Introduction - Ocean of Churn - Sanjeev Sanyal

We provide a summary of Chapter 1 (Introduction) of the book "Ocean of Churn" by Sanjeev Sanyal.

An extraordinary event circa 730 AD

• Pallava kingdom spanned Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, S Karnataka; it was very active commercially and culturally
• Pallava king Parmeswara Varman II died without a direct heir
• In capital city Kanchipuram, a grand assembly of scholars and chieftans deliberated for days
• Finally they decided to reach out to a collateral branch of the dynasty that survived in a distant kingdom since five generations
• After a tough & adventurous journey, the delegation reached the court of Hiranya Varman. His youngest son, aged 12, took up the offer.
• The young prince was crowned Nandi Varman II in Kanchipuram
• He defeated internal rivals & external enemies, ruled for 65 years and became one of the greatest monarchs in the history of southern India

Cross-cultural links

• Close link between Pallavas and Cambodians is well known. Eg. Khmer script is derived directly from Pallavas
• Pallava dynasty began with a marriage to a princess from a Naga or Serpent clan from across the seas
• Multi-headed cobra was the symbol of Cambodian royalty from ancient times to present
• Malaysia has Bhujang valley (bhujang = naga = snake)

Importance of Indian Ocean

• Churn of people, goods and ideas along the Indian Ocean and its shores have defined human history from the very beginning
• For example, Nalanda University in Bihar was partly funded by Sri Vijaya kings of Sumatra
• India's geographical location, its cultural might and economic weight made it the pivot of Indian Ocean world
• Between 16th and 18th centuries, Europeans dominated the Indian Ocean
• In 19th century, the Atlantic Ocean began overshadowing the Indian Ocean
• In 20th century, the Pacific rim rose in importance
• In 21st century, the center of gravity is gradually shifting back to Indian Ocean

Ocean-centric perspective

• Most histories of Asia provide a continental or land-centric perspective. Eg. Mauryan, Mughal, Mongol, Tang empires
• History looks very different when viewed from coastlines rather than from an inland point of view. Eg. Chola, Majapahit, Omani kingdoms
• With shift of perspective from land to sea, certain individuals become extraordinary
• Odisha's Kharvela who ended the Mauryan empire
• Marthanda Varma of Travancore who defeated the Dutch and ended their dreams of colonizing India
• Nathaniel Courthope of East India Company who heroically held out against the Dutch at the Indonesian island of Run

Bias in most history books

• Most books on history of Indian Ocean or maritime Spice Route were written from a Western point of view. 
• They focused on developments after Europeans entered the scene
• Worse, such histories "ended" when the Europeans left in the mid 20th century
• A systematic bias in existing literature is the preference given to writers and sources from outside the Indian Ocean world
• Local texts, inscriptions and oral histories are discounted as being inferior sources than the testimonies of foreign visitors and travellers who are assumed to have greater credibility !
• Example: Chinese pilgrim-scholar Huien Tsang viewed the world exclusively from a Buddhist perspective
• Writings of European visitors are often systematically biased against the Hindu and Islamic cultures that they encountered in India
• Post 18th century narratives also contain an additional layer of racism
• It is surprising how the Aryan Invasion Theory continues to survive, esp. among the elite in India. This despite the lack of any textual or archaeological support, and a plethora of genetic and other evidence against it

Philosophy of History

• All narratives of history are based on some philosophical framework about the flow of events that allows the historian to make sense of it all
• A popular way to explain history is to focus on heroic (or demonic) individuals whose actions and thoughts disproportionately influenced the course of history
• Most history writing was financed directly or indirectly by "great men" who liked to highlight their own importance

Complex Adaptive System Theory

• According to the author Sanjeev Sanyal, the world (and thus history) is a complex adaptive system (CAS)
• It is a chaotic place where the flow of events is influenced by the constant and often unpredictable interactions between a host of factors and independent agents
• Other examples of a CAS are ecological systems, financial markets, economies, English language, cities, weather, law and Hindu religion
• Per Mark Twain, "History does not repeat itself, but it rhymes."

