Who was Onake Obavva?

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• Onake Obavva died fighting the troops of Hyder Ali when he invaded the Chitradurga Fort, which was ruled by Madakari Nayaka in the 18th century.

‘Onake Obavva Jayanti’

• From 2021, the Karnataka government has decided to celebrate ‘Onake Obavva Jayanti’ on November 11 throughout the state. 
• A state-sponsored celebration of the birth anniversary of Onake Obavva.
  • A woman warrior who fought the forces of Hyder Ali single-handedly with a pestle (‘onake’ in Kannada) in Chitradurga in the 18th century.

About Onake Obavva 

• Obavva is considered to be the epitome of Kannada pride.
• She was the wife of soldier Kahale Mudda Hanuma, who was the guard of the fort.
• She died fighting the troops of Hyder Ali who was a ruler of the Mysore Kingdom and father of Tipu Sultan. 
  • Chitradurga Fort, locally known as Elusuttina Kote, (the fort of seven circles in Kannada), situated 200 km northwest of Bengaluru.

• She is celebrated along with other women warriors of Karnataka state like 
  • Abbakka Rani 
    • First Tuluva Queen of Ullal in coastal Karnataka who fought the Portuguese, 
  • Keladi Chennamma 
    • The queen of the Keladi Kingdom who is known for fighting against Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. 
  • Kittur Chennamma 
    • Queen of Kittur is known for the 1824 revolt against the British East India Company.

The folklore 

• One day, Obavva, while fetching water, heard the muffled sounds of Hyder Ali’s soldiers trying to enter the fort through a small hole 
  • That was just big enough for one person at a time to crawl through.
• She heard the soldiers talking among themselves and rushed back home to tell her husband. 
  • But since he was having lunch, she decided to fight them alone.
• Obbava took an ‘onake’ or pestle (a wooden long club meant for pounding paddy grains) from her house and hid silently next to the stone hole. 
• She killed each soldier as his head appeared through the opening and dragged his body inside the wall. 
• By the time her husband and others came to her aid, many of Hyder Ali’s soldiers were already dead.
• Obbava killed by Hyder Ali’s soldiers
  • After Obbava’s attack her husband went up to the fort and blew his horn to alert the army about the invaders. 
  • Madakari Nayaka’s soldiers rushed and killed everyone in Hyder Ali’s small troop.
  • But while directing the army towards the enemy, Obbava missed to spot the last invader who entered the fort and he killed her.

Obavva’s legacy in Karnataka

• Onake Obavva’s courage and quick thinking have been praised by many.
• A stadium is named after her in the Chitradurga fort . 
• Her sculpture is installed by the government near the district commissioner’s office in Chitradurga. 
• The hole through which Hyder Ali’s soldiers entered is called ‘Onake Obavvana Kindi’ (kindi means hole in Kannada) and 
  • has become a tourist spot along with the Chitradurga Fort.

Obavva squad police

• In 2018, the Chitradurga police started ‘Obavva Pade’, a squad of women police constables to protect and educate women in the district.
• Obavva squads were deployed in various parts of the district for teaching and educating them about 
  • basic self-defence
  • the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POSCO) Act, 
  • offences under the Indian Penal Code, 
  • Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 
  • cybercrimes, and mobile offences.
• In 2019 the Shivamogga district police started the squad with two female constables and one male constable patrolling the city.
  • covering schools, colleges and other places to keep tabs on the eve-teasers.
• Her courageous deed is depicted in a famous song sequence in the 1972 Kannada movie ‘Nagarahavu’
  • directed by the famous Kannada film director Puttanna Kanagal.

Source: IE