Why did the British fail to loot the largest bronze cannon "Malik-i-Maidan" of Bijapur fort, Karnataka to England?

 cannon Malik-i-Maidan,Bijapur

Looting war trophies, etc was more common during the British rule in India and most of them were taken to England to be kept in the museums as a mark of the british empire and its superiority. During their heyday, the subcontinent had thousands of artifacts, gemstones, arma, idols, etc and the Europeans were curious  and hoarded them. 

Incidentally, the world famous Koh-i-noor diamond (of Kollur mines, Andhra) and world's largest red stone - Timur Ruby (actually Spinel) were not gifted by the young Raja of Punjab, rather, they were looted by the British company. Later EIC through the Punjab royal family gifted them to Queen Victoria in a ceremony in London  in the 19th century.  

East India Company invaded Punjab in 1849  and took possession of the Timur ruby and the Koh-i-Noor diamond from Duleep Singh. Acquisition by Queen Victoria. On 29 March 1849, following the conclusion of the Second Anglo-Sikh War, the Kingdom of Punjab was formally annexed to Company rule, and the Last Treaty of Lahore was signed, officially ceding the Koh-I-Noor to Queen Victoria and the Maharaja's other assets to the company. It also included Timur Ruby.

One of rare heavy bronze cannon that the british could not take along with them in 1947 was the famous Cannon Malik-E-Maidan, cast in Ahmednagar the mid 16th CE. Reason: Its heavy weight and lack of transport facilities.

symbol of power cannon Malik-i-Maidan thehindu.com

Malik-E-Maidan", a 55 ton bronze cannon made of  an alloy of copper, iron and tin - bell metal (length: 14.6 ft), muzzle gauge:728 in) with 4 ft 11 in) overall diameter.) was  cast in 1549 in the Sultanate of Ahmadnagar (now in Maharashtra)'. It is on display  at Burj-E-Sherz (Lion tower), Bijapur Fort  in Karnataka, Then it was one of the largest and powerful  medieval guns ever made.When in use, the cannon was mounted on a swivel mechanism which allowed it to turn 180 degrees to aim the target.

Map of the Deccan sultanates/en.wikipedia.org

The battle of Talikota (near the Krishna river (Andhra) in January 1565 was a watershed battle  and with the death of Rama Raya, the allied sultanate forces came out victorious  and the Muslim rulers in certain regions established their hegemony. 

Far before the arrival of Europeans in the Indian subcontinent,  the Indian rulers were well-versed in military warfare, technology, defensive fortification, etc. They did not lag behind in artillery warfare, innovative arms  and ammunition.  The multi walled huge forts with well designed semi-circled bastions  resounded with the boom of gunpowder. Then India was a major producer of gun powder.  So, possessing powerful cannons and guns as part of offencive and defensive strategy was more an asset and responsibility than a liability because they acted as deterrents to yjr raiders in case of enemy  invasions.

The correct use of combined artillery power and positioning of Massive Malik-E-Maidan" bronze cannon at vantage points  helped the Deccani sultans  win the war.  It wracked havoc and thr Vijayanagara army did not expect its introduction in the battle. After the victory  Sultanates named the cannon as "The Malik-i-Maidan" meaning Master of the Field or Master of the Battlefield,

Paranda Fort, MH .mtdc.co.in

Above image:  Paranda Fort in Paranda, a small town in the Osmanabad district in the state of Maharashtra,  is said to have been  built in the 15th century by Mahmud Gawan of Bahmani Sultanate or by Sultan Murtaza Nizam Shah of Ahmednagar (in 1600), Malik-E-Maidan" was on top of one of 28 rounded bastians in the fort..... 

When the fort of Paranda (now in Maharashtra), where this gun was installed, came under the Bijapur rulers,, General Murari Pandit brought the gun to Bijapur as a trophy of war and set it up on the present bastion  with the help of several elephants, hundreds  oxen and hundreds of soldiers. To prevent accidental firing toward Bijapur,  massive walls on the rear side were  built as a precaution.  Tp prevent unbearable  loud noise and heat generated by the cannon,  the gunner, upon lighting  the fuse, had to submerge himself in a nearby water tank to avoid injuries  The water tank can be seen even to day, but it is fully covered.

Carving on Malik Maidan , Bijapur.fort gunhistoryindia.com

Fascinated by its fire power and missive size of  Malik–i-Maidan, the 55 ton bronze cannon that never showed signs of rusting. Keenly interested in the metallurgy and production process  the British had their eyes glued on  this cannon, then among world largest in its category.  The EIC East India Company  tried hard to take it to England as a war trophy, but their efforts ended in failure  due to its enormous size and poor transportation  infrastructure, 

Had it been looted by the wily British, the giant bronze cannon of Ahmednagar  would have been on display with all the other "looted" Indian stuff, idols, artifacts, sculptures, etc in the  British Museum,London where it  would have been kept  in a special enclosure with display lights or  in the Windsor Castle (owned by the British Royals) with an information  board saying "Gifted by the Adil Shahi kings" to the British Royalty). Incidentally, the Koh-i-noor diamond (of Kollur mines, Andhra) and world's largest red stone Timur Ruby (actually Spinel) were not gifted by the young Raja of Punjab, rather, they were looted by the British company. Later EIC through the Punjab royal family gifted them to Queen Victoria in the 19th century.   East India Company invaded Punjab in 1849  and took possession of the Timur ruby and the Koh-i-Noor diamond from Duleep Singh. Acquisition by Queen Victoria. On 29 March 1849, following the conclusion of the Second Anglo-Sikh War, the Kingdom of Punjab was formally annexed to Company rule, and the Last Treaty of Lahore was signed, officially ceding the Koh-I-Noor to Queen Victoria and the Maharaja's other assets to the company. It also included Timur Ruby.

The historical cannon  is said to have been put up for an auction by  a Magistrate of Bijapur  bu it  was  cancelled by the Satara commissioner for unknown reasons. Finally, they left the cannon, as transportation of a massive cannon  in the ship on the high seas was a risky one.  The Malik-e-Maidan is atop the Bijapur fort' s lion tower -the Sherzi-Buruz; at the entrance that leads to the tower platform 

https://diksoochi.blogspot.com/2006/12/trip-to-bijapur-malik-e-maidan.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malik-E-Maidan

https://www.mtdc.co.in/forts/paranda-fort