<< I was asked to format a series of Tweets by the person behind the Twitter Handle @Asipatravana so that more Readers can be aware of how Historical events have been twisted by both Foreign as well as Indian Liberal interests in order to weaken the fabric of Hindu society. In addition to @Asipatravana’s public Tweets, I was also supplied with various other details about the incident that he hadn’t included within his thread in interests of brevity & clarity. It is his- and by extension, my- hope that this Article serves as a vital resource to counter any Liberal narratives that are trying to continue the British traditions of ‘Divide and Rule’
This Article has been written in a rather broken manner- partly by @Asipatravana himself & partly through my own expansions upon his brief tweets and posts, and thus might not be perfectly structured at points. Readers are requested to focus on the message instead of the text itself.>>
1st January marked the Anniversary of the Battle of Koregaon- one of the several minor conflicts that marked the Third Anglo-Maratha War.
In recent years, a certain narrative has been pushed by Liberal Interests that the Battle of Koregaon- far from being an act in the Imperialistic play directed by genocidal and murderous White Supremacist powers- was instead a battle by ‘Dalit Mahars’ against ‘Maratha Brahmin oppressors’. This year the narrative turned into a full blown conflict that led to widespread violence and arson across Maharashtra.
In any other former Colonial country, such a mockery of history would’ve been answered by the most stringent protests, but only in India- where mental slavery to the West is still kosher- is such an assault on both history as well as reason allowed to be peddled.
First, we shall describe the Liberal narrative: –
1.) That there was a battle at Koregaon on the 1st of January 1818- where 500 Dalit Mahars led by British officers fought a Maratha Army and came out victorious.
2.) That an incredible total of 28000 Marathas – consisting of 20000 Cavalry and 8000 Infantry- led by the Peshwa himself and his best generals fought in battle.
3.) That the British honoured and awarded Dalits whereas the Marathas were upper caste oppressors who denied Mahars military service.
All these claims are either false or twisted in order to create a narrative analogous to that of the absurd Aryan Invasion Theory where- “Violent Upper Caste Aryans attack peaceful Lower Caste Dravidians to push oppressive Hindu ideas upon them”. Implying- that the latter ought to oppose ‘Aryan Hinduism’ and adopt the customs of the “civilized modern advanced Whites” instead.
Such narratives, inimical to the very existence of the idea of Bharatavarsha and Dharma, form part of what Mr Rajiv Malhotra- the well-known scholar- has described as the ‘Breaking India’ Nexus.
Such narratives are eagerly pushed in large institutions such as the Jawaharlal Nehru University- known primarily for its students such as Umar Khalid and Kanhaiya- as well as foreign bodies with shadowy backers. They are also extremely popular both among the Liberal Elite popularly called ‘Eminent Intellectuals’ or ‘Lutyen’s Circle’ as well as local Political leaders promoting Casteist and Regionalist interests over Indian ones. This- coupled with foreign domination of pop history- has led to widespread popularity of such lies. In this Article, these will be debunked one after the other.
So- what actually happened at Koregaon back then?
On December 31st, 1817, the Maratha army- fighting the British Imperialists- was camping on the road from Phulsahar to Pune in order to block the road of the British army coming from Shirur. They were also trying to avoid General Smith’s forces. At this point, a force of nearly a thousand British troops- led by a Captain FF Staunton, was dispatched to aid Colonel Burr who was occupying Pune. These troops consisted of: –
1.) About 600 men of the 2nd Battalion of the 1st Regiment of Bombay Native Infantry.
2.) About 300 men in the Poona Auxiliary Horse
3.) Most importantly for this battle- a detachment from Madras Artillery.
This force reached Koregaon in early morning and- contrary to Liberal narrative-s had the better part of the day to rest and make preparations. They utilized this time to set up gun platforms, create defences and road-blocks, and entrench infantry inside the village. At the time, Koregaon was surrounded by a low wall which the British must have surely taken advantage of.
