Muhammad Yusuf Khan (1725– 15 October 1764) or Maruthanayagam (Marudhanayagam) Pillai was born in Pannaiyur,Ramanathapuram District, Tamil Nadu, India in 1725. From humble beginnings, he became a warrior in the Arcot troops, later Commandant for the British East India Company troops. The British and the Arcot Nawab used him to suppress the Polygars (Palayakkarar) in the south ofTamilnadu. Later he was entrusted to administrating the Madurai country when the Madurai Nayaks rule ended.
Later a dispute arose with the British and Arcot Nawab, and three of his associates were bribed to capture Yusuf Khan; he was hanged in 1764 in Madurai.
