# The Conquest of Bengal: The Battles of Plassey & Buxar, the Diwani and the Dual Government (1757-1765) Source: https://tracknation.in/story/the-conquest-of-bengal-the-battles-of-plassey-buxar-the-diwani-and-the-dual-government-1757-1765 (TrackNation β€” free UPSC notes with PYQs) > How a company of merchants conquered Bengal β€” the independent Nawabs (Murshid Quli, Alivardi, Siraj), the Battle of Plassey (1757) won by Mir Jafar's treachery, Mir Qasim and the dastak dispute, the decisive Battle of Buxar (1764) against t ## Bengal: the Richest Province 🎯 **Exam priority: Important.** *Tier 2 β€” recurs regularly in Prelims and Mains; cover fully.* **Why this topic matters for UPSC.** Plassey (1757) and Buxar (1764) are the two most cited anchor-battles in Modern History β€” they mark the real beginning of British territorial power, and both dates appear repeatedly. - Plassey gave the British Bengal; Buxar gave them real military supremacy over the Mughal coalition. - The Diwani grant (1765) and the Dual Government system are tested in context. - Mains: assess the significance of these battles for the establishment of British paramountcy. British rule in India did not begin with a grand invasion β€” it began in **Bengal**, the richest province of the Mughal Empire, through trade, intrigue and two decisive battles. Between **Plassey (1757) and Buxar (1764)**, a company of merchants became the master of a kingdom of tens of millions β€” the true foundation of the British Empire in India. ## Bengal: the Richest Province - Bengal (with Bihar and Orissa) was the **wealthiest and most fertile province** in India β€” its **exports of fine cotton and silk textiles, saltpetre, sugar and indigo** were famous across the world. Through the 18th century, able governors β€” **Murshid Quli Khan** and then **Alivardi Khan** β€” made Bengal **virtually independent** of the crumbling Mughal centre, keeping strict control over the European companies. - The English East India Company had long enjoyed valuable **trade privileges** in Bengal (the right, since 1717, to trade duty-free under *dastaks*). But its servants **abused these privileges** β€” trading privately and dodging duties β€” and fortified Calcutta without permission. The clash between a wealthy province and a grasping company was set. ## The Road to Plassey When the old, watchful Alivardi Khan died, his young and headstrong successor decided to put the English in their place. ## The Road to Plassey - In 1756, **Siraj-ud-Daulah** succeeded his grandfather Alivardi Khan. He rightly saw the English **fortification of Calcutta** as an attack on his sovereignty and ordered them to stop. When they refused, he **marched on Calcutta and captured the Company's Fort William (June 1756)**, renaming the city **Alinagar**. To these days belongs the disputed "**Black Hole of Calcutta**" episode β€” by **J.Z. Holwell's much-doubted account, 146 English prisoners were locked overnight in a tiny room and 123 suffocated**; modern historians regard the figures as grossly exaggerated, but the story was used to inflame English opinion against the Nawab. - But Siraj acted with "**great energy but undue haste and inadequate preparation**". A strong English force under **Robert Clive and Admiral Watson** sailed up from Madras and **reconquered Calcutta (early 1757)**, the peace being patched up by the **Treaty of Alinagar (February 1757)**. Clive then, instead of fighting fairly, organised a **conspiracy** against the Nawab β€” winning over his own commander **Mir Jafar**, the banker **Jagat Seth**, and others with promises of the throne and money. ## The Battle of Plassey, 1757 The result was less a battle than a betrayal. ## The Battle of Plassey, 1757 - On **23 June 1757**, the two armies met on the field of **Plassey, about 20 miles from Murshidabad**. It was, in one historian's words, "**a battle only in name**": the English lost just **29 men**, because the bulk of Siraj's army, led by the traitors **Mir Jafar and Rai Durlabh, took no part in the fighting**. Only a small loyal force resisted. Siraj was forced to flee, and was soon **captured and put to death by Mir Jafar's son, Miran**. - The English made **Mir Jafar the new Nawab** β€” their puppet β€” and were rewarded richly: Mir Jafar paid the Company **about Rs 1.77 crore** and granted it vast sums and lands; Clive himself took a fortune. Plassey's real significance was not military but political: it gave the Company **control of Bengal's revenues**, opening the floodgates of the **"drain of wealth"** and turning a trading body into a political power. ## From Plassey to Buxar: Mir Jafar & Mir Qasim A puppet who could not pay his masters was soon replaced β€” and the replacement proved dangerously able. ## From Plassey to Buxar: Mir Jafar & Mir Qasim - Mir Jafar could never satisfy the Company's endless demands, so in **1760 the English deposed him and installed his son-in-law, Mir Qasim** (who paid them yet more). But **Mir Qasim turned out to be the ablest of the