BRITISH EXPANSION IN INDIA PART-1

CONTENTS

• India on the Eve of British Conquest

• Bengal

• The Battle of Plassey

  • Significance of Plassey

• Mir Jafar (1757-1760)

• Mir Kasim

• The Battle of Buxar

• The first half of the eighteenth century saw the decline of the mighty Mughals.  The decline gained momentum after death of Aurangzeb due to wars of succession and weak rulers.
• Though Muhammad Shah ruled for a long spell of 29 years (1719-48), a revival of the imperial fortunes did not take place as he was an incompetent ruler. Muhammad Shah’s reign witnessed the establishment of the independent states of Hyderabad, Bengal, Awadh and Punjab.
• Several local chiefs began to assert their independence and the Marathas began to make their bid to inherit the imperial mantle. Yet the symbolic authority of the Mughal emperor continued, as he was still considered to be a source of political legitimacy. The new states did not directly challenge his authority and constantly sought his sanction to legitimise their rule.
• In many areas of governance these states continued the Mughal institutions and the administrative system.
• The emergence of these states in the eighteenth century, therefore, represented a transformation rather than collapse of the polity. It signified a decentralisation of power and not a power vacuum or political chaos
• These new states were of various kinds with diverse histories:
  • Some of them were founded by Mughal provincial governors (successor states ),
    • e.g. Bengal, Hyderabad and Awadh
    • Also known as successor states in the sense chat they were founded by Mughal provincial governors who never formally severed their links with the centre, but virtually exercised autonomy in matters of execution of power at the local level.
  • Some were set up by the rebels against the Mughal state, so known as the rebel states or the new states.
    • The Marathas, the Sikhs, the Jars and the Afghan kingdoms of Farukhabad and Rohilkhand.
  • A few states which asserted their independence were previously functioning as autonomous but dependent polities (known as independent kingdoms ).
    • The Rajput kingdoms, Mysore and Travancore.

