Instances When Indian Rulers Defeated Foreign Powers

 BATTLE OF VASAI OR BASSEIN(MARATHAS VS PORTUGESE)(1739)

BACKGROUND(PORTUGESE RULE OF VASAI AND MAHARASHTRA IN THE 16TH AND 17TH CENTURIES)

The region around Sopara(or Nala Sopara) in Western Maharashtra was an important trading hub from the ancient times.

Ruins of the Sopara Buddhist stupa

Towns surrounding that region like Bassein,Kalyan,Chaul etc were into trade and thus that entire region including Goa and the Malabar coast caught the attention of the Portugese.

The Portugese got control of this region(Coast of Maharashtra) in the 16th century and Bassein specifically in 1530.

This region ruled by the Portugese was called the Provincia do Norte(Province of the North) which included important cities like Thane, Bombay, Revdanda, Bacaim(Basseim) etc.

Bassein,which was 50 km north of Bombaim(Bombay) was also an important trading city and its sources of wealth was trade in horses,fish,salt,timber,basalt and granite.

ATROCITES OF THE PORTUGESE IN THE 16TH CENTURY AND THEIR RELATIONS WITH GUJARAT SULTANATE

When the Portugese reached the western coast of India,the Gujarat Sultanate had control of parts of Western Maharashtra.

In 1530,Portugese army captain Antonio da Silveira burnt the city of Bassein and continued to burn and loot upto Bombay when the king of Thane surrendered Mahim and Bombaim.

This surrendering of cities by the native rulers led to furthur expansion of the Province of the North and finally Antonio de Saldanha plundered Bassein again when Bahadur Shah(Gujarat Sultan) refused to surrender Diu.

In 1533,Diogo de Sylveira burnt the entire coast from Bandora(Bandra),Thane,Bacaim to Surat and brought about 4000 slaves to Goa from these areas.

The next target of the Portugese under Nuno da Cunha was Diu as it was an important island to protect their trade.But they found that the Governor of Diu Malik Ayaz’s son was fortifying Diu with 14,000 men.

Vasai fort

Nuno de Cunha

Nuno de cunha with a fleet of 150 ships and 4000 men sailed to Bassein as Diu was being fortified by Malik Tokan(Malik Ayyaz’s son) .

Malik Tokan wanted to have peace with them but the peace treaty was rejected and the Portugese destroyed the fortifications of Bassein and Diu.

On 23rd December,1534,the Gujarat Sultan Bahadur Shah signed a peace treaty with the Portugese and gave away Thane,Surat,Bombay,Worli,Bassein Siao,Mazgao,Bandra etc.

Later the governorship of this region was given to Antonio Galvano and then to Jorge Cabral.

Jorge Cabral

Forceful religious conversion to christianity started soon after St Francis Xavier reached this region and about 9 churches were built here.

In 1573, about 1600 people were baptized.

IN THE 17TH CENTURY

Religious conversions continued and churches were built.This region became prosperous under the Portugese(mostly they benefitted from it).

Many foreign traders like the arabs used to visit this Province of the North

St James Church,Agashi

But with time,the Portugese government in India became inefficient with frequent transfer of officers and also the Goan inquisition which alienated the Iberian union(Spain+Portugal) from the Province of the North.

The Government became corrupt also and the society here was mainly dependent on slave labour.Their intolerance to other religions also caused harm to the economy of this region.

EARLY INVASIONS UNDER CHATRAPATI SHIVAJI MAHARAJ

In 1674,More Pundit got hold of Kalyan and forced the Portugese to pay him 1/4th of Bassein’s revenue.

Two years later,Shivaji maharaj also invaded this region which was a serious threat to the Portugese.

MARATHA CONQUEST OF THE 18TH CENTURY

In 1720,Kalyan was captured by the Marathas and in 1737,Thane,Parsia,Trangipara and all the major cities of the Salsette island were captured by them.

By 1736,when the Portugese were busy fortifying Thane,the locals,tired of opression under the Portugese,invited the Marathas to rule them.

The Ghodbunder fort,Thane(built by the Portugese)

After conquering these regions,Chimaji Appa(brother of Baji Rao the first) and others took the church bells from Vasai and installed them in the hindu temples like the Khandoba mandir.

The Khandoba mandir(where the Churchbells of Vasai were installed)

SIEGE OF BASSEIN(1739)

In February 1739,Chimaji Appa with 40,000 infantry,25,000 cavalry and 4,000 soldiers trained in laying mines reached Bhadrapur(close to Bassein).Futhurmore he had 5,000 camels and 50 elephants.

More soldiers joined from Salsette later and the army strength rose to 1,00,000!

Statue of Chimaji Appa

The Portugese,alarmed by this threat started vacating Bandra,Versova etc and moved to Bassein to defend it from the Marathas.

They started fortifying Bassein.

A maratha general Manaji Angre took control of Uran from the Portugese and later joined with Chimaji.

They captured Thana and Dharavi and gheraoed Bassein completely.

The marathas also installed cannons there.

A maratha cannon

There were two towers in Vassai-Sao Sebastios and Remedios in the Vasai fort.

They were repeatedly attacked through cannons,mines by Chimaji Appa,Malhar Rao Holkar the first,Ranoji Shinde and Manaji Angre on 1st May,1739 and the Portugese retaliated with guns and muskets.

On 2nd May,4000 marathas tried to pour into the Vasai fort and by 3rd May,the Sebastios tower and Remedios towers were demolished.

