A boat ride along the eastern banks of the river Bhagirathi in Murshidabad, West Bengal, is a thing to experience. By its calm waters, you will be able to see sights of clock towers, imam baras, mosques, palaces, forts, mansions - remnants of the legacy which Murshidabad was known for. This town, home to ruins of centuries ago, was once upon a time the most prosperous and enviable place on Earth. How did this great city, which was home to the most able administrators of India, change the course of history? Read on.
Land of the Nawabs:
It was the 17th Century. Bengal, comprising modern West Bengal, Bangladesh, parts of Bihar and Odisha, was known as the Bengal Subah of the Mughal empire. In addition to its natural fertility and optimal location, it used to be one of the richest states in the world - traders from faraway places like the French, Armenians, Dutch, Portuguese, Danish, Austrians, and of course, the British, came to India and left marks which can be seen even today in the form of churches and trade settlements. And why wouldn't they? The Mughals welcomed them, and the economy flourished.
Because of this rise in its importance, Aurangzeb, the then Mughal emperor, felt the need of a new Diwan for Bengal (a diwan manages trade and revenues in his region). And somewhere in Eastern Maharashtra, he found a more than able one.
That was a man called Mohammad Hadi. Once a Brahmin slave-boy from the Deccan, he was bought by a Persian who had just move to India. The Persian went on to become a Mughal officer, so Hadi also started working for the empire from an early age. His skill of handling revenues pulled him up the ranks of the Mughal administration until he was noticed by the emperor.
Death of an Empire:
And here we are. In 1700 A.D, Hadi was made Diwan of Bengal. But at this time, the Mughal empire was nearing its end. Aurangzeb was the last of the powerful kings, and with his death in 1707, matters would only grow worse as the Rajputs, Hyderabadis, Awadhis and Marathas began forming independent states. Moreover, the next emperor made Mohammad Hadi the Nazim (Governor) of Bengal. This gave him both revenue and military power. (It needs to be mentioned that around this time, Hadi moved his capital from Dhaka to Murshidabad. It may be because of its central location or the fertility of its land, but we know for sure that Murshidabad was a very important place and would play a big role in what was to happen.)
Legacy of the Nawabs:
With the fading power of the Mughals and the increasing prominence of the Bengali administration, the Bengal Subah was part of the Mughal empire only in name. Hadi, who was now known as Murshid Quli Khan, was the head of state, or a Nawab as he called it. He continued to pay revenues to the emperor, but only as a token gesture. When he died in 1727 after 10 years of being a Nawab, his son in law, Shujauddin, came to power. He fought several wars with surrounding regional states and even gained territory in Bihar and Odisha. After him, an assassination brought Alivardi Khan to the throne. He stopped paying taxes to the Mughals and had claim to honor as Nawab. Under these men, Bengal enjoyed peace, prosperity and commerce. They handled finances well, encouraged agriculture and trade, and even managed to check the power of the British while it was growing everywhere else. Moreover, they had a powerful army and it was an overall stable kingdom.
Long Live the Queen:
But as they say, every chain is as strong as its weakest link - and this was a big link at that. Fast forward to 1756, when Siraj-ud-Daula, Alivardi's grandson came to power. Now, the British were getting apprehensive of the stronghold of a Bengali administration. Rules had been set, and the Queen's men went about breaking them. The British demanded the right to conduct duty free trade and to build forts, which the government did not allow.
Now, in the rest of India, the British were easily gaining power. There were several new kingdoms, and they were not so strong yet. It was easy for the British to provoke two kingdoms, turn them against each other, and weaken them so the land was theirs for the taking. But unlike the others, the state of Bengal had only grown more powerful after becoming independent. It wasn't going to be that easy.
The War:
And yet there was something that could be done. Siraj-ud-Daula was a headstrong ruler. He had made enemies, like Ghaseti Begum (his aunt!) and the Jagath Seth family (once the richest family and the government's financial backers). This British, cunning as they were, harnessed this enmity. They got them to conspire against ud-Daula. This enraged the Nawab, and in 1757, he marched from Murshidabad to Calcutta and took siege of the British East India Company Headquarters. This was war. On 23rd June, 1757, the Bengal army met the British one at Palashi, a mango orchard somewhere between Murshidabad and Palashi. All was well until the Nawab noticed that Mir Jafar, his army commander and the weakest link in the chain, had left him for the British.
The Battle of Palashi was lost even before the first bullet was fired. Mir Jafar, a puppet ruler, was made Nawab by the British. They knew they could twist him around their finger. Murshidabad was abandoned when the capital was moved to Calcutta. Right next to the British HQ. Records say that the Nawabi legacy ended in 1881 with the death Mansur Ali Khan. But it really ended that June of 1757, when Siraj-ud-Daula was executed. No struggle had a chance after that - the British squashed Nawab Mir Quasim in the Battle of Buxar a few decades later.
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Who knows what would have happened if Mir Jafar was faithful that morning at Palashi. Could Siraj-ud-Daula have won the war? Would we not have suffered two more centuries of ruthless British rule? Was it inevitable? No one can say. Fate has a way like that.
But all you can do is visit Murshidabad and her ruins. And just maybe, you will hear a whisper of an answer from the Nawab - six feet under the ground and a thousand memories away.
Katra Masjid, Murshidabad
