Battle of Plassey

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Many European powers came to India for trade. Earning maximum profit in trade was the main objective of all these companies. In view of this profit, there was a kind of competition among them. First there was a conflict between the Portuguese and the Dutch. Then there was a conflict between the Dutch and the British and finally between the British and the French. In fact, the British were successful in these conflicts. The rest of the companies did remain in India but their area was limited to trade activities.

The British made Bengal their first target for victory in the political field. They strengthened their position by defeating the Nawab of Bengal in 1757 AD. After the death of Aurangzeb in the beginning of the 18th century, the Mughal Empire collapsed. Due to this, various regional powers rose. In the same way, the state of Bengal also came into existence independently like other various parts of India. Alivardi Khan established this independent state and its jurisdiction was Bengal, Bihar and Orissa. Alivardi declared himself an independent Nawab. He used to give respect to the Mughal Emperor for a nominal amount. Alivardi Khan was a capable ruler. This is why the British maintained good relations with him.

After his death, the problem of his succession arose because he had no son. According to his will, his grandson Siraj-ud-Daulah became the ruler. As soon as he became the ruler, he had differences with the British on some issues. This difference of opinion manifested itself in the form of the Battle of Plassey in 1757 AD. The Battle of Plassey holds an important place in Indian history. This battle took place in June 1757 AD between the Nawab of Bengal Siraj-ud-Daulah and the British. This was the first battle of the British with any Indian ruler.

Causes of Battle of Plassey

1. Traitors – Indian history is full of traitors. Where sons who died for the country were born, there were also traitors who enslaved the country.
   • At the time of Alexander’s invasion, King Ambhi of Takshila became a traitor and joined Alexander. At the time of the arrival of the Muslims, Jaichand betrayed and when the British came, a traitor was born in Bengal whose name was Mir Jafar.
   • Historian Lyall is of the opinion that “the traitor Mir Jafar played the villain in this conspiracy drama related to Bengal and gave the credit of establishing the British Empire to Clive. In this way, he was the first person who wanted to become the Nawab of Bengal himself by colluding with the British against Siraj-ud-Daulah. For his own benefit, he put the country’s independence at stake“.
   • Roberts has written in his book “History of India during the British period” that “plots were being made to remove Siraj-ud-Daulah and put Alawardi Khan’s brother-in-law Mir Jafar on the throne in his place.”
   • A relative wanted to usurp the throne of the traitor Siraj-ud-Daulah. The other traitor was Amichand who had a greedy eye on the Nawab’s treasury. The British also got him on their side and promised a bribe of thirty lakh rupees in return for helping in removing Siraj-ud-Daulah from the throne and this Punjabi thug also wanted 5 percent share of the Nawab’s treasury. He kept asking for money. Amichand further boosted the courage of the British by giving away the secrets of the treasury and plans etc. The British wanted to make their plans successful by taking advantage of the opportunity. Only eleven days had passed since their agreement with Siraj-ud-Daulah when they received a proposal on 20 April 1757. The manager of the English factory in Kasim Bazar wrote to Clive that the Hindu merchants wanted to remove Siraj-ud-Daulah and make Yar Latif Khan the Nawab of Bengal. After a few days, another proposal was sent to the British agent of Murshidabad that remove Siraj-ud-Daulah and make Mir Jafar the Nawab of Bengal. Such conspiracies told the British that Siraj-ud-Daulah’s power was divided, there was a rift in his court and his own officials wanted to remove him. Therefore, the British also started making plans against him.
2. Treaty of 8 June – In reality, there was plunder in Bengal. Some wanted to become the Nawab, some wanted to become the owner of the treasury. Some people used to point out the weaknesses of the country to the British by doing good to them.
   • Plans to remove Siraj-ud-Daulah were gaining momentum. But they were somewhat scared because they had just signed a treaty with Siraj-ud-Daulah. They had also bought Mir Jafar by luring him. It cannot be said that the British were conspiring, but there was definitely a trick in this. Clive definitely wanted that the Nawab of Bengal should be just a puppet in his hands. Siraj-ud-Daulah himself was unhappy with the British. Therefore, Clive also thought it better to remove him and make someone else the Nawab so that the new Nawab would give more concessions and gifts to the company.
   • Amichand, Mir Jafar and Yaar Latif Khan helped Clive a lot in this work. Yaar Latif Khan was a commander and wanted to become the Nawab himself. Ouya Clive felt that “As long as this monster continues to rule, there will be neither peace nor security.” Thinking this, Clive made the Sikh moneylender Amichand a mediator between him and the new Nawab Mir Jafar and signed a treaty with Mir Jafar on 8 June 1757. Its conditions were as follows:
     1. He will hand over all the French and their settlements to the British.
     2. The British promised to make Mir Jaffar sit on the throne of Bengal. In return, Mir Jafar promised that he would Support the British in the war, i.e. fight on behalf of the British against Siraj-ud-Daula.
     3. Mir Jafar will give one crore rupees to the company as a token of happiness on becoming the Nawab and as war compensation.
     4. He will allow the fortification of Calcutta, Dhaka, Kasim Bazar etc.
     5. For his own safety, he will be able to take the help of the British army at his own expense.
     6. Within a month of becoming the Nawab, Mir Jafar will fulfill all these conditions.
     7. After fulfilling these conditions, the Company will protect him from enemies.
   • With this treaty, the British came into a very strong position. Now they were no longer afraid of Siraj-ud-Daula and started looking for an excuse to fight.
3. French settlements – Siraj-ud-Daulah felt that the French were more loyal than the British. He was also saddened by his defeat and that he could not get timely help from the French. He was shocked after the loss of Chandannagar.
   • Apart from Chandannagar, French companies were still present in Kasim Bazar, Dhaka, Patna etc. The British now put forth a new demand that all the French factories in Bengal should be handed over to the British. They should neither be allowed to trade nor to build a factory in Bengal. How could Siraj-ud-Daulah do this because the French, like the British, had also taken permission from the Delhi Emperor to trade in Bengal. Keeping this in mind, Siraj-ud-Daulah rejected this demand of the British and threatened, “If you want to maintain peace, then do not write anything against the treaty.” Many capable French officers were also working in Siraj-ud-Daulah’s army.
   • The British could not tolerate the fact that in their presence, the Nawab would give a high place to the French in his court. The growing hostility against the French in Europe was demanding that they be expelled from Bengal. When the Nawab rejected this demand of the British, Watson came to know that the Nawab loved the French more than the British and this became a cause of jealousy and a war became necessary to remove the French from his court and army. The protection of English interests in Bengal demanded the expulsion of the French from there, which the Nawab was not ready to give. Hence the question of French settlements became a cause of further tension in the complicated matters between the Nawab and the British.
4. Indian Army – Clive was convinced that the Indian Army was nothing more than a crowd that could run away at the sound of a bullet. He had himself defeated the Indian Army twice so far. In Akkar, where his courage had increased, he had started dreaming of establishing British rule in India by conquering Calcutta.
   • While leaving Madras, he had said that conquering Calcutta was not a big task. In such a situation, when there was a huge division in the army. Siraj-ud-Daula’s chief commander Mir Jafar had made a treaty with Clive. Raja Durlabhrai and Yar Latif Khan had also joined the British. In such a situation, perhaps there would have been a coward commander who would not have attacked his enemy. The internal divisions and lack of training weakened the Indian Army and increased Clive’s courage and with this support he could think of attacking the Nawab. The military weakness of the Nawab became the reason for testing his fate.
5. Trade Security – After the death of Alivardi Khan, there was no trade security in Bengal. All the traders were slaves of deceit and greed. Even the British traders were involved in their private trade by kicking the company’s trade. The royal certificates were used wrongly. Due to which the company was becoming poor. Siraj-ud-Daula was timid. He was a weak and cowardly ruler. He had no control over his courtiers. His ministers took a lot of bribes. Clive felt that without improving the trade conditions, the company cannot develop. There was no hope of improvement from the Nawab. Indian traders used to give new temptations to the British officers every day and the company’s employees were also crossing the limits of discipline and becoming corrupt. Therefore, for the progress of trade and the prestige of the company, it was felt that the Nawab of Bengal should be capable. Thinking this, the search for a new Nawab began and deciding to make General Mir Jafar, one of the two candidates, the Nawab, Clive decided to dethrone this incompetent Nawab for trade security and while looking for excuses, he reached the battlefield of Plassey.
6. Breach of treaty by Siraj-ud-Daulah –
   • After spreading the web of his conspiracy all around, Clive wrote a letter to Nawab Siraj-ud-Daulah on 13 June, 1757, in which the Nawab was accused of breaking the thinking of Calcutta. Clive, who was writing very humble and flattering letters till date, changed completely after all the preparations were done.
   • On 12 June, he had received the news of Mir Jafar’s complete preparations, so he was looking for an excuse to fight. He accused Siraj-ud-Daulah that till now the company has not been given 2 lakh rupees of Hajni and he is calling Busi to attack Calcutta against the British. Also, he has not made any reforms as expected. He sent a letter by making such false allegations.
   • Along with this, he also wrote that the rain is increasing day by day and there will be a delay in getting the reply, so I myself am coming to Murshidabad and will present your case in front of Amichand, Mir Jafar etc. What else could such a letter do except anger the Nawab. He understood Clive’s intention and set out for war.
   • Clive’s letter of 18 June became the immediate cause of this war. Some historians actually accuse Siraj-ud-Daula of breaking the treaty. Historian Remzemuir says that “he considered this treaty as a ceasefire agreement and again started preparing for war.” He had given important positions to trusted Frenchmen in his army. The British were afraid of this too. Clive knew very well that if he did not attack the Nawab before time, then the Nawab would attack him one day. So, as soon as the time came, he attacked.
7. Amichand –
   • He was a Sikh Punjabi money lender who had come to Bengal to earn money. He was greedy and wanted to earn commission by making Mir Jafar the Nawab. Amichand was fully aware of the conspiracy between Mir Qasim and Clive, so when the treaty was signed on 8 June, he also demanded two things in return for his commission.
     • Firstly, the company should give Rs. 30 lakhs to Amichand and
     • secondly, when Siraj-ud-Daulah’s treasure falls into the hands of these three robbers, Amichand should get 5% of it.
   • Generally, people believed that there were 4 crore coins in the Nawab’s treasure. If they had accepted these conditions, Amichand would have to pay lakhs of rupees. The British did not like this and when Clive started refusing to give 5% of the treasure, Amichand threatened that if he did not get his share, he would tell the whole conspiracy to Siraj-ud-Daulah. Clive felt very bad about this. But at that time there was no other option but to agree to Amichand’s terms. Therefore, Clive, under pressure, agreed to his terms at that time. Later he himself declared, “It is completely appropriate to use deceit and diplomacy to thwart the purpose of such a wicked man.”
   • What should have happened was that Amichand should have been given his commission and he should have been left to enjoy that money in a world of hatred and oblivion. But Clive thought it right to cheat this thug as well. A committee was set up secretly to consider Amichand’s case. It also decided that nothing should be given to Amichand in the end. Keeping this fact in mind, Clive got two copies of the treaty prepared. One on pink paper in which Amichand’s share was also described and the other on white paper on which were the 10 conditions given in the treaty of 8 June.
   • Watson refused to sign the fake copy of the pink paper, because the treaty was to be signed by two British representatives. Some people say that Clive himself forged Watson’s signature. Clive himself has written this story that he sent Tushington to Watson to get the treaty signed but Watson did not sign it himself and ordered Tushington to forge his signature. Diebel says that, “Perhaps Tushington forged Watson’s signature on the forged treaty.” On the contrary, Bompson’s version is that “this secret was revealed only on Watson’s deathbed.” This fact has been revealed by Bompson in his book “British Rule in India”.
8. The Incident of the Dark Room –
   • After the capture of Calcutta, some Englishmen were made prisoners. There is a description of an incident about them, which is called the Dark Room Incident in history. According to this incident, after capturing Fort William, the Nawab made 146 Englishmen prisoners and locked them in a room on the night of 20 June. This room was 18 feet long and 14 feet 10 inches wide. The heat was unbearable in the night of June and when this room was opened in the morning, only 23 people were found alive. Among them was a person named Halwell who publicized this incident. This accident is also known as ‘Black Hole’. Although the Nawab was not personally responsible for this incident which happened due to the brutality and barbarism of his subordinates, he did not even try to punish those who committed such a heinous crime.
   • Some historians say that this accident never happened. They give many arguments.
     • Firstly, given the size and shape of the human body, it is impossible for 146 people to fit into a room of 18 square feet and spend a summer night inside it.
     • Secondly, there is no mention of this accident in contemporary Muslim accounts such as Sher Mutakiran and Riyasus Salatin.
     • Thirdly, this was Halwell’s imaginary cave. Only he mentions it. He may have done this for his promotion.
9. Krishnadas Case – Krishnadas case added fuel to the fire. He was the son of Siraj-ud-Daulah’s finance minister Rajvallabh. Rajvallabh had embezzled goods worth lakhs of rupees. When Nawab Siraj-ud-Daulah questioned Rajvallabh about this, he handed over the entire treasury to his son Krishnadas and sent him to the shelter of the British. Despite repeated requests by Nawab Siraj-ud-Daulah, the British did not hand over Krishnadas to him.
10. British capture Calcutta again and Alinagar Treaty – After the fall of Calcutta, the British felt that they would not be able to settle in Bengal. Therefore, a special navy under the leadership of Watson and an army under the leadership of Clive reached Calcutta in Madras. The British won over the Nawab’s officers with the help of bribes. They succeeded in capturing Calcutta without any major opposition from Manik Chand, who was the administrator of Calcutta. They defeated the Nawab and took over Hooghly. The Nawab now had to sign a treaty with the British in 1757 AD which is called the Alinagar Treaty.
    • According to this treaty, the Nawab returned all the pre-war facilities to the British. He expanded their Itak system. He also agreed to the British that he would not oppose their fortification of Kalkala and would not take part in the dispute between the French and the British. In return for this, he had to pay the British a war indemnity.