The Indian Soldier

• A consistent continuity in history is the presence of Indian soldiers and mercenaries serving in faraway lands since ancient times
• Among notable examples, Indian soldiers and mercenaries have
• fought for Persians against Greeks
• driven war elephants for Macedonian general Seleucus
• fought for Sinhalese rulers in Sri Lanka
• protected commercial interests of Tamil guilds in SE Asia
• served British in Opium Wars in China and Boer Wars in S Africa
• served across the globe during World Wars I and II

The Female Line

• Matrilineal customs played a dominant role in the history of Indian Ocean rim
• Matrilineal is different from matriarchal, which refers to societies where women are rulers/leaders as a matter of custom
• Matrilineal societies mark lineage through the mother and female ancestors. Men still run the show, but the status of women tends to be higher than societies that are purely patrilineal/patriarchal. Eg. Queen's nephew can become future king
• Examples of matrilineal societies along the Indian Ocean rim:
• Nairs of Kerala
• Bunts of Karnataka
• Garo, Khasi and Jaintia tribes of Meghalaya
• Karen of Myanmar
• Minangkaban of W Sumatra
• Cham of Vietnam

Diamonds and Opium - Ocean of Churn - Sanjeev Sanyal

We provide a summary of Chapter 10 (Pages 197 - 225) of the book "Ocean of Churn" by Sanjeev Sanyal.

End of Dutch Spice Monopoly

• Multiple European powers tried to grow expensive Asian spices outside their places of origin
• Pepper, originally from south India, spread to Sumatra
• Example: French adventurer Provost managed to smuggle 400 rooted nutmeg trees and 70 rooted clove trees from Spice islands to Mauritius
• Within few decades, there were spice plantations in Madagascar, Zanzibar and Carribean
• Dutch spice monopoly was shattered. VOC was dissolved in 1799.
• Indian textile technology was stolen and copied by Europeans. Indian cottons, esp. wood-block prints called “Chintz” were extremely popular in Europe
• French missionary Coerdoux converted some Indian weavers to Christianity and obtained secrets of Chintz wood-print technique. Further details were sent back to W Europe by French EIC agents. By 1760s, French and English factories were churning out Chintz on an industrial scale. In present times, this is equivalent to violation of intellectual property rights.

Free port of Singapore

• Due to corruption by EIC agents, its India operations were not profitable. Moreover, its trade gap with China kept growing. China insisted on being paid in silver coins for tea and porcelain.
• As Chinese demand for opium boomed, British used their control over India to grow poppies
• Shrewd Britishers put triangular trade in place. (1) Sell cheap mill-made textiles to Indians and buy opium at very low prices (2) Sell the opium to Chinese in exchange for goods that were in high demand in Europe (bypass payment in silver)
• Unfortunately, cheap textiles made on industrial scale in British mills destroyed the older artisan-made textile industry in India
• In EIC controlled areas, farmers were forced to grow opium and indigo instead of food crops. As a result, small changes in weather conditions lead to devastating famines.
• British officer Thomas Raffles, a Freemason (pagan) was impressed by the ancient Hindu-Buddhist kingdoms of Java. After extensive survey, he identified Singapore as a good place to set up outpost for permanent British control over sea-route passage.
• In 1819, Raffles gained control over Singapore island and declared that it would be a free port for trade and commerce. 1000s of Malays and Chinese shifted from Malacca to Singapore. It was a bubbling mix of cultures, incl. Tamilians and Indian Muslims.

Kandy for the British

• Kandy was ruled by Nayak dynasty from S India in 1730s. Later, it was ruled by a dynasty with lineage from Madurai.
• These rulers encouraged Buddhist revival to cement their position with the locals
• Between 1803 and 1815, British tried to conquer Kandy. Initially, they were decimated by Sinhalese guerrilla attack.
• In later years, Britishers conquered Kandy. Thus, entire Sri Lanka became part of British empire.