• The province or the subah of Bengal gradually became independent of Mughal control after Murshid Quli Khan became the governor in 1717.  He was given the unprecedented privilege of holding the two offices of nazim and diwan simultaneously.
  • The division of power, which was maintained throughout the Mughal period to keep both the imperial officers under control through a system of checks and balances, was thus done away with.
  • This helped Murshid Quli, who was already known for his efficient revenue administration, to consolidate his position further. He did not of course formally defy Mughal authority and regularly sent revenue to the imperial treasury.
  • Indeed, the Bengal revenue was often the only regular income for the beleaguered Mughal emperors during periods of financial stringency and uncertainty.
  • But behind the veneer of formal allegiance, Murshid Quli began to enjoy a considerable amount of autonomy within his own domain and initiated almost a dynastic rule. He was indeed the last governor of Bengal appointed by the Mughal emperor.
  • The foundation of Murshid Quli’s power was his very successful revenue administration, which even in the days of political chaos elsewhere in the empire, made Bengal a constant revenue paying surplus area. revenue collection had shot up by 20 per cent between 1700 and 1722.
  • Detailed survey was done and he compelled the zamindars to pay in full and on time. For this purpose, he encouraged the development of a few powerful zamindaris at the expense of smaller inefficiently managed zamindaris, while refractory zamindars were punished and  their estates being converted into khalisa or royal land.
    • By the time of Murshid Quli’s death in 1727, fifteen largest zamindaris were responsible for about half of the revenue of the province.
    • But along with the rise of the zamindars as a new powerful elite in the province, there was also the growing importance of merchants and bankers during this period.
• Trade: Bengal always had a lucrative trade, and the political stability and increase in agricultural productivity during Murshid Quli’s period provided further impetus to such trading activities.
  • In the 17th century, silk and cotton textile, sugar, oil and clarified butter from Bengal went through overland route to Persia and  Afghanistan via a number of north and west Indian distributing centres and on the oceanic route through the port of Hughli to the Southeast Asian, Persian Gulf and Red Sea ports.
  • During the political turmoil of the 18th century, traffic through the overland route partially declined, but oceanic trade thrived with increasing investment from the European Companies-the Dutch, the French and the English.
  • During the first half of the century, Europe certainly became the major destination for goods from Bengal, and this had a significant impact on the textile industry in the region.
  • Bengal always enjoyed a favourable balance of trade, with surplus bullion brought in by the European Companies to buy Bengal goods and this was absorbed smoothly into the cash economy and revenue remittance structure.
  • On the Indian side this trade was dominated by a variety of merchants-Hindus, Muslims and Armenians.
    • Some of them were magnates, like the Hindu merchant Umi Chand or the Armenian tycoon Khoja Wajid who controlled a fleet of ships.
    • They enjoyed a very cordial relation with the state and bureaucracy.
      • The Mughal state traditionally never tried to squeeze the merchants.
      • The constant pressure on the zamindars to pay revenue in time and its regular remittance to the imperial treasury in Delhi brought powerful financiers and bankers into great demand.
    • They provided securities at every stage of the transaction and enjoyed unprecedented patronage of the governor, thus providing the main supportive pillar of his power.
    • The most significant story of such collaboration was the rise of the banking house of jagat Seth, who eventually became the treasurer of the provincial government in 1730, with strategic control over the mint.
• Thus in prevailing scenario, there was emergence of new forces of Bengal politics, the zamindars, merchants and the bankers.
  • The government of Bengal began to look more like government by cooperation of the dominant forces in Bengal, rather than the imposition of the rule from outside.
  • However, it is also true that this gradual rise in the power of the merchants, bankers and zamindars also meant a relative diminution of the authority of the nazim.
  • This became quite evident in a coup in 1739-40, in which Sarfaraz Khan, who had become the new nazim, was ousted by his army commander Alivardi Khan, with the help of the banking family of jagatSeths and a few powerful zamindars.
    • Sarfaraz had to go not just because he was an inefficient administrator, but because he had alienated the house of Jagat Seth, and had lost the support of a few powerful officials.
• Alivardi Khan became new nazim, who later obtained imperial sanctions for his government. It was Alivardi’s reign, which marked a virtual break with the Mughals.
  • All major appointments were now made without any reference to the emperor and finally, the regular flow of revenue to Delhi was stopped.
  • Although there was never any formal defiance of the Mughal authority, for all practical purposes an autonomous administration, free of all sorts of imperial control, had now emerged in Bengal, Bihar and Orissa.
  • Alivardi’s attitude to the Europeans in Bengal was strict. During his wars with the Marathas, he allowed the strengthening of fortifications by the Europeans and the construction of the Maratha Ditch in Calcutta by the British. On the other hand, he collected large amounts of money from them for the upkeep of his war.
    • Maratha Ditch was a three-mile long moat excavated by British around Calcutta in 1742, as a protection against possible attacks by Marathas.
• Alivardi died in 1756, nominating his grandson Siraj-ud-daula (23 year old) his successor. But his succession was challenged by two other contenders for the throne, Shaukat Jung (Faujdar of Purnea) and Ghaseti Begum (Alivardi’s daughter).
  • This resulted in intense court factionalism, as the overmighty zamindars and commercial people felt threatened by an extremely ambitious and assertive young nawab.
• This destabilised the administration of Bengal, and the advantage was taken by the English East India company, which acquired a foothold in Bengal politics through what is popularly known as the Plassey conspiracy of 1757 that ended the rule of Siraj-ud-daula.

The conflict between the English and the Nawabs of Bengal: Siraj and the English:

• It all started in Bengal, which in the early eighteenth century had become very important in the structure of the Company’s trade at the expense of the west coast, particularly Bombay, Surat and Malabar, as Bengal goods came to comprise nearly 60 per cent of English imports from Asia.
• In 1690 Aurangzeb’s farman had granted them right to duty-free trade in Bengal in return for an annual payment of Rs. 3,000.
• The foundation of Calcutta in 1690 and its fortification in 1696 were followed by the grant of zamindari rights in three villages of Kolikata, Suranuri and Gobindapur two years later.
• The situation became unstable again at the death of Aurangzeb, but was formalised again by a farman from emperor Farruksiyar in 1717, which granted the Company the right
  • to carry on duty free trade,
  • to rent thirty-eight villages around Calcutta and
  • to use the royal mint.
• But this farman also became a new source of conflict between the Company and Murshid Quli Khan, the new autonomous ruler of Bengal, who refused to extend its duty free provision to cover also the private trade of the Company officials.
  • The latter therefore took to rampant misuse of dastaks, and the nawab resented the loss of revenue.
  • Apart from this, Murshid Quli also denied permission to the Company to buy the thirtyeight villages and refused to offer the minting privileges.
• The conflict between the Bengal nawab and the English Company had thus started developing right from 1717.
• The outbreak of the Austrian Succession War in Europe in 1740 brought in hostilities between the English and the French Companies to India. In Bengal the new nawab Alivardi Khan kept both of them under control and forbade them from getting involved in any open hostilities.
• But French victories in south India made the English apprehensive in Bengal as they had very little trust in the power of the nawab to protect them against any French onslaught.
  • Moreover, as it has been shown recently, the English private trade suffered heavily in the 1750s as a result of French competition in collusion with Asian merchants.
• In 1755, therefore, the English began renovating the fortifications in Calcutta without the nawab’s permission and in utter defiance of his authority began to offer protection to fugitives from his court.
• The conflict assumed critical dimensions when Siraj-ud-daula became nawab in 1756 and threatened the lucrative English private trade by stopping all misuse of dastaks.
  • Siraj personality was said to be a combination of a ferocious temper and a feeble understanding. He was particularly suspicious of the large profits made by the European companies in India.
• The British wanted to occupy the rich and prosperous region of Bengal by subjugating the power of the Nawab and the other European powers.
• The more immediate issues of discord were the grant of asylum to Krishna Ballabh who was charged with fraud by the nawab and the new fortifications at Calcutta- both of which  posed a challenge to the authority of the nawab and were critical to the issue of sovereignty.
  • Fort William was established to protect the East India Company’s trade in the city of Calcutta, the principal town of the Bengal Presidency. With the possibility of conflict with French forces, the British began building up the fort’s strengths and defences.
  • Siraj ud-Daulah, was unhappy with the company’s interference in the internal affairs of his province and perceived a threat to its independence and immediately ordered them to stop such activities as they were doing it without permission.
  • When the Company failed to listen to warnings, Siraj showed his strength by taking over the factory at Kasimbazar. Governor Drake believed that he could avenge this defeat by force and ignored the nawab’s overtures for a diplomatic reconciliation.
  • This was followed by Siraj’s attack on Calcutta and its capture on 20 June.
    • The garrison’s commander organised an escape, leaving behind 146 soldiers  under the command of Holwell, a senior East India Company bureaucrat who had been a military surgeon.
  • The Black Hole of Calcutta was a small dungeon in the old Fort William in Calcutta, where troops of the Nawab of Bengal, Siraj ud-Daulah, held British prisoners of war after the capture of the fort on 20 June 1756.
    • One of the prisoners, Holwell, claimed that following the fall of the fort, British and Anglo-Indian soldiers and civilians were held overnight in conditions so cramped that 123 prisoners died out of 146 held from suffocation, heat exhaustion and crushing. However, the precise number of deaths, and the accuracy of Holwell’s claims, have been the subject of controversy.
    • As a result of Holwell’s account, Robert Clive was sent in October to retaliate.
    • Controversies:
      • Some argue that, because so many non-combatants were present in the fort when it fell, the number who died cannot be stated with any precision. Some have argued that Holwell was an unreliable witness and his veracity is questionable.
      • A floor area of 267 square feet could not contain 146 European adults.
      •  Absence of any independent confirmation: It is stated that apart from Holwell’s account no other source mentioned such an incident. Given its nature, it seems very unlikely that all traces of such a thing having happened would have disappeared.
      •  Only forty-three of the garrison were listed as missing from Fort William after the incident and therefore the maximum number of deaths could only be forty-three. However, this is also subject to the objection that according to the Holwell account itself, not all the prisoners would have been listed as members of the garrison.
• Response of British:
  • When news of the fall of Calcutta broke in Madras on 16 August 1756, the Council immediately sent out an expeditionary force from Madras under Colonel Robert Clive and Admiral Watson.
  • The force dislodged the enemy from the fort of Budge Budge. Clive and Watson then moved against Calcutta on 2 January 1757 and the garrison of 500 men surrendered after offering a scanty resistance.
  • With Calcutta recaptured, the Council was reinstated and a plan of action against the Nawab was prepared. The fortifications of Fort William were strengthened and a defensive position was prepared in the north-east of the city.
  • The Bengal Campaign:
    • On 9 January 1757, a force of 650 men, under Captain Coote and Major Kilpatrick stormed and sacked the town of Hooghly, 37 km north of Calcutta.
    • On learning of this attack, the Nawab raised his army and marched on Calcutta, encamping beyond the Maratha Ditch.
    • Despite their successes, the British were cut off from trade and resupply while the war lasted. It was in Nawab’s interest to prolong it. Instead, he made the strategic mistake of trying to finish off the war quickly.
    • He brought his army – with 40,000 horses, 60,000 soldiers on foot and 50 elephants – up to Calcutta and began preparing to attack the city. Clive decided to launch a pre-emptive attack. It proved to be a winning decision.
    • Nawab’s army broke up and many fled. The British lost 57 men, the Nawab 1,300.
  • Faced with a surprising defeat, Siraj now preferred a negotiated settlement. On 9 February a peace Treaty of Alinagar was signed.
• Treaty of Alinagar (Feb. 9, 1757):
  • The attack scared the Nawab into concluding the Treaty of Alinagar with the Company. The treaty was named after the short-lived title ‘Alinagar’ given to Calcutta by Siraj after his capture of the city.
  •  The Treaty of Alinagar was signed on February 9, 1757 between Robert Clive and Siraj UdDaula. Based on the terms of the accord:
    •  Nawab agreed to restore the Company’s factories.
    •  Nawab would recognize all the 1717 provisions of Mughal Emperor Farrukh Siyar’sfirman.
    •  All British goods that passed through Bengal would be exempt from duties.
    •  British would not be hindered from fortifying Calcutta, as well as mint coins in Calcutta.
  • The Nawab withdrew his army back to his capital, Murshidabad. The signing of the treaty was one of the events leading up to the famous Battle of Plassey.
• For the moment there was peace, but it wasn’t to last. Clive had come to Bengal not just with the objective of retaking Calcutta. Even before setting sail for Bengal, he had written, “this expedition will not end with the retaking of Calcutta only – and that the Company’s estate in these parts will be settled in a better and more lasting conditions than ever.”
• Now, concerned by the approach of Bussy to Bengal and the Seven Years’ War in Europe, the Company turned its attention to the French threat in Bengal.  The English fear about Siraj’s friendship with the French and apprehension that their trading privileges would be cut down led to the destruction of Hughli and a French defeat at Chandernagore.
• The Nawab was infuriated on learning of the attack on Chandernagar. His former hatred of the British returned, but he now felt the need to strengthen himself by alliances against the British.  Also Apprehensive of an Afghan attack under Abdali, Siraj now preferred a negotiated settlement; but a confident Clive decided on a coup d’etat.
• Conspiracy for coup d’etat:
  • The confident servants of the Company in Calcutta were not prepared to tolerate a young tyrannical nawab threatening to destroy their trading privileges and trying to squeeze out a source of fabulous fortunes.
  • There was already a disaffected faction at the nawab’s court, consisting of merchants, bankers, financiers and powerful zamindars, like the Jagat Seth brothers, Mahtab Rai and Swarup Chand, Raja Janki Ram, Rai Durlabh, Raja Ramnarain and Raja Manik Chand, who felt threatened by the assertion of independence by a young nawab enthusiastically trying to reorder the balance of power in his court.
  • There was also a natural communion of interests between the Indian mercantile community and the European traders, as many of the Indian merchants were operating in collaboration with the English Company and private traders, acting as their dadani merchants supplying them textiles from the interior in exchange for advances or dadan.
  • Many of the Indian merchant princes had been prefering English ships for carrying their cargo, and this in fact resulted in the gradual decline of the port of Hughli, giving its place of pride to Calcutta.
  • So a collusion of the two groups was not unlikely and what followed as a result was a conspiracy to replace Siraj with Mir jafar, his commander-in-chief, who was the choice of the jagatSeths, without whose support any coup d’etat was virtually impossible.
• The question whether there was already a conspiracy in existence at the Murshidabad court and the English took advantage of that or it was the English who hatched up the conspiracy-a question over which historians have fought their futile polemical battles-is less important.  What is important is the fact that there was a collusion, which resulted in the Battle of Plassey (June 1757), in which Siraj was finally defeated by Clive.

• On 23 June 1757, the Battle of Plassey was fought between the forces of Siraj UdDaulah and the troops of the British East India Company, led by Robert Clive. It was hardly more than a skirmish.
• The arrival of a strong force under the command of Robert Clive at Calcutta from Madras strengthened the English position in Bengal. Clive forged a secret alliance with the traitors of the nawab—Mir Jafar, Rai Durlabh, Jagat Seth (an influential banker of Bengal) and Omichand. Under the deal, Mir Jafar was to be made the nawab who in turn would reward the Company for its services. The secret alliance of the Company with the conspirators further strengthened the English position. So the English victory in the Battle of Plassey (June 23, 1757) was decided before the battle was even fought.
• The Nawab’s army contained 50,000 infantry, 28,000 Cavalry and Clive’s army consisted only 3,000 men including English Soldiers. Out of three division of Nawab, One division (largest) was commanded by Mir Jafar. From the beginning of the battle, Mir Jafar, Rai Durlabh and Yar Lutuf Khan assembled their troops near the battlefield but made no move to actually join the battle.
• Only two generals Mohan Lai and Mir Madan were fighting desperately on behalf of the Nawab. Mir Madan fell dead on the field and thus the Nawab lost courage. For hours the course of the war remained undecided and uncertain. Mir Zafar advised the Nawab to send order to Mohan Lai to stop war and return back.
• Siraj, who distrusted his generals and had already been warned of impending defeat by his astrologer (who had possibly been bribed), lost his nerve when Mir Jafar advised retreat. Siraj fled on a fast camel. His demoralized army followed suit.
• Siraj-ud-daula fled from the battle field for life but was killed by Miran the son of Mirzafar.

