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HISTORY AND GEOGRAPHY OF BENGAL
AN EASY INTRODDCTION
HISTORY km GEOGRAPHY OF BENGAL.
FOR THE JUNIOR CLASSES IN SCHOOLS.
BY
E. LETHBRIDGE, M.A.,
LATE SCHOLAR OF EXETER COLLEGE, OXFORD; OFFICIATING PRINCIPAL OP
KRISHNAGAR COLLEGE, BENGAL.
CALCUTTA:
ruTL^^aj^iEZT^, si^'iisric cS23 go.,
^uWisljtts to tfje Calcutta ^nibersits.
BOMBAY: TH ACKER, VINING & Co. MADRAS: HIGGINBOTHAM & Co.
LONDON : W. THACKER AND CO.
1874.
6'^
fjALCUTTA: PRT5TKD ^ IIIAOKKR, SPiNK AND CO.
\MjbuJiM
CONTENTS.
Page
Chapter I.— The GtEOGRaphy of Bengal ... ... 1
,. IL— The Hindu Eule IN Bengal ... ... 10
,, III. — The Muhammadan Rule in Bengal : —
Paet I. — The Governors of Lakhnauti under
the Pathan Emperors of Dehli ... 17
„ IV.— Ditto :—
Paet II. — The Independent Kings of Bengal 25
5, v.— Ditto : —
Part III.— The Dynasty of Sher Shah ... 33
, „ VI. — Ditto : —
Paet IV.— The Mughul Sdbahdars under the
Emperors of Dehli ... ... ... 41
„ VII.— Ditto :—
Paet V. — ^The Nawabs of Bengal, nominally
under the Emperors of Delhi, but really
independent ... ... ... ... 75
„ VIII. — ^The English Rule in Bengal : —
Paet I. — From the Battle of Plassey, 1757,
to the Regulating Act, 1774 ... ... 87
„ IX. — Ditto: —
Paet II. — The Governors-General of British
India as Governors of Bengal ... ... 97
520510
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PREFACE.
buRiNa the years that have elapsed since the preparation
of the last History of Bengal that has issued from the
press, fresh materials for such a wol'k have rapidly accu-
mulated. Many ancient historical works, then almost
unknown, have recently been translated, or in other ways
rendered accessible to the enquirer ; hundreds, perhaps
thousands, of inscriptions and coins have been read and
interpreted by the art of the antiquarian ; record-rooms
have been ransacked, both in Calcutta and elsewhere ; and
as the result of all these researches, a flood of light has
been thrown on many periods of Bengal history that twenty
years ago seemed to be wrapped for ever in impenetrable
mystery. In support of this statement, I need only refer
to the published works of Professor Lassen, Bdbu Rajen-
dralala Mitra, and Mr. E. V. Westmacott, on the Hindu
Period in Bengal ; to those of Sir Henry Elliott, Professor
Blochmann, Mr. E. Thomas, and Professor Dowson, on
the Muhammadan Period ; and to those of Dr. Hunter,
Mr. Toynbee, the late B4bu Kissory Chand Mitra, and
Mr. Westmacott, on the recent period of British rule in
this province. All these works I have most carefully
studied; and have made them, with Stevvart's History of
Bengal for the Muhammadan period, the basis of the little
book which I now offer to the public. The chapter on the
Geography is founded mainly on recent Administration
Eeports^ supplemented by Professor Blochmann's admirable
paper on the Geography and History of Bengal^ lately pub-
lished in the Asiatic Society's Journal,
VI . PREFACE.
i have prepared this little book especially for the use of
the younger boys iu our English-teaching schools ; and
have been most careful to use only the simplest and easiest
language throughout. I have also endeavoured to make the
account as pleasing as possible to youthful minds, by
omitting all dry and uninteresting details, and by inserting
a good many illustrative anecdotes and stories derived
chiefly from Firishtah. I venture to think that stories like
that of Sultan Ghiyds-ud-din and the Kdzi at p. 27, whilst
they help to sustain the attention of young boys, are also
often useful in other ways — sometimes by enabling the
learner better to realise the scenes described in the histori-
cal account, sometimes by conveying valuable moral lessons.
E. L.
Krishnagar College, \
July 1, 1874. J
HISTORY AND GEOGRAPHY OF BENGAL.
CHAPTER I.
THE GEOGRAPHY OF BENGAL.
Note. — This Chapter should be studied before a Map of the Lower
Provinces.
§ 1. Extent and Divisions. § 2. Bengal Proper. § 3. Biliir. § 4.
Orissa. § 5. Chutia Nagpur. § 6. Assam. § 7. The River Sj^stem,
§ 8. Mountains and Hills. § 9. Plains. § 10. Lakes. § 11. Climate.
§ 12. Products, § 13. Manufactures. § 14. Kaces and Religions,
§ 1. Extent and Divisions. — The English name Bengal was
at one time given to nearly the whole of Northern India, which
was called The Presidency of Fort William in Bengal; but it is
now generally used to denote the country under the government
of the Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal, which is sometimes called
The Lower Provinces of Bengal. In the beginning of the year
1874, the great Province of Assam (which had formerly been
included in the Lower Provinces) was separated from the rest of
Bengal, and placed under the rule of the Chief Commissioner of
Assam ; but as this change is a very recent one, we shall speak
of Assam as if it still formed a part of Bengal.
