Profile of a Forgotten Capital: Murshidabad in the Eighteenth Century 9789350981948, 9350981947

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PROFILE OF A FORGOTTEN CAPITAL Murshidabad in the Eighteenth Century ;··...-\-: as the secret by delaying the execution may be discovered and oitr whole scheme of course offset by his being cut off, in which case we shall be exposed to the Nabob's resentment and left to act singly against the united force ofthe country.

So according to the decision of the Select Committee, Clive began his march towards Murshidabad on 13 June but till then he had received nothing but bare promises from Mir J afar with whom he had no personal acquaintance. He occupied Katwa on 18 June and halted there for two days 'in the most uneasy suspense' in order to receive some intelligence and advice of what might be expected of his allies. But when it arrived, it was, as Watts observed, 'far from satisfactory or explicit' .11 3 ··~~. As a result, Clive became very nervous and wrote to the Select Committee that he felt 'the greatest anxiety' at the absence of intelligence from Mir Jafar, and that 'if he was not treacherous, his cautiousness from want of strength of the British' would overset the expedition. At the same time he informed the Select Committee that he would not cross the river unless Mir Jafar joined him, and would wait there till the rains are over when, if necessary, it would be easy to form an alliance with the Marathas or the Raja ofBirbhum or even Ghaziuddin Khan, the wazir of Delhi. Here it is important to note that he informed the Committee that he would act with such caution as not to riskthe loss of English forces because 'whilst we have them, we may always have it in our power to bring about the revolution, should the present not succeed' .114 In other words, the English were intent on deposing Sirajuddaullah, even if Mir Jafar and his fellow conspirators failed to help the English, and they had an alternative plan to bring about the revolution with the help of other possible allies, and not necessarily with the assistance of a section of the leading figures of Murshidabad. ' Even at this stage, Clive was not sure about Mir Jafar and hence asked the Select Committee to instruct him how he should act in . case Mir Jafar 'can give us no assistance'.ll 5 But committed as he was to a coup, Clive did not lose hope and tried his best to persuade Mir Jafar to join him. He wrote to Mir Jafar from Katwa on 19 June: 116 It gives me great concern in an affair of so great consequence to yourself in particular that you do not exert yourself more. So long as I have been on my march you have not yet given me the least information what measures it is necessary for me to take ... . I shall wait here till I have proper encouragement

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to proceed. I think it absolutely necessary that you should join my army as soon as possible.

This only shows how anxious the English were to bring about the coup while Mir Jafar and his allies were only half-hearted about it. Even as late as 21 June Clive wrote to the Select Committee that he was at a loss how to act in the prevailing situation. He was apprehensive that if the English attacked the nawab's forces, they would be entrenched and without assistance. He reiterated the expediency of sending an embassy to Ghaziuddin Khan [the wazir of the Mughal emperor] or the Marathas to invite them in.117 This again corroborates the fact that the conspiracy to get rid ofSirajuddaullah was an English 'project' and for its implementation they were ready to seek help from anyone - and not necessarily from the disgruntled memb'ers of the Murshidabad court. Meanwhile the Council of War resolved by a majority vote for immediate action though Clive himself voted against it. But he soon changed his mind and decided to march the next morning, though he had not yet received any intelligence or plan of operation from Mir Jafar 118 which again underlines the eagerness of the English to bring about the revolution. At dawn on 22 June the English army under Clive set out for Plassey. But on that very day, probably before he began his march, Clive again made a frantic appeal to Mir Jafar to join him: I am determined to risque everything on your account, though you will not exert yourself. I shall be on the other side of the river this evening. If you join me at Placis, I will m~rch halfway to meet you .. . . Give me [leave] _to call to your mind how much your glory depends upon·it. Be assured ifyou do this you will be Subah ofthese p rovinces, but ifyou cannot do even this length to assist us I call God to witness the fault is not mine.

What an enticement and a threat at the same breath! However, in the early afternoon of 22 June, Clive received Mir Jafar's reply at long last and in the early evening he wrote back to him of his resolution to proceed immediately to Plassey.119 Turning to the nawab's camp, one finds that everything was not going on smoothly. Sirajuddaullah was rather bewildered about what to do. Though he was rather nervous and restless by nature and suffered from lack of resolution, at that point of time he was faced with quite a few problems, the most serious one being the anxiety of an Afghan invasion under the leadership of Ahmad Shah Abdali from around the beginning of 1757. Rightly or wrongly, he thought

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at that moment that the Afghan menace was a greater threat than the English design. So the nawab's best troops were deployed under one of his most trusted commanders, Raja Ram Narain, to the Bihar frontier to meet the Afghan menace. Of course, at the same time he had an inkling of the on-going conspiracy against him and the possibility of an English invasion. He became quite nervous but he was scared to take action against those in the court who were conspiring against him with the hope that in case of an English attack, he would be able to put up a united stand against the English. , However, there is no doubt at all that Sirajuddaullah committed a great blunder by not taking any drastic step against Mir J afar and some other conspirators who were his associates. This has been confirmed in no uncertain terms by Luke Scrafton120 and Jean Law. 121 Sirajuddaullah was also cautioned by his most trusted and loyal" commanders that Mir Jafar and a few others were conspiring against him along with the English and that if he takes strong action against them, the English would not dare march against him. Thus, it is said, Khwaja Abdul Hadi Khan and Mir Mardan warned Sirajudaullah: 122 'The predominance of the English has passed the limit of moderation, and they have determined to conquer this country. ... Mir Md. Jafar Khan is treacherously bent on ruining this royal house; he should be first destroyed and then it will become easy to deal with the British.' Sound advice no doubt but, as the Persian chronicler puts it, some 'traitors' advised him that without assembling a vast army, it would be almost impossible to fight the English, and hence it was necessary to conciliate Mir Jafar and others. So Sirajuddaullah gave up the idea of punishing his enemies and went for reconciliation. One of the reasons for the nawab's indecision to take action against the traitors might have been the fact that his most trusted confidant, Mohanlal, was seriously ill (possibly poisoned) at the time and as such he was bewildered whom to trust or whom not to .123 And unfortunately he turned a deaf ear to the advices ofAbdul Hadi Khan and Mir Mardan, and marched ahead to Plassey to face the English on 23 June 1757. As expected, in the battlefield of Plassey, two-thirds of the nawab's army under the leadership of Mir Jafar, Rai Durlabh Ram and Yar Latif Khan remained absolutely inactive and 'stood with folded hands'. The loyal generals like Mohanlal, Mir Mardan, Khwaja Abdul Hadi Khan and Naba Singh Hazari commanded the vanguard of the nawab's army. Mir J afar, according to the author of Seir, 'contented himself with standing at a distance with the troops under his com-

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mand, exactly like one·who has come only to see the engagement' .124 Similarly, the author of the Riyaz wrote that Mir Jafar with his detachment stood at a distance towards the left of the 1nain army and although Sirajuddaullah summoned him to his side, he did not move. Even then the outcome of the so-called battle of Plassey was not a foregone conclusion. On the morning of 23 June when the nawab's army emerged from the camp, Scrafton wrote in utter astonishment: 'they made a most pompous and formidable appearance .... And their disposition, as well as their regular manner in which they formed, seemed to speak greater skill in war than we expected from them' .125 Clive watched the scene from the roof of the nawab's hunting house at Plassey. The battle star.ted around 8 in the morning-, (6 according to Clive). As he watched the enemy advance, Clive was not hopeful and thought of returning to Calcutta in the night 'after giving the best fight during the day'. The conspiracy notwithstanding, everything was not yet lost for Sirajuddaullah - he had several capable and devoted generals still loyal to him. The nawab's army gave a brave fight, and a heavy and continuous barrage by the nawab's artillery under M. de St. Fray gave a fright to the English. Clive acknowledged that 'our very advantageous situation [in the mango grove] saved us greatly', that 'to succeed in an attempt on their cannon was next to impossible' and that the English remained quiet in their post in the expectation of a successful attack upon the enemy camp at night. . As a matter of fact Clive did not expect such a resistance and is said to have reprimanded an agent of the conspirators who gave him the impression that the troops and the commanders were totally alienated from the nawab and that now he saw 'the very reverse of all that is taking place' .126 During the morning the English position, as John Wood, an English soldier who participated in the battle recounted later, was 'very insecure' and they 'had no thought of doing to attempt anything until night' .127 That the English position was desperate and precarious is also attested by no other person than William Watts who was present in the battle field and who wrote: 128 If the Suba, or any of his officers, had understood well what they were about, they might certainly have prosecuted their scheme and have completely invested the English Army, arid then the Colonel must have waited the Approach of Night, in order to have forced a passage through the camp [for fleeing to Calcutta], which he in reality designed.

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After four hours of artillery exchanges, nothing decisive had happened and the English position was hardly encouraging. On the contrary, according to Persian chroniclers - certainly not very well disposed to Sirajuddaullah - 'victory and triumph were visible on the side of the nawab' .129 Two thirds of the nawab's army, as noted earlier, merely stood and watched but the rest advanced 'in good order and with a good countenance' to the Plassey grove where the English were entrenched. 130 Strangely enough, noted historians such as Peter Marshall, 131 stated that this section of the army stood 'neuter', implying that it did not help the English! More important thing in this connection is that this part of the army was supposed to fight for the nawab, and by not doing so they actually helped the English and betrayed the nawab. . Be that as it may, it was about three in the afternoon when sudde~;ly a cannon ball struck Mir Mardan and he died. This was the turning point of the battle. As Scrafton noted: 'One great cause of our success was that . . . we had the good fortune to kill Meer Mardan' .132 Bewildered, Sirajuddaullah called Mir Jafar and placing his turban before him, implored him to save his life and honour. Mir Jafar advised the nawab to suspend the action for the day and start the fight next morning. Soon he passed on the message to Clive. The nawab sent for Rai Durlabh who gave the same advice. Puzzled and desperate to save the situation, he recalled Mohanlal (who had assumed the command after Mir Mardan's death) and other officers including Khwaja Abdul Hadi Khan, Mir Muhammed Qazim, Raja Manickchand etc., all of whom at first refused to obey on the ground that it was not expeditious to leave their position then, but ultimately gave in after repeated appeals from Sirajuddaullah. 133 The generals were very unhappy and as, Yusuf Ali states: 'Being thus compelled, they arrived in his [the nawab's] presence. Mir Muhammed Qazim spoke harsh words to Sirajul-Dawla for his summoning them at that time' .134 With the nawab's commanders turning back, the English made a fresh onslaught and there followed a general rout. By 5 in· the afternoon the battle was over. As John Wood observed: 'Such was this great and decisive battle by which a kingdom was conquered without there ever having been a general assault.' 135 And at about 6 in the evening Clive received a laudatory note from Mir Jafar with the words, 'Congratulations for your plan being successful' .136 Here it should be taken into note that even then Mir J afar was candid to say that it was the English plot, and not an Indian one. However

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Clive sent a reply on 24 June through Scrafton stating that, 'this is your victory, not mine. I shall be happy if you meet me soon. I shall proceed to Murshidabad with you. Hope I shall have the honour to install you as Nabob'. Clive put Mir Jafar on the throne and placed the crown on his head.

A Note on the Role of the Jagat Seths If we go back a little and consider the historical facts, we will see that in all the political changes in Bengal during the first half of the eighteenth century the Jagat Seths played the major role. During the politics of those times, the levers and handles of change lay with the Jagat Seths. Jean Law wrote: 'The political ills, revolutions that had occurred in Bengal for a long time were chiefly manipulated by them' [the Jagat Seths] .137 But it is necessary to rememper here what Jean Law observed: 'IfMohanlal remained physically fit and was not shorn of his power to work independently, then the conspiracy by the Jagat Seths would not have been so easily successful. But it is our misfortune that Mohanlal for sometime and particularly during this period of great danger fell seriously ill.' Law felt that Mohanlal was a great enemy of the Jagat Seths and was the only person who could challenge them successfully. 138 Karam Ali, the author of the Muzaffarnama, suspected that Mohanlal had been poisoned. 139

Notes 1. Seir-ul-Mutaqherin, vol. II, pp. 99, 101, 121-2, 187-9, 220. 2. Riyaz-us-Salatin, p. 363. 3. Jean Law's Memoir, S.C. Hill, Bengal in 1756-57, vol. III, Introduction, vol. 1, p. 162. 4. Hill, op. cit., vol. I, Introduction, vol. I, pp. 17-18. 5. P.J. Marshall, Bengal: The British Bridgehead; C.A. Bayly, Indian Society and the Making of the British Empire; Rajat Kanta Ray, 'Colonial Penetration', in IHR; Palashir Sarajantra. 6. Hill, vol. I, p. liii 7. Ibid. 8. Marshall, Bengal: The British Bridgehead, p. 91; Bayly, Indian Society and the Making ofthe British Empire, p. 50; Ray, 'Colonial Penetration', op. cit., pp. 7, 11, 12; Palashir Sarajantra (in Bengali), pp. 12, 16. 9. Marshall, Bengal, pp. 67-6; Bayly, Indian Society, pp. 49-50; Ray, 'Colonial Penetration', pp. 7, 12, 14. 10. In this context, see my article 'Was there a "crisis" in Mid-Eighteenth

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Century Bengal', in Richard Barnett (ed.), Rethinking Early Modern India) pp. 129-52. 11. Brijen K. Gupta, Sirajuddaullah, p. 32; Marshall, Bengal) p. 67; Bayly, Indian Society) pp. 49-50. 12. Hill, vol. I, p. xxiii. 13. Gupta, Sirajuddaullah, p. 32. 14. Bayly, Indian Society, p. 50. 15. KN. Chaudhuri, Trading World; Om Prakash, Dutch Company; Marshall, Bengal; Gupta, Sirajuddaullah; Bayly, Indian Society. 16. Shireen Moosvi, 'The Silver Influx, Money Supply, Prices and Revenue Extraction in Mughal India',JESHO, vol. XXX, 1988, pp . 92-4. 17. S. Chaudhury, From Prosperity to Decline, pp . 202-11, 249-59; The Prelude to Empire, pp. 71-2. 18. Hill, vol. I, p . xxiii; Gupta, Sirajuddaullah, p. 41. .., 19. Sirajuddaullah's uncle, son of Haji Ahmed and the husband of Ghaseti Begum, and the nawab of Dhaka. 20. Law's Memoir, Hill, vol. III, pp. 162-4. 21. Gupta, Sirajuddaullah, p. 32. 22. Marshall, Bengal, p. 6. 2 3. Luke Scrafton, Reflections, p. 5 5. 24. Yusuf Ali Khan, Tarikh-i-Mahabatjangi, p. 118. 25. Gupta, Sirajuddaullah) p. 57. 26. William Tooke's Narrative of the Capture of Calcutta, Hill, vol. I, p. 278. 27. Evidence ofJoh~1 Cooke, Orme Mss., India IV, ff. 804-5; Hill, vol. III, p. 290. 28. Hill, vol. I, pp. XXX-XXXI; Law's Memoir, Hill, vol. III, pp. 160-2. 29. English Council at Dacca to the Court of Directors, 18July1756, Bengal Letters Received, vol. 23, f. 239. 30. Renault to Dupleix, Chandernagore, 26 August 1756, Hill, vol. I, p. 207. 31. Law's Memoir, Hill, vol. III, pp. 162-4. 32. Holwell to the Court of Directors, 10 August 1756, Hill, vol. III, p. 349; Drake's Narrative, 19 July 1756, Hill, vol. I, pp. 122-3 . 33. Richard Becher to Roger Drake, 22 March 1757, Bengal Letters Recd., vol. 23, f. 460. 34. S. Chaudhury) Trade and Commercial Organization) pp. 39-40. 35. Court of Directors to the Fort William Council, DB, vol. 3, 16 January 1752. 36. Ibid., DB, vol. 4, 29 November 1754; FWIHC, vol. 1, p. 68. 37. William Watts to Roger Drake and Fort William Council, BPC, vol. 28, 15 August 1755. 38. Bayly, Indian Society) p. 50; Ray, 'Colonial Penetration', p. 9. 39. C.R. Wilson, Old Fort William) vol. II, p. 31; Watts to Drake and Fort . William Council, BPC, vol. 28, 15 August 1755.

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40. Mss. Eur. D. 283. 41. Law's Memoir, Hill, vol. III, pp. 164-5. 42. Holwdl to the Court of Directors, 30 November 1756, Hill, vol. II, p. 17. 43. Hill, vol. I, pp. liv-lv. 44. For the provision of the Jarman) see, Sukumar Bhattacharya, The East India Company, pp. 28-9 . 45. See, Chaudhury, From Prosperity to Decline) pp. 31-7. 46. Mss. Eur. D. 283, ff. 15. 25, emphasis added. 47. Ibid., f. 15, emphasis added. 48. Ibid., f. 25, emphasis added. 49. Ibid., emphasis added. · 50. Hill, vol. 1, p. 63. 51. Gupta, Sirajuddaullah_, pp. 38-9. 52. Watts to Court of Directors, 30 January 1757, Bengal Letters ~Recd., vol. 23, f. 378 . 53 . Watts to Court of Directors, 30 January 1757, Hill, vol. III, pp. 332-3; Holwell to Court of Directors, 30 November 1756, Hill, vol. II, pp. 4-5. 54. Chaudhury, Prelude to Empire) p. 43, and fn. 30. 55. Bayly, Indian Society, p. 50; Ray, 'Colonial Penetration', p . 9. 56. Watts to Court of Directors, 30 January 1757, Bengal Letters Recd., vol. 23, f. 378. 57. Holwell to the Court of Directors, 30 November 1756, Hill, vol. II, p. 5. 58. 'Causes of Loss of Calcutta', David Rennie, August 1756, Hill, vol. III, p. 384. 59. Bengal Letters Recd., vol. 23, ff. 239 -40. 60. Watts and Collet to Court of Directors, 17 July 1756, Hill, vol. I, pp. 116-17. 61. Hill, vol. I, pp. liv-iv. 62. Richard Becher to Roger Drake, 22 March 1757, Bengal Letters Recd., vol. 23, f. 460; Hill, vol. II, pp. 158-60. 63. Dutch Council in Hughli to Supreme Council at Batavia, Hill, vol. I, p. 54. 64. Bisdom to Drake, 14 June 1756, VOC 2781, ff. 16vo, 22vo, 243vo. 65. Marshall, Bengal) 67-8; Bayly, Indian Society) pp. 49-50; Ray, 'Colonial Penetration', pp. 7, 12, 14. 66. For such broad generalization, see, Marshall, Bengal) pp. 55, 63; Ray, 'Colonial Penetration', pp. 4, 6, 7, 14. It should not be misconstrued that I am against 'theorization' but my point is while doing so, one should not lose sight of the specific issues. 67. For details, see, Chaudhury, From Prosperity to Decline) pp. 299-305. 68 . Chaudhury, From Prosperity to Decline) pp. 48-65, 102-8. 69 . Marshall, Bengal) p. 73; Chaudhuri, Trading World) pp. 310-12.

