Question

Explain the litetary contributions of surapura chieftains

Answer 1

Surapur (or Shorapur) is in the presentYadgiri district, one of the 30districtsofKarnatakastate in southernIndia.HistoryThis district was ruled byBeda (Valmiki) Nayaka'swho had given tough resistance to Aurangzeb. The British appointedPhilip Meadows Taylor, a writer, as its Resident and Regent when the ruler there died, leaving a young prince Venkatappa. Venkatappa Nayaka was educated in English and Taylor had endeared himself to the prince, who addressed Taylor as “appa”.When the prince started his personal rule, being well educated, he felt the British overlordship very irritating. He was in his early 20s and had sent an agent to PeshwaNanasaheb in December 1857. The British had reports that Venkatappa Nayak was planning to revolt on August 8, 1858, and was trying to encourage the British Regiments at Kolhapur (27th), Dharwad (28th) and Belgaum (29th) to revolt. Two agents trying to sow seeds of dissension in Belgaum army had been identified on February 2, 1858, and they were dispatched by Venkatappa Nayaka and theJamkhandi Raja, it was reported. Venkatappa had recruited large number of Arabs and Rohillas. Capt. Malcolm posted a contingent at a village near Surapur and another battalion was posted at Sindhanur.