Bengal, then, comprises Bengal Proper, Bihar, Orissa, and
Chutia Nagpur, with some dependencies, governed by a
Lieutenant-Governor; and Assam, with its dependencies,
governed by a Chief Commissioner. These provinces lie between
19° 18' and 28<* 15' north latitude, and between 82« and 97°
east longitude ; they contain about 250,000 square miles, and
about sixty-seven millions of inhabitants.
2 THE CEOOtlA'PHv^ OF BENGAL. [cHAP. I.
§ 2. '^Bcn^nt 'Pr6p(*r/^-Beng'J' Praper is a great plain lying
between the Himalaya Mountains (the highest mountains in the
world) and that part of the sea which is called the Bay of
Bengal. It is intersected by a large number of rivers, branches
either of tlie Ganges or the Brahmaputra ; and its soil is for the
most part the mud that has been brought down and deposited
by these rivers. The language generally spoken is Bengali ;
and the name of the country in that language is Bangala or
Banga-des, the country of Banga. It contains more than 94,000
square miles, and nearly 37,000,000 people. It is divided into
^ six provinces or *' Divisions," each under the rule of a Commis-
sioner. There are three divisions in the middle, two on the east,
and one on the west.
Of the three divisions in the middle, the southern one, next
to the Bay of Bengal, is called the Presidency Division ; because
it contains Calcutta, which is called a " Presidency," because
it was formerly the seat of government of an English President.
At the junction of the Bhagirathi and the Jalangi rivers (both of
which belong to the Ganges) is sitmited Nuddea, Nadiyd^ or Nava-
^ dwipa, formerly the Hindu capital of Bengal. It is in the zila of
Nuddea or Krishnagar, which is a part of the Presidency Division;
and in the same zila, higher up on the Bhagirathi river is
Plassey (Palasi), the scene of the great battle in 1757 by which
the English became masters of Bengal. The part of the Presi-
dency Division, which is close to the sea, is a wild region of jungle
and swamps, now called the Sundarhan, and formerly called Bhdti,
North of the Presidency Division, is the Rajshahi Division ;
formerly called Varendra^ and situated in the very midst of
Bengal. In this division is Mursliidabad, once the capital of the
Muhammadan Nawabs of Bengal; and also, in the zila now
called Maldah, are the ruins of Gaur or Lakhnauti, once the
Hindu capital of Bengal. North of the Rajshahi Division, and
stretching into the Himalaya Mountains, is the Division of Koch
Bihar, in which is situated Darjiling, a place possessing a very
cool climate because it is high up on a mountain.
The two Divisions on the eastern side of Bengal are called
Dacca ( Dhaka )^ and Chittagong (Chdtgdon). In the Dacca
CHAP. I.] THE GEOGRAPHY OF BENGAL. 3
Division, near Narayanganj, are the ruins of Sunarganw, formerly
the capital of Eastern Bengal. The town of Dacca was called
by the Muhammadans Jahangirnagar; and the town of Chitta-
gong was called by them Islamabad.
The western Division of Bengal is called Bardwan, from the
name of its chief town, which also gives name to an important
zila. This province was called Kara by the Hindus in very
ancient times ; and lies to the west of the Bhagirathi or Hugli
river. One of the five zilas of this Division is called Hugli ;
and in it, near the present town of Hugli, are the ruins of
Satganw, formerly the capital of Western Bengal.
§ 3. Bihar. — Bihar contains more than 42,000 square miles,
and nearly 20,000,000 inhabitants. It is the plain on both sides
of the Ganges, lying further up the river than Bengal, and
between Bengal and the North- West Provinces. It consists of
two great provinces or divisions; Bhagalpur or Eastern Bihar,
and Patna or Western Bihar. The languages chiefly spoken are
Hindi and Hindustani. Bihar was once the chief seat of the
Buddhist religion ; and it got its name (Sanskrit Vihdra, a*
monastery) from the number of Buddhist monasteries which
were formerly there.
One of the districts contained in the Division of Bhagalpur or
Eastern Bihar, is called " the Santal Parganas," because it con-
tains a large number of Santals, an aboriginal tribe ; and the
people of another aboriginal tribe, called Paharias, inhabit the
Rajmahall Hills in the same district. Rdjmahall is a town which
was of considerable importance during the rule of the Mughuls
in Bengal \_see Chap. V., § 4, and Chap. VI. § 4] ; it was built
by Raja Man Singh, and was afterwards called Akbarnagar, in
honour of the great emperor Akbar. At this place the last
king of Bengal was defeated and killed by Akbar's army in
1576. North-west of Rajmahall, at the point where the Raj-
mahall Hills abut on the river Ganges, was the fortress of
Telidgarhi, which used to be looked upon as the "Key" of
Bengal [see Chap. V., § 4 ; Chap. VL, § 10].
The most important zilas of Patna or Western Bihar, are
Patna, Tirhut, and Shahabad. Patna was once called Pataliputra
4 THE GEOGRAPHY OF BENGAL. [cHAP. I*
(in Greek Palihothra\ and was the capital of the ancient empire
of Magadhd. In Shahabad is situated Baxar (Baksai^), where
the English under Sir Hector Munro defeated Mir Kasim and the
Vazir of Oudh in 1764 ; and in the same district are three other
places of liistorical importance, of which we shall hear hereafter —
Chausd^ Sahsardin^ and Rahtds. The country of Tirhut was
formerly called Kosala ; it is now one of the most populous
districts in the world.
