History Shapes Society The Way We Say It

Yesterday, the proverbial curiosity caught the cat of my imagination. We were actually watching the Navrathri program on TV. Srimad Shankaracharya Swami (the young pontiff) of Sharada Peetam of Sringeri was holding darbar at the completion of days' pooja. As the events happened, my mind wandered off. The history of Sri Sharada Peetam commences in 8th century. It was established by Adi Shankara himself. The twelve hundred years of its existence saw tumultuous events unfolding in the subcontinent. 

To start with, between the 7th and 12th centuries, Chalukyas, Pallavas, Pandavas, Badami and Rashtrakutas dominated the southern peninsula, not to mention Kakatiyas, Kalachuris and Kadambas. Their empires rose and shrank with time till about the advent of Moghuls in India. Then came the Bhamani Sultans (Birar, Bidar, Golconda and Gulbarga) and the Vijaynagar empire. These were followed by Maratha, Nizam of Hyderabad, Nawab of Arcot, Tipu Sultan and the East India Company.

The question that rankled my mind was "Is it possible that Sri Mutt of Sringeri remained unaffected by these ebbs and flows that rocked the country?" It is then, I started looking first into the history of the Mutt as published in its own website  https://www.sringeri.net/jagadgurus

I can only invite with all humility any and all lovers of history to visit the website for it contains, though not in the strict historical pedagogy, the events of this country played at different times in curious and interesting narratives. We find equally compelling stories of great kings and sultans paying homage to the Sri Mutt as well as reprehensible acts of Pindaris of Maharashtra pillaging the sanctity of it. These instances give us the political-social-economic perspectives necessary to understand the parts of subcontinental history that remain hidden from academic texts.

As I read through this website, another thought preys at my mind. We appear to be content with knowing as little (if at all) of the history of our own race (if we consider Indians as one race?) and happily accept correct or controversial versions that mostly western scholars have constructed for us. When the rising tenor Right Wing historians' narratives (like for example the Aryan Invasion Theory) strikes at us, we take refuge in consolatory gestures. History has neither Right or Left Wing narratives. It is a narrative that is by itself. I do hope that readers of this blog will help me access sources that would shed "as it were" perspectives on the history of this subcontinent.      

Makarakandi

The second Carnatic War of 1751 in many ways defined the course of history in the subcontinent. It conferred an aura of invincibility on the British arms that few princes in India dared challenge in subsequent times. It laid the first building blocks of an empire 'where the Sun never set'. It gave Great Britain an unassailable control over the affairs of the world, the major parts of which it continued to rule for the next two hundred years. And, there was one single 'clerk' of the East India Company who laid this foundation - Robert Clive.

Clive has been much praised and equally maligned for the grit, courage and enviable enterprise that he had displayed in the service of the Empire. His exploits in the Carnatic and later in Plassey (West Bengal) paved the way for his meteoric rise. He retired to England as Major General Lord Robert Clive, KB, FRS along with the name "Clive of India" and millions of pounds in his personal treasury.

Little did he know of the future that awaited him, when in August 1751 he approached Thomas Saunders, Governor of Madras, with a proposal to attack Arcot, the capital of Nawab of Arcot. The contender to Nawabdom, Chanda Sahib, was assisted by the French from Pondicherry. With the Nizam of Hyderabad, Asif Jha, dead and a war of succession in Nizam's domains including Arcot on, the French had usurped their rivalry with British and were strongly backing Chanda Sahib. A hesitant support from British to Muhammed Ali Walajah, rightful successor to the throne at Arcot, was hardly sufficient for Walajah to hold out at his fort at Trichy. Having secured Arcot for himself, Chanda Sahib had laid a siege at Trichy and the odds were against Walajah. The English Directors at Calcutta had actually conceded to the supremacy of the French, resigning themselves to the loss of their influence in southern parts. Thomas Saunders, governor at Madras, had very little forces to supplement Walajah or out maneuver Chanda Sahib.

In this gloomy scenario, Clive approached Saunders with an imaginatively bold plan: attack Arcot, the capital of Chanda Sahib to relieve pressure on Walajah. Saunders, after considerable deliberations, relieved 200 of 350 British soldiers and a further 300 Indian sepoys from Fort St George. He could place only three cannons at the disposal of Clive. An unfazed Clive set course to Arcot with the tiniest army that he could muster thus. Arcot lay 69 miles South-South West. Commencing his forced march of troops on 26 August 1751, Clive reached Conjeevaram (Kanchipuram), a distance of 42 miles, on 29 August. And, the earth shook.

Not from the earth pounding heels of the marching columns or from the mile long train of support elements, but from a thunder storm that lashed Conjeevaram. Camping near the Varadaraja temple, overseeing the securing of his troops and munitions, an exhausted Clive fell to the earth shivering. His body burned and his followers realized that he was seized by the fevers common to India. The British medical help in his troop could hardly relieve him of his suffering. As the night wore, the troops feared the worst for him.

Some of his Indian sepoys approached the bhattar (priest) of Varadaraja temple. The bhattar, after seeing Clive's condition, administered a dose of 'Thulasi theertha' (holy water with basil leaves used in the worship of Vishnu). He assured Clive that Varadaraja, the Lord of Conjeevaram, would cure and protect him. By sunrise, Clive felt rejuvenated and full of life. He decided to offer obeisance to Varadaraja and entered the temple after cleansing himself. He thanked Varadaraja and prayed for victory at Arcot. He also wowed to present the most valuable thing that he comes across in Arcot treasury to Varadaraja, when he wins the fort.

Refreshed and alive, Clive force marched again to Arcot, covering the remaining 27 miles in two days. The garrison left at Arcot by Chanda Sahib panicked at the approach of English troops and fled, leaving a huge cache of arms, canons and the treasury. Furious at the fall of Arcot, Chanda Sahib dispatched his son, Raza Sahib, with 4000 French and native troops from Trichy to lay siege to Arcot. The siege resulted in huge loss of lives to Raza Sahib and loss of the throne to Chanda Sahib. Robert Clive returned to Fort St George with a strong ally, Muhammed Ali Walajah, as Nawab of Arcot, and a vast cache of treasure as tribute.

On his way back, Clive halted at Conjeevaram. True to his wow, Clive paid homage to Varadaraja, thanking him for the victory. He also presented the MAKARAKANDI, an invaluable emerald from the treasurers of Arcot to Lord Varadaraja. Even today, the Makarakandi is worn by the Lord on special occasions.

Clive went on to defeat Siraj Ud Daulah and his French allies in the battle of Plassey six years later, laying the foundation for British Indian Empire. He would also avail to himself vast wealth and title on account of his exploits in India.