Battle of Bobbili

The battle of Bobbili and the attack on fort of Bobbili on January 23, 1757, is a significant historical event in southern India, particularly in state of Andhra Pradesh. The battle also has significant cultural impact due to the sacrifices, bravery, valour and courage of people involved and it has since became a subject of folklore which is prevalent even today.

The attack on the fort at Bobbili fort made by French General Bussy in 1757 is one of the most memorable episodes in Indian history. There was a constant feud between the chiefs of Bobbili and the Rajas of Vizianagram; and when Bussy marched to restore order the Raja Vijaya Rama Raju persuaded him that the fault lay with the chief Ranga Rao of Bobbili and joined the French camp with 11,000 soldiers who were ably supported by Nizam's troops against his arch rival. Although the French artillery field-pieces at once made practicable breaches in the mud walls of the fort, the defenders held out with desperate valour. Two assaults were repulsed after hours of hand-to-hand fierce fighting; and when, after a fresh bombardment, the garrison saw that their case was hopeless, they killed their women and children, and only succumbed at last to a third assault because every man of them was either killed or mortally wounded. An old man, however, crept out of a hut with a child, whom he presented to Bussy as the son of the Ranga Rao. Three nights later three followers of the chief of Bobbili along with their general Tandra Paparayudu crept into the tent of the raja of Vizianagram and stabbed him to death. The child, Chinna Ranga Rao, was invested by Bussy with his father's estate, but during his minority it was seized by his uncle. After a temporary arrangement of terms with the raja of Vizianagram the old feud broke out again, and the Bobbili chief was forced to take refuge in the nizam's country. In 1794, however, on the break-up of the Vizianagram estate, Chinna Ranga Rao was restored by the British, and in 1801 a permanent settlement was made with his son. The title of raja was recognized as hereditary in the family; that of maharaja was conferred as a personal distinction on Sir Venkataswetachalapati Ranga Rao, K.C.I.E., the adopted great-great-grandson of Chinna Ranga Rao.

The courageous exploits of Tandra Paparayudu, the General of Bobbili, who avenged the loss of the kingdom of Bobbili, caused people to refer to him as the "Tiger of Bobbili". His statues today stand on Beach Road, Visakhapatnam and in Bobbili.