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English · हिन्दी · తెలుగు · தமிழ் · മലയാളം · मराठी · ಕನ್ನಡ

The European companies and the conquest of Bengal (1498–1772)

ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿ ವಿವರಣೆ

British expansion in India · Part 1 / 3 · Fact-checked on · how we check

Written with AI from the sources listed at the bottom of this page, then fact-checked by a separate AI.

How the Portuguese, Dutch, English, Danish and French companies came to India; the English settlements and the farman of 1717; the three Carnatic wars and why the English beat the French; Plassey (1757), Mir Qasim and Buxar (1764); the Treaties of Allahabad and the diwani (1765); the dual government (1765–72); and why the Company succeeded.

Each idea is explained first in Kannada (ಕನ್ನಡ), ending with the English and Hindi exam terms, followed by the same point in exam English. UPSC Prelims is in English or Hindi, so understand it in Kannada and revise it in English.

1750ರಲ್ಲಿ ಈಸ್ಟ್ ಇಂಡಿಯಾ ಕಂಪನಿ ಕರಾವಳಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಕೆಲವು ಉಗ್ರಾಣಗಳಿದ್ದ ಒಂದು ವ್ಯಾಪಾರಿ ಸಂಸ್ಥೆ ಮಾತ್ರ. ನೂರು ವರ್ಷಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಬಹುತೇಕ ಇಡೀ ದೇಶ ಅದರ ಕೈಗೆ ಬಂತು. ಒಬ್ಬ ಸಣ್ಣ ಅಂಗಡಿಯವನು ಊರಿನ ಕಂದಾಯ ವಸೂಲಿ ಹಕ್ಕು ಪಡೆದು, ಅದೇ ಹಣದಲ್ಲಿ ಕಾವಲುಗಾರರನ್ನು ಇಟ್ಟು ಊರನ್ನೇ ತನ್ನ ಹಿಡಿತಕ್ಕೆ ತಂದಂತೆ ಊಹಿಸಿ. ಬಂಗಾಳ ಅಂತಹ ತಿರುವು. ಮೂರು ಹೆಜ್ಜೆಗಳು: ಪ್ಲಾಸಿ (1757) — ತಮಗೆ ಬೇಕಾದ ನವಾಬ; ಬಕ್ಸಾರ್ (1764) — ಬಂಗಾಳ, ಅವಧ್, ಮೊಘಲ್ ಚಕ್ರವರ್ತಿಯ ಒಟ್ಟು ಸೈನ್ಯದ ಸೋಲು; ದಿವಾನಿ (1765) — ಕಂದಾಯ ವಸೂಲಿಯ ಕಾನೂನುಬದ್ಧ ಹಕ್ಕು. (→ English: East India Company · हिन्दी: ईस्ट इंडिया कंपनी)

In exam EnglishIn 1750 the English East India Company was one of several European trading companies holding a few fortified warehouses on the Indian coast. A hundred years later it governed, directly or through princes bound to it by treaty, almost the whole subcontinent. This chapter follows that change in three parts: how the Company won Bengal (this part), how it overcame Mysore and the Marathas (Part 2), and the policies through which it absorbed most of what remained (Part 3). Bengal comes first because it was the turning point. Once the Company controlled the land revenue of India's richest province, it could pay large armies out of Indian money instead of shipping silver from Europe to buy goods. Keep three steps in mind: Plassey (1757) gave the Company a ruler of its own choosing, Buxar (1764) broke the combined forces of Bengal, Awadh and the Mughal emperor, and the grant of the Diwani (1765) gave it the legal right to collect revenue.

ಮೊದಲು ಬಂದವರು ಪೋರ್ಚುಗೀಸರು: ವಾಸ್ಕೋ ಡ ಗಾಮ 1498ರಲ್ಲಿ ಕ್ಯಾಲಿಕಟ್ ತಲುಪಿದ, 1510ರಲ್ಲಿ ಅಲ್ಬುಕರ್ಕ್ ಗೋವಾ ವಶಪಡಿಸಿಕೊಂಡ. ನಂತರ ಡಚ್ ಕಂಪನಿ (1602) — ಅವರ ಗಮನ ಇಂಡೋನೇಷ್ಯಾದ ಸಾಂಬಾರ ದ್ವೀಪಗಳ ಮೇಲೆ; ಆದರೂ ಮಚಲೀಪಟ್ಟಣ, ಪುಲಿಕಾಟ್‌ನಂತಹ ಕಡೆ ನೆಲೆಗಳು. ಇಂಗ್ಲಿಷ್ ಕಂಪನಿಗೆ 31 ಡಿಸೆಂಬರ್ 1600ರಂದು ರಾಣಿ ಎಲಿಜಬೆತ್‌ಳ ಸನ್ನದು; ಡೇನರು 1616; ಫ್ರೆಂಚರು 1664 (ಪಾಂಡಿಚೇರಿ 1674). ಒಂದು ಸಂತೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಐದು ವ್ಯಾಪಾರಿಗಳು ಒಂದೇ ಸರಕಿಗಾಗಿ ಪೈಪೋಟಿ ಮಾಡುತ್ತಿರುವಂತೆ — ಒಬ್ಬೊಬ್ಬರಾಗಿ ಹಿಂದೆ ಸರಿದರು; 1759ರ ಬೆದರಾ ನಂತರ ಬಂಗಾಳದಲ್ಲಿ ಡಚ್ಚರು ದುರ್ಬಲರಾದರು; ಕೊನೆಗೆ ಉಳಿದದ್ದು ಇಂಗ್ಲಿಷರು ವಿರುದ್ಧ ಫ್ರೆಂಚರು. (→ English: East India Company · हिन्दी: ईस्ट इंडिया कंपनी)

