Vellaloor massacre
Vellaloor massacre
In January 1767, in Vellalore village near Melur in present-day Tamil Nadu, about 5,000 unarmed people from the Kallar clan were killed.
Why it happened: The Kallars refused to pay taxes to the Nawab of the Carnatic. An army was sent to enforce the tax.
Who was responsible: The Nawab ordered Captain Rumley to command five battalions of infantry and 1,500 cavalry.
What occurred: The village was surrounded. The Kallar leaders refused to surrender. The hedge around the village was set on fire, and the flames spread to houses. People who tried to flee were killed by the troops, regardless of age or gender.
Casualties: Estimates vary, but the massacre is often cited as about 5,000 deaths (some sources mention around 3,000). The event is noted in an 1835 magazine.
Aftermath: Ten peons sent by the Nawab were killed by villagers. The village burned, and fighting spread to neighboring areas. Captain Rowley later ordered British troops to the region and they killed many of the Nawab’s soldiers.
Background: The Kallar people resisted authority and tax demands. The word “Kallan” has historically been linked to stealing, reflecting long-standing resistance to rulers. In 1755, Colonel Alexander Heron led an expedition against the Poligar of Kumaravadi and burned a temple, taking an idol for ransom; this act was condemned by the Madras Council.
Legacy: The massacre survived in folklore and official records, and was noted in East India Company writings. Some accounts also mention Captain Rumley’s fate, including a claim that he was imprisoned and later killed on the orders of Tipu Sultan during the Second Anglo-M Mysore War.
This page was last edited on 1 February 2026, at 23:51 (CET).