Sachin, Sachin

The Bombay Presidency, during the late 19th to early 20th centuries, was divided into six major ‘agencies’ - Kathiawar, Gujarat States, Rewa Kantha, Mahi Kantha, Palanpur and Surat. While there were several smaller agencies and political charges such as Thana, Kolaba, Bijapur, Sawantwadi, Aundh, Bhor and Phaltan. This post shall talk about one tiny princely state of one of the major agencies, which has a peculiar name and a very interesting history behind it. Among the various smaller states under Surat Agency, there existed one name called the Sachin State. What is more mind-boggling is that it was a Muslim state even though its name has a full-fledged Sanskritised Hindu origin.

Sachin—as millions resonate with the God of cricket, Sachin Tendulkar. Then we have one of the pioneers of music in cinema, Sachin Dev Burman (1906–1975), giving some exceptionally good chartbusters especially in the 1970s. Then what is the origin of this name and how come it became a Muslim Gujarati state, that too having an African origin? Well, at least the word's origin is formed from Sanskrit, meaning epithet of Lord Indra and is applicable sometimes to Lord Shiva. It means that 'the one who is endowed with truth/pure existence' and on similar grounds. But then how it became a Muslim state is the premise of this post. 

The answer goes back to 1791. The Janjira State on the Konkan coast had a three-centuries-old dynasty of Siddis of East African (Habshi/Zanj coast) origin—later described in Indian sources as Abyssinian—originating from the Zanj coast around today’s Kenya, Tanzania and Mozambique. Another entity that is important here is to mention that the term ‘Abyssinian’ or ‘Ethiopian’ was a major African realm back in the days. For Indian rulers, it was an umbrella term for Ethiopians or Bantus or anyone coming from African realms, and they called them ‘Habashi’ (belonging from Abyssinia or Al-Habash). Under the Gujarat Sultanate (1407‑1573), these Siddis were made naval commanders for ports such as Broach (Bharuch), Surat, Diu, Cambay (Khambhat) etc., but their base had always been Janjira. In fact, even after the dismantling of the Gujarat Sultanate, the heat between the Siddis and the newly emerging Marathas continued for the next centuries. The conflict was costly and inconclusive, with the Siddis retaining naval superiority. It began in 1657 and continued in various forms until 1818. But in between these times, shortly before 1818, a significant shift took place in the history of Siddis.

As every empire’s collapse is caused because of internal rivalries and disruptions in smooth succession of power, the Siddis were no different. Both Marathas and Siddis started to decline in the 18th century, and in 1733 a treaty was signed between Baji Rao I and Siddi Yakut Khan—the Peshwa and the Sultan. The treaty was the Maratha recognition of Janjira’s autonomy and a cessation of hostile naval actions against Maratha shipping; large-scale hostilities ceased after 1733, though minor skirmishes persisted until 1818. In between this, the political misalignment of Siddis in Janjira had increased and meanwhile the rampant takeover of smaller territories across Konkan and Gujarat by the British had tossed the administration of western India. The Siddis, sandwiched between their internal turmoil and external British threats, sought a stable inland revenue settlement for a cadet branch of the ruling house, and so they turned northwards into Gujarat. While Janjira remained the Siddis’ base, a tiny Rajput agrarian land near Surat was granted through a diplomatic settlement. This region, away from the coast, inland and quiet from the mayhem, was Sachin. Politically, it was not a loss for the British to have another Siddi region on the coast of Gujarat, close to Surat, also because they had themselves shifted from Surat to Bombay and continued developing the latter. Hence, Sachin State, formed in 1791, was a tiny Siddi princely state, which years later was clubbed under Surat Agency and annexed to the larger Gujarat States group of princely states. Shortly, in 1829, the British took over all the administrative and political power from the Sultan but retained his title, thus assimilating it under the British rule formally. 

Today, the dying Siddi legacy can still be seen in Sachin’s heritage. Sachin Fort was constructed sometime after the state was founded in 1791 and served as the Nawab’s residence and seat of authority. While exact construction dates are not documented, most accounts place its construction in the late eighteenth or early nineteenth century. The fort’s design does not showcase overtly African motifs; instead, it blends Mughal and European architectural influences typical of western India. Its cultural significance comes from its association with the Siddi dynasty—an African‑origin ruling family—rather than from specific structural elements. In other words, the fort’s African aspect lies in the identity of its builders and occupants, not in the architecture itself. Although much of the state’s heritage has faded into the fabric of modern Surat, Sachin Fort endures as a quiet witness to this unique history.