In exam EnglishThe Portuguese came first. Vasco da Gama reached Calicut in 1498 by sailing round the Cape of Good Hope, and in 1510 Afonso de Albuquerque took Goa from the Bijapur Sultanate and made it the base of a sea empire that tried to control the spice trade with forts and armed passes for ships. The Dutch East India Company (VOC) was formed in 1602; its main interest lay in the spice islands of present-day Indonesia, but it set up factories in India at places such as Masulipatnam, Pulicat and Chinsura. The English Company had received its charter from Queen Elizabeth I on 31 December 1600, giving it a monopoly of English trade east of the Cape. A Danish company followed in 1616, with Tranquebar and Serampore as its settlements, and the French Compagnie des Indes Orientales was set up in 1664, founding Pondicherry in 1674. The Dutch threat in Bengal ended when the English defeated them at Bedara in 1759. From the 1740s the real contest was between the English and the French.

ಇಂಗ್ಲಿಷರ ಮೊದಲ ನೆಲೆ ಸೂರತ್ (1613ರ ಫರ್ಮಾನು). ನಂತರ ಮದ್ರಾಸ್ (1639, ಫೋರ್ಟ್ ಸೇಂಟ್ ಜಾರ್ಜ್), ಬೊಂಬಾಯಿ — ಪೋರ್ಚುಗೀಸ್ ರಾಜಕುಮಾರಿಯನ್ನು ಎರಡನೇ ಚಾರ್ಲ್ಸ್ ಮದುವೆಯಾದಾಗ ವರದಕ್ಷಿಣೆಯಾಗಿ ಬಂತು (1661), 1668ರಲ್ಲಿ ಕಂಪನಿಗೆ. ಕಲ್ಕತ್ತಾ — ಜಾಬ್ ಚಾರ್ನಾಕ್ (1690), ಮೂರು ಹಳ್ಳಿಗಳು ಸುತಾನುಟಿ, ಕಲಿಕಾತಾ, ಗೋವಿಂದಪುರ (1698). 1717ರಲ್ಲಿ ಫರೂಖ್‌ಸಿಯರ್‌ನ ಫರ್ಮಾನು: ವರ್ಷಕ್ಕೆ 3,000 ರೂಪಾಯಿ ಕೊಟ್ಟರೆ ಬಂಗಾಳದಲ್ಲಿ ಸುಂಕವಿಲ್ಲದ ವ್ಯಾಪಾರ; ತಮ್ಮ ಸರಕಿಗೆ ತಾವೇ ದಸ್ತಕ್ (ಅನುಮತಿ ಚೀಟಿ) ಕೊಡಬಹುದು. ಸುಂಕದ ಕಟ್ಟೆಯಲ್ಲಿ 'ಈ ಗಾಡಿಗೆ ತೆರಿಗೆ ಇಲ್ಲ' ಎಂಬ ಚೀಟಿ ಕೊಡುವ ಅಧಿಕಾರವನ್ನು ಒಬ್ಬ ವ್ಯಾಪಾರಿಗೇ ಕೊಟ್ಟರೆ ಏನಾಗುತ್ತದೆ ಎಂದು ಯೋಚಿಸಿ. (→ English: Dastak · हिन्दी: दस्तक)

In exam EnglishThe English began at Surat on the west coast, where a Mughal farman of 1613 allowed them to trade after an English fleet had beaten the Portuguese off Swally in 1612; Sir Thomas Roe then spent 1615–19 at Jahangir's court seeking wider privileges. On the east coast the Company obtained the site of Madras in 1639 and built Fort St George there. Bombay came to the English Crown in 1661 as part of the dowry when Charles II married the Portuguese princess Catherine of Braganza, and the Crown handed it to the Company in 1668. In Bengal, Job Charnock set up a settlement on the Hooghly in 1690, and in 1698 the Company bought the zamindari rights of three villages, Sutanuti, Kalikata and Govindpur, which grew into Calcutta around Fort William. The great prize came in 1717, when the emperor Farrukhsiyar issued a farman letting the Company trade in Bengal free of customs duties for a fixed yearly payment of Rs 3,000 and issue its own passes, the Dastak, for its goods.