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70. S. Chaudhury, From Prosperity to Decline, pp. 102-3. 71. Ibid., pp. 102-8. 72. K.K. Datta, Bengal Suba, pp. 463-9; Brijen K. Gupta, Sirajuddautlah, p . 33; K.N. Chaudhuri, Trading World, pp. 99-108; P.J. Marshall, East India Fortunes, p. 35; Bengal, pp. 73, 142-3, 163-4, 170. 73. For further details, see, S. Chaudhury, 'Was there a "Crisis" in MidEighteenth Century Bengal', in Richard B. Barnett (ed.), Rethinking Early Modern India, pp. 129-52. 74. Bayly, Indian Society, pp. 49-50; Marshall, Bengal, pp. 65-7. 75. Chaudhury, From Prosperity to Decline, pp. 320-1. 76. Hill, vol. I, p. xxiii. 77. Gupta, Sirajuddaullah, p. 41. 78. Hill, vol. III, pp. 332-3; II, pp. 4-5. 79. See for details, Chaudhury, Prelude to Empire, pp. 140-60. 80. Orme Mss. India VI, ff. 1500-2. ~. 81. Jan Kerseboom, 'Memorie', 14 February 1755, VOC 2849, ff. 125-6. 82. Robert Orme, Military Transactions, vol. II, Sec. I, pp. 52-3. 83. Edward C. Dimock, Jr., 'Hinduism and Islam in Medieval Bengal', in Rachel van M. Baumer (ed.), 'Aspects of Bengali History and Society', p. 2. 84. Ahmed Sharif, Madhyajuger Sahitye Samaj 0 SanskritirRup (in Bengali), p. 423. 85. Marshall, Bengal, p . 91; Bayly. Indian Society, p. 50; Ray, 'Colonial Penetration', pp. 7, 11, 12; Palashi, pp. 12, 16. 86. Law's Memoir, Hill, vol. III, p. 175 . 87. Clive's letter to the Governor of Port St. George, Pigot, 30 April 1757, Hill, vol. II, p. 308; Clive's letter to the Select Committee, Fort William, 30 June 1757, Hill, vol. II, p . 437. 88. Chaudhury, From Prosperity to Decline, pp. 308-19. 89. Ibid., Table, 11.1, p. 315 . 90. BPC, Range, I, vol. 15, f. 327, 7 October 1742; Orme Mss . O.V. 12, f. 83; Eur. 37, Box 21, 1 September 1753; Orme Mss. India, f. llvo. 91. Robert Orme to Mr Robbins, 10 May 1751, Orme Mss. 0.V. 12, f. 83; Captain Fenwick's letter, 1752, Orme Mss. India VI, f. 111 vo; Manningham and Frankland to Robert Clive, 1 September 1753, Eur. G .37, Box 21. 92. Collected and computed from the shipping lists in the Dutch records. For 1751, VOC, 2754, f. 227; for 1754, VOC 2829, ff. 294-294vo, 296-297vo; See also, S. Chaudhury, From Prosperity to Decline, Table, 11.2, p. 318. 93. Orme Mss., vol. 170, f. 99; Records of Fort St. Ge01;ge, Diary and Consultation Books, Military Deptt., 1756, p. 330; Hill, vol. I, pp. 23940; emphasis added. 94. Clive to Select Committee, Fort St. George, 2 July 1757, Hill, vol. II, p . 442.

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9 5. Fort William Council to Secret Committee, London, 31 January 17 57, Beng. Letters Recd., vol. 23, f. 405. 96. Select Committee to Watts, 14 March 1757, Orme Mss., India V, f. 1275; Orme Mss. O.V. 170, f. 397. 97. Luke Scrafton to John Walsh, 9 April 1757, Hill, vol. III, p . 343; emphasis added. 98. Law's Memoir, Hill, III, p. 190. 99. Select Committee to Clive, 29 April 1757, Hill, vol. II, p. 368. 100. Select Committee Consults., 23 April 1757, Orme Mss. India V, f. 1212; O.V. 170, f. 222, emphasis added. 101. Select Committee Consults., 28 April 1757, Orme Mss. O.V. India, f. 1214. 102. P.J. Marshall, Bengal) pp. 77-8, 91; C.A. Bayly, Indian Society, pp. 4950; Rajat Kanta Ray, 'Colonial Penetration', pp. 12, 15; Patashi, pp. 13, 35-6. 103. Law, Memoir, Hill, vol. III, p. 194. 104. Robert Orme, Military Transactions, vol. II, sec. I, p . 148 . 105. Clive to vVatts, 28 April 1757, Hill, vol. II, p. 366. 106. Watts' M emoirs) p . 82. 107. Scrafton, R eflections) p. 83 . 108. Clive to Watts, 2 May 1757, Hill, vol. II, p . 373. 109. Orme Mss. India V, f. 1228; Orme Mss. O.V. 170, f. 265; emphasis added. llO. Watts to Clive, 3 June 1757, H ill, vol. II, p . 397. lll. Clive to Select Committee, 18 May 1757, Hill, vol. II, p. 387; John Cooke's deposition before the Parliamentary Committee, Hill, vol. III, p. 320 . . ll2. Select Committee Proceedings, ll June 1757, Orme Mss. India V, ff. 1232-3; O.V. 170, ff. 256-7, emphasis added. 113. Watts' Memoirs) p . 108; Scrafton, R eflections, p. 92. ll4. Clive to Select Committee, 19 June 1757, Hill, vol. II, pp. 417-18 . 115. Ibid., p. 418. ll6. Clive to Mir Jafar, 19 June 1757, Hill, vol. II, p. 417, emphasis added. ll7. Clive to Select Committee, 21 June 1757, Hill, vol. II, p . 419. 118. Journal of Eyre Coote, Orme Mss. India VII, f. 1665, Hill, vol. III, p. 54. 119. Clive to Mir Jafar, 22 June 1757, Hill, vol. II. p . 421. 120. Scrafton, Reflections, pp. 91-2. 121. Law's Memoir; Hill, vol. III, pp. 211-12. 122. Karam Ali, Muzaffarnama, p . 74. 123. For details, see, Law's Memoir; Hill, vol. III, pp. 194, 211 -12. 124. Seir, vol. II, p. 231. 125. Select Committee Proceedings, 11June1757, Orme Mss., India V. , ff. 1232-3; O.V. 170, ff. 256-7; emphasis added.

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126. Seir, II, p. 231; Mark Bence-Jones) Clive) p . 140; Michael Edwardes, Battle of Plassey) pp. 144-5. 127. Holden Furber and Kristof Glamann, 'Plassey: A New Account from the Danish Archives', ]AS) XIX, 2 (1960), p. 178. 128. Watts' Memoirs) p. 110. 129. Riyaz) p . 375. 130. Seir, p. 231; Riyaz) p. 375 131. P. J. Marshall, Bengal) p. 91 132. Scrafton, Reflections) p. 100. 133. Yusuf Ali, Tarikh-i-Bangala-i-Mahabatjangi, p. 133; Seir, pp. 232-4; Riyaz) p. 375; Muzaffarnama) pp. 75-6. 134. Ibid, p. 133. 135. Holden Furber and Kristof Glamann, 'Plassey', p. 181. 136. Mir Jafar to Clive, 23 June 1757, Orme Mss., India XI, f. 2814. 137. Chaudhury) Prelude to Empire, pp. 70-3. 138. Luke Scrafton to Robert Clive, 17 December 1757, Orme Mss., India XVIII, f. 5043. 139. For details, see Gupta, Sirajuddaullah, p. 36; Orme to Clive, 25 August 1752, Orme Mss., O.V. 19, ff. 1-2.

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CHAPTER SIX

Begums: Contrasting Roles and Characters

While discussing the history of Murshidabad during the nawabi regime, the story of the Begums naturally comes to the fore. It will be interesting to examine the roles played by them during the nizamat in Bengal. This will reveal that some of these Begums possessed strong personalities, sharp intelligence and mature wisdom. They stood steadfast by their husbands in times of crisis, helped them in running the administration and carrying out their responsibilities with love and care. But there were others who were too ambitious, self-seeking and notorious in nature. Not only that, while some of them were of noble and laudable character, blemishes marred others' disposition.

Zinatunnisa Of the important Begums of Murshidabad, we shall first take up the role of Zinatunnisa, daughter of nawab Murshid Quli Khan and Begum of nawab Shujauddin. According to the author of Seir Mutaqherin, she had another name, Nafisa but Gulam Husain Salim, the author of Riyaz-us-Salatin, describes Nafisa as the sister ofSarfaraz Khan. 1 Murshid Quli, who had only one wife and no harem, was very much attached to his only daughter. When he was holding minor offices in the Deccan, he gave Zinatunnisa in marriage with Shuja Khan who was then one of the important officials in Burhanpur. Shuja began to live with his father-in -law as a member of the family. When Murshid Quli became both diwan and subadar of Bengal, he appointed Shuja as the deputy governor of Orissa. But soon the relations between the two soured so much that Shuja decided to leave Murshidabad and retire to Orissa where he began to look after his affairs personally. As a ruler, Shuja was kind, just, generous and popular. But he had a very great weakness for women. On the other hand Zinatunnisa,

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though god-fearing and liberal in many ways, was a spirited lady. So she could not accept the licentious character of her husband. This, added to Shuja's hostile attitude to her father, completely alienated Zinatunnisa's heart from her husband and she decided to leave him and come to Murshidabad with her son Sarfaraz where she be'gan to live in great splendour as the daughter of the nawab. Murshid Quli had no son. At the same time he was not at all pleased with his son-in-law, Shuja. So he decided to nominate his grandson Sarfaraz, son of his daughter Zinatunnisa, as his successor and .tried to get approval from the Nlughal emperor at Delhi. On learning this, at the instance of his two advisers, Haji Ahmed and Alivardi Khan, Shuja sent emissaries to Delhi to obtain the patents of subadari in his own name. But when he heard that Murshid Quli~. was on his death-bed, he rushed to Bengal with his army, accompanied by Alivardi Khan. On his way he heard the news of Murshid Quli's death2 and also received the necessary patents from Delhi. On reaching Murshidabad, he went straight to Murshid Quli's palace, Chehel Sutun (Hall of Forty Pillars), where he proclaimed himself as the lawful subadar of Bengal and Orissa. 3 On hearing this, Sarfaraz whom Murshid Quli wanted to succeed him decided to challenge his father. But his mother Zinatunnisa, who was a woman of remarkable prudence and sagacity, and greatly loved and respected by Sarfaraz, dissuaded him from fighting his own father. She told him that his father was an old man and could not keep him long out of the throne. She along with her mother Nasira Banu, the Begum of Murshid Quli, assured him by saying: 4 Your father is old; after him, the subadari as well as the country with its treasure would devolve on you. To fight against one's own father is cause of loss in this world and in the next as well as ignominy. It is meet till the lifetime of your father, you should remain contented with the Diwani of Bengal.

These arguments prevailed on Sarfaraz so well that he gave up the idea of contesting his father and immediately advanced to kiss his feet. Shuja then paid his wife a visit and expressed his regret for the wrong he had done her. Zinatunnisa forgave him. Thus she resolved a serious crisis in Murshidabad by her magnanimity and with great tact. Around this time Bihar was annexed to the suba of Bengal and Shujauddin thought of sending a deputy there. He wanted to appoint one of his two sons there. But Zinatunnisa would not part with her

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son Sarfaraz nor would she approve of the appointment ofTaqi Khan, her stepson. Shuja had to accept her decision and it was at her instance that Alivardi Khan was appointed the deputy governor ofBihar. This only reveals her tremendous influence on Shujauddin. It seems that Zinatunnisa regarded herself as the sole and real successor to the nizamat established by her father and Shujauddin got the right to rule only under her guidance. That is why after summoning Alivardi to her apartment, she gave him a rich khilat and 'conferred upon him the government of Bihar, as from herself'. It was only after this investiture that Alivardi was presented with the khilat of the deputy governorship of Bihar by Shujauddin.5 These events show that Zinatunnisa was a woman of strong personality, great wisdom and shrewd intelligence, and that she exerted considerable influence in the affairs of the state. ~However, later events proved to be very painful for Zinatunnisa. Alivardi conspired with the powerful triumvirate of Shujauddin's time - Haji Ahmed, Alamchand and Jagat Seth who ruled Bengal by proxy in the name of Shujauddin - and marched after the death of ·Shujauddin against nawab Sarfaraz, the son of Begum Zinatunnisa. In the battle of Giria ( 1740) Sarfaraz faced Alivar di' s army and died fighting in the battlefield. 6 It can be easily guessed how painful the death of her only son proved to her. Two days after his victory, Alivardi entered into the city of Murshidabad and before occupying the throne, begged pardon of Zinatunnisa. He informed the Begum that he would pay due respect ·to her till the last day of his life and would obey her orders as far as possible. Zinatunnisa was so much overtaken by grief at the death of her son that she did not say anything to Alivardi in reply. 7 After becoming the nawab, Alivardi appointed the husband of his eldest daughter Ghaseti, Nawazish Muhammad, as the deputy governor of Dhaka. Nawazish made Zinatunnisa agree to leave her palace and come to Dhaka and stay as his adopted mother. Not only that, he gave the entire responsibility of his family in the hands ofZinatunnisa and gave her full freedom in the matter. She got the right to do everything according to her own preference even without consulting Nawazish or taking his permission. But maintaining her own prestige, she always consulted Nawazish from behind the curtain. 8 Begum Zinatunnisa's liberal attitude and magnanimity is also reflected in another incident. She adopted as her son Aga or Aka Baba who was born of one of Sarfaraz's concubines. Aka Baba was

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born on the day on which Sarfaraz was killed in the battle of Giria. Probably due to this reason, the grief-stricken Begum developed compassion for Aga and she took him as her adopted son. Aga became the Begum's only consolation in her old age . She became eager to give Aga in marriage with the daughter of Syed Ahmed, the· brother of Nawazish Muhammad. Syed Ahmad at first did not agree to the proposal but ultimately agreed to it at the repeated requests of Nawazish Muhammad and his wife Ghaseti Begum. But it seems that this marriage did not take place due to various accidents in the nawab's family. 9 Both Ghaseti and Nawazish had great respect for Zinatunnisa. It was she who alone enjoyed all Murshid Quli's landed and personal property. Neither Nawazish Muhammad nor Alivardi ever demanded any share. Not only that, Alivardi and Nawazish respected her much that at the time of meeting her, they bowed before her to show their respect and only when she told them to take seat, did they sit down before her. 10 Nothing is known about how long Zinatunnisa was alive or when she died. But the mosque she built at Azimnagar, about half a mile north of the Murshidabad palace, stood there for a long time. It is said that after her death she was buried beside the rums of the mosque. 11

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Durdana Begum Among the women of the nawab family of Murshidabad, there were some who possessed personality, were courageous and unwavering. An example of such a woman was Durdana Begum. She was nawab Sarfaraz Khan's sister and the wife of the deputy governor of Orissa, Murshid Quli Khan II. It is said that her prestige and status in Orissa was much more than that of her husband. After defeating and killing Sarfaraz Khan in the battle of Giria and occupying the musnad of Bengal, Alivardi Khan marched against Sarfaraz's sister's husband Murshid Quli II. The latter had no resources to fight against the vast army of Alivardi Khan. He also did not possess such mental strength and confidence to fight Alivardi. But his wife Durdana Begum began to instigate him to resist Alivardi because she wanted to take revenge for the death of her own brother Sarfaraz. As no p~sitive result came out of this and noticing Murshid Quli II's great reluctance to fight,

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Durdana Begum ultimately threatened her husband that if he refused to march against Alivardi, she would desert him. At the same time she threatened that she would give all her property and the deputy governorship of Orissa to her son-in-law Mirza Bakir Khan. This served the purpose and Murshid Quli II fought against Alivardi. In the battle ofBalasore, he was defeated by Alivardi. After this, Murshid Quli II and Durdana Begum took shelter in the court ofNizam-ulMulk Asaf Jah in the Deccan.12

Sarfunnisa That some of the Begums ofMurshidabad had a positive and beneficial role in the affairs of politics and society is also evident from ·,the activities of Sarfunnisa, the wife of nawab Alivardi Khan. It was not only that she sometimes accompanied her husband to the battlefields but often looked after the affairs of the state when Alivardi was away from Murshidabad to fight the Marathas. She was with Alivardi when he went to Balasore to wage war against Murshid Quli II. Again when Alivardi faced the Marathas under Bhaskar Pandit in Burdwan, Sarfunnisa was with him. 13 In this battle with the Marathas, she was actually in danger of being captured. The Marathas hemmed in the Begum's elephant, Landah, in which she was riding and it was the extreme valour of Musahib Khan Mohammad, son of U mar Khan, the general, that saved her. 14 On various occasion, Sarfunnisa gave Alivardi tremendous support and courage as also judicious advice when the nawab was faced with critical situation and became morose. Such an instance was given in details by the author of Seir Mutaqherin. He stated that one day when Sarfunnisa was seated in the Begum's quarters, Alivardi came in. Sarfunnisa realized at once that the nawab was not his usual self, that he looked perturbed and anxious. She asked him the reason and after some persuasion came to know that he was worried because he suspected that the Afghans in Bihar under Shamser Khan might betray him and join the Marathas. On hearing this she immediately sent her two confidants to the Maratha chiefRaghuji Bhonsle to tell him that they were sent by the Begum with the proposal to settle the matter by peaceful negotiations and leave Bengal. Raghuji was inclined to accept the proposal but was prevented by Mir Habib from doing that. Ultimately when the Marathas proceeded to attack Murshidabad,

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they were defeated by Alivardi in the battle of Katwa. 15 Though Sarfunnisa's plan did not work out, it reveals how she tried to help her husband in the most difficult and worrying situation. She also helped and advised Alivardi in matters of important administrative decisions. After defeating the Marathas, Alivardi dismissed his Afghan officers in Bihar, who for taking revenge on him, killed his son-in-law and deputy governor of Bihar, Zainuddin. So he appointed his elder brother Haji Ahmed's second son and his son-in-law, Syed Ahmed Khan as deputy governor of Bihar. But Sarfunnisa did not like this at all. She realized that Bihar was strategically very important because it was the gateway to Bengal for invaders. As such a weak governor like Syed Ahmed was unsuitable for the post. So she tried to impress upon Alivardi the necessity f01: appointing someone else in Bihar. She knew that the nawab had confidence in her and took her advice seriously. Yet to be sure she played another card to replace Syed Ahmed. Both she and Alivardi wanted their grandson Sirajuddaullah to succeed him. She now put the idea into Sirajuddaullah's head that he won't be able to occupy the throne after Alivardi's death if Syed Ahmed remained the deputy governor of Bihar. Sirajuddaullah pleaded with Alivardi to remove Syed Al1med from Bihar. Alivardi could never refuse what his favourite grandson wanted. Hence the old nawab removed Syed Allmed and appointed Sirajuddaullah in his place.16 This incident shows how clever, tactful and wise Sarfunnisa was. Always faithful to her husband who had no other wife or concubine, she was a virtuous woman·- a woman of noble and laudable character. That is why she was very much annoyed with her two daughters Ghaseti and Amina whose frailty was notorious. Ghaseti Begum, the eldest, made secret love to Husain Quli Khan, the favourite deputy of her husband Nawazish Muhammed Khan, the then governor of Dhaka. Through her influence Husain Quli became an important person in the state and many of his misdeeds were covered up. 17 But Husain soon deserted Ghaseti for Amina Begum, her younger sister and mother of Sfrajuddaullah which made Ghaseti furious. Sarfunnisa was shocked when she heard of the depravity of her daughters and tried to dissuade them from.their 'evil' ways and separate them from Husain Quli but only in vein. But resolute as she was in performing a task which she thought just, she tookrecourse to a stratagem. As a last resort she asked Alivardi to get rid of Husain Quli. But the nawab could hardly agree to do it without the nod from Nawazish

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Muhammed Khan. But this did not deter Sarfunnisa from her determination. She utilized the wrath of Ghaseti against Husain Quli for being unfaithful to her, and through her got the green signal from Nawazish. After this it is said that at Sarfunnisa's instance, Sirajuddaullah arranged the murder of Husain Quli. 18 Sarfunnisa was indeed a very kind lady. After his victory at Calcutta, Sirajuddaullah brought Holwell and a few others (all in chains) to Murshidabad. But he was asked by Sarfunnisa to release all the English prisoners to which he agreed. 19 Holwell was so moved by the magnanimity of Sarfunnisa that he wrote: 20 '

.. . a woman whose wisdom, magnanimity, benevolence, and every amiable quality, reflected high honour on her sex and station. She much influenced the Usurper's [Alivardi's] councils, and was ever consulted by him in.. every material movement in the State, except when sanguinary and treacherous measures were judged necessary, which he knew she would oppose as she ever condemned them when perpetrated, however successful - predicting that such politics would end in the ruin of his family.

