Course

HIS 101: Bangladesh History and Culture

November 14, FALL 2021

CLASS 11: GRAND HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF

THE COLONIAL RULE –BATTLE OF POLASHI (1757),
BATTLE OF BAXUR (1764)
 Through the Battle of Polashi in 1757, the British
East India Company used Bengal as springboard
for British colonial expansion across South Asia &
the centre of global drugs trade .
 Four independent Nawabs:, Murshid Kuli Khan,
Sharfarz Khan, Alibardi Khan & then Siraj-ud
Daula ruled the Kingdom of Bengal for 50 years,
then fell at the hands of British East India
Company (BEIC) authority for 190 years.
 It was a fateful battle that subjugated the people
of the region to prolonged colonial exploitation for
which the British maritime group was gradually
getting prepared from the earlier century.
 EARLY LIFE OF SIRAJ:

 Mirza Muhammad Sirajuddaula was the grandson

of Nawab Alivardi Khan and son of Amina Begum
and Zainuddin Ahmad Khan.
 Born in 1733, he was the darling of his grandfather
the Nawab of Bengal, Bihar and
Orissa Alivardi Khan.
 As Alivardi Khan has no son he chose Siraj as his
successor and trained him to become one day the
Nawab of Bengal.
 Siraj was given a good education, and trained in
the art of war and governing the country.
 After the death of his father, Mirza Zainuddin, in
1748, Siraj was made the Nawab of Bihar.
SIRAJ ASCENDED THE THRONE OF BENGAL
BIHAR AND ORISSA
 After the death of Alivardi
Khan on 10 April,1756
Sirajuddaula became the
Nawab of Bengal, Bihar
and Orissa.
 His selection in 1756 as
the Nawab of bengal,
Bihar and Orissa created
much discontentment
among his own close
relations and some high
officials.
CONSPIRACY
 Siraj was born in 1733.Sirajuddaula, the new nawab
was only 23 when he ascended the throne of Bengal.
soon after his accession Siraj found himself
surrounded by enemies, both local and foreign.
 The principal local conspirator were Mir Jafar
(Nawabs commander in chief) high official like Rai
Durlabh, Raj Ballabh, Manik Chand, Yar Latif, Khadim
Hossain and Naba Krishna, the most powerful
bankers Jagat Sheth and Omi Chan, Nanda Kumar,
Governor of Purnea and Ghaseti Begum.
 However, his greatest enemy was the English East
India Company, who were quite openly ignoring the
nawab. The English got involved in this conspiracy for
securing some kind of political and trading benefits.
BACKGROUND OF THE BATTLE
 The battle of Plassey had a long background
that could be traced from the beginning of
the East India Company's settlement in
Bengal in early 1650s. The first English
factory in Bengal was established at Hughli
in 1651 under permission from Sultan Shah
Shuja, second son of Emperor Shahjahan
and then Subahdar of Bengal.
 In the same year Subahdar Shuja granted
the company the privileges of free trade
throughout Bengal, Bihar and Orissa for a
nominal lump sum payment of Rs. 3000.
BACKGROUND OF THE BATTLE – (CONTINUE)

 In 1658, the British East India Company

(BEIC) opened factories in Hoogly, Patna &
Kasimbazar.
 In 1690, the BEIC initially secured trade
facilities in Kolkata from the Nawab of
Bengal by fixing Rs.1,200/- licence fees
per year.
BACKGROUND OF THE BATTLE – (CONTINUE)
 In 1698 the English company obtained
from Subahdar Azim-us-Shan the
zamindari of villages of Sutanauti,
Kolkata and Gavindapur. They even
established a fort at Calcutta and
named it Fort William.
 In 1717, the BEIC renewed trade facilities
from Emperor Forrukh Siyer in Delhi with
the payment of Rs.3,000/-per year.
BACKGROUND – (CONTINUE)

 Due to the abuse of trade facilities & evading of

taxes by the BEIC officials to local authorities,
Bengal government was losing huge amount of
revenue, but the BEIC was in no mode to
address it.
 Right from the beginning, the BEIC perceived
Siraj-ud Daula as unfriendly & a threat to their
trade facilities in Bengal.
 Major European trading companies greeted the
new Nawab, but the BEIC ignored.
 BACKGROUND- CONTINUE
 With the accession of Sirajuddaula in April 1756, the
conflict between the nawab and the English company
became almost inevitable as the young Nawab strongly
challenged the East India Company‟s activity in Bengal.
 Nawab had three main conditions against the British:

