Tag Archives: Siraj-ud-Daulah

Beware of upsetting wealthy benefactors: a word of warning to Donald Trump

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A JAIN BANIA (BUSINESS MAN) called Hiranand Shah travelled from Rajasthan to Patna in 1652. In 1707, he financed Prince Farrukhsiyar sufficiently for him to become the Mughal Emperor (he ruled from 1713 to 1719). Manik Chand, a later head of this Jain family was then rewarded with the title ‘Jagat Seth’, which means ‘banker or merchant of the world’. By the eighteenth century, the family or house of of Jagat Seth was the largest banking house in the Mughal Empire.

 

The Nawabs of Bengal used the banking services of the house of Jagat Seth to pay tribute to the Mughal emperors in Delhi. William Dalrymple wrote that the Jagat Seth family were able to:

“… make or break anyone in Bengal, including the ruler, and their political instincts were sharp as their financial ones.” (quote from Wikipedia)

 

When the young Siraj-ud-Daulah became Nawab of Bengal in 1756, he alienated many people including Jagat Seth Mehtab Chand. Siraj demanded 30 million rupees as a tribute from the banker. When the banker refused, Siraj-ud-Daulah  slapped him. As a result, Jagat Seth took part in the conspiracy to defeat Siraj-ud-Daulah.  He and others, including Mir Jafar, helped the British, led by Robert Clive,  to defeat Siraj-ud-Daulah at the Battle of Palashi (Plassey) in 1757.  Jagat Seth’s money funded the British to help them defeat Siraj-ud-Daulah.

 

The Jagat Seth family was at least as influential as tycoons such as the Rothschilds in Europe and figures such as Jeff Bezos and Donald Trump’s current ‘chum’ Elon Musk. Taking the story of Siraj-ud-Daulah as an example, one could say it is best not to upset your wealthy supporters.  So, Donald, it would be best not to upset Elon!

 

Soon after the Battle of Palashi,  the fortunes of the house of Jagat Seth began to decline. Today, this remarkable family is commemorated by an opulent mansion, which they built in Murshidabad, sometime after it became the capital of Bengal (for 70 years during the eighteenth century). In 1980, the house was opened up as a museum, which is privately owned and run. We visited this place before we knew about the family’s involvement with the downfall of Siraj-ud-Daulah and the following capture of Bengal by the British. Like many other places in Murshidabad,  it is a fascinating reminder of Murshidabad‘s history during the era when Europeans, especially the British,  were beginning to make their mark on Bengal.

Defeated by the British who were helped by a traitor

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THE MOTIJHEEL PARK in Murshidabad is a popular amusement park with a boating lake, a roller coaster, a restaurant, a miniature railway that carries passengers, and, surprisingly, a small museum.

Siraj-ud-Daulah

The museum is dedicated to Siraj-ud-Daulah (1733-1757), who was the last independent Nawab of Bengal before the territory was conquered by the British East India Company’s army. There is also a statue of Siraj-ud-Daulah in the park.

His forces were defeated at the Battle of Palashi (Plassey) in 1757 by armies led by Robert Clive. Siraj-ud-Daulah lost the battle not least because Clive bribed Mir Jafar, who was Siraj-ud-Daulah’s Commander-in-Chief, to defect to the British. The defeat at Palashi was an important factor in allowing the British to conquer Bengal.

The dimly lit museum at Motijheel Park contains a series of information panels that give the viewer a simplified history of Siraj-ud-Daulah and the Battle of Palashi. Apart from these, there are a few other exhibits of no great significance.

Blackening the British perceptions of India and Indians

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THE FIRST TIME I  heard mention of Calcutta was when I was less than 11 years old. It was in connection with the so-called ‘Black Hole of Calcutta’. Without knowing anything about it, I got the impression that whatever happened there was extremely unpleasant. Today, the 27th of December 2024, we revisited the monument to the victims of the Black Hole incident, which now stands in the churchyard of Calcutta’s St John church. Formerly, it had stood in Dalhousie Square, where the Black Hole (a small prison cell) was located before it was demolished. Originally,  there was a memorial on the spot, but this disappeared. The viceroy Lord Curzon had a new one made, and this is the one now standing near St John’s.

Part of the Black Hole memorial

 When the British, unlike the French, refused to agree to the demands of the Nawab of Bengal,  Siraj-ud-Daulah (1733-1757), the Nawab attacked Calcutta. Despite having some forewarning of the attack, the British did little to prepare their defences. On the 20th of June 1756, Calcutta’s Fort William fell to the Nawab.

 

The British survivors were rounded up by the Nawab’s forces and locked into the small prison now known as the Black Hole. The number of people incarcerated varies according to which account you read, but suffice it to say there were far too many people crowded into the tiny cell, and many of them died of overheating and thirst. It was a tragedy. Of that, there is no doubt.

 

The news of the Black Hole disaster  led to an attack on the Nawab by the British led by Robert Clive (1725-1774). The Nawab was defeated at the Battle of Plassey in 1757.

 

The problem is that what happened in the Black Hole damaged British perceptions of Indians. As the historian John Zubrzycki wrote:

“The Black Hole would come to symbolise Indian barbarism in the minds of English policymakers and be used to strengthen the case for British rule.”

Worse than this, events such as the Black Hole and killing of British citizens during the so-called ‘Indian Mutiny’ of 1857, could be used to justify the many horrendous acts perpetrated by the Brits on Indians. Two notable examples of this are the cruel punishments meted out to the Indian soldiers who rebelled in 1757, and later the Jallianwala Bagh massacre of innocent Indian civilians in 1919.

 

That the monument to the victims of the Black Hole still stands in pristine condition so many years after India became independent is remarkable.  In 1940, several leading independence activists, including Subhas Chandra Bose, campaigned to have the monument removed from Dalhousie Square. In July of that year it was moved to its present location. Today, we saw visitors, both Indian and Westerners, viewing the memorial.