ಕರ್ನಾಟಿಕ್ ಯುದ್ಧಗಳು ಮೂರು. ಏಕೆ? ಯುರೋಪಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಬ್ರಿಟನ್-ಫ್ರಾನ್ಸ್ ಯುದ್ಧ; ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಹೈದರಾಬಾದ್, ಕರ್ನಾಟಿಕ್ ಸಿಂಹಾಸನಗಳಿಗಾಗಿ ವಾರಸುದಾರರ ಜಗಳ. ಇಬ್ಬರು ಅಣ್ಣತಮ್ಮಂದಿರ ಆಸ್ತಿ ಜಗಳದಲ್ಲಿ ಹೊರಗಿನವರು ಒಬ್ಬೊಬ್ಬರ ಪಕ್ಷ ಸೇರಿ ಲಾಭ ಪಡೆದಂತೆ. ಮೊದಲನೆಯದು (1746–48): ಡೂಪ್ಲೆ ಮದ್ರಾಸ್ ವಶಪಡಿಸಿಕೊಂಡ; ಅಡ್ಯಾರ್ (1746) ಕದನದಲ್ಲಿ ಸಣ್ಣ ಫ್ರೆಂಚ್ ತುಕಡಿ ನವಾಬನ ದೊಡ್ಡ ಸೈನ್ಯವನ್ನು ಸೋಲಿಸಿತು; ಎಕ್ಸ್-ಲಾ-ಶಾಪೆಲ್ ಒಪ್ಪಂದದಿಂದ ಮದ್ರಾಸ್ ಇಂಗ್ಲಿಷರಿಗೆ ವಾಪಸ್. ಎರಡನೆಯದು (1749–54): ಕ್ಲೈವ್‌ನ ಆರ್ಕಾಟ್ (1751), ಡೂಪ್ಲೆಯನ್ನು ಹಿಂದಕ್ಕೆ ಕರೆಸಲಾಯಿತು (1754). ಮೂರನೆಯದು (1756–63): ವಾಂಡಿವಾಶ್ (22 ಜನವರಿ 1760) — ಐರ್ ಕೂಟ್ ಎದುರು ಲಾಲಿ ಸೋಲು; 1761ರಲ್ಲಿ ಪಾಂಡಿಚೇರಿ ಶರಣು. (→ English: Carnatic wars · हिन्दी: कर्नाटक युद्ध)

In exam EnglishThe Anglo-French rivalry turned into open war in the Carnatic, the coastal region of south-east India, for two reasons: Britain and France were at war in Europe, and the deaths of rulers in Hyderabad (1748) and the Carnatic set off disputes over succession that each company could exploit. In the First Carnatic War (1746–48) the French under Dupleix, governor at Pondicherry, captured Madras, and at the Battle of Adyar (1746) a small French force routed the far larger army of the Nawab of the Carnatic, Anwar-ud-din. The war in Europe ended with the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1748), which returned Madras to the English. In the Second War (1749–54) the two companies backed rival claimants; Robert Clive's seizure of Arcot in 1751 turned the tide, and the French recalled Dupleix in 1754. The Third War (1756–63) was the Indian side of the Seven Years' War: Sir Eyre Coote defeated the Comte de Lally at Wandiwash on 22 January 1760, and Pondicherry surrendered in 1761.
The three Carnatic wars at a glance
WarYearsLink in EuropeKey eventsEnded by
First1746–48War of the Austrian SuccessionDupleix takes Madras; Battle of Adyar (1746)Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1748): Madras returned
Second1749–54None (an Indian succession war)Rival claimants in Hyderabad and the Carnatic; Clive takes Arcot (1751)Dupleix recalled (1754); truce
Third1756–63Seven Years' WarWandiwash (1760): Eyre Coote defeats Lally; Pondicherry falls (1761)Treaty of Paris (1763): French posts returned as trading stations