It is here that we must point out how important Artillery and Entrenched Infantry was at the time.
Artillery was being commonly described as the ‘King of the Battlefield’ during the contemporary periods. Proper set-up of Artillery was essential for any contemporary commander; even the great Napoleon Bonaparte- who defended France against Seven Coalitions made by Britain, German States, Austria-Hungarian Empire, Russia, and their vassals- was known primarily for his genius in commanding Artillery.
Warfare at the time consisted of setting Gun positions which could bombard Infantry and Cavalry at range. The Guns themselves will be defended by blocks of stout Infantry- with Cavalry skirmishing & looking for weaknesses in the enemy line. These Guns had to be defeated and taken by attacking Infantry- at which point, the Artillery would switch long-range Cannon balls to short-range ammunition called ‘Canister Shot’. Canister shot was devastating for any attacking infantry- and dozens of men could be killed or injured with a single canister shot volley.
In open ground, attacking heavily defended gun positions was a nightmare. In enclosed spaces where Infantry had to bunch together, cannon fire into crowds was almost impossible to face.
The Marathas were tired from their march; also- being a far larger army, it would have been difficult for them to get into position. This is likely why only a mere 3 units of 300- 600 men each- mostly a collection of Arab mercenaries and Gosavi (sadhu) pilgrims, were sent to Koregaon- probably as a scouting and skirmishing force.
Koregaon consists mostly of flat roughlands around the river Bhima, with little to no cover for troops. The village itself lies on the east bank, with low hills providing perfect locations of gun positions. The west bank is dominated by a ridge that hides the village from view of approaching armies.
The Arabs & Gosavis who made up the Maratha force probably had no clue what was awaiting them when they climbed over the ridge- and directly into the path of the Guns.
In Peter Englund’s epic work ‘The Battle that Shook Europe’, he charts the course of the Battle of Poltava- and the End of the Swedish Empire. He points out the effect of artillery barrages on unprepared infantry on bad ground. At one point, the Swedish king himself has his bodyguard killed around him purely by Artillery fire. Soldiers could even die due to the very stones being flung off the ground by cannonball impact. Cannonballs could also ‘bounce’ off the ground- smashing through rank after rank of Infantry. Even the close passage of Artillery shot is known to have torn off flesh and clothes from limbs.
It is likely that dozens of Maratha troops died even before they saw the entrenched enemy.
Caught in the open, the Marathas would’ve had no option but to advance and force out the enemy hidden in the village in melee combat.
They would’ve had to split into two while crossing the river using fords- all the time being fired upon by the British. They would’ve had no access to any heavy artillery- save a few rockets- since they had little time to prepare. They couldn’t fire their guns- since reloading in those days meant standing for minutes in the open. They couldn’t aim their own cannons properly- since the enemy was well-entrenched inside the village. They had to clear every single obstacle put by the British troops- the low wall, the roadblocks, the troops hidden in the alleys and houses, and finally- the gun positions.
The Marathas- caught without preparation, poorly armed compared to the British, and assaulting a fortified enemy with prepared gun positions- took on Staunton’s forces and- contrary to what Liberal accounts commonly state- WON.
On the very first day of battle, nearly half the British force lay dead or wounded. Most of the officers had been killed, and they were out of food and water- despite controlling the river Bhima itself. They had nearly lost half their Artillery and most Gunners in the British Army were nearly dead.
Early morning the next day, Staunton ordered his troops to retreat from the battle after abandoning their equipment.
He would later admit his defeat as well as his failure to aid Colonel Burr at Pune to his superiors in his letter dated 3rd January, 1818: – “Our loss has been heavy indeed”. The Surgeon in the British Army reported a death toll of 111 and wounded of 149- almost a third of the Army gone along with all Camp equipment, supplies, and most officers dead.
