It is May 6th 1529, the Timurid (better known as Mughal) forces lead by Babur himself face of against the frontier forces in Bahraich province of the Bengal Sultanate under the command of Basanta Raya. For the first time we see a full on fire armed warfare. Babur is greatly impressed at how proficient Bengalis are in the use of firearms. He writes in his autobiography Tuzuk-i-Baburi, "Bengalis have quite the reputation for their atishbazi. We tested it today. They do not aim to hit a particular target but fire at random." Bengalis of that time were so skilled that they didn’t require to even aim. However it is generally believed that canons were first used in India at the Battle of Panipat in 1526. How could it be that Bengalis became so reputed in it in only 3 years?

A deep study shows otherwise. We have records of use of firearms in a battle 9 years prior to the Panipat. In Lendas de India by Gaspar Correia we find out of a naval skirmish between the Portuguese & Bengalis in 1517. What happened was a Portuguese Captain named Silvera had feud with the brother of the administrator who was the Gromal of Chakoria. Silvera had proceeded to pirate 2 of his ships filled with rice. So as response the Gromal had began to fire cannons at the Portuguese ships from the fortress of Chakoria. So we see an fortress armed with cannons used in a naval battle against the Portuguese ships. Perhaps the first modern naval battle in subcontinent.

However that too wasn’t the 1st mention of cannons in Indian history. In Gujarat's own Arabic history Zafar Al-Walih bi Mizaffar wa Alihi we find out that the founder of the Muzaffarid dynasty Sultan Ahmad Shah I had used cannons in the Battle of Thane against the Bahmanids. Actually the Battle of Panipat saw the first use of cannons in the Hindustan region specifically & not the whole Subcontinent. But does that make Gujarat the pioneer of firearms in the subcontinent. Not exactly as we've barely set foot on the tip of the iceberg.

Kuochunli has stated the existence of gun factoris in Bengal in the Yinghya Shinlan. He writes this of his 1409 visit which was 117 years prior to the 1st Battle of Panipat! Keep in mind that guns are a far more advanced technology than cannons. The first cannons ever used in Europe was during the Battle of Crecy in 1346 AD by the English. But it wasn’t until 1453 AD at the Siege of Constantinople did European soil see the use of modern cannons. Just imagine how advanced it makes Bengal of this period.

Now we look at the elephant of our room. The Bacchawali which now rests at the Nizamat Fort Campuss at Murshidabad. It's name literally means the pregnant woman. It is named so as it's sound is said to have caused miscarriages to pregnant women. It's 5.49 metres in length, 55.88 cm in width & has the mass of 7657 kg. Very much a rival & if not even superior to the Dardanelles as it has proven to be more durable where as the later had received a crack. It was previously carbon dated to have been constructed between 12th to 16th century. Many believe it have been the cannon of founder of the Bengal Sultanate Shamsuddin Ilyas Shah (Oitihasihik Murshidabad, Dailyhunt). There are reasons to believe it. We have the mention of Yavana King's (of Bengal) usage of cannons in an inavasion of Jajanagara (in Orissa) in the Niranjaner Rushma of the Agamapurana by Ramai Pandita. It was composed in the mid 14th century as the only Bengali text at end of the so called dark age of Bengali literature. He should've well flourished within Ilyas Shah's reign. Another evidence is a praise of the feudal Kana ruler Kedara of Vishakhapatnam which mentions the usage of Agniyastra (meaning firearms) by his Yavana overlord against the King of Orissa. Thus from both sources we can conclude that Ilyas Shah used cannons against Orissa. Which makes him the sole candidate as the pioneer of firearms in Bengal & thus the Subcontinent as a whole.

But how did Bengal develop cannons so early? There could be multiple factors behind it. Bengal had a strong relationship with China during the early Ilyas Shahi period. It could've been that it was the Chinese that the Bengalis learnt to make firearms from. On top of that the Barendra region is also has mines of Sulphur from which gunpowder is made. These could've played the role in Bengal's early development of firearms.

আজকের দিনে, গবেষণা চোরকে নাও চিনে।
বাঙালী ছাত্র যদুনাথ সিংহের গবেষণা চুরি করে নিজের নামে চালিয়েছিল সর্বপল্লী রাধাকৃষ্ণণ। রাধাকৃষ্ণণের মত চিটিংবাজ জাতীয় শিক্ষক নয়। আজ শিক্ষক দিবস নয়। দিল্লী চোরকে শিক্ষক বলে। যেমন হিন্দি কে রাষ্ট্রভাষা।
আমাদের জাতীয় শিক্ষক পন্ডিত ঈশ্বরচন্দ্র বিদ্যাসাগর। আর ঠিক তিন সপ্তাহ পরেই জাতীয় শিক্ষক দিবস। ২৬শে সেপ্টেম্বর। সর্বকালের অন্যতম শ্রেষ্ঠ বাঙালি, বীরসিংহের সিংহহৃদয় পন্ডিত ঈশ্বরচন্দ্র বিদ্যাসাগরের জন্মদিবস।
যে দুই খন্ডের ‘Indian Philosophy’ গ্রন্থের জন্য সর্বপল্লী রাধাকৃষ্ণণের ডক্টরেট পাওয়া, আসলে সেটা তার লেখাই নয়। সেটি লিখেছিলেন বাঙালী গবেষক ডঃ যদুনাথ সিংহ। ১৯১৭ সালে যদুনাথ এমএ পাশ করার পর তার গবেষণা পত্রের প্রথম খন্ড ও দ্বিতীয় খন্ড কলকাতা বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়ে জমা করেন। সেখান থেকেই চুরি করে সেই গবেষণা রাধাকৃষ্ণণ ১৯২৭ সালে লন্ডন থেকে নিজের নামে প্রকাশ করেন। প্রকাশের বেশ কিছু দিন পর যদুনাথ সিংএর নজরে আসে। এবং ১৯২৯ সালে ২২ আগস্ট কলকাতা হাইকোর্টে মামলা করেন। অনেক দিন মামলা চলার পর ‘আউট অফ কোর্ট সেটেলমেন্ট’ হয়। 
বিড়লার দালাল, ১৯৪৩এ ৫০ লক্ষ বাঙালী খুনের অন্যতম নেপথ্য নায়ক শ্যামাপ্রসাদ থিসিস চোর রাধাকৃষ্ণণকে বাঁচিয়েছিল। প্রবল চাপ সৃষ্টি করে বাঙালী গবেষক ডঃ যদুনাথ সিংহকে বাধ্য করেছিল অসাধু চোর চিটিংবাজ সর্বপল্লী রাধাকৃষ্ণণের বিরুদ্ধে যদুনাথের থিসিস চুরি করে নিজের নামে চালানোর বিরুদ্ধে আদালতের কেস তুলে নিতে। এই তো সব নিকৃষ্ট লেভেলের মাল। দিল্লী তোমায় বাঙালী গবেষক যদুনাথের নাম শেখাবে না, শেখাবে চিটিংবাজ থিসিস চোর রাধাকৃষ্ণণের নাম, বানাবে চোরের মূর্তি, চোরের গলায় পরাবে মালা।
Collected from Facebook Post of Tuhin Bhowmik