Veeran Sundaralingam



Sundaralinga Kudumbanar (died 1799), also known as "Veeran" Sundaralingam (வீரன் சுந்தரலிங்கம்), was an 18th-century CE general from Tamil Nadu, India. He was born in Governagiri village in Tuticorin district. He was a general of the Poligar Veerapandiya Kattabomman in his fight against the British East India Company. He belonged to the M(p)allar (Devendra Kula Vellalar) community. According to a majority of the accepted historical accounts, he was killed in 1799, while fighting for Kattabomman during the First Polygar War. Another view is that he was killed in the Second Polygar War (1800-1) while assisting Kattabomman's younger brother Oomaithurai.

A widely held account is that Sundaralingam died in the process of blowing up a British ammunition dump 1799. He planned to get near the dump surreptitiously and blew it up. His fiancée Vadivu drove a herd of goats near the ammunition dump at night, with Sundaralingam hiding among the goats covered in a blanket made of wool. As they approached the ammunition dump, a British soldier spotted Sundaralingam and raised alarm. Sudaralingam grabbed the fire torch from Vadivu's hand and jumped into the ammunition dump. Vadivu also jumped into the ammunition dump to die with her fiancé and they together blew up the ammunition dump and died.

In recent years Maveeram Sundaralinga Kudumbanar has been claimed as cultural icon by Puthiya Tamilagam the political party which evolved out of Devendrakula Velalar Federation(Devendrakula Velalar Koottamaippu). In 1997, when the Government of Tamil Nadu renamed Virudhunagar division of the state owned bus transport corporation as Veeran Sundaralingam Transport Corporation that evoked opposition from several middle castes, particularly Maravars and Kallars which ultimately led to caste clashes. This led to the government dropping the names of all leaders and personalities from the names of districts and state owned companies of Tamil Nadu. In 2009, the Tamil Nadu government issued a policy note to build a memorial for Sundaralingam at Governagiri.