The Indian Army celebrated the 269th anniversary of the victory of the Travancore forces over the Dutch military at Colachel in Tamil Nadu on Saturday.
Head of the ruling family of erstwhile Travancore Uthradom Tirunal Marthanda Varma was the chief guest at the function, organised by 16 Madras (Travancore), the army unit stationed at Pangode here.
Major General (retd.) V.D.I. Devavaram; Brigadier (retd.) Arumaraj; Brigadier Krishan Kumar, Station Commander, Pangode; Col. R.K. Chaudhary, Commanding Officer, 16 Madras; the District Collector of Kanyakumari and the District Revenue Officer were among those who attended the ceremony.
It was on July 31, 1741 that the forces of the then king Marthanda Varma defeated the Dutch, both at sea and on land, in a unique amphibious battle. Marthanda Varma recorded this conquest with a ‘Victory Pillar' erected near the Colachel beach, 68 km south of Thiruvananthapuram.