Events of Battle of Plassey

The battlefield was 20 miles away from Murshidabad, a dense garden of fires which was about 800 yards long and 300 yards wide, there was a village nearby which was called Plassey. At 1 o’clock in the morning of 28 June, Clive’s army camped here. Clive’s army had about 3000 soldiers, which included 800 Europeans, 2100 Indian soldiers, 8 cannons. On the contrary, Siraj-ud-Daulah had about 50,000 soldiers, which included 18,000 horsemen and 53 cannons. There was no dearth of loyalists in the Nawab’s army, apart from this, 45,000 troops were standing separately under Mir Jafar and Raja Durlabhrai.

Before coming to the battlefield, Siraj-ud-Daulah himself went to Mir Jafar’s house and placed his turban in front of him and prayed for loyalty. He even said to Mir Jafar, “Mir Jafar, the honour of this turban is in your hands” and Mir Jafar swore loyalty by touching the Quran. When this news reached Clive, he was shocked. He called a meeting of his generals on the night of 23 June in the field of Plassey and considered whether to fight or not. Till that time Clive himself was afraid and was not in favour of war. 12 members of the war council advised Clive not to fight. At the same time, a message came from Mir Jafar that “everything is ready, attack strongly.” This message increased Clive’s courage. Then he wrote an order to everyone that “we will fight with our full strength tomorrow, if we win then it is fine, otherwise we will carry our tent on our backs and run back to Calcutta tomorrow night. All the officers thought it right. They had so much ammunition that they could face the enemy bravely for a day and on this everyone agreed to fight a one-day war.”

The battle of Plassey was actually a big farce. The battle began at 9 am and ended at 2 pm after the formalities. A bullet fired by an Indian soldier hit the leg of the cowardly Siraj-ud-Daulah’s camel. He was already scared. He immediately left the battlefield and fled. The little fighting that took place from the Nawab’s side was done by the French. Mir Jafar, who had come to fight on Clive’s side, stood neutral on one side due to Siraj-ud-Daulah’s emotional appeal and when the Nawab left the battlefield and fled, Mir Jafar’s son Miran chased him and caught him and killed him. Mir Jafar arrived at 2 pm to give the news of so many killings and victory, only then the battle ended. When the Nawab fled, there was a stampede in his army and 600 soldiers were killed. The number of casualties on the British side was 25 and the number of injured was 60. The Nawab’s ammunition got wet due to rain before the battle and this was the reason for his defeat. Due to his cowardly act, the British became the rulers of India for 200 years.

