Four Little Things That Shaped India

8/11/2019 Four Little Things That Shaped India

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Four little things that shaped India

History books tell us that only events of tectonic magnitude, like say the Vasco Da Gama journey, shapes the history of the world.

This post is not about events like that.

This post is about some random little incidents from Indian history. Incidents, which are inconspicuous when viewed in isolation. So

inconspicuous in fact, that they were eliminated from our History books.

Cant blame the textbooks though. I mean what is the worst that they could have missed by not mentioning a single arrow, a pencil

stroke or a nod of the head?

It is not as if these things influenced our History.

No 4: Iltutmish, with a polite harmless nod, says No to Jalal ad-din Mohammad, Ruler of the

Khwarezmian Empire. Unknowingly saves Indian Civilization

It all started with this

A gift basket

Seriously, this story started with a pretty little, 13th century style gift basket, sent byGenghis Khan.If you bothered to read the link,

you have a fair idea how this thing ends.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1350272/Genghis-Khan-killed-people-forests-grew-carbon-levels-dropped.htmlhttp://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1350272/Genghis-Khan-killed-people-forests-grew-carbon-levels-dropped.htmlhttp://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1350272/Genghis-Khan-killed-people-forests-grew-carbon-levels-dropped.htmlhttp://kaipullaispeaks.files.wordpress.com/2011/12/unique-gift-basket-ideas.jpghttp://kaipullaispeaks.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/new-ndia-map-copy.jpghttp://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1350272/Genghis-Khan-killed-people-forests-grew-carbon-levels-dropped.html


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In 1215 A.D, Genghis Khan, the ruler of Mongolia, sent a pretty looking gift basket to Ala Ud-Din Mohammad, the ruler of

the neighboring Khwarezmian Empire. He even inscribed the words, You are the ruler of the land of the rising sun and I of the

setting sun on it. He just wanted to be friends.

However, Ala ad-Din went all Gerard 300 This is Sparta Butler on the caravan. He ordered his governor, a guy called Inalchuq, to

slaughter every one of the poor souls who carried the basket. And on top of the murder, Ala Ad-din didnt even return the basket.

Strike One: Ala ad-din

Genghis Khan, perhaps giving Ala ad-din the benefit of doubt, sent three royal ambassadors (One Muslim and Two Mongols), to

politely enquire about his missing caravan and the fate of his basket. He still wanted to be friends.

Ala ad-din, this time, shaved the heads of the two Mongol ambassadors and beheaded the Muslim one. Sending the two bald men

back, with the severed head, he sent the message, What the f***k can you do Genghis?

Strike Two : Ala ad-Din

With Genghis Khan, two strikes is all you got.

With an army of 250,000, 13th century Rambos, battering rams, gunpowder, trebuchets, enormous siege bows capable of throwing

20-foot arrows into siege works anda guy called Subutai,the greatest General of the 13th century and the eight centuries that

followed it,Genghis Khan marched into Khwarezimto avenge his dead ambassador.

Which was like arriving to a knife duel with an AK-47 assault rifle.

What followed was an orgy of blood and pillage, never before witnessed in human history. Khwarezmian cities were captured with

the ease of capturing enemy cities in Rise of Nations; being played with cheat codes. Six to eight million Khwarezmian civilians and

1 million soldiers were ruthlessly murdered and decapitated. The favourite Mongol game of Cut off head and build a wall with it,

was played outside the capital city of Samarkand with its now dead 1.2 million inhabitants. And the guy who started this tale of

annihilation, Governor Inalchuq/the gift basket caravan killer, was executed in the most hideous way possible. Molten silver was

poured through his mouth, ears and every other orifice in his body.

Genghis however reserved his best/worst for the city of Urgench, the birth place of Ala ad-din. Every Mongol soldier was ordered

to kill at least 24 Urgenchi citizens. Once that was done and everyone was dead, Genghis as the final eff-you, demolished all the

dams around the city that held back the River Amu Darya, completely wiping the city off the face of the earth.

All because Khwarezmians killed one Mongol and shaved the head of two others.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subutaihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subutaihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subutaihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mongol_invasion_of_Khwarezmiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mongol_invasion_of_Khwarezmiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mongol_invasion_of_Khwarezmiahttp://kaipullaispeaks.files.wordpress.com/2011/12/friends-1.jpghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mongol_invasion_of_Khwarezmiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subutai


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A great city lies beneath the still water

Maybe as an evil joke, Schadenfreude or benevolence, Genghis Khan allowed Ala Ad-din to escape to a town on the Caspian sea,

where he finally died. Books say Ala Ad-din died of some inflammation. But it is more likely that he just dropped dead from the

shock of seeing the violent dismemberment of his once glorious empire.

How the hell did it happen!

