The Story of an Early Brigade

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The Travancore army was established during the reign of Marthanda Varma, the founder and the first ruler of Travancore. The army was regarded to be the most powerful army owned by a princely state at that time. The army was well organized and maintained by the rulers of Travancore. The army consisted of the Nair brigade also referred as Thiruvithankoor Nair Pattalam. The Travancore army was reorganised as the Travancore Nair Brigade in 1818. The army was well equipped and well trained. The soldiers were skilled Kalaripayattu warriors. And they used weapons such as the sword and shield, bow and arrow and spears. They were brave and courageous. They were considered as the protectors of the kingdom. The infantry of the military forces were supported with trained horses and elephants. The army was well prepared to fight the invaders. The Travancore army gave protection and supported the king to defend and fight battles against the invaders. The Travancore army was a large group of well trained soldiers who were always ready to fight for their Kingdom's pride. The same Nair Brigade of Travancore would later be rechristened as the Madras Regiment and added to the Independent India's army. The Travancore Army was considered a part of the Indian State Forces from 1935.
The Nair brigade's service branches included Infantry units, State Forces Artillery, Travancore Training Centre, Sudarsan Guards, State Forces Band. The Headquarters of the Nair brigade was located in Thiruvananthapuram. The army of Travancore was modernised by
Marthanda Varma, who is regarded as the maker of modern Travancore. He defeated the Dutch Army with the Nair Brigade in 1741 at the Battle of Colachel and captured the Dutch commander Captain Eustachius De Lannoy. Marthanda Varma agreed to spare the Dutch captain's life on condition that he joined his army and trained his soldiers on modern lines. Marthanda Varma continued his expansion with this army and annexed all the princely states right up to Kochi in 1746. The Nair Brigade succeeded in defending against the invading army of Tipu Sultan of Mysore in 1791 near Nedumkotta under the rule of Karthika Thirunal Rama Varma also known as Dharma Raja. The Nair army under the leadership of Raja Kesavadas who was the Diwan of Travancore, defeated the Mysore army near Aluva. The Nair brigade was also active during the period of Velu Thampi Dalawa who was the prime minister of Travancore. The brigade was disbanded in 1949 when the princely state of Travancore joined the Indian union.
-Mukund T

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