Editing Piracy (section)

===South Asia===
[[Bawarij]] were [[Sindhi people|Sindhi]] pirates named for their distinctive [[Dhow|barja warships]]<ref>"Indian Pirates: From the Earliest Times to the Present Day", by Rajaram Narayan Saletore, page 18</ref> who were active between 251 and 865 AD.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Agius |first=Dionisius A. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RP2uHT06zYgC&dq=bawarij&pg=PA385 |title=Classic Ships of Islam: From Mesopotamia to the Indian Ocean |date=2008 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=978-90-04-15863-4 |language=en |page=385 |access-date=April 29, 2023 |archive-date=April 29, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230429072223/https://books.google.com/books?id=RP2uHT06zYgC&dq=bawarij&pg=PA385 |url-status=live }}</ref> Their frequent piracy and the incident in which they looted two treasure ships coming from Ceylon became the [[casus belli]] for the [[Umayyad conquest of Sindh]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Saletore |first=Rajaram Narayan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1PVMMoChwY4C&dq=bawarij&pg=PA18 |title=Indian Pirates |date=1978 |publisher=Concept Publishing Company |language=en |page=21 |access-date=April 29, 2023 |archive-date=May 13, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230513082535/https://books.google.com/books?id=1PVMMoChwY4C&dq=bawarij&pg=PA18 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Pirates who accepted the Royal Pardon from the [[Chola Dynasty|Chola Empire]] would get to serve in the [[Chola Navy]] as "Kallarani". They would be used as coast guards, or sent on recon missions to deal with Arab piracy in the [[Arabian Sea]]. Their function is similar to the 18th century [[privateers]], used by the Royal Navy.

Starting in the 14th century, the [[Deccan]] (Southern Peninsular region of India) was divided into two entities: on the one side stood the Muslim [[Bahmani Sultanate]] and on the other stood the [[Hindu king]]s rallied around the [[Vijayanagara Empire]]. Continuous wars demanded frequent resupplies of fresh horses, which were imported through sea routes from Persia and Africa. This trade was subjected to frequent raids by thriving bands of pirates based in the coastal cities of Western India. One of such was [[Timoji]], who operated off [[Anjadip Island]] both as a privateer (by seizing horse traders, that he rendered to the [[raja]] of [[Honavar]]) and as a pirate who attacked the Kerala merchant fleets that traded pepper with [[Gujarat]].

During the 16th and 17th centuries, there was frequent European piracy against [[Mughal Empire|Mughal]] Indian merchants, especially those [[Capture of the Grand Mughal Fleet|en route to Mecca]] for [[Hajj]]. The situation came to a head when the Portuguese attacked and captured the vessel ''Rahimi'' which belonged to [[Mariam Zamani]] the Mughal queen, which led to the Mughal seizure of the Portuguese town Daman.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Findly |first1=Ellison B. |title=The Capture of Maryam-uz-Zamānī's Ship: Mughal Women and European Traders |journal=Journal of the American Oriental Society |date=1988 |volume=108 |issue=2 |pages=227–238 |doi=10.2307/603650 |jstor=603650 }}</ref> In the 18th century, the famous [[Maratha Confederacy|Maratha]] privateer [[Kanhoji Angre]] ruled the seas between Mumbai and Goa.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Risso |first1=Patricia |title=Cross-Cultural Perceptions of Piracy: Maritime Violence in the Western Indian Ocean and Persian Gulf Region during a Long Eighteenth Century |journal=Journal of World History |date=2001 |volume=12 |issue=2 |pages=293–319 |doi=10.1353/jwh.2001.0039 |s2cid=162191347 |id={{Project MUSE|18418}} }}</ref> The Marathas attacked British shipping and insisted that [[East India Company]] ships pay taxes if sailing through their waters.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.national-army-museum.ac.uk/exhibitions/soldiersSeahawks/page2.shtml|title=Soldiers, Seahawks and Smugglers|access-date=July 20, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080906064531/http://www.national-army-museum.ac.uk/exhibitions/soldiersSeahawks/page2.shtml|archive-date=September 6, 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref>