Pirates of Odisha

When the European colonists started populating the coast of India with their trade factories, along with business and commerce came one of the most dramatic parts of the past—the story of pirates. The definition of 'pirates' is ambiguous in itself, as for every imperial power, whichever entity disrupted its commercial trade was labeled as 'pirates' or as conducting an act of piracy. Hence, for colonial oppressors, Indian resistors were 'pirates' or 'terrorists' and vice versa. Strictly from a trade point of view, it was always about monopoly, where naval powers clashed, and to exert their dominance, native lands were looted and plundered. We all know about the clash of the Angrias against the British, the Dutch, the Portuguese, and the Janjira State on the western coast of India. Less is talked about the eastern coast, so here it is.

Back in the 17th century, the Mughal frontiers of Gondwana and Orissa in the far east were sandwiched by the Dandakaranya forest, and the empire's reign ended on the eastern coast, just touching the tip of the Northern Circars. It was here, in the Orissa province, primarily in the Mahanadi delta, that piracy took place in certain pockets. Orissa was a small but powerful maritime superpower of the Mughal realm, thriving on naval trade and commerce with Southeast Asian powers such as Arakan, Ayutthaya, Toungoo, and Aceh, and was a sore spot for the emerging Europeans, especially the Portuguese. Portuguese ships constantly marauded the coast, wreaking havoc in settlements such as Balasore (Baleshwar), Arsepour (Harishpur), Manicapatam (Manikapatna), and Pipili, becoming a significant nuisance to the Mughal navy. Among these, the port at Balasore became a prized possession of the Europeans, as it was the richest of all the harbors in the subcontinent. Commodities such as steel, iron, fuel, cloth, and timber were loaded onto various ships heading to Southeast Asian empires. Trade at Balasore also affected Bengal, as the major harbor in the Bengal-Orissa realm was Tamralipti, or modern-day Tamluk, in today's Purba Medinipur district, some 85 km west of Kolkata. In fact, Tamralipti’s importance predates the colonial era and is mentioned during the times of Emperor Ashoka and even in the Mahabharata.

Over time, Tamluk’s prominence declined, and newer ports such as Haldia (in Purba Medinipur district) and Pipilipatnam or Pipili (in Balasore/Baleshwar district) gained significance, shifting the politics around the Ganga delta. The Mughal wealth in Balasore and Orissa, along with the rise of newer ports, attracted Europeans, especially the Portuguese, sparking maritime trade wars in the Bay of Bengal. When the Portuguese obtained permission from Mutaqad Khan, the Nawab of Orissa (1632–1641), to establish eastern India’s first European trade factory in 1636, the gradual shift in political superiority between the two superpowers affected everything else and led to a series of armed conflicts, giving rise to piracy. Pipili’s harbor was occupied not just by the Portuguese but also by the Dutch and Danes and saw the arrival of nearly 45,000 slaves purchased by Portuguese pirates, turning it into a slave market—something unacceptable to the Mughals.

This event impacted the entire market, as Balasore was commercially connected to the harbors of Dacca (Dhaka), Islamabad (Chittagong or Chatgaon), Narasapur, Vizagapatam (Visakhapatnam), Masulipatam (Machilipatnam), Pulicat, and Madras (Chennai), and even to Suratte (Surat) and Calicut (Kozhikode) on the western coast. The Samoothiris or Samudiris (Zamorins) of Kozhikode, merchants of the Safavid Empire in Iran, traders of Dhivehi Rajje (Maldives), the Taungoo Dynasty of Burma, the Mataram and Aceh Sultanates of the East Indies, the Ming/Qing dynasty of China, the Kandyan Kingdom of Sri Lanka, and even the East India Company in England traded with Pipili. Such was the significance of Odiya ports that thousands of pirates flocked to the region in the 17th century.

There are no known pirates or privateers specifically linked to the Odisha coast, although a few Portuguese figures in Bengal may have had some influence. Names such as Domingos Carvalho, a Portuguese who assisted the local chieftain of Sundeep or Sandwip (an island west of Chittagong or Chatgaon) against attacking Arakanese and Mughal forces in the early 1600s, played a role in making Sandwip a major salt and shipbuilding harbor. Another figure, Sebastião Gonçalves Tibau, a Portuguese trader turned pirate, attacked Sandwip again in 1609, ruled it independently, and influenced the Sundarbans islands of Deccan Shabazpour (Dakshin Shahbazpur) and Patelbanga (all in Bangladesh). To what extent their activities affected Orissa remains undocumented, but Portuguese pirates were certainly present at Pipili, possibly with untold stories.

Further south of Pipili, the harbor of Kujang in today’s Jagatsinghpur district, roughly 75 km east of Cuttack, was ruled by the Sendha dynasty. Under Raja Krishna Chandra Sendha Narendra (1770–1791), the Kaibarta soldiers fought against British invaders, earning the label of 'pirates' from East India Company officers. The Bhonsle Marathas of Nagpur were also involved, with Mudhoji Bhonsle, the ruler of Nagpur, allied with the British and serving as overlord of Orissa, appointing Madhaji Hari as the Maratha governor of Orissa to investigate the matter. Madhaji failed to provide satisfactory answers and was replaced by Rajaram Pandit. These events ultimately led to the annexation of Orissa under the British. This is similar to the case of Kanhoji Angre on the western coast, where Indian defenders were labeled 'terrorists' or 'pirates' when they were merely protecting their territories.

Today, Balasore has lost its former prominence and has become an agriculturally dependent region. Ports developed later, such as Paradip (Jagatsinghpur district), Gopalpur (Ganjam district), and Dhamra (Bhadrak district), remain significant, but the once-thriving port of Pipili has faded into obscurity, with its location assumed to be somewhere near Baliapal village in Balasore (Baleshwar) district.