Haze of Opium

• Many European merchants began selling opium in China in 1830s, leading to a sharp fall in its price. Opium addiction became widespread in China.
• Forced to take action, Chinese government destroyed 20,000 chests of opium in 1839
• This led to first Opium war between British and Chinese. Using modern rifles, steam powered warship (from Industrial Revolution) and 7000 Indian soldiers, the British easily defeated the Chinese.
• Manchu emperor accepted Treaty of Nanjing. Several ports were opened for foreign trade. Huge compensation was given for war reparation. Also, Hong Kong began being controlled by British.
• In 1841, Zorawar Singh conquered Ladakh and marched Dogra army into Tibet. He even crossed Mansarovar lake but could not sustain supply lines. Tibetans with Chinese reinforcements pushed his army back to Ladakh. There, the Tibetan-Chinese army was defeated. This stretch of border between India and China remains disputed till today.
• Even in Second Opium war of 1860, Indian troops formed bulk of British forces. Same for Boxer Revolt in 1900.

Tycoons of Bombay 

• In 1858, EIC colonies were taken over by British crown.
• In late 18th century, many Parsis migrated to Bombay. They prospered as suppliers, victualers (restaurant owners) and shipbuilders.
• For opium, Parsi agents became an important part of supply chain all the way to Hong Kong
• Jamsetjee Jeejeebhoy was the most successful Parsi merchant of Bombay. He partnered with Jardine and acquired a large fleet of ships. In later life, he gave a large part of his fortune to charity. E.g. JJ School of Art, JJ Hospital
• Another successful merchant was David Sasoon, a Baghdadi Jew who made his fortune from cotton trade. He is remembered by Sasoon docks, Sasoon library.
• Premchaad Roychand is the 3rd most successful merchant of Mumbai, who made his money in real estate and financial markets. E.g. Backbay reclamation company. Rajabhai clock tower was funded by him.
• These merchants, and many others, gave Bombay the risk-taking ability that remains alive to this day.

Oman to Zanzibar

• Sultan Said ruled Oman from 1804 - 1856 (golden age of Oman). His success was based on naval power, esp. shipbuilding yards and European designed ships built in Bombay. Omani economy was powered by wolves grown in Zanzibar and African slaves.
• Under pressure from Britishers and Royal Navy, the Omanis stopped trading in slaves around 1833.
• Oman ruled Zanzibar till 1964

Steam Ships and Fishing Fleets

• In mid 19th century, coal powered railways and steam ships drastically reduced the time taken to move goods and people over land and sea.
• Suez Canal was opened in 1869 under Egyptian and French control. Due to financial difficulties, the Egyptians sold their stake to the British. This radically changes the dynamics of Atlantic-Indian Ocean trade, since ships no longer had to make the long journey around Africa. Aden emerged as a major hub.
• After abolishment of slavery in 1833, many Indian indentured (contract) workers were transported by British and French to Mauritius, Fiji, Carribean etc.
• Tamil Chettiar merchants spread across SE Asia
• Gujarati traders and moneylenders established themselves along the coast from S Africa to Oman
• In Durban, South Africa, Indians were competing with Europeans as accountants, lawyers, clerks etc. This led to apartheid laws protecting the interests of the whites.
• Mohandas Gandhi arrived in Durban in 1893. He became part of a movement to oppose anti-Indian laws. In 1894, Natal Indian Congress was established with Gandhi as its secretary.

Scramble for Africa

• India was the only source of diamonds in the world till 18th century (recall Kohinoor) ! Later, new deposits were found in Brazil.
• Quality and quantity of South African diamonds was at a high level (recall “Blood Diamond” movie). There was a mad rush between 1867 and 1874, esp. at Kimberly. In 1888, the entire operation was brought under De Beers Consolidated Mines Ltd.
• Friction between British and Dutchmen in Africa (aka Boers) led to 2nd Anglo-Boer war during 1899-1902. Indian soldiers helped British during the war, where more than 100,000 people died.
• Africa’s interiors were seen as a source of raw material to feed industrial economies and of easily conquerable territories to feed imperial egos.
• Ethiopia was the only African country that successfully defended itself against colonial onslaught

Note:

Denying a people’s history and culture is an obvious way for a colonising power to present everything preceding their arrival as the age of darkness and ignorance.

