THEME3:INDIA INTHE18TH CENTURY

6 Rise of Independent
Regional Powers
the Mughal empire began to Aurangzeb and was released after the death of
A
of
disintegrate, the political vacuumn the emperor in 1707. A war of succession broke
was filled by a number INDIA IN MID-18TH CENTURY
independent and semi RISE OF REGIONAL POWERS
independent regional powers Areas under the British
French trading centres
such as Bengal, Awadh (Oudh), Peshaw KASHMIR Sites of war

Hyderabad, Mysore and the -Present international

boundary ot India
Maratha, Sikh and Rajput states. SIKHS
Lahore

Some, like the Maratha kingdom, Multan

Karnal.
wereproducts ofrebellion against MUGHALS
Delhi ROILKHAND
Mughal authority, while others, Bareilly
like Bengal, were established RAPTA Jaipure JATS

Gwalior
Lucknow
4W VADH
when governors of these Mughal SIND
SINDHIA Kora uxar
Allahabad

provinces took advantage of the HOLKAR MARATHAS

BEGAL
AEKWAD Murshidabad
decaying central authority and ndore Namoo PlasseyX
Bargda Chandernagore
asserted their independence. BHONSLE Calcutta
Nagpure Mahanadi:Sambalpur
Bassein T N D

THE MARATHAS
Salse
Bombay (Br.) PESHWA uodav
Pune
NORIHERNCIRCARS- BAY OF

ARABIAN
BENGAL
SEA Hyderabad
The most important among kango
hnaNIZAM'S A
the regional powers was the Goa (Port. TERRITORIES
Maratha kingdom. In fact, the
MYSORE
Marathas alone had the power
and the potential to establish

all-India empire on the ashes of

an KSHADWWEEp Arcot. Madras

Pondicherry (Fr.)
Karaikal
Tayjore
the Mughal empire. TRAVANCORE ANDAMAN

SEA

Shahu, the grandson Shivaji,

of
I N D IAN CEYLON
by SHULANKA 0 CE A N
had been imprisoned

54 HISTORY
 out among the Marathas. Shahu succeeded in The Peshwas divided the erstwhile Mughal
capturing the Maratha throne with the help provinces into 'spheres of influence' and
of Balaji Vishwanath who was subsequently placed them under the chiefs of these Maratha
rewarded for his services and loyalty with families. These chiefs enjoyed maximum
the post of Peshwa or chief minister (mukh autonomy within their respective regions. The
pradhan) in 1713.
peshwa was the official head of this loose union
and weak, was gradually of Maratha chiefs which is referred to as the
Shahu, ease-loving
reduced to the position of ceremonial head Maratha confederacy.
of the Maratha kingdom while real power Baji Rao I was succeeded by his 18-year-old son,
and authority was exercised by the Peshwa. Balaji Baji Rao. When Shahu died, the Peshwa
This was the beginning of the second phase of became the official head of the Maratha empire.
Maratha history. It was a period of dominance Poona (now Pune), the headquarters of the
of the Peshwas who ruled the kingdom and Peshwas, became the capital of the Maratha
transformed it into an empire (1713-1818). empire.
Balaji Vishwanath took full advantage of the
weaknesses of the Mughal administration to
extract important concessions and enhance the
power and prestige of the Marathas. All the
territories that had once belonged to Shivaji but
nad been conquered by Aurangzeb, were now
restored to Shahu. Further, the right to levy
chauth and sardeshmukhi from six Mughal
provinces in the Deccan was also granted to the
Marathas.
h 1719, Balaji Vishwanath marched to Delhi to
pelptheSayyid brothersto overthrow the Mughal
Emperor, Farrukhsiyar. Balaji Vishwanath had

made the Marathas a formidable power. He

aid the foundations of the hereditary, dynastic
succeeded by his
rule of the Peshwas and was
A painting showing Peshwa Baji Rao l with his ministers
Son Baji Rao I.
Baji Rao I was a military genius. Under his bold Balaji Baji Rao continued to follow the policy of
and dynamic leadership, the Maratha kingdom expansion. During his reign the Maratha empire
was transformed into the Maratha empire reached the heights of its power and glory. In

aftera series of brilliant campaigns against the the north, the Marathas became the power
Mughals and other rivals. behind the Mughal throne.
A major development at this time was the rise of The conquest of Punjab brought them into direct

he prominent Maratha families-the Sindhia, conflict with the Afghan general, Ahmad Shah
he Bhonsle, the Holkar and the Gaekwad. Abdali. A major struggle for mastery over North