After what the Ala Ad-din family went through, you expect the survivors to just give up. But not his son Jalal. He ran into Khorasan,

what is todays Afghanistan, to continue the war. Not wanting to leave any loose ends, Genghis marched right after him. As the

cities of Khorasan rapidly vanished before his eyes, Jalal, as the last resort, ran to India.

India was then ruled by Iltutmish, the third king of the Delhi Sultanate.

Keeping in mind the Me Muslim, He Muslim, We both brothers, he appealed to Iltutmish for help. He sought refuge and an army

to wrest his kingdom back from Genghis. He was confident that Iltutmish would not let his fellow Muslim monarch and brother

down against an infidel. And then

ILTUTMISH SAID NO.

For the first time in the history of the world, a Muslim monarch had denied asylum to another Muslim monarch who was being

hunted by a non-Muslim Emperor. Jalal was flabbergasted.Shocked at this blunt refusaland pretty much out of options, Jalal Ad

Din went back to Khorasan disheveled, disillusioned and praying to God that his head would not become a brick in a Mongol skull

wall.

Genghis, by now though, was simply bored of all the bloodshed, pillage and orgy. Realizing that anyone from Khwarezim was either

a skeleton or a hobo, he returned to Mongolia. Importantly for Indians though, he went back without invading India.

Meanwhile, Jalal disguised himself and lived incognito for the rest of his life, forever wondering whether the annihilation of his

entire empire for the killing of one man was a little over the top.

WHAT IF ILTUTMISH HAD SAID YES TO JALAL?

Indian Civilization, as we know it, would not exist. Simple.
http://voi.org/books/imwat/ch2.htmhttp://voi.org/books/imwat/ch2.htmhttp://voi.org/books/imwat/ch2.htmhttp://kaipullaispeaks.files.wordpress.com/2011/12/awjeeznotthissheetagain1.jpghttp://kaipullaispeaks.files.wordpress.com/2011/12/amudarya.jpghttp://voi.org/books/imwat/ch2.htm


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This was the Khwarizmi Empire, before the gift basket arrived. Why do you think we dont read about it in the History books

alongside the other great empires of the time? What happened to them?

Genghis Khan happened to them. And they were not alone. When Genghis Khan invaded Baghdad in 1258, he turned what was

then fertile plain into a freaking desert. Baghdad has still not recovered,760 years after the Mongol invasion.7 centuries.

Genghis was, what the Bible calls, Armageddon. If Genghis arrived in your city in the 13th century, not even itsdogs and cats

remained alive to see the aftermath. He was unbelievably intelligent and extremely ruthless. He took the dictum All is fair in war to

an entirely new level. Hell, he was the first guy toinvent biological weapons and use them in a battle.

If Iltutmish had said Yes to Jalal Ud-din, all it would have done is to show a red flag to the rampaging Genghis. Angry Genghis

would have straight up marched into India with his superb, undefeated army to fight Iltutmish. Iltutmish would have had as much of

a chance against Genghis as India has against Spain in a football match. Zero.

The probable timeline would have been

Genghis Invades India > Genghis decimates Iltutmish > Genghis destroys Delhi > Genghis sees the rubies and theboobies on offer > Genghis pushes further into India > Obliterates other cities and massacres everybody else > Wipes

out Indian Civilization, like the Khwarezmian one > Leaves behind Mongols to govern > We all become Mongols.

Never was a more important No said in the history of India. And never was a more important No missed by a history textbook.

No 3: A freak arrow hits Hemu in the eye at the second battle of Panipat. Ensures Mughal rule in India.

Mughals were briefly discussedon this site before.In one line, Mughals can be described as

Wandering Central Asian tribe, who after getting kicked out of their country landed in India and became its rulers.

Babur founded the Mughal empire in 1526, and was succeeded by his opium addicted, pleasure seeking, hookah smoking son

Humayun in 1530. Opium and wars were never happy companions and he, inevitably was defeated by Sher Shah Suri in 1540. The

crippling defeat ensured Humayun, his family and his hookah, were back to being Nomads, exactly 14 years after his father was

crowned the emperor of Hindustan.