§ 4. Orma.-— Orissa contains nearly 24,000 square miles, and
about four-and-a-half millions of inhabitants. It consists of a
long flat strip of low-lying muddy land, the valleys of the river
Mahanadi and of several smaller rivers between the Mahanadi
and the Ganges ; together with a wild hilly region in the interior
of the country. It lies south-west of Bengal, between the
mountains on the west and the Bay of Bengal on the east. The
language spoken most generally is Uriya; but in the hilly country
there are many aboriginal tribes (such as the Khands and others)
who speak different dialects. Under the Hindu rule, Orissa was
called Odra or Utkala.
Southern Orissa is called the zila or district of Piiri, famous
for the temples of Jagannath, which are visited by thousands of
pilgrims at the festival called Rath Jdtrd. Central Orissa is
called Cuttack (Katak) ; it contains the towns of Katak Bandras
(on the right bank of the Mahanadi), and Jajpur — which have
been at various times the capitals of Orissa. The district of
Balasor, or north-east Orissa, is watered by the Subarnarekha
and the Baitarani, two rivers which rise in Chutia Nagpur and
flow southward through Orissa into the Bay of Bengal.
§ 5. Chutia JSdgpur. — Chutia Nagpur or Hazaribagh, formerly
called Jhdrkha?id, is a mountainous district lying west of Bengal
Proper and Bihar, north of Orissa, and east of the Central Pro-
vinces. It is called Chutia ISTagpur, from Chutia, a town near
Ranchi. Many of its inhabitants belong to aboriginal tribes : —
such as the Kols, divided into Oraons and Mundds ; the Santdls;
and others. Of the many rivers that rise in Chutia Nagpur, some
flow northward and eastward to join the Ganges; others flow
southward through Orissa into the Bay of Bengal ; and others
OHAP. I.] THE GEOGRAPHY OF BENGAL, 5
How, also southward, to join the Mahanadi. The total area of
the province is nearly 44,000 square miles ; and its population
nearly four millions. Attached to it are many petty States whose
chiefs pay a tribute to the British Government, and refer the
judicial decision of very serious cases to the Commissioner, but
who in other matters administer the government themselves.
These petty States are called Tinhiitary Mahalls ; and there are
also many such petty States attached to the province of Orissa.
§ 6. Assam. — Assam consists of the long valley of the Brahma-
putra, with many adjacent hill-tracts. It contains an area of more
than 43,000 square miles ; and a population of two millions and
.a quarter. Western Assam, including the adjacent parts of north-
east Bengal, was formerly called Kcimrup. The language gener-
ally spoken is Assamese, very much like the Bengali ; but there
are many hill-tribes who speak quite different languages. The
northern banks of the Brahmaputra are called Uttarkol ; and
the southern banks, Dakhinkol.
The name Assam is derived from the Ahoms^ an aboriginal
tribe that ruled in Upper Assam for four and a half centuries.
The Ahoms are still numerous in the province, and are now
scarcely different from the ordinary Hindus in manners and
religion, except that they have priests of their own, who are called
Bilongs.
§ 7. The River System, — The river system of Bengal is of very
great importance, because the rivers in this country generally
serve for roads ; and most of the internal commerce is carried on
by means of boats on the rivers which traverse all parts of the
country. The chief rivers of the province are: —
(«). The Ganges, which enters Bengal from the North-Western
Provinces near Ghazipur. Shortly afterwards it receives the
waters of the Ghogra on its left or north side, then the Son on its
south side, and then the Ghandak again on its north side at
Plajipur, opposite Patna. These three tributaries are all large
rivers ; and the Ganges throughout this part of its course has
generally an easterly direction. Below Bhagalpur it is joined by
another great tributary, the Kusi ; after which it turns southward
around the corner of the llajmahall Hills, and continues in that
6 THE GEOGRAPHY OF BENGAL. [OHAP. I.
direction until it divides into two great streams, — of which one,
flowing to the south-east to Goalando, retains the name of Ganges;
whilst the other, flowing to the south-west towards Hugli and
Calcutta, is called at first the Bhdgirathi, and afterwards the
Hugli,
(Jb). The Brahmaputra is formed by the union of many large
streams that rise on the northern and eastern slopes of the
Himalayas ; it enters Assam at its north-east corner, and flows
through the whole length of the Assam valley. It then skirts
the Garo Hills, and flows due south to meet the main stream of
the Ganges near Goalando. The united rivers flow by many
mouths into the Bay of Bengal.
[Note. — The countrj^ lying between the mouths of a river is called its
Delia. The delta formed by the Ganges and the Brahmaputra is a very
large one, and includes the whole of the Presidency Division, and parts of
the Rajshahi and Dacca Divisions, of Bengal Proper.]
(c). The Mahdnadi is the chief river of Orissa. It rises in
the Central Provinces; and flows through Orissa into the Bay of
Bengal in a generally south-easterly direction. Most of the low
country of Orissa is comprised within the delta of this great
river. It is about 520 miles in length, and is navigable for boats
for 460 miles ; near Cuttack (Katak) it is about two miles in
breadth.
(c?). The other rivers of Bengal are of less importance. The
Surma flows past Silhat, and is the high road to Kachar ; it joins
the Brahmaputra, and the united rivers are then called the Megna.
The two rivers of the Chittagong Division are, the Phani
(or Fenny River), which separates Chittagong from Tiparah ; and
the Karnphuli^ on which Chittagong itself is situated.
The rivers of the Bardwan Division are, the Damuddr, which
flows through Bardwan itself; the Rupndrdin, which flows
through Bankura ; and the Kasai^ which flows through Midnapur.
All these join the Hugli between Calcutta and Sagar Island,
where it falls into the sea.