1. Unauthorized fortification works in and around Calcutta

must be demolished.
2. As alliance they must pursue their legal trade strictly
according to the law of the land.
3. They must hand over to nawab all illegal shelter given
to the nawab‟s disloyal and offending officials
 The Company starkly refused Nawab‟s
condition on the other hand the Nawab also
refused to accept the Company as bonafide
(genuine) trades in the country. He dispatched
troops and took over all the English trading
factories and finally expelled the English from
Calcutta in June 1756. Shiraj ud Daula invaded
the English factory at Qasim bazar and then
marched on to Calcutta.
CONFLICT WITH THE EAST INDIA
COMPANY/ENGLISH:
 Various events and developments led to these
conflicting relations
i. The English like other representatives of
European trading companies did not
congratulate Siraj on his succession and did
not send any gift or present to him which was
customary. This led Siraj to believe that the
English were involved in conspiracy against
him.
ii. The English extended their hands to Ghaseti
begum and Shawkat Jang, the Nawab of
Purnea.
 CONFLICT (CONT.)
iii. The English gave shelter to the disloyal,
disobedient and offending officials of the
Nawab.
iv. The firman or permission to trade in the
country given to the East India Company in
1717 was much abused by all the officials of
the Company for private gain.
v. The British fortification strategies in Kolkata,
in violation of the Mughal dastak, sparked
conflict with the Bengal authority..
 The British intent to capture political power in Bengal
was heavily influence by their interest in regional drug
trade.
 Attack over Kashimbazar military base by Sirajudud
Daula in June 1756.
 Destruction of Patna trade link by Siraj animated BEIC
to take revenge.
 In 1891, George Watt maintained that:
 „the attack of Nawab Seraj-ud Daula over the
Kashimbazar military base in 1756, & the disruption in
the supply of opium from the Patna Opium dealers‟ to
the British East India Company, led to the Battle of
Plassey in the following year‟.
 Seven year war in Europe led the French & British
companies to increase their various defensive
measures and began to build military forts on
Chandannagar & Kolkata respectively.
 Upon learning it Siraj asked both the French and the
English to stop it.
 The French listened but the English did not and carried
on building military structures in Kolkata.
 The British propagated “Black Hole” story about the
death of 123 British prisoners.
 Becoming Nawab, Seraj attacked Purnia & killed
Shawkat Jang in May 1756 & arrested his aunty
Gosheti Begum as reprisal.
SIRAJ MARCHED ON TO KOLKATA
 Siraj then marched on with
his troops to capture
Kolkata. The English could
not face Siraj and Governor
Drake and others took
shelter in the ships in the
Bhagirathi River.
 He easily captured Kolkata
on 20 June 1756.
 He appointed Manikchand
as governor of Kolkata, and
returned to Murshidabad.
MOVE BY THE ENGLISH/ARRIVAL OF LORD CLIVE
ON THE SCENE
 When the news of the fall of Kolkata reached
Madras, the Council of Madras decided to
send Colonel Robert Clive and Admiral
Watson with troops and war ships to
recapture Kolkata.
 When Clive and Watson reached Kolkata the
conspirator Manikchand fled without fight
and the English easily recaptured Kolkata in
January 1757.
SIRAJ AGAIN MARCHED TO KOLKATA TO
RECAPTURE KOLKATA
 When Siraj heard this news he became angry
and left hurriedly Murshidabad to fight against
the English.
 Upon his arrival on the outskirts of Kolkata he
was suddenly attacked by Clive and Watson.
 Although disarrayed for a little while by this,
Siraj regrouped his troops and counter attacked
them and Clive and Watson took shelter in the
Kolkata fort.
 A sudden change in the thinking of Siraj however
made him to conclude a treaty with the English
rather than fighting them.
 This was the outcome of some of his
apprehensions.
 These were the existing tense situation
prevailiing in the country, the doubt about the
sincerity of his commande –in – chief Mir Jafar
and the plausible attack upon Bihar by the
advancing Ahmed Shah Abdali, the Afgan leader.
 The treaty which he concluded with the English is
known as Alinagar treaty.
ALINAGAR TREATY (FEBRUARY 9, 1757)