End of Pretence

• At the end of the 20th century, almost all shores of Indian Ocean were under European control.
• In 1906, the Dutch landed at Bali island with a large force armed with rifles and machine guns. Both sides knew that Balinese did not stand a chance
• When the Dutch army reached the royal palace, the Balinese performed the Hindu rite of Puputal (Last Stand)
• In a ceremonial procession, the king, queen, children, priests, servants and retainers emerged from the main gate. They wore funerary garments and finest jewellery. The priest stabbed the king with a kris (dagger) in full view. The Balinese then pulled out their krises and charged towards the Dutch. They were shot down in minutes. Waves of men, women and children kept coming out of the palace and were shot down.
• Similar events occurred in other Bali kingdoms (islands), even after few years.

Nutmegs and Cloves - Ocean of Churn - Sanjeev Sanyal

We provide a brief summary of Chapter 9 (Pages 176 - 196) of the book "Ocean of Churn" written by Sanjeev Sanyal.

• Towards the end of 16th century, English and Dutch defeated combined Spanish and Portuguese ships in Indian Ocean
• In 1600, “The Company of Merchants of London trading into East Indies” was established under Queen Elizabeth I. It is more commonly known as East India Company (EIC)
• Dutch set up United East India Company (initials VOC)

The Dutch Hand

• English and Dutch fought and killed each other also locals in many spice-rich islands in south East Asia (aka East Indies). Example: Pulau Ai and Pulau Run
• Ended with Treat of Brenda in 1667. Dutch got Pulau Ru & England got Manhattan!

The Company Cities

• EIC discovered that SE Asia & Europe had an insatiable demand for Indian cotton textiles. More than black pepper, textiles were the reason EIC decided to build permanent establishments on Indian mainland
• EIC decided to build fortified settlements (for warehouses) to defend against Indian rulers and European rivals
• Madras (Fort St George) - no sheltered harbor
• Bombay (group of small islands) - good harbor. Eg. Fort area, Worli area
• Calcutta - 3 villages at westernmost channel of Ganga
• Each of these EIC settlements attracted many Indian merchants, clerks, labourers, sailors, artisans, mercenaries
• French EIC built a major settlement at Pondicherry

Skulls and Bones

• EIC paid low salaries, due to fluctuating profits and losses. Its employees were more interested in private trade than company’s larger interest. This led to corruption.
• Elihu Yale, Governor of Madras, amassed large fortune before being sacked. His funds were the seed money for Yale university in USA.
• Origin of pirates: Private parties who were granted commissions by different European monarchs to carry out acts of piracy against rival states
• Henry Avery, a notorious British pirate, had his base at Madagascar. He looted ships like Fath Mohamaddi and Ganj-i-Sawai that altogether yielded 200,000 pounds of gold, silver, ivory and jewels

The Merchant’s Daughter

• Portuguese power in Indian Ocean declined in 17th century
• Lost Mirani fort in Oman by clever tactics of Naruttam, an Indian merchant, who saved his daughter from being married off to Portuguese commander Pereira
• Squeezed out by Mughals and Marathas in Indian ocean, they were reduced to trading in African slaves and kidnapping Indian children for export
• Meera, a girl from India west coast, went on to become a popular saint in Mexico in later life: Catrina de San Juan

The King and the Captain

• Marthanda Varma (Nair warrior clan) inherited crown on Travancore from his maternal uncle at the age of 23, in year 1729
• Dutch tightly controlled pepper trade on which prosperity of Kerala depended. Locals did not put up any resistance, since the region was divided into many small kingdoms
• Marthanda Varma built an army drilled in modern warfare. He took over neighbouring kingdoms one by one. Finally, he defeated Dutch army and marines. His army chased them from Padmanabhapuram to Colachel coast.
• Battle of Colachel was a turning point. After that, Dutch power in Indian Ocean went into decline.
• Marthanda Varma hired defeated Dutch commander Eustachius de Lannoy as a general in his army, under the condition that he train his army under European lines
• Lannoy not only served the Travancore army for 3 decades, but also built a network of forts using advanced European design. e.g. Vattakotai fort near Kanyakumari, which has windmills in the vicinity!
• Lannoy’s well-trained army expanded Travancore kingdom as far north as Kochi. It also defended Travancore from Tipu Sultan of Mysore.