Sarfunnisa's last days passed in sorrow and agony. After the defeat of Sirajuddaullah at Plassey when Mir Jafar occupied the musnad, his son Miran made Sarfunnisa captive, with her two daughters Ghaseti and Amina Begum and Siraj's wife Lutfunnisa and her minor daughter, and sent them to Dhaka. Ghaseti and Amina were drowned in the river there. The rest somehow saved themselves from this tragic death and ultimately at the interference of Clive could return to Murshidabad. But it became very difficult for them to survive with the monthly allowance they were given. In December 1765 Sarfunnisa appealed to the English governor to increase the amount. 21 What a come down for the Begum of the proud Bengal nawab Alivardi Khan!

Ghaseti Begum of Motijheel Ghaseti Begum, the eldest daughter ofAlivardi, was originally named Mehrunnisa but later came to be known as Ghaseti. She was also called 'Chota Begum' by many as her husband Nawazish ·Muhammed was the 'Chota Nawab' of Dhaka. But she was popularly known as the ·' Begum of Motijheel' because she used · to live mostly in the 'Motijheel' palace of her husband in the suburb of Murshidabad. 22 Alivardi gave Ghaseti in marriage to Nawazish Muhammad, the eldest son of his elder brother Haji Ahmed, After becoming the nawab of Bengal, he appointed Nawazish as the deputy governor of Dhaka.

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In his early life, it is said, he was licentious, cruel and of despicable character. But later a great change occurred in him. He became popular as a ruler and earned a good reputation. 23 But, according to some historians, because of his ill-health and lack of intelligence, he almost handed over the administration of Dhaka to his wife Ghaseti Begum and his favourite Husain Quli Khan. 24 What is interesting about Ghaseti Begum's career is that she was extremely ambitious and took active part in the succession race after the death of Nawab Alivardi Khan as we shall see shortly. Ghaseti Begum and N awazish Muhammad had no issue. So they adopted Ekramuddaullah, the younger brother ofSirajuddaullah, as their son. Ekram became a darling ofNawazish and the only source of happiness in his life. In 1752 Alivardi nominated his grandson, by his young~r daughter Amina Begum, Sirajuddaullah, as his successor, ignoring his two sons-in-law (who were also his nephews) Nawazish Muhammad and Syed Ahmed's claims .25 Nawazish, it seems, became very disappointed and disheartened with Alivardi's decision and from then on began to live with Begum Ghaseti in his palace at Motijheel in Murshidabad. Sometime after this his adopted son, Ekramuddaullah, died of small pox in 1754. Nawazish could not withstand this terrible shock. He died in December 1755. He was buried beside Ekramuddaullah in the palace at Motijheel. 26 After the death of Nawazish, Ghaseti Begum gave over the administration of Dhaka fully in the hands of Husain Quli. As we mentioned earlier, Ghaseti had illicit relations with Husain Quli and it,is said that Alivardi's Begum Sarfunnisa had Husain Quli murdered at the instance of Sirajuddaullah. After this the power to administer Dhaka passed into the hands of Raj Ballav, another favourite of Ghaseti. Nawazish was very rich and after his death his Begum, Ghaseti, became the owner of everything he possessed. From the very beginning Ghaseti was antagonistic to Sirajuddaullah. First, she apprehended that after becoming the nawab Siraj would confiscate all her property. Besides, she desired to occupy the musnad at Murshidabad by conspiring against Sirajuddaullah. Alivardi tried hard during his lifetime to settle things between the two but to no avail. He died on 9 /10 April 1756 at the age of eighty. He was buried at Khosbagh.27 After Alivardi's death, Sirajuddaullah became the nawab on 10 April 1756. At the very outset he wanted to counter his main rival Ghaseti Begum for the musnad. Ghaseti succeeded to the riches

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.of N awazish and as such became a very rich and powerful person in Murshidabad. Besides, Raj Ballav who was authorized by Ghaseti Begum to take charge of administration of Dhaka after the death of Husain Quli joined Ghaseti Begum and formed a very powerful group against Sirajuddaullah. On his part, Sirajuddaullah suspected, not without reason, that Ghaseti and Raj Ballav were also trying to bring over the English on their side. 28 That this is quite true is borne out by the records of the Companies. The chief of the French Company in Bengal, Renault, noted that the English believed that the party of Ghaseti Begum could not be resisted and it was Ghaseti who would occupy the throne at Murshidabad. He also believed that the downfall of Sirajuddaullah was inevitable and that is why the English sided with the Begum and joined the conspiracy against Siraj. 29 Again, th.e chief of the French factory at Ka'simbazar, Jean Law, wrote that the English believed that Sirajuddaullah would never be able to become the nawab. This was the opinion of another Frenchman. 30 Not only that, this is also evident from the writings of some officials of the English Company. Holwell firmly believed that there could be no doubt ofGhaseti Begum's success against Sirajuddaullah. Even Roger Drake, the governor of Calcutta, believed that there was no chance at all of Siraj becoming successful against Ghaseti Begum.31 In this background, Sirajuddaullah had no other alternative but to deal with Ghaseti Begum first. Some contemporary historians, however, pointed out that Siraj's main objective was to acquire the riches ofGhaseti Begum. But it seems that it was not the whole truth. In this context it was natural for Sirajuddaullah to feel that the immense wealth which Ghaseti Begum inherited might be used· in various ways in the conspiracy against him . So it was very essential for him to confiscate Ghaseti's treasures. In Persian chronicles also it is recorded that Ghaseti Begum was bringing different groups of people to her side by distributing her money liberally. But Sirajuddaullah did not take recourse to force against Ghaseti Begum in the beginning. He sent Alivardi's wife Begum Sarfunnisa and the merchant prince, J agat Seth, to Ghaseti Begum to persuade her to leave Motijheel palace. This diplomatic strategy which Sirajuddaullah adopted to come to an understanding with Ghaseti Begum could not but be applauded by Yusuf Ali, the author of Tarikh-i-Bangla-i-Mahabat}'angi. The said author significantly noted that many people who previously supported the Begum became satisfied with Siraj's policy of negotiation and compromise to sort

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out differences, and now deserted the Begum's party and joined Siraj. 32 Be that as it may, after the death ofHusain Quli, Mirza Nazar Ali, another lover of Ghaseti Begum, had the responsibility of protecting Motijheel. According to some Persian chroniclers, Sirajuddaullah attacked Motijheel. Nazar Ali fled and Siraj imprisoned the Begum and brought all her riches to his palace at Mansurganj. According to Karam Ali, the author of Muzaffarnama, these included besides diamond and jewellery, four crore of rupees, forty lakh mohurs besides gold and silver vessels to the value of one crore rupees. 33 However this seems to be an exaggeration on the part of Karam Ali. The life of Ghaseti Begum ended in tragic circumstances. We have already seen that after the battle of Plassey, on the orders of Mir J afar's son Miran, Sarfunnisa, the Begum of Alivardi, her two-. daughters Ghaseti and Amina, Sirajuddaullah's wife Lutfunnisa, and her minor daughter were all imprisoned and were sent to Dhaka in August 175 8. Miran considered all of them to be contenders for the musnad of Murshidabad and hence his enemy. He sent orders to Jasrat Khan, the deputy governor of Dhaka, to kill all of them. As Jasrat did not agree, Miran sent one of his associates to perform the job. Ghaseti Begum burst into tears when she heardJrom Miran's said associate about the plan. It is said that during this time the two sisters, Ghaseti and Amina Begum, tried to console themselves by feeling that they themselves had sinned much and so they deserved such tragic death. And they thought they were lucky that in case of such death, the burden of sin would fall on Miran. Both of them were taken in a boat in the Buriganga River near Dhaka and the boat was made to drown in the midstream. In this way, the two sisters - ·met with a 'watery-grave'. It is said that the two siste~s gave a curse to Miran to the effect that he would die by thunder storm. It is generally said that this actually happened, though there is much doubt about its veracity. 34

Amina Begum Amina Begum was the younger daughter ofNawab Alivardi and the mother ofSirajuddaulah. She was married to Zainuddin Ahmad Khan, the son of Alivardi's elder brother Haji Ahmed. Later Alivardi sent Zainuddin to Bihar as its deputy governor. Amina also accompanied him to Patna. But she could not stay there for long. The rebellious Afghans of Bihar murdered Zainuddin and his old father to take

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revenge on Alivardi. Amina somehow escaped death. The Afghans kept her imprisoned. It is said that they took Amina round Patna in an open cart. As no respectable woman was supposed to go around openly without a veil, even the common people felt sorry for the Begum. However later on, Alivardi marched to Patna, reined in the rebel Afghans and was able to rescue Amina. After this Amina Begum came to Murshidabad and took shelter there .35 There she, like her elder sister Ghaseti Begum, became involved in illicit love. Probably keeping this in mind, Nota Manus alias Haji Mustafa, the translator of the Seir remarked: 'She (Amina) became famous in Murshidabad by her amours and gallantry'.36 She entered into a relationship with Husain Quli, the lover of her elder sister Ghaseti and we have already narrated how on the initiative of Begum Sarfunnisa, Husain Quli was murdered. The impact which this triangular love affair had on the people of Murshidabad is clear from the reaction of the author of the Seir and Alivardi's relative Gholam Hossein Khan. 37 In the zenith of the conqueror's (Alivardi's) power, such infamies and lewdness came to be practised by some females and other persons of his family, as cannot be mentioned with decency, but effectually dishonoured his family for ever. All his daughters as well as his beloved Siraj-ud-daulla, lapsed into such a flagitious conduct, and they were guilty of such a variety of shameful excesses, as would have disgraced totally any person whatever, still more, persons of their elevated rank and sublime station.

Here, however, it is necessary to point out that Gholam Hossein's assessment of Sirajuddaullah can hardly be fully accepted - this is to a large extent motivated which we have tried to show with detailed evidence elsewhere. 38 About Amina, however, it has been said that she was a woman of liberal and soft disposition. When after the capitulation ofKasimbazar, Siraj forced William Watts, his wife and family to go to Calcutta with the army and later took them to Murshidabad, it was at the instance of Amina Begum that Sirajuddaullah released them. Probably this is not true because no reliable evidence is found that Siraj imprisoned Watts and his family, and took them to Murshidabad. On the other hand, it is known that after the fall ofKasimbazar, Siraj did not touch anything except the arms and ammunitions of the English stored in the factory. He did not imprison English women, children or even any official including Watts. He just made Watts and Betson accompany him in his journey towards Calcutta, probably to create

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pressure on the governor of Calcutta and the Fort William Council to come to a settlement with him. 39 The most pathetic moment in the life of Amina Begum came a few days after the battle of Plassey. Sirajuddaullah who was defeated at Plassey was murdered at the instance of Miran, the son of the new nawab Mir Jafar. Afterwards Siraj's mutilated body was put on the back of an elephant and was taken round the city of Murshidabad. The elephant with the dead body came near the palace of Amina. On receiving the news, she came out like a mad woman without any head cover, and fell on the dead body of his beloved son and began to wail. Seeing this heart-rending sight, the people of Murshidabad could not hold their tears. But unmoving even a little bit, the nephew of Mir J afar and his associate in many evil habits and works, Khadim Husain Khan, directed his servants to forcibly remove Amina Begum and other women from the spot. After this when Siraj's dead body was brought and thrown in the market place in Murshidabad and nobody came forward to bathe the dead body and bury it, then an old man named Mirza Zainal Abedin, indebted to the nawab's family, bathed the dead body of Siraj, put it in a coffin and buried it beside Alivardi at Khosbag. 40 After this, the tragedy which came in the life ofAmina, and the tragic death she met with has already been narrated earlier.

Lutfunnisa - Siraj's Begum Even now the very name Lutfunnisa creates a pang in the hearts of many Bengalis. With a mixture of truth, falsehood and imagination associated with her name, Lutfunnisa still stands out as the symbol of love, sacrifice and forgiveness. And needless to say, Lutfunnisa's name is inextricably connected with the history of Murshidabad. There are difference of opinion among historians as regards her early life. It is said that she was a Hindu by birth. Her name was Raj Kanwar. She was a maid of Siraj's mother and as Siraj liked her she gave her over to Siraj. Siraj was so much impressed by her beauty and qualities that he kept her in the harem with the respect that she deserved and gave her a new name - Lutfunnisa. A female child was also born to them. 41 It may be mentioned in this connection that in 1746 Alivardi gave his favourite grandson Sirajuddaullah in marriage with U mdatunnisa alias Banu Begum, the daughter of Muhammad Eraj Khan with great pomp and grandeur. But Lutfunnisa by her

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respect, love and service impressed her husband so much that Siraj became much more attached to and dependent on Lutfunnisa than Banu Begum and virtually made her the chief Begum. The life and character of Lutfunnisa, the Begum of the unfortunate nawab Sirajuddaullah, was a complete contrast to that of either Ghaseti Begum or Amina Begum. She shared her husband's joy and sorrow equally with him, and as far as her influence on his life is concerned, she overshadowed his legitimate wife, Umdatunnisa. She was actually the nawab's most beloved wife and never abandoned him even when he was in great danger after his defeat in the battle of Plassey. When he fled from the battlefield to Mansurganj palace in Murshidabad, even his own father-in-law refused to extend helping hand. It was only Lutfunnisa who stood by him with great love and affe~tion. Sirajuddaullah wanted to leave Murshidabad and sensing the danger he µiight have to face, decided to escape alone. But Lutfunnisa, a faithful and loving wife as she was, would not allow her husband to leave her behind and insisted that she must accompany him, come what may. She fell at his feet and begged to take her along with him. So at dead of night on 25 June 1757, the defeated and deposed nawab left Murshidabad for Bhagwangola with Lutfunnisa and their infant daughter. After travelling for three days and three nights without food, Siraj came down from his boat near Rajmahal and approached a fakir named Dana Shah for food. Recognizing Siraj, Dana Shah made him over to Mir Jafar's son-in-law, Mir Qasim. After this he was taken to Murshidabad.and was killed there by the secret assassin, Muhammadi Beg, employed by Miran, Mir Jafar's son. These events are more or less known to all. So there is no need for a detailed account. What the noted Murshidabad historian, Nikhil Nath Ray, wrote more than a century ago about Lutfunnisa, though emotional, is largely true.42 Although a woman, Lutfunnisa was divine. Poor Siraj was lucky to have some solace in the company of this divine-like lady. Lutfonnisa used to accompany Siraj like a shadow. Whether in danger or in prosperity, Lutfunnisa never deserted Siraj. When Siraj indulged himselfin luxury and pleasure as a princeconsort of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa, Lutfunnisa remained by his side as a mere companion. But when he was wandering aimlessly like a orbit-less star after losing his kingdom, then also Lutfunnisa accompanied him closely. Again, [after his defeat in the battle of Plassey] when no one paid any attention to his call and heart-rending screams for help , it was Lutfunnisa who

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endangering her own safety and life went along with her beloved Siraj . Even after the death of Siraj, she dedicated herself to the welfare of her husband's 'death-after' life.

However, it is said that there was another reason for Siraj's love and loyalty towards Lutfunnisa. Siraj fell in love with Faizi Farzan, a beautiful dancing girl of Delhi, and brought her to his palace at Mansurganj . After some time Faizi became impressed by the physical beauty ofSiraj's brother-in-law, Syed Muhammad Khan, and secretly became very close to him. When Siraj came to know about the affair, he imprisoned Faizi in a room in the palace and sealed it from all four sides. This resulted in Faizi's tragic death. 4 3 Siraj was greatly hurt by the betrayal of Faizi and as a result became more attached and devoted to Lutfunnisa. After her husband's death, Lutfunnisa spent her life in acute poverty and distress. The new nawab, Mir Jafar, and his son Miran banished Lutfunnisa and her daughter Ummat Johura along with Sarfunnisa, the Begum of Alivardi, her two daughters Ghaseti and Amina Begum to Dhaka in December 1758. How Ghaseti and Amina Begum were drowned there in the river and killed at the instance of Miran has already been described earlier. Though Sarfunnisa, Lutfunnisa and her daughter saved their lives, their sorrow and agony knew no bounds during their imprisonment. They did not regularly receive the meagre monthly allowance they were entitled to. Later when Muhammad Reza Khan arrived as the deputy governor of Dhaka, arrangements were made to pay them their monthly stipend regularly. It was such a ii:ony of fate that Clive who was mainly responsible for her husband's misfortune was instrumental in sending back Lutfunnisa to Murshidabad, after spending seven years ofimprisonment in Dhaka.44 In Murshidabad, Sarfunnisa, Lutfunnisa and her daughter applied to the Company's government for their monthly allowance. The application contained the signatures of all the three.45 Lutfunnisa was given the responsibility of looking after the tombs of Alivardi and Sirajuddaullah at Khosbag. For this she received Rs. 350 every montl1. In addition she was granted an allowance of Rs. 100 per month. But with a big family to maintain, the amount was hardly enough. Sometime later, when the husband of her only daughter Ummat Johura died, she was overtaken with grief. Ummat Johura died in 1774 . Johura had four young daughters - Sarfunnisa, Asamatunnisa, Sakina and Amatulmadi. The Company arranged to pay Rs. 500.for tlleir maintenance. 46 But after sometime when they grew up, it became

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difficult for Lutfunnisa to run the household with the sum she received as allowance. So in 1787 she sent a petition to Governor-General Lord Cornwallis informing him of her condition and requesting him to increase the monthly allowance. In that letter she informed Cornwallis that she had given two of Johura's daughters in marriage which was quite expensive. Moreover she wrote that two other daughters would have to be given in marriage which would be a costly affair. So she prayed that all this should be taken into consideration. 47 But there was no response from Cornwallis' side. Be that as it may, till the last day of her life Lutfunnisa looked after Sirajuddaullah's tomb and lit the evening lamp daily at the tomb. She died in November 1795 . After the death of Sirajuddaulah many persons wanted to marry Lutfunnisa but she did not agree to any of the proposals. Karam Ali, the author of Muzaffarnama, wrote that when a person like this gave a marriage proposal to Lutfunnisa she replied: 'I am accustomed to ride on the back of elephants, now how can I ride on the back of a donkey'? 48 This reflects how bold and upright she was . .

Munni Begum Though Munni Begum does not belong strictly to the period under our purview, any discussion of the Begums of Bengal without her would be incomplete. Of the Begums, her life was the most romantic and colourful. Among the Begums, she was the most clever, shrewd, . intelligent, foresighted, self-seeking and scheming. Born and bred in poverty, she rose to the elevated position of Regent of Bengal, and a trusted friend of Governor-General Warren Hastings. The life of Munni Begum largely resembled that of the famous queen Samru of Sardana. Born in a poor family, passing her childhood in poverty and in later life reaching the height of power and wealth, her life-story seems to be like that of a fairy tale. She was the daughter of a poor widow of a little-known village named Balkunda near Sikandra. Due to abject poverty, her mother sold her during her childhood to an amir's slave girl named Bis.u . Bisu stayed for five years in Delhi and trained Munni there in dance and music. Within a short time, Munni's reputation spread in every direction. It was around August 1746, Nawazish Muhammad Khan, on the occasion of the marriage of his adopted son, Ekramuddaullah, brought Bisu's dancing party including Munni to Murshidabad by offering them Rs . 10,000. Since then

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Munni and Bisu's party continued to stay there and entertain the amirs and umrahs. Mir J afar engaged the party for his darbar on a monthly salary of Rs. 500. There Munni's beauty as also her dancing and musical skill conquered Mir Jafar's heart and he took her into his harem. Munni Begum's attainments, cleverness and sincere love for her master soon raised her to the position of Mir J afar's principal Begum, bypassing the claim of his legitimate wife, Shah Khanam. This enabled her in later life to gain possession of all the wealth that Mir Jafar had accumulated during his lifetime. Munni had two sons by Mir Ja£tr, Najamuddaullah and Saifuddaullah while Babbu Begum (Shah Khanam) had one son, Mubarakuddaullah. After Mir J afar's death, Munni bribed the chief of the English Company to secure the succession for her elder son Najamuddaullah, a boy of fifteen. But he died in a year's time when his younger brother was made the nawab by Munni Begum's contrivance . He also died a premature death when Babbu Begum's son, Mubarakuddaullah, was placed on the throne at Murshidabad, mainly by the machinations of Muhammed Reza Khan, the naib diwan and deputy governor, whom Munni had treated shabbily earlier. During the nawabi of her two sons, Munni Begum was the real authority in the . state and administered the country. But with the accession of Mubarakuddaullah, she lost all authority. Perhaps it was at the instance of Reza Khan that Governor Cartier now ordered that as Mubarakuddaullah was the nawab now, Munni Begum has to hand over all authority enjoyed by her to Mubarakuddaullah's mother, Babbu Begum. But she was not. disheartened at all and waited for the opportune time to assert herself in authority again. As Gholam Hossein Khan, the author of Seir wrote: 49 .