Significance of Plassey:

• The Battle of Plassey had political significance for it marked the beginning of political supremacy of the English East India Company in India.  It laid the foundation of the British empire in India; it has been rightly regarded as the starting point of British rule in India.
• The battle led to establishment of the military supremacy of the English in Bengal. Their main rivals, the French, were ousted. They obtained a grant of territories for the maintenance of a properly equipped military force, and their prestige increased manifold.
  • However, This battle itself was not important from the military view-point. It was a mere conflict. No military superiority was shown by the English army. The Nawab’s camp was deserted that lead to victory of Lord Clive. Lord Clive’s diplomacy excelled. He won the battle almost without fighting. According to some historians: it was a transaction in which the bankers of Bengal and Mir Jafar sold out Nawab to the English.”
  • In 1759, the British defeated a larger French garrison at Masulipatam, securing the Northern Circars. The Dutch was also defeated. From commerce the English managed to exert an exclusive control on the administration too. Plassey proved as a battle that had far-reaching consequences in the fate of India.
• The new nawab Mir Jafar (1757-1760) became a puppet in the hands of the English. He was entirely dependent on the Britishers so as to maintain his position in Bengal as well as protection against foreign invasions.
  • He was an incompetent person. So through out his reign real power remained in the hands of the English. An English army of 6,000 troops was maintained in Bengal to help the Nawab.
  • The sovereignty of the English over Calcutta was recognised, and the English posted a Resident at the nawab’s court.
• Plassey plunder: What followed hereafter is often referred to as the “Plassey plunder”.
  • The Battle of Plassey placed at the disposal of the English vast resources of Bengal. After Plassey, the English virtually monopolised the trade and commerce of Bengal.
  • Immediately after the war the English army and navy each received the hefty sums of £275,000 for distribution among their members.
  • Apart from that, between 1757 and 1760, the Company received Rs 22.5 million from Mir Jafar; Clive himself got in 1759 a personal jagir worth £34,567.
  • So far as the Company was concerned, it brought in a major change in the structure of its trade.
    • Prior to 1757 the English trade in Bengal was largely financed through import of bullion from England; but after that year not only bullion import stopped, but bullion was exported from Bengal to China and other parts of India, which gave a competitive advantage to the English Company over its European rivals.
  • On the other hand, for the Company officials Plassey opened the gates to make personal fortunes, not only through direct extortion, but also through rampant abuse of dastaks for their private trade.
• The Bengal plunder began to arrive in London and the effects appears to have been instantaneous, for all authorities agree that the the ‘Industrial Revolution’ began with the year 1770 after Plassey was fought in 1757.
• The condition of the common of Bengal gradually deteriorated due to the weakness of the Nawab. Lawlessness and continuous economic exploitation of the servants of the company broke the backbone of Bengalis who once upon a time used to lead a prosperous life.
• British built and trained an army with native Indian Sepoys who then fulfilled the ambition of further colonization. The British East India company also  wanted to protect the rich colony of India for which it acquired buffer colonies in Singapore, Penang, Burma, Nepal, Malacca etc. The British advancement in Asia was also aided by superior military and modern artillery and Navy.
• The Battle of Plessey ushered in a new era in the history of India. It was a turning point not only in the history of Bengal but also in the history of whole of India. It has, therefore, been rightly remarked that the Battle of Plessey marked the end of one epoch and the beginning of another.
• The conflict at Plassey was also crucial to the East India Company’s triumph over its French rivals.