Company’s Empire

• After Aurangzeb’s death, a major part of his empire was taken over by Marathas
• Kanhoji Angre, the Grand Admiral of Maratha Navy, imposed control on Konkan coast from 1712 onwards. With smaller and faster boats, the Marathas were able to close in and board larger EIC ships
• Angre’s main base was at Vijaydurg, a fortress on a peninsula jutting into Arabian Sea. It could not be conquered from 1718 to 1756 across multiple attempts, even by a combined fleet of EIC, Royal Navy and Portuguese
• Vijaydurg fell in 1756 because Bajirao’s army blocked land supplies. This led to decline of Maratha naval power and dominance of British naval power in Indian Ocean
• British and French fought many battles right from Malacca to Madras and Hyderabad
• Battle of Plassey in 1757 was the turning point in EIC control over India. British troops led by Robert Clive defeated Nawab of Bengal, Siraj-ud-Daulah, even though the Naawab had 10x military resources compared to Clive. This happened because a large segment of the Nawab’s army, which was led by turncoat Mir Jafar, did not take part in the battle
• Marathas controlled most of Indian Ocean territory in the latter half of the 18th century. However, they were finally defeated by the technically advanced British in the third Anglo-Maratha war of 1817-18

Tipu Sultan the Tyrant

• Tipu sultan got the throne of Mysore in 1782 after Hyder Ali’s death. In the past, Hyder Ali usurped the throne from Wodeyar dynasty that he served as military commander
• Tipu crushed all dissent within his kingdom. He conquered adjoining smaller kingdoms. In particular, coastal Karnataka and Coorg.
• The indiscriminate cruelty of Tipu’s troops is testified not only in Indian and European accounts, but also in letters that Tipu sent to his commanders. 10,000’s of Coorgi men were hung upon trees, since they refused to convert to Islam.
• Tipu & army razed Calicut (old port city) to the ground. 100’s of temples and churches were destroyed. 10,000’s Hindus and Christians were either killed or forcibly converted to Islam. This is testified by his court historian Mir Hussein Kirmani
• Tipu tried invading Travancore but was repeated repulsed by Nair troops
• Combined force of EIC, Travancore, Marathas and Hyderabad marched to Mysore and conquered most of Tipu’s kingdom in 1791. He was forced to pay a big war indemnity, plus half his kingdom was confiscated.
• In 1799, the British once again marched to Srirangpatna, since Tipu wrote letters seeking help from Ottoman sultan and Napoleon. He died fighting, sword in hand. British restored Mysore to old Wodeyar dynasty.
• Given Tipu’s record of Brutality towards fellow Indians, it is difficult to think of him as a great freedom fighter.

Kharavela's Revenge - Ocean of Churn - Sanjeev Sanyal

We provide a summary of main points from Chapter 4 (Pages 63 - 81) of the book "Ocean of Churn" by Sanjeev Sanyal

Iron Age (1700 BC or earlier)

• Advanced iron tools found in Indian subcontinent
• Major highways
• Uttar path (east - west): Afghanistan - Gangetic plain - Bengal
• Dakshin path (north - south)

Lion kingdoms

• Eastern Indians capable of sailing long distances (DNA evidence in Australia)
• Kalinga kingdom (Orissa & neighbourhood) was epicentre of maritime boom
• Many ancient paths along W mouth of Ganga & Chilika lake
• Present day Sinhalese have part Bengali-Odiya origins
• Mahavamsa (epic in Pali): genetic, linguistic, cultural evidence
• Narasimha worshipped in Orissa; Lion is in Sri Lanka flag

