Conquest of Bengal: Plassey, Buxar and the Dual Government

Bengal before the British

Bengal (with Bihar and Orissa) was the richest province of the Mughal empire. It produced fine cotton and silk textiles, rice, sugar, saltpetre and opium, and Dhaka muslin was famous across the world. After Aurangzeb's death, Murshid Quli Khan (diwan from 1700, Nawab from 1717) made Bengal virtually independent while still sending tribute to Delhi. He moved the capital to Murshidabad and introduced revenue farming (ijaradari). He was followed by Shuja-ud-din (1727–39) and Sarfaraz Khan, who was overthrown by Alivardi Khan (1740–56). Alivardi defended Bengal against repeated Maratha raids and kept the Europeans in check, comparing them to bees that would give honey if left alone but sting if disturbed.

This lesson explains how, in just eight years from 1757 to 1765, the English Company turned from traders into the real rulers of Bengal. UPSC often asks about the causes and significance of Plassey and Buxar, the Treaty of Allahabad and the Dual Government.

Causes of conflict with Siraj-ud-Daula

Siraj-ud-Daula, Alivardi's grandson, became Nawab in 1756 at the age of about 23. Conflict began almost at once:

• Misuse of dastaks: the 1717 farman gave the Company duty-free trade, but Company servants used dastaks for their private trade too, causing a heavy loss of revenue and unfair competition for Indian merchants.
• Fortification of Calcutta without the Nawab's permission, as the English and French prepared for the Seven Years' War.
• Shelter to enemies: the English gave refuge to Krishna Das, son of a dismissed official, who had fled with treasure.
• Support to rivals: the English were suspected of backing Siraj's rivals in the family, such as Ghasiti Begum and Shaukat Jang.

Siraj seized the English factory at Kasimbazar and captured Calcutta in June 1756. The so-called "Black Hole" incident, in which English prisoners were said to have died in a small room, was described by J.Z. Holwell; most historians think the numbers were greatly exaggerated, but it was used as propaganda. Robert Clive and Admiral Watson arrived from Madras and recovered Calcutta in January 1757. The Treaty of Alinagar (February 1757) restored English privileges. Clive then captured French Chandernagore (March 1757).

The Battle of Plassey, 23 June 1757

Instead of a straight fight, Clive organised a conspiracy:

• Mir Jafar, the Nawab's commander (Mir Bakhshi), was promised the throne.
• Jagat Seth (the great banking house), Rai Durlabh, Omichand (Amir Chand) and merchant Manik Chand joined.

At Plassey (Palashi) on the Bhagirathi river, the Nawab's large army faced about 3,000 English troops. Mir Jafar and Rai Durlabh kept their forces out of the battle. Only Mir Madan and Mohan Lal fought loyally. Siraj fled and was later killed by Mir Jafar's son Miran.

Significance of Plassey:

• It was more a transaction than a battle, but it made the English the kingmakers of Bengal.
• Mir Jafar paid the Company and its officers huge sums; the Company got the zamindari of the 24 Parganas, and Clive received a personal jagir.
• The "Plassey plunder" gave the Company resources to defeat the French in the Carnatic.
• It began the drain of wealth from Bengal, because Bengal's revenue, not British silver, now financed the Company's trade.

Mir Jafar and Mir Qasim

Mir Jafar could not meet the Company's endless demands and also tried to use the Dutch against the English (crushed at Bedara, 1759). In 1760, the English replaced him with his son-in-law Mir Qasim, who gave the Company the revenues of Burdwan, Midnapore and Chittagong.

Mir Qasim was an able ruler. He:

• Shifted his capital from Murshidabad to Monghyr (Munger) in Bihar, away from Calcutta.
• Reorganised the army on European lines and set up a gun factory.
• Tried to reform revenue and cut costs.
• Most important, in 1763 he abolished all internal duties for everyone, so that Indian merchants could compete equally with English private traders.

The English saw this as a challenge. War broke out in 1763; Mir Qasim lost battles at Katwa, Giria and Udaynala, and fled to Awadh.

The Battle of Buxar, 22 October 1764

Mir Qasim formed an alliance with Shuja-ud-Daula, Nawab of Awadh, and the Mughal emperor Shah Alam II. The combined army met the English under Major Hector Munro at Buxar (Bihar) and was decisively defeated.

Buxar was more significant than Plassey because it defeated the combined forces of the Mughal emperor and the two biggest provinces, and proved English military superiority.

Treaties of Allahabad, 1765

Clive returned as Governor and signed two treaties at Allahabad (August 1765):

1. With Shah Alam II: the emperor granted the Company the diwani (right to collect revenue) of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa in return for an annual tribute of ₹26 lakh and the districts of Kora and Allahabad. The emperor lived at Allahabad under Company protection.
2. With Shuja-ud-Daula: Awadh was returned to him for ₹50 lakh as war indemnity; Kora and Allahabad were taken away; the Company could trade duty-free in Awadh; and he had to pay for a Company force stationed for his defence. Awadh became a buffer state between Bengal and the Marathas.

The Dual Government (1765–72)

In Bengal, Clive set up the Dual Government:

• The Company held the diwani: the right to collect revenue.
• The Nawab held the nizamat: police, justice and administration, but he depended on the Company for money and troops; the Company also nominated his deputy subahdar.
• The Company appointed two Indian deputy diwans: Mohammad Reza Khan for Bengal and Raja Shitab Rai for Bihar.

The result was power without responsibility for the Company and responsibility without power for the Nawab. Revenue collection was handed to the highest bidders, peasants were squeezed, weavers were forced to sell to the Company at low prices, and administration collapsed. The Bengal Famine of 1770, in which perhaps one-third of the population died, was made far worse by this system: revenue collection continued even during the famine.

Warren Hastings ended the Dual Government in 1772. The Company took direct control of revenue through its own servants, moved the treasury from Murshidabad to Calcutta, and stopped the tribute to Shah Alam II.

Clive's other reforms (1765–67)

• Banned private trade and acceptance of gifts by Company servants, and created a Society of Trade (later abolished).
• Cut the double batta (field allowance) of army officers, which led to the "White Mutiny" of officers that he suppressed.
• Divided the army into three brigades.

Mains practice question

Q. "Plassey made the British kingmakers, but Buxar made them masters." Analyse. (150 words)

Framework: Plassey as a conspiracy; puppet Nawabs; Mir Qasim's challenge and abolition of duties; Buxar defeated three powers; diwani in 1765 gave legal control of revenue; Dual Government and its consequences, including the 1770 famine.

Quick self-test

1. Who founded the independent Nawabi of Bengal? *(Murshid Quli Khan)*
2. Who commanded the English at Buxar? *(Hector Munro)*
3. Who granted the diwani in 1765? *(Shah Alam II)*
4. Who ended the Dual Government? *(Warren Hastings, 1772)*