In the medieval period, Vasai (also known as bassein) along with the neighbouring Island of Salsette and the seven islands of Bombay was under the rule of the Sultans of Gujarat till 1534. The Portuguese with their naval power and their crusading valor were unquestioned masters of the Indian Ocean. The Portuguese acquired these regions from Sultan Bahadur Shah through a treaty and later in 1661 gave away the seven islands of Mumbai to the British King Charles II as dowry when the Portuguese Princess Catherine of Braganza was married to him. After nearly 200 years of Portuguese control, Vasai and Salsette were conquered by the Marathas in 1739 who in turn relinquished them to the English East India Company in 1818.
*The Marathas are natives of Pune, Nashik, Sangli, Kolhapur, Satara, Ahmednagar and Solapur districts. Out of the 9 crore population of Maharashtra 34% population consists of Marathas. The Marathas dominate the political arena in Maharashtra.* *Marathas have dominated the state politics of Maharashtra since its inception in 1960. The first Chief Minister of Maharashtra was a Maratha ( Yashwantrao Chavan). Since then, Maharashtra has witnessed heavy presence of Maratha community and having more than 40% of their members in the ministry, local municipal commissions, police force, panchayats, etc. The natives of konkan (thane, bombay, raigad, ratnagiri, sindhudurg districts) have been demanding the creation of konkan state to free themselves from the clutches of the Marathas but all in vain. The Marathas will never give up konkan. At present the natives of konkan are at loggerheads with the maratha politicians who have cleared 64 SEZs in konkan without consulting them. * In February 1739, Chimaji Appa, the Maratha ruler Bajirao Peshwa’s younger brother, attacked Bassien Fort (The Vasai fort or Bassein fort, is a sea-facing fort built by the Portuguese to protect their township of Vasai). He first occupied the Versova, Dharavi and blockaded Bassein Creek. The Portuguese sought help from the British in Bombay but the British instead sent ammunition and three of their gunners to assist the Marathas. The Marathas were encouraged when they managed to kill the brave Portuguese commandant, Sylveria de Menezes. They then laid 12 mines, two of which exploded causing a breach in the Vasai fort wall. When they mounted an assault on the fort, a third mine exploded killing hundreds of Maratha warriors. The Portuguese kept up their defenses by throwing hand grenades and throwing huge stones from mortars, causing havoc among the Marathas. The Marathas finally exploded more mines in the breached wall causing the tower of St. Sebastian to collapse. The Marathas secured a position in the fort from where the Portuguese could not longer defend the fort. The Marathas casualty was about 12,000 killed or wounded while the Portuguese casualty was about 800 killed or wounded, among those killed on the Portuguese side were General Martinho da Sylveira, General Pedro de Mello and Lt.-Colonel Joo Malhio. After a desperate resistance on 16 May 1739 the Portuguese signed surrender. The treaty of surrender stipulated that all the garrison would be allowed to march out of town with full honors of war. Those who wanted to leave had 8 days to take all their movable property and move out. The Portuguese lost eight cities, four chief ports, twenty fortress, two fortified hills, the island of Salsette with the city and the fortress of Thana, Illa das Vaccas – (Island of Arnala), the island of Caranja, and 340 villages. On 19th May 1739, Captain Caetano de Souza Pereira capitulated and handed over the Court of Bassein. They left Bassein on 23 May 1739. The churches and almost all the buildings from Vasai fort were destroyed and looted by the Marathas. The church bells were paraded, carried off on elephant backs as victory souvenirs. One church bell was carried to and located at Naroshankar Temple on the banks of Godavari river in Nasik, Panchavati area. The other church bell is located at Ashta-Vinayaka temple in Ballaleshwar in Sudhagad, district Raigad. The Maratha ruler Madhavrao Peshwa offered free land grants to Hindus who would settle in Bassein and imposed a tax system to encourage purification/conversion of Christians back into Hinduism. After 205 years of uninterrupted Portuguese rule, Bassein was progressively neglected, and the neighboring English Bombay assumed importance in trade and commerce. Today's Vasai-Virar area has rapidly changed and starting in the 1980's, the change is brought about by a large influx of people due to availability of more affordable housing than in Mumbai ( Bombay ). For several centuries people of Vasai depended on agriculture, everything revolved around agriculture. Since the early 1980's, people's land in areas such as Virar, Nala-Sopara, Vasai were either taken forcibly from them or forced to sell their lands at a very cheap price through intimidation and violence by thugs and gangsters. As a result people have gradually moved from agricultural society to finding other means of livelihood. Vasai presents a picture quite different from the city located nearer the Vasai railway station. One can still experience the rural ambience of Vasai with paddy fields, though many of them are not cultivated, vegetable gardens and orchards, coconut and other types of trees. History of Vasai dates back to Puranic ages. The present day name of Vasai originates from Sanskrit, Sanskrit word "waas" meaning dwelling or residence. The name was changed to Basai by Muslims who occupied Vasai before the Portuguese. The Portuguese named it Bacaim. The Marathas named it Bajipura or Bajipur. The British named it Bassein and today it is called Vasai. The most significant past in Vasai's history is the rein of the Portuguese, since they largely influenced or changed to what Vasai-Virar area is today. Historically, the entire region has attracted traders and merchants from Rome, Greece and Middle East. In 1295 AD the famous Marco Polo visited Thana/Vasai area. Among the political powers who controlled the region, it was the Portuguese who have left a lasting imprint on Vasai. The churches that were built during the Portuguese regime in different villages of Vasai, the Christian community with its composite customs and traditions and the magnificent Vasai Fort, though now in ruins, manifest the unique character of Vasai. However, since few decades the aggressive urbanization and immigration of multi-lingual and multi-cultural population from Mumbai and elsewhere tend to wipe out the ethnic identity of Vasai. Vasai was attacked by the Mughals, the Arabs and the Marathas during the Portuguese period. It is said that on almost all these occasions, the invaders did not dare to attack the church of Our Lady of Remedy. However, in 1690, a certain plunderer by name of Kakaji plundered Vasai and destroyed many churches including the church at Remedy. During the Maratha invasion of Vasai in 1739, the Dominican priests were forced to leave Vasai and the care of the parish of Remedy passed to the secular clergy. The present Church of Our Lady of Remedy was rebuilt in 1939. Varieties of vegetables grown in Vasai have been much sought after by Mumbaikars for their hygienic quality and natural taste. Besides, the betel leaves (paan) of Vasai had been well-known throughout northern India. However, since few decades the Vasai farms have been gradually disappearing due to urbanization and development. With the collapse of farming, hardly ten percent of the Vasaikars depend on it for their livelihood. Though the typical old colonial village houses have made way to modern bungalows and buildings, at few places came across beautiful houses of old type reminding the bygone colonial era of the Portuguese. The residents in the vicinity of different churches in Vasai are predominantly Christians, some of them living in spacious bungalows. The people in Vasai villages are simple, unassuming, friendly and hospitable. The topography, flora and fauna and general atmosphere in rural Vasai remind one of being in typical Goan or Mangalorean villages. *BOMBAY NEWS*
