Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
Conquered and sold
|
This is the third of a 16-part series on Bangalore, which will culminate in several competitions including a Quiz, Paint Your City, Photograph Your City, Treasure Hunt, and so on for The Hindu NIE participants.
|
Tippu's Palace in Bangalore: an aesthetic marvel. — Photo: K. Bhagya Prakash
THAT HISTORY repeats itself is evident in Bangalore also. Clashes and fights with neighbours led to the occupation of Bangalore by the alien forces of Bijapur in 1638 A.D. But the Governor, Shahaji Bhonsle, had little time for Bangalore since he was busy with the frequent military expeditions of Adil Shah. After 1646, Shahaji unfortunately fell into the bad books of Adil Shah and was imprisoned for a short time in 1648. But quite soon, Adil Shah realised that Shahaji could be a tower of support in the impending Moghul attacks. Shahaji was soon elevated as the Jahagirdar and reinstated in Bangalore. Thus Bangalore became the southern military headquarters for the Bijapur Shahs. Training camps, military bases, ammunition dumps, gun factory, horse stables, and soldiers' tents filled most parts of the City. Maharastrian officers and Pandits occupied all responsible posts in the Durbar and sepoys bustled about. Marathi was named as the official language and Kannada suffered a fall in its status. Kannada had to bear this fall from grace, the first of its kind, with philosophical equanimity!
After Shahaji's death in 1664, his second wife's son, Venkoji or Ekoji, became the Jahagirdar.
The vain, selfish, and extravagant Ekoji hardly had the imagination to understand the local people's problems and aspirations. If Shahaji had no time for local problems, Ekoji had no inclination. Finally, on the pretext of settling a dispute over the Tanjavoor throne, he quietly settled down there after in 1675, and Bangalore got a step-motherly treatment. His attitude angered his step brother, Shivaji.
It is interesting to know that Shivaji had spent two years in Bangalore (from 1640 to 1642) and was married here. Shivaji forcibly occupied his father's Jahagir in 1677 and kept Kolar, Chikkaballapur, and Doddaballapur under his control, and gifted Bangalore as "Choli-Bangdi" (pin money) to Ekoji's wife, Deepabai.
Ekoji is remembered for his donation of Medaraninganahalli for the maintenance of the Kadu Malleswara Temple - the temple, which gave its name to Malleswaram of today.
Shivaji's death in 1680 and the Moghul conquest of the Bijapur kingdom in 1686 exposed the southern states to the Moghuls.
In anticipation, Ekoji tried to sell off Bangalore to Chikkadevaraya Wadiyar, the King of Mysore, for Rs. 3 lakh. But before the deal was finalised, Sambaji's army, from Ginji, and Aurangazeb's army, from Golconda, marched towards Bangalore. The Moghul commander, Khasim Khan, marched faster and captured Bangalore in 1687. Historians are divided in their opinion as to whether the Moghul occupation lasted for three days or three years. That the Moghul presence brought Persian and Arabian influence on the admixture of Kannada and Marathi, which resulted in the birth of "Rekhta" language in Bangalore.
Shivaji's son Rajaram's stay in Bangalore before he escaped from the Moghuls in 1689-90 and the Moghul construction of Sangin Jamia Masjid in Taramandalpete couldn't have been accomplished in three days. In 1690, the Moghuls finalised the sale-cum-lease deal and handed over Bangalore to Chikkadevaraya for Rs. 3 lakh. They felt that Chikkadevaraya would be a good checkmate against the Maratha onslaughts in the South and hence speeded up this transaction.
Thus the beloved city of Kempe Gowda was first captured by the Bijapur army, then snatched by Shivaji and gifted as a "dream flower" to decorate the Jahagirdar's wife's plait, crushed by the Moghuls, and then sold as merchandise to the King of Mysore. This was how Bangalore came back to the hands of Kannada rulers in 1690 A.D.
Chikkadevaraya was the 14th ruler in the Wadiyar Dynasty.
He built a small fort to the south of the mudfort and the Venkataramana Swamy temple inside it. Bangalore became a major weaving centre with more than 12,000 handlooms.
His representative in Delhi studied the Moghul administration system.
This led to the establishment of Attara Kacheri, a system of 18 administrative wings, a landmark for even contemporary times. Bangalore flourished as a good commercial centre during his regime.
He also established and improved the postal service, the police night watch, and the weights and measures systems.
Chikkadevaraya's death in 1704 was followed by the rule of a series of weak kings who couldn't cope up with frequent attacks and forcible collection of tributes.
These resulted in a massive drain on the exchequer and less attention to Bangalore. During the course of 68 years (1690 to 1758) of the direct rule by the Wadiyars, Bangalore was virtually under the control of 26 administrators known as Parupathegars (more details on this can be read in the author's forthcoming book in Kannada Bengaloorina Notagalu).
In the year 1758, Bangalore was given as a Jahagir to Hyder Ali who had become quite a power in the State. Hyder and his son, Tippu Sultan, stationed themselves in Bangalore. Hyder replaced the Kannada Parupathegars by Muslim Amildars. He also built the Delhi and Mysore gates to the fort and strengthened it with stone walls, and started a gun and ammunition factory.
Tippu completed the palace in 1791 and strengthened the military base in Bangalore. Tippu not only procured a variety of plants for Lalbagh from other countries, but also invited foreign technicians to help in local production of ammunition, porcelain, and glass.
But the most memorable events were the establishment of the Lalbagh gardens by Hyder and the setting up of a number of silk production centres by Tippu. These laid the foundation for Bangalore to be known as "The Garden City" and also as "The Silk City".
(Readers may send their comments and suggestions to the author. He can be contacted on 6520122).
K. CHANDRAMOULI
(Readers may send their comments and suggestions to the author. He can be contacted on 6520122).
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
|