HISTORY 55
India began. The Maratha army was
decisively
defeated by Ahmad Shah Abdali at the Third
Battle of Panipat in 1761. The Maratha ambition
of replacing the Mughal empire lay scattered on
the plains of Panipat. The Afghans, too, failed
to capitalize on their victory. The conditions
were ideal for the entry of another powerful
contender for supremacy-the English East
India Company.
of the British trading company. They believed
that a trading company could never challenge
their authority. No efforts were made to
reorganize andstrengthen the army. Corruption
was rampant and even high ranking officials
were susceptible to bribes. These weaknessees
made Bengal a happy hunting ground for the
aggressive and imperialistic ambitions of the
British.

AWADH (0UDH)
DISCUSS
The foundation of the independent state of
Do you agree that the history of India would have Awadh was laid by Saadat Khan, the governor
been different if the Marathas had won the Third
of the Mughal province of Awadh. He was
Battle of Panipat? Give reasons for your answer.
intelligent, efficient and daring. He established
an efficient administration, maintained law and
BENGAL order, introduced revenue reforms and streng-
of the richest provinces of thened his army.
Bengal was one
the Mughal empire. As the Mughal authority Saadat Khan was succeeded by his nephew
declined, the governor of Bengal, Murshid Safdar Jung who brought stability, peace and
Quli Khan took advantage of the situation to prosperity to Awadh. He was succeeded by his
free himself from imperial control. Although he son Shuja-ud-Daulah. The prolonged period of
continued to pay annual tribute to the Mughal
empire, he began to rule Bengal independently.
Murshid Quli Khan was an excellent
administrator and a man of exceptional abilities.
He freed Bengal from external and internal
dangers and established stability, peace and
prosperity in the state.

The most capable among his successors was

Alivardi Khan. He recognized the importance of
promoting trade and encouraged merchants-
Indian as well as foreign-to carry on trade in
Bengal. He, however, did not allow the French
and British merchants to fortify their factories
and
in Chandernagore (now Chandannagar)
Calcutta (now Kolkata), respectively.
failed to
The nawabs of Bengal, however, A portrait showing Saadat Khan, who

understand the true nature

and ulterior motives founded the independent state of Awadh

56 HISTORY
peace and economic prosperity during the reign
of the nawabs stimulated the growth of a refined
and distinct Lucknavi culture. Lucknow, the
capital city, blossomed into a centre for creative
nd performing arts, literature and architecture.
managed to preserve its independence despite
repeated attacks by neighbouring kingdoms. In
the middle of the 18th century,Mysore, under
the leadership of Hyder Ali emerged as one of
the most powerful kingdoms in the south.

Hyder Ali was a man of exceptional qualities

HYDERABAD and abilities. He rose from the ranks of an
The state of Hyderabad was founded by the ordinary soldier in the Mysore army to the
Mughal viceroy of the Deccan, Nizamul-Mulk position of commander by sheer dint of merit
Asaf Jah in 1724. He did not officially declare and determination.
himself independent of Mughal control, but he In 1761 he overthrew the government and
ruled Hyderabad like an independent ruler. established his authority over the Mysore state.
He consolidated his position by
establishing Under his rule, Mysore became a prosperous
an efficient administrative
system, removing and powerful state and a formidable adversary
corruption from the revenue system, promoting of the English East India Company in the south.
trade and protecting the state from internal and
external threats. Hyder Ali was succeeded by his son, Tipu
Sultan, who proved to be a worthy successor.
The wars of succession that followed the death He introduced many reforms to overhaul and
of Asaf Jah made Hyderabad a soft target for the the administrative machinery.
reorganize
British and French Companies. He modernized the army and strengthened
the economy by encouraging agriculture and
THE CARNATIC
The Carnatic, one of the subas in the Deccan, was
under the control of the nizam of Hyderabad.
The nawab of the Carnatic, however,
freed himself from the nizam's control and
established hereditary rule in his state. This led
to wars of succession and political instability
in the
Carnatic, providing the European trading
companies opportunities to interfere in its
internal affairs and make territorial, commercial
and financial gains.