 The Treaty of Alinagar was signed on February 9,

1757 between Robert Clive and Siraj-ud-Daula.
Based on the terms of the accord:
Clauses:
a) The Nawab will return the fort of Kolkata to the
English along with all their previous rights.
b) The English will be able to build forts and mint
coins.
c) As reparation of war Siraj will have to pay a huge
amount of money.
CONSPIRATORS AT MURSHIDABAD

 A conspiration took place at Murshidabad.

 The opponents of Siraj chose Mir Jafar as
their prospective new Nawab.
 Clive supported the anti-Siraj camp and
entered into conspiracy.
 It was agreed that if successful the English
will receive nearly two crores of rupees as
gift.
THE BATTLE OF PLASSEY, 23 JUNE 1757
 When the conspiracy was complete Clive made
a false allegation of breaking the term of peace
against Siraj and declared war against him.
 Soon a military contingent led by Clive left
Kolkata to face Siraj. And Siraj was already on
his way to Kolkata.
 On 22 June 1757 he was camping at a village
on the bank of river Bhagirathi some 23 miles
south from Murshidabad.
 Clive reached the village on the night of 22
June.
 On 23 June 1757 at the mango orchard of the village
of Polashi took place one of the most important
events in history.
 The Nawab‟s army contained 40,000 infantry, 28,000
Cavalry while the Clive‟s army consisted of only 3,000
men including English Soldiers.
 The war started at about 8 in the morning on 23 June
1757, but gunpowder of Nawab‟s army got wet due to
heavy rain in the previous night.
 From the beginning of the battle both Mir Jafar, Yar
Latif and Rai Durlav stood silently with their vast
forces (two-third) without coming forward to fight.
 Mir Mardan & Mohonlal fought courageously.
 Upon Mir Jafar‟s advise Nawab stopped the battle.
 At the time of troops withdrawal in war field, the
BIEC forces attacked the scattered troops & by
5:00pm the battle was over.
 Being defeated, on his way to Rajmahal, the
Nawab Seraj-ud Daula was captured by Miron, the
son of Mir Jafar Ali Khan, & killed by Mohammodi
Beg.
 The defeat of Nawab was political in nature but not
a military one.
 Mir Jafar became the new Nawab of Bengal, but
the real authority was now transferred to the BIEC.
 Mir Jafar Ali Khan attempted to repulse the British
supremacy by the Dutch in Bengal trade.
 In the Battle of Biderra at Hoogly on 25 November
1759, the British & Dutch troops fought face to
face, the later being in support of the Nawab‟s
army
 Following the defeat of Mir Jafar, his son in law Mir
Qasim was installed as new Nawab by the British.
 On 23 October 1764, however, the Buxar War
ensued between the BEIC & the joint forces Mir
Qasim, Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II & the Nawab
of Awadh Shuja-ud-Daulah to repulse the British.
Battle of Buxar 1764
Battle of Buxar (1764)

• Battle of Buxar, marked the final ascendancy of the

English in Bengal. After the battle of Palashi (I757),
the English East India Company was seized with
bottomless greed, believing that the wealth of
Bengal was inexhaustible.

• Mir Qasim tried to assert his independence but

desperately needed money in order to organize the
hopelessly chaotic condition of the country.
Unfortunately he already mortgaged his fortune to
the company as price of Nawabi by transferring
these districts: Burdwan, Midnapur and Chittagong
for the maintenance of their troops.
• Mir Qasim shifted the capital from Murshidabad to
Mungher a distant and not easily accessible hill-fort in
Bihar and far from the reach of the English marine strike.

• He raised there a new army and a new bureaucracy. He

dismissed the faithless Zamindars and made the loyals to
pay for the reformed army. Finally he asserted his
sovereign status and called upon the company and other
private traders to refrain themselves from resorting to
unlawful trading activities and to honor the laws of the
land.