• After the Battle of Plessey Mir Jafar became the Nawab of Bengal in name only. He was entirely dependent on the Britishers so as to maintain his position in Bengal as well as protection against foreign invasions.
  • He was an incompetent person. So through out his reign real power remained in the hands of the English. An English army of 6,000 troops was maintained in Bengal to help the Nawab.
  • The sovereignty of the English over Calcutta was recognised, and the English posted a Resident at the nawab’s court.
• He was an incompetent person. So through out his reign real power remained in the hands of the English. He had to face great financial crisis, because the servants of the company began to extract money from him in various ways. He had also committed to pay a huge amount of money to Clive as a mark of gratitude.
• The English company also pressed him for payment of instalments. Thus, Mir Jafar became restless under the great financial pressure and growing supremacy of the English. In the meanwhile Dutch hatched out a conspiracy with Mir Jafar against the English in 1759.
• Battle of Chinsura / Bedara (1759):
  • Mir Jafar felt that his position as a subordinate to the British could not be tolerated. He started encouraging the Dutch to advance against the British and eject them from Bengal. In late 1759, the Dutch sent seven large ships and 1400 men from Java to Bengal under the pretext of reinforcing their Bengal settlement of Chinsura even though Britain and Holland were not officially at war.
  •  Clive, however, initiated immediate offensive operations and defeated the much larger Dutch force on 25 November 1759 in the Battle of Chinsura.
• In the same year Ali Gohour, the eldest son of the Mughal Emperor, rose in revolt against his father. On his way to find out a shelter for himself he besieged Patna in Bihar with the help of Shuja-ud-daula, the Nawab of Oudh. Mir Jafar felt helpless to face Ali Gohour alone.
  • He sought help from the English. With the help of the English Mir Jafar defeated the Mughal army. For the help Clive was given the right to realize revenue from South Calcutta, which was popularly known as Clive’s Jagir. By this arrangement Mir Jafar had to suffer further loss of rupees thirty thousand per  annum.
• Note: When Clive returned to England due to ill-health, he was rewarded with an Irish peerage, as Lord Clive, Baron of Plassey and also obtained a seat in the British House of Commons.
• After Clive’s departure the servants of the company became uncontrollable collectively and individually they began to acquire wealth by corrupt means. Mir Jafar became tired of payment and his treasury became empty.
• Mir Jafar felt restless by the exacting attitude of the English in Bengal. He failed to meet further demands of the English with an empty treasury. As he was running short of fund his interest in the Government began to decline. The people of Bengal began to despise him for his inefficiency to maintain the administration smoothly.
• Under these circumstances the English planned to look for an alternative successor who was none but Mir Kasim, the son-in-law of Mir Jafar. He promised to pay the British more than Mir Jafar.