Google image search for Nomads
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Baghdad_%281258%29%23Destructionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Baghdad_%281258%29%23Destructionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Baghdad_%281258%29%23Destructionhttp://books.google.co.in/books?id=N2MMD0yfxyAC&pg=PA76&lpg=PA76&dq=Genghis+Khan+men+women+children+mongols&source=bl&ots=psIYJCZlWc&sig=F5HPNzwybGW_SWJNQ4ewJHilvH4&hl=en&ei=q5hwS9WyDYPh8QbE7rj9BQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&redir_esc=y%23v=onepage&q=Genghis%20Khan%20men%20women%20children%20mongols&f=falsehttp://books.google.co.in/books?id=N2MMD0yfxyAC&pg=PA76&lpg=PA76&dq=Genghis+Khan+men+women+children+mongols&source=bl&ots=psIYJCZlWc&sig=F5HPNzwybGW_SWJNQ4ewJHilvH4&hl=en&ei=q5hwS9WyDYPh8QbE7rj9BQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&redir_esc=y%23v=onepage&q=Genghis%20Khan%20men%20women%20children%20mongols&f=falsehttp://books.google.co.in/books?id=ZzlNgS70OHAC&pg=PA173&lpg=PA173&dq=Siege+of+Kaffa&source=bl&ots=q8e3UkrULZ&sig=wu9XPSe0b5G06NifrBQ23J0yHnQ&hl=en&ei=CqGFS9vbFZWQlAee-tCYAg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&redir_esc=y%23v=onepage&q=Siege%20of%20Kaffa&f=falsehttp://books.google.co.in/books?id=ZzlNgS70OHAC&pg=PA173&lpg=PA173&dq=Siege+of+Kaffa&source=bl&ots=q8e3UkrULZ&sig=wu9XPSe0b5G06NifrBQ23J0yHnQ&hl=en&ei=CqGFS9vbFZWQlAee-tCYAg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&redir_esc=y%23v=onepage&q=Siege%20of%20Kaffa&f=falsehttp://books.google.co.in/books?id=ZzlNgS70OHAC&pg=PA173&lpg=PA173&dq=Siege+of+Kaffa&source=bl&ots=q8e3UkrULZ&sig=wu9XPSe0b5G06NifrBQ23J0yHnQ&hl=en&ei=CqGFS9vbFZWQlAee-tCYAg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&redir_esc=y%23v=onepage&q=Siege%20of%20Kaffa&f=falsehttp://kaipullai.com/2011/10/26/the-greatest-heist-in-indian-history-how-indian-history-was-changed-and-we-didnt-even-notice-part-2-the-real-story-of-the-islamic-rule-that-we-were-never-told/http://kaipullai.com/2011/10/26/the-greatest-heist-in-indian-history-how-indian-history-was-changed-and-we-didnt-even-notice-part-2-the-real-story-of-the-islamic-rule-that-we-were-never-told/http://kaipullai.com/2011/10/26/the-greatest-heist-in-indian-history-how-indian-history-was-changed-and-we-didnt-even-notice-part-2-the-real-story-of-the-islamic-rule-that-we-were-never-told/http://kaipullaispeaks.files.wordpress.com/2011/12/nomads.jpghttp://kaipullaispeaks.files.wordpress.com/2011/12/genghis-khan.jpghttp://kaipullai.com/2011/10/26/the-greatest-heist-in-indian-history-how-indian-history-was-changed-and-we-didnt-even-notice-part-2-the-real-story-of-the-islamic-rule-that-we-were-never-told/http://books.google.co.in/books?id=ZzlNgS70OHAC&pg=PA173&lpg=PA173&dq=Siege+of+Kaffa&source=bl&ots=q8e3UkrULZ&sig=wu9XPSe0b5G06NifrBQ23J0yHnQ&hl=en&ei=CqGFS9vbFZWQlAee-tCYAg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&redir_esc=y%23v=onepage&q=Siege%20of%20Kaffa&f=falsehttp://books.google.co.in/books?id=N2MMD0yfxyAC&pg=PA76&lpg=PA76&dq=Genghis+Khan+men+women+children+mongols&source=bl&ots=psIYJCZlWc&sig=F5HPNzwybGW_SWJNQ4ewJHilvH4&hl=en&ei=q5hwS9WyDYPh8QbE7rj9BQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&redir_esc=y%23v=onepage&q=Genghis%20Khan%20men%20women%20children%20mongols&f=falsehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Baghdad_%281258%29%23Destruction


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While Humayun was wandering in the Persian wilderness, begging to different Monarchs for a few crumbs of support, a son of a

Hindu priest and a salt petre trader, Hem Chandra a.k.a Hemu was fast rising up the ranks of Islam Shah, the successor of Sher Shah

Suri. Initially made the minister of commerce for his administrative acumen, Hemu became his chief advisor and confidante. So

important was Hemu, that when an upstart called Adil Shah seized the throne in 1553, Hemu was elevated to the post of the Prime

Minister. This, when all the other Islam Shahi court members were executed.

While Adil Shah was busy drinking and boning away to glory, Hemu was ruthlessly putting down insurrections against the new

Emperor. When he was in Bengal in 1555, the nomad Humayun returned to India with an army. He killed Adil Shah, crowned himself

the Emperor of Hindustan and declared war on Hemu.

You dont piss a guy like Hemu off.