Besides the Mahanadi, Orissa has two other rivers ; the
Baitarani^ which flows into the Bay of Bengal near Feint Palmyras ;
CHAP. I.] THE GEOGRAPHY OF BENGAL. 7
and the Subarnarekha, which passes by Jellasor. Both these
rivers rise in Chutia Nagpiir, and flow through Orissa in a
south-easterly direction.
§ 8. Mountains and Hills. — A small part of the great Himalaya
Kange, the loftiest chain of mountains in the world, is situated
within the territories of Lower Bengal. The elevation of these
mountains varies greatly — from Darjiling in the south, 7,000 feet
above the level of the sea, to Kachinjanga on the north-west,
28,000 feet. The highest peak of the Himalaya Mountains is in
Nepal,— z;/2r., Mount Everest, 29,000 feet.
The Rajinahall Hills are in Eastern Bihar, and are an eastern
projection of the mountainous country of Central India. The
whole of Chutia Nagpur is hilly, and much of it is a very high
table-land. Between this plateau and the Rajmahall Hills are
numerous detached mountains rising almost abruptly from the
plains ; of these the highest is Parisndth^ above 4,500 feet, the
sacred hill of the Jains.
The interior of Orissa is hilly, and covered with rocks and
jungle. The highest groups are the mountains of Keonjhar and
Talchir.
In Eastern Bengal and Assam there are numerous ranges of
hills, stretching under various names fiom the north-east corner
of Assam to the south of the Chittagong Division. Those north
of the Brahmaputra are called from the tribes inhabiting them,
the Alid^ Duphla, Miri and Mishmi Hills ; and are merely outer
ranges of the great Himalaya Mountains. Of those south of the
Brahmaputra, farthest to the north-east are the Abor and Sing-
phii Hills ; then the Naga Hills to the south of the Assam
valley, which are connected by the Manipur, Kachar, and
Tiparah Hills, with the Chittagong Hill Tracts; whilst the range
of the Garo and Khasia and Jaintia Hills runs parallel to the
Himalayas as far as the bend of the Brahmaputra.
§ 9. Plains. — The greater part of Bengal and Bihar is an
uninterrupted flat, subject to inundation, rich in black mould,
and highly productive ; some portions are more fertile than
others, the Dacca Division being so fertile as to be called the
granary of Bengal. In the eastern portion of this plain the soil
8 THE GEOGRAPHY OF BENGAL. [cHAP. I.
is muddy, and the climate humid ; in the western part, the soil
more resembles that of the Chutia Nagpur plateau, containing
granite and sometimes coal, and the climate is somewhat
drier.
The Assam Valley is almost a perfect flat, with clumps of little
conical hills scattered over the plain and rising abruptly to the
height of 200 to 700 feet. A large number of rivers flow through
this plain to join the Brahmaputra, the soil is particularly rich in
minerals, and the climate is very favourable to the growth of the
tea-plant.
§ 10. Lahea. — There is a large salt lake close to the coast on
the southern border of Orissa, called the Chilka Lake, into
which some branches of the Mahanadi flow. Besides this, there
are numerous shallow lakes called jhils in various parts of
Bengal, of which the water is generally brackish.
§ 11. Climate. — The climate of the greater part of Bengal
is generally hot and moist ; in the hills, and especially in the
highlands of Kachar and Assam, an enormous quantity of rain
falls every year. During the rainy season, the climate of
Ilazai'ibagh is much cooler than that of the rest of Bengal ; in
the Himalaya Mountains (at Darjiling for instance) the climate
is cool throughout the year.
From about February to November the summer monsoon
prevails, — i.e.^ the wind generally blows from the sea over
the land, from south or south-west to north. During the rest of
the year the winter monsoon blows, from the north and north-
west toward the Bay of Bengal. Terrific storms, called cyclones^
(because the wind whirls about in a circle as the storm sweeps
over the country), sometimes occur during the summer monsoon ;
and especially at the beginning and at the end, about the change
of the monsoons. Other storms of considerable violence, though
not so destructive as cyclones, frequently occur in the hot-weather;
these generally blow from the north-west, and are called in English
•* north-westers."
§ 12. Products. — The principal food-grain of Bengal Proper
is rice, which is most largely produced in Eastern and Central
Bengal, and in Orissa. There are two chief crops of rice,—
CHAP. I.] * THE GEOGRAPHY OF BENGAL. &
the aus, harvested in July and September; and the dman or
winter-crop, harvested in December and January.
In Bihar also, rice is the most important food-grain ; but a
great deal of •wheat, maize, barley, peas, and other grains are also
grown and eaten.
Millets of various kinds, maricd, and maize, are the staple food
of the lowest classes in Chutia Nagpur.
The chief commercial productions of Bengal are jute CP^O ■>
grown largely in Eastern Bengal, chiefly for exportation ; and
cocoa-nuts, betel-nuts, plantains and other fruits and vegetables,
bamboos, and thatch-grass, chiefly for sale in the province,
Gaiijah or hemp, mushina or flax, oil-seeds, sugar-cane, and date-
sugar, are largely produced in most parts of the country. Tea
is largely cultivated in Assam (where also some cotton is pro-
duced), in Kachar and Sikkim, and to some extent in Chittagong ;
whilst silk and lac are exported from the central districts and
from Chutia Nagpur. Indigo is largely grown in Bihar, north of
the Ganges. Opium is only allowed to be grown for the
Government, chiefly in Bihar.