MYSORE
The collapse of the powerful Vijayanagar empire
in the 17th century, gave rise to a number of
at with
independent kingdoms, constantly war

one another. The most important of these was A portrait of Hyder Ali, the ruler of Mysore -one of the most
the kingdom of Mysore which had somehow powerful kingdoms in the south

HISTORY 57
modern trade and industry. He martial spirit that wouid
peace-loving Sikhs a
serious challenge to the rise of posed
the most
British power in help them to carry on their struggle against the
India.
persecution of the Mughals.
The invasions of Nadir Shah and Ahmad Shah
THE RAJPUTS Abdali had weakened the Mughal control in
The ot the situation,
principal Rajput states like Jaipur (Amber), Punjab. Taking advantage the
Jodhpur (Marwar) and Udaipur (Mewar) Sikhs moved in, brought Punjab and Jammu
took under their control and rose to prominence in
advantage of the declining power of the
the last decades of the 18th century.
Mughals and asserted their independence.
These resurgent Rajput states unfortunately did The Sikhs were organized into a loose
not unite and confederacy of twelve misls or groups. Each
consolidate their position. They
made no efforts to establish a Rajput empire on misl was governed by a chief. Ranjit Singh
the debris of the chief of one of the misls, was a born leader. He
Mughal empire. brought all the Sikh chiefs, west of the Satlui
On the contrary, they continued to follow under his control and made himself master of
individual goals
and interests that were
often divergent and conflicting. They frittered Punjab by the end of the 18th century.
away their energies and compromised their In 1809, Ranjit Singh signed a treaty of 'perpetual
independence by indulging in petty quarrels. friendship' with Lord Minto, the Governor
The court intrigues, conspiracies, treachery and General of the English East India Company.
corruption of the Mughal courts were replayed By this Treaty of Amritsar he accepted the
in the courts of the Rajput rulers. It sapped their Satluj River as the boundary between the Sikh
energies and made them vulnerable to the selfish kingdom and British territories. The British
designs of the English East India Company.

? DID YOU KNOW?

Raja Sawai Jai Singh, the ruler of Amber, was one
of the well-known Rajput rulers in the mid-18th
century. He had keen interest in astronomy and
built a nurmber of astronomical observatories (Jantar
Mantar) in Delhi, Jaipur, Ujjain, Mathura and Benaras.
He founded the city of Jaipur in Rajasthan, which was
scientifically planned. He was also a social reformer
who introduced reforms that would prevent evil
practices such as sati and female infanticide.

THE SIKH KINGDOM

Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth and last Sikh

guru, organized a military brotherhood of Ranjit Singh made Punjab a
He instilled in the very strong
Sikhs called the Khalsa. independent kingdom.

58 HISTORY
 THINK AND ANSWER
Ranjit Singh was an ambitious and powerful ruler
Why do you think he signed the treaty of 'perpetual
friendship' with the British that checked his
expansion beyond the Satluj?
promised not to interfere in the affairs of the
Sikh kingdom. Checked in the east, Ranjit Singh
began to conquer territories in the north and the
west. At the time of his death in 1839, he was
master of a powerful kingdom which extended
from the Khyber Pass in the north to Sindh in
the south.

VALUES AND LIFE SKILLS

A good leader of a country should promote unity among the people rather than causing them to divide and have
Useless fights. He/she should be able to execute the decisions that he/she believes areright.Atrue leader upholds
truth and integrity and maintains the trust and confidence given to him by the people.
*if you were given a chance to be the Principal ofyour school, what are the qualities that you would inculcate in
yourself? Give reasons.

Mysore emerged as a powertul

kingdom in South India
Balcii Vishwanath wos The Trealy of Amrilsar was signed between
awarded the post of Peshwa Ranjit Singh and the English East India Company

1700 1750 1800 1850

Nizam-u-Mulk Asaf Hyder Ali established his
Jah founded the state authorily over the Mysore stote
of Hyderabad

Important Words
Chauth was one fourth of the total revenue the
cultivators paid to their rulers, i.e., the Mughals
or the Deccan sultans.
Treaty of Amritsar was the treaty signed between
Sardeshmukhi was an additional one tenth of the
land revenue which was a form of tribute to the
Maratha king.
Khalsa means pure and was the name given by
Guru Gobind Singh to all Sikhs who have been
baptized by taking 'amrit' in a ceremony called
Amrit Sanchar.
the British and Ranjit Singh, wherein
Ranjit
Singh accepted the Satluj River as the boundary
betweenthe Sikh kingdom and British
territories
The British also promised not to interfere in the
affairs of the Sikh kingdom.