Commenting on the Battle of Plassey, British Captain Mallinson wrote that “We did not display any fearlessness in this victory. Just as when hoisting a flag on a newly discovered country, some shells are fired in honor of the country and flag, similarly while establishing British supremacy in Bengal, some shells were fired in honor of the Union Jack.” Similarly, historian Davis has said in his book ‘Clive’ that “The bullet fired by an Indian soldier led to the rise of the British Empire in India. The sun of 23 June became the founder of the British Empire in India.” Dr. Ishwari Prasad is also of the opinion that, “This victory of the British was neither the result of the bravery of the British nor of the superior military leadership of Clive, it was the result of betrayal.” From a military point of view, this war was just a drama. Siraj-ud-Daula was killed at the age of 23. This battle may have been small in appearance but it was very decisive. On one side there was a cunning politician named Clive and on the other side there was a simple and innocent boy named Navach. This success gave Clive a lot of popularity. Even if we call Clive a traitor, he gave a lot of respect and help to his country at the young age of 32 years.

Results and importance of the war

The Battle of Plassey was not very important from the military point of view because Clive won this war by uniting the disgruntled chieftains of the Nawab, whose leader was Mir Jafar, the head of the Nawab’s army, but considering the results of the war, it is clear that this battle will be remembered forever in Indian history. Its results were serious. In fact, the war had very wide and far-reaching results. It became a milestone for Bengal, the Company and the whole of India. The results or importance of this war can be understood from the following points –

1. British control over Bengal – From the strategic and military point of view, the Battle of Plassey was a normal battle. In this, 65 soldiers of the British were killed, while 500 soldiers of the Nawab were killed. In the real sense, it was not a military success or failure, because diplomacy and conspiracy played a role in it, but this incident was very important from the political and historical point of view. In this battle, for the first time, the British defeated an Indian ruler. Due to this, Bengal was almost captured by the British and their supremacy was also proved. This war planted the seed of the establishment of British rule in India which grew with time and one day became a huge tree.
2. Prestige of Company Increased – It increased the prestige of the company. Before the Battle of Plassey, the East India Company was only a trading company but after this war it became a political power as well. It could make anyone the Nawab of Bengal as per its wish and could remove him from the throne whenever it wanted. Due to this, its prestige increased in comparison to other European companies.
3. This war provided an opportunity for future revolutions in Bengal – After the Battle of Plassey, Mir Jafar was made the Nawab of Bengal. This is considered the first revolution of Bengal. He gave a lot of money to the officers of the company. After the departure of Clive, the officers became greedy and decided to make his son-in-law Mir Qasim the king in place of Mir Jafar. One reason for this change was that the high officials of the company were expecting money from this. Thus, the Battle of Plassey created a good environment for the second revolution of Bengal.
4. This war opened the path to victory in northern India – The victory of Bengal gave the hope of conquering northern India to the British. This increased their power so much that they were able to defeat Nawab Shuja-ud-Daula of Awadh and Mughal emperor Shah Alam II in the Battle of Buxar in 1764 AD. Not only this, they could also cross the river Ganga. In the absence of good roads, the best way to reach the Ganges valley was through the river Ganges.
5. Personal benefits of the war – The greatest personal benefit of this battle went to Clive. His fame spread in Britain. He became a topic of great discussion. He became very rich after this battle. After this war Mir Jafar became the Nawab of Bengal. This was also his dream, in the true sense he was a nominal Nawab, because the real power was in the hands of the British. Rai Durlabh became the commander of the Bengal army and the new Nawab gave him a lot of money as a reward.
6. Defeating the French easily – At the time of the Battle of Plassey, there was a conflict between the British and the French. The region of this war was South India, but this success of the British was in Eastern India. Through this war, they became the masters of the richest region of India. They succeeded in keeping the Nawab of this region in their grip. Other rulers of India or the Mughal emperors kept watching this war as mere spectators. The military, economic and political power of the British increased a lot. Due to this increase, it became quite easy to defeat the French in India.
7. Huge economic benefits to the British – The British gained every kind of benefit through this war. The most important of these benefits was the economic aspect. The British came to India for this very purpose. Now that they had become the owners of Bengal politically, there was no scope for any kind of economic harm to their economic interests, because they could use the economic resources of Bengal for their own benefit with ease. In this way, the chapter of economic exploitation of India also opened.
8. Blow to Indian Pride – This war destroyed Indian pride. The rulers of India who did not like to establish trade and political relations with European countries, were now losing or becoming puppets of the British. This war also exposed the character of the influential class of India that they can be bought by luring them with money and position. In such a situation, loyalty and country have no value for them. In this way, the kind of image of India that emerged in the world was quite shameful. Traitors like Mir Jafar remained in high positions even after this war. Whereas a traitor like Seth Amir Chand could not take any advantage.
9. Other results – After this war, the British started thinking about conquering India. Their behavior towards Indians changed. Earlier they used to look at the common Indian with respect, but now they started looking at them with disrespect. The weak military power and political division of India came to light. In fact, this war was also an indicator of the end of other powers in India.

Battle of Buxar

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The Battle of Buxar changed the fate of the British just like the Second Battle of Tarain (1192 AD) had changed the fate of Muhammad Ghori and the First Battle of Panipat (1526 AD) had changed the fate of Babur. As a result of the Battle of Buxar, the British became rulers from traders in India. They got complete control over Bengal and now it became much easier for them to conquer India. In the Battle of Buxar, the Nawab of Bengal Mir Qasim was on one side and the British were on the other. Nawab Shuja-ud-Daula of Awadh and Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II supported the Nawab. Thousands of men were used in the battle of a single day because the war was fought on 22 October 1764 AD. The Mughal Emperor had already got scared and left the battle and after losing, Mir Qasim had to leave the battlefield and run away. The Wazir of Awadh Shuja-ud-Daula fled to Rohilkhand and the British army took over the whole of Awadh.

Causes of War

First of all, we will throw light on the battles of Buxar, which will make it easier to explain each situation –