§ 13. Manufactures. — Indigo is largely manufactured in the
Presidency, Rajshahi, Bardwan and Dacca Divisions, and in East
and West Bihar ; opium in West Bihar ; silk in Rajshahi and
Bardwan; sugar in the Presidency Division ; salt in Orissa.
§ 14. Races and Religions. — The races of Bengal are more
varied than those of any other part of India. The bulk of the
population consists of Aryan Hindus, with a large admixture of
aboriginal tribes in the lower castes ; the Kayasthas are the most
numerous and important caste, and inferior in rank only to
Brahmans. The Muhammadans are most numerous in South.
Eastern Bengal ; many of them are descendants of the old
Afghan conquerors of Bengal, [see Chap. II.], and a few are
Mughuls ; but large numbers are converts from low Hindti, abori-
ginal, and Arakanese tribes.
The aboriginal tribes, besides forming a considerable portion
of the lowest classes on the plains, are chiefly found in the hill-
districts of Assam, Eastern Bengal, Chutia Nagpur, Orissa, and
Eastern Bihar. The chief divisions of these tribes are the
10 THE HINDU RULE IN BENGAL. ' [cHAP. II.
Lohitic, the Kolarian^ and the Dravldiau races. To the Lohitic
race belong most of the tribes of Assam and Sikkim, as the
Mishmis, Duphlas, Garos, Nagas, Kacharis, Jaintias, Liishais,
Kiikis, and Lepchas. To the Kolarian race belong the Kols,
Santals, and others. To the Dravidian race belono the Khands
in Orissa, and the Rajmahall Paharias.
Altogether there are, in the Lower Provinces, about 31 J
millions of Hindus, 21 millions of Muharamadans, and 14 millions
of aborifrines.
CHAPTER II.
THE HINDU RULE IN BENGAL.
§ 1. The Aryan Invasion. §2. Legendary character of the ear h' his-
tory. § 3. The Lords Paramount of India. § 4. Buddhism and Brah-
manism. § 5. The earliest Dynasties in Bengal. § 6. The Pal Dynasty.
§ 7. The Sena Dynasty and King Adisiira. § 8. King Ballala Sena.
§ 9. The last Hindu Kings of Bengal. § 10. The remains of the Plindii
Power in Bengal." § 11. The Early History of Assam. § 12. The Early
History of Orissa.
§ 1. llie Aryan Invasion. — Many hundreds of years ago, it
is believed that all Bengal was occupied by the aboriginal tribes
mentioned in the last paragraph, the Kols, Santals, and others.
At last the Brahmanical Hindus, who had conquered the Panjab
and the rest of Upper India, penetrated into Bengal ; they
subdued the earlier possessors, and drove them away to the hills
and jungles, or reduced them to slavery. Now these Hindus,
whom I have called Brahmanical because their priests were
called Brahmans, were a branch of a mighty nation called the
Aryans, who had formerly lived in Central Asia, before they came
to India. This branch of the Aryan race was the ancestor of
the modern Hindus of the higher classes ; and other branches of
the same race migrated westward from Central Asia into Europe,
and became the ancestors of the English, the French, the
Germans, and most of the other peoples of Europe.
CHAP. II.] THE HINDU RULE IN BENGAL. 11
When this Aryan invasion took place is not known exactly ;
but after this, and for many hundreds of years— indeed until the
Muhammadan conquest in A.D. 1203— Bengal was ruled by
Aryan Hindu princes.
§ 2. Legendary character of the early history. — There has
been no trustworthy account preserved by the Hindus of those
ancient times when Bengal was ruled by native Hindus ; the
stories that are contained in the Puranas, or that have been
handed down by tradition, are generally of a poetical or legendary
character. But some knowledge of the true history has been
obtained from inscriptions that have been found in various parts
of the country, cut on stone or metal in those ancient tiroes, and
legible even at the present day. Moreover the Muhammadans,
who were very fond of writing history, shortly after their con-
quest of Bengal, wrote down all that was then remembered about
the ancient history ; and in these and other ways we have now
got to know something about those obscure ages.
§ 3. The Lords Paramount of India. — In the early times
before the Muhammadan conquest, India was divided into a very
large number of Hindu kingdoms and principalities, some large and
powerful, others small and weak. These were generally inde-
pendent ; but sometimes one of the kings or princes conquered all
or most of the rest, and then he assumed the title of Maharaja
Adhirdj, or Lord Paramount of India.
It is thought by some that at least one of the early kings of
Bengal, a powerful prince named Deva Pal, obtained the title of
Maharaja Adhiraj ; and at other times it is probable that the
kings of Bengal were occasionally subordinate to other princes
who held the title. Thus, about 2,200 years ago, and for many
centuries after that time, Bengal and Orissa were subordinate
parts of a great empire whose capital was in Bihar. This was the
empire of Magadha ; and its capital was called Pataliputra (or
Palibothra by the Greeks), the modern Patna.
§ 4. Buddhism and Brdhmanism. — The Emperors of Magadha,
with most of their subjects, had ceased to profess the religion of
the Brahmanical Hindus, and followed quite a different religion,
called Buddhism. The j^reat kinji: Asoka was the fifst Buddhist
12 THE HINDU RULE IN BENGAL. [cHAP. II.
Emperor of Magadha (B.C. 263—223) ; and edicts or laws,
engraved on stones by the orders of Asoka, have been found in
Orissa, as well as in many other distant parts of India.
This new religion was the chief religion of India for at least
a thousand years — after which the kings and their peoples
gradually turned to a somewhat altered form of their original
religion. This later form is generally called Brahmanism or
Hinduism; and is essentially the same religion as that professed
at the present day by most Hindus.
