Remember Our Defenders
A few civilisational icons we've never learned about
Hello there,
A wise man once said, “A people without knowledge of their past history, origin, and culture is like a tree without roots”.
Every Independence Day, we remember the Bravehearts who won us freedom in 1947.
But we must also remember the sacrifice of lakhs of warriors who defended Bharat from the onslaught of repeated invasions over the last 1000 years.
The story of our civilization is endlessly fascinating and saw the development of spirituality, philosophy, arts, sciences, and phenomenal advances in so many other human endeavors. But that is a subject for another day.
If we look only at political and military affairs, it seems like a grossly distorted picture has been painted. Our history textbooks advance the idea that ours is a defeated civilization- that our history is the history of one tragic loss after another. I mentioned this in one of my previous monthly roundups.
Unfortunately, sweeping with such a broad brush misses many significant details. It overlooks the stories of what really happened in this land- stories of heroic resistance to invaders who fought fearlessly for the preservation of their motherland.
It’s disappointing that we never learn about these tales and have barely heard about the towering figures of our civilization- without whom we’d probably not be here.
Things have been this way because you and I are a product of a colonial education system that was developed by the British, with the express aim of molding our minds to align with their worldviews at the expense of our own Indic consciousness.
It was carefully designed to ensure that the European worldview became the only game in town, so we’d all learn to look up to the White Man while developing a self-loathing that cemented the goals of this colonial project.
This discussion will naturally lead us toward the idea of decoloniality, which is a different beast altogether and something we’ll dive into soon.
But for now, it is enough to understand why we’ve grown up with such a distorted view of our own past. The only way to correct those biases is to read more history and make an attempt to understand what actually happened.
I’ve been trying to do that for a few years and came across awe-inspiring stories- overlooked tales of incredible valor that can deeply inspire and send you the down the rabbit hole of Bharatiya history.
This Independence Day, let us read about the story of 3 incredible yet unheard-of figures who were instrumental to our fight for independence:
Marthanda Varma
In 1741, an event of gigantic proportions occurred in the southern part of the country.
The Dutch East India Company, which was engaged in the lucrative spice trade in Malabar, came up against an astute man- Marthanda Varma, the King of Travancore. Using an expansionist policy, Varma took control of several neighboring kingdoms and consolidated his power- which eventually brought him in contact with the Dutch.
Varma clearly saw the threat posed by the Dutch and refused to honor the monopoly contracts they’d been enjoying in Malabar. Attempts at negotiating broke down which led the Dutch to declare war.
With strategic brilliance and working with steadfastly loyal troops, Marthanda Varma inflicted a crushing defeat on the Dutch, making it the first comprehensive defeat of a European power by an Indian force.
But this wasn’t just another defeat. The Battle of Colachel completely ended the colonial ambitions of the Dutch, who happened to be the leading military and economic power of the world at that time.
Imagine facing off against a global superpower and sending them back with a bloody nose. What MV did wasn’t just heroic. It saved our people from the tear-inducing fate suffered by the Indonesians and Sri Lankans.
Lachit Borphukan
You may have not heard of this name, but Lachit Borphukan is an unforgettable character, also called by many the Assamese Shivaji.
An astute military leader, he badly defeated the Mughals in 1671 at the Battle of Saraighat and preserved the integrity of Assam under the Ahom kingdom.
Assam was always an attractive target for invaders because of the fertile lands around the Brahmaputra River and the gateway it provided for expansion into the East. 17 attempts were made over the years by foreign invaders- and the Ahoms managed to repulse each one successfully.
In 1671, the Mughals waged another war in an attempt to conquer Assam, led by Mir Jumla II and Ram Singh. At one point during the battle, the odds were stacked against the Ahoms and the morale was very low.
To make matters worse, Borphukan had fallen severely ill and his doctors advised him to avoid all action. Throwing caution to the wind, he decided to enter the battle and told his troops that he’d committed to the Ahom king that he’d fight for his motherland- and even if they didn’t want to come and decided to back off, they should tell the king that Lachit put up a good fight.
Inspired by this gesture, the troops rallied and went on a rampage. With strategic brilliance and diplomatic deceit, the Ahoms were able to trap the Mughal fleet in the river and executed a brilliant reversal.
The victory was significant for multiple reasons. Not only did it mark the end of all Mughal attempts at invasion, but it also preserved the integrity of the Assamese rulers for a few more centuries. Lachit Borphukan should be a household name for his landmark contribution to the cause of independence.
Raja Suhaldev
You might have heard of Mahmud of Ghazni who raided many of our cities and destroyed the Somnath temple. During these raids, he was accompanied by his nephew Salar Masud, who was infected by the military skill and religious zeal he observed in these bloody carnages.
Years later, Masud embarked on his own mission to subjugate various Indian kingdoms and left a trail of destruction through Delhi, Meerut, and Kannauj.
Sensing the impending threat, Raja Suheldev, the king of Shravasti decided to take matters into his own hands.
Uniting chieftains of more than 20 other tribes, including those who had already been defeated, he issued an ultimatum- asking Masud to leave the Hindus alone. But Masud refused and stated that it was his duty to convert the heathens and take control of the land.
Seeing that the enemy wouldn’t yield, Suheldev picked up his sword and let slip the dogs of war in 1033 at the Battle of Bahraich.
Launching attack after attack, his innumerable army of over 1 lakh soldiers finally broke the ranks of Masud’s army and wreaked absolute havoc. None of the invading troops survived and Masud was himself either beheaded or struck with an arrow and killed.
It was such a crushing defeat that the invaders decided to not come back for another 150 years!
These are but a handful of tales from the rich corpus of Indic history.
What’s important is for us to read, pull the wool from our eyes, and get a sense of our own past- our history, culture, and values. It’s imperative to pass on this knowledge from generation to generation and preserve our unique identity instead of unthinkingly submitting to distorted narratives.
There can’t be a better occasion than 15th August to reflect on these issues and pledge to learn who we are and where we’ve come from.
“A nation that forgets its heroes will itself soon be forgotten”. Let us keep this thought in our minds.
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This was a brilliant piece, thank you sahil for getting me more curious by history