Hemu embarked on a campaign that mirrored Genghis Khan in tactical brilliance and strategy. Mughal territories fell like dominoes

as Hemuwon 22 consecutive battles against various Mughal generals.Such was Hemus might, that the commander of the Mughal

city of Agra, ran away in pure terror when he saw Hemus armies. As the final stamp of his domination, Hemu marched onto Delhi

and routed the Mughal army there under some dude called Tardi Beg. Christening himself as Hema Chandra Vikramaditya,

he crowned himself the emperor of Hindustan in 1556, thus becoming Indias first Hindu Emperor after 350 years of uninterrupted

Islamic rule. Unfortunately though, he was to become the last.

While Hemu was marching towards Delhi, Humayun managed to get himself killed by falling down a flight of stairs. His death left

the 13 year old, Jalal Ud-Din Mohammad Akbar as the Emperor of whatever was left of the Mughal empire. Seeing Hemus charge,

Akbars Persian adviser Bairam Khan, considered running away to Kabul. However, as a last throw of the dice, he attacked Delhi with

whatever was left of his army.

They clashed with Hemu at Panipat on the 5th of November 1556, which History calls theSecond battle of Panipat.

Hemu, being a daredevil, was atop his battle elephant, personally leading his Afghan troops into battle. Bairam Khan was three

miles behind. Dividing his army into three flanks, Hemus initial charge shattered theMughal flanks and cavalry.With their main

strength annihilated, the severely disoriented and disorganized Mughal army at that point of time was like a rabbit standing in

front of a hunting lamp,totally defenceless and ready for slaughter.

Then, fate intervened.

Mughals tactics to counter Hemus elephant army, consisted of shooting random arrows at the mastodons and praying to God they

hit. Unsurprisingly, the tactic never worked. This time, by some freak of fate
http://news.wikinut.com/Samrat-Hemu,-Fit-for-the-Title-The-Greatest-Hindu-Warrior./40h_iinq/http://news.wikinut.com/Samrat-Hemu,-Fit-for-the-Title-The-Greatest-Hindu-Warrior./40h_iinq/http://news.wikinut.com/Samrat-Hemu,-Fit-for-the-Title-The-Greatest-Hindu-Warrior./40h_iinq/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_battle_of_Panipathttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_battle_of_Panipathttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_battle_of_Panipathttp://sumitsoren1983.blogspot.com/p/war-room.htmlhttp://sumitsoren1983.blogspot.com/p/war-room.htmlhttp://sumitsoren1983.blogspot.com/p/war-room.htmlhttp://books.google.co.in/books?id=Emm0nTvllKoC&pg=PA37&lpg=PA37&dq=hemu+fate&source=bl&ots=IfYmWHf0gK&sig=Uo_QzXKIRn8McRZyUEXECc0Wl48&hl=en&sa=X&ei=sxr6TqiNFoqyrAf37IzaDw&ved=0CC4Q6AEwAQ%23v=onepage&q=hemu%20fate&f=falsehttp://books.google.co.in/books?id=Emm0nTvllKoC&pg=PA37&lpg=PA37&dq=hemu+fate&source=bl&ots=IfYmWHf0gK&sig=Uo_QzXKIRn8McRZyUEXECc0Wl48&hl=en&sa=X&ei=sxr6TqiNFoqyrAf37IzaDw&ved=0CC4Q6AEwAQ%23v=onepage&q=hemu%20fate&f=falsehttp://books.google.co.in/books?id=Emm0nTvllKoC&pg=PA37&lpg=PA37&dq=hemu+fate&source=bl&ots=IfYmWHf0gK&sig=Uo_QzXKIRn8McRZyUEXECc0Wl48&hl=en&sa=X&ei=sxr6TqiNFoqyrAf37IzaDw&ved=0CC4Q6AEwAQ%23v=onepage&q=hemu%20fate&f=falsehttp://kaipullaispeaks.files.wordpress.com/2011/12/rabbit-in-the-headlights.jpghttp://kaipullaispeaks.files.wordpress.com/2011/12/angry_bull.jpghttp://books.google.co.in/books?id=Emm0nTvllKoC&pg=PA37&lpg=PA37&dq=hemu+fate&source=bl&ots=IfYmWHf0gK&sig=Uo_QzXKIRn8McRZyUEXECc0Wl48&hl=en&sa=X&ei=sxr6TqiNFoqyrAf37IzaDw&ved=0CC4Q6AEwAQ%23v=onepage&q=hemu%20fate&f=falsehttp://sumitsoren1983.blogspot.com/p/war-room.htmlhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_battle_of_Panipathttp://news.wikinut.com/Samrat-Hemu,-Fit-for-the-Title-The-Greatest-Hindu-Warrior./40h_iinq/


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One of those arrows hit Hemu in his eye.