§ 5. Earliest Dynasties in Bengal. — It is probable that, of the
earliest kings of Bengal, some were subject to the Mauryan
Kings of IMagadha, of whom Asoka was the most famous ; others
»at a later period were subject to the Andhra Kings, who had
obtained power in Magadha ; others again still later were pro-
bably subject to the kings of Kashmir, and after that to the kings
of Kanauj. But of these early kings we know absolutely
nothing further.
§ 6. The Pal Dynasty.— At length, about the year 7C0 A.D.,
B good and powerful king named Blm Pal came to the throne,
who, though a Buddhist, was kind to people of the Hindu religion ;
and he was the first of a powerful dynasty of about twelve kings
who reigned in succession, all of whom were called Pal, and wet e
Buddhists in religion. The third king of this line was called
Deva Pal; I have already said of him that it is believed he
conquered many neighbouring princes, and became Malidrdjd
AdhirdJ \^see § 3]. And many years afterwards, about 913 A.D.,
one of his descendants named Malii Pdl greatly distinguished
himself as a wise and good ruler ; he made large and splendid
tanks, some of which (such as the Mahipaldighi in Dinajpur)
still exist and bear his name.
§ 7. 7'he Sena Dynasty, and King Adisura. — The circum-
stances under which the Pal dynasty ceased to reign in Bengal
are unknown ; but it appears likely that they were displaced by a
revolution in which the supporters of the Hindu or Brahmanical
religion subverted Buddhism. At any rate, the Pals were suc-
ceeded by a dynasty of kings called Sena, who were ardent
supporters of Brahmanism. One of the most famous of these
CHAP. II.] THE HINDU RULE IN BENGAL, 13
was called Adlsiira ; and he was probably the founder of the Sena
family, and became king about A.D. 964.
Now, during the centuries of Buddhist rule in Bengal, it is
likely that many of the doctrines and rites of the Brahmanical
religion had been forgotten. So king Adisifra determined to-
fetch some Brahman sages from those parts of India where the
Buddhist religion had never entirely overridden Hinduism. The
only city in which the Brahmans had continuously retained their
influence was Kanauj (Kanyakuhja) on the borders of Oudh, in
the modern division of Agra. There the Brahmanical rites had
never been forgotten ; so King Adisui-a sent to Kanauj, and
brought thence five learned Brahmans — Bhattanarayana, Daksha,
Sri Harsha, Chhandada, and Vedagarbha. These five sages
came, each attended by a Kayastha; and these are said to be the
ancestors of the five high classes of Brahmans and Kayasthas ia
Bengal.
§ 8. King Balldla Sena. — The greatest of all the Sena kings,,
the descendants of Adisiira, was Ballala Sena. His father
Vijaya Sena had been a great conqueror ; and had invaded
Kamrup or West Assam, and Kalinga the country on the coast
of the Bay of Bengal, south of Orissa. Ballala Sena came to the
throne about the year 1066 A.D., exactly the time of the
JsTorman Conquest in England, when a sou of the great Mahmiid
of Ghazni was reigning in the Panjab. Ballala was a wise and
powerful monarch, and a great patron of learning, being himself
an author. He reigned thirty-five years ; and to his wisdom and
valour are assigned a great number of exploits and reforms, some
of which doubtless belong to him, whilst others are assigned to
him only because. he was the most famous prince of the period.
Amongst other fables that were invented to account for his
greatness, it was said that his father was really not Vijaya Sena,
but the god of the river Brahmaputra. His chief residence was
Kampunt in the Dacca district ; but he subsequently built a
capital near Gaur in the district of Maldah, and called it Lakh-
nauti (contracted from Lakshmanavati) after his son Lakshmana.
But the most famous act of king Ballala Sena was the classi-
fication of the descendants of the Brahmans and Kayasthas
14 THE HINDU RULE IN BENGAL. [c'HAI^. II.
who bad been brought from Kanauj by Adisura. Ballala finally
settled their rank ; and this was the origin of Kulinism (kula).
In Ballala's time, Bengal was divided into five provinces ; and the
five orders of Brahmans and Kayasthas took their distinctive
names from tliese provinces. They were (1) 7i?ar(f, the country
west of the Hugli and south of the Ganges ; (2) JDdgii, the delta
of the Ganges; (3) Banga^ the country to the east of, and beyond
the delta ; (4) Varendt'ci, the country to the north of the Poddah
(^Paclmd) and between the Karataya and Mahananda rivers ;
and (5) 3Iithild, the country west of the Mahananda. These
divisions correspond to some extent with the modern divisions
[_see Chap. I.] ; Kara corresponding in part with the Bardwdn
Division ; Bagri with the Presidency Division ; Banga with the
Dacca and Chittagong Divisions ; Varendra with the Bajshahi
Division ; and Mithila with Bihar.
§ 9. The last Hindu Kings of Bengal. — Lakshmana Sena
succeeded his father Ballala about the year 1101. Some inscrip-
tions that have been discovered state that he erected pillars of
victory at Benares, Allahabad, and Jagannath (or Piiri in Orissa);
but all tliat is known of him is that he greatly beautified the city
.of Lakhnauti.
Lakshmana Sena died in 1121 ; and was followed successively
by his two sons Madhava Sena and Kesava Sena. The last Hindu
King of Bengal is called by the Hindus, Su Sen or Sura Sen ; by
the Muhammadan historians he is called Lakhmaniya ; and he
reigned for eighty years, from A.D. 1123 to A.D. 1203. The
Muhammadan historian says of him. " He was a liberal man,
and never gave less than a lakh of cowries when he made a
present; may God lessen his punishment in hell!"