Prized resources from India

• Large contingent of Indian soldiers was part of Greek Imperial army (Ref: The Histories - Herodotus, 450 BDC)
• India was famous for gold, cinnamon, horses
• Phoenicians sailed around Africa (Cape of good hope) 2000 years before Vasco da Game

Alexander and War Elephants

• Many Greek vs. Persian wars took place (Alexander vs. Darius 3)
• Contingent of Indian cavalry fought till the end (stirrup was invented in India)
• Army of Massaga (E Afghanistan) had 7000 Indian mercenaries, who were prisoners of war. Since they refused to fight their own countrymen, they were massacred by Alexander
• Alexander defeated king of Pure tribe
• Weary trips forced him to return home. He mistakenly sailed down the Indus and reached the Arabian Sea instead of the mouth of Nile
• Few soldiers retired by sea. Bulk of his army died in deserts of Balochistan and E Iran

Mauryan Empire

• Since NW India was politically unstable following Alexander’s incursion, Chandragupta Maurya and Chanakya conquered it easily
• They defeated Seleucus Nikator and made him sign a treaty in 305 BDC. Mauryan territory extended all the way to Balochsitan, while Seleucus received 500 Indian was elephants and mahouts in exchange
• Seleucus used these elephants to crush internal rebellion in Greece. Elephants became the symbol of Seleucid empire ! In coins, he was shown riding elephant drawn chariots !

Ashoka the Cruel

• Chandragupta’s son Bindusara ruled for 25 years till 273 BC. His kingdom expended from Afghanistan to Bengal to most of Southern India
• How Ashoka annexed the throne ?
• After Bindusara dies in 274 BC, crown prince Sushima rushed back to Pataliputra from NW frontiers, Ashoka killed him at E gates
• Took help of Greek mercenaries
• Killed 99 half-brothers and hundreds of loyal officials in 4 year civil war
• Crowned emperor in 270 BC
• Known as Chandaashoka - Ashoka the Cruel
• Ashoka converted to Buddhism one decade before Kalinga war (rebellious vassal). This had more to do with politics of succession than any regret for sufferings of war
• Ironically, none of Ashoka’s inscriptions in Odisha talk about remorse of war. These are found in faraway places like NW Pakistan
• Ashokvandana (Buddhist text) describes how Ashoka got many members of Jain and Ajivika sects killed. E.g. 18000 Ajivikas in Bengal in a single day
• He was not a successful administrator. During his later years, the kingdom disintegrated. He brought disrepute to the vast Mauryan empire built by his grandfather and sustained by his father.
• Post independence, academic historians built up the legend of Ashoka the Great to provide lineage of Nehru’s socialist project!!! Uncomfortable evidence was swept under the carpet.
• Why should modern Indians accept a narrative based on minimal evidence?

Mauryan trade routes

• Arthashasta written by Chanaklya (aka Kautilya)
• Dakshin path was preferred trade route, esp. for diamonds found in peninsular India
• Tamralipti in Bengal was a thriving port

Kharavela’s revenge

• Ashoka’s successors (eg. Dashrath) tried to mend relations across sects
• For Ajivikas, he constructed rock-cut shrines: Nagarjuni and Barabar caves in Gaya, Bihar
• Kingdom broke up rapidly after Dashratha
• Satavahanas took over Southern territories with capital at Pratishthana (Paithan, Maharashtra). —> this clan is never mentioned in textbooks
• Kalinga rebelled under Chedi clan, with Kharavela as their military leader in 193 BC
• He defeated Indo-Greek Demetrius at Magadh in 185 BC
• He defeated last Mauryan king Bahasatimati in 181 BC and sacked the Mauryan capital
• Kharavela’s inscriptions at Udayagiri hill overlook those of Ashoka at Dhauli. They mention that he defeated the Satavahanas, Mauryas, Indo-Greeks and Pandyas too.
• He conducted Ashwamedh Yadnya and declared himself as Chakravarti (world conqueror) - most powerful ruler in Indian subcontinent at that time —> Kharavela is never mentioned in Indian textbooks, since historians emphasise continental over coastal perspective