Hemus first reaction to this was to remove the arrow and continue the fight. But because of incessant blood loss, Hemu eventually

slumped in his howdah unconscious, but alive. His troops though, sadly assumed he was dead. Demoralized due to the apparent

loss of their General, they lost their co-ordination. Which was when Bairam Khan ordered the reserves to charge. The

now disorganized army, wilted before the Mughal reserves and were annihilated. Hemu was captured and beheaded by thethirteen

year old Akbar and Bairam Khan.His torso was hung outside the Purana Qilain Delhi as a warning to others. And Bairam Khan, got

a skull wall made out of Hemus soldiers.

Life and death, for Hemu, was like an Africans left hand. Neither right nor fair.

What if the arrow hadnt hit him?

The reign of the Mughals, would have ended before it even started. And, we would have been a Hindu Monarchy under Hemu XVIII.

So, No Taj Mahal, Red Fort, unnecessary Mughal glory in our history books and

No Akbar-Birbal tales

If not for that freak arrow, Hemu would have obliterated the Mughals to a state worse than their erstwhile nomadic existence. Hemu

would have triumphed at Panipat and it would have been Bairam Khans torso instead that would have hung at Purana Qila.Akbar,

the thirteen year old kid, would have either been exiled to Central Asia or killed outright to prevent future conflicts. Most probably

the latter.

Hindustan, would have had a Hindu King. But with a difference. He would have had active support of his Muslim subjects. Because

Hemu never made any religious distinctions. He even convinced Afghan warriors, radical Islamists all of them, to call him

Badshahand fight for his Hindu standard.Hemu was a firm believer in meritocracy and was probably the first secular king in

medieval India.
http://ezinearticles.com/?The-Napoleon-of-India,-Samrat-Hemchandra-Vikramaditya&id=6704517http://www.jstor.org/pss/25189451http://www.jstor.org/pss/25189451http://www.jstor.org/pss/25189451http://www.jstor.org/pss/25189451http://www.enotes.com/topic/Hemuhttp://www.enotes.com/topic/Hemuhttp://www.enotes.com/topic/Hemuhttp://www.enotes.com/topic/Hemuhttp://kaipullaispeaks.files.wordpress.com/2011/12/akbar-birbal.jpghttp://kaipullaispeaks.files.wordpress.com/2011/12/skull-wal.jpghttp://www.enotes.com/topic/Hemuhttp://www.enotes.com/topic/Hemuhttp://www.jstor.org/pss/25189451http://www.jstor.org/pss/25189451http://ezinearticles.com/?The-Napoleon-of-India,-Samrat-Hemchandra-Vikramaditya&id=6704517


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Now the bigger picture. By being a Hindu, when all the empires were divided on religious lines, Hemu would have secured the

support of the next most powerful people at that time, the Hindu Rajputs.. And this would have been in addition to the support of

the Afghan warlords. So, for the first time in the History of India, you would have had an Emperor who had the support of both the

majority and the minority. Which would have been bad news for his opponents, the renegade Muslim sardars of the Delhi Sultanateand Mughals, in the Indian hinterland.

Whenever Hemu would have marched against them , they would not have had a sniff of a chance. As a result, India, would have

been born long, before the British arrived. And in this India, both Hindus and Muslims would have lived peacefully as their Emperor,

did not make any religious distinctions.

Going ahead into the future, there would have been no Shivaji and all the other Anti-Mughal Indian emperors. They existed because

of the Mughals. Now replace Muslim Mughals, with a Hindu Hemu. Shivaji and company, would have not only accepted Hemu IV,

but would have joined him. And Hemu IV, recognizing their prowess, would have made them important cogs in his machine. Think

of this like, Hemu+Shivaji+Everyone else

And that, would have meant big problems for our eventual rulers, the British. When they arrived in India, they mainly faced pettyand scheming Indian kings, all trying to cut each others throats. All Brits had to do was play one against the other, which they did

brilliantly. But here, their opponent would have been a united and a powerful Indian empire led by Hemu VI. If they as much as

raised a finger, Hemu VI would have cut their freaking head, packed it onto a ship and sent it back to England as a warning. So no

Pax Brittanica for India.

No Brittania, No Mountbatten, No Nehru, No Commonwealth and finally no Suresh Kalmadi and the Commonwealth Games scam

in 2008.

Suresh Kalmadi, seen thanking the unnamed archer

But for that freaking arrow.
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8/15

2. Siraj Ud-Daula forgets to bring a tarpaulin sheet to the battle of Plassey. Gives British the gateway to

establish their empire.

The 1700s was an interesting time for India, for that was the time Europeans started realizing the riches that our country had to

offer. So, Europeans from all countries, rich or poor, started settlements in the Indian sub-continent to make a quick buck. The

Dutch, The French and even the friggin Danes found their way to India. And then the English arrived.

The East India Company, set up shop in India in 1612 claiming to be a trading company, trying to make a bit of cash. They did try to

exceed their brief in 1682, whenJob Charnock(Better known as the guy who established Kolkata) tried to capture Mughal

fortifications on the Hooghlee river.