1. Economic and military reforms of the Nawab – In 1760, the British made Mir Qasim the Nawab of Bengal in place of Mir Jafar. Mir Qasim was a capable ruler, he made many economic reforms to fill his empty treasury. Land revenue was collected from all those landlords who were not paying land revenue for a long time. Corrupt officials were removed from their posts. Apart from this, reforms were also made in the army. He made Munger his capital instead of Murshidabad. He also set up a factory to make ammunition in the new capital. Due to these reforms and actions of his, the British began to understand that the Nawab wanted to break free from their influence and rule as an independent ruler. They did not want to leave Bengal at any cost, whereas Mir Qasim did not want to remain their puppet. Therefore, in such a situation, war between the two was inevitable.
2. Proclamation by agents – The company had agents to buy and sell goods. They sold their goods at high prices and bought the goods of the common man at the lowest prices. Apart from this, they forcibly made people pay advances to buy goods. If someone refused to take advances, he was flogged. Due to advances, people had to sell the finished goods at cheap rates. No one could even say anything to the peons of agents. Those who said anything were punished by setting up a court in their own houses. How long could the Nawab tolerate that his subjects were insecure like this?
3. Abolition of internal taxes – Tired of the arrogance of the British, Mir Qasim made a proclamation in March 1763 and stopped taking trade taxes from all people. The British were enraged by this proclamation of Mir Qasim. The reason for this was that other traders also started getting equal benefits. They again asked him to impose taxes. But Mir Qasim flatly refused to do so. Although Bensittart and Hastings sympathized with the Nawab, other members of the council demanded different treatment for the English traders. This made war necessary.
4. Patna incident – Ellis, the president of the English factory in Patna, was enraged by the Nawab’s policy of free trade. In 1763, he tried to capture Patna. He was successful in his attempt for some time. But the Nawab’s forces took Patna back on the same day and took about 200 British prisoners. Meanwhile, the Calcutta Council declared Mir Jafar as the Nawab of Calcutta again. These incidents led to a war between Nawab Mir Qasim and the British. In June 1763, Major Adams was sent against the Nawab. He fought many battles with the Nawab. Among these battles, the battles of Karwah Suti, Giriya and Udayanala are especially noteworthy. The Nawab’s army was badly defeated at Udayanala. Seeing his position weakening, Mir Qasim moved towards Patna. In a state of despair and anger, he brutally killed 200 British who were captured. Meanwhile, Adams reached Patna with the British army. There too, he badly defeated the Nawab’s army and captured Patna. Mir Qasim escaped from there to save his life.
5. Problem of Shah Allam – Mughal emperor Alamgir II was murdered. At this time prince Atti Gauhar was in Bihar. He assumed the title of Shah Alam II and declared himself the Mughal emperor. But he was afraid of going to Delhi. He went to Patna at the end of 1760 AD and took the help of the British. Shah Allam had not yet been recognised by the Nawab of Bengal as a ruler or emperor. The British pressurised Mir Qasim to recognise them as emperor. Mir Qasim felt hesitant in doing so because he was afraid that if he himself recognised him as emperor then the British would pressurise the emperor and take him from the Diwani of Bengal. Qasim would not be able to oppose the emperor again. The British pressurised him to recognise him quickly otherwise the British would recognise him and take action. Now Mir Qasim went to Patna to meet him and he was recognised. Now he also became Shah Alam’s confidant. In this way, the British got their point accepted, but ideological differences arose between the two.
6. Political Reason – After removing Mir Jafar from power, his grandson Mir Qasim became the Nawab of Bengal. The British thought that like Mir Jafar, he would also work under their pressure and they would be able to take advantage of him as per their wish. After that, the British would also usurp the throne by making some kind of allegation. But here the situation turned out to be completely opposite. Mir Qasim followed the treaty made with the company and adopted the policy of keeping distance from them. He was a very capable person. He made such administrative reforms and adopted such policies that the British could not even doubt and he could easily get the support of the public. He removed such officers and employees who were corrupt. He got the support of the soldiers by paying their pending salaries. He changed his capital from Murshidabad to Munger. The reason given by him behind this was that the capital should be in the middle of the state. His policy behind this was to distance himself from the British and to intensify his political moves. He wanted to strengthen his position by equipping his army with good weapons and training it on the European system. Hence, there was a rift between the two at the very beginning.
7. Trade related issues – The British had many facilities in Bengal. They misused their trade facility ‘Dastak system’. Due to this the Nawab had to bear many types of financial losses and Indian traders had two types of problems.
   • Firstly they were forced to flatter the British so that they could save half the commission,
   • secondly their goods were sold at a higher price.
   • In 1762 A.D., Qasim took a far reaching decision. Under this, customs duty was abolished in Bengal. Nawab did suffer some financial loss due to this fact but he also got many benefits from political point of view. The British pressurized Qasim to impose customs duty but he flatly refused to accept the British. The British were not successful in persuading him peacefully, so efforts to do so by force began.
8. Ramnarayan issue – Ramnarayan was the Nawab’s Nayak Diwan in Bengal, the British used to get complete information about Nawab through him. When the Nawab came to know about this, he reprimanded him. Ramnarayan was afraid that the Nawab would punish him harshly, so he fled to the British. The British had been sheltering the enemies of the Nawab from the very beginning. The Nawab talked to the British about this matter and asked for Ramnarayan back. The British never returned a person in this manner. Qasim sent one of his senior messengers to the British Governor Vansittart and told him about the entire situation. He did not want to get into any trouble with the British Governor. He took an assurance from Mir Qasim that he would not give death penalty to Ramnarayan and would keep him in service. After this, he returned him. This was the first time that an Indian Nawab was able to get his way. He did not give death penalty to Ramnarayan as per the condition, but instead of giving him a job in the court, he gave him a pension so that he could not inform the British about his activities. The British understood this diplomatic trick and considering Mir Qasim as their enemy, started thinking of defeating him.
9. Military preparations – After making Munger the capital, Mir Qasim started making efforts to build an impregnable fort. He fortified Munger and arranged for a huge army of 45,000 soldiers there. He trained this army in the European style. He also established a factory to make ammunition here to fulfill his military needs. In this way, the military preparations of Munger further intensified the doubts of the British. Therefore, the British officers started making plans to get rid of Mir Qasim.
10. Mir Jafar becoming the Nawab again – The British, being angry with Mir Qasim, made Mir Jafar the Nawab of Bengal again on 7 July, 1763. He re-imposed customs duty in Bengal as per the wishes of the British and allowed the British to use ‘Dastaks’ without tax. He also promised to compensate the losses of the British.

Events of War

Company’s agent Ellis suddenly laid siege to Patna but it was immediately captured again by the Nawab’s forces. Ellis and other Englishmen were put in jail. An order was given to capture every Englishman in the Nawab’s territory. The Calcutta Council issued a proclamation to remove Mir Qasim and make Mir Jafar the Nawab again. The Nawab did not care about it. English forces advanced towards the Nawab. A fierce battle took place at the place of Geria in which the Nawab was badly defeated. The English captured his capital Munger and the Nawab fled to Patna. The Nawab declared that if the British forces did not stop moving towards Patna, all the English prisoners would be killed. The English army kept moving forward and Mir Qasim killed all the English prisoners with the help of German Balter Reinkart, known as Samru. The English army captured Patna. Mir Qasim fled and took refuge with Nawab Shuja-ud-Daulah of Awadh where Mughal emperor Shah Alam II was also staying. All three brainstormed and attacked Patna but were unsuccessful. Then they settled in Buxar. Sir Munro advanced with the company’s forces and defeated all three at a place called Buxar in 1764 AD. Mir Qasim fled and Shuja-ud-Daulah and Shah Alam II surrendered. After this Clive arrived and signed the Allahabad Treaty with Nawab Shuja-ud-Daulah of Awadh and Mughal emperor Shah Alam II in 1765 AD, which is considered a historical treaty.

Ilahabad Treaty

Agreement with Mughal Emperor Shah Alam

In this area, Clive had to make agreements with the Mughal Emperor, Nawab of Awadh and Nawab of Bengal. Defeated in the Battle of Buxar, Shah Alam was at the mercy of the British. In a way, he was a prisoner of the British. Although he had neither power, nor influence nor land, he was still a nominal Mughal Emperor whom the British could use. At this time, Clive had many options. He could have gone ahead and captured Delhi but this would have increased the responsibility of the British, which they did not have the power to fulfill at that time. This could have led to a conflict with the Marathas as well. In such a situation, there was a possibility of a crisis for Bengal, Bihar and Orissa. For this reason, Clive did not do this.

The second option was to leave the Mughal Emperor free to go to Delhi. There was a difficulty in this too, as soon as Shah Alam went to Delhi, the Marathas would have made him a puppet in their hands and the British would not have been in a position to gain any benefit from their victory. For this reason, Clive did not think it right to do this.

A third route was suggested by Bensittart and he had also made a promise to the Mughal emperor for the same. Bensittart had also promised to give Awadh to the Mughal emperor. His point was that the company would have more security as the emperor’s borders were near the company’s borders. But Clive considered this route very dangerous and refused to give Awadh to the Mughal emperor. He thought that if Awadh is given to the Mughal emperor, the Marathas will keep attacking it to take it under their control, due to which the British will be in constant danger. For this reason, he did not adopt the third route as well.

While making a compromise with the Mughal emperor, Clive adopted a middle path which is a proof of his diplomacy. By this compromise, the following –

1. He took Kara and Allahabad from Awadh and gave it to the Mughal emperor.
2. The Mughal emperor gave the Diwani of Bengal, Orissa, Bihar to the British.
3. The British agreed to pay 2.6 lakh rupees per year to the Mughal emperor.
4. The British received the districts north of Hyderabad, ‘Northern Government’ from the Mughal emperor as a jagir.

The British had full benefit from this arrangement. The Mughal emperor was forced or compelled to stay within the boundaries of Awadh, a friendly state of the British. Due to which there was no fear of him getting trapped in the hands of the Marathas and the British could use his name as per need to fulfill their interests.