ಈ ಯುದ್ಧಗಳ ನಿಜವಾದ ಮೌಲ್ಯ ಕಲಿತ ಪಾಠಗಳಲ್ಲಿದೆ. ಡೂಪ್ಲೆ ತೋರಿಸಿದ: ತರಬೇತಿ ಪಡೆದ ಕೆಲವು ನೂರು ಸೈನಿಕರು ದೊಡ್ಡ ಸೈನ್ಯವನ್ನು ಸೋಲಿಸಬಲ್ಲರು; ತಮ್ಮ ಸೈನ್ಯದ ನೆರವಿನಿಂದ ಸಿಂಹಾಸನ ಏರಿದ ರಾಜ ಆ ಸೈನ್ಯದ ಖರ್ಚು, ಭೂಮಿ, ಆದಾಯ ಕೊಡಲೇಬೇಕು. ಇಂಗ್ಲಿಷರು ಎರಡನ್ನೂ ಕಲಿತರು — ಭಾರತೀಯ ಸಿಪಾಯಿ ದಳಗಳು, ತಮಗೆ ಬೇಕಾದವರನ್ನು ಸಿಂಹಾಸನದಲ್ಲಿ ಕೂರಿಸುವುದು. ಇಂಗ್ಲಿಷರು ಏಕೆ ಗೆದ್ದರು? ಬಲವಾದ ನೌಕಾಪಡೆ, ಕಂಪನಿಗೆ ಸ್ವಂತ ಹಣ (ಫ್ರೆಂಚ್ ಕಂಪನಿ ಸರ್ಕಾರವನ್ನು ಅವಲಂಬಿಸಿತ್ತು), 1757ರ ನಂತರ ಬಂಗಾಳದ ಸಂಪತ್ತು. 1763ರ ಶಾಂತಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಪಾಂಡಿಚೇರಿ ವ್ಯಾಪಾರ ಕೇಂದ್ರವಾಗಿ ವಾಪಸ್ ಬಂದರೂ, ಫ್ರಾನ್ಸ್ ಮತ್ತೆ ಎಂದೂ ಅಪಾಯವಾಗಲಿಲ್ಲ. (→ English: Carnatic wars · हिन्दी: कर्नाटक युद्ध)

In exam EnglishThe Carnatic wars mattered less for the territory that changed hands than for the lessons they taught. Dupleix showed that a few hundred European-drilled soldiers, with muskets fired in volleys and quick-moving field guns, could beat Indian armies many times their size, and that an Indian ruler who owed his throne to a company's troops could be made to pay for them and to grant it land and revenue. The English copied both methods: they raised sepoy battalions of Indian soldiers trained and officered in the European way, and they began to place friendly claimants on thrones in return for money and territory. The wars also showed why the English won the contest itself. They had the stronger navy and could bring men and money by sea while the French could not; the French company depended on its government, while the English company had its own finances; and, after 1757, the English drew on Bengal's wealth while the French had no such base. In the end the 1763 peace returned Pondicherry and other French posts as trading stations, but France never again threatened English power in India.

ಸಿರಾಜ್-ಉದ್-ದೌಲ 1756ರಲ್ಲಿ ನವಾಬನಾದ. ಕಂಪನಿ ನೌಕರರು ದಸ್ತಕ್ ಅನ್ನು ತಮ್ಮ ಖಾಸಗಿ ವ್ಯಾಪಾರಕ್ಕೆ ಬಳಸಿದರು, ಅನುಮತಿ ಇಲ್ಲದೆ ಕಲ್ಕತ್ತಾಗೆ ಕೋಟೆ ಕಟ್ಟಿದರು — ಕೋಪದಿಂದ ಸಿರಾಜ್ ಕಲ್ಕತ್ತಾ ವಶಪಡಿಸಿಕೊಂಡ. ಕ್ಲೈವ್ ಅದನ್ನು ಮರಳಿ ಪಡೆದು ಅಲೀನಗರ ಒಪ್ಪಂದ (1757) ಮಾಡಿಸಿದ. ನಂತರ ನಿಜವಾದ ಆಟ: ಸೇನಾಪತಿ ಮೀರ್ ಜಾಫರ್, ಲೇವಾದೇವಿಗಾರ ಜಗತ್ ಸೇಠ್ ಮೊದಲಾದವರ ಜೊತೆ ಗುಪ್ತ ಒಪ್ಪಂದ. ಕ್ರಿಕೆಟ್ ಪಂದ್ಯದಲ್ಲಿ ಅರ್ಧ ತಂಡ ಮೊದಲೇ ಎದುರಾಳಿಯ ಜೊತೆ ಶಾಮೀಲಾದಂತೆ — 23 ಜೂನ್ 1757ರಂದು ಪ್ಲಾಸಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ನವಾಬನ ಸೈನ್ಯದ ಹೆಚ್ಚಿನ ಭಾಗ ಹೋರಾಡಲೇ ಇಲ್ಲ. ಮೀರ್ ಜಾಫರ್ ನವಾಬ; ಕಂಪನಿಗೆ 24 ಪರಗಣಗಳು. ಯುದ್ಧಕ್ಕಿಂತ ಸಂಚೇ ಗೆದ್ದಿತು. (→ English: Battle of Plassey · हिन्दी: प्लासी का युद्ध)

