Did the Mughals start the practice of burning coconuts in India? How long has this tradition been going on before Diwali?

In India, fireworks are widely used to express happiness. Be it a wedding ceremony or an Indian cricket victory, the sky resounds with fireworks. The festival of Diwali is considered incomplete without fireworks. However, courts have from time to time banned crackers that cause pollution. Despite this, fireworks are still widely used. This begs the question: how did the use of firecrackers begin in India? Some say that the Mughals started this trend, while other historians believe that this tradition goes back much longer. Let us try to understand how the use of fireworks started in India. A BBC report said that since ancient times, Indians have been familiar with such devices that burst with a distinctive light and sound. These instruments are mentioned in Indian myths dating back more than two thousand years. Even the pre-Christian text, Kautilya, also known as Chanakya’s Arthashastra, mentions a powder that burned quickly and produced strong flames. The addition of sulfur and coal powder to the powder further increased its combustibility. However, this powder, which is found all over the country, was not used in fireworks at that time. People used to celebrate by lighting lamps in their houses. For this, ghee lamps were used, which are also called Chinese Traditions In the same BBC report, Punjab University history professor Rajeev Lochan was quoted as saying that in ancient Indian texts, people celebrated Diwali not with the noise of firecrackers but with lights. The tradition of burning fireworks started in China. Burning fire crackers were believed to drive away evil spirits and bad luck and increase good luck. Probably from here a Bengali Buddhist religious leader named Atish Dipankar brought this tradition to India. There were coconuts even before the Mughals. Some people claim that fire crackers started after the arrival of the Mughals. The Mongols brought this technology with them to India. They introduced it to Delhi in the mid-13th century, after which firecrackers were first seen in Delhi. It is told in the work “Tarikh-e-Firishta” of the medieval historian Firishta that in March 1258 firecrackers were burnt to welcome the messenger of the Mongol ruler Hulagu Khan who came to the court of Sultan Nasiruddin Mahmud. However, historians completely disagree with this fact. Although it is certain that fireworks were widely used for fireworks during the Mughal period, it is not correct to say that the Mughals brought them to India. The Mughals certainly brought gunpowder, or rather the technology to use gunpowder in war, but firecrackers were already common here. On Shab-e-Barat, firecrackers were burnt. Professor Iqtidar Alam Khan believes that the firecrackers mentioned by the historian Firishta were actually gunpowder used in war, and not firecrackers. Firecrackers were also burnt in Delhi during the reign of Sultan Firoz Shah Tughlaq. It is mentioned in Tarikh-e-Firozshahi that fire crackers were burnt especially on the evening of Shab-e-Baraat. According to Professor Khan, the technology of gunpowder reached South India by Chinese merchant ships by the beginning of the 15th century. Zamorin and others started using it to make coconuts. Even then it was not used as a weapon in war. Historians say that the Portuguese, who came to India before the Mughals, also used firecrackers. In Bijapur’s Ali Adil Shah’s 1570 work Nuzum ul-Uloom, an entire chapter is devoted to fireworks. The use of fireworks increased during the Mughal period. Historians agree that the use of fire crackers increased during the Mughal period. Dr. Katherine Butler Scofield, professor at King’s College, London, believes that the Mughals and their contemporary Rajputs made extensive use of fireworks, especially during the dark months of the year. The use of firecrackers on occasions like weddings, birthdays, coronations and Shab-e-Barat is described in the chronicles of the reign of Shahjahan and then Aurangzeb. There are also pictures that show it. Even paintings depicting the wedding of Dara Shikoh show people burning fireworks. The tradition of burning coconuts on Diwali was started by the Mughals. Historians agree that the tradition of lighting fireworks on Diwali was probably started by the Mughals. This is known from the first volume of Ain-e-Akbari, written by Abul Fazal, a historian and minister of the Mughal Empire. It states that Akbar (Emperor) said that the worship of fire and light is a religious duty and divine praise. Historians agree that Diwali, which is celebrated today with fireworks, began during the Mughal period. Subsequently, in the 18th and 19th centuries, the Nawabs of Bengal and Awadh patronized festivals such as Durga Puja and Diwali and organized grand fireworks displays.