Due to the treachery of Mir Jafar, the Nawab of Bengal, Siraj-ud-Daula, was defeated and the British won.
The Battle of Plassey holds a special place in Indian history. In this battle, the army of Nawab Siraj-ud-Daula of Bengal had to face half of the British army. The commander of Siraj-ud-Daula was Mir Jafar, who betrayed the Nawab, which ultimately led to the defeat of the Nawab of Bengal and the capture of Bengal by the British. He made Mir Jafar Nawab who left no stone unturned to ruin Bengal and the British became his enemies. Let us know what was the whole matter.
The ambitions of the British India Company, which came to India for trade, were growing and now wanted to occupy the whole of Bengal. In such a situation, the Company’s army under the leadership of Robert Clive attacked Bengal. On June 23, 1757, a British army of 3000 soldiers and the forces of Nawab Siraj-ud-Daula came face to face near the village of Plassey in Bengal. Due to Mir Jafar’s treachery, the army of the British East India Company under the leadership of Robert Clive defeated the army of Nawab Siraj-ud-Daula.
The British made Mir Jafar the new Nawab.
With this, the British captured Bengal. At that time it was considered the richest province of India. This war also paved the way for British expansion in other parts of India. Earlier the British used to trade only but now they have started occupying different areas. Seeing the defeat of his army in the battle of Plassey, Nawab Siraj-ud-Daula fled and the British made Mir Jafar Nawab.
Also read this
Robert Clive had so much money.
Renowned historian William Dalrymple has written in his book ‘The Anarchy’ that Colonel Robert Clive personally received two hundred and thirty-four thousand pounds from Mir Jafar after the victory over Bengal. At the same time, at the age of just 33, Clive became one of the richest men in Europe. On the other hand, Mir Jafar’s son Nawab was looking for Siraj-ud-Daula. Finally a fakir informed and the Nawab was caught. On 2 July 1757, he was arrested and brought to Murshidabad. Siraj-ud-Daula himself was killed by Nawab Mir Jafar’s 17-year-old son Miran.
Bengal reached the brink of disaster.
As soon as he ascended the throne, Mir Jafar started ravaging Bengal. Within a year of the victory at the Battle of Plassey, Mir Jafar himself started calling Robert an old fool. He called his son Miran ‘a useless young dog’. This was due to Mir Jafar’s laziness, incompetence and opium addiction. Historians have written that on November 11, 1758, Robert Clive wrote a letter to John Paine. It said that the person whom we placed on the throne of Bengal has become arrogant, greedy and abusive in all matters. That is why he is getting away from the public.
The new Nawab became disliked by the British.
Meanwhile, Mir Jafar ruined the state to such an extent that 13 months of army pay fell into arrears and he could pay only three installments. Due to this, the soldiers were inclined to mutiny. There is a book by Sir Pendrell Moon, ‘Warren Hastings and British India’, in which he writes that within three years after the Battle of Plassey, one of the richest cities in India, Murshidabad, had reached the brink of complete poverty. . Due to this the British disliked him and he became an enemy of the British.
Mir Jafar was removed and Mir Qasim was made Nawab.
Meanwhile, Mir Jafar joined the Dutch East India Company instead of the British. The British then pressured Mir Jafar to make his son-in-law Mir Qasim the new Nawab. Mir Jafar decided to abdicate in favor of his son-in-law. An annual pension of Rs 1500 was fixed for him. On the other hand, after becoming Nawab, Mir Qasim did not want to remain a slave of the British. He wanted to remain independent and shifted his capital from Calcutta to Monger Fort.
Because of his desire for freedom, he became an enemy of the British.
Mir Qasim also appointed foreign experts to train his army. Some of them were in direct conflict with the British. Mir Qasim did not give any concessions to the British. Mir Qasim treated Indian traders and British alike. Finally, Mir Qasim decided to overthrow the British and in 1763 war broke out between Mir Qasim and the British East India Company. Mir Qasim was defeated in this and fled to Oudh.
Later he fought the British along with the Nawab of Oudh and the Mughal ruler. It was fought at Buxar in Bihar. Hence it is known as Battle of Buxar. In this too the British won.
Also Read: What Does Parliament’s Standing Committee on Defense Do? Rahul Gandhi became a member.