Agreement with Nawab Shuja-ud-Daulah of Awadh

Shuja-ud-Daulah was defeated in the Battle of Buxar. In a way, he was also a prisoner of the British; on this occasion, the British could have captured Awadh themselves or given it to the Mughal emperor Shah Alam. As Bensittart had intended. But Clive did not do this because giving Awadh to the Mughal emperor was useless because without the help of the British, he could not capture it. Apart from this, the Marathas would constantly attack Awadh, which would have posed a threat to the British and if the British themselves had captured Awadh, then not only would Nawab Shuja-ud-Daulah have become a permanent enemy of the British and would have joined the Marathas, but the Marathas would also have been eager to attack Awadh. For this reason, Clive showed diplomacy here too. According to the agreement made with Awadh –

1. Awadh was returned to Shuja-ud-Daula.
2. The Nawab gave 50 lakh rupees to the British.
3. The Nawab gave Kara, Allahabad to Mughal emperor Shah Alam.
4. The Nawab gave Chunar to the British.
5. The estate of Banaras was given to Raja Balwant Singh and his family as ancestral estate under the protection of the British.
6. The Nawab also provided the British the facility to trade without paying taxes within the boundaries of his kingdom.
7. By an additional treaty, the Nawab accepted to take help from the British for the protection of his armies and assured to bear the entire expenses of the British army if required.

Thus the agreement made with Awadh was even more beneficial. Shuja-ud-Daula became a friend of the British. This made the borders of Bengal of the British safe from Maratha attacks. The British made him dependent on them by getting trade facilities from him and including him in the agreement of military assistance. For this reason, Ramseymuir has written that, “From then on, it became the permanent policy of the British to maintain close friendly relations with Awadh, which was an obstacle in the path of the growing power of the Parathas, which was beneficial for the British.”

Agreement with the Nawab of Bengal

According to the agreement of 1765 made with the Mughal emperor, The British got the right to conduct civil justice in Bengal, Orissa and Bihar i.e. to collect revenue and to do civil justice. The law and order and criminal justice remained in the hands of the Nawab even at that time, for which the British agreed to pay Rs. 52,86,13,190 to the Nawab. Dual rule was established by this agreement. Although the British divided the rights of the province’s governance into parts and kept only one part in their hands, but in reality these provinces had gone into the hands of the British.

The Nawab remained a nominal ruler. The right to governance was only with the one who had money and the power of money had gone into the hands of the British. In reality, the Nawab of Bengal had become the pensioner of the British. In this way Clive had solved the political problems. Undoubtedly, he had shown his diplomacy in this. The Battle of Buxar had suddenly opened up so many avenues for the British and presented so many possibilities of increasing their power that the British company did not have the power to take responsibility for all of them. Keeping in mind the limitations of his power, Clive made such arrangements that the British did not have to bear any special responsibility. Apart from these, he tried to secure the interests of the British in whatever way possible through these political agreements.

Result of War

This war changed the governance of India, by removing the Muslims, the British were made the rulers of eastern India. This war tied Bengal in the shackles of the Company’s rule. The king came in the hands of the British and Awadh was under their protection. Now no power could drive the British out of India. This war decided the fate of India. The British had cheated in the Battle of Plassey but the Battle of Buxar opened the doors of North and West India for the Company. The king was sitting in their tent, the minister was running away in fear from them and the Company’s armies had reached Banaras and Allahabad. Their power kept increasing rapidly. Historian Mallison says that “The Battle of Buxar comes in the category of decisive battles.” Much before the Battle of Buxar, on 7 July 1703, the British made a treaty with Mir Jafar on the basis of which Mir Jafar was declared the Nawab of Bengal again. Mir Jafar assured the British that he would fulfill many promises if he won the battle and when the British won, they got a gift from Mir Jafar –

1. The trade facilities given by Qasim will be maintained as they were.
2. Vardhman, Midnapur and Chittagong will remain with the British and 24 Parganas will also be given to them permanently.
3. The Nawab’s army was reduced. He will keep only 6,000 horsemen and 12,000 infantry.
4. 25% customs duty should be taken from all Indian traders as before and the British should be allowed to trade freely.
5. The loss caused to the British traders by Mir Qasim, which is Rs. 5 lakhs, should be compensated.
6. Give Rs. 30 lakhs to fight the war.

These conditions clearly show that Mir Jafar was just a servant and whenever the company officers asked for money from him, he had to give it. Only Rs. 5 lakhs was kept as the security of the traders in the treaty. But Rs. 53 lakhs was collected in the next 2 years. The army of the Nawab was also reduced and the Nawab was reduced to a mere bank from which the officers of the Company could withdraw as many times and as much money as they wanted. The terror of the British kept increasing. In Patna, they got the houses vacated from the relatives of the Nawab. The Nawab used to get 50 thousand rupees a year from the timber trade of Purnea, which was also grabbed by the Company. The grain trade was also suppressed by the British and the Nawab did not get grain even for his army. The Company started misusing the mint by minting low and light coins. Mir Jafar made 13 such complaints to the Company in September, 1764, but who listens to the voice of a trumpet in a wilderness? The poor traitor Mir Jafar, who sold his country twice to get the throne of Bengal, ultimately died like a slave. Despite being a Nawab, he lived under the influence of the agents of the Company.

After the death of Mir Jafar in 1765, his younger son Najmuddaula became the Nawab. The British declared that no one should be considered the Nawab of Bengal without their approval and public declaration. They made a new treaty with the new Nawab in which they further limited and weakened the power of the Nawab.

According to this treaty, a deputy governor will be appointed who will rule the state in the name of the governor and this deputy governor will be appointed by the British. The Nawab did not have the right to employ anyone. A fine of Rs. 5 lakh was imposed which the Nawab will pay every year for the expenses of the British army. There will be no customs duty on the British on any trade throughout the country. Thus we see that Vansittart changed the carpet of the Nawabs of Bengal to sackcloth. The Diwani of Bengal came into the hands of the Company. The Nawabship of Bengal had ended with Mir Qasim. At such a time Clive came back to India.

Dual System of Bengal

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After the death of Mir Jafar, Nizam-ud-Daulah became the Nawab of Bengal. He was inexperienced. He handed over the responsibility of administration to the company. He started running administrative work by appointing a deputy governor of the company. In 1765 AD, the company also acquired the right of Diwani. Now if Clive wanted, he could have abolished the post of Nawab, but clever Clive did not do so, rather he did a new experiment in this context. This experiment is known as “Dual rule” or dual management.

It means two systems of governance in the administration system. In 1765 AD, under the Treaty of Allahabad, the Mughal emperor gave the Diwani of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa to the company. In this way, the company got the right to collect revenue from these areas. The company had to give 26 lakh rupees annually to the emperor as a share from this revenue collection. The company got the Diwani rights from the emperor and they had already taken the civil rights from the Nawab of Bengal. In civil governance, the Nawab had given the Company the responsibility of internal security and protection from external attacks. Thus, the Nawab remained responsible for justice.

On this basis, Clive divided the governance into two parts. Under this division, the Nawab of Bengal will continue to take care of public welfare and settlement of criminal disputes on the same basis as he had been doing earlier. All other responsibilities will be of the Company. In this way, two governance systems were working in Bengal from a time. The Nawab’s system and the Company’s system. This was called dual governance. In this, Nawab Nizam-ud-Daula was also given an annual pension of Rs. 53 lakhs. Later, this amount was reduced to Rs. 32 lakhs. This governance system was also a part of Clive’s well-thought-out policy.

Reasons for adopting dual governance

1. Getting rid of the discontent of Indians – Clive believed that the company had still not understood the Indian governance system. If a new experiment was done against the government, there could be a revolt against the government.
2. Lack of capable officers – The company did not have enough capable officers and employees who could run the entire administration system properly. Therefore, Clive left the work of administration with the Nawab.
3. Defaming the native rulers – Clive wanted to defame the native rulers through dual governance. He wanted that due to the flaws in the administration, these rulers would be defamed among the public and the public would start supporting the British.
4. Reluctance of the directors of the company – The directors of the company also did not want to take the entire administration of Bengal in their hands. They did not want to increase the number of their opponents without reason.
5. Getting rid of the jealousy of opponents – Clive introduced dual governance to keep his opponents calm. If the company had taken the entire administration in its hands, then the suspicion of its opponents would have increased that the company wanted to become a political power. The British Parliament would also have got an opportunity to interfere in the company’s affairs. In this way Clive wanted to throw dust in the eyes of his opponents.