Mughals, specifically their Emperor, Aurangazeb, did not like it.

In retaliation, Aurganzeb gave them such a pounding that within a month, all of Job Charnocks forces were wiped out (Childs war).

And for some more fun, Mughals captured the port of Bombay. Scared s***less by the aggressive Mughals, British ambassadors

begged pleaded and even prostrated in front of Aurangazeb to get Bombay back. They finally had to pay an indemnity of 600,000

17th century pounds for Aurangazebs benevolence. Also, they promised to keep their tails firmly between their red backsides.

So when Aurangazeb died in 1706, what did the British do? They broke their promise.

Playing one Indian Nawab against another, the British started expanding. Aiding them in this endaevour was the outbreak of

theseven years warin Europe. The European Franco-English contest soon spread to India, in the form of theCarnatic Wars. Indian

Nawabs now had to take sides. Inevitably the war spread to one of Indias largest states at that time, Bengal.

Bengal was then ruled by a guy calledAliwardy Khan.British got the first toehold in Bengal, when the Khan solicited their help to

keep out the rampaging Marathas.In return, Brits got the permission to trade in Bengal. Aliwardy however, was shrewd enough to

keep the British at an arms length, lest they involve him in their war against the French.

That common sense disappeared when Aliwardy Khan died in 1756. He was succeeded by his stupid, short tempered nineteen yearold grandson, Siraj Ud Daulah. The succession happened around the time British started fortifying their trading center in Calcutta.

Siraj did not like it and asked the them to stop immediately. And when the Brits showed no signs of listening, he did what any

nineteen year old with a real army and cannons would do.

He attacked Calcutta.

Defeating the small British Army stationed there he took 146 British prisoners, including civilians. Siraj was happy, I mean how many

nineteen year olds in history, can boast of capturing Calcutta and defeating the British in a real war?
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Then, in one of the biggest dick moves in Indian history, Siraj Ud Daula stuffed the 146 Englishmen, into a dungeon meant to house

six people. When the dungeon was opened, Siraj came face to face with 127 dead and nineteen delirious Englishmen in what is

known as theblack hole of Calcutta.

Understandably, the Brits were pissed.

To teach the nineteen year old a lesson, 500 whites, 2500 native sepoys and Robert Clive marched into Bengal from Madras. First

they recaptured Calcutta, and then for some action, sacked the nearby French settlement of Chadranagar. As the French were now

Sirajs allies, He, once again, attacked the British.On the 23rd of June, 1757, the two armies came face to face at the village of

Palashi, 140 kms north of Kolkata.

Siraj came to Palashi with 35,000 infantry, 7000 cavalry and 53 cannons, 8 of them Made in France. Facing up to his mass, were 750

Europeans, 2100 native Indians, 8 cannons and one Robert Clive. If this was a wrestling bout, it would have looked something like

this.

The British though had one ace up their sleeve. Those who paid attention in History class, at this point will say, Mir Jafar. In reality

though, the ace was not even a human being. It was far more mundane. It was a

A canvas tarpaulin sheet
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British, being meticulous and all, had bought along tarpaulin sheets from Madras, to cover themselves. Siraj, in his hurry, forgot to

bring one. And the night before the battle, it rained.

British covered their Gunpowder with their tarpaulin sheet. Siraj just abused the Gods, because

Basic science suggests that when water mixes with gunpowder, the result is the equivalent of

Siraj now had plenty of it. Which ensured, the only way his cannons could do same damage, was by physically falling on the British.

While the British, gunpowder covered with aforementioned tarpaulin sheet, had cannons that were

When, Siraj charged at the British with his numerically, for the want of a better word, superior army, British uncovered their cannons.

When, Siraj tried to retaliate, all he had was a gooey mess that was his gunpowder, which could not fire a miniature pistol, let alone

a friggin cannon. Sirajs main army was torn to shreds and his most important general of the day, Mir Madan Khan was

killed. Center lost, Siraj turned to his flanks, where his other General, Mir Jafar was waiting with 10,000 men.

At this point, Jafar showed the 1757 equivalent of the middle finger to Siraj and walked over to the British.

Siraj lost the day and was chased away from Bengal. Mir Jafar was made the Nawab, who gratefully gave the British the right to

collect taxes in the province of Calcutta. Using this windfall, in 1764, they engaged and defeated the then Mughal Emperor, Shah

Alam, in thebattle of Buxar. As spoils of war, they gained the administrative and economic control of Bengal, Bihar and Orrisa. Now

a recognized power with a lot of cash, they turned on other Indian kings andthe rest is history.

What if Siraj had covered his gunpowder?

We would today be participating in theJeux de la Francophonie.In other words, we would have been ruled by the freaking French.

