The estate of Sivaganga, as per British records also known as Kingdom of the Lesser Marava, was a permanently settled zamindari estate in the Ramnad sub-division of Madura district, Madras Presidency, British India. Along the estate of Ramnad, it formed one of the two zamindari estates of Ramnad subdivision. The Sivaganga estate was ruled by a branch of the Marava royal family of Ramnad. The kingdom was reduced to a zamindari by the British in 1803. The zamindari was abolished through socialist reform on India's independence.
Location
The estate of Sivaganga was located in the Ramnad subdivision of Madura district, Madras Presidency. It was situated between 9 degree 30' and 10 degree 17' N latitude and 78 degree 5' and 78 degree 58' E longitude. The zamindari covered an area of. It was bound by Pudukkottai state on the north, Madura district on the west, Tinnevely district on the south and Ramnad estate on the east. The estate paid an annual tribute of Rs. 3 lakh.
Demographics
As per the 1901 census, the estate had a total population of 394,206.
Divisions
The Sivaganga estate was sub-divided into Sivaganga, Tirupattur and Tirubuvanam tehsils. The headquarters of the zamindari was the town of Sivagangai.
History
The Pudukkottai and Sivaganga regions were actually parts of the kingdom of Ramnad when it became independent in the 1680s. In 1725, Ramnad was invaded by the polygar of Nalkottai who captured two-fifths of the kingdom including the territory of Sivaganga. Since then, occasionally, Ramnad was referred to as the kingdom of the Greater Marava and Sivaganga, the kingdom of the Lesser Marava. In 1773, the British conquered Sivaganga and killed Muthu Vaduganatha Periyavudaya Thevar, the king of Sivaganga. His widow, queen Velu Nachiyar, fled to Dindigul and lived under the protection of Hyder Ali. During her exile, she formed an armed force and alliance with Hyder Ali. In 1780, she became the first queen in India, who fight against the British colonial power. Accompanied by Maruthu brothers she recaptured Sivaganga and make her daughter to heir. According to East India Company documents, the queen died under somewhat suspicious circumstances. In 1803, the British restored the rightful heir Udayathevan on the throne. The kingdom was subsequently reduced to a zamindari by the permanent settlement of Lord Wellesley. The estate was ruled by the descendants of Udayathevan till India's independence when the zamindari was abolished.