Merits of the Dual system of Government

1. The company did not take the entire management of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa in its hands so that other Indian powers and foreign powers (French and Dutch companies) could not oppose the British much.
2. At this time the company did not have capable officers to run the entire administration smoothly.
3. Clive played a trick through this arrangement so that the Indian rulers Nawabs get defamed and the qualities of the British rule could be exaggerated and publicized.
4. The directors of the company also did not want to take all the management in their hands at once.
5. The political importance of the company increased due to this system.
6. The company got control over the revenue of all the three provinces.
7. The position of the British in India was strengthened by this system.
8. Due to this system, the Nawabs became completely dependent on the mercy of the company.
9. By establishing this system, the company was saved from the unnecessary interference of the Parliament of England.
10. This system protected the business interests of the company.
11. This system prepared the company to take over the Indian administration in its hands in the near future.

Demerits of the Dual system of Government

Clive’s system of governance was ineffective and impractical. This system spread chaos and confusion in Bengal. Hence, this system failed from the beginning and it had terrible consequences –

1. This system spread a lot of unrest and chaos in Bengal, Bihar and Orissa. Because where the Nawab had all the responsibility, he had no power.
2. Due to this system, there started a daily quarrel between the Nawab and the British officials.
3. Under this system, the British and the Nawab’s officials started looting the people.
4. So much money was taken away from the farmers that now farming reduced or came on the verge of stopping.
5. In 1768-70, due to famine in Bengal, one-third of the people died of hunger. The rest also left agriculture and started looking for other work.
6. Due to this, the trade of the country also started suffering a lot.
7. The company’s treasury could not receive much money, so the company was on the verge of bankruptcy.
8. Bengal’s textile industry suffered huge losses.
9. The Bengalis started losing their motivation to work. The society started becoming lifeless and hence the moral degradation of Bengali society began.
10. This system increased the evils of personal trade to a great extent.
11. The employees of the company got control over the entire internal trade of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa.
12. The judicial system of Bengal got corrupted by this system.
13. From 1765 to 1772, the company had established a “state of robbers” in Bengal through this system.

End of Dual Government

This dual government in Bengal, Bihar and Orissa was continued by Clive from 1765 AD to 1767 AD, Verelst from 1767 AD to 1769 AD and Cartier from 1769 AD to 1772 AD, but due to the above mentioned demerits, Warren Hastings ended it in 1772 AD.

Robert Clive

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Robert clive was born on 1725 and was the priest’s son. He was very naughty during his childhood days and sometimes he had to face a lot of trouble. He with his group of friends used to harass shopkeepers. His teachers thought that such a child can never be successful in his life, but when the sun rises, it gives very little light and gradually illuminates the whole world. The same situation is becoming clear here.

He joined the East India Company as a clerk in 1743 and came to Madras in 1744. After coming here, he became very upset and even attempted suicide but he failed. He thought that maybe God has kept him alive for some high position. Clive’s thoughts now started becoming of high level. He became a soldier from a clerk in the First Carnatic War. When the French captured Madras in 1746, Clive was taken prisoner. But he was released after the Treaty of “Aix La Chapelle” in 1748. The Second Carnatic War changed Clive’s life. Although he was never an ideal person in his life, but the credit for establishing the British rule in Hindustan goes to Clive. What we mean to say is that Clive was the person who had strengthened the roots of British power in India. But historian Vaijnath Devekar says that, “The result of Clive’s policies was also the rebellion of 1857.” But this fact seems to be lifeless because many British officers who came to India like Wellesley, Dalhousie, all of them also adopted the policy of imperialism. Therefore, Clive’s contribution to the British in India was quite good.

Clive’s contribution in the Second Carnatic War

The Second Carnatic War changed his life a lot. The British fortunes were under the shadow of bad times. At this time Clive’s fortunes brightened. The French made Salavat Jung the Nizam of Hyderabad and he acquired the Northern Sisi. The French officer stayed there to protect the Bunsi Nawab. In Carnatic also, Chanda Saheb got success with the help of the French and Mohammed Ali, a close friend of the British, was surrounded in Tiruchirapalli.

It was Clive’s great courage that disrupted the plans of the French in Carnatic. He requested the Governor of Madras that he should get some troops so that he could capture Arcot because Chanda Saheb’s troops surrounded Mohammed Ali in Tiruchirapalli. He captured Arcot with 200 European and 300 Indian soldiers. Chanda Saheb sent some troops which surrounded Clive inside Arcot and with the arrival of the troops, Chanda Saheb’s army had to face defeat in Arcot. Then the British attacked Chanda Saheb’s army in Tiruchirapalli and defeated them. Mohammed Ali was freed and was made the king of Karnataka. Thus, the British succeeded in making their friend Mohammed Ali the king. All this was due to Clive’s courage and luck. Then he returned to England in 1753 AD. Clive was given a grand welcome there.

Capture of Bengal

Clive was again sent to India in 1755 as the Governor of Fort St. David and was soon made Lieutenant Colonel. Siraj-ud-Daulah, the Nawab of Bengal, fed up with the British, captured Calcutta. Clive and Admiral Watson took back Calcutta. Peace talks were held with the Nawab. He returned all the English factories and promised to compensate for the losses incurred in Calcutta. Later Clive understood that the dissatisfied chieftains of the Nawab and his Commander-in-Chief Mir Jafar wanted to remove him from here. Clive also joined this conspiracy through a Brahmin Bengali Amin Chand.

It was decided that after removing Siraj-ud-Daulah, Mir Jafar would be made the Nawab and the new Nawab would give a large sum of money and a part of some land to the company. When the conspiracy was hatched, Amin Chand threatened that if he did not get Rs. 30 lakhs, he would reveal the whole secret to the Nawab. Clive fooled him a lot. He got two copies of the treaty prepared. The original letter was on white paper, in which there was no mention of giving money to Aminchand. The fake letter was on red paper, which had details of giving Rs 30 lakh to Aminchand. When Watson refused to sign the fake paper, Clive forged his signature. He was criticized a lot for this act.

Now Clive got very excited and wrote to the Nawab that he would present his complaint in his court. Now he moved towards Plassey. The Nawab also reached there with his army. The battle took place at a place called Plassey. The staunch traitor Mir Jafar kept the main army of the Nawab away from the battle. The Nawab ran away after being defeated and on being caught, he was killed on the orders of Mir Jafar’s son Mira Qasim.

Now Mir Jafar was declared the Nawab, he gave a lot of money to the Company and Clive. Although there was no fierce battle between the two armies in the Battle of Plassey, yet its results proved to be permanent and effective.

• First, the new Nawab Mir Jafar became a puppet in the hands of the Company. The real power was with the Company. In this, the Company became the real owner of Bihar and Bengal.
• Second, the resources of the British increased, the result of which was that they defeated the French during the Karnataka war in the south.
• Third, by taking advantage of the sources of wealth in Bengal and Bihar province, the British paved the way for their victory. Not only this, they started using ships in the Ganga river as well because in the absence of good roads, rivers were a great help for trade and transport. The credit for this victory goes only to Clive.

Bengal in Clive’s first governorship

Clive was a shrewd politician. He was the governor of Bengal from 1757 to 1760. This is said to be his first governorship of Bengal. During this period, three achievements add to his glory-

• First, Mughal emperor Alamgir II made his son the ruler of Orissa, Bengal, Bihar. Later, Shah Alam II attacked these provinces with the help of Nawab Shuja-ud-Daula of Awadh. He surrounded the deputy Nawab of Bihar, Ramnarayan, in Patna. Clive drove away the invaders, in return for which he received a jagir from the Nawab.
• Secondly, Nizam Salavat Jung gave the area of ​​the Northern Circars to the French. Second, in the midst of the Carnatic War, French governor Lally had recalled Bussy from Hyderabad to attack Madras. Clive took advantage of this. He sent Colonel Ford from Bengal who won the area of ​​the Northern Circars from the French in 1759.
• Thirdly, Nawab Mir Jafar, doubting the blessings of the British, started negotiating with the Dutch at Chinsura. Dutch ships reached Hooghly from Java with 1500 soldiers. Although the British and the Dutch were allies in Europe, Clive attacked the Dutch from both land and sea and destroyed their ships.