Vasai fort

The encirclement and defeat of the Portugese was complete and they were asked to surrender.

The Portugese under General Martinho De Silva finally surrendered on 16th May,1739.

On 23rd May,the saffron flag flew atop the Vassai fort.

Who were the rulers that defeated the British in India? Were they Marathas, Sikhs, or other groups?

 Indian Rulers who fought against the British:

King Puli Thevar resisted the British rule as did the Queen of Jhansi, Maharaja Kumar Singh and Mahadji Shinde and Nana Phadnavis who defeated British in the 1st Anglo Maratha War as well as the heroes of 1857 War of Indian Independence.

Maharaja Kumar Singh: In around 1857 he was 80 year old King of Jagdishpur and in ailing condition. The British sent him a letter on his 80th Birthday that as he had no heir the British would take control of Jagdishpur and as he is already old they will take care of him for the rest of his life in return. He flatly refused saying that he won't give up Jagdishpur. Soon the British entered his palace and threw him out. For the next 6 months Kumar Singh lived in the forests, relearned guerilla warfare and raised his army and marched on Jagdishpur to reclaim his territory. After a day long battle and losing his arm to bullet wounds he sent the British packing out of Jagdishpur, reentered his palace and finally took possession of his throne. He was able to rule for the next few days in style from his kingdom however his bullet wounds turned fatal as gangrene developed, and Maharaja Kumar Singh breathed his last but died satisfied as he could leave his mortal body and get cremated with honours in his own kingdom after tasting sweet victory in war against the British.

Mahadji Shinde: if someone says that Tipu was the first freedom fighter of India share this fact that Mahadji Shinde fought the British and defeated them in the First Anglo Maratha War with the able support of Nana Phadnavis 18 years before Tipu fought his battle with the British (Tipu died in his battle but the Marathas were victorious in the First Anglo Maratha War).

Puli Thevar: King Puli Thevar who reigned between 1715 to 1767 could very well be the first freedom fighter against the British. He fought the British in 3 wars only to defeat them every single time. He even once battled a combined force between Yusuf Khan and the British making both bite the dust.

Queen Kittur Chenamma: Defeated the British in a fight to retain her kingdom. Won the first battle however was captured in the second and was martyred as prisoner of war. Her deputy S Rayanna also died a martyr after a fierce battle with the British.

Rani Laxmibai: Martyr in the War of 1857 and the most known female freedom fighter in history.

Begum Hazrat Mahal: Led rebellion in the War of 1857 teaming up with Nanasaheb Peshwa, Raosaheb Peshwa, Tatya Tope, Azimullah Khan, Bahadurshah Zafar and Ahmedshah Moulvi

Bahadurshah Zafar: The last Mughal Emperor (crowned by Hindus) was Bahadur Shah Zafar. The Mughal Empire was decimated by the Marathas in 1737 Battle of Delhi and after that no Mughals ever sat on the Delhi throne without prior approval from the Marathas. The Marathas preferred to rule from the Deccan and appoint a Mughal well versed with local politics to sit on the Delhi throne.

The last and greatest Mughal Emperor was Bahadur Shah Zafar the hero of 1857 War of Independence,

1857 War of Indian Independence remains most successful fight against the British ever, for the simple reason that Indian revolutionaries conquered territories from Delhi to Cooch Behar to Gwalior which were under British occupation in year 1857. The British feringhees were never more than 75000 at any stage in their rule and pitting them against crores of Indians is actually a no-brainer on who will win if 75000 British people go to battle against say 100 crore Indians.

Tatya Tope, Nanasaheb Peshwa (younger), Raosaheb Peshwa, Rani Laxmibai, Azimulla Khan, Ahmed Shah Moulvi, Begum Hazrat Mahal and other allies conquered Delhi and nominated Bahadur Shah Zafar as the King and made him sit on the throne of Delhi in 1857 as they would go on to free territories from Delhi to Bengal to Gwalior for about a year between 1857 to 1858.

This remains the most successful fight against the British ever in the history of Indian freedom struggle though it was unsuccessful in the end. Bahadurshah Zafar was captured by the British and exiled to Burma where he died.

The famously patriotic lines of Bahadurshah Zafar are: Jab Tak Bazuon Mein Hai Dum Apne Iman Ki London Tak Chalegi Tegh Hindustan Ki.

PS: When Bahadurshah Zafar was crowned as King of Delhi by Indian revolutionaries Nanasaheb Peshwa and Tatya Tope, a few Muslim courtiers sensing some chance approached Bahadurshah Zafar and advised him not to let go of this opportunity and wage a Jihad against the Hindus. An angry Bahadurshah Zafar refused to launch a Jihad against the Hindus and also thundered that he will cut off the hands of whosoever brings such a vile advice in front of him.

Bahadurshah Zafar is still not blemish free. Though Veer Savarkar described him as a hero and a patriot who would put country above religion and also described 1857 as not just a mutiny but a full fledged War of Independence, in contrast Dr Ambedkar dismissed 1857 as just a Jihad of the Muslims against the British and Zafar as someone who fought for Islam taking support from the Hindus who were also against the British.

Maharaja Ranjit Singh: During his reign the British could not even dream of getting 1 inch of land in the Sikh Empire.

Picture depicting the Treaty of Salbai in which the Marathas defeated the British in 1st Anglo Maratha War in 1782 showing the British commander paying respects to Mahadji Shinde and Nana Phadnavis