In exam EnglishBengal had become virtually independent of Delhi under Murshid Quli Khan and Alivardi Khan, and when Siraj-ud-Daulah succeeded his grandfather in 1756 he faced a Company that misused the Dastak for the private trade of its servants, fortified Calcutta without his permission and sheltered a man who had fled his court with treasure. He took Kasimbazar and Calcutta in June 1756. Clive and Admiral Watson came from Madras, retook Calcutta in January 1757 and forced the Treaty of Alinagar (February 1757), which restored the Company's privileges. Clive then plotted with the Nawab's commander Mir Jafar, the banker Jagat Seth, Rai Durlabh and the go-between Amir Chand. At Plassey on 23 June 1757 most of the Nawab's army stood aside; only a few commanders such as Mir Madan and Mohan Lal fought. Siraj fled and was killed, Mir Jafar became Nawab, and the Company received the zamindari of the 24 Parganas and large payments. Plassey was won more by conspiracy than by fighting.

ಕಂಪನಿ ಕೇಳಿದ ಹಣ ಕೊಡಲು ಮೀರ್ ಜಾಫರ್‌ಗೆ ಆಗಲಿಲ್ಲ; 1760ರಲ್ಲಿ ಅವನ ಅಳಿಯ ಮೀರ್ ಕಾಸಿಂ ನವಾಬನಾದ, ಬದಲಿಗೆ ಬರ್ದ್ವಾನ್, ಮಿಡ್ನಾಪುರ, ಚಿತ್ತಗಾಂಗ್ ಕೊಟ್ಟ. ಕಾಸಿಂ ಜಾಣ: ರಾಜಧಾನಿಯನ್ನು ಮುಂಗೇರ್‌ಗೆ ಬದಲಿಸಿದ, ಸೈನ್ಯ ಬಲಪಡಿಸಿದ. ಜಗಳ ವ್ಯಾಪಾರದ ಬಗ್ಗೆಯೇ. ಕಂಪನಿ ನೌಕರರು ಸುಂಕರಹಿತ ಚೀಟಿಗಳನ್ನು ಮಾರಿದರೆ, ಸುಂಕ ಕಟ್ಟುವ ಭಾರತೀಯ ವ್ಯಾಪಾರಿಗಳು ಸ್ಪರ್ಧಿಸುವುದು ಹೇಗೆ? ಊರಲ್ಲಿ ಒಬ್ಬನಿಗೆ ಮಾತ್ರ ಉಚಿತ ನೀರು, ಉಳಿದವರಿಗೆ ಬಿಲ್ ಎಂದುಕೊಳ್ಳಿ — ಕಾಸಿಂ ಎಲ್ಲರಿಗೂ ಉಚಿತ ಮಾಡಿದ, ಅಂದರೆ ಆಂತರಿಕ ಸುಂಕಗಳನ್ನೇ ರದ್ದುಮಾಡಿದ. ಕಂಪನಿಯ ವಿಶೇಷ ಸ್ಥಾನ ಹೋಯಿತು; 1763ರಲ್ಲಿ ಯುದ್ಧ, ಕಾಸಿಂ ಸೋತು ಅವಧ್‌ಗೆ ಓಡಿದ. (→ English: Dastak · हिन्दी: दस्तक)

In exam EnglishMir Jafar soon found he could not meet the Company's demands for money, and in 1760 the Company replaced him with his son-in-law Mir Qasim, who rewarded it with the districts of Burdwan, Midnapore and Chittagong. Mir Qasim proved an able ruler. He moved his capital from Murshidabad to Monghyr, away from Calcutta, reorganised his finances and trained a modern army. The quarrel came over trade. Company servants kept using the dastak for their own private trade and even sold passes to others, so the Nawab lost revenue and Indian merchants, who paid duties, could not compete. Mir Qasim's answer was to abolish internal duties altogether, putting every trader on the same footing. The Company saw this as an attack on its privileged position. War broke out in 1763; Mir Qasim lost a series of battles, Mir Jafar was put back on the throne, and Mir Qasim fled to Awadh to seek allies.

