Author: Ashutosh Sharma
Publication: The Hindu
Date: May 27, 2008
URL: http://www.thehindu.com/br/2008/05/27/stories/2008052750031400.htm
The Saga of Indian Cannons:
R. Balasubramaniam; Aryan Books International,
Pooja Apartments, 4B, Ansari Road, Darya Ganj, New Delhi- 110002. Rs. 4500.
Rudyard Kipling's much fabled Zam Zamah, which
is actually a very big cannon, is featured in this colourful collage-cum-compendium,
which appears to be a labour of love of the author; else why should an educationist
be devoting so much time, energy and money into a project which is essentially
fodder only for the gunners, and may be for the military history buffs and
military technologists interested in medieval times?
Other Indian cannons dealt with are the Durga
tope of the deccani Daulatabad Fort, the karak bijli of Golconda, the Bhawani
Shankar of Jhansi, Babur's tufangchis, Akbar's multi-barrelled cannons, Sher
Shah Suri's bronze cannon, Tipu Sultan's ban artillery, Maharaja Ranjit Singh's
Sutlej Gun , the Dogra mortars, the Congreve rockets, the Dardennels cannon,
and many others dating back in time to the very advent of the then state-of-the-art
and classy metallurgy of the Indian subcontinent way back in 15th century
A.D.
History
Zam Zamah was also known, in literary circles,
as the "Kim's Gun." It was cast by Ahmad Shah Abdali, and later
changed hands till it finally came into the possession of the English after
the subjugation of the Sikhs. Apart from all this lore, song and dance, the
cannon along with the gunpowder shaped the contours of empires, geography
and history, ever since the Chinese Sung dynasty first used a crystalline
white powder in 900 A.D. Babur, the original Moghul, speedily vanquished a
vastly superior Afghan force under Ibrahim Lodhi in Panipat on April 20, 1526
with the crafty deployment of cannons with the tufangchis playing hell with
the charging Afghan cavalry. Later, the British used it to great effect in
their conquest of India, with the artillery gaining the "Royal"
prefix. In battle, it is the artillery that inflicts the maximum casualties
on the enemy; the casualties from small arms fire of the infantry are nominal.
The technology for casting (forge-welding,
copper, bronze, brass, fabricated cast iron, and wrought iron) of cannons
came to the sub-continent from the Ottoman Turks (rumis), the Mameluke Egyptians,
the Chinese and the Portuguese, many of whom were employed in the service
of the local rajas/ sultans/moghuls. There were some Poles, as well as quite
a few French soldiers of fortune, who played starring roles in the manufacture,
deployment and command of artillery units in the various periods of history.
The main concern of the rulers was to ensure central control in respect of
the command of the guns, and casting of cannon and ball.
World class
The Mughals faltered in keeping up with the
latest Western trends in technology and they paid heavily for this lapse as
the Marathas, who had Europeans artillery men in their lashkars, and mounted-raiders
reduced Mughal rule to the confines of the very ramparts of Delhi's Lal Quila
by the time Bahadur Shah Zafar came to the throne. The British with their
European-manned guns in an "artillery-centric", sepoy army, made
a mockery of even that. R. Balasubramaniam has done a good job by any standard
undoubtedly; however, having started with the intention of showcasing only
the world class metallurgy in medieval India, he seems to have got carried
away by its use in the casting of cannon, and gone on to author this remarkable
glossy which is the first of its kind. Kudos are in order as the book is a
collector's item. There are few glaring lapses in this otherwise very high
standard work.