And so would have been the whole of Europe. The French would have been kings.
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A french man

If you did not realize, the French supported Siraj. That is why those 8 Made-in-France cannons. If Siraj had won, it would have been

the French who would have got the control of Calcutta and all its riches. The now rich Frenchs first priority would have been to

eliminate their main adversary on the sub-continent, The British. And British would not have had a chance, as their army would have

been annihilated at Plassey. Driven out of India, French would have had a free hand. So in everything that happened in India after

Plassey, just replace the British with the French.

Also, why do you think the British became the Kings of the world? Because they could wage war with impunity. And why were they

able to that? Because the constant inflow of the booty from Indiagave them the economic power to do it. Transfer all that wealth

to the France, and imagine a new Europe. In this Europe, French would have been emperors.

If only Siraj remembered to bring a tarpaulin sheet.

1. Cyril Radcliffe gives the town of Gurdaspur to India. Hands Kashmir to India on a platter.

1947, India is on the cusp of independence. But, instead of celebrating this momentous occasion, both Muhammad Ali Jinnah and

Jawaharlal Nehru were busy playing the game of Who wants to be the Prime Minister of India. Unfortunately in this game, there

was not going to be a sporting loser.

Creating two positions of the Prime Minister was deemed unfeasible. But both had to be satisfied. So, it was decided that two new

countries were to be formed instead, each with one Prime Ministers post. Now both of them could become P.Ms and go home

happy. And India could be independent.
http://books.google.co.in/books?id=WwNUblS-jpwC&pg=PA810&lpg=PA810&dq=importance+of+Indian+treasure+to+british+economy&source=bl&ots=7XfF5yKHyp&sig=_TOAW2JQCem9X1xswMbRmICrgeQ&hl=en&sa=X&ei=n_YLT8m_K4HNrQfUx4GmBA&ved=0CB0Q6AEwAA%23v=onepage&q=importance%20of%20Indian%20treasure%20to%20british%20economy&f=falsehttp://books.google.co.in/books?id=WwNUblS-jpwC&pg=PA810&lpg=PA810&dq=importance+of+Indian+treasure+to+british+economy&source=bl&ots=7XfF5yKHyp&sig=_TOAW2JQCem9X1xswMbRmICrgeQ&hl=en&sa=X&ei=n_YLT8m_K4HNrQfUx4GmBA&ved=0CB0Q6AEwAA%23v=onepage&q=importance%20of%20Indian%20treasure%20to%20british%20economy&f=falsehttp://books.google.co.in/books?id=WwNUblS-jpwC&pg=PA810&lpg=PA810&dq=importance+of+Indian+treasure+to+british+economy&source=bl&ots=7XfF5yKHyp&sig=_TOAW2JQCem9X1xswMbRmICrgeQ&hl=en&sa=X&ei=n_YLT8m_K4HNrQfUx4GmBA&ved=0CB0Q6AEwAA%23v=onepage&q=importance%20of%20Indian%20treasure%20to%20british%20economy&f=falsehttp://kaipullaispeaks.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/nj.jpghttp://kaipullaispeaks.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/frenchman.jpghttp://books.google.co.in/books?id=WwNUblS-jpwC&pg=PA810&lpg=PA810&dq=importance+of+Indian+treasure+to+british+economy&source=bl&ots=7XfF5yKHyp&sig=_TOAW2JQCem9X1xswMbRmICrgeQ&hl=en&sa=X&ei=n_YLT8m_K4HNrQfUx4GmBA&ved=0CB0Q6AEwAA%23v=onepage&q=importance%20of%20Indian%20treasure%20to%20british%20economy&f=false


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However, there was one small flaw in the plan. They had no clue on how to divide the country.

Enter ace lawyer, Knight of the British Empire and a guy who had never been to the east, forget India in his 48 years of existence,

Cyril Radcliffe.

Politicians said he was chosen for the most critical vivisection in the History of the world, for his acumen. Others however said, he

was chosen for his total ignorance about India. Which meant the neutrality of his line could not be questioned. Whatever the

reasons, he had to draw a border that was going to impact 88 Million people directly and many more indirectly, for generations to

come. And he had to do it, in little over a month, for a pay of Rs 40000. Software Engineers in Bengaluru, get more time and more

money to do stuff million times less complicated and critical.

Radcliffe ensconced himself in a quaint little cottage in Shimla to perform this operation. To give him company were army maps,

population charts, religious statistics and a retinue of servants. He started his line from the south of Kashmir with an intention of

terminating it in Rajasthan. The line arrived at a little district in Punjab called Gurdaspur.

This was Grudaspurs religious distribution, in 1947.

Muslims : 47% Hindus: 40% Other religions 13%

Radcliffe was given strict instructions to push as many Muslim majority districts into Pakistan and extend the same favour to India

for the Hindu dominated ones. Going by that logic and all other logics of that time, Gurdaspur had to be given to Pakistan.

Instead, Radcliffe gave Gurdaspur to India.