ಅವಧ್‌ನಲ್ಲಿ ಮೀರ್ ಕಾಸಿಂ, ನವಾಬ ಶುಜಾ-ಉದ್-ದೌಲ, ಮೊಘಲ್ ಚಕ್ರವರ್ತಿ ಎರಡನೇ ಷಾ ಆಲಂ ಒಂದಾದರು. 22 ಅಕ್ಟೋಬರ್ 1764ರಂದು ಬಕ್ಸಾರ್‌ನಲ್ಲಿ ಹೆಕ್ಟರ್ ಮನ್ರೋ ಎದುರು ಮೂವರೂ ಸೋತರು — ಇದು ನಿಜವಾದ ಯುದ್ಧ, ಆದ್ದರಿಂದ ಪ್ಲಾಸಿಗಿಂತ ಮುಖ್ಯ. 1765ರ ಅಲಹಾಬಾದ್ ಒಪ್ಪಂದಗಳು: ಷಾ ಆಲಂ ಕಂಪನಿಗೆ ಬಂಗಾಳ, ಬಿಹಾರ, ಒರಿಸ್ಸಾದ ದಿವಾನಿ (ಕಂದಾಯ ವಸೂಲಿ ಹಕ್ಕು) ಕೊಟ್ಟ — ಬದಲಿಗೆ ವರ್ಷಕ್ಕೆ 26 ಲಕ್ಷ, ಕೋರಾ, ಅಲಹಾಬಾದ್. ಶುಜಾಗೆ ಅವಧ್ ವಾಪಸ್; 50 ಲಕ್ಷ ಯುದ್ಧ ಪರಿಹಾರ. ಮನೆಯ ಮಾಲೀಕನ ಹೆಸರು ಹಾಗೆಯೇ ಇಟ್ಟು ಬಾಡಿಗೆಯನ್ನೆಲ್ಲ ಬೇರೊಬ್ಬ ವಸೂಲಿ ಮಾಡಿದಂತೆ. ಅವಧ್ ಅನ್ನು ಮರಾಠರು, ಆಫ್ಘನರ ಎದುರು ತಡೆಗೋಡೆಯಾಗಿ ಉಳಿಸಿದರು. (→ English: Diwani · हिन्दी: दीवानी)

In exam EnglishIn Awadh, Mir Qasim joined the Nawab Shuja-ud-Daula and the Mughal emperor Shah Alam II. Their combined army met the Company's forces under Major Hector Munro at Buxar, in Bihar, on 22 October 1764, and was defeated. Buxar was more decisive than Plassey: it was a real battle, and it beat the three leading powers of northern India at once. Clive, back as Governor of Bengal, settled the gains in two treaties at Allahabad in August 1765. Shah Alam II granted the Company the Diwani, the right to collect the revenue, of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa, in return for an annual tribute of Rs 26 lakh and the districts of Kora and Allahabad. Shuja-ud-Daula got Awadh back, apart from Kora and Allahabad, paid Rs 50 lakh as war indemnity and agreed to pay for Company troops defending him. Clive left Awadh intact on purpose, as a buffer between Bengal and the Marathas and Afghans.

1765–72 ಬಂಗಾಳದಲ್ಲಿ ದ್ವಂದ್ವ ಸರ್ಕಾರ. ಮೊಘಲ್ ಪದ್ಧತಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಎರಡು ಭಾಗ: ದಿವಾನಿ (ಕಂದಾಯ ವಸೂಲಿ, ಸಿವಿಲ್ ನ್ಯಾಯ), ನಿಜಾಮತ್ (ಪೊಲೀಸ್, ರಕ್ಷಣೆ, ಕ್ರಿಮಿನಲ್ ನ್ಯಾಯ). ದಿವಾನಿ ಕಂಪನಿಯದು; ನಿಜಾಮತ್ ಕೂಡ ಅದರ ಹಿಡಿತದಲ್ಲೇ, ಏಕೆಂದರೆ ರಕ್ಷಣೆಯನ್ನು ಕಂಪನಿಗೆ ಒಪ್ಪಿಸಲಾಗಿತ್ತು. ಆದರೆ ಕಂಪನಿ ನೇರವಾಗಿ ಆಳಲಿಲ್ಲ — ಮಹಮ್ಮದ್ ರಜಾ ಖಾನ್, ಶಿತಾಬ್ ರಾಯ್ ಅಂತಹ ಭಾರತೀಯ ನಾಯಬರ ಮೂಲಕ ವಸೂಲಿ. ಸಂಬಳ ಒಬ್ಬನಿಗೆ, ಬೈಗುಳ ಇನ್ನೊಬ್ಬನಿಗೆ — ಜವಾಬ್ದಾರಿ ಇಲ್ಲದ ಅಧಿಕಾರ. ಬೆಳೆ ಹಾಳಾದರೂ ಕಂದಾಯ ಇಳಿಯಲಿಲ್ಲ; 1770ರ ಬರಗಾಲದಲ್ಲಿ ಅಪಾರ ಜನ ಸತ್ತರು. 1772ರಲ್ಲಿ ವಾರನ್ ಹೇಸ್ಟಿಂಗ್ಸ್ ಈ ಪದ್ಧತಿ ಕೊನೆಗೊಳಿಸಿ ಖಜಾನೆಯನ್ನು ಕಲ್ಕತ್ತಾಗೆ ತಂದ. (→ English: Dual government · हिन्दी: द्वैध शासन)

