Tamil Nadu, which played an important role in the country’s freedom struggle and produced a number of sterling leaders during the national movement, had to its credit recorded an event, the Vellore Revolt of 1806, regarded as a forerunner to the 1857 Great Rebellion.
As in the case of the 1857 uprising, the perceived harm to religious practices was the trigger for the Vellore Revolt, which broke out in the early hours of July 10, 1806. Another similarity between the events of 1806 and 1857 was that Hindus and Muslims were on the same page while fighting the British. Again, as in the case of 1857, wherein a Muslim — the titular Mughal emperor Bahādur Shah Zafar — was proclaimed as the leader, the Vellore Revolt saw its participants declaring Tipu Sultan’s second son Fateh Hyder as their king. But the 1857 uprising lasted much longer than the 1806 Revolt and its coverage was more widespread. So was its impact.
In the early part of the 19 th Century, just as many other parts of Tamil Nadu, Vellore too was under the control of the East India Company. Its famous fort, built during 1526-1595 CE, was ‘home’ to members of Tipu Sultan’s family — 12 sons and six daughters — who were held there by the British after the fall of Srirangapattinam and Tipu’s death in 1799. It also housed the English garrison, which consisted of over 10 companies of soldiers, of whom Europeans accounted for nearly 370. As many as 1,700 soldiers were Indians.
