Mir Jumla’s Great Cannons: An Enchanting Testament to Mughal Legacy

 

Dhaka is the city of enriched history and heritage. Once upon a time, the tourist attraction in Dhaka was not Lalbagh Fort or Bara Katra. Robert Lindsay, a young East India Company official, arrived in Dhaka in 1776 as a junior officer, wrote - Dhaka has nothing to be proud of. Lalbagh Fort, Bara Katra, Tanti Bazar and Tongi Pool (Tongi Bridge) did not attract him. He mentioned two big guns as Dhaka's main attraction.

In 1660 CE Mir Jumla was around 69 years old, when he came to Bengal as Emperor Aurangzeb appointed Jumla as the Governor of Bengal.

Soon after taking office, Mir Jumla started a large number of construction activities in Dhaka. ?? built two roads, two bridges and a network of forts. The Dhaka gate or Mir Jumla gate, remains of his bridge and a cannon named 'Bibi Mariam' can be found in Dhaka even today and are the reminders of his rule.

The huge cannon named Bibi Mariam currently stands as a large wrought iron artillery piece measuring several meters in length at the entrance of the age-old Dhaka Gate near Doyel Chattar and Curzon Hall of Dhaka University. One such cannon sank in the Buriganga rivar 238 years ago.

This description is found in a chapter titled "The Lost Cannon of Dhaka" in the second volume of Historian Prof Muntassir Mamoon's works.

The name of the sunken cannon is "Kale Khan Jamjam". Historians and archaeologists believe that it is not difficult to find the cannon if modern technology is used to search for it.

The famous "geographer, historian, and oceanographer James Rennell (1742-1830)", particularly known for his significant contributions to mapping Bengal and India, wrote about the cannons of Dhaka in detail in his memoirs. In terms of measurement, he has described the "Kale Khan Jamjam" as comparatively more magnificent and huge.

Syed Mohammad Taifur said in his book "Glimpses of Dhaka" that Mir Jumla used these two cannons "Bibi Mariam" and "Kale Khan Jamjam" in the Assam war. Mir Jumla used 675 heavy cannons during the Assam campaign in 1661. After the war, Mir Jumla originally placed the two huge cannons on both sides of Buriganga River at Swarighat to defend Dhaka's waterfront from frequent attacks of the Mogh and Arakan pirates. At the time of his conquest of Assam these cannons were taken to fight enemy.

Jumla installed Bibi Mariam at Sowarighat in front of Bara Katra as a monument or a sight to behold after the war victory. Bara Katra was the only prominent building in Dhaka during Mir Jumla's time.

Since then, the cannon have been known as "Mir Jumla's Cannon".

Charles D'Oyly who was Collector of Dhaka between 1808 and 1811 believed that the cannons were built in Dhaka in the 17th century by local technicians under the guidance of Mughal engineers, as it was unlikely to move such heavy cannons on waterway from capital thousand miles away.

These two cannons prove the skill of the Mughal technicians of Dhaka at that time. During the Mughal period, there were many craftsmen who made high-quality cannons in Dhaka. At that time, this cannon industry flourished in Dhaka.

The subedars and zamindars used to get their required cannons made by these craftsmen by giving orders. The huge cannon that can be seen in Murshidabad today was made by Nawab Alivardi Khan in Dhaka by the craftsman Janardhan Karmakar.

For a time, "Kale Khan Jamjam" was famous to everyone. This heavy cannon caught the attention of the British. This is what is assumed from the accounts of Rennell and Lindsay. Because both of them only talked about Kale Khan. There is no mention of "Mariam". This shows that Mariam was insignificant compared to Kale Khan.

The English geographer James Rennell saw Kale Khan Jamjam with his own eyes. Robert Lindsay also saw it. The description of the cannon is found in both their writings, which is roughly the same.

James Rennell was posted at Dhaka in the later half of 18th century. His Memoir of a Map of Hindustan states that the cannon was made by beating iron wheels on 14 pieces of iron. Its surface was not smooth. The length of the cannon was 22 feet 10 inches 5 centimeters. The diameter of the rear part was 3 feet 3 inches. The diameter of the front part, where the shells came out, was 15 inches. The cannon weighed 64,814 pounds (29,400 kg). Two stone balls were kept next to the cannon. Each ball with it weighed 465 pounds (211 kg).