... whose [Munni Begum's] extent of understanding nothing can be compared to, but the immense stock which is known to be possessed of in jewels and money, thought proper to take no notice of such an alteration; and although deeply wounded by such underhand dealings, she thought it beneath her dignity to descend to an explanation; and she passed the whole over with a disdainful silence.

Munni Begum's opportunity came when Governor Cartier was replaced by Warren Hastings in 1772. Following the instructions from London, Hasting immediately imprisoned Reza Khan on charges of corruption and embezzlement of funds; and took away all the authority from Babbu Begum and conferred it on Munni Begum. Munni was then fifty years old and she was sanctioned an annual

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allowance ofRs. 1,40,000 and her assistant, Maharaja Nandakumar's son, Raja Gurudas' allowance was fixed at Rs. 1,00,000. It is believed that Munni influenced Hastings in her favour ,by paying him quite a hefty sum. There might have been some truth behind this story but Hastings had his own motive for favouring Munni Begum which is evidentifrom what he wrote to the Secret Committee in London: 50 The Begum (Munni] as a woman is incapable of passing the bounds assigned her; her ambition cannot aspire in higher dignity. She has no children to provide for, or mislead her fidelity; her actual authority rests on the Nawab's life, and therefore cannot endanger it. It must cease with his minority, when she must depend absolutely on the Company for support against her ward and pupil, who will then become her master. Of course her interest must lead her to concur with all the designs of the Company and to solicit their patronage.

But Munni Begum's fortune did not last long. After two years, though her benefactor Warren Hastings was made the GovernorGeneral, the members of his council were vehemently opposed to him. They soon removed Mimni Begum from her position and gave it back to Babbu Begum. Hastings was no doubt very upset by this but he could not do much. Munni Begum, however, always remained a true friend of Hastings who also tried to help her on many occasions. Before he left for England, he even wrote to the Court of Directors to raise the allowance of Munni Begum so that she could live in some comfort in her old age. He also attached to his letter an appeal from Munni Begum. This again did not help much. Munni Begum's . monthly allowance was fixed at Rs. 12,000. But she had enough money to live in style like a queen. Nobody loved her and everybody, right from the nawab down to the commoner, was scared of her. She died on 19 January 1813 at the ripe old age of ninety-seven. At the tfme of her death, the total value of her personal property and wealth was estimated at over Rs. 15 lakh. She was buried in Mir Jafar's family graveyard at Zafarganj. The mosque she built in the southeast of the Murshidabad palace was the largest in the city. It was built on the ruins of 'Cehel Sutun' in 1767. Munni was known to be 'the mother of the Company'. After Mir Jafar's death, Robert Clive came to her and said: 'It is true I cannot restore the late nawab to life but I declare with the utmost sincerity of heart that I consider myself and all the English Gentlemen to be your Highness's children, and that we regard you as our mother'. 51 Though a woman of much sense and spirit, she was haughty and overbearing in character but

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steadfast and faithful, never forsaking a friend or dependent. She was a woman of unusual capacity and her good sense as well as her steadfastness of purpose was never so remarkable as when she had any scheme to carry into execution. For, whatever she once undertook, she never failed to perform as she always found some expedient or other for attaining success. Indeed, no other Begums ofMurshidabad had such ups and downs in their lives, and none other had such a colourful life.

Notes 1. Gholam Hossein Khan, Seir Mutaqherin; vol. 1, Haji Mustafa (tr.), 2nd rpt., Lahore, p. 345; Gulam Husain Salim, Riyaz-us Salatin, Abdus Salam (tr.), Calcutta, 1904, p . 322. 2. Abdul Karim, Murshid Quli and His Times; 1963, Dacca, p. 59. 3. B.N. Banerjee, Begums of Bengal, Calcutta, 1942, pp. 2-3. In Persian chronicles.like Seir Mutaqherin or Riyaz-us-Salatin; there is hardly any mention of obtaining permission from the Mughal emperor in advance. In fact, by the first half of the eighteenth century, the emperor at Delhi was just a titular head of the Mughal empire, without any real authority over the subadars. Consequently, the nawabs of Bengal used to pay the tribute to anyone who was on the throne at that point of time. Pleased with the regular flow of tribute, the Mughal emperors hardly interfered in the affairs of the nawabs. 4. However, Gulam Husain Salim, the author of Riyaz, stated that it was his maternal grandmother, wife of Murshid Quli, Nasira Banu Begum who had dissuaded Sarfaraz from this course of action, Riyaz, p. 2~8. Sir Jadunath Sarkar also holds a somewhat similar view, History ofBengal, vol. 2, p . 423. On tl1e other hand, Brajendra Nath Banerjee writes that, it was Zinatunnisa who deterred Sarfaraz from waging a war against his father, B.N. Banerjee, Begums of Bengal, p. 2. Yet again, Salimullah, the author of Tarikh-i-Bangala, informs us that in this case, both Nasira Banu and Zinatunnisa had dissuaded Sarfaraz from fighting his father, Tarikh-i-Bangala, p. 72. 5. Yusuf Ali, Tarikh-i-Bangala-i-Mahabatjangi; Abdus Subhan (tr.), Calcutta, 1982, pp . 8-9; Seir Mutaqherin; vol. I, p. 282. 6. Riyaz, pp. 310-21; Muzaffarnama, pp. 20-3; Sarkar, History ofBengal, vol. II, pp. 440-2; K.K. Datta, Alivardi and His Times, p. 248 . 7. Seir, vol. 1, p. 340; Banerjee, Begums of Bengal, p . 5. 8 . Banerjee, Begums of Bengal, p. 6. 9. Seir, vol. 1, p. 356; Sarkar, Bengal Nawabs, pp. 50, 147-8, 152-3. 10. Seir, vol. 1, p. 356. . 11. Banerjee, Begums of Bengal, p. 6 ..

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12. Seir, vol. 1, pp. 348-50, 353-5; Riyaz, pp. 327-8, 330. 13 . Riyaz, p . 329; Banerjee, Begums of Be·ngal, p. 8; Nikhil Nath Ray, Murshidabader Itihash, pp. 79-80. 14. Riyaz, pp. 338-9. 15. Seir, vol. II, pp. 11 -14. 16. Ibid., vol. II, pp. 65-6. 17. For Husain Quli's dismissal and his subsequent reinstatement through the intercession of Ghaseti Begum, see, Seir Mutaqherin, vol. I, p . 422. 18. Banerjee, Begums of Bengal, p. 11; Ray, Murshidabader Ithihash, pp. 84-5. 19. Holwell to William Davis, 28 February 1757, Hill, vol. III, pp. 51-2. 20. J.Z. Holwell, Interesting Historical Events, pt. I, chapt. II, pp. 170-1. 21. Banerjee, Begums of Bengal, p. 12. 22. Sei1; vol. II, p. 109; Sarkar (ed.), History of Bengal, vol. II, p . 469; Banerjee, Begums of Bengal, p. 14. 23. Law's Memoir, Hill, vol. III, pp. 162-4; S. Chaudhury, Prelude to Empire, pp. 34-5. 24. Sarkar (ed.), History of Bengal, vol. II, p. 470. 25. Datta, Alivardi, pp . 1-2. 26. Muzaffarnama in Sarkar '(ed.), Bengal Nawabs, p. 56-7; Awal-iMahammadjangi, in Sarkar (ed.), Bengal Nawabs, pp. 152-3; Sarkar (ed.), History of Bengal, vol. II, p. 446; vol. II, p. 127. 27. Riyaz, p. 362; Seir, vol. II, pp. 609-11; Sarkar (ed.), History of Bengal, vol. II, p. 447. 28. Chaudhury, Prelude to Empire, pp. 41-4. 29. Letter from Renault to Dupleix, Chandannagore, 26 August 1756, Hill, vol. I, p . 207. 30. Law's Memoir, Hill, vol. III, pp. 162-4; Hill, vol. III, p. 219. · 31. Letter from Holwell to the Court of Directors, 10 August 1757, Hill, vol. III, p. 349; Drake's Narrative, 19 July 1756, Hill, vol. I, pp. 122-3. 32. Riyaz, p. 363; Tarikh-i-Bangala-i-Mahabatjangi, p. 118. 33. Muzaffarnama, pp. 61-2; Riyaz, p. 363; Seir, vol. 2, pp. 185-6; Hill, vol. II, p. 2; vol. III, pp . 217-18 . 34. Seir, vol. 2, pp. 281, 368-70; Riyaz, p. 389; Banerjee, Begums of Bengal, pp. 21-3. 35. Seir, vol. 2, pp. 43-4, 56. 36. Seir, vol. 1, p. 282 fn.; vol. 2, p. 124 fn. 37. Seir, vol. 2, p. 121. 38. S. Chaudhury, Palashir Ajana Kahini, pp. 19-23. 39. Hyde, Parochial Annals of Bengal, p. 158, quoted in Banerjee, Begitms ofBengal, p . 25; Hill, vol. I, pp. ix, 176; Chaudhury, Prelude to Empire, pp . 46-7, fn. 46. 40. Muzaffarnama, pp. 77-8; Riyaz, p. 376; Seir, vol. 2, pp. 242-3; Sarkar (ed.), History ofBengal, vol. II, p. 496 . •.J

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41. For futher details, see, Letter of the Board of Revenue to the Court of Directors, 29 December 1794, para 40, quoted in Banerjee, Begums of Bengal, p. 31, fn.; she was described as a chattel slave in Seir as well, Seir, vol. 1, p. 182. Beveridge, however, argues that Lutfunnisa was sibling of Mohan Lal but it does not seem to be correct, Beveridge, 'Old Places in Murshidabad', Calcutta Review, 1892. 42. Ray, Murshidabader Kahini, p. 113. 43. Seir, vol. 1, pp. 614-15 and fn.; Ray, Murshidabader Kahini, pp. 115-18. Here it can be mentioned that, the incident related to Faizi cannot be found in Riyaz-us-Salatin, Muzaffarnama, or Tarikh-i-Bangala-iMahabatjangi. 44. Seir, vol. II, p. 281; Banerjee, Begums ofBengal, p. 35; Ray, Murshidabader Kahini, p . 124. 45. Calender of Persian Correspondence, vol. p. 452, Letter no. 27§1, 10 December 1756, quoted in Banerjee, Begums of Bengal, pp. 35 -6. 46. Banerjee, Begums ofBengal, p. 36; Ray, Murshidabad Kahini, pp. 122-3 . 47. Original Receipts, 1787, no. 176, quoted in Banerjee, Begums ofBengal, pp. 36-7. 48. Muzaffarnama, p. 78. 49. Seir Mutaqherin, vol. III, pp. 26-7. 50. Hastings to the Secret Committee of the Court ofDirectors, 1 September 1772, quoted in Banerjee, Begums ofBengal, p. 48 . 51. Quoted in ibid., p. 54.

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CHAPTER SEVEN

Trade, Industry and Commerce

THE SCENAIUO OF trade,

industry and commerce in Murshidabad under the nawabs is bound to be of great interest to historians. Though we are concerned with the history of the city of Murshidabad, it is pertinent that we have a close look at the state of industry and trade of Murshidabad-Kasimbazar area since the exceptional prosperity of Murshidabad under the nawabi regime was due to the big stride in trade and industry of the area which was never seen earlier. Most of the big merchants, traders, shroffs and bankers of Bengal and the neighbouring areas assembled and settled here for the pursuit of commerce and industry. Not only that, merchants and traders from many parts of Asia including India and Europe made MurshidabadKasimbazar one of the main centres of their trade and commercial activities in Bengal. All of them were closely connected with the trade of the two main staples of Murshidabad-Kasimbazar area - raw silk and silk textiles.

Raw Silk Raw silk was one of the main articles of the export commodities from Bengal in the seventeenth and the eighteenth centuries. If the total value of the exports from Bengal is taken into consideration, then raw silk comes only next to textiles throughout the period under review. Though the Indians and Asians were involved in the export of raw silk from Bengal for a very long time, the Europeans came into the scene only in the seventeenth century. Actually it was from about the middle of the seventeenth century, after the misadventure in the trade of the Persian and Chinese silk that both the Dutch and the English Companies turned their attention to the _rich potentials of trade in Bengal silk. 1 Though the English Company started exploring the possibility of trade in Bengal raw silk from about the third decade of the seventeenth century, it was only with the establishment of a factory in Kasimbazar in 1658, the most important centre of silk industry and trade in Bengal, that marked the beginning

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of a long period of English export of silk from Bengal. 2 But in the early years, English trade in silk was not very significant and it was from around the mid-seventeenth century that the English began to persue silk trade on an extensive scale. 3 From then qnward, Bengal raw silk was an established and a valuable item in the Company's list of exports from Bengal. Despite some fluctuations in the early years of the eighteenth century, the volume of English export of Bengal raw silk increased steadily till the 1730s when it reached the peak, followed by a decline in the next two decades. The Dutch too began the trade in Bengal raw silk in right earnest from about the middle of the seventeenth century, though they were aware of the possibility of lucrative trade in that commodity much earlier. 4 They procured Bengal silk for the Japanese and Dutch markets, the former playing a major role in the Dutch export of the commodity. Until the 1670s, Persian silk was a dominant component of Dutch export to Europe while most of the Chinese and Bengal silk was diverted to Japan. But the situation changed completely in the last two decades of the seventeenth century when because of the decline in the Japan trade and the low price of Bengal silk compared to that of the Chinese silk, Bengal became the main supplier of silk to Holland. 5 Earlier it was Italian silk which was mostly used in the silk industry of Europe. But the Italian silk was very expensive. So when it was found that Bengal raw silk could be easily used in the silk industry of Europe and that this would be more profitable because the Bengal silk though a little inferior to Italian silk but was much cheaper, would bring in more profit. As such the European Companies began to trade in Bengal raw silk with right earnest, and thus earn huge profit from the trade. One or two examples will bear the point out. In 1653-4 the Dutch earned a gross profit of 200 per cent exporting Bengal silk while a consignment of silk from Bengal brought by the ship Martha in 1695-6 fetched a gross profit of over 250 per cent for the English Company. 6 The fact that Bengal silk could be used as a substitute for Italian silk widely used so far in the silk industries of Europe and at a much cheaper cost price than the latter made it a lucrative item for the Companies' export to Europe. Though the quality of Bengal silk was a little inferior to other varieties in the world market, its low price more than compensated the former and the quality proved quite suitable for the silk industries in Europe. Bernier aptly observed: 'The

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[Bengal] silks are not certainly so fine as those of Persia, Syria, Sayd and Barut but they are of a much lower price; and I know from indisputable authors that, if they were well selected and wrought with care, they might be manufactured into most beautiful stuffs.' 7 It should be noted here that the merchants from various parts of Asia and India were active in Bengal's silk markets even before the advent of the European Companies. They were carrying on a substantial inter-regional as also interµ.ational trade in Bengal silk, mainly through overland routes. And throughout the seventeenth and the first half of-the eighteenth century these merchants were the most active groups in the silk trade, even challenging and surpassing the European Companies. Though the principal group among these merchants appears to be mainly from Gujarat, there were also numerous other groups of merchants from Central Asia, Muitan, Lahore, Agra, Benares, Hyderabad, Gorakhpur, etc. What is of great significance is that these Asian and Indian merchants carried on an extensive trade in raw silk from Bengal even in the mid-eighteenth century and were not displaced from their predominant position by the Europeans till after the battle of Plassey in 175 7.

Production and Organization The major centre of silk production in Bengal was Kasimbazar and its neighbourhood in Bengal. Streynsham Master noted in 1676 that mulberry trees, the leaves of which were the essential food of the silk . worms, were cultivated in 'all the country or great part thereof about Kasimbazar'. 8 The extensive cultivation of mulberry trees was indeed a typical feature of the rural scene in Murshidabad and naturally provided employment to many people. The great importance of silk production in the economic life of Murshidabad is reflected in a common saying prevalent for long in the area that 'the mulberry is a greater source of wealth and happiness than one's son'. 9 Raw silk was, however, also produced in some parts of North Bengal such as Rangpur and Kumarkhali in Nadia. But there is little doubt that Murshidabad, of which Kasimbazar was only a suburb, was the most important production and manufacturing centre of Bengal raw silk in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Moreover MurshidabadKasimbazar silk was the best in quality compared to silk produced in other areas in Bengal. There is hardly any precise information in the sources regarding

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the total annual production of raw silk. The assertion of Tavernier that Bengal produced around 22,000 bales of 100 lbs each in a year in the 1660s and 1670s has recently been discounted as 'gross exaggeration' in view of the fact that his figure of 6000-7000 bales exported annually by the Dutch was vastly in excess of the actual Dutch export. 10 But given the fact that theAsian merchants exported around 24,000 maunds of silk in 1751,11 the period when silk production and trade was greatly hampered by the Maratha incursions and assuming that the Asian merchants then were probably more active in this trade than in the mid-eighteenth century, Tavernier's figure of total annual production,though perhaps a little exaggerated, was possibly not very wide off the mark. The silk industry can be divided into two parts - the production of raw silk and its manufacture. The proauction of sericulture proper was agricultural-cum-home industry. The peasant-farmers grew mulberry trees along with other agricultural crops and reared silk worms on the mulberry leaves at their homes. The rearing of the cocoons was a domestic industry inasmuch as while tl1e male members of the family worked for mulberry cultivation in the fields, the women were engaged in rearing the silk worms indoor. J. Geoghegan, writing on the silk industry in the early nineteenth century, stated on the basis of other authorities, 12 that special houses were needed for rearing of silk worms. 13 A suitable room for such a purpose should be 24 ft. long, 15 ft. wide and 9 ft. high with a raised platform of 3 ft. and a thick earthen wall, with two windows at the top of the wall and a roof of thick compact thatch. A room of this specification could accommodate 200 kahani1 4 or 2,56,000 worms spread out on dalas or shelves of 51/2 x 41/2 ft., plastered with cow dung15 and placed upon machans or platforms. These platforms were supported by bamboo pillars resting on small earthen saucers filled with water to obstruct the passage of insects. Among other things, each cultivator needed several spinning mats, knives, baskets (to carry· mulberry . leaves), a few gunny bags on which to spread the cocoons in the sun, and a number of kalsis or earthen pitchers to store water for the saucers. And all these would have cost about Rs. 50 to 60 in the early nineteenth century. 16 Probably the cost would have been less in the mid-eighteenth century. Though Speed's description pertains to the early nineteenth century, it can well be projected back to·the eighteenth century since the main features of the silk industry do not seem to have changed

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much in the intervening period. He noted that in the first and the second stages of rearing, the silk worms were fed twice a day and every six or eight hours in the last two stages. As soon as the worms were ready to spin, 'they turn from a greenish-cream to a mellow light orange colour . . . with a transparent streak down the back, passing, as is observed, the emission from tail to head, which forms the silk' .17 They were then put on the mat, placed in the open air facing the sun when it was not too scorching and brought under cover at night. The worms continued spinning for 56 hours. Four or five days later the cocoons were ready for reeling except in the rainy season when they took longer time to dry. The peasantcultivators either sold the cocoons immediately to silk paikars or other merchants, or the cocoons were steamed and reeled into silk thread in the peasant's house. 18 The spinners wound off the cocoons in the first instance into a thread called 'putney' ot 'pattany' which was an assortment of fine and coarse threads. 19 Orme perhaps did not exaggerate when he wrote about the high skill of the silk spinners in the l 750s: 20 The women wind off raw silk from the pod of the worm. A single pod of the raw silk is divided into twenty different degrees of fineness, and so exquisite is the feeling of these women, that whilst the thread is running through their fingers so swiftly that their eyes can be of no assistance, they will break it off exactly as the assortments change, at once fi:om the first to the twentieth, from nineteerith to the second.