The Dutch signed a treaty at Chinsura. They promised that they would not fortify their settlements and would keep only as many soldiers as would be necessary for their protection. In this way, in his three-year governorship, Clive stopped the attack of the prince and the Nawab of Awadh on Bihar. He won the Northern Sarks from the French and destroyed the military power of the Dutch in Bengal. He went back in 1760 AD.

Clive as Governor of Bengal for the second time

The news of the pitiable condition of Bengal reached England in 1764 and the directors thought it fit to send a very capable person as the Governor of Bengal this time. During that time, Clive’s close friend Ross was the chairman of the board of directors. He sent Clive again to improve the condition of India. He was given the authority that if the Calcutta Council did not agree with him, he could appoint a special committee of four persons. As soon as Clive went, he appointed this special committee, two members of which, Colonel Carnac and Berelst, were already in Bengal and the other two, Sumner and Sykes, were travelling with Clive. Clive reached Bengal on 3 May 1765. When he reached Madras, he got the news that Mir Jafar had died while waiting for him. Clive wanted that the Nawab of Bengal should be made someone who would be a Nawab only in name and the company should maintain its control over the whole of Bengal by employing Indian officers.

The directors of the company were not happy with the company’s activities in Bengal. They were angry with the poor practice of changing the Nawab of Bengal three times and wanted to stop this selfish practice which was being used every time. Therefore, on the basis of the orders given to Clive by the directors, Clive’s work can be divided into three parts –

• Improvement in the civil and military services of the company;
• Acquiring the Diwani of Bengal;
• Strengthening the foreign policy.So Clive started working on this outline.

When he reached Calcutta, he felt pity on the deteriorating condition of Bengal. Corruption had spread a lot. The people were suffering from poverty and exploitation. Clive resolved that he would eradicate all these defects. He had all the rights. He was saddened to know that the company took three lakh pounds to reinstate Mir Jafar on the throne, the nobles took gifts worth 5 lakh 37 thousand and 2 lakh pounds were extorted from him in the name of the army and he died waiting for Clive in the hope of reform. Clive himself had written while describing the Indian situation that “I will only say that such a scene of anarchy, uncertainty, bribery, corruption has never been seen or heard anywhere except Bengal and neither have so many fortunes been created so ruthlessly in such a short time.” In fact, it was Clive who started this useless tradition. Even before coming to India, he was fighting with the directors on the issue that he should be allowed to use the estate he had got in Bengal for at least 10 more years. This time he had come as a slightly changed administrator. As soon as he arrived, he learnt that Spencer and his associates had taken a bribe of Rs. 20 lakhs in cash from Najm-ud-Daula to put him on the throne. He became very angry and decided that he would stop the gifts and jagirs given to the officers.

The officers of the company used to serve the company wholeheartedly till 1756. Sometimes, when they got the opportunity, they used to do some private business. They were afraid of the power of the Nawab and the Mughal Emperor. They were very conscious of the honour of their company but 1757 changed the whole situation. The entry of the merchants into politics and that too as a compromiser, became a curse for the British. Their minds got distorted and they started acting arbitrarily after getting power. Clive wanted to stop this increasing poison. First of all, he considered reforms in the company necessary. He made the following reforms to improve this situation –

1. Gift system stopped – Just two days after reaching Calcutta, Clive issued an order that no employee would accept gifts. This announcement spread terror among the employees. For a moment, it seemed that people would go on strike. Clive, without caring about it, put army officers and soldiers to work in place of traders. Clive had asked all the officers to sign an agreement that they would not accept gifts in future. With the support of the army, the strike failed. The employees of the company thought that Clive himself had made his fortune in his earlier tenure and now he could not see others progressing. This fact was not correct at all. But Clive said that till that time there was no such order from the directors that gifts should not be accepted and since now it is their order, hence no one will accept gifts. This reform did cause loss to the people of the company but moral upliftment and the company was organized. Gradually all the employees came back to work and they also signed the pledge. With the gift system stopped, the company’s income increased. People were very surprised but now Clive had changed a lot. Historian Ramjempur says that, “Personal gifts stopped but now those gifts started going to the company.”
2. Trading organization – Apart from gifts and bribes, the employees of the company also did private business, which caused losses to the company. The main reason for this was that the salaries of the employees were very low. When Hastings was in Murshidabad, he used to get only 300 pounds monthly salary, so the condition of the lower employees must have been even worse. To limit the prevalent private business practice, Clive formed a trade union of the high servants of the company, which was called ‘Traders Society’. From this business, the governor started getting a profit of 18,500 pounds in addition to a salary of 4,800 pounds per year, but the officers did not like this method. This reform was strongly opposed and after 2 years the directors closed this union in 1767 AD. These important reforms of Clive were strongly opposed, but he was not afraid. He had clearly declared that “the infinite lust for earning money through unfair means has swallowed all goodwill and citizenship.” This fact has been clarified by Roberts in his book ‘Indian History during the British period’. Clive’s determination is clearly visible in this sentence. He left no stone unturned in reforming the company’s employees and fearlessly made two important reforms simultaneously.
3. Stopping double allowance – After reforming the employees of the company, Clive turned his attention towards the army. When the income of civil and commercial officers was reduced, it became necessary to stop the army’s allowance (double). Actually double allowance was given in wartime. But Mir Jafar continued it even in peacetime after the Battle of Plassey. Now Mir Qasim was not there and the company used to distribute this amount to the army from its own income. At the time of the Battle of Plassey, the English army in Bengal was very small but now it had increased many times more than before. The English army was stationed in Calcutta, Murshidabad, Munger, Patna and it was not possible for the entire army to get double allowance throughout the year but here the situation was completely opposite. This was not a matter of stopping any illegal trade but to reduce the income or salary of the soldiers. It was not an easy task to reduce the salary which they had been getting for the last 8 years. The practice of double allowance started in Madras from the French War. When Chanda Saheb and Mohammad Ali had given double allowance to the foreigners. Mir Qasim was also not in favour of this. Clive announced that the company’s army stationed in Munger and Patna would get half the allowance that it used to get in Trichy and when the army was busy fighting in Bengal or Bihar, they would get full allowance and if sent to fight in Awadh or any state beyond that, they would get double allowance. For a captain, these rates were 3, 6 and 12 rupees per day. The military officers jointly opposed this order. All of them decided to resign together. Commander Robert Feather, who was a friend of Clive’s enemies in England, had a special hand in instigating the army. These reforms and private trade reforms started almost simultaneously.

Thus, anarchy spread in the company. But Clive faced every opposition with great determination. To mock Clive, the officers started collecting donations for those who were suffering losses due to Clive’s reforms. Clive was not going to be intimidated by these facts. He decided that every resignation would be accepted. Along with this, he called new officers from Madras. Anyone who showed even the slightest rebellion was immediately arrested and sent to Calcutta. Clive himself visited three military centers and propagated the spirit of faith and service among the soldiers. The senior officers who had already made money were not in favor of the revolution, the junior officers were afraid of being sent back home and there was a rift among them. The soldier revolt failed.

Clive immediately sent Feature and his 6 assistant officers to Madras and announced that those who wanted to stay in Bengal would have to sign a 3-year “East India Military Act” bond. This bond clearly stated that rebellion would be punishable by death. Gradually all the officers signed this bond and Clive’s courage and determination stopped the double allowance. The officers had also suffered a lot of losses, so Clive did not take the 5 lakh rupees that Mir Jafar had left for Clive while dying, but distributed it among the company officers. He also distributed the governor’s profit of 17,500 pounds from the salt trade among the employees and announced that after the completion of 10 years, he would give his estate to the company in 1767 AD.

This behavior of Clive had a great impact on the officers and employees. Clive did an important work for the disabled soldiers. Before this, there was neither any pension nor any means of livelihood for the disabled soldiers. Clive decided that the soldier who serves the company by putting his life in danger and cannot remain in the army due to disability should get some kind of help. Due to the efforts of Clive, a military security fund was established whose job was to help disabled soldiers. Prof. Dodwell has stated in his book “The Cambridge History of India” that “This fund established in the name of Lord Clive worked as a bridge between the time the company started pension.”