HISTORY 59
Exercises
A. Fill in the blanks:
rule of the peshwas.
1. Balaji Vishwanath laid the foundation of the
2.
Luclkno was the capital of Awadh. formidable adversary of the
3 Mysore, under the leadership of gchn Hl ,
becarne the most

English East India Çompany in the south.

Sikhs called
4 ayno Gord thé tenth Sikh guru, orqanized a military brotherhood of
1dnadn
5 The Sikhs were organized into a loose confederacy of A misls or groups.

B. Match the following:

A B

1. Shahu (a) Sikh kingdom

2. Murshid Quli Khan (b) Awadh
3. Shuja-ud-Daulah c ) Mysore
4 Tipu Sultan Kd) Bengal
5. Ranjit Singh ë) Maratha king

C. Choose the correct answer:

1. The Marahas/Sikhs/Rajputs had the power and potential to establish an all-India empire after the
collapseof the Mughal empire.
2. Shahu was an ease-loving and weak Maratha/Sikh/Rajput ruler
2. The Maraha empire reached the heights of its power and glory during the reign of Balaji
Vishwaath/Baji Rao YBalaaji Rao,
Shuja-ud-Daulah was the Nawab of Hyderabad/AvadfBengal.
The state of Hydergfad/Awadh/Mysore
was founded by the Mughal viceroy of the Deccan,
lizam-ul-Mulk Asaf Jah.

D. State whether the following are true or false:

1. Bengal was one of the poorest provinces of the Mughal empire.
2. The most capable among the successors of

3. Lucknow was the cultural centre of Bengal.

Murshid Quli Khan was Alivardi Khan
4. The most powerful kingdom in the south was Mysore.
5. Ranjit Singh became the master of Punjab by the end of the 18th centuru,

Answer the following questions in one or two

words/sentences:
1. What followed the disintegration of the Mughal empire2
2. What is the significance of the Third Battle of Panipat? [2
[2

60 HISTORY
 3. What advantage did Murshid Quli Khan take of the decline in the power of the
Mughal empire? (2]
4 How did political and economic stability in Awadh impact cultural
5. How did
development in Lucknow [2]
political instability in the Carnatic
benefit European trading companies?5
the
6.
Name any two principal Rajput states that took advantage of the declining power of the '5
Mughals and asserted their independence. [2]
7. What made the Rajputs vulnerable to the selfish of the
8. Name the signatories of the dsigns English East India Company? 972]
of Treaty Amritsar. + [2]
F. Answer the following questions 7
1. The second
briefly:
phase of Maratha history was a period of dominance of the peshwas. In this context
answer the following questions:
(a) State the circumstances that led to the growth of peshwas dominance in the Maratha
kingdom.
(b) Discuss the achievements of (i) Baji Rao l and (i) Balaji
(c) How was the Maratha confederacy established?
Baji Rao. [41
2. With reference to the rise and
) 3
growth of Bengal as regional power discuss the following:
(a) The achievements of Murshid Quli Khan
(b) The rule of Alivardi Khan G 5 7
[2
(c) The failures of the Nawabs of Bengal
4
[41
3 The collapse of the Vijaynagar kingdom wasfollowed by emergence of the powerful kingdom of
Mysore. In this context discuss the
The
followin9:
(a) collapse of the Vijaynagar empire
(b) The achievements of Hyder Ali
p [2
[4)
(c) The contribution of Tipu Sultan 41
4. With reference to the rise of independent Rajput states and the establishments of the Sikh
kingdom, answer the tollowing questions:
(a) Why did the resurgent Rajputs fail to establish an empire in India?
(b) To what extent was Guru Gobind Singh responsible for the transformation of the
peace-loving Sikhs into a martial race?
(c) Discuss the achievements of Ranjit Singh.g9 4
G. Picture study:
This is a picture of the founder of the kingdom that extended from the
Khyber Pass in the north to Sindh in the south
1. Identify the person in the picture. Ranit Si
2. Name the kingdom founded by him. kh eopn
3. What did he do to expand his kingdom? khda
4. Name the treaty signedbetween him and the English East India
Company. Tway Avwulann
5. What effect did this treaty have on his policy of expansion?-