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Buchanan, writing around 1807, gave an elaborate description of working the cocoons where he emphasized that the process was mainly handled by women.

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Silk Market In the first half of the eighteenth century there was a keen competition among merchants from various parts of India, Asia as also from Europe. But the significant aspect of this competition was that it was the Asian and Indian merchants, and not the Europeans, who dominated the market. Among the Asian/Indian merchants it was the Gujaratis who were the most predominant. They used to buy the best quality silk without bothering about the price. Their main concern was quality, and not price. They had such a tremendous influence and dominance in the silk market that the best quality and the most

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expensive silk in Bengal came to be known as 'Gujarat silk' .21 The silk market in Bengal (M.urshidabad-Kasimbazar) was closely linked with the economy of northern India which is apparent from the. observation of the English Company official, John Kenn, who wrote the following in 1661 :22 'According as this silk sells in Agra, so the price of silk in Kasimbazar riseth and falleth. The exchange of money from Kasimbazar to Patna and Agra riseth or falleth as the said silk findeth a vent in Patna and Agra.' The frustration of the Companies for not being able to control the silk market or the silk price is amply clear from their records. As early as 1733, the English Council at Kasimbazar wrote that it is 'not in their power to command the [silk] market which will rise according to the demand there is' .23 The situation did not change even after eleven years as in 1744 the Kasimbazar Council referred to this inability on its part in no uncertain terms: 'Though this price is so much higher .than the last year, it is not in our power to help it as we cannot command the market which has been much higher lately. ' 24 However, besides the competition among numerous merchants, a major factor affecting the price of silk was the weather conditions which determined the total output of the harvest in a given year. Heavy rains, storms, draught or excessive heat would invariably cause a poor harvest , and with so many buyers in the market, result in an increase in the price of raw silk. The Kasimbazar Council reported in 1726 'that the heavy rains which has destroyed such numbers of the mulberry trees will be lessening the quantity [and] very much influence the price of silk'. In a rather pre-emptive bid, it contracted for November band (a term used to denote periodical harvesting of silk cocoons) silk at Rs. 4.11 ans (annas- 1/ 16th of a rupee) per seer before the 'extraordinary demands' made by the Gujaratis raised price 'any higher' .25 There are many such reports in Company records where the Company factors referred to natural calamity causing a rise in the price of silk. Again, the Maratha incursions into Bengal from 1742 to 1751 also resulted in disruption of silk production in some areas. But this has generally been exaggerated by some historians. 26 That the Maratha invasions did not impede the production of silk to any great extent is borne by the fact that the total export of raw silk from Bengal did not diminish much during the period. Even after ten years of the Maratha raids, the Asian merchants exported about 24,000 maunds of raw silk from Bengal. 27 In fact, the average annual silk export by

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the Asian merchants for the five years from 1749 to 1753 was around 20,000 maunds. 28 If the impact of the Maratha incursions had been so disastrous, it would not have been possible for the Asian merch~pJs to export such a huge amount of raw silk from Bengal. It was in the silk market that the Europeans had to face the stiffest competition from the various groups of Asian merchants operating in Bengal. · Of these, the Gujaratis were the most important group and it can be safely asserted that their operations acted as a 'general indicator' of the trends. 29 It is little wonder that the Gujaratis were the largest exporter of Bengal silk in the first half of the eighteenth century since from the sixteenth century, if not earlier, it was the raw silk of Bengal which kept the looms busy as far as Surat and Ahmedabad. 30 Besides the Gujaratis other important groups of Asian merchants active in the silk market were t11e merchants from Lahore, Multan, Agra-Delhi, Gorakhpur, Benares, Hyderabad, Jungipur in Murshidabad, the last ones acting as agents of Benares merchants. And of course there were the Armenians too, and another group, possibly from northern India, called 'Burdellawallys' in the Company records.31 It is significant to note that sometimes the demand of these groups of merchants, excluding the Gujaratis, had considerable impact on the market and enhanced the price of raw silk. Warren Hastings who was then a mere factor in Kasimbazar wrote in 1756 that the price of pattany or unspun silk suddenly rose there not because of the purchases of the Gujarati merchants but 'the arrival of every considerable foreign merchants at the aurungs' . He identified these rrierchants as 'Calwars' (from Agra-Delhi), Gorakhpuris and Jangipuris who are reported to have bought 'upward of six or seven lack of rupees for the provision of Putney, especially the finest sorts which they are daily buying up notwithstanding its dearness'. 32

Procurement Process .·

The Asian merchants generally bought raw silk from the aurungs in Kasimbazar-Murshidabad area. Occasionally they also bought silk through local merchants or paikars. But more often than not, the Asian merchants, camped in Kasimbazar-Murshidabad areas during the harvest season. Though the European Companies also set up their factories in the region, they were not able to purchase silk from the producer or from the local market because of the language problem

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and hence they had to depend on local silk merchants or on the dalals/brokers ofwhom there was no shortage. Among the merchants/ brokers/ dalals/ dadni merchants. dealing with silk, there were local people as well as outsiders from other parts of India. They were mainly dealers in silk and silk piece-goods. In the list of merchants with whom the English Company made contracts in 1753, out of 42 such merchants/dealers at least 10 to 12 were outsiders from Gujarat, Rajasthan, Punjab and north India. Among the local merchants, they were from different castes - right from Brahmin, Vaidya, Kayastha to even Telis (oil pressers).33 The Companies generally made contract with the dadni merchants/ dalals/ paikers, etc., for supply of raw silk from around January to April because this was the time when the best pattanywas out in the market. A common feature preceding the contract every year ~as prolonged bargaining and wrangling between the Companies and the merchant, regarding the quantity to be supplied and the price of silk. The Companies always preferred forward dealing to buying from the merchant-middlemen at the shipping season, obviously because the latter would have involved payment of a higher price as also the uncertainty of having the required quantity for Europe-bound ships. The merchants were given an advance at the rate of 80-5 per cent. But often later in the season, even after the contract has been signed, the merchants would try to raise the price of silk on the ground that there was a crop failure or the presence of too many buyers in the market pushing up the prices. For example, on 19 January 1745 the merchants agreed to contract at a certain price but towards the end of February asked for an increase in price stating.that they could not contract otherwise. The Kasimbazar Council thus records the meeting with the 'assembly of merchants' which reveals several interesting features of silk trade in Bengal. 34 We told them the price being already agreed, it was not in our power to alter it, and if they would not undertake the investment we must look for other merchants that would, to which they replied we might do as we pleased, but they were sure no merchants could contract cheaper than themselves, who had been bred up in silk business from their childhood, but that they could not give us their labour without some profit of which they saw no prospect at the price we kept ....

It is evident from the above, that there was sort of specialization

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among the merchant groups of Kasimbazar. These silk merchants of the Company were specialized dealers of that commodity and were ready to deal in the goods only when there was some guarantee of profit. Moreover, this kind of 'ring' or 'combination' of merchants for hard bargaining with the Companies or Asian merchants was a common aspect of the commercial life of Kasimbazar. What is significant is that these 'rings' or 'combination' of merchants cut across the caste or regional barriers as the merchants who entered into the same agreement not only belonged to different castes but several of them were from different parts of India. 35 The Katma family of Kasimbazar was the mainstay of the English Company's silk investment. In the 1730s and early 1740s before they moved over to Calcutta, the Katmas supplied most of the silk to the Company. The members of the family who successively held the position of 'chief merchant' or broker of the Company in Kasimbazar led the silk merchants in contracting with the Company. Hatu Katma, the first broker of the Company ( 1731-7) was succeeded by Balai or Balaram Katma who in the same way was instrumental in the Company's silk investment through the merchants. The Kasimbazar Council wrote to Calcutta that he [Balai] had been of ' great use' as a 'curb' on the merchants in 1739. When Balai Katma was confined . by the nawab, the Council felt helpless and requested him to ask some of his family to contract for 'the remainder of our silk and silk piece-goods'. The Company's total dependence on the Katmas in Kasimbazar-Murshidabad is well-illustrated in a consultation of the Kasimbazar Council: ' .. . for if some of that family will not assist us on this occasion, we find it on several Tyralls impossible to get any of our other merchants to agree for more silk or silk piece-goods'. 36 Almost throughout the period of our study, the Court of Directors of the English Company often complained that the silk sent from Bengal was of uneven quality, some of the skeins being more like pack thread than silk and full of knots. The main fault of Bengal silk was that the threads in the same skein were often a part single, part double and in some some cases even more. Unless carefully reeled, the 'country wound' silk thread had several defects and impurities. 37 When the Kasimbazar Council tried to make the merchants 'sensible for the Company's complaint with regard to the winders twisting two broken ends of the silk together instead of tying them in a knot, the merchants replied that by this method the silk would turn out

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much dearer as the winders could not then be able to wind off more than two thirds of what 'they do now'. 38 It was only in 1755 that the Council carried out an experiment of winding the filament on a wheel which seems to be an European innovation. But this method could not be continued on a large scale as it would have involved construction oflarge building within the factory to which the Calcutta Council did not agree. 39 But the silk winders of Bengal were not reluctant to learn the new technique of winding. As Warren Hastings reported from Powa on the other side of river Padma that the method of winding silk there was very different from that in the English factory at Kasimbazar 'with which these people cannot be supposed to be acquainted with' but 'they will easily fall into any new method which shall be shown them' .40 So when the Court of Directors, induced by the ;ilk manufacturers of England, sent Richard Wilder to Kasimbazar to examine the causes of the defects in Bengal silk and suggest improvements, his task was not too difficult. 4 1 Until his death in 1761, he remained in Kasimbazar and rendered valuable service to the silk industry by improving the method ofsilk winding and teaching the art of improved reeling to the local artisans.42 The new silk winding machine which he introduced was found very useful by the Kasimbazar Council and it considerably improved the defective winding. The Dutch, however, did set up a karkhana in Kasimbazar where they employed competent persons for winding silk. This is an innovation in a way in the history of Bengal silk and textile industry. It was a novelty because such an institution/ karkhana was never seen earlier in any private or non-governmental organization. No doubt there was karkhanas in the Mughal times but these karkhanas were royal or imperial establishments where articles were produced for the use of royal or imperial households, and no t for either ordinary people or the market. There were such karkhanas in Bengal under the nawabi regime where the most expensive and luxurious muslins were made for the royalty and the imperial household. 43 However the Dutch were the first to establish a karkhana in Kasimbazar in 1653 so that the reeling and winding of silk was done in such a way that the material could be used easily in the European looms. For this they built a shed in Kasimbazar where three thousand spinners and winders could work at the same time. If this workforce was utilized properly, then about 1,500 bales of best raw silk could be produced in a year.

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But the Dutch could not always achieve that goal. Yet when the demand for silk increased in the early eighteenth century, the Dutch extended the shed to accommodate 4,000 workers at a time. 44 The English Company also built a shed for a karkhana in Kasimbazar but that could not be extended because of the objection from the Calcutta Council on the ground of financial crunch. 45

Silk Piece-goods Murshidabad-Kasimbazar area was not only one of the main centres of silk production, it also manufactured silk and silk-cotton mixed piece-goods. These piece-goods were not only exported to various parts of Asia but also to Europe in large quantities. As one of the European observers wrote: 'The neighbourhood of Murshidabad is the chief seat of manufacture of wove silk: taffeta, both plain and flowered, and many other sorts ofinland commerce and for exportation, are made there abundantly, than at any other places where silk is wove.' The merchants who supplied the silk piece-goods and mixed piecegoods specialized in dealing with these commodities only and generally didn't trade in any other commodity. This is clear from the Company records. To cite an illustration, let us see what happened in the early 1740s. In 1741-2 when the Company tried to get securities against the advance given to the silk-piece goods merchants, they refuse to do so on the ground that 'some of them did business for Guzzeraters, Multaners, Armenians and other merchants and for greater amounts than with us and yet no such thing was ever demanded of them' .46 Again in 1744 some of the prominent merchants dealing in silk piece-goods absolutely refused to give any security and who were even ready to forgo the Company's contract for silk and mixed piecegoods rather than giving security. The Calcutta Council noted in the Consult. of 23 April 1744:47 . .. it is impossible to get the quantity of silk piece-goods ordered, without employing many other merchants residing in Murshidabad and Sidabad and other places some ofwhom being wealthy in good credit will not be persuaded to give any security, particularly Ram Singh, Gosseram and Rarimaut Echeanut, without whose assistance they [ Kasimbazar Council] fear they shall fall very short in the article of Taffaties which the above-mentioned chiefly deal in and provide the very best and which the other merchants do not care to meddle with as they are liable to occasion bad debts among the weavers ... they absolutey refused to give [security] as they being substantial people,

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and they apprehend no risque of any money entrusted with them, and in case they throw them out of Dadney, the Dutch and the French will gladly employ them ....

Needless to say that the Calcutta Council gave its consent to Kasimbazar to contract with these merchants despite their refusal to render any security for the dadni advanced. Of the silk piece-goods, the highest demand was for taffetas, and these were mostly produced in Murshidabad-Kasimbazar area. Taffetas comprised a major portion of the silk piece-goods exported by the European Companies. The Dutch exported taffetas also to SouthEast Asia and Japan. However it is to be noted that even in the export of silk.piece-goods the Asians had a decisive lead over the Europeans in the mid-eighteenth century, which will be apparent from the comparative study of the volume (piece-wise) of Asian and European exports of this category of textiles from 17 50-1 to 1754-5, the five years for which an analysis is possible from the report of William Aldersey in 1769. TABLE 7.1: QUINQUENNIAL TOTAL AND AVERAGE OF SILK TEXTILE EXPORTS, ASIANS AND EUROPEAN COMPANIES, 1750/ 1-1754/ 5

Asians Year

(Pieces)

European Companies

Dutch (pcs)

English (pcs)

European Companies (Total)

1750-1 1551-2 1752-3 1753-4 1754-5

1,24,675 92,475 89,978 74,978 75,062

12,890 39,628 27,777 29,029 40,885

12,760 20,041 32,615 24,663 34,160

25,650 59,669 60,392 53,692 75,043

Total

4,57,168

1,50,209

1,24,239

2,74,446

91,434

30,041

24,848

54,889

Average

Sources: Asian exports, BPC, vol. 44, Consult. 19 June 1769;. Dutch exports

collected and computed from export invoices in VOC records; English exports computed from data provided by KN . Chaudhuri, The Trading World.

Though the above table does not take into account the French export for lack of any precise data on that, it can be well assumed that the French share could not have been more than half of the

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Dutch and English exports,48 i.e. between 12,000 and 15,000 pieces at the most. Thus the average annual European export of silk textiles would have been around 67,000 to 70,000 (the total of the Dutch and English being 54,000 according to above table) pieces while the export by Asian merchants was more than 91,000 pieces. So it can be asserted that as regards the export of silk textiles from KasimbazarMurshidabad region, the Asians were ahead of the European Companies. It is to be noted in this connection that silk textile was perhaps not a staple variety in the Asian export from Bengal. It was cotton piece-goods - ordinary, medium and fine - which comprised the bulk of Asian exports to the Middle East and Central Asia. There is little doubt that as in the manufacture and production of raw silk, many peasants and artisans were also involved in the silk textile industry. In fact there was no dearth of skilled artisans for producing silk textiles in the Kasimbazar-Murshidabad areas. Robert Orme did not exaggerate when he wrote about the high skill of the silk spinners in the early _l 750s,49 which we have quoted earlier. Though these spinners and other artisans were so skilled, we do not know much about their socio-economic condition. Yet as there was quite a big demand for the silk textiles in the market and again as there was no dearth of raw material, it can be conjectured safely that they were not badly off. The silk weavers generally produced taffetas of three colours - deep green, light green and blue. Fortunately we found in the sources an estimate of the production cost under different heads and the profit made by the weavers in the manufacture of taffetas which is to be found in Table 7.2. We pointed out earlier that most of the vast export of raw silk from Bengal was actually produced in Murshidabad-Kasimbazar area and that both the Asian merchants and the Europeans were involved in this trade. But the question that crops up is: Of these two who played the leading role? Asians or Europeans? So long the leading historians in the field held that the Europeans played the most vital role in the export trade from Bengal and that they were the major exporters of goods from Bengal. If so, then it implies that they were also major exporter of Bengal silk because textiles and raw silk were Bengal's two most important export commodities (value and volumewise). In other words it would mean that in the export of raw silk also the Europeans played the major role. This is more or less reiterated by K.N. Chaudhuri (1978), Om Prakash (1985, 1998 ), Peter Marshall (1978 , 1987) and Chris Bayly (1987 ).

TABLE 7.2: PRODUCTION COST OF TAFFETAS IN KASIMBAZAR, 1756 [Rs., Ans., Pies] Taffetas

Pucca Green Pale Green Blue

Cost of silk 6 .10 6.10 6.10

Winding cost 0 .4 .6 0.4.6 0.4.6

Twisting cost 0.4.0 0.4.0 0.4.0

Patash & Straw agent

& other

Blue

0 .2.0 0 .2.0 0.2.0

0.10.6 0.10.6 0.10.6

Other dyes

Tying broken threads

Weaving

Total cost

Profit % in total cost

3.12.6 3.11.0

0 .1.0 0.1.0 0.1.0

1.4.0 1.4.0 1.4.0

13.0.6 9 .15.0 9.4.0

9.6 12.5 13.5

agents

Sources: Factory Records, Kasimbazar, vol. 12, 15 January 1756; BPC, vol. 28, f. 386, 22 January 1756.

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But the question remains: is that true? We do not deny that the Europeans played a significant role in the sea-borne export trade from Bengal. But that does not mean that the Europeans were the most important players in the overall export trade (including both the sea-borne and overland trade) from Bengal. However it is a strong belief among several historians (especially Niels Steensgaard, Ashin Dasgupta, et al.) that with the fall of the three big Muslim empires the Mughal, Persian and Ottoman - and the consequent decline of one of the world's premier ports, Surat, the overland trade was doomed. One of the reasons for such contention was not only the Eurocentric views of some of these scholars but also to a great extent because of the extreme paucity of data, either qualitative or quantitative, for the Asian trade in the contemporary records while for the European trade there is an abundance of such material in the European archives. However, now we can show with both qualitative and quantitative evidence that the Asians were much ahead of the Europeans in the export of raw silk from Bengal. For that purpose let us first see what was the total amount of the European export from Bengal around the mid-eighteenth century? We have already observed that in the .five years from 1745-6 to 1749-50, the English Company exported on an average 1,200 mds. a year while in the next five years from 1750-1to1754-5, the amount of annual average was 1,146 mds. In the case of the Dutch Company, the average annual export in the quinquennial period, 1740-1 to 1744-5 was 897 mds. while in the next five years, 1750-1to1754-5, it amounted to 969 mds.50 Though no exact figure is available on the French export, it can be guessed on the basis of Peter Marshall's statement - that the French export could have been about half of the English and Dutch export - that the French export was around 500 mds. a year. In other words the combined export of the English, Dutch and French could not have been more than 3,000 mds. (English 1,500 mds. + Dutch 1,000 mds. +French 500 mds. = 3,000 mds.) at the most.51 If that be so, let us see what was the total amount of raw silk exported by the Asian merchants? We are fortunate enough to have unearthed a complete list of silk export by Asian merchants from Bengal from 1749 to 1767 from the documents at the India Office Records, British Library. The report was prepared by W. Aldersey who was the chief of the Kasimbazar factory in 1769, in response to an official query as to the

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causes of the decline in the silk trade and industry in Bengal. Aldersey specifically mentions that he collected the information from Murshidabad customs house (syer customs house) and it included the raw silk exported by 'natives only on which duties have been collected'. 52 We give below a detail of the amount and the value of the silk exported by the Asian merchants from 1749 to 1758. As this export declined considerably in later years, we ignore it altogether. TABLE 7.3: 'EXTRACT FROM CUSTOMS OFFICE RECEIPTS AT MURSHIDBAD, 1749-58' VOLUME AND VALUE OF RAW SILK EXPORTED BY ASIAN MERCHANTS Year

Volume (mds.)

