Kulasegaram Vairamuthu Pandara Vanniyan revered as the final Tamil chief king of Vanni

Kulasegaram Vairamuthu Pandara Vanniyan revered as the final Tamil chief king of Vanni to achieve independence, saw the Vanni minor kingdom be absorbed under the jurisdiction of the Jaffna Tamil government between AD 1200-1550. The Tamil kingdom of Jaffna experienced successive colonial dominations, starting with the Portuguese in 1619, followed by the Dutch (Hollanders) in 1658, and concluding with the British in 1796.

After the Jaffna Tamil government was dismantled, the colonial powers were hostile to recognizing or establishing any sort of sovereign governance from the tamil kingdom. The treacherous and cunning crow led Vanniyan into a trap set by the British Empire; through a cunning three-pronged surprise attack executed on October 31, 1803, Captain Friedrich Wilhelm von Driberg managed to outmaneuver and ensured the colonial victory over Pandara Vanniyan at at Oddusuddan, Katsilaimadu. Launching a strategic offensive in 1810, the British forces advanced in a three-pronged attack from the locations of Trincomalee, Mannar, and Jaffna. In the subsequent year, 1811, conflicts erupted at Odiyavur, ending in a stalemate with no party claiming victory. Pandara Vanniyan critically injured in the skirmish, was moved to Panangam, where he later passed away due to his injuries.