Mangalore : The History of Mangalore dates back to the Mythological times and is accounted to as part of Parashurama Shristi. Mangalore has been ruled by a number of rulers like the Kadambas and Vira Harihararaya II. It was later conquered by the Portuguese, who lost it to Hyder Ali. Until India’s independence Mangalore remained under the rule of the British who had taken over,by defeating Tippu Sultan.Mangalore which was a part of the Madras Presidency was merged into a unified Mysore State in 1956.
According to Hindu mythology, the region covering Mangalore was a part of the Parashurama Shristi, the coastal belt reclaimed from the sea by the legendary sage Parashurama. As for other mythological associations, Rama was the Lord of Tulu Nadu during the days of the Ramayana. Sahadeva, the youngest of the Pandavas, was the Governor of this place during the days of the Mahabharatha. The Pandavas lived in Banavasi during their exile visiting Sarapady near Mangalore. Arjuna, the hero of Mahabharata also appears to have visited this place when he travelled from Gokarna to Adur near Kasargod. It was the land of enchantment of Sahyadri mountains, where the great sages Kanva, Vysa, Vashista, Vishvamitra and others spent their days of meditation.
There are many historical references regarding to the town. Cosmas Indicopleustes, a Greek monk referred to the port of Mangarouth.Pliny, a Roman historian made references of a place called Nithrias, and Greek historian Ptolemy referred to Nitre. Both the references were probably to the River Netravathi. Ptolemy had also mentioned this city of Mangalore in his work as Maganoor. Roman writer Arien called Mangalore Mandegora. A 7th-century copper inscription referred to Mangalore as Mangalapura had ruled this place from 200 to 600 A.D. The ancient history proved that Mangalore had been the capital of Alupa dynasty until the 14th century. A traveler, Ibn Battuta who had visited the town in 1342 stated that he arrived at a place named Manjurun or Mandjaur situated on a large estuary. He had mentioned that the town was a trading centre and Persian and Yemeni merchants disembarked at Mangalore. In 1448, Abdul Razak, a Persian Ambassador passed via this route to Vijayanagar. He said that he had seen a glorious temple here. The inscriptions at Moodabidri stated a King Mangaras Odeya was the governor of Mangaluru Raajya during the reign of Vira Harihararaya II of Vijayanagar dynasty. Another inscription stated that Deeva Raaja Odeya ruled the Mangaluru Raajya in 1429 during the reign of Vijayanagara King Veera Devaraya II. Various powers have fought for control over Mangalore. The major dynasties that ruled the town till the arrival of Portuguese were the Western Chalukyas, Rashtrakutas and Hoysalas.
The European influence in Mangalore can be traced back to the year 1498, when the Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama had landed at St Mary’s Islands near Mangalore on his voyage from Portugal to India.[11] In 1520 the Portuguese took control of the area from Vijayanagara rulers. During the 16th and 17th centuries, the Portuguese commanded the Arabian Sea from the port of Mangalore and they intruded actively in the affairs of the local chieftains. In 1695, the town was burnt by the Arabs in retaliation for Portuguese restrictions on Arab trade.
Hyder Ali (1722–1782) the ruler of Mysore conquered Mangalore in 1763, and it was under his administration till 1768, before being annexed by the British between 1768 and 1794. Later in 1794 Hyder Ali’s son Tippu Sultan again took control of the area.[13] During his regime, the city was caught in the crossfires of Anglo-Mysore relations. The Second Anglo-Mysore War ended with the Treaty of Mangalore which was signed in Mangalore between Tippu Sultan and the British East India Company on 11 March 1784.
The English again captured Mangalore in 1791, but Tippu besieged it in 1793 and the English surrendered the city in 1794. With the death of Tippu Sultan and the fall of Srirangapatna during the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War in 1799, the city was re-conquered by the British, and it remained under British administration till India’s independence in 1947.
he city had a peaceful administration under British rule and permanent visible improvements effected during this period. It flourished gradually in education and in industry and became a commercial centre for export and import trade. The linking of Mangalore, in 1907, with the Southern Railway and later the advent of motor vehicles further increased the trade and communication with the rich hinterland. The opening of the Basel Mission in 1834 brought many industries into the city.
After India’s independence in 1947, Mangalore which was a part of the Madras Presidency was merged into a unified Mysore State in 1956. Thereafter, Mangalore gained a very important position in the state since it gave the erstwhile Mysore state the benefit of a coastline. The late twentieth century witnessed Mangalore develop as a business and commercial centre. In spite of this, Mangalore still retained its old world charm such as tile-roofed buildings amidst coconut groves, fishing boats silhouetted against the darkening skyline. The present day city bustles with great activity in the upcoming IT Sector and the prognosis of a prosperity in this international trade looms.