Lakhmaniya lived at Nadiya in great luxury ; and in his old
age was not at all likely to be able to withstand the attacks of
the Muhammadans, who had now conquered Dehli and most of
the kings of Northern India. When news was brought that
Bakhtyar Khilji and his Muhammadans had subdued Bihar and
were approaching, the Brahmans and astrologers informed Lakh-
maniya that a prophecy had declared that his kingdom was to be
subverted at this very time by the Turks ; and they begged the
C'HAr. II. J THE HINDU RULE IN BENGAL. 15
Raja to remove his people and wealth to the remote districts of
the east, where they would be safe from attack. They added,
in reply to the prince's questions, that the length of Bakhtyar
Khilji's arms proved that he was the conqueror referred to in the
prophecy. Lakhraaniya however refused to leave his comfortable
palace at Nadiya ; so the nobles and principal inhabitants left him
and fled, some to Banga, others to Orissa. Next year, the long-
armed Muhammadan soldier surprised old Lakhmaniya in his
palace; and the latter escaped with the greatest difiiculty, and
fled with hardly any attendants to Jagaunath in Orissa. In this
holy spot he shortly afterwards died.
§ 10. The remains of the Hindu Power in Bengal. — The
regular line of the old Hindu kings of Bengal ended with Lakh-
maniya ; but his relatives and their followers maintained the
Hindu power in Eastern and Southern Bengal, and it was about
a hundred years before Banga and the southern portions of
Kara and Bagri were brought thoroughly under Muhammadan
rule.
§ II. Early History of Assam. — The inhabitants of Assam
were at all times objects of dread to the more civilised kingdoms
in Bengal ; and though we often hear of invasions of Kamrup,
and some of the south-western part of the country was ultimately
conquered by the Mughuls in 1637 ( Silhat was annexed to
Bengal in 1384), yet during the Hindii period and the early
Muhammadan period Eastern Bengal was frequently overrun by
Assamese.
In early times the Chutiyd tribe was the ruling power, both
in Upper and Lower Assam ; and many descendants of this tribe
are still to be found there. But about the time of the Muham-
madan conquest of Bengal, the Chutiyas were conquered by the
Koch in Lower Assam and by the Ahoms in Upper Assam ; and
the Ahoms ultimately became the masters of the whole country.
§ 12. Early History of Orissa. — Orissa was one of those
countries in which Buddhism was adopted at a very early period,
very shortly after the death of its founder. In the third century
before Christ, Orissa formed a part of the empire of the great
Buddhist king of Magadha or Bihar, Asoka ; and many memo-
16 THE HINDU RULE IN BENGAL. [cHAP. II,
rials of the Buddhist ride, in the form of carvings and inscriptions,
are still to be found in the country.
Buddhism was predominant in Orissa until the expidsion of
the Yacana dynasty in 473 A.D. ; and it seems probable tliat
most of the Yavana kin^rs, who are ^jenerally represented as
successful invaders from Bihar or from the sea, were Buddhists.
During the period of Yavana or foreign rule, the island of Java
was colonised by settlers from the shores of Orissa.
In 473 A.D., the Yavanas were finally expelled by a chief
who professed the Brahmanical religion, named Yaydti Kesari ;
and from this time Buddhism declined in Orissa, and the religion
of the country became Hindu, at first Sivaism. Bhuvaneswar
became the temple-city of Siva, as it had formerly been a home
of Buddhism, and as Piiri afterwards became a sanctuary of
Vishnu. Jiijpur also was the head-quarters of the Sivalte priest-
hood ; and it was the capital of the country in the sixth century.
For forty-three generations the Kesari dynasty ruled in Orissa; and
the Lion-race (as it was called) was not expelled until 1132 A.D.
A warlike prince of this dynasty, named Makar Kesari, in the
tenth century, built Cuttack (Katak).; and this city has ever
since been the capital of the country.
About the beginning of the 12th century, an invader named
Chor-ganga got the better of the last king of the Kesai-i
dynasty ; and when the latter died without children, Chor-ganga
succeeded him. The dynasty thus founded in 1132 A.D. lasted
until only a few years before the Muhammadan conquest in
1567; it was called the Ganga Vansa, or Gangetic Race. The
religion of the country now became Vishnuvite ; some legends
say that a period of Sun-worship intervened between the decline
of Siva-worship and the establishment of Vaishnavism, and that
a line of kings, called the Sun Dynasty, ruled from Q56 A.D.
to 1324 A.D.
The great temple of Jagannath was built by the fourth
monarch of the Ganga Vansa, in 1175 — 1198; and we have
seen that, very shortly afterwards, in 1203 A.D., Lakhmaniya the
last Hindu king of Bengal fled to this sanctuary and died in its
sacred shade.
CHAP. III.] THE MUHAMMADAN RULE IN BENGAL. 17
Raja Pratap Chandra Deo was the last of the Ganga Vansa
princes. His reign, from A.D. 1504—1532, is famous as the
period when the great reformer, Chaitanya of Nadiya, preached
purity of religion throughout Orissa — converting even the king
himself.
CHAPTER III.
THE MUHAMMADAN RULE IN BENGAL. PART I. — THE
GOVERNORS OF LAKHNAUTI UNDER THE PATHAN "<
EMPERORS OF DELHI.
From A.D. 1203 to A.D. 1338.