• The treachery of Mir Jafar and his failure to make the payments due to the Company, annoyed the English.
  • Meanwhile, Miran, the son of Jafar died and there started a fight for the nawabship of Bengal between Mir Kasim, the son-in-law of Mir Jafar, and Miran’s son.
• Vansittart, the new Governor of Calcutta, agreed to support Mir Kasim’s claim after a treaty between Mir Kasim and the Company was signed in 1760. Important features of the treaty were as follows:
  • Mir Kasim agreed to cede to the Company the districts of Burdwan, Midnapur and Chittagong.
  • The Company would get half of the share in chunam trade of Sylhet.
  • Mir Kasim agreed to pay off the outstanding dues to the Company.
  • Mir Kasim promised to pay a sum of rupees five lakh towards financing the Company’s war efforts in southern India.
  • It was agreed that Mir Kasim’s enemies were the Company’s enemies, and his friends, the Company’s friends.
  • It was agreed that tenants of the nawab’s territory would not be allowed to settle in the lands of the Company, and vice-versa.
• Under the pressure of the Company, Mir Jafar decided to resign in favour of Mir Kasim. A pension of Rs 1,500 per annum was fixed for Mir Jafar.
• Mir Kasim was the ablest nawab among the successors of Alivardi Khan.  He was more talented, vigorous and ambitious than his father-in-law Mir Jafar. He ruled from 1761 to 1763. He did not appreciate the idea of being a mere puppet in the hands of the British.
• Steps taken by Kasim:
  • After assuming power, Mir Kasim shifted the capital from Murshidabad to Munger in Bihar. The move was taken to allow a safe distance from the Company at Calcutta.
  • His other important steps were reorganising the bureaucracy with the men of his own choice.
  • In order to fortify his position against the English, he reorganized his troops and set up factories for the manufacture of arms.
  • He trained his army in the western fashion and realized the arrears of the state in order to replenish his empty coffer.
  • Unable to stop the misuse of dastaks, the new nawab abolished internal duties altogether, so that the Indian merchants could also enjoy the same privilege.
    • The British protested against this and insisted upon having preferential treatment as against other traders.
• All these measures of Mir Kasim gradually incurred displeasure of the English.  The English did not like this display of independence and as a retaliatory measure, again replaced him with Mir Jafar.

