Tarapur, Maharashtra
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Tarapur तारापुर |
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|---|---|
| Town | |
 Tarapur
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| Coordinates: 19°51′N 72°42′E / 19.85°N 72.7°ECoordinates: 19°51′N 72°42′E / 19.85°N 72.7°E | |
| Country |
 India
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| State | Maharashtra |
| District | Palghar |
| Elevation | 10 m (30 ft) |
| Population (2001) | |
| • Total | 37,541 |
| Demonym(s) | Tarapurkar |
| Languages | |
| • Official | Marathi |
| Time zone | IST (UTC+5:30) |
| PIN | 401504, 401506 |
| Telephone code | +91 2525 |
| Vehicle registration | MH-48 |
Tarapur is a census town in Palghar district (earlier Palghar was taluka and has recently notified as district) in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is an industrial town located some 45 km north of Virar, on the Western Railway line of Mumbai Suburban Division (Mumbai Suburban Railway). Tarapur can be reached from Boisar, the nearest railway station. It is 20 km off National Highway NH-8.
At the end of the thirteenth century (1280), Tarapur is mentioned as one of the towns conquered from the Naiks by Bhim the legendary ruler of Mahim in Bombay island. (Naime's Konkan, 22.) In 1533 it was burnt by the Portuguese. (De Barros, VII. 501; Faria in Kerr, VI. 223, 225.) In 1556 the Portuguese possessions near Tarapur were greatly increased, and it was the head of the richest of the Daman districts. (De Couto, VIII. 208.) In 1559 an assault by some Abyssinian troops was successfully beaten off. (De Couto, VIII. 208.) In 1582, and again in 1612, the fort was unsuccessfully attacked by the Moghals. (De Couto, XI. 195; Mickle's Lusiad, ociii.) In 1634 the town was the seat of a magistrate with powers over half of the Daman territories. It exported provisions in which the country round was rich, and had a good trade with Surat and Diu. (O Chron. de Tis. III. 199.) The fort was surrounded by a wall with round bastions, and, besides quarters for the garrison, had a church, a Dominican monastery, and a hospital or misericordia. The garrison included a captain, a naik, ten peons, and a bombardier, a police inspector and four peons, an interpreter, a writer, a torchbearer, and an umbrella boy. Besides the garrison there was the vicar, and fifty Portuguese, 200 Native Christians, and about 100 slaves, good fighters and well armed with swords, lances, and guns. [O Chron. de Tis. III. 199.] In 1670 Ogilby mentions it as a coast town, (O gilby's Atlas, V. 208.) and, in 1695, Gemelli Careri describes it as well inhabited with monasteries of the Dominicans and Franciscans of the Recolet school. (Churchill, IV. 190.) In 1728 it Was said to be of no strength and to be garrisoned by sixty soldiers. [O. Chron. de Tis. I. 35.] In 1739 the fort was attacked by the Marathas under Chimnaji Apa. Four mines were laid, of which two succeeded in making great breaches in a bastion and curtain. Bajibevrav, Ramchandra Hari, Yeshvant Pavar, and Tukaji Pavar rushed into the breaches with their colours. They were stoutly opposed by the Portuguese, and success was doubtful, till Ranoji Bhonsle scaled the wall in another part and divided the attention of the garrison. Still, as Chimnaji wrote, they fought with the courage of Europeans, till, at last overpowered, the survivors asked for and were granted quarter. [Grant Duff's Marathas, 241; Thornton's Gazetteer, 959-60.] In 1750 Tieffenthaler mentions Tarapur as a place once Portuguese now Maratha. [Res. Hist, et Geog. de l'Inde, I. 407.] After the capture the Marathas repaired the sea face of the fort in European style. In 1760 it was in good order and protected by four guns. [Anquetil du Perron's Zend A vests, occlxxxi.] In 1776 Raghunathrav took shelter in the fort. [Grant Duff's Marathas, 398.] In 1803 it passed to the British without resistance. In 1818 it was described by Captain Dickinson as one of the largest, best conditioned, and most central of the sea-coast forts in the north Konkan. The walls, most of which were of cut stone, enclosed a space 500 feet square. They were about thirty feet high and ten thick, except the parapet which was seldom more than four feet wide. The north face was washed by the sea at spring tides, and in many places was out of repair. Long stretches of the parapet had fallen, and, at the south-east angle of the fort, there was neither tower nor bastion. On three sides were remains of a dry ditch of inconsiderable width and depth. In the middle of the eastern face was the principal gateway, uncovered by traverse or any sort of outwork. Inside the fort were some large ruins and several buildings four of them private. There were besides two granaries and a guard-room, with some inferior buildings and several wells containing abundant and excellent water. As in Dahanu fort, houses and gardens came within 150 feet of the works. In 1862 it was in a ruined state, part of the north wall having fallen. In the fort were some wells and gardens. The fort was given in inam by the Peshwa to Vikaji Mehrji, for a hundred years, and is still held by his heirs. Taylor mentions, on the south bank of the creek, the remains of a Portuguese fort which was built in 1593. [Taylor's Sailing Directory, 372.]
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