Robert Lindsay mentioned the length of the cannon as 36 feet. It is worth noting that Lindsay wrote his autobiography at the age of 65, in the preface to which he mentioned that many of his memories had become gray. On the other hand, Rennell mentioned in his book that he carefully measured the entire cannon and calculated the size of each part separately. Therefore, historians consider Rennell's measurements to be accurate.

Since the cannon was made of very hard and beaten iron, it did not rust even after all these years. Therefore, the comparative Kale Khan Jamjam was more massive between the two. That is why it attracted everyone's attention more.

On the other hand, Bibi Mariam's length is 11 feet. The diameter of the muzzle is six inches. The weight of the bullets used in the cannon is five to six maunds.

In 1662 CE, Mir Jumla proceeded to invade the Ahom kingdom of Assam. But ironically, this last campaign of Mir Jumla's life turned out to be a disaster. Mughal solders had to fight in very difficult terrain and suffered heavy losses. Supplies ran out and many lives were lost. Mir Jumla lost two thirds of his army and they had to retreat.

On his way back from Assam, he became extremely sick and passed away on a boat on 30th March 1663 CE. He was 72 years old when he died. He was buried on a hillock, in Thakurbari, in present day South West Garo Hills district near the Assam-Meghalaya border, where his grave still stands.

After the fall of Mughal and occupation of Bengal by British, in the 18th century Kale Jamjam was devoured by river. It was sunk by river erosion somewhere between Swarighat and Jinjira (local people believed Kale jamjam came from heaven so went away, they revered the place till it was vanished).

Robert Lindsay wrote that Kale Khan Jamjam cannon was placed on a char on the Buriganga River opposite Dhaka city. The name of the char is mentioned as Moghlani Char in the books of several historians.

Robert Lindsay also wrote when the char got dissolved and taken over by the river, the cannon had disappeared with it. The flood in Dhaka city at that time as the reason for this. That terrible flood in Dhaka occurred in 1787. That history is known in the book "A Sketch of the Topography and Statistics of Dhaka" written by James Taylor, a physician working for the East India Company. He wrote that the flood in 1787 severely damaged the Dhaka district, especially the southern parganas and the area north of the Buriganga.

During the British period, the Moglani Char in Dhaka was located in the middle of the Buriganga River, opposite the present-day Sowarighat. The char was used for military and strategic purposes during the Mughal period.

British Collector Mr. Walter in 1832 used modern technology and salvaged Bibi Mariam from falling into river at Swarighat and placed at Chawkbazar, the main square.

At that time, Chawkbazar was the most beautiful place in Dhaka. After the cannon was brought to Chawkbazar, it became a spectacular object.  People of all ages from different parts of the city started flocking to see this cannon.

Then, when Chawkbazar became a crowded area, In 1917 (according to many, 1925), it was installed at Sadarghat with the encouragement of Nalinikanta Bhattasali, the director of the Dhaka Museum. At that time, Sadarghat was the most beautiful place in Dhaka. After bringing it here, the cannon became even more popular.

After partition, in 1957, Improvement Trust (DIT) President GA Madani, through Pakistan Army engineers, moved it to the firing range at the junction of DIT Avenue and Jinnah Avenue (present-day Bangabandhu Avenue).

At that time, Gulistan was the center and the most attractive place in Dhaka. After being brought here, the cannon came to be known as the "Gulistan cannon". At that time, many people used to come to Gulistan to see this cannon.

In late ‘80s during the Ershad government, it was moved to the main gate of Osmani Udyan. And since then, this cannon has lost its popularity from the public eye.

After 40 years, in December 2023, the cannon was removed from Osmani Udyan and installed in front of Dhaka Gate, another historical landmark of Dhaka.


Adnan Hadi is a senior journalist mainly
writing on archeological sites and sports.
He could be reached at: [email protected].