• Background of battle of Buxar:
  • The seeds of the Battle of Buxar were sown after the Battle of Plassey, when Mir Kasim became the Nawab of Bengal. The primary cause was the conflict between the English and Mir Qasim. The Company had thought that Mir Kasim would prove to be an ideal puppet for them. However, Mir Kasim belied the expectations of the Company.
  • Ram Narayan, the deputy governor of Bihar, was not responding to repeated requests by the nawab to submit the accounts of the revenues of Bihar. Mir Kasim could not tolerate this open defiance of his authority. But Ram Narayan was supported by the English officials of Patna.
  • The Nawab-Company tussle over transit duty led to the outbreak of wars between the English and Mir Kasim in 1763.  The English gained successive victories, which eventually compelled Kasim to flee to Allahabad where he met Shuja-ud-Daulah.
  • In Allahabad, Kasim tried to form a grand alliance with the Mughal emperor Shah Alam II and Shuja-ud-daula of Awadh.
    • The emperor was in the region since 1758, when as a crown prince he had fled from the nasty politics of the Delhi court and tried to carve out for himself an independent kingdom in the eastern provinces.
    • In December 1759, hearing about his father’s assassination, he proclaimed himself the emperor and appointed Shuja his wazir.
    • When Mir Kasim fled to him for refuge, it was only after long and tortuous negotiations that the two agreed to proceed against the English; Shuja’s support was secured after he was promised Bihar and its treasury, along with a payment of Rs 30 million at the successful completion of the mission.
• The Battle:
  • The Battle of Buxar was fought on 23 October 1764 at the battleground Katkauli, 6 kilometres from Buxar, then within the territory of Bengal, between the forces of the British East India Company led by Hector Munro and the combined army of Mir Qasim (the Nawab of Bengal), Shuja-ud-Daulah (the Nawab of Awadh) and the Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II.
  • But their combined army was routed at the Battle of Buxar (1764) and  the British got a decisive victory:
    • Eighteenth-century Indian army with its segmentary social organization was in serious disadvantage against a technically efficient English army with a unitary command.
    • The lack of basic co-ordination among the three desperate allies was responsible for their decisive debacle.
  • After the war, Mir Kasim fled to the North-West and died. Shah Alam II left Shuja-ud-Daulah and sought shelter in the British camp. Shuja-ud-Daulah tried to defeat the British till 1765 but was not successful. He later fled to Rohilkhand.
  • Clive was in England when Battle of Buxar was fought and won by the British. In 1765, Clive returned.
• The important outcome of the Battle of Buxar was the Treaty of Allahabad(1765). Two separate treaties were signed at Allahabad:
  • First treaty was signed between East India Company (Lord Clive) and Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II, who had submitted to the British in the battle. As per this treaty:
    • Mughal Emperor granted Fiscal Rights (Diwani) or right to administer the territory and collect taxes to the East India Company at Bengal, Bihar and Orissa. These rights allowed the Company to collect revenue directly from the people of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa. Nizamat rights (police and judicial) were given to Nawab of Bengal.
    • In lieu of this Right, the Company gave an annual tribute of 26 Lakh Rupees to the Mughals.
    • The districts of Kora and Allahabad were returned to Mughal Emperor.
  • Second treaty was signed between East India Company (Lord Clive) and Nawab of Awadh Shuja-ud-Daulah:
    • Awadh was returned to Shuja-ud-Daulah but Allahabad and Kora was taken from him.
    • The Nawab of Awadh paid 53 Lakhs rupees of war indemnity to the British.
    • The Zamindari of Banaras region was given to Balwant Rai.
    • An English Resident would be stationed at Lucknow. Nawab should bare all the expenses of this person.
    • The Company would enjoy duty free trading rights in Awadh-a clause which in later years created fresh tensions and prepared the grounds for the annexation of Awadh itself.
    • Further, the Nawab entered into an offensive and defensive treaty with the Company binding him to render gratuitous military help to the Company in time of need and the Company to help the Nawab with the troops for the defence of his frontier on the latter agreeing to pay the cost of its maintenance.
  • The British Resident posted at the court of Murshidabad hereafter gradually by 1772 became the locus of real administrative power in the province and thus it was in Bengal that the system of indirect rule as a policy of the Company’s imperial governance was first initiated.
  • Thus Clive, in person settled the fate of almost half of the Northern India.
    • Clive did not want to annex Awadh because it would have placed the Company under an obligation to protect an extensive land frontier from the Afghan and the Maratha invasions. The treaty made the Nawab a firm friend of the Company, and turned Awadh into a buffer state.
    • Similarly, Clive’s arrangement with Shah Alam II was inspired by practical considerations. It made the emperor a useful ‘rubber stamp’ of the Company. Besides, the emperor’s farmanlegalised the political gains of the Company in Bengal.
• Significance of the Battle of Buxar:
  • The importance of this battle lay in the fact that not only the Nawab of Bengal but also the Mughal Emperor of India was defeated by the English.  The victory made the English a great power in northern India and contenders for the supremacy over the whole country.
    • The Company treated the defeated Mughal emperor with respect, because of his continuing symbolic significance in eighteenth-century Indian politics. Indeed, not before 1857 the British ever formally repudiated the sovereignty of the Mughal emperor.
  • The seeds of British imperialism sown at Plassey flowered after the Battle of Buxar, a fact that makes the latter battle historically more important. It finally consolidated British rule in Bengal, the Nawab was reduced to a mere figure-head, the Company started an unchecked plundering of the wealth of Bengal, the Nawab of Oudh turned to a submissive ally and the Mughal emperor was reduced to thriving on an allowance from the Company.
  • The Battle of Buxar proved to be decisive resulting in the establishment of British sovereignty in Bengal. This battle brought out the political weaknesses and military shortcomings of the Indians and the hollowness of the Mughal Empire. Battle of Buxar proved the military superiority of the English and exposed the inherent weakness of the native force. It was more important than Battle of Plassey as Battle of Plassey was not won by military might but deceit. Also If Plassey saw defeat of the Nawab of bengal, Buxar saw defeat of Mughal Emperor and powerful Oudh.
  • The Treaty of Allahabad heralded the establishment of the rule of the East India Company in one-eighth of India with a single stroke.
  • While the Battle of Plassey secured a foothold for the British East India Company in India, the Battle of Buxar made them the dominant force in India. Buxar war completed the work of Plassey.
  • The East India Company, after the battle of Buxar, gained dominance over entire Bengal. The Mughal emperor came fully under the control of British. All duties and revenues from the most prosperous Indian province (Bengal, Bihar and Orissa) went to the company. It also gained administrative power by controlling the army, finances, and revenues.
  • With the wealth of Bengal, the British could conquer other regions of India. The supremacy of the British was established in the Eastern parts of India. Buxar finally riveted the shackles of company’s rule upon Bengal.
  • The verdict of Plassey was confirmed by the English victory at Buxar.