Mir Jafar and British Political Intervention in Bengal

The decade following the Battle of Plassey (1757) marked the transition of the British East India Company from a commercial enterprise into the supreme political power in Bengal. Through puppet rulers like Mir Jafar and Mir Qasim, the Company executed a strategy of financial extraction, territorial acquisition, and administrative subversion. This period established the framework for direct British colonial rule in India.

Accession of Mir Jafar and the Puppet Regime (1757–1760)

Mir Jafar, the former Mir Bakshi (Commander-in-Chief) of Bengal, ascended the throne at Murshidabad on June 29, 1757, following his betrayal of Nawab Siraj-ud-Daulah. His elevation marked the beginning of the Company’s indirect political control over the region.

Financial Terms and Territorial Concessions

• Mir Jafar paid over 17.7 million rupees in compensation to the Company and private individuals for losses incurred during the capture of Calcutta.
• Robert Clive personally received 2.34 million rupees, alongside a jagir (land grant) yield worth 30,000 pounds annually.
• The Company acquired the zamindari rights over the 24 Parganas, making it an official landowner in Bengal.
• The Company secured an absolute monopoly over trade and factory construction across Bengal, Bihar, and Orissa.

Imperial Repercussions and Financial Strain

• The treasury of Murshidabad was depleted to satisfy British demands, bankrupting the state.
• Mir Jafar disbanded parts of his regular army due to lack of funds, increasing his reliance on British troops to quell internal rebellions.
• Regional revolts broke out in Bihar and Midnapore, led by local rajas who refused to recognize Mir Jafar’s authority.
• In 1759, the Mughal Crown Prince Ali Gauhar (later Emperor Shah Alam II) invaded Bihar, forcing Mir Jafar to rely completely on Clive’s forces to defend his borders.

The Revolution of 1760 and Mir Qasim’s Reign

By 1760, Mir Jafar was unable to meet the continuous financial demands of the Company’s new Governor, Henry Vansittart. The Company executed a peaceful palace coup, replacing Mir Jafar with his son-in-law, Mir Qasim.

Treaty of 1760 and Administrative Reforms

• Mir Qasim ceded the revenue-rich districts of Burdwan, Midnapore, and Chittagong to the East India Company to settle unpaid military arrears.
• He shifted his capital from Murshidabad to Munger in Bihar to distance his administration from British surveillance in Calcutta.
• He established an arms factory at Munger to manufacture modern muskets and artillery, training his army under European mercenaries like Walter Reinhardt Sombre (Samru).
• He reorganized land revenue assessment, eliminating corrupt intermediaries to replenish the state treasury.

Breakdown of Relations and Misuse of Dastaks

• Company servants routinely abused dastaks (trade passes) for private trade, refusing to pay internal transit duties.
• Native Indian merchants faced internal trade duties up to 25%, while British private traders operated tax-free, crippling local commerce.
• To restore economic parity, Mir Qasim completely abolished internal custom duties for all merchants, native and foreign alike, in March 1763.
• The Calcutta Council declared Mir Qasim’s tax equality policy illegal, leading to open war between the Company and the Nawab in mid-1763.

Reinstatement of Mir Jafar and the Battle of Buxar

Following military defeats at Katwa, Murshidabad, Giria, and Sooty in 1763, Mir Qasim fled to Awadh. The British reinstated the aging Mir Jafar as Nawab in July 1763.

Terms of Mir Jafar’s Second Reign (1763–1765)

• Mir Jafar agreed to reimpose duties on native merchants while keeping British private trade exempt, except for a nominal 2.5% duty on salt.
• He agreed to maintain a smaller military force and pay 500,000 rupees monthly toward British troop maintenance.

Battle of Buxar (October 22, 1764)

• Mir Qasim formed a triple alliance with Nawab Shuja-ud-Daulah of Awadh and Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II.
• British forces commanded by Major Hector Munro defeated the combined triple alliance at Buxar.
• Unlike Plassey, Buxar was a decisive military clash that proved the superiority of European military organization over combined Indian armies.

Comparison of Puppet Administrations in Bengal

Key Historical Facts

Mir Jafar was originally a general under Alivardi Khan and had married Alivardi’s half-sister, Shah Khanam. His betrayal at Plassey earned him the derogatory title Clive’s Jackal among contemporary Indian writers. Upon Mir Jafar’s death in February 1765, the Company installed his minor son, Najm-ud-Daulah, on the throne. The British forced the young Nawab to sign a treaty appointing a Naib Subahdar (Deputy Governor) nominated by the Company to run the military and civil administration. Muhammad Reza Khan was appointed to this post. This structural setup laid the groundwork for Robert Clive to negotiate the Treaty of Allahabad in August 1765. Through this treaty, Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II granted the Diwani (revenue collection rights) of Bengal, Bihar, and Orissa directly to the East India Company, formally ending the political autonomy of the Nawabs of Bengal.