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Kittur in Karnataka is a village in the Belgaum district, of the Karnataka state. Kittur holds immense significance as far as the regional history is concerned. A tour to Kittur Karnataka offers a glimpse of how the smaller states of India rose against the British.
Queen Chennamma of Kittur (1778-1829) is known for her resistance to British Raj. During British India, Kittur came under Bombay Presidency. The ruined fort at Kittur is now one of the tourist attractions in Kittur. This fort was formerly the residence of the chief of Kittur.
In 1829, nearly three decades before the 1857 Sepoy Mutinee, Chemnama led an armed rebellion against the British in response to the Doctrine of lapse. The resistance ended in her martyrdom and she is remembered even to this day as one of the earliest Indian rulers to have fought for independence. Along with Abbakka Rani, Keladi Chennamma and Onake Obavva she is much venerated in Karnataka as an icon of bravery and women's valiance. A Tour To Kittur Karnataka is thus in more ways than one, a tribute to the bravery of this regional queen. To think that she led the rebellion 56 before the famous Rani Laxmi Bai, is a truly commendable show of courage, though few outside the state really remember her.
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