HISTORY 61
 THEME 4: TRADERS TO RULERS

7 Rise of British Power in

Bengal
h e British first came to India as traders in
the 17th century. However, by the middle
of the 19th century, the British succeeded
in eliminating all their rivals and established an
all-India empire. In their scramble for political
The English East India Comparny set up its factory
in Surat in 1612 CE. A factory was a trading
settlement consisting of a warehouse for goods,
an office for keeping records and residential
quarters for the servants (employees) of the

power, the conquest of Bengal proved to be an Company. Nothing was manufactured in these
important milestone for the British. It set the factories.
stage for further conquests and the establishment 1623 the British had established factories
of the British as the rulers of India. By CE,
in Surat, Broach, Ahmadabad, Agra and
Masulipatam. Sir Thomas Roe, the British
THE ENGLISH EAST INDIA COMPANY ambassador to the court of Jahangir, had
In1600CE, a company obtained many trade concessions for the
Company from the Mughal emperor.
popularly known
as the English East In 1639 CE, Madras was given to the British by a
India Company was local ruler. They established a trading settlement
establishedby a small which they fortified and named Fort St George.
group of British
In 1688 cE, Charles II gave the Company, at a
merchants. The
nominal rent of 10 pounds per year, the island
Queen of England,
of Bombay (which he had received as dowry
Elizabeth I, granted A portrait of Queen Elizabeth|
when he had married a Portuguese princess).
the Company the
In course of time, Bombay became the chief
to trade with the East.
exclusive right settlement of the British on the western coast.
The Company made enormous profits by
In 1690 CE, a British trading settlement was
buying Eastern goods and then selling them at
established and fortified in Calcutta. It was
high prices in the European market. The Queen named Fort William.
received a share of the Company's profits.

HISTORY 63
 Madras, Bombay The French and
the British were both
equaly
.

and Calcutta became the

headquarters of the British settlements in determined to establish trade monopoly
the southern, western and eastern
regions, India. An intense competition followed wed. They
respectively. Each of these
headquarters, known became arch-rivals
in trade and this
rivalry
as
Presidencies, was placed under the charge ot eventually led to wars. A power strug
a Governor. their commercial
became inevitable as

al intensified and the French tried to secure aand valry

By the beginning of the 18th
century, several
British trading use political influence to ruin British trade
companies had joined together
and formed one
company called the United East The commercial rivalry between the British and
ard
India Company. the French in India was aggravated by the fac
In 1717, the Mughal Emperor, Farrukhsivar, that these two countries were political rivals in
granted the Company the right to carry on Europe as well. Taking advantage of the decline
duty-free trade in Bengal, Bihar and Orissa of the Mughal power and the unstable politio
(now Odisha). The Company made enormous conditions in the country, they fought three
profits. n course of time, the Company began wars in India to establish their supremacv
to interfere in thelocal politics of the Indian These wars arereferred to as the Carnatic Wars
rulers. By supporting one
against another, (Carnatic was the name given to the Coromande!
they made territorial, monetary and political Coast and its hinterland).
gains. Their interference soon turned into
active involvement and they established the The outcome of the three Carnatic wars saw the
foundations of British rule in Bengal by the British establish their political influence over
middle of the 18th century. the Carnatic. The Third Carnatic War shattered
French dreams of building an Indian
Freed of all European rivals, the
empire
THE FRENGH EAST INDIA COMPANY English East
India Company, with the of the
The French East India Company was help army
and its vast resources in
formed in 1664 CE. Its headquarters was India, now set outto
conquer India.
based in Pondicherry (now Puducherry). It
also established trade settlements in Surat,
Masulipatam, Chandernagore and Mahe. When RISE OF BRITISH POWER IN BENGAL
the French arrived in India, the British were Bengal in the 18th
century was the richest anu
already well settled along the coastal regions the most fertile province in India. Known as
t
paradise of the earth', the of
province
ANGLO-FRENGH RIVALRY attracted traders from beng
Holland, France a
By the 18th century, the two major European England. European trading companies from

these countries established trading

powers in India were the British and the French.
settlements
in
The Portuguese, by the beginning of the 17th Bengal, which became a tor
century, had lost their influence as well as their Itheir trade
trade and
and commerce profitable base e

commerce.
monopoly Indian trade. The Dutch had
over The largest and the most these
also been edged out of the competition by the
European settlements was theprosperous
at British settlen
n
British and the French. Calcutta. In 1717, the
Mughal emy
p e r o r