• The English paid scant (little) regard to his call. The

abuse of Dastak continued unabated (persistent).
[Dastak:Trade permit sanctioned to the East India
Company by the Mughal Government].
• In July 1763 the enraged Nawab attacked Patna and
captured all company establishments there. Many resisting
Europeans were killed including the chief of Patna factory.
Mir Qasim’s Patna action triggered off a full scale war
between the Company and the Nawab.

• The combined forces (Mir Qasim, Mughal Emperor Shah

Alam ii and the Nawab of Audh Shuja-Ud-Daulah) met the
British in a decisive battle at Buxar on 23 October 1764. The
English army defeated the allied troops comprehensively.
Meanwhile; the Company had made a fresh treaty with Mir
Jafar and reinstated him as the Nawab.

• The Battle of Buxar led to the Company’s acquisition of

Diwani in 1765 which in turn brought the Company close to
sovereignty.
• Buxar was a decisive battle. The company thus
gained supreme control over the administration
(or nizamat) of Bengal as well as secured the
DIWANI or the right to collect revenue, of Bengal,
Bihar and Orissa.

• Thus the British now had the power without

responsibility. The nawab and his officials had
the responsibility of administration but not the
power to discharge it.
LIST OF THE NAWABS

Nawab Murshid Kuli Khan 1717-1727

Nawab Muhammad Shuja Khan 1727-1739
Nawab Sarfaraz Khan 1739-1740
Nawab Alivardi Khan 1740-1756
Nawab Siraj Ud Doullah 1756-1757
 When the fighting soldiers saw their leaders
withdrawing themselves from the battlefield
they lost heart and fled in all directions.
Within few moments the course of the battle
turned for the worst.
 Amid terrible attack from Clive’s side and with
his army in panic Siraj fled from the battle
field for life but was captured on his way to
Patna. He was brought back to Murshidabad
and murdered by Muhammadi Beg upon the
order of Miran, son of Mir jafar.
Siraj-ud-Daulah’s guns on wooden trucks pulled by oxen and pushed by
elephants at the Battle of Plassey on 23rd June 1757 in the Anglo-French Wars
in India: picture by Richard Caton Woodville
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE BATTTLE OF PLASSEY-
BATTLE OF BAXUR
1. Mir Jafar became Nawab only in name, real
power was with the English East India
Company.
2. The Company got the Zamindari of the 24
Parganahs
3. After the battle the English East India
Company got the exclusive right to trade at the
expense of other European companies.
4. The English Company gradually acquired the
political power in the country.
5. After the battle, the English emerged as the de
facto ruler of the country and controlled its
political fate.
6. When in 1765 the English acquired the
Diwani, they became the real ruler of the
country.
7. The plundering of Bengal resources
continued by the British.
8. Capturing of the region‟s flourishing opium
trade.
9. Rise of British colonial rule & opium trade in
South Asia.
10. Destruction of the cotton textile & Muslin
industries of Eastern Bengal.
11. Tremendous economic hardship for the
Bengali people in a land of balance economy.
12. Compelled farmers to convert fertile paddy
lands to grow opium poppies & indigo.
13. Famine caused the death of 10 million
people Bengal in 1770.
14. In 1793, Lord Cornwallis introduced the
„Permanent Settlement‟ & land came under the
private ownership of the Hindu zamindars.
15. Divide & Rule policy pursued by the British.
PLASSEY
Concluding Remarks
 The discussions made above indicated that the very
reason why the BEIC invaded the Kingdom of Bengal
was establishing their supremacy in the regional
drug trade.
 For attaining their strategic goals, they used every
possible measures, including doddery, deceiving &
hypocrisy & managed to capture power in Bengal &
rest of South Asia in defense of their drug trade.
 Besides colonial plundering for making fortune, they
also pursued divide & rule policy for subjugating &
exploiting local people on a long term basis.
 Further Readings:
1. M. Emdadul Haq, Drugs in South Asia: From the
Opium Trade to the Present Day (Palgrave Macmillan,
UK & St. Martin’s Press, USA, 2000).
2. M. Emdadul Haq, Colonial Drug Trade in South Asia:
from Palashi to Partition (Century Publications, 2nd
edition, 2019).
3. Sirajul Islam (ed.), History of Bangladesh 1704-1971,
Volume 1, (Dhaka: Asiatic Society of Bangladesh,
1997)
THANK YOU