Volume (lbs.)

1749 1750 1751 1752 1753 1754 1755 1756 1757 1758

20,037 19,571 23,740 17,615 18,055 15,249 12,269 7,635 21,347 18,192

15,02,775 14,67,825 17,80,500 13,21,125 13,53,975 11,43,675 9,20,175 5,72,625 16,01,025 13,64,400

Value (Rs.) 56,10,423 54,79,786 66,47,095 49,32,221 50,54,840 42,69,594 34,35,310 2 1,37,762 59,77,045 50,93,634

Source: BPC, Range 1, vol. 44, Consult. 19 June 1769, IOR. The figures in the table have been rounded off to the nearest digit.

After the above table, there is a note by Aldersey which runs as follows: The above account includes only the Trade on which Duties were really paid to the pachotra Daroga [Royal Customs House] but besides this there was formerly carried on a very considerable trade in these articles by Juggetseats House and others who had interest with the N izamat for these goods to pass Duty free . ... The above is the trade of Natives only on which Duties have been paid.

·It appears from the above table [7.3] that in the ten years from

1749 to 1758, the Asian merchants exported a total of 1,73,708 mds. of raw silk from Bengal. In other words, the average annual export by Asian merchants in the period amounts to 17 ,371 mds. And in the case of the Europeans, their total export during the same

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period could not have been more than 3,500 mds. a year on an average. So it can be asserted safely that the Asians had a predominant position in Bengal's silk trade and that even in the mid-eighteenth century, their exports of raw silk from Bengal by far surpassed those of the European Companies. The supremacy of the Asian merchants is also confirmed by one Sadananda Bandyopadhyay who was the gomasta of a Gujarati merchant in Kasimbazar and was himself in silk business for thirty years, who stated, referring to the 1750s in all probability, that there were ten merchants in Kasimbazar who exported Bengal raw silk to the tune of 13,000 to 20,000 maunds annually.53 It was Louis Taillefert, the Dutch Director in Bengal, who clearly pointed out in 1763 that the procurement of raw silk by the gomastas of traders from Lahore and Multan had gone up to a great extent since the beginning of the eighteenth century.54 If the Asian share of export of Bengal raw silk was about four to five timss more than that of the total European export, it follows that it was the Asians, and not the Europeans, who were the main importers of bullion to Bengal. It was a fact that merchants, whether Asians or Europeans, had to bring in bullion/cash in order to procure export commodities from Bengal - nothing else was accepted. This has been reiterated by officials of the Companies again and again that traders from different parts of the world came to trade in Bengal with bills of exchange/cash or bullion for procuring especially textiles and raw silk. William Bolts, an important official of the English Company, stated that numerous merchants thronged to Bengal to buy export commodities 'with little else than money or bills of exchange' and observed that 'the inland importation into Bengal always far exceeded the whole importation by sea from Europe and the gulf of Arabia and Persia'.55 Another Company official who later became the governor of Bengal, Harry Verelst, wrote that 'the whole amount of the trade of the Provinces [of Bengal] was a clear gain to them by an exchange of their produce for bullion' and 'there flowed every year an increase of specie equal to the amount of the export of the country'. 56 Another ·official Luke Scrafton informs that hundreds and thousands of traders from different parts of Asia 'used to resort to Bengal with little else than ready money or bills to purchase the produce of the Provinces'. 57 But this predominant position of the Asian merchants iri Bengal's silk trade was subverted systematically by the English Company and its servants in the postPlassey period, as a result of which there was a precipitate decline in

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the trade of the Asian merchants in the second half of the eighteenth century. Besides raw silk and silk textiles, Murshidabad was also famous for the production of some other minor but significant crafts. The most important of them was the ivory carving. The origin of this art is traced back to the nawabi regime. It seems that it did not exist in Murshidabad earlier. There is a story regarding the beginning of this art in Murshidabad. It is said that a nawab of Murshidabad asked his officials to get an ear-pick made for him. So an artisan made an ear~ prick of grass but the nawab did not like it as it was below his dignity to use something made of grass. He thought that the thing should be made of ivory. So a craftsman was brought from Delhi to do the job. While the man from Delhi was doing the work, a Hindu artisan saw the whole thing from a hole in the wall and learnt the whole process of making something with ivory. He taught the art to his son Tulsi Khatembar who became an expert in ivory carving and the nawab appointed him in the darbar for making different things with ivory at a monthly salary of Rs. 15. It so happened that the ivory work of Murshidabad became famous as something much better than those made in other parts of India. Ivory works of Murshidabad was imitated by people in Delhi, Benares and other parts in the eighteenth century. 58 Ivory works were mainly done for figures of elephants, horses, camels, etc; for making boats, palkis, bullock carts; images of Hindu gods and goddesses; depict wedding processions, hunting scenes; combs, walking sticks, toys, pen-holders, etc. Munni Begum, the widow of Mir Jafar, presented Warren Hastings' wife with a chair and a small table made of ivory. These two gifts from the Begum were appreciated by people as something very beautiful and valuable. The ivory works of Murshidabad were exported to different parts of India and abroad. In Bengal the nawabs, their courtiers, the aristocracy and the rich merchants were the main patrons of ivory works of Murshidabad. The English Con1pany officials also patronized the art when the Murshidabad nobility and aristocracy declined. But with the decline of the silk trade and industry, the English Company officials left Murshidabad and thus there was no one to encourage the splendid art of Murshidabad. The tusk of the elephants for ivory came mainly from Sylhet and Chittagong. These also came from Africa via Bombay. 59

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Notes l. For a detailed discussion of the Dutch and English experiments in Chinese

and Persian silk trade, and the shift in their interest to Bengal silk, see, S. Chaudhury, Trade and Commercial Organization, pp. 178-80; Balkrishna, Commercial Relations, pp. 97-8; Glamann, Dutch Asiatic Trade, pp. 112-13; K.N. Chaudhuri, Trading World, pp. 343-7; Om Prakash, Dutch Company, pp. 208-9. 2. The early English interest in Bengal silk and the various attempts to explore the silk trade in Bengal is discussed in details in Chaudhury, Trade and Commercial Organization, p. 179. 3. For early English trade in Bengal, see, ibid., pp. 185-9. 4. Glamann, Dutch Asiatic Trade, pp. 122-3, where he explains the reasons for belated Dutch trade in Bengal silk. 5. Om Prakash, Dutch Company, p. 208 . 6. Glamann, Dutch Asiatic Trade, p. 122,- Chaudhury, Trade and Commercial Or;ganization, p. 181. For the fluctuations in the rate of profit, see, Om Prakash, Dutch Company, pp. 187, 196, 199. 7. Bernier, Travels, p. 439. 8. Master's Diaries, vol. 2, p . 28. 9. Quoted in H.R. Ghosal, Economic Transition, p. 57, fo . 126. 10. Tavernier, Travels, vol. II, p. 2; Chaudhuri, Trading World, p. 354; Om Prakash, Dutch Company, p. 57. 11. BPC, vol. 44, Annex to Consult. 19 June 1769. 12. D.W.H. Speed, 'Notes on the Culture of Silk in Bengal in the East Indies', Transactions of the Agricultural and Horticultural Society of India, vol. III, 1837, pp. 14-15. 13. J. Geoghegan, Silk in India, pp. 16-18. 14. 1280 worms make one kahan or 16 pans. 15. Cow dung makes the dalas durable and its odour is repellant to the worms. 16.Speed,pp. 14-15. 17. Ibid., pp. 22-3. 18. Geoghegan, Silk in India, pp. 6 -7, 15-16. 19. Ibid., pp. 15-16. 20. Orme, Historical Fragments, p . 412. 21. Chaudhury, From Prosperity to Decline, p. 225. 22. B.M. Addl. Mss. 34, 123; Wilson, Early Annals, vol. 1, p . 376. 23. C & B. Abstr., vol. 3, f. 337, para 36, 26 December 1733. 24. Fact. Records, Kasimbazar, vol. 6. Consult. 23 January 1744. 25. BPC, vol. 6, f. 172, 2 February 1726. 26. Chaudhury, From Prosperity to Decline, pp. 299-303. 27. BPC, Range 1, vol. 44, Annex. to Consult., 19 June 1769.

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28. See, Table 8.4, p. 253, in S. Chaudhury, From Prosperity to Decline. 29. Chaudhuri, Trading World) p. 354. 30. Tavernier, Travels1 vol. II, p. 2. 31 . Numerous references to these merchants are found in the Company records . To give a few examples: BPC, vol. 6, f. 337, 4 January 1731; vol. 8, 381-38lvo, 22 March 1731; vol. 10, f. 190vo, 23 December 1734; Fact. Records, Kasimbazar, vol. 6, 9 December 1741; 25 January 1742; 12 March 1744; 3 April 1746; vol. 12, 7 February 1753; vol. 12, 12 September 1753. 32. Fact. Records, Kasimbazar, vol. 12, Annex. to Consult. 27 January 1756. 33. S. Chaudhury, From Prosperity to Decline) p. 241, fn . 82. 34. Fact. Records, Kasimbazar, vol. 7, 19 January 1745. 35 . Chaudhury, From Prosperity to D ecline) pp. 239-44. 36. Fact. Records, Kasimbazar, vol. 6, Consult., 10 March 1742. 37. K.M. Mohsin, A Bengal District in Transition) p. 45. 38. BPC, vol. 26, f. 52, 19 February 1753; Fact. Records, Kasimbazar, vol. 12, Consult., 7 February 1753. 39. Beng. Letters Recd., vol. 22, f. 710, para. 11, 3 February 1755; FWIHC1 vol. 1, p. 860; Fact. Records, Kasimbazar, vol. 12, Consult., 7 and 27 August 1755; BPC, vol. 28, ff. 400-1, 2 February 1726. 40. Fact. Records, Kasimbazar, vol. 12, Consult., 19 January 1756. 41. J. Long, Selections1 vol. 1, p. 84, para. 140, 146, Letter from Court .of Directors to Bengal, 25 March 1757. 42. Mohsin, A Bengal District in Transition) p. 56. 43 . John Taylor, 'Dacca Cloth Production', Home Misc., 456F; Chaudhury, From Prosperity to Decline1 pp. 145-6. 44. Om Prakash, European Commercial Enterprises1 p. 17 4; Dutch Company1 .p. 217. 45. Fact. Records, Kasimbazar, vol. 12, Consult., 7 and 27 August 1755; Chaudhury, From Prosperity to Decline, pp. 248-9. 46. Fact. Records, Kasimbazar, vol. 6, 26 February 1742. 47. Ibid., f. 6, 23 April 1744; Fact. Records, Kasimbazar, vol. 6, 19 April 1744. 48. Marshall also estimated from Martineau that the French Company's exports 'may have been half of those of the Dutch and English, P.J. Marshall, Bengal, p. 66. 49. Robert Orme, Historical Fragments1 p. 412. 50. Chaudhury, From Prosperity to Decline, Tables 8 .2 and 8.3, pp . 251 -2 . 51. Ibid., pp. 251 -3, p. 255, fn. 114. 52. BPC, Range 1, vol. 44, Consult., 19 June 1769. 53. Proceedings of the Board of Trade, 13 March 1791 quoted in N.K. Sinha, Economic History of Bengal, vol. 1, pp . 111-12. 54. Taillefert's 'Memorie', HR 246, f. 141 , 17 November 1763.

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55. William Bolts, Considerations, p. 200. 56. Harry Verelst to the Court of Directors, 2 April 1769, BPC, Range 1, vol. 24, f. 324. 57. Luke Scrafton, Reflections) p. 20. 58. O'Malley, Murshidabad District Gazetteer, p. 140; K.M. Mohsin, A Bengal District in Transition) pp. 74-5. 59. Ibid., pp. 75-6.

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CHAPTER EIGHT

Society, Economy and Culture

history of Murshidabad under the nawabs, a review of the society, economy and culture of that region invariably comes to the fore. As such, it becomes imperative to make a comprehensive review of these aspects inasmuch as the period especially the first half of the eighteenth century - witnessed many a change and novelty which was completely different from what was seen in the seventeenth century.

WHILE DISCUSSING THE

Society One of the main features of the Murshidabad-Kasimbazar society during the nawabi regime was the conglomeration of people of many nationalities and religious faiths in the region. In a way it was a phenomenon which was never seen in the earlier period. When Murshid Quli transferred the diwani office from Dhaka to Makhsudabad (later Murshidabad) in 1704, all the officials connected with that department moved to Murshidabad. Along with them, also came a large number of merchants, traders, bankers, shroffs, etc., from different parts of the country. Among them, naturally, there were people of different provinces, of different races and culture. Again, when Murshid Quli was appointed the subadar of Bengal also in 1716-17 and when Murshidabad °became the new capital, all government officials, aristocrats and most of the landed gentry flocked to Murshidabad and began to reside there. Besides, many people from different parts of India and Asia who were in search of new opportunities made Murshidabad their abode. Among them, the Armenian traders deserve special mention. They even founded a colony in Saidabad which was a suburb of Murshidabad. Moreover, as a result of the revenue and the administrative reforms of Murshid Quli, there emerged on the one hand a new commercial class and on the other a middle class too. The majority of these two classes made Murshidabad their home. Furthermore, at that time, one of

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the main centres of trade of the different European Companies was in the Murshidabad - Kasimbazar regio~.·;i;.~s such it seems that Murshidabad-Kasimbazar region becam~. ~;::melting pot of different races, nationalities, religions and social ri}~f~~·i; So it would not be an exaggeration to characterize the Mursfli~~.~ad society during the nawabi era as cosmopolitan. It goes without saying that in the social stratification of the Murshidabad society, the nobility as usual occupied the top most position. As Murshidabad was made the capital of Bengal suba, it became naturally the abode of the nobility and their dependents. The author of the Riyaz-us-Salatin, Gulam Husain Salim wrote that the policy of the Bengal nawabs from Murshid Quli to Alivardi was to invite members of the aristocracy from different parts of the country and even outside to come and settle in Murshidabad.1 Along with this, nearly all the nawabs were associated with the process of beautification of Murshidabad that commenced under Murshid Quli. This also was an attraction for the gentry for making Murshidabad their home. These nobles generally belonged to the two communities - Hindu and Muslim. Among the Muslims in Murshidabad, there was the predominance of the Shias. As the author of the Tarikh-iMansuri has observed: 'In Murshidabad, the Shiahs are, by the blessing of God, the reigning sect'. 2 On the other hand, Murshid Quli did not appoint anyone except Bengali Hindus to the revenue department. 3 Consequently, numerous Hindu revenue officials began to live in Murshidabad. In this connection it is also important to note .that the new merchant-banking and middle class that emerged as a result ofMurshid Quli's reforms was in the main Hindus. So it cannot be denied that the Hindus enjoyed a special social and political importance in the Murshidabad society. In the social hierarchy ofMurshidabad, the merchant-bankers and the commercial class came next to the nobility in importance. Many of them came from different parts of the country and even from outside, and occupied a place in the Murshidabad society. The Jain poet Nihal Singh came to Murshidabad in the 1730s when Shujauddin was the nawab. In his poem, Bangal Desh ki Gaza!, he gave an excellent portrayal of the merchants and traders of the capital and the markets on the banks of the river Ganges. He wrote: 4 Basati Kasmbazar, Saidabad Khagra Shar, Rahate Loke Gujaratik, Topibal Jeti Jatik;

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Aarab Aarmani Aangrez, Habsi Huramji Ulangdez, Sidi Farashis Aaleman Saudagar Murga! Pathan; Shethi Kungpani Ki Jor Damake Lage Lakho Kiror.

Here the poet tried to draw attention on the presence of merchants and traders of all denominations from different parts of the world in Murshidabad, Kasimbazar and Khagra (a famous production centre of utensils and curios made of bell-metal, now a part ofBerhampore) in the early eighteenth century. The things made in Khagra was indeed one of the main crafts of Murshidabad at that time. Among the business communities, Nihal Singh referred to, the dominant groups were the Gujaratis, the Hatwallahs (Europeans), Arabs, Armenians, English, Habsis, Germans, Parsis, Dutch, Siddis, French, as also the Pathans and Mughals. Not only that, the activities of different groups of merchants/ traders ofMurshidabad-Kasimbazar area have been reported in details in the accounts of several contemporary European observers. It is known from French sources that the merchant/trader groups like the Gujaratis, Armenians, Mirzapuris, Gorakhpuris, etc. were very much active in the trade and commerce of this area. 5 It is also known from the said sources that the records of the department of the 'pachotra daroga' (the officer-in-charge of collecting customs duties) mention that the merchants, coming from Lahore and Multan, paid customs duties at the said office for exporting commodities from Bengal.6 Again, an important official of the English Company, William Bolts, wrote in the mid-eighteenth century:7 'A variety of merchants of different nations and religions, such as Cashmeerians, Multanys, Patans, Sheikhs, Sunniasys, Paggayahs, Betteas and many others used to resort to Bengal.' Of these merchants many established their households in Murshidabad - Kasimbazar and resided there permanently, especially those merchant families which came from Rajasthan, Gujarat or North India. Thus they became permanent residents of Murshidabad, the Marwaris in particular. One of the most famous of these Marwari families was the house of Jagat Seth. They came from Nagar in Marwar in the early eighteenth century. Manikchand, the founder of the family who was a close friend of Murshid Quli, moved to Murshidabad along with him. Likewise, Huzurimal, the founder of the Dudhoria family, came from Bikaner in Rajasthan to carry on trade in textile and established his permanent residence in

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Murshidabad. 8 There are many other examples of such migration to Murshidabad. Besides all these big merchants, there were many small groups of traders in Murshidabad, who kept the1nselves engaged in trade of various commodities. Such a group was the 'Sannyasis'. They belonged to a religious community. According to the account of Sadananda Bandyopadhyaya (most probably while describing the situation in the pre-Plassey period), a few hundreds of Sannyasis exported raw silk from Murshidabad to Mirzapur, and the amount of export by them amounted to about one thousand maunds a year. 9 Alongside, another merchant group could be seen in Murshidabad and they were trading mainly in food-stuff. Murshidabad being a city, it needed a large amount of food-stuff. According to a rough estimate made in 1783-4, 5,000 maunds of food-stuff was necessary for daily consumption in Murshidabad. If that be so, it was natural that the demand for food grains in Murshidabad in the mid-eighteenth century would have been much ·higher because, after the famine of 1770 and the acquisition of the diwani by the English East India Company along with the transfer of nearly all the government offices to Calcutta, the population of Murshidabad in 1783-4 decreased quite a lot. Be that as it may, during our period, if it is assumed that 5,000 maunds of food-stuff was a daily necessity, it meant that this huge amount of food-stuff had to be supplied daily to the city. And this was done by a particular group of traders which specialized in the trade of food grains. As such, it can be said that they had a significant role in the life of Murshidabad. There is a nice description of the merchants in a near-contemporary document. 10 'All the grain business is carried on by four tribes, the Cuyar, Buccali, Ujinea and Moorcha. They are managed by a few of the most rich and opulent of each tribe and no instance will ever occur of their underselling each other or ever deviating from the plans of combination.' From the names of the merchant communities mentioned above, it may be assumed that they were basically the residents·of Rajasthan. The 'Moorcha' and 'Cuyar' belonged probably to Saikhabati in north-west Rajasthan. The 'Ujinea's were Brahmins ofUjjaiyan. From the said text quoted above, some distinctive features of the working of these business comn1unities can be discerned. These are: the unity of their groups and the controlling power of the head or sardar over these groups. They hoarded food grains at Bhagabangola where they

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had many galas (godown) . It is needless to say that when opportunity came, particularly when there was scarcity offood grain in Murshidabad, these merchants hiked the prices of grains and made a huge profit. 11 The merchant community ofMurshidabad was in fact a heterogenous group - among them on the one hand there were big merchants, bankers, etc., and on the other there were small merchant-traders like the sannyasis, the grain merchants and other peddlers. Among the merchant-bankers, mahajans, shroffs, there were both Bengalis and non-Bengalis. Among the non-Bengalis particularly, the question of group, caste and race was of great importance. Again amongst them many were Jains of the Oswal community. Most of them appointed people from among their own caste and creed, preferably their own kith and kin to look after their business. The best example of this was the house of Jagat Seth. The gomastas of the Seths were their relatives or belonging to their own community.12 Perhaps this tendency was more prevalent among the Armenians. They never appointed their gomastas or agents except from among their own relatives or people belonging to their race. This is clearly illustrated in the activities of the Armenians in Bengal in the seventeenth and the eighteenth centuries.13 From the social standpoint, these merchantbankers tried to maintain their own exclusiveness. Their marriage, social intercourse, etc. were limited to their own group and community, not to speak of the religious matters. All of them lived in their own locality, seldom did anyone live in a locality where other communities lived. Apart from the nobility and merchant-banking and commercial class, there was a sizeable group of professional class which comprised an important section of the Murshidabad society. A significant part of the above class was the middle and lower level workers employed in the administrative, revenue and legal departments like Murshidabad nizamat, diwani, sadar diwani court, criminal court and other government departments. The head of most of the departments, in general, was a Muslim official while in the rest of the posts Hindus predominated. The court poet of Maharaja Krishnachandra Roy, Bharatchandra, has given a comprehensive list of the lower level employees and different professional people in the nawab's and the raja's darbar. 14 In the said list, there is mention of such professional people as doctors, palmists, writers, revenue officials, lawyers, chief of'baje jamin' (most probably fallow land) department, time keepers, etc. The description given of them by their wives malces it clear that

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most of them were Hindus. 15 It can be presumed from this list that there was much disparity in the income and social status of the professional class. Besides the officials of the different government departments, many people engaged in different profession also resided in Murshidabad. Among them, the physicians and Ayurvedic medical practitioners enjoyed exalted status in the society. They were in great demand with the highly-placed Muslim officials who had greater faith in their treatment as compared to that of the Muslim heldms.16 Moreover in the Murshidabad society, Hindu priests, Muslim mollahs, maitlavis and other religious heads held an important position. The author of the Sei0 Gholam Hossein Khan, noted that that the nawabs of Murshidabad invited them to come and reside in Murshidabad, and offered them different presents and privilegcs.17 The descripiton Bharatchandra has given of the profession of the residents of the badshahi (royal) city of his time is very much applicable to Murshidabad also. 18 There were, of course, also daily labourers and other manual workers in Murshidabad. It seems that they used to come from surrounding villages in search of jobs. In the nawab's army also there were numerous ordinary soldiers. During the nawabi rule, many local people were recruited to the army. The author of the Riyaz noted that the soldiers of Alivardi who had to reside in Murshidabad were eager to return to their homes. With what we have analysed so far, it can be rightly said that in Murshidabad, people of all classes, from aristocrats to ordinary labourers, lived side by side with peace and harmony and the society there was a cosmopolitan entity comprising people of different nationality, caste, creed, colour and religious faith .

