Ramnad estate

The estate of Ramnad was a permanently settled zamindari estate that existed in the Ramnad subdivision of the Madura district and later Ramnad district of the Madras Presidency in British India from 1801 to 1949.

The seat of administration was the town of Ramanathapuram. The Zamindari had its origins in the Kingdom of Ramnad established by Raghunatha Kilavan in the late 17th century. In 1803, the Kingdom was converted to a Zamindari by the British. The male rulers of Ramnathapuram also bore the title of Sethupathi or "protector of the bridge", the bridge here referring to the legendary Rama's Bridge while female rulers bore the title "Nachiyar".

Details

The estate covered an area of 2,104 square miles (5,450 km2) and had a population of 723,886 in 1901. It was one of the largest and most populous zamindari estates in the Madras Presidency. The zamindar of Ramnad paid a tribute of Rs. 3.75 lakhs for the year 1903-04 to the British government.

List of Sethupathis

Chieftains under the Madurai Nayak

• Sadaikka Thevar Sethupathi (1590-1621)
• Kootan Sethupathi (1621-1637)
• Dalavai Sethupathi (1637-1659)
• Raghunatha Sethupathi (1659-1670

Independent kings

• Raghunatha Kilavan (1670–1708)
• Vijaya Raghunatha Sethupathi I (1708–1723)
• Sundaresvara Raghunatha Sethupathi (1723 -1728)
• Kumara Muthu Vijaya Raghunatha Sethupathi (1728-1734)
• Muthukumara Raghunatha Sethupathi (1734-1747)
• Rakka Thevar (1747-1748)
• Vijaya Raghunatha Sethupathi II (1748-1760)
• Muthuramalinga Sethupathi I (1760-1794)

Ruler of princely state under the paramountcy of the British Raj

Mangaleswari Nachiyar (1795-1803)

Zamindars

• Mangaleswari Nachiyar (1803-1807)
• Annaswami Sethupathi (1807-1820)
• Ramaswami Sethupathi (1820-1830)
• Muthu Chella Thevar Sethupathi (1830-1846)
• Parvatha Vardhani Ammal Nachchiyar (1846–1862)
• Muthuramalinga Sethupathi II (1862–1873)
• Court of Wards (1873–1889)
• Bhaskara Sethupathy (1889–1903)
• Dinakara Sethupathy
• Raja Rajeswara Sethupathi (1903–1929)
• Shanmugha Rajeswara Sethupathi (1929–1967)
• Ramanatha Sethupathi (1967–1979)
• Rajeswari Nachiyar (1979-)