In exam EnglishThe arrangement that followed in Bengal from 1765 to 1772 is called the Dual government. Under Mughal practice, provincial government had two halves: the Diwani, meaning revenue collection and civil justice, and the nizamat, meaning police, defence and criminal justice. The Company now held the diwani in its own right, and it also controlled the nizamat, because by an agreement of 1765 the young Nawab handed defence to the Company and accepted a deputy approved by it. Yet the Company did not govern directly. It worked through Indian deputies, Muhammad Reza Khan in Bengal and Raja Shitab Rai in Bihar, who collected the revenue for it. The result was power without responsibility: the Company took the money, while the Nawab bore the blame and lacked the means to govern. Revenue demands stayed high even when the harvest failed, and the Bengal famine of 1770 killed a very large part of the population. In 1772 the Company decided to collect the revenue through its own officers; Warren Hastings ended the dual system and moved the treasury from Murshidabad to Calcutta.

ಇಡೀ ಸರಪಳಿ ಹೀಗೆ: ವ್ಯಾಪಾರ ಸವಲತ್ತುಗಳು (1717) → ದುರುಪಯೋಗ → ನವಾಬನ ಜೊತೆ ಯುದ್ಧ (1756–57) → ಮಾತು ಕೇಳುವ ನವಾಬ (1757–63) → ಬಕ್ಸಾರ್ (1764) → ದಿವಾನಿ (1765) → ನೇರ ಆಡಳಿತ (1772). ಒಂದೊಂದೇ ಮೆಟ್ಟಿಲು ಹತ್ತಿ ಮೇಲಿನ ಮಹಡಿ ತಲುಪಿದಂತೆ. ಏಕೆ ಗೆದ್ದರು? 1707ರ ನಂತರ ಮೊಘಲರು ದುರ್ಬಲ, ರಾಜರು ತಮ್ಮತಮ್ಮಲ್ಲೇ ಹೊಡೆದಾಟ; ಕಂಪನಿಗೆ ಸಮುದ್ರದ ಮೇಲೆ ಹಿಡಿತ, ತಪ್ಪದೆ ಸಂಬಳ ಪಡೆಯುವ ಸಿಪಾಯಿಗಳು, ಭಾರತೀಯ ಲೇವಾದೇವಿಗಾರರ ಸಾಲ, ಒಬ್ಬ ನಾಯಕ ಹೋದರೂ ಉಳಿಯುವ ಸಂಸ್ಥೆ. ಎಲ್ಲಕ್ಕಿಂತ ಮಿಗಿಲಾಗಿ ಬಂಗಾಳದ ಆದಾಯ — ಮೈಸೂರು, ಮರಾಠ ಯುದ್ಧಗಳಿಗೆ ಅದೇ ಇಂಧನ. ಈಸ್ಟ್ ಇಂಡಿಯಾ ಕಂಪನಿ ಹೆಸರಿಗೆ ವ್ಯಾಪಾರಿ, ನಿಜದಲ್ಲಿ ಆಡಳಿತಗಾರ. (→ English: East India Company · हिन्दी: ईस्ट इंडिया कंपनी)

In exam EnglishPut together, the Bengal story is a chain in which each step made the next one possible: trade privileges (1717), their abuse, war with the Nawab (1756–57), a dependent Nawab (1757–63), the defeat of the northern alliance (1764), the legal right to the revenue (1765), and finally direct administration (1772). Why did a trading company succeed? Mughal authority had weakened after Aurangzeb's death in 1707, and regional rulers were divided and often fought one another. The Company had command of the sea, disciplined sepoy armies that were paid regularly, credit from Indian bankers, and a corporate organisation that outlived any one leader. Above all, after 1765 it had Bengal's revenue, which paid for the armies that would fight Mysore and the Marathas, the subject of Part 2. The East India Company had become a ruler in Bengal while still calling itself a merchant.

Exam traps

Recap

Practice questions

Q1. Who granted the diwani of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa to the English East India Company in 1765?

  1. Siraj-ud-Daulah
  2. Mir Jafar
  3. Shah Alam II
  4. Shuja-ud-Daula
Show answer

Answer: C. Shah Alam II

The diwani was granted by the Mughal emperor Shah Alam II under the Treaty of Allahabad (August 1765), for an annual tribute of Rs 26 lakh. Siraj-ud-Daulah had been killed in 1757; Mir Jafar was a Nawab installed by the Company and had no power to grant the diwani, which was the emperor's to give; Shuja-ud-Daula was the Nawab of Awadh, who signed a separate treaty getting his own state back.