Economy There is little doubt that the economic condition of Bengal under the nawabs was quite prosperous. The drain of wealth that took place during the seventeenth century, more particularly during the second half of the century, from Bengal to Delhi, Agra and other places of north India came to an end during the nawabi regime. Before the arrival of Murshid Quli, the subadars and mansabdars of Bengal belonged to the Mughal imperial family or were closely associated with the Mughal darbar. This was the reason why they were appointed

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to those posts. Subadar Shah Shuja (1639-60) was the son ofMughal emperor, Shah Jahan. Another subadar Shaista Khan (appointed twice, 1664-78and1678-88) was the paternal uncle of emperor Aurangzeb and another subadar Azim-us-Shan (1697-1712) was the grandson of Aurangzeb. Several other subadars were also closely connected with the Mughal darbar. Most of these subadars did not want to leave Bengal because there was endless opportunity of acquiring wealth there. So contrary to the general Mughal policy of transfer after every three years, they stayed as the subadar of Bengal for much more than the specified period as we have seen earlier in the case of ·Shah Shuja, Shaista Khan, Azim-us-Shan, etc. They used to take practically all the wealth they acquired from Bengal to Delhi, Agra and north India, i.e. outside the boundaries of Bengal. This drain of wealth from Bengal became very much evident during the second half of the seventeenth century. How much wealth did these subadars and mansabdars used to take with them outside Bengal can be gauged from the examples of some of them. Shaista Khan took away Rs. 9 crore in ten years, Khan Jahan Bahadur Khan Rs. 2 crore in one year and Azim-us-Shan Rs. 8 crore in nine years .19 But with the establishment of the nizamat in Murshidabad, this drain of wealth from Bengal stopped completely because now no subadar or mansabdar was sent from Delhi. Murshid Quli ruled like an independent nawab keeping Delhi in good humour by regularly sending the annual revenue to the emperor. As such, the high officials of the state like mansabdars and others were now not sent from Delhi. Local people were now appointed to all posts of the nizamat. So there. was no question of the drain of wealth from Bengal. It was not exactly tliat the nawabs or highly-placed officials stopped acquiring wealth from Bengal. Whatever the wealth they appropriated remained in Bengal which increased the wealth of the suba. The nawabs used to send Rs. 1 crore 30 lakh (13 million) yearly as revenue to Delhi from Bengal till the early part of the 1740s. Besides, practically all the nawabs of Bengal spent huge sums of money in building palaces, mosques, tombs, etc. in Murshidabad. Even after spending so much money, the amount of wealth the nawabs accumulated was simply astonishing. After defeating Sirajuddaullah at Plassey, when the English visited Murshidabad, they were awestruck to see the nawab's wealth and riches in the Murshidabad treasury. The value of gold and silver only kept there amounted to Rs. 2 crore (20 million). In his first visit to

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Murshidabad after the victory at Plassey, ;Clive was completely stunned, as he confessed before the Parliamentary Committee, when he saw that gold, diamonds and jewellery were heaped up on both sides the nawabs' treasury. 20 We have mentioned earlier that the author of of the Tarikh-i-Mansuri wrote that the wealth that was hidden in the nawabs' harem comprising gold, silver, diamond and jewellery would amount to at least Rs. 8 crore (80 million). 21 Moreover, according to Karam Ali, the author of Muzaffarnama) Sirajuddaullah ousted Ghaseti Begum from the Motijheel palace and confiscated at least Rs. 4 crore (40 million) and 40 lakh mohars (gold coins) besides diamond and jewellery. Not only that, Siraj recovered many plates, made of gold and silver, worth Rs. 1 crore (10 million) from the palace at Motijheel. 22 It is possible that there is some exaggeration in all this but still they give us at least some rough idea about the riches of the nawabs of Murshidabad. Not only the nawabs, even the merchant-bankers and the business commnity in Murshidabad owned vast wealth. The best example is that of the Jagat Seth family. From mere money-lenders, they rose to be the greatest banker of India and Asia. Not only that, the Directors of the Dutch Company in Bengal referred to the Jagat Seths as the greatest banker of the world. 23 Even the official historian of the English East India Company, Robert Orme who lived in Bengal in the early 1750s, noted that the Jagat Seths were the 'greatest banker in the known world' .24 Their annual income was nearly Rs. 50 lakh, and their trading capital was at least Rs. 7 crore (70 million) while according to some it might have been Rs. 14 crore (140 million). 25 Besides the Jagat Seths, there were two other merchant princes in Murshidabad namely, Umichand and · Khwaja Wazid. Though we do not have any exact idea of the total value of their wealth, there can be little doubt that they were very rich inasmuch as they both had business empires. Umichand carried on nearmonopoly trade in saltpetre and opium. He was also involved in money-lending business. 26 Khwaja Wazid nearly took control of the economy of Bihar - the trade in saltpetre and opium was under his control. He was also involved in maritime trade and had at least 6 trading vessels. 27 So from all this it can be presumed that these two merchant princes of Murshidabad were in possession of vast wealth~ Again as Murshidabad was the most important centre of trade and production of raw silk and silk textiles, it became the abode of various kinds of merchants and traders from various parts of the country and

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abroad. It was under the nawabs that the production and trade of raw silk and silk textiles was at its height. The demand for these commodities was not only limited to India and different parts of Asia, but even in Europe too. The Jain poet, Nihal Singh, noted that in Murshidabad including Kasimbazar, Saidabad and Khagra people of different countries, races and religions lived together side by side. He observed that it seemed as if Murshidabad was competing with Delhi: ']aisa Ditti ka bazaa~ taisa chowk gulzar' (the market place [in Murshidabad] is as vibrant as that in Delhi). 28And there was no shortage of cash in the money market in Murshidabad. As the European Companies perenially suffered from chronic shortage of funds for investments, they often borrowed money from the open market, but mostly from the Jagat Seths. But the problem was that the house charged a high rate of interest at 12 per cent per annum. However, when the English Company, after making several appeals earlier, made further request to Jagat Seth Fatehchand in 1740 to reduce the interest rate, it was granted immediately and from the next day the interest rate came down from 12 to 9 per cent per annum. This is only an indication of the absolute control the Seths had over the money market in the whole of northern India. It may be that there was abundant supply of money in the market and loan was probably easily procurable at that point of time. Yet it cannot be denied that the house of J agat Seth had a tremendous hold on the money market in Bengal and northern India. 29 One of the most important events in the history of Murshidabad dµring the nawabi regime was the recurrent Maratha incursions for about ten years of Alivardi's reign. So it is imperative to examine the impact of these inroads on Bengal economy. We have argued earlier that it cannot be denied that the economy of Bengal was affected adversely to some extent as a result of the Maratha invasions. But the argument that the impact of the perennial Maratha raids from 1742 to 1751 was disastrous for Bengal economy is hardly tenable. There is no denying the fact that the incursions resulted in serious dislocation of the economy of some areas of Bengal. But this was regional in character and a temporary phenomenon. The Marathas caused destruction generally along the line of their march, leaving the remaining part of the country more or less unaffected. Even in the affected areas, as Richard Becher, an important official of the English Company present in Bengal during the period, stated that the Marathas were obliged to return at the approach of the rainy

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season, and the inhabitants were again safe till next January. So they immediately began to work and arrange to raise and sell their crops before next year's impending invasion. 30 Again, that the country was not so much impoverished by the Maratha invasions is proved by the fact that the zamindars paid Alivardi Rs. 10 million at one time and Rs. 5 million at another besides their annual revenue to enable him to meet the increased military expenditure in the face of the Maratha menace. 31 As far as Murshidabad itself is concerned, J agat Seth and other merchant-bankers, shroffs and big businessmen used to leave Murshidabad at the news of the advent of the Marathas and go to a safe place. This, however, led tg,a crisis in the credit market as little money was then available in tffe fuarket. But this was a temporary phenomenon as with the arrival of the Seths and other merchants following the departure of the1Marathas, money was plentiful in the market. That there was no economic calamity in Bengal, and in the Murshidabad-Kasimbazar region in particular, due to the Maratha invasions is evident from the fact that even during the period of Maratha raids, a huge quantity of raw silk and silk textile was exported from the region. 32 An economy which could produce such a vast quantity of the said commodities can scarcely be said to have been crippled by the Maratha invasions. It seems that the economic condition of the common people of Murshidabad during the nawabi regime was more or less good. As the diwani office and later the capital was transferred to Murshidabad and as the trade in raw silk and silk textiles flourished, there was plenty of employment as also different avenues for income for people and as such life was quite comfortable. Again as most of the nawabs was engaged in different architectural activities - building palaces, mosques, tombs, etc. - it created jobs for many in Murshidabad. In fact, the structure of the nizamat that Murshid Quli built up in Bengal with the nobility, indigenous merchants, foreign traders, Hindu officials and also by controlling the over mighty zamindars left no doubt in the minds of historians like Salimullah, Gu lam Husain Salim, Gholam Hossein Khan and others to assign the term 'Dar-ulaman' (abode of peace) to the Bengal suba. And the capital of this 'Dar-ul-aman' was Murshidabad. Murshid Quli stopped the export of rice from Bengal, perhaps taking into consideration the condition of the common people, and probably for this reason the price of rice was considerably reduced which certainly benefitted the common man. Gulam Husain, the author of the Riyaz wrote that during this

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time the price of rice in Murshidabad 'was 5 to 6 maunds a rupee, though Salimullah noted that it was 4 maunds a rupee. It can be assumed that the price of other consumable articles was comparatively cheap which is evident from Gulam Husain's assertion (in Riyaz) that people could afford to eat pilau and rich fish curry just by spending Re. 1 per month. 33 This may be an exaggeration but it indicates that the common man under the nawabs was quite well-off. It is well established on the basis of several sources that the economic condition of Bengal, including Murshidabad, under nawab Shujauddin was quite prosperous. The author of Seirj Gholam Hossein Khan, noted that Bengal under Shujauddin 'came to enjoy so much prosperity as to exhibit everywhere an air of plenty and happiness'. 34 Sir John Shore, the renowned revenue administrator of the English Company, observed that 'leaving aside the last few years of Alivardi's reign, it was only Shujauddin's rule in the whole period of Bengal history from Murshid Quli to Mir Kasim, in which the chief objective of the nizamatwas the welfare of the state'. 35 Nihal Singh who visited Murshidabad during Shujauddin's time compared his rule to that of the mythological 'Ram Rajya). He wrote:36 'Nahi jor ar julman) nahi batmoi batparj nahi chor chetakbar) [There was no force applied here, no one snatches anything; there is no cheating here; nether is there any thief] . So everybody was very happy, none unhappy as the poet says: 'Ihabidha rahai reyat sukhi, dekha kou nahi dukhi). The next nawab Alivardi's reign (1740-56) has been depicted in glorious terms by the Persian chroniclers. Gholam Hossein Khan went as far as to assert that 'it (Alivardi's regime) was marked by all round prosperity' and that the nawab was so careful to promote the comfort and welfare of his subjects, especially of the cultivators, that 'they felt completely secure under him' .37 After he bought peace with the Marathas in May/June 1751 by agreeing to pay the marauders Rs. 1.2 million a year, Alivardi did not fail to realize that measures of reconstruction were needed to heal the wounds oflong-continued warfare. So he applied himself 'with judgement and alacrity to the repose and security of his subjects, and never afterwards deviated in the smallest degree from those principles'. 38 He soon devoted his attention toward rebuilding and restoring many towns and villages which had been desolated by the Marathas. A wise and benevolent ruler as he was, he then tried to secure the uplift of the villages and the improvement of agriculture. That Alivardi was able to heal the impact of the Maratha invasions and introduce a period of peace and

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prosperity is evident from Karam Ali's description how the capital city, Murshidabad, expanded and flourished during the last years of the nawab. 39 The extent of the city towards the end of Alivardi's reign was 24 miles in length and 14 miles in breadth. Besides, there were many garden houses built by prominent merchant-bankers and traders in the periphery ofMurshidabad. Robert Clive was astonished when he first visited Murshidabad after Plassey. He wrote that Murshidabad was as big, populous and rich as London with the difference that there were many wealthy merchants in it than could be found in London.40 The next nawab, Sirajuddaullah, reigned for only sixteen months and his fall after the battle of Plassey in 1757 ended the independent nizamatofBengal, ushering in the beginning of the British domination of the province.

Culture and Hindu-Muslim Relations Perhaps it will not be an exaggeration to regard Murshidabad under the nawabs as a melting pot of people of different nationalities, religious denominations, colours and cultures . This was, as we said earlier, because of the fact that with the transfer of the diwani and the capital from Dhaka to Murshidabad, people of different races and religions came from different corners of the country and outside, and settled in Murshidabad. Again, Murshidabad-Kasimbazar being the principal production and commercial centre of raw silk and silkcloth, merchants, bankers, money-lenders of different races and communities came and settled here, adding to the cosmopolitan character of the city of Murshidabad. Among these merchants and traders, there were Hindus and Jains on the one hand, and Shia Muslims on the other. Such an instance of the assemblage of people of different races, colours and religious faiths in one place is very uncommon in history. For this, however, the liberal policy of the nawabs of Murshidabad was largely responsible. A principal feature of the nawabi administration in Murshidabad was its tolerance and liberalism for people of all religions and races. So the culture that developed in Murshidabad under the nawabs, is a matter of pride for any city. It was indeed right from the time of Murshid Quli Khan that the nawabs of Murshidabad pursued a policy ofliberalism and tolerance. Probably it was their belief that this would lead to the well-being and uplift of the state. So though they were themselves Shia Muslims,

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they did not follow any discriminatory policy towards the Sunni Muslims, Hindus or the followers of other religions. Since the days of Murshid Quli, Hughli and Murshidabad developed into big Shia colonies. The founder of the Jagat Seth family in Bengal, Manickchand, though being a Jain, became a very close friend and adviser ofMurshid Quli. It was basically because of his deep personal attachment to Murshid Quli that he left Dhaka along with him and came to Murshidabad. This Jagat Seth family was known to be the greatest supporter and well-wisher of the Murshidabad nizamat till the beginning of Sirajuddaullah's reign. Again himself being a Muslim, Murshid Quli appointed only Bengali Hindus in practically all departments of the administration, especially in the revenue department. His main motive behind this was probably the interest of the state. Perhaps he thought that the Hindus, being a subject race," would not dare deceive the state which the Muslims might have done. This, however, gave rise to a tradition in the nizamat- the Hindus were not merely ordinary officials, they were also appointed to top posts in the administration. During the nawabi regime, the Hindus were the dominant group in the administrative structure of the state. However, this does not imply that in Murshidabad only the Shias, Sunnis and the Hindus resided. People of other races and religions also made Murshidabad their home. We have noted earlier that Arabs, Armenians, English, Habsis, Persians, Dutch, Siddis, French, Pathans, Mughals, Gujaratis, Punjabis, Lahoris, Multanis, etc. all assembled in the Murshidabad-Kasimbazar region for various purposes like banking, money-lending, trade and commerce, for procuring raw silk and silk textiles, etc. As a result, people of different races and religious beliefs, residing side by side and mixing among themselves, led to the evolution of a cosmopolitan culture in Murshidabad. There was on the one side of the city Hindu and Jain temples as also Muslim mosques and on the other side churches of the Armenians and Christians -' a perfect picture of co-existence of all. Jain poet Nihal Singh was so much impressed that he wrote, in Murshidabad there were good temples and dharamsalas, and adjacent to them grew up beautiful mosques and minars. He noticed numerous saints, yogis, devotees, etc. wandering about the city freely in different costumes. 41 A religious person as he was, Murshid Quli opened ·madrasas and katras (bazaars) side by side in the City. In Murshidabad under the nawabs, on the one hand the worship of the goddess of wealth

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(Lakshmi) and that oflearning (Saraswati) began simultaneously. On days of festivals in areas like Mahinagar, Lalbagh, etc. all kinds of people were invited to feasts, gifts were distributed and the areas wore a festive look. On the other, Murshid Quli himself copied the Koran and those were distributed to different places like Mecca, Medina and Karbala as also to Pandua in Bengal. Though himself a Shia, Murshid Quli loved to have spiritual discussions with Sunni alims. With all such activities, Murshidabad became a centre of amalgamation of different religions and cultures. This trend was maintained till Plassey. That there was a sort of fusion of different religious and cultural mores are perceptible in the festivals, fairs and other gatherings in Murshidabad under the nawabs. During the time of Muharram, the Bhatiali singers used to sing tragic songs. 42 The Shia and the Sunni Muslims performed the namaz side by side in the same mosque. The Muslims also joined the Hindu festival of Holi. Not only the ordinary people, but even the nawabs also joined the Holi festival. Nawab Sahamat Jung (the nawab of Dhaka, Nawazish Muhammad Khan) along with Shaukat Jung who came from Purnea celebrated Holi for seven days in the Motijheel palace at Murshidabad. 43 Even Sirajuddaullah, after signing the treaty of Alinagar (February 1757) with the English, hurriedly returned to Murshidabad and engaged himself in the Holi festival. Not only that, he celebrated the Diwali festival of the Hindus. By the side of the temple built by the Marathas in Murshidabad, came up the mosque of Alivardi. Instances of such events were galore in the Murshidabad of the nawabs. The temple 'precincts of Baranagar and the akhra of Mastiram Awalia stood face to face in the city. It was in this area that Rani Bhawani built the temple of Shyam Ray. An ancient festival of the Murshidabad Shias known as 'Berabhasa' was really the Muslim version of the Ganga worship by the Hindus. 44 The most significant characteristic of the cultural life of Murshidabad was that the cordial relation between the two major communities was never undermined and there is no incidence of any major communal violence during the period under review. Indeed it was this era which witnessed the culmination of the process of fusion of the two religion and culture which in its turn gave birth to the 'Satyapir' cult. In an interesting essay, Edward C . Dimock, Jr., observed that a reading of medieval Bengali literature from the fifteenth to the eighteenth centuries gives little indication of any

