Visakhapatnam: It is a misconception that Vizag was a sleepy fishing hamlet before the invasion of British, if the ancient inscriptions recorded by the Epigraphy wing of Archaeological Survey of India are anything to go by.
“Many people say it was simply a fishing village. But, what I observed from my research is that Vizag was simply a land of traders, a trading hot spot, agrarians, artists and was also cosmopolitan in nature from 11th century onwards," said Edward Paul, who is researching and studying about the history of Vizag since 2005.
He has collected all the inscriptions and details from the epigraphy publications and is also visiting other places to gather evidence that Vizag was more than a fishing village.
An ancient inscription of 1068, at the Draksharamam Bhimeswara Swamy temple in East Godavari, reveals that one Papaiah, son of Medi Setty, belonging to the Vysya caste from Vizag, had donated a big metal lamp post to a temple in East Godavari (Bheemeswara Swamy temple) as a good gesture. He had also donated 20 cattle to the temple for the maintenance of 'akhanda deepam' (burning lamp).
"Such donations could not be done by any poor person and hence it is evident that there were rich businessmen in Vizag and business was also flourishing then," claims Mr Paul.
Vizag was traders’ destination: "During the Chola regime, from 1090 to 1250 AD., Vizag was named as Kulottunga Chola Pattana. Many inscriptions during those time reveal that Vizag was a hot trading destination," Mr Paul said.
On a slab fixed to the wall at the entrance at the Jaggarao Observatory, it is inscribed that the Velanandu King, Kulottunga Prithvisavara Maharaja, gifted a piece of land and house to a merchant in 1199. "Some other inscriptions, dating back to 1090 and 1250, also show that Tamil traders had migrated to the place and the kings provided special benefits to them to expand their business," he added.
At the Simhachalam temple, the inscriptions show that 100 lady singers were appointed on 16th June, 266, to provide Chamara and Dipika services to Lord Narasimha Lord Narasimha. Of them, 15 were from Vizag and their names have also been written on the temple wall. This shows that there were
artists. Besides fishing, the people also took up farming.
Coming to the religion followed at that time, Muslims were present in Vizag much before the 13th century, even before Mughal emperors invaded the region, according to the records of Epigraphy 1953-54.
The inscription on a slab fixed on the grave between the mosque and the dargah and the headstone read as, ‘This is the grave of Ali, son of Muhammed, who is the son of Sulaiman As-Sharif Al- Alawi, popularly known as Tajuddin Al-Hussaini, the first to conquer Bandar Shah Pattan. He was carried to this mosque and buried here."
The date on the headstone is September 9, 1257. "So the mosque could
have been established much before 1257," Mr Paul added. Another inscription on a grave recorded in 1604 AD talks about the death of Maulana Mohammad
Amin Baig, son of Maulana Aqu Khan of Nakhjawan, which is now know as Azerbizan in the Middle East.
