When Madras was subservient to Golconda ruled by the Qutb Shahs

Exploring the histories of Golconda and Madras, from the Bahmani Sultanate to British rule, through intrigue and power struggles.

The last week was spent exploring the histories of the Bahmani Sultanate and its offshoots, namely Bidar and Golconda. It was while standing at the highest point of the latter fort that it came rather forcefully to me that there was a time when it was here that the fate of Madras was really decided upon.

Today, while Hyderabad is a prosperous metropolis, as is Chennai, Golconda is an empty citadel, with tourists wandering around it, trying to make sense out of its maze-like ruins, their imagination running riot listening to tall tales by guides. But in the 1600s that was not the case. Golconda was the headquarters of a rich kingdom under the Qutb Shahs. The British in Madras had much to do with them — first at Machilipatnam, later at Armagaon or Durgarayapatnam, and finally at Madraspatnam.

In 1639, permission to set up a factory here was given by the Rayas of Chandragiri but seven years later, there was a new master. Abdullah Qutb Shah, the then ruler at Golconda, may have been weak, but his mother, the powerful Hayat Bakshi Begum, was calling the shots and under this duo, the final traces of the Vijayanagar Empire were stamped out with the conquest of Chandragiri. The British had to obtain fresh permission for Madras from the Golconda ruler. They were quick to placate Neknam Khan, aka Raza Quli Baig, of whose origins there is considerable confusion. Some accounts say he was a eunuch of African origin, while others say he was of Persian descent. Whatever it was, he by the 1640s became very important at Golconda, being commander of the army. He granted the British a fresh lease over Madras and all was well as long as he was alive. When he died in 1672, he became the only non-royal to be buried at the Ibrahim Baugh, where the Qutb Shahi tombs are located near Golconda.

This was when a triumvirate decided to take a fresh look at the grant of Madras. The trio comprised the brothers Akkanna and Madanna, confidants of the last Qutb Shahi ruler, Abul Hassan Tana Shah. The third was Podala Lingappa, the Nayak of Poonamallee.

For the next decade and a little more, there was much correspondence and discussion at both ends. Their chief negotiator in Madras was the renowned Dubash Kasi Viranna, aka Casa Verona. Between them, the question of peshkash, tribute, and in reality, bribe, became a serious matter. Lingappa was forever comparing the niggardly presents that the British gave with those of the Dutch at Pulicat and Sadras. He spoke disparagingly of the English to Madanna in Golconda and between them they managed to get the Sultan to ask for greater payments for the grant of Madras. In all likelihood, Kasi Viranna may have been feathering his nest as well. Finally, a sum of 7,000 pagodas was given as a bribe to Lingappa and in 1683, a firman was obtained from Golconda. This was received with great ceremony on November 12, at the Company’s Garden House. There was much firing of cannon and drinking to the health of the Sultan, Akkanna, Madanna, and Lingappa. Madras was now formally British.

But not for long. In 1686, Aurangzeb laid siege to Golconda and eight months later, bribed the kingdom to its defeat. Akkanna and Madanna were killed. Tana Shah was exiled and would finally be buried at Khuldabad. The ownership of Madras was open once again, resulting in negotiations with the Mughals. But Golconda was no longer in the picture.

(V. Sriram is a writer and historian.)