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'deep-rooted antagonism' between the 'two communities. 45 Not only that, it was common in the mid-eighteenth century for Mohammedans to offer puja in the Hindu temples and for Hindus to offer sinni at Muslim shrines. 46 The fusion of the religion and culture of the two communities led to the evolution of a common god, Satyapir, worshipped by the Hindus and Muslims alike.47 In poet Bharatchandra's poem, Satyapit) we can find a complete picture of religious and cultural assimilation. A contemporary of Murshid Quli, Rameswar Bhattacharya's Satyanarayan contains the following: 'After this I will worship both Rahim and Ram. Ram and Rahim are the two names of God - in Mecca the God is Rahim and in Ayodhya Ram' .48 Such a feeling is also reflected in the poem Satyapir by the Muslim poet Faizulla of the mid-eighteenth century: 'What the Muslims call Allah is Hari [God] to Hindus' .49 In Bharatchandra also there is practically an echo of the same idea : 'What is there in Koran except what is there in Purana; Think about that first, then comes the question of Hindu and Mi1slim'. 50 This trend was perceptible in Murshidabad as also in other parts of Bengal in the eighteenth century. So it can be said with little hesitation that communal harmony was one of the main characteristics of the urban life of Murshidabad during the nawabi regime.

i l

I I

I I l

j

Notes 1. Riyaz-ul-Salatin) quoted in Gautam Bhadra, 'Social Groups and Relations in the Town of Murshidabad') Indian Historical Review, 1976, p. 313. 2. Tarikh-i-Mansuri) Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, pt. 1 (1869), p . 100. 3. Salimullah, Tarikh-i-Bangala) ff. 36-7 quoted in Abdul Karim, Murshid Q;t,li and His Times) p . 68. 4. Sukumar Sen, Bangla Sahityer Itihas, pp. 306-10. 5. L'Achneyto Chevalier, 27 May1768 , quoted in Gautam Bhadra, 'Social Groups and Relations', p. 315. 6. Ibid., p. 315. 7. William Bolts, Considerations, p. 200. 8. S. Chaudhury, From Prosperity to Declin e) p. 110. 9. Sadananda Bandyopadhy_ay's statement, Board of Trade: Commercial, 13 March 1789, quoted in Gautam Bhadra, 'Social Groups and Relations', p . 323. 10. Pott's Letter to Governor-General, 12 and 15 February 1788, Board of Revenue Papers, quoted in Gautam Bhadra 'Social Groups and Relations' ,

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\

op. cit., p. 324. Though the letter was written in 1788, it does not seem that the situation has much changed from that in the mid-eighteenth century. 11. Gautam Bhadra, 'Social Groups and Relations', op. cit., p. 324. 12. For the Jagat Seths, see, S. Chaudhury, From Prosperity to Decline, pp. 109-16. 13. For a study of the Armenians, see, S. Chaudhury, 'Trading Network of a Traditional Diaspora: Armenians in Bengal Trade , c. 1600-1800', paper presented at the XIIIth International Economic History Congress, Buenos Aires, July 2002. 14. Bharatchandra Granthabali, pp. 288 -92. 15. Tapan Raychaudhuri, Bengal under Akbar and Jahangir, p . 198. 16. Seir, vol. II, p. 70. 17. Bharatchandrer Granthabali, p. 229. 18. J.N. Sarkar (ed.), History ofBengal, vol. II, p. 413; S. Chaudhury, Trade and Commercial Or;ganization, pp. 210, 239, 247. 19. Brijen K. Gupta, Sirajuddaullah, p. 12~. 20. Tarikh-i ..Mansuri, H. Blockmann (tr.) , JAS, no. 2, 1867, pp. 95-6. 21. Muzaffarnama, J.N . Sarkar (ed.), Bengal Nawabs, p. 72. 22. Bolts, Considerations, p. 158; J.H. Little, ]agatseth, p. XVII. 23. Sichtennann, Jan Huijghens, Jan Kerseboom, Louis Taillefert, et al., voe, 2629, f. 967; voe, 2763, f. 467; voe, 2849, ff. 128-128vo; ff. 247vo-248vo. 24. Orme Mss. India, VI, f. 1455. 25. Chaudhury, From Prosperity to D ecline, p. 112. 26. For Umichand, see, Chaudhury, From Prosperity to Decline, pp. 116-20; The Prelude to Empire, pp. 124-9. 27. For Wazid, see, Chaudhury, From Prosperity to Decline, pp. 120-3. , 28. Sukumar Sen, Bangla Sahityer Itihash, 306-10. 29. Chaudhury, From Prosperity to D ecline, pp. 112-18. 30. Richard Becher's letter to Governor Verelst, 24 May 1769, quoted in Firminger, Fifth Report, pp. 183-4. 31. Ibid. 32. See, Chaudhury, From Prosperity to Decline, pp. 208 -10, 249 -59. 33. Riyaz, pp. 280-1. 34. Seir, vol. 1, p. 280. 35. Minutes of Sir John Shore, W.K. Firminger (ed. ), Fifth Report, p. 2 . 36. Sukumar Sen, Bangla Sahityer Itihas, pp. 306-97. 37. Seir, quoted in K.K. Datta, Alivardi, p. 140 38. Calendar of Persian Correspondence, vol. II, pp. 191, 197, quoted in Datta, Alivardi, p . 140. 39. Muzaffarnama, quoted in Datta, Alivardi, p. 140. 40. J.H. Little, House ofJagatseth, p. 2. 41. Sukumar Sen, Bangla Sahityer Itihash, pp. 306, 309.

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42. Tarikh-i-Mansuri) Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal) pt. 1 ( 1869), pp. 100-11. 43. Karam Ali, Muzaffarnama, in J.N. Sarkar, Bengal Nawabs) p . 49 . 44. D. C. Sen) Bengali Language, pp. 396-7; Bharatchandra) Satyapirer Katha. 45. Edward C. Dimock, Jr., 'Hinduism and Islam in Medieval Bengal', in Rachel van M. Baumer (ed.), Aspects of Bengali History and Society, p. 2. 46. D.C. Sen, Bengali Language) p. 793. 47. Ibid., pp. 396-7. 48. Rameswar Bhattacharya, Satyanarayan) N .N. Gupta (ed.),p. ll;Ahmed Sharif, Madhyayuger Sahitye Samaj 0 Sanskritir Rup) p. 423. 49. Sharif, Madhyjuger Sahitye Samaj 0 Sanskritir Rup) p. 423. 50. Bharat Chandrer Granthabali, p. 402.

CHAPTER NINE

Art and Architecture

Murshidabad during the nawabi regime is a landmark in the history of Bengal's architecture. When Murshid Quli transferred the diwani office from Dhaka to Makhsudabad, it was then a typical small village. But due to the requirements of the various administrative departments, buildings for different offices, housing, etc. had to be constructed from the very beginning. Later when Murshidabad became also the capital of Bengal, all these construction works increased manifold. Along with this, the most important feature of this period was that all the nawabs of Murshidabad loved to build different types of buildings, palaces, mosques, etc. In fact this was their favourite hobby. So starting from Murshid Quli down to Shujauddin, Alivardi and even Sirajuddaullah, all the nawabs were involved in constructing different palaces, mosques, and various other types of buildings. This trend was maintained up to Mir Jafar's time which is evident by the building activities of Mir Jafar's wife, Munni Begum. Some of the succeeding nawabs also maintained this tradition. In these construction works, it was not only the mentality of the nawabs but also their unending wealth which proved to be very helpful. Again, it was not only the nawabs who tried to beautify Murshidabad by constructing new buildings and gardens but even the top officials of the nizamat, members of the darba1) merchantbankers and the aristocracy also tried to beautify Mushidabad by building pa,laces, mosques, katras (bazaars), garden-houses, temples, etc. So according to a renowned historian, Murshidabad sometimes outshined India's capital, Delhi. 1 But it is a matter of great regret that most of the architectural remains of the nawabi regime have been destroyed. The best examples of royal architecture of the Mughal times are found in Dhaka. But this architectural style did not extend to the rural areas of Bengal owing to the difficulty of communication and the lack of skilled workers. So in the rural areas of Bengal, the architecture of the pre-Mughal era was followed. However, during THE ARCHITECTURE OF

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the later period, the principal officials of some areas where the Mughal rule was quite established, built palaces and buildings imitating the Mughal pattern. But in many cases there has also been a mixture of the Mughal style and the local style. In some of the architectural works, the pre-Mughal style of carvings on brick walls side by side with Mughal style of domes as decorations can be discerned. This admixture in Murshidabad's architecture is a notable feature in the eighteenth century. Here we shall review the principal architectural monuments of Murshidabad under the Bengal nawabs.

l(atra Masjid One of the principal architectural relics of Murshidabad is the Katra Masjid. Nawab Murshid Quli Khan built this in 1723. It is said that with advancing age and feeling that his health. had broken down, he decided to build his own tomb which was a tradition in Mughal India. In this there was a mosque and a katra (bazaar) . It was after the 'Katra', the mosque was named as 'Katra Masjid'. To build the tomb, mosque and the katra, a place was chosen to the east of the city near 'khas taluk' (royal property). An ordinary but loyal official named Morad Farash was appointed to supervise the work. It is generally believed that Morad destroyed nearby Hindu temples and built the tomb with the materials found there. Though the destruction ofHindu temple is mentioned in Salimullah's Tarikh-i-Bangala, there is no such reference in the Riyaz-us Salatin of Gulam Husain Salim. However, it does not seem probable that the Katra Masjid was built with the materials obtained by destroying Hindu temples because Murshid Quli was quite a liberal ruler, granted rent-free land for the famous Hindu temple of Radhamadhab and a few other temples near Murshidabad for their expenses and maintenance. Besides, the materials used for building the Katra Masjid were all of an identical pattern. If the materials had been collected by destroying different temples such similarity would not have been possible. 2 The Katra Masjid is built on a raised quadrilateral high pedestal. The mosque is 140 feet in length, 25 feet in breadth and it had five domes. As per the instruction of Murshid Quli, a small room was built below the stairs of the door of the mosque. It was here that Murshid Quli was buried. One had to climb fourteen high stairs. if one wanted to reach the door of the mosque. The mosque is about 120 feet distant from the door. The domes are made of metal. At

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the door of the mosque, there is a 'threshold made of very big black stone. There is a big room inside. Surrounding its walls on four sides is a bow-shaped arch obliquely placed. On the four sides of the mosque and its campus were many small rooms in the first floor where during the time of Murshid Quli, seven hundred 'Kari' or readers of the Koran used to read the Koran. Adjacent to the mosque were built minars, tanks and wells, etc. According to many, the Katra Masjid is an imitation of the mosque built by Murshid Quli at Dhaka (when he was the diwan there )which is known as the 'mosque ofKartalab Khan'. 3 Some others say that it has been built imitating the mosque at Mecca. 4 Again, according to some, the bow-shaped arch in the wall of the big room inside the mosque is of south Indian origin. But probably this is not correct because this particular design was very much prevalent in Mughal Bengal. 5 With the Katra Masjid the name of Jahankosa cannon is closely associated. It seems that the cannon was kept to the east of the Katra ground between two branches of a banyan tree. It is here that Murshid Quli's cannons were also kept. That is why ordinary people even today call it an arsenal. The J ahankosa cannon is nearly 12 hats ( 1 hat = 18 inches) in length, the circumference more than 3 hats. The cannon was built in the reign of the Mughal emperor Shah J ahan during the subadari of Islam Khan at the instance ofSher Muhammad, the daroga of Jahangirnagar (Dhaka) and under the supervision of Haraballav Das. An artist named J anardan Karmakar built it. It weighs 212 maunds and to fire it 28 kilograms of gunpowder was needed. 6

Mubarak Manzi! After the death of Murshid Quli, his son-in-law Shujauddin Khan became the nawab of Bengal. He was efficient but ease-loving and the royal style of the architecture of the city ofMurshidabad developed during his reign. Interestingly, his hobby was to build new palaces every where. Wherever he went with his army, he built palaces and these were named as Mubarak Manzil. He was not at all satisfied with Murshid Quli's 'palace of forty pillars', popularly known as 'Chehel Sutun'. He increased the number of rooms and altered many things of this palace. Besides, buildings were constructed and houses were built for different government departments- 'Diwan Khana', 'Kliilat Khana', 'Farman Bari', 'Khalsa Cutchery' and so on. Not only that,

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the mosque and the garden, the construction of which was begun at Dahapara on the banks of the Bhagirathi near Murshidabad by the highly-placed but oppressive and cruel official of the revenue department of Murshid Quli's time, Nazir Ahmed, was completed by Shujauddin after he hanged Nazir to. death. There he also built palaces, tanks, etc. and named it Farhabag or Farahbag (pleasure garden). Here he organized picnics and different kinds of festivals throughout the year. He also arranged there state banquets once a year for the educated and top officials of the state. 7

Motijheel The famous palace of Motijheel was built by Nawab Alivardi Khan's nephew and son-in-law Nawazish Muhammad Khan alias Shahamat Jung. He was the husband of Alivardi's daughter, Ghaseti Begum. Motijheel means 'Lake of Pearls'. Noticing this beautiful place situated at a distance; of 1 1/2 miles to the south-east of the Nawab Bahadur's palace at Murshidabad (Chehel Sutun) and its three sides being surrounded by a lake resembling horse shoe, N awazish Muhammad built his new palace here. He was actually the deputy governor of Dhaka but as Alivardi Khan had to be mostly out of the capital city fighting against the Marathas and others, the duty of protecting Murshidabad fell on Nawazish and his Begum Ghaseti. So they remained at Murshidabad for most of the time. The responsibility of administering Dhaka devolved on his loyal assistant, Husain Quli Khan. N awazish lived a very lavish life and indulged in all sorts of pleasure. He did not like to stay continuously in the same palace in Murshidabad. So in 1743 he built a n~w palace known as Motijheel. 8 Later he built a gateway to the west of the palace a~d fortified it. And near the palace, he built a mosque, a madrasa and a guest-house in 1750-1. He used to spend a large amount of money for the expenses of the mosque and the guest-house. 9 The Motijheel palace was built by bringing in marble and other materials from many ruins of Bengal's ancient capital, Gaur. The palace was divided into quite a few sections which were at a close distance to one another. Each section was surrounded by two big boundary walls. The boundary wall touched the water of the lake on all the sides. Nawazish spent most of his time in the Motijheel palace. He was very fond of music, instrumental compositions and different varieties ofcostly entertainments. He brought dancers and professional female singers here who performed before the guests he invited. He

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loved to stay in the Motijheel with 'his relatives. After his death, his wife Ghaseti Begum with all her wealth inherited from her husband continued to stay at Motijheel. But after Sirajuddaullah became nawab, he drove away Ghaseti Begum from Motijheel and occupied it confiscating all her wealth as well. 10 Many significant and memorable events of Murshidabad history are associated with the Motijheel palace. 11 The view that Sirajuddaullah advanced towards Plassey from Motijheel does not seem to be correct because at that time he used to stay in his own palace, Hirajheel. Lord Clive spent six days in Motijheel when he came to discuss with the ·nawab on the transfer,.of the diwani of Bengal to the English Company. Again, after the acquisition of the diwani by the Company, Clive came here in April 1766 and the Company performed the punnyaha in this palace. In this festival Nawab Najamuddaullah, wearing the royal attire, sat on the royal throne, Clive sat beside him as the representative of the diwan (Company). Jagat Seth, Reza Khan, and other dignitaries of Murshidabad were present on the occasion. When Warren Hastings was the political agent of the Company (1771-3) in the nazim's darbar, he used to stay at the Motijheel palace. The final punnyaha was held at Motijheel in 1772. After this the revenue department was transferred to Calcutta. Motijheel was known as Company Bagh because it was under the control of the Company for quite some time. It was returned to the nawab in 1776. 12

Hirajheel The palace at Hirajheel was built by Sirajuddaullah even before he became the nawab. This palace is about a mile to the south-west of Farhabag opposite Jafraganj. Like the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan, Sirajuddaullah had a great love for beauty and for this, it is said, he built this palace. Along with the palace, he built an artificial lake, named as Hirajheel (Lake of Diamonds). It was after the name of the lake that the palace came to be known as Hirajheel palace. Two sides of the lake were paved with stones. The palace was built by bringing in different varieties of stones and marbles from the ruins of Gaur. Though the building was mainly built of bricks butin several places, Siraj tried to enhance its beauty by putting up stones. A part of the palace was known as the Emtaz Mahal. This was so big that many believed that three European kings could easily reside in it. 13 It is said that when Sirajuddaullah was building this palace, nawab

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Alivardi came to see it with his officials. When he was moving from one place to another to have a look at the different rooms, Siraj locked him up in a room. He informed Alivardi that he would be released if he made arrangements for some income to complete the construction of the Hirajheel palace and for its future maintenance. The old nawab had always pampered Siraj. This time also he could not disappoint him. He gave permission to Siraj to establish a market (bazaar/ganj) town near Hirajheel. The annual income from the town was over Rs. 5 lakh. From Mansur-ul-Mulk (the name of Siraj), the town came to be known as Mansurganj. Many people refer to the Hirajheel palace also as Mansurganj palace. 14 After the Hirajheel palace was completed, Sirajuddaullah began to live there. When he became the nawab he began to discharge his royal duties from the Hirajheel palace and did not live in the palace in the fort. Many memories are associated with this palace. It was here that Siraj brought the famous and beautiful dancer Faizi and indulged in merrymaking with friends and close relatives. Later, being shocked by Faizi's betrayal, he locked her up in a room of the palace. There she died a trag~~ death. Again, it was in this palace that Siraj lived with his beloved'1'Wife, Lutfunnisa. It was from this palace that he proceeded towards Plassey and after being defeated at Plassey he returned here and left Murshidabad in the darkness of the night with Lutfunnisa and his minor daughter. Being informed of Siraj's flight, Mir Jafar occupied the Hirajheel palace. On the other side, Clive came and settled at Moradbagh. After this, Mir Jafar's swearing in took place at Hirajheel or Mansurganj palace. In the big hall of the · palace, Clive brought Mir Jafar by holding his hand ·a nd made him sit on the takht mobarak (royal throne) ofMurshidabad. After making him to sit on the musnad (throne), Clive presented him a large pitcher full of mohars (gold coins). Then the top officials and important members of the darbar felicitated the new nawab with presents. An idea of Sirajuddaullah's wealth that was stored up at the Hirajheel palace can be made from the details of the plunder of the treasury at Hirajheel by Mir Jafar, Clive and others after Plassey. Those present on the occasion besides Mir Jafar and Clive included Watts, Walsh, Lushington, Diwan Ramchand and Munshi Nabakrishna. It is said that in this treasury of Siraj there were 1 crore 76 lakh silver coins, 32 lakh gold coins, two chests of lump of gold, four boxes of diamonds fit for making ornaments, pearls, gems and two boxes of emeralds, etc.

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PLATE 9.1 : DUTCH CEMETERY, KASIMBAZAR

PLATE 9'.2: KATRA MASJID

PLATE 9.3: MOTIJHEEL PALACE

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PLATE 9.4: ZINATUNNISA'S TOMB

PLATE' 9.5: IMAMBARA

PLATE 9.6: JAGAT SETH'S PALACE

PLATE 9.7: MUNN! BEGUM'S PALACE

PLATE 9.8: NAMAKHARAtvl'S GATE WHERE SIRAJ WAS MURDERED ·

PLATE 9.9: RAt"JI

.