64 HISTORY
Farrukhsiyar issued a farman, granting the dismantle their fortifications and not fight their
English East India Company the right to carry private wars on his territory. The French agreed.
on duty-free trade in Bengal, i.e. to
export The British refused.
and import goods from and to Bengal without
Siraj-ud-Daulah was enraged. The British had
paying any taxes to the government. They wereopenly and he
given the right to issue or dastaks
challenged his authority was
passes for the
free movement of their goods. determined to teach them a lesson.

The employees of the Company were permitted Capture of Caloutta

to carry on private trade but they were not Siraj marched towards Calcutta with a large
entitled to the Company's privilege of duty-free army and captured Fort William in June 1756.
trade. They had to pay taxes like other Indian
merchants. Recovery of Galcutta
Robert Clive, the hero of Arcot, arrived from
BATTLE 0F PLASSEY (1757) Madras with a strong military force and
reconquered Calcutta by January 1757. The
In 1756, the Nawab of
Nawab was compelled to restore trading
Bengal, Alivardi Khan,
privileges and possessions to the East India
died and was succeeded
Company and concede the right to fortify
by his grandson, Siraj-
Calcutta.
ud-Daulah, who wanted
to curb the growing Siraj-ud-Daulah had given in to all the demands
power of the British. of the British Company. The British, however,
were not satisfied. They had greater ambitions.
Siraj-ud-Daulah's task Their
was not an easy one,
objective was to replace Siraj-ud-Daulah
with a puppet ruler.
since he had many A portrait of Siraj-vd-
enemies both within and Daulah, the young Nawab Conspiracy to Replace Siraj-ud-Daulah
outside his court, and of Bengal Robert Clive now hatched a plot with some
that made his position insecure and unstable. of the influential men in the nawab's court to
Siraj ordered the British to pay taxes to him like overthrow Siraj-ud-Daulah. Mir Jafa, the
all other Indian merchants. The British refused commander-in-chief of the nawab's forces,
to do so. This angered the young Nawab. would be made the nawab of Bengal in return
for a
large amount of money and important
In anticipation of a war with the French, who trading privileges.
ad a trading settlement in Chandernagore, the When the negotiations with Mir
British began to fortify Calcutta. This amounted Jafar were

to an attack on the Nawab's sovereignty. finalized, a secret treaty was signed and the
British presented Siraj-ud-Daulah with an
Siraj was willing to let the Europeans stay in his impossible set of demands. War became

ngdom as traders but certainly not as masters. inevitable.

He ordered both the British and the French to

HISTORY 65
 Battle of Plassey The British used their
Robert Clive led the power to do
so.
control
cOn

