated as a hero.

Brave Heroics of Obavva

The city of Chitradurga ruled by Madakari Nayaka, was surrounded by the troops of Hyder Ali. A chance sighting of a man entering the Chitradurga fort through a hole in the rocks led to a plan by Haider Ali to send his soldiers through that hole. Kahale Mudda Hanuma, her husband, who was the Guard, had gone home for his lunch. Obavva went to collect water from a pond which was near the hole in the rocks, halfway up the hill.
She noticed that the army of Haider Ali was trying to enter the fort through the hole in the rocks, which was halfway up the hill.
She stood guard at the hole and used the Onake or pestle or musli (a wooden long club meant for pounding paddy grains) to hit on the head of the soldier and kill them one by one and then she quietly moved the dead. When her husband, came back after having his meal he was shocked to see his wife standing and several dead bodies of enemy soldiers around her and a blood stained Onake in her hand.
She was found dead later in the same day. Reason for her death is not known. Her brave attempt saved the fort that day.

Legacy

She is considered to be the personification of Kannada female pride. The hole through which Hyder Ali's army tried to sneaked is known as Onake Obavvana Kindi (kindi=hole) or Onake kindi.
There is a sports stadium named after her in Chitradurga - Veera Vanithe Onake Obavva Stadium.
A statue in front of the District Commissioner’s office in Chittradurga commemorates the value and bravery of Onake Obavva.

In popular culture

Her heroic effort is depicted in a famous song-sequence in Nagarahavu movie directed by Puttanna Kanagal.
Historical drama film Chitradurgada Onake Obavva, was released in 2019. Kannada actress Tara essayed her role as Onake Obavva