The history behind Indian independence is very painful and is full of sacrifices. And only because of those sacrifices India freed herself from the shackles of British Empire on 15th August 1947. It was an endless struggle of millions faceless Indians, who made the inhabitants united and fought for the freedom of their own country.
The year 1857 is a benchmark in the history of Indian independence. On 29th march 1875, a brave Indian soldier first ever raised his voice against the British Empire and later it resulted to Sepoy Mutiny. Mahatma GandhiThe name of the Indian soldier was Mangal Pandey, and the reason behind his revolt was, low wages of Indian workers than other British soldiers, racial discrimination and cultural misunderstandings. And another strong reason was the packing of the cartridges which was believed to be greased with cow and pig fat and soldiers had to tear the packing with their teeth in order to use it. And that was something which considered being very unholy for the hindu soldiers. Combination of all these issues led to the violent uprising of Barrakpore Sepoy mutiny. Mangal Pandey, the Hindu soldier of the 34th Native infantry was hanged as because he had shot his sergeant major on the parade ground. This incident fanned the fire of the revolution. On 10th may of the same year the enraged Indian soldiers and the common civilians of Meerut joined their hands to protest against the ill-treatment of the British on some native soldiers. Later this revolt took a big form but it was eventually put down by the effective British military.
Jhansi Rani LaxmibaiIn next few decades there were many small and big wars fought against the empire. Among these wars most prominent were the Battle of Kanpur led by Nana Shahib of Bittur, the Battle of Jhansi led by the Queen of Jhansi Rani Laxmibai and Tantia Tope, the fight of Arrah in Bihar led Kunwar Singh the landlord of Jagdishpur and the war at Lucknow led by Hazrat Begum. These battles were the indications of the discontent of the Indians against their European rulers.
In 20th century, the dissatisfaction towards the British Government began to take a concrete shape. Neta Subhash Chandra BoseIn the beginning of 1900 there were several revolutionary groups sprang up in different parts of the country such as Bengal, Punjab, Gujrat, Assam and the southern states of India. Several extremist organizations with arms started to sprang up with one aim that is to earn freedom through violent activities. This discontentment for freedom was not without reason. The British Government never treated the Indian natives with the deserving respect. They are always considered as low-lives comparing to the British counterparts. They don’t treat them with leniency even for the small crimes while the British civilians were being let off, even if they were found guilty of committing murders. In every path of their lives the Indians found themselves deprived. Some political groups such as Congress were formed to convey the voices of millions anguished natives to the British Empire in a peaceful manner. Some of the iconic leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Subhash Chandra Bose, Jawaharlal Nehru and Lala Lajpat Rai , had tried to attain freedom through peaceful means. On the other hand personalities like Mastarda Surya Sen, Chandrasekhar Azad, Bhagat Singh, had taken extreme measure to snatch freedom from the British Empire.
In 1930 Mahatma Gandhi started the famous “Salt March” and after that in 1942 he started the “Quit India Movement”. The amount of public support and remonstration was more than before. All those things which were Western were burnt or thrown away. Purna Swaraj or total freedom was demanded from the British Government. In answer to this protest the British Government imprisoned thousands of Congress leaders and civilians along with Gandhi. Subhash Chandra Bose, who idealisms were extremist, got drifted from Congress and formed a new party named the All India Forward Block Party and launched his own army named Indian National Army (INA). And by this military might he tried to attain freedom from the clutches of the British Empire. Initially they were successful. But with the sudden demise of Netaji (as Subhash Chandra Bose was popularly known to his countrymen) the entire nation saw the evanescent of the INA.
Later with two successive world wars, the resources of the British Empire were eventually drained to a certain extent that they found it really very difficult to manage India. And on top of that the huge discontent of the native Indians who wanted British to leave their country at any cost was driving them crazy. Non violent protests as well as extremist activities were being carried out on the daily basis. On this scenario the British was clear about one thing that their reign over this country were going to be over soon.
Viscount Louis MountbattenAt last the day came, in the year 1947, June 3rd Viscount Louis Mountbatten, the last British Governor-General of India, declared that the British will leave the Indian subcontinent. But before leaving India they had decided to split up their Indian British Empire into secular India and Muslim Pakistan. This was done because the Muslims in India felt that their demands were not thoroughly represented by the Congress. And after the desired freedom they would not have equal opportunities as the Congress. They thought that after independence the Congress would give preference to the Hindus and therefore this thought lead to the demand for a separate nation. Pakistan was officially announced as an independent nation on 14th August 1947. And at midnight, on 15th August 1947, India was declared to be an independent nation by her first Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru.