Avadhanum Paupiah

Who is Avadhanum Paupiah?

Avadhanum Paupiah was a dubash, or interpreter in the service of the British East India Company. He was of Telugu origin.

Avadhanum Paupiah joined the service of the British East India Company factory at Madras as a clerk and rose to become dubash to the Holland brothers, who served as Governors of Madras.

Paupiah and the Hollands were guilty of trying to "dispose" David Haliburton, an important official and rival of the Hollands. While the Hollands managed to escape to the United Kingdom, Paupiah was convicted and fined. The trial was the subject of a book and the Scottish writer Sir Walter Scott, a relative of Haliburton, makes a reference to the episode in his book The Surgeon's Daughter.