Diwani of Bengal

At the time when Clive was engaged in internal reforms, he also obtained the Diwani of Bengal and Bihar for the company with his ability. Roberts has written in his book “Indian History during the British period” that “By obtaining the Diwani of Bengal, he took the first important step towards the territorial colonialism of the company.” He had realized on the way that he would have to do something. He had written in Madras “We will have to become Nawabs without being called Nawabs. … It is also possible that we will have to become Nawabs completely without adopting such an imaginary disguise.” Diwani means the right over the land revenue or income of the entire province. Clive came to India in May. He came to know that Nawab Wazir Shuja-ud-Daula of Awadh was in Banaras. Therefore, Clive immediately came to Banaras with his army. He met the Wazir on 2 August and without wasting any time Clive took the districts of Allahabad and Kara for the company in the name of the Emperor. The minister promised to pay 60 lakh rupees as compensation for the battle of Buxar.

Clive also threatened war and spoke in a very flattering manner. After fulfilling his interests in Awadh, he reached Allahabad. The emperor of India Shah Alam was still lying here. Clive pleased him by repeatedly calling him emperor and this short-sighted and incompetent emperor, without thinking, handed over the Diwani of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa to the company on 9 August 1765. According to the Treaty of Allahabad–

1. The company was given the Diwani of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa.
2. The districts of Kara and Allahabad were given to the company. In return, the company agreed to pay 26 lakh rupees annually to the emperor.
3. Awadh was returned to Shuja-ud-Daula and the minister agreed to pay 50 lakh rupees to the British as compensation.
4. The British took upon themselves the responsibility of protecting Awadh. In return, the minister promised to bear the expenses of the British army during the war, i.e., the minister could call the British army for his protection by bearing the expenses.

Reforms of Warren Hastings

Warren Hastings 1772-1785A.D.- Warren Hastings worked as the Governor of Bengal from 1772 to 1785 and the first Governor General of India from 1775 to 1785. He was a very capable person. He got the Regulating Act passed in 1773 and implemented it in 1774.

Warren Hastings had a lot of knowledge about Indian conditions. He worked on various posts in India from 1750 to 1764. In 1750, he came to Calcutta as a clerk. In 1753, he was sent from Calcutta to Kasim Bazar. In 1755, on the basis of his ability, he became a member of the council of the Kothi of Kasim Bazar. In 1757 he was made Resident in Murshidabad. In 1761 he became a member of the Calcutta Council and in 1764 he went back to England. In 1768 he became a member of the Madras Council. On 13 April 1772 he was made the Governor of Bengal in place of Cartier. The above description proves that he had special knowledge of the conditions of India, especially Bengal. He strengthened the English Empire established by Clive in India. Historians estimate that if Warren Hastings had not been there, the growing English Empire would have been destroyed due to internal unrest and disorder and attacks by foreign powers.

Difficulties faced by Warren Hastings

• When Warren Hastings took over as the Governor of Bengal, the condition of Bengal was very pathetic, full of anarchy and corruption.
• The Vaidya system of governance established by Clive had become corrupt.
• The administrative system was in disarray.
• The arrangement for collecting rent was not proper, trade was declining.
• There was no arrangement for the judicial system.
• The company’s treasury was empty.
• There was severe oppression on the common people, especially the farmers, the terrible famine and epidemic of 1770 AD.
• The issue of Awadh and Shah Alam joining the Marathas, the Marathas becoming powerful again.
• Hyder Ali gaining power in Mysore and Nizam Hyderabad also going towards it, the Council being against it, not getting any help from England due to the start of the American War of Independence in England and its American colonies, etc. Warren Hastings had many difficulties in front of him.

Reforms of Warren Hastings

It is clear from the above description that Warren Hastings had a great task and innumerable difficulties in front of him. But he had immense ability to overcome all the difficulties, so as soon as he took over the administration, he made many important reforms in various fields. First of all, to remove unrest and disorder, Warren Hastings made many administrative reforms-

1. Abolition of the Dual System of Government– First of all, to remove unrest and disorder, Warren Hastings ended the dual system of government started by Clive and concentrated all the administrative work in the hands of the company. Naib Diwan of Bengal Muhammad Raza Khan and Naib Diwan Shitavaray of Bihar were removed from their posts. Now the capital was also made Calcutta instead of Murshidabad.
2. Appointment of British Collectors– Under administrative order, Bengal was divided into 35 districts. An English officer was appointed in every district who was called Collector. He was responsible for the administration of the district.
3. Transfer of Treasury to Calcutta– It transferred the government treasury from Murshidabad to Calcutta to increase the political scope of Calcutta instead of Murshidabad.
4. Revenue Reforms– It made revenue reforms to make proper arrangements for collecting tax. The company itself took over the work of collecting Diwani or tax in Bengal and Bihar. A Revenue Board was established to oversee this work.
5. Reorganisation of the Household Affairs of Nawab and Pension– It also reorganised the household management of the Nawab. Munni Begum, widow of former Nawab Mir Jafar, was made the guardian of the young Nawab. Gurudas, son of Rajanand Kumar, was made the Diwan and assistant of Munni Begum. The Nawab of Bengal was completely relieved from administrative work and his annual pension was reduced from Rs. 32 lakhs to Rs. 16 lakhs. The annual pension of Rs. 26 lakhs of Mughal emperor Shah Alam was stopped. Rs. 40 lakhs were received in lieu of the Nawab of Awadh’s help against the Rohillas.
6. Commercial Reforms– It made several commercial reforms to strengthen the company’s economic condition. It now stopped the free trade carried out by the company’s employees. To encourage trade, except for 5 customs houses (Calcutta, Dhaka, Murshidabad, Hoogly and Patna), all others were closed. The customs rates were also reduced, which led to considerable expansion of trade and commerce. To further expand trade, he sent trade missions to Bhutan, Tibet and Egypt. For the convenience of the business class, a bank was established in Calcutta. A government mint was also established in Calcutta. For the safety of traders, thieves and robbers were given harsh punishments.
7. Fiscal Reforms– With the aim of improving the economic condition, many types of expenditure were cut down. Pension of the Nawab of Bengal was reduced, pension of Mughal emperor Shah Alam was stopped, districts of Kara and Allahabad were taken from the Mughals and given to the Nawab of Awadh in exchange of 50 lakh rupees. All those posts were abolished in which salary was to be paid without work.
8. Judicial Reforms– Many important judicial reforms were done to improve the judicial system. A civil and a criminal court was established in every district. A Sadar Civil Court and a Sadar Criminal Court were established in Calcutta to hear appeals against these courts. The practice of accepting gifts by judges was stopped. Records of the work of the courts started being kept. Separate law collections were prepared for Hindus and Muslims. It freed the landlords from most of the judicial powers. Salaries of judges were fixed. It was a commendable step to establish a simple and fair justice system in India through the courts. It was not completely successful in its efforts. Other reforms include opening a college in Calcutta in 1781 AD, establishing the ‘Bengal Asiatic Society’ in 1784 AD with the help of Sir William Jones, and opening an Arabic college in Calcutta.

Successes of Warren Hastings

1. To make Awadh a powerful buffer state, Warren Hastings fought the Rohilla war for Awadh. This saved the British state from a direct confrontation with the Marathas for a long time. He faced the Marathas with great bravery and saved the Company’s territory from destruction.
2. This conflict with the Marathas began in 1775 AD and ended in 1782 AD. After this, the Treaty of Salbai was signed between the Marathas and the Company on 17 May 1782 AD. This treaty saved the British from the joint opposition of the Indian powers.
3. Warren Hastings bravely faced Hyder Ali and his son Tipu Sultan in 1780-1784 AD and increased the prestige of the Company. Thus, the war ended with the Treaty of Mangalore on 7 March 1784 AD.

Thus, Warren Hastings is considered one of the greatest Governor Generals who ruled India. In fact, he was the saviour of the British Empire in India, while we can consider Clive as the founder of the same empire. He died on 22 August 1818 at the age of 85.