Write an essay on the military technology of medieval India.

The military technology of medieval India was marked by remarkable progress. Conventional weapons like Bow-arrow, sword etc were accompanied by different kind of firearms for the first time. The industrial technology during the sixteenth and the seventeenth century saw remarkable achievements in the form of artillery. The manufacture of cannon was then the real heavy industry, on the handgun were lavished all the fruits of the increasing mechanical sophistication attained during the period. Modern artillery was mainly brought to India, on the one hand by Babur, who had received it from Persia and on the other by the Portuguese early in the sixteenth century. Evidence has however, now been adduced of the presence of cannon during the later half of the fifteenth century. The specimens of handguns from the mughal period are hand enough in case of studying different methods of manufacture of firearms in India. In case of a handgun the most significant portion is the propelling mechanism. In the earliest guns the change was fired by applying a ‘match’ or burning rope or cord to the priming pan which communicated through the touch hole with barrel into which gun powder had been previously rammed. During the 15^th century and the 16^th century the match lock developed in Europe by first providing for a pivoted lever. With the help of this lever the match could be hold and a spring controlled the lever and then converting it into an arm. But Indian evidences are little in this context and the development of the match lock in India cannot be traced back. In Abul Fazl’s writing there are references to match locks being manufactured by Akbar’s arsenal but that it was also turning out a lock in which the match was done away with. The practical knowledge of the world emperor helped in evolving a gun which can be fired without the use of the match but with just a slight movement of the masha. At the same time the pellet is also discharged. Such a gun could either have a decider of the seventeenth century saw the appearance  of the flint lock in Europe, where it gradually, but not completely supplanted the match lock during the later half of the century. Its first appearance in India is difficult to date, but in 1623 it excited the great curiosity of the zamorin of Calicut, for their guns have only matches. The subsequent development of the flint lock in India again is not easy to trace. It would appear that Indian guns began to be equipped with flint lock during the later half of the seventeenth century. But the basis for this view is assumption and there is very little evidence to substantiate it. Bernier says that Indian sometimes imitated perfectly articles of European manufacture. He also says that “among other things, the Indians make excellent muskets, and fowling pieces. The barrel of the gun is a great problem for the blacksmith as it had to with stand the explosion inside it. Great accuracy was needed with regard to its bore and alignment.

In the manufacture of cannon, two trends were noticeable in the mughal period. The first was to make very large pieces. This was possible as long as they were cast of bronze. The method of casting such cannon pieces was apparently similar to the one employed by the ottoman Turks during the middle of the fifteenth century, A method which lasted in Europe until about 1750.Babur’s gun founders cast cannon by precisely the same means. Whether the process of bronze casting was further improvised in India or the alloy used was better, it would appear that by the end of the sixteenth century, the heaviest guns in the world were being cast in India. The climax being reached with the famous Malik Maidan cast in bronze at diameter at the muzzle, 5’5” and of the bore, 2’4 and half Inc which threw stone balls of 10 maunds.