Battle Of Surat | War | Free PDF Download

Table of Contents

BACKGROUND

- As Shaista Khan, the Mughal governor, was in Deccan for more than three years fighting the Marathas, the financial condition of the Maratha state was dire.
- So to improve his finances, Shivaji planned to attack Surat, a key Mughal power centre, and a wealthy port town which generated a million rupees in taxes.
- Shaiste Khan had occupied the Lal Mahal at Pune and plundered whatever he could. It had been Aurangzeb’s dream to subjugate the Deccan and he aimed to start it by unleashing Mughal armies on the unsuspecting people of Pune.

Shivaji, after cutting off the thumb of Shaiste Khan in a daring raid at night, decided to hurt the Mughals by aiming for their richest town(Surat) and his fight was against the Mughal emperor, not the people in and of Surat.
So Shivaji, at the head of a large army, sent a message to Inayatullah Khan, the faujdar of Surat asking him to bring the three richest merchants of the city.

These three merchants were Haji Baig, Haji Qasim and Bahirji Bohra. Inayatullah Khan refused, and finally ended up parting with a few crores! Inayatullah Khan refuse to settle the matter with Shivai
He then sent a young messenger, ostensibly to discuss matters with Chhatrapati Shvaji, but quite astonishingly, the man tried to stab Shivaji and the worst was averted only due to the quick actions of Shivaji’s bodyguards.
The Mughal Sardar, not the bravest, was very surprised by the suddenness of the attack and not willing to face the Maratha forces, he hid himself in the fort of Surat.

Surat was under attack for nearly three days, in which the Maratha army looted all possible wealth from Mughal and Portuguese trading centers.
Shivaji had to complete the sacking of Surat before the Mughal Empire at Delhi was alerted and could not afford to waste much time in attacking the British.

This enraged the Mughal Emperor, Aurangzeb as this was a crippling blow to the Mughal Empire.
The revenue was reduced as trade did not flourish as much after Shivaji’s raid on the Port of Surat. To take his revenge the Mughal Emperor sent a veteran Rajput General Jaisingh to curb Shivaji’s activities.