Nair Brigade - History

History

The army of Travancore was modernised by Marthanda Varma, who is known 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 A.D. 1791 near the Nedumkotta. Tippu Sultan had lost his sword in a war with the Nairs of Travancore. The Nair army under the leadership of Raja Kesavadas defeated the Mysore army near Aluva. The Maharaja, Dharma Raja, gifted the famous sword to the Nawab of Arcot, from where the sword went to London. The sword was on display at the Wallace Collection, No. 1 Manchester Square, London.

The Travancore army was reorganised as the Travancore Nair Brigade in 1818. The Travancore Army was considered a part of the Indian State Forces from 1935. The units were known as the First, Second and Third Travancore infantry. The State Forces consisted of infantry units, the State Forces Artillery, the Travancore Training Centre, the Sudarsan Guards and the State Forces Band. With the integration of the State into the Indian Union, the Nair Brigade was integrated into the Indian Army as the 9th Battalion Madras Regiment(1st travancore) and the 16th Battalion of the Madras Regiment(2nd travancore) in 1954.