What made Radcliffes task of separating Punjab easier was the Indus river. Radcliffe simply followed the river to divide India and

Pakistan, accounting for the above instructions. Most of the districts happened to lie along the river so there were no issues, apart

from Gurdaspur. Though having a Muslim majority, giving Gurdaspur to Pakistan would have meant creating a bulge, an awkward

abciss, spearing into India.
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13/15

Like This

If nothing else, he wanted the border he drew to look good on the maps and other geographical entities. So Radlicffe, decided to

give Gurdaspur to India.

Jinnah and his Muslim league cohorts protested at losing a Muslim majority district to India. Muslims in that district, like all theother districts, were never asked for their opinion. After shouting for sometime, Jinnah gave up. At the end of the day, what

profound difference would it have made to Pakistan to have got one additional district in Punjab?

Turns out a lot, especially if the name of the district is Gurdaspur.

Once all the independence formalities were done, money, chairs, tables and library books divided, Douglas Gracey, the general of

the British Pakistani army wanted to take a break. Jinnah advised him to go to Kashmir. As a Muslim majority state, ruled by a Hindu

ruler Hari Singh, Jinnah took it for granted that Kashmir belonged to Pakistan.

However, when Gracey reached the borders of Kashmir, he was refused entry. Which was the first sign of the Kashmir cake slipping

away from Pakistan.

When India and Pakistan were freed, the rulers of the princely states were given an option to join either India or Pakistan or remain

independent. Hari Singh chose the third option. Jinnah was wild.

Sending troops in the guise of tribals, Jinnah decided to snatch Kashmir away from the hapless Hari Singh. When his meagre forces

were routed by the Pakistani army, Hari Singh had only one choice. He appealed to India for help. Nehru, in his few moments of

sanity and intelligence, demanded Hari Singh accede to India if he wanted troops. Hari Singh gave in. Kashmir was now Indias.

See...I can be intelligent too!

As a part of the agreement, India immediately flew in the 161st regiment into Srinagar with further reinforcements on the way. The

first task of the Indian army was to defend the Srinagar airport, which at that point of time, was Kashmirs sole point of contact with

India. Initial attacks by Pakistani Tribals were repulsed, but Indian hold on the Srinagar Airport, was at best tenuous. As there were

innumerable tribals, reinforcements were mandatory. And without reinforcements, the airport was a lost cause.
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14/15

Loss of the Srinagar airport, meant loss of contact with India. Which effectively meant, the loss of Kashmir.

The Indian Air Force in 1947 consisted of apiffling 12 Dakotas and some other fighters.Their capacity to haul in troops was severely

limited. And they could not fly in tanks. The only way the Indian army could get the support that was needed, was by road. A road,

which could handle heavy military traffic, something akin to a National Highway.

Now, Go back to Gurdaspur.

Look for 1A

1 A on the map is the other name for National Highway 1 A. The only military traffic capable road link to Kashmir. And as you can

see, 1A passed through Gurdaspur.

Gurdaspur now being Indian property, Indian army, tanks, howitzers and all other heavy machinery, rolled through the same

highway to Kashmir. Whether they paused at Gurdaspur to thank Radcliffe is not known, but this army arrived in Kashmir and

routed the Pakistanis. Not expecting to face Indian tanks, Pakistanis fell back quickly. As the final happy ending to this story, the

North-Indian Indian map today looks like this

What if Radcliffe had swayed the other way?

The North Indian map, today would have looked something like this.
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And we're screwed

Without the heavy machinery, the troops holding the Srinagar airport would have been overwhelmed. Without access to Kashmir,

Indian army generals would have watched Pakistanis run amok in whatever Kashmir that remained. The king, Hari Singh, would have

been killed and Pakistan would have claimed Kashmir for themselves.

The Kashmir issue would have gone to the United Nations, who would have insisted on a plebiscite. And a cease fire with the

proviso that the territories held by the armies holds true till that plebiscite is held. Which effectively meant Kashmir would have

stayed with Pakistan forever.

Kashmir now being in Pakistan, would have ensured direct contact between China and Pakistan. And India being surrounded by

enemies on three sides instead of two. So India would not have gone to war against Pakistan in 1965 and 1971, as Pakistan would

have had the option to open the third front.

Similarly, Pakistan would have controlled the source of their main river, the Indus. Hence avery important bargaining chipwould

have been lost to India. Also, Pakistan would have controlled Siachen. Importance of Siachen, with respectto it being a source of

wateris immeasurable.

All this avoided, simply because Radcliffe wanted his border to look good on the maps.

To compensate what Radcliffe did for India, we should institute a special Rs 40000 note with his face on it. And put a gold statue of

his in Gurdaspur, if not anywhere else. And name NH 1 A as the Radcliffe Road, just to rub it in the faces of the Pakistanis.
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Documents

Four Little Things That Shaped India