hindoo collaborators of Lora Clive: Jagat Seth, Rai Durlav, Umi Chand, Krishna Chandra Roy
VognoDuut205
powerful people including Jagat Seth, Rai Durlav, Umi Chand, Krishna Chandra
Roy and others who were secretly conspiring with Robert Clive of East India
Company to depose the Nawab
From Bhagirathi to Buriganga
Lessons from the Polashi Tragedy
Thursday June 26 2008 16:20:51 PM BDT
By Dr. K. M. A. Malik
June 23 marks an inglorious day in the history of Bangladesh, since on this
day, in 1757, Bengal lost its independence to the forces of the English East
India Company led by Robert Clive in an infamous skirmish (battle) at
Polashi (Plassey), a small village and mango grove between Kolkata and
Murshidabad, on the bank of the river Bhagirathi. The battle of Polashi was
only a skirmish, not a big battle, but it had far reaching historical and
strategic implications not only for the people of Bengal and India but also
for the onward mach of the British colonial Empire in South Asia and other
parts of the world.
All historians agree that the fate of the battle of Polashi had been
determined long before the two forces met at the ~battlefield. About fifty
thousand strong army of Siraj-ud-daulah, the Nawab of Bengal, was defeated
by about three thousand of Clive's army (many of them local mercenaries)
only in about eight hours. Clive's victory at Polashi led gradually to the
consolidation of the English power in Bengal, Bihar and Orissa. The
foundation of the British Empire in South Asia was thus laid in the plain
fields of Polashi.
For the English, Polashi presented a golden opportunity and strategic
victory over their main rival the French, who were competing with the
English for trade advantages in South and South East Asia. These two
European powers were locked in bitter competition and conflict both in
Europe and in other places for expanding their respective trade
opportunities and gaining colonial possessions. Both of these powers (as
well as the Portugese and the Dutch) established trading posts and forts at
different points along the sea coasts of India, including the southern parts
of Bengal. Calcutta (Kolkata) was such a post of the English East India
Company while Chandernagore was a French post. The French supplied some arms
and guns to the Nawab, which the English considered to be detrimental to
their interests.
After the battle of Polashi, it was decreed that the French would never be
allowed to settle or trade in Bengal, Bihar and Orissa. Thus the French
suffered the first strategic defeat at the hands of their archrival English
in Bengal (the second mortal blow to the French ambition in India came with
the defeat and death of their ally Sultan Fateh Ali Tipu of Mysore at the
hands of the English East India Company, in 1799). The battle of Polashi
thus signifies the precursor of the defeat of the French and rise of the
English colonial power in India.
While the battle of Polashi brought about unprecedented opportunity for the
English trading and colonial expansion, it brought about only foreign
subjugation, economic ruin and destruction to the people in the region. One
of the most prosperous regions in the world at that time, Bengal became a
land of ruthless exploitation, hunger and famine only in few decades of the
English rule. The colonial rule and exploitation in Bengal continued for 190
years until 1947 when the people of this area would have another chance to
become citizens of independent countries (India and Pakistan). The eastern
part of the erstwhile Bengal remained a part of Pakistan until 1971 when it
opted for its own separate statehood (Bangladesh) and won its freedom as an
independent and sovereign country.
In discussing the battle of Polashi today, two questions come to our mind.
What is the relevance of remembering Polashi in the context of current
situation in Bangladesh? And are we learning any lessons from this tragic
event? To many of us, these are very important questions but unfortunately
most of our intellectuals, columnists, and political leaders avoid any
serious discussion or comment on these matters.
In 1757 the Nawab of Bengal was relatively a young and inexperienced person
in running the state and conducting wars. He depended for advice and action
on several persons within the royal court, including his distant uncle Mir
Jafar, who was also the chief commander of his armed forces.
The Nawab was not fully aware that Mir Jafar was colluding with other
powerful people including Jagat Seth, Rai Durlav, Umi Chand, Krishna Chandra
Roy and others who were secretly conspiring with Robert Clive of East India
Company to depose the Nawab. Mir Jafar was aspiring for the throne, his
local associates wanted more money, power and privileges, and the East India
Company was looking for unlimited concessions for the lucrative trade in
Bengal. It is said by many historians that at the initial stage the Company
was interested only in trade and not in political control, but when the
opportunity arose, it made full use of the situation and opted for
financial, military and political control of the land.
The local conspirators and traitors could not foresee that once they accept
the Company as advisers and arbiters in their internal disputes, the foreign
friends would pretend to be â?~sympatheticâ?T but they would want more money
and power and that in case of failure to fulfil their gradually increasing
demands, the puppet government would be ousted from power by the
â?~friendsâ?T who catalysed the regime change. They did not realise that the
East India Company and its officials would make promises and sign treaties
only to be violated at a later time. In their hatred for the Nawab and lust
for power and money, Mir Jafar and cohorts believed in the promises made by
Robert Clive and other Company officials but could not foresee that the new
foreigners were a breed of different kind, more cunning, more determined,
more ambitious, more organised and more advanced in war techniques than any
of the foreigners who had visited Bengal or India at earlier times.
Jawaharlal Nehru, in The Discovery of India (1946), stated that Robert Clive
won the battle of Polashi "by promoting treason and forgery". He also noted
that the British rule in India had "an unsavoury beginning and something of
that bitter taste has clung to it ever since."
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(Dr. Malik is an academician and political analyst. He has already published
three books: Bangladesher Rajniti : Mookh O Mookhosh (Bangla), Challenges in
Bangladesh Politics - A Londoner's View (English) and The War on Terror - A
Pretext for New Colonisation (English). He writes from Cardiff and can be
reached by e-mail: kmam...@aol.com)