Q2. Consider the following statements:
1. The Battle of Plassey was fought in 1757 between the forces of the East India Company and Siraj-ud-Daulah.
2. Hector Munro commanded the Company's forces at Plassey.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. 1 only
  2. 2 only
  3. Both 1 and 2
  4. Neither 1 nor 2
Show answer

Answer: A. 1 only

Statement 1 is correct: Plassey was fought on 23 June 1757 against Siraj-ud-Daulah. Statement 2 is wrong: Robert Clive commanded at Plassey; Hector Munro commanded at Buxar in 1764. So options (b), (c) and (d) are wrong.

Q3. Match List I with List II:
List I (Battle): A. Adyar B. Wandiwash C. Plassey D. Buxar
List II (Year): 1. 1746 2. 1757 3. 1760 4. 1764
Select the correct answer using the code given below:

  1. A-1, B-3, C-2, D-4
  2. A-3, B-1, C-2, D-4
  3. A-1, B-2, C-3, D-4
  4. A-1, B-3, C-4, D-2
Show answer

Answer: A. A-1, B-3, C-2, D-4

Adyar was fought in 1746 (First Carnatic War), Wandiwash in 1760 (Third Carnatic War), Plassey in 1757 and Buxar in 1764. Option (b) swaps Adyar and Wandiwash; option (c) gives Wandiwash 1757 and Plassey 1760; option (d) swaps Plassey and Buxar.

Q4. The farman of 1717, which allowed the English East India Company to trade in Bengal without paying customs duties in return for a fixed annual payment, was issued by

  1. Aurangzeb
  2. Bahadur Shah I
  3. Farrukhsiyar
  4. Muhammad Shah
Show answer

Answer: C. Farrukhsiyar

The farman of 1717 was issued by the emperor Farrukhsiyar: duty-free trade in Bengal for Rs 3,000 a year and the right to issue dastaks. Aurangzeb died in 1707 and Bahadur Shah I in 1712, before the farman; Muhammad Shah became emperor only in 1719.

Q5. With reference to the dual government in Bengal (1765–72), consider the following statements:
1. The Company held the diwani, that is, revenue collection and civil justice.
2. It was abolished by the Regulating Act of 1773.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. 1 only
  2. 2 only
  3. Both 1 and 2
  4. Neither 1 nor 2
Show answer

Answer: A. 1 only

Statement 1 is correct: from 1765 the Company held the diwani in its own right. Statement 2 is wrong: the dual system was ended in 1772, when the Company decided to collect revenue through its own officers under Warren Hastings, a year before the Regulating Act. So (b), (c) and (d) are wrong.

Q6. Consider the following statements about Mir Qasim:
1. He moved his capital from Murshidabad to Monghyr.
2. He abolished internal duties for all traders.
3. He was one of the allies defeated at Buxar.
Which of the statements given above are correct?

  1. 1 and 2 only
  2. 2 and 3 only
  3. 1 and 3 only
  4. 1, 2 and 3
Show answer

Answer: D. 1, 2 and 3

All three are correct. Mir Qasim shifted his capital to Monghyr, abolished internal duties so that Indian traders were on the same footing as the Company's servants, and, after losing to the Company in 1763, joined Shuja-ud-Daula and Shah Alam II, with whom he was defeated at Buxar in 1764. Each of the other options leaves out one correct statement.

Q7. Which one of the following is the correct chronological order of the formation of these trading companies?
1. Dutch East India Company (VOC)
2. English East India Company
3. French Compagnie des Indes Orientales
4. Danish East India Company

  1. 1-2-4-3
  2. 2-1-4-3
  3. 2-1-3-4
  4. 1-2-3-4
Show answer

Answer: B. 2-1-4-3

The English Company was chartered on 31 December 1600, the Dutch VOC was formed in 1602, the Danish company in 1616 and the French company in 1664, giving 2-1-4-3. Option (a) puts the Dutch before the English; options (c) and (d) put the French (1664) before the Danes (1616), and (d) also puts the Dutch first.

Q8. Under the Treaty of Allahabad (1765) between the East India Company and Shuja-ud-Daula, which of the following were agreed?
1. Awadh was restored to Shuja-ud-Daula except Kora and Allahabad.
2. Shuja-ud-Daula paid a war indemnity to the Company.
3. Awadh was annexed to the Company's territories.
Select the correct answer using the code given below:

  1. 1 and 2 only
  2. 2 and 3 only
  3. 1 only
  4. 1, 2 and 3
Show answer

Answer: A. 1 and 2 only

Statements 1 and 2 are correct: Shuja-ud-Daula got Awadh back without Kora and Allahabad and paid Rs 50 lakh as war indemnity. Statement 3 is wrong: Clive deliberately kept Awadh as a buffer state; it was annexed only in 1856. So (b) and (d), which include statement 3, are wrong, and (c) leaves out statement 2.

All partsNext: Part 2 →

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Sources