Bengal Nawabs**: he shifted his capital to **Munger** (away from English Calcutta), reorganised his finances and modernised his army. - The fatal quarrel was over the abuse of the **dastak** β€” the duty-free trade pass β€” by Company servants for their **private trade**, which ruined Indian merchants and the Nawab's revenue. When Mir Qasim **abolished all internal duties** to put Indian and English traders on an equal footing, the English were enraged. War followed; Mir Qasim was defeated, and he **fled to form a grand alliance**. ## The Battle of Buxar, 1764 That alliance produced the battle that really decided who would rule. ## The Battle of Buxar, 1764 - On **22 October 1764**, at **Buxar**, the British under **Major Hector Munro** faced the **combined armies of three powers** β€” the deposed **Mir Qasim**, the Nawab of Awadh **Shuja-ud-Daula**, and the Mughal Emperor **Shah Alam II**. Though heavily outnumbered (about **17,000 against some 40,000**), the British won a **decisive victory** through superior discipline and artillery. - **Buxar mattered far more than Plassey.** Plassey had made the English masters of Bengal by intrigue; **Buxar made them a great power across northern India by force of arms**, defeating the Nawab of Awadh and the Mughal Emperor himself. After Buxar, the Nawab of Bengal was a puppet, Awadh a dependent ally, and the emperor a pensioner. ## The Diwani & the Dual Government The victory was sealed not by annexation but by a clever legal device that let the Company rule while the Nawab took the blame. ## The Diwani & the Dual Government - By the **Treaty of Allahabad (1765)**, Robert Clive obtained from **Emperor Shah Alam II the Diwani** β€” the **right to collect the revenues of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa** β€” in return for an annual tribute (the emperor was given Allahabad and Kara; Awadh was restored to Shuja-ud-Daula on payment of an indemnity, to serve as a buffer). - Clive then set up the **Dual Government (1765-72)**: the Company held the **Diwani (revenue collection)** and the military power, while the Nawab kept the **Nizamat (police, justice and administration)** in name. The Company thus enjoyed "**power without responsibility**", and the Nawab "responsibility without power". The result was **ruinous misgovernment** and the terrible **Bengal Famine of 1770**; the system was finally **abolished by Warren Hastings in 1772**, when the Company took over the administration directly. ## The Plunder of Bengal & the Famine of 1770 - Conquest turned quickly to plunder. After Plassey the Company and its servants extracted enormous "**presents**" and indemnities; **Clive himself took a vast personal fortune and a jagir** (an estate yielding a large annual rent). Worse still was a structural change: once it held the **Diwani**, the Company stopped importing silver to buy Indian goods and instead financed its exports β€” the "**Investment**" β€” **out of Bengal's own tax revenue**. Bengal was, in effect, made to pay for the goods drained out of it β€” the mechanism at the heart of the **"drain of wealth."** - The human cost was catastrophic. The misgovernment of the Dual Government period culminated in the **Great Bengal Famine of 1770**, which is estimated to have killed about **one-third of Bengal's population (roughly ten million people)** β€” even as the Company continued to collect its revenue. It was this misrule and disaster that forced reform, leading Warren Hastings to abolish the Dual Government in 1772. ## Why This Matters for UPSC - **Prelims:** Bengal's exports (the 2018 PYQ below); the **Black Hole of Calcutta (1756, Holwell's account)**; the independent Nawabs (Murshid Quli, Alivardi, Siraj); **Plassey (23 June 1757, Clive, Mir Jafar's treachery)**; Mir Qasim & the dastak dispute; **Buxar (22 Oct 1764, Munro vs Mir Qasim + Shuja-ud-Daula + Shah Alam II)**; the **Treaty of Allahabad (1765), Diwani**; the **Dual Government (abolished 1772)**; the **"Investment" and the Famine of 1770**. - **Mains:** why Buxar was more decisive than Plassey; how trade privileges and their abuse led to conquest; and the consequences of the Dual Government for Bengal. ## Further Reading - Standard NCERT-level texts and reference books on modern Indian history (any UPSC reading list). ## Test Yourself: Practice Questions & PYQs Test how well you can explain the conquest of Bengal β€” Plassey, Buxar, the Diwani and the Dual Government. Decide your answer, then open Show answer. ## Practice Questions **Q1.** Which governors made Bengal virtually independent of the Mughals in the early 18th century? - (a) Shah Alam II and Najib-ud-Daula - (b) Siraj-ud-Daulah and Mir Jafar - (c) Mir Qasim and Shuja-ud-Daula - (d) Murshid Quli Khan and Alivardi Khan **Answer: (d)** β€” Murshid Quli Khan and then Alivardi Khan ran Bengal as virtually independent rulers, keeping tight control over the European companies. **Q2.