Unit 4
Battles of Plassey and Buxar

Learning Outcomes

Prerequisites

Key Words

Dual government, Jagir, Dastak, Diwani

1.4.1 The Battle of Plassey (1757)

The battle of Plassey was fought in the region of West Bengal in 1757. Robert Clive led the troops of the British East India company against the forces led by Siraj-ud-daula, who succeeded his grandfather Alivardi Khan and became the last Nawab of Bengal in 1756. The English victory in the Carnatic had already made Siraj-ud-daula apprehensive of the growing power of the East India Company. Even though he wanted to curb their power, he faced opposition within his own court, which helped the British win the Battle of Plassey.

Robert Clive and Mir Jafar after the battle of Plassey

Meanwhile, the English started fortifying Calcutta without obtaining permission from the Nawab. This amounted to ignoring his sovereign power. The infuriated Nawab marched to Calcutta and occupied Fort William in June 1756. Most of the English soldiers fled to Fulta.

Siraj-ud-daula after conquering Calcutta marched back to Murshidabad. Siraj’s success, however, was short-lived. At the beginning of 1757, Robert Clive arrived with a strong military force and reconquered Calcutta. He compelled the Nawab to concede all the demands of the British, including the right to fortify Calcutta.

The British, however, were not satisfied and wanted to install a puppet Nawab on the throne of Bengal.Hence, Clive entered into a conspiracy with the commander of the Nawab’s army, and others to overthrow Siraj-ud-daula. Mir Jafar was promised to be made as the Nawab of Bengal in return for a huge sum of money as reward to the Company. The British then presented the Nawab with an impossible set of demands. This resulted in the war, in which the two armies met at the field of Plassey, just over 20 miles south of Murshidabad, on 23 June 1757.

The unsatisfied followers of Nawab such as Mir Jafar and other Bengali generals were ready to ally with the British Empire. Mir Jafar was promised the throne of Bengal by the British East India Company. This secret alliance with the British led to the defeat of Nawab. Siraj-ud-daula died when he tried to escape from the war with his troops but he was killed by Miran, the son of Mir Jafar.

The Battle of Plassey established the stronghold of the British in Bengal. The fateful battle of Plassey was a battle only in name. The major part of the Nawab’s army under Mir Jafar was not engaged in the fighting. Even though, the Nawab was forced to flee, he was captured and put to death by Mir Jafar’s son, Miran.

1.4.2. Results of Battle of Plassey

The Battle of Plassey made the English the virtual masters of Bengal. It placed the vast wealth of Bengal in the hands of the British. These resources helped them to win battles in the Carnatic. The victory in the battle of Plassey transformed a mere trading company into a political power. It paved the way for the establishment of British rule in India.

Mir Jafar, who was a weak and inefficient ruler, became a puppet in the hands of the British. He had gifted a jagir to Clive and rich presents to others in the Company in return for the Nawabship. The treasury had become empty and Mir Jafar was unable to meet the ever-increasing demands of the Company and its officials. Hence, Mir Jafar was deposed and his son-in-law Mir Qasim was placed on the throne. Later, Mir Qasim handed over the zamindars of Burdwan, Midnapore and Chittagong as a reward to the Company.

1.4.3 Battle of Buxar (1764)

Mir Qasim was the last Nawab of Bengal who endeavoured to reassert the royal authority. To consolidate his power, he introduced several reforms and organised a disciplined and well equipped army trained by Europeans. To improve his finances, he attempted to check the misuse of dastak (or permit) by the Company’s servants who carried on duty-free private trade.

This abuse ruined honest Indian traders through unfair competition and deprived the Nawab of large revenue. Mir Qasim undertook a drastic step of abolishing all duties on internal trade, and thus put English and Indian merchants on the same footing. As this attempt made the English furious and they could not accept such a huge loss , he decided to overthrow him.

In 1763, when the war broke out between Mir Qasim and the British, the Nawab was defeated and escaped to Awadh. Mir Jafar was reinstated on the throne. Hence, Mir Qasim formed an alliance with the Nawab of Awadh and Shah Alam II, the Mughal Emperor. The combined army decisively defeated at the Battle of Buxar in 1764. Mir Qasim fled from the scene.

The Battle of Buxar is one of the most decisive battles of Indian history. It finally established the British as masters of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa and gave them control over Awadh and the Mughal Emperor. The reinstallation of Mir Jafar as the Nawab sealed the fate of independent Nawabship in Bengal. In the battle of Buxar, the British East India Company led by Hector Munro, defeated Mir Qasim, the Nawab of Bengal in 1764. This event has been called the most decisive moment in the history of the British in Bengal as this victory ensured the dominance of the British East India Company in Bengal.

1.4.3. The Treaty of Allahabad (1765)

In 1765, the Treaty of Allahabad was signed by Robert Clive with Shuja-ud-daula and Shah Alam II. According to the terms of the treaty, Awadh was restored to Shuja-ud-daula on payment of 50 lakhs of rupees to the Company. The districts of Kora and Allahabad were taken away from Awadh. In return, the Company promised to protect Awadh from external threats.

The districts of Kora and Allahabad were given to the Mughal Emperor. In addition, an annual payment of 26 lakhs of rupees was given to the Emperor. In return the Mughal Emperor granted the Diwani of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa to the East India Company. The Diwani gave the Company the right to collect revenue from these provinces. This marked the first step towards the direct administration of Bengal by the Company. The Company got the legal right to control Bengal.

Shah Alam handing over the treaty of Allahabad

The British East India Company, which was a joint-stock company established in 1600, ruled India as a commercial-military enterprise from 1757 to 1859. The Company’s first ship docked at Surat port in present-day Gujarat in 1608. The Company started its first factory in the present-day Andhra Pradesh in 1613. Company rule in India began after the Battle of Plassey in 1757 and following the Battle of Buxar, the expansion of British rule in India gained momentum.

1.4.4 Dual Government in Bengal (1765)

In 1765, a dual government was established in Bengal, Bihar and Orissa. By virtue of the Diwani, the East India Company directly collected revenue from these areas. At the same time the Company enjoyed military power and criminal jurisdiction over these areas. However, the administration of the kingdom was left in the hands of the Nawab. This arrangement was called ‘dual government’. Thus, the Nawab was burdened with the responsibility of administering the country without the resources for running it efficiently.

The Company which had control over the resources had no responsibility of administering the country. Obviously, the Company was unwilling to spend the revenue it collected on the administration and welfare of the people. This system of dual government resulted in utter misery for the people as the revenue officials extorted money from poor peasants who were forced to starve. In addition, the year 1770 witnessed the most severe famine of the century. About one- third of the population perished in the famine. At the time of Clive’s departure to England, the British were no longer mere traders in Bengal, but were legally the rulers of the province.

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