Contrary to the Liberal narrative, we find that:-
1.) The British force consisted of mostly European and a mixed group of Indian sepoys of various religions and castes. In no official dispatches, are the latter given ANY prominence.
2.) An estimated 1200- 1800 Maratha troops- under the command of Trimbakji Dengle- probably fought the battle; out of whom the majority were either Arab mercenaries or Sadhu pilgrims.
3.) The Maratha Army- far from being a ‘Brahmin’ force- comprised of a pan-Indian force. In fact, Mahars- far from being given ‘rights’ for the first time by British- had been a vital part of Maratha Armies from the earliest days.
Thus, we find that each and every major point made by Liberals with respect to the Battle of Koregaon is verifiably and easily proven to be false.
The Liberal narrative of a ‘British victory’ was created later- AFTER the War, by the British- in all likelihood, to push a story of White Supremacy over ‘savage Hindoos’ (to use a common contemporary description for Hindus in European records). This necessitated the creation of spurious accounts of a ‘British Defence’ of Koregaon.
If Readers wonder how Capt. Staunton defended the village by ‘bravely’ retreating the very next day, then they are Modi bhakts and savage Hindoos themselves.
Maratha records themselves mentions the battle briefly. They merely describe it as a minor skirmish: where their army entered the village, and killed about three hundred men, along with beheading one officer- likely Lt Chisholm, also described in British records too. The Marathas also recorded that they had- contrary to British records- captured a few cannons.
Given that the entire record as stated by the Marathas matches with English records in all but one aspect- that there were more than two cannons and the Marathas did capture some- it is likely that the British accounts have been ‘re-written’ to present the same picture of the “White Ubermensch” humiliating the “savage Hindoo”.
In the same vein, a ‘Victory Pillar’ was erected at Koregaon to cement the lie- one that seems to have been pushed actively by the new Governor of the Deccan Elphinstone himself in order to demonize the Marathas and the Peshwa. The caretaker selected was a Maratha soldier who had fought for the British- not a Dalit.
The myth making over Koregaon as some absurd clash between “Aryan Upper Castes” and “Dravidian Lower Castes”, however, comes not from the British- but modern Indian Liberal Revisionists.
In their desperation to demonize the Maratha ‘Brahmins’, these Liberals have depicted the British- the same British who would nearly wipe out Santhals from large areas of India within a decade- as ‘defenders of low castes’.
In their desperation to paint Maratha ‘Brahmins’ as villains, they depict Dalit Mahars as essentially allies of the Imperialist British in the latter’s quest to despoil and genocide across the Earth. In their desperation to depict Indians as ‘savage Hindoos’, they actively peddle lies and encourage narratives used by regional Caste-based political parties- known more for Corruption, Riots, and Maladministration- than for Development and Unity.
These very same Liberals paint the Peshwas- the very people who protected India and restored Trade and Temples after decades of oppression by Mughal tyrants- as ‘evil brahmins’. These very same Liberals whitewash British atrocities- atrocities so horrifying that even minor African countries are well-aware of them. These very same Liberals intentionally direct their attacks at the Maratha Empire- the ones who openly called for ‘Hindavi Swarajya’ and the restoration of Dharma over Bharatavarsha- while giving a free pass to bloodthirsty genocidal tyrants like Aurangzeb, Ala-ud-din Khilji, and Robert Clive.
All this is directed to one goal: – the destruction of India and Indian Society as we know it. Oppose them. Deny them. Hate them.
Or we will be undone.
References:
1- Gazetteer of the Bombay Presidency, Government Central Press. 1885
2- A history of the Mahrattas, James Grant Duff
3- The British Conquest and Dominion of India, Penderel Moon
4- The Life of the Honourable Elphinstone, Thomas Coolebrooke
5- Hindustan under Free Lances, HG Keene
6- Warfare in the Age of Bonaparte, Michael Glover
7- The Battle That Shook Europe: Poltava and the Birth of the Russian Empire, Peter Englund