** The immediate cause of the conflict between Siraj-ud-Daulah and the English was the English: - (a) minting of coins - (b) refusal to pay tribute - (c) fortification of Calcutta without permission - (d) alliance with the Marathas **Answer: (c)** β€” Siraj saw the unauthorised fortification of Calcutta as an attack on his sovereignty; when the English refused to stop, he seized Calcutta (1756). **Q3.** The Battle of Plassey was fought on: - (a) 1765 - (b) 1772 - (c) 22 October 1764 - (d) 23 June 1757 **Answer: (d)** β€” Plassey was fought on 23 June 1757, near Murshidabad, between Clive and Siraj-ud-Daulah. **Q4.** Plassey is called 'a battle only in name' because: - (a) it lasted only an hour - (b) the bulk of the Nawab's army (under Mir Jafar) took no part in the fighting - (c) it was fought at sea - (d) no shots were fired **Answer: (b)** β€” The traitors Mir Jafar and Rai Durlabh held back most of the Nawab's army; the English lost only 29 men. The victory was won by conspiracy, not arms. **Q5.** After Plassey, the English made the new Nawab of Bengal: - (a) Mir Qasim - (b) Shuja-ud-Daula - (c) Najib-ud-Daula - (d) Mir Jafar **Answer: (d)** β€” Mir Jafar, the chief conspirator, was made the puppet Nawab and paid the Company about Rs 1.77 crore. **Q6.** The English deposed Mir Jafar and installed Mir Qasim (1760), but soon quarrelled with Mir Qasim chiefly over: - (a) the capital's location only - (b) the abuse of the dastak (duty-free pass) in private trade - (c) the partition of Bengal - (d) religious policy **Answer: (b)** β€” Company servants misused the dastak for private trade, ruining the Nawab's revenue; when Mir Qasim abolished all internal duties to equalise trade, war broke out. **Q7.** At the Battle of Buxar (1764), the British under Hector Munro defeated a combined army of: - (a) Mir Qasim, Shuja-ud-Daula of Awadh and Emperor Shah Alam II - (b) the Marathas, Mysore and Hyderabad - (c) the Sikhs and the Rohillas - (d) the Nizam and Tipu Sultan **Answer: (a)** β€” Buxar pitted Munro against the triple alliance of Mir Qasim, the Awadh Nawab Shuja-ud-Daula and the Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II β€” and the British won decisively. **Q8.** Why is the Battle of Buxar considered more decisive than Plassey? - (a) it was larger - (b) it made the English a great power across north India by defeating the Awadh Nawab and the Mughal Emperor himself - (c) it ended the Mughal Empire - (d) it gave the English the whole of India **Answer: (b)** β€” Plassey won Bengal by intrigue; Buxar, won by force against the emperor and Awadh, established British supremacy over northern India. **Q9.** By the Treaty of Allahabad (1765), the Company obtained the Diwani β€” the right to: - (a) trade with China - (b) collect the revenues of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa - (c) command the Mughal army - (d) appoint the Nawab **Answer: (b)** β€” Shah Alam II granted the Company the Diwani (revenue collection) of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa, the legal basis of the Dual Government. **Q10.** The 'Black Hole of Calcutta' incident (1756) is based on the disputed account of: - (a) Robert Clive - (b) J.Z. Holwell - (c) Warren Hastings - (d) Admiral Watson **Answer: (b)** β€” The story β€” that 146 prisoners were locked overnight and 123 suffocated β€” comes from J.Z. Holwell's account, which modern historians regard as grossly exaggerated. **Q11.** After it obtained the Diwani, the Company financed its 'Investment' (purchase of Indian goods for export) out of: - (a) Bengal's own land revenue - (b) silver imported from Britain - (c) profits from the China trade - (d) loans from Indian bankers **Answer: (a)** β€” Instead of importing bullion, the Company bought its export goods from Bengal's own tax revenue β€” the core mechanism of the 'drain of wealth'; the misrule culminated in the Bengal Famine of 1770. ### UPSC Previous Year Questions (PYQs) *The conquest of Bengal is a foundational Prelims topic (the question below is a real UPSC PYQ, CSE 2018) β€” expect questions on Plassey, Buxar, the Diwani and the dates.* **Q1.** The staple commodities of export by the English East India Company from Bengal in the middle of the 18th century were: (UPSC CSE 2018) - (a) Raw cotton, oil-seeds and opium - (b) Copper, silver, gold, spices and tea - (c) Sugar, salt, zinc and lead - (d) Cotton, silk, saltpetre and opium **Answer: (d)** β€” Bengal's wealth β€” the prize the English fought for β€” lay in its cotton and silk textiles, saltpetre (for gunpowder) and opium. So option (d) is correct. ### Mains Practice Questions Use these to frame full-length answers. You don't have to answer one exactly β€” they show the angles UPSC tests, so let them guide which points you cover. - How did trade privileges and their abuse lead to the English conquest of Bengal? - β€œPlassey was won by conspiracy, Buxar by arms.” Compare the two battles and their significance. - Explain the working and consequences of the Dual Government in Bengal (1765-72). - Why did the Battle of Buxar establish British supremacy in northern India?