British forces the nawab to drain the wealth of Ren

Plassey
(near Murshidabad, the capital of thetonawab The Company and its officials openlyengal.
over
of
Bengal). Siraj-ud-Daulah also advanced at the shamelessly plundered Bengal.
head of a
large arnmy of 50,000 men. When Mir Jafar was unable to meet the demand
The Battle of
1757.
Plassey was fought on 23 June
of the British, they deposed him and made his
A
major part of the nawab's army under son-in-law, MirQasim, the new nawab of Benos
the command of Mir
in 1760. Mir Qasim rewarded the Comna
engal
Jafar did not take any pany
part in the battle. Realizing that he had been by granting it the zamindari of the districts of
betrayed, the nawab fled from the battlefield. Burdwan, Midnapur and Chittagong.
He was
captured and put to death. Mir Jafar
was
proclaimed the nawab of Bengal.
Results THINK AND ANSWER
The English East
India Company was granted Do you think the history of India would have been
the undisputed
right
to free trade in
Bengal, different if Mir Jafar had not betrayed Siraj-ud.
Bihar and Orissa.
Daulah? Why? What conclusions can you draw
The Company about Mir Jafar's character from his actions in the
was given the zamindari of
conspiracy and the Battle of Plassey?
the 24 Parganas.
Mir Jafar paid the Company and its officials
over 300 lakh rupees. BATTLE OF BUXAR (1764)
Mir Qasim was a competent and
Importance efficientruler
The Battle of Plassey was determined to free himself from foreign control.
a
major turning point He
in the history of India. soon came into conflict with the British.
It paved the way for the establishment of To strengthen his position, he improved
British rule in Bengal and, eventually, the the financial position of Bengal and raised a
rest of India. modern, disciplined and well-equipped army
I t transformed a trading company into a trained by the Europeans. This made the British
political power. increasingly hostile.
The nawab of Bengalwas reduced to a puppet The employees of the Company misused their
in the hands of the British, who became the trade privileges.
They sold their duty-free trade
virtual rulers of Bengal. permits to Indian merchants who also usea
It placed at the disposal of the British the vast them to carry on duty-free trade. This deprived
resources of Bengal. These resources helped the nawab of
large revenues and was untair t
them to win the Third Carnatic War and those local merchants who had to pay heay
finance military expeditions in other parts of duties.
India in the future. To put an end to the
or the
Mir Jafar was a weak ruler. He had the corrupt all duties
British, Mir Qasim abolished uon practices
responsibility of ruling Bengal but virtually no internal trade. This made the British furious.

66 HISTORY
They refused to accept an equal status with the
Indian merchants. DID YOU KNOW?
In 1763, war broke out between Mir Qasim and
Robert Clve had made a fortune in India-his jagir
the British. The Nawab was defeated. Mir Jafar
was reinstated on the throne. yielded an annual income of s40,o0o. This helped
to raise his social standing and he was made a Peer
Mir Qasim was determined to recover his Robert Clive had to face a Parlamentary enquiry
throne. He escaped to Awadh, where he formed
when he returned to England for abuse of power in
Bengal. However this charge was rejected
an alliance with Shuja-ud-Daulah, the nawab
of Awadh and the Mughal emperor, Shah Alam
II. The British agreed to defend the nawab of
Awadh against his enemies. The nawab
The combined forces of the three allies clashed
would have to pay for the cost of the British
with the Company's troops at Buxar in 1764,
and were decisively defeated by the British. troops. Awadh became a buffer state between
the British possessions in Bengal and the
Marathas.
Importance The British gave Shah Alam II, the districts of
The victory of the British in the Battle of Buxar
Kora and Allahabad and an annual pension
firmly established them as masters
of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa. INDIA IN 1765

I t gave them the political influence

and control over Awadh and the Kabule

Peshawa A4SHMIR
Mughal emperor. CHINA

I tlaid the foundation of British Lahoree

rule in India. PLÍ

Panipat TIBET
VOGUL
Atthis time, Robert Clive returned Delhi Rdhilkand

to India as Governor of
Bengal. R1JPUT.ANA
Jodhpur
Jaipur Agra LU noG
NEPAL BHUTAN
Ajmer Gwalio ADH S4

The Treaty of Allahabad (1765) Allahabad IH 4R

MARATH
In 1765, Clive signed the Treaty of Baroda TERRYTORY Chandernagor
Fr
Allahabad with Shuja-ud-Daulah and N
Diu (Pot Surat
Shah Alam II. According to the terms Daman (Port.) Nagpur
of this treaty:
Bassein
Bombay
Poona
odnvon
NIZP'
NORTHERN
CIRCARS
Satara DOMINIO
Awadh was returned to Shuja-ud- Hyderabad
Yanaon (Fr.)
Daulah. However, the two districts oa (Port Masulipatam
Brstsh teritu
of Kora and Allahabad were taken Nizams terTitn
MYSORE lysore teriton

away from the nawab. Mysore Madras aratha tevmtory

Present nternationai
Mahe (Fr.e Pondicherry (Fr.)
S t Dav
Dounuary ol india
The Nawab of Awadh had to pay a , Calicur Devikota (Br.)
Karaikal (Fr.
war indemnity of 50 lakh rupees to
the Company.

HISTORY 67
 Governors of Bengal
of 26 lakh rupees. In return, the emperor (the 1757-60 Robert Clive
nominal head of the Mughal empire) granted
1760-65 Henry Vansittart

the Company the Diwani of Bengal, Bihar

and Orissa, i.e. the right to collect revenue 1765-67 Robert Clive

from these provinces and judge civil cases. 1767-69 Harry Verelst
The Company's control over Bengal was
1769-72 Cartier John
made legal.
1772-73 Warren Hastings
The puppet nawabs of Bengal continued to sit
on the throne but they had no military and General of India
Governors

administrative powers. 1773-85 Warren Hastings

Pherson
1785-86 Sir John Mac
1786-93 Lord Cornwallis

1793-98 Sir John Shore

1798-1805 Lord Wellesley
Barlow
1805-07 Sir George
1807-13 Lord Minto
1813-23 Marquess of Hastings
1823-28 Lord Amherst

1828-35 Lord William Bentinck

1836-42 Lord Auckland
Shah Alam I1, 1842-44 Lord Ellenborough
A painting depicting the Mughal emperor, Governor
Robert Clive, the
granting the Diwani of Bengal to
Bihar and Orissa 1844-48 Lord Hardinge
of the provinces of Bengal,
1848-56 Lord Dalhousie

son was made

After Mir Jafar's death in 1765, his
the nawab of Bengal. He had to sign treaty
a with DUAL GOVERNMENT IN BENGAL
Clive, according which he had to disband
to (1765-72)
most of his army. He also had to transfer the Clive introduced Dual Government in Bengal
Nizamat' powers (general administration and in 1765. Bengal now had two masters-the
criminal justice) to a deputy nawab appointed nawab and the Company.
nawab could not
by the British. The deputy The nawab
aWab was responsible for general
nawab. The nawab was
be dismissed by the administration,
daministration, maintenance
mainten. of law and orae
an allowance of
53 lakh rupees which was
given and justice (i.e., Company
The Compan
reduced. Thus, the English East ustice (1.e., criminal cases). The
subsequently had military power and the right to collect and
ruler of Bengal
became the real
India Company use the revenue of
Bengal. This arrange
from 1765. was known as Dual
Government.

68 HISTORY
 The Company enjoyed power without any Dual Government in Bengal (1765-72)
responsibilities. The nawab, on the other
Nawab (Nizamat English East India
hand, was burdened with the responsibility of Company (Diwani
administration without the resources necessary powers)
running it powers)
for eficiently i.e. responsibility 1. General 1. Collection of
without power.
administration revenue
The revenue was collected by Indian officials 2. Maintenance of 2. Justice (civilcases)
appointed by the Company. The greed, law and order
corruption and oppression of these officials 3. Justice (criminal 3. Defence and
reduced the peasants to conditions of utter military power
cases
misery. The Company took no interest in the 4. The nawab had 4. The financial
welfare of the people the responsibility resources were in
of administration the hands of the
The conditions of the people worsened when
without the Company that
Bengal was hit by a terrible famine in which
financial resources did not have any
one third of the population perished. Nobody
cared, neither the Company nor the nawab, who necessary to run it responsibility.
in any case had neither the authority nor the efficiently.
resources to lessen the miseries of the people. Government, and Bengal was brought under
The Company, through its power to nominate the direct and complete control of the Company.
the deputy nawab, only interfered in the The nawab was and pensioned off.
deposed
general administration without assuming any The treasury was shifted from Murshidabad
responsibility. to Calcutta, which now became the capital of

The evils of the Dual Government began to Bengal, and later, of India.
manifest themselves. The administration Warren Hastings was a competent
and economy collapsed. In 1772, the Court of administrator. He introduced many reforms in
Directors of the Company appointed Warren the administration and laid the foundations of
Hastings as Govermor of Bengal. In 1773, by an organized system of government in Bengal.
Governor
the Regulating Act, he was made the
The
General of British territories in India.
the most important DISCUSS
Governor General was now

functionary of the East India Company. The dual system of government in the Mughal
provinces worked very successfully during Akbar's
End of Dual Government (1772) reign. Why in your opinion, did the Dual Government
the Dual introduced by Clive fail?
Warren Hastings abolished

SKILLS
VALUES AND LIFE
honest means we must not tell lies or cheat others. Dishonesty
We should alwavs be honest
and trustworthy. Being
the progress of the society.
can lead to greed and corruption which might hamper
which you can create a corruption-free society?
in
What are the ways

HISTORY 69