§ 1. Divisions of the Muhammadan Period of Bengal Histor3%
§ 2. The Muhammadan Conquest of Dehli. § 3. Bakhtyar Khilji,
and the Muhammadan Conquest of Bengal. § 4. Bakhtyar Khilji,
the first Muhammadan king of Bengal. § 5. The Khiljj successors of
Bakhtyar. § 6. Tuglian Khan and Tughral Khan. § 7. Sultan
Mughls-ud-din Tughral. § 8. Bnghra Klian, and the Balbani dynast}^.
§ 9. The Balbani dynasty continued ; Bahadur Shah. § 10. The Gover-
tiors of Bengal under Muhammad bin Tughlaq.
§ 1. Divisions of the Muhammadan Period of Bengal His*
iory. — The history of Bengal under Muhammadan rule may be
conveniently divided into five periods : —
1. The reigns of the Governors of Lakhnauti appointed by
the Pathan Emperors of Dehli ; from the conquest of Bengal
by Muhammad Bakhtyar Khilji in A.D. 1203, to the establish-
ment of the independence of Bengal in A.D. 1338.
2. The reigns of the independent kings of Bengal ; from
A.D. 1338 to A.D. 1538.
3. The reigns of Sher Shah and his Afghan successors ; from
A.D. 1538 to A.D. 1576.
4. The rule af the Siibahdars of the Mughul Emperors of
Dehli ; from A. D. 1576 to A.D. 1740.
18 THE MUHAMMADAN RULE IN BENGAL. [CHAP. IIF.
o. The rule of the Nawabs of Bengal, nominally subject to
the Empire of Dehli, but really independent; from A.D. 1740
to the battle of Plassey in A.D. 1757.
The present chapter treats of the first period.
§ 2. The Muhammadan Conquest of Dehli.-^The Afghans
and Turks of Afghanistan, and the countries adjacent to it in
Central Asia, had been converted to the Muhammadan religion
at a very early period ; and had frequently invaded the north-
west of India, partly with the view of conquering it, and partly
with the hope of extending the Muhammadan religion. The
great Sultan of Ghazni, called Mahmud, in the eleventh century,
was the leader of some of the most successful of these invasions ;
but none of them ever reached as far eastward as Bengal.
At last, a great Muhammadan leader, called Shahab-ud-din or
Muhammad Ghori (he was named Ghori because he was the
Chief of Ghor, a small State in Afghanistan), conquered the
Hindii king of Dehli and all his allies in the battle of Thaneswar,
A.D. 1193; and Muhammad Ghori became the first Muham-
madan Sultan of Dehli.
§ 3. Bakhtt/dr Khilji and the Muhammadan Conqvest of
Bengal. — Muhammad Ghori did not himself attempt to complete
the conquest of Northern India; but he lived chiefly in his native
country, Afghanistan, and left the care of the wars in India to
his chief commanders. One of these, named Kutb-ud-din, com-
pleted the conquest of the North-West Provinces, Oudh, and
part of Raj pu tan a; and ultimately succeeded Muhammad Ghori
as Sultan of Dehli.
Whilst Muhammad Ghori was living in Afghanistan, and Kutb-
ud-din was his viceroy or lieutenant in Dehli, a young Afghan
leader, named Muhammad Bakhtyar, of the Khilji tribe, greatly
distinguished himself with the Muhammadan army then in Oudh.
Getting together a few followers, he used to make plundering
incursions into Bihar, which was still under the Hindu princes
of Magadha ; who then lived in the town of Bihar, but were not
brave and powerful as Asoka and the ancient kings of Magadha
had been. Bakhtyar Khilji acquired great wealth in these
plundering expeditions, and expended it in paying more followers ;
CHAP. III.] THE MUHAxMMADAN KULE IN BENGAL. 19
and at last he succeeded in taking the town and fort of Bihar
itself, which was at that time famous as a great seat of Hindii
learning. The booty found here was very rich, and he gave it all to
Kutb-ud-din, the viceroy of Dehli; and obtained in consequence so
many honours from Kutb that all the courtiers were jealous of him.
An interesting story is told about the jealousy of these courtiers.
They treacherously proposed that Bakhtyar should exhibit his
valour and skill before the viceroy, by encountering single-handed
one of those terrible elephants that were kept in those days for the
purpose of making sport by fighting with tigers or with other
elephants. To their astonishment, Bakhtyar quietly girded up
his loins and advancing to meet the enfuriated elephant, struck
it such a blow on the trunk with his battle-axe that it ran
away, pursued by the triumphant hero.
After this exploit, Bakhtyar rose higher than ever in public
estimation and in the favour of the viceroy ; and he was allowed
to return to Bihar with a strong army, and with permission to
conquer all the surrounding Hindu territories. After he had con-
soHdated his possession of Bihar, he determined to attempt the
conquest of Bengal ; and he was encouraged to do this, by the
accounts of the weakness and old age of Lakhmaniya ^see
Chap. II., § 9]. He marched from Bihar towards Nadiyd
very rapidly and very secretly, so that no one was aware of
his approach ; and hiding his army in the jungle near Nadiya,
he advanced to the city with only seventeen followers. Pre-
tending that he was only an ambassador from another Kaja, he
was allowed to enter and approach the palace ; when he and
his followers suddenly drew their swords, and commenced to
slaughter the attendants of Lakhmaniya. The Kaja fled ; and the
rest of the Muhammadan army coming up, Bakhtyar Khiiji
easily became master of the city.
By this campaign he obtained possession of the whole of
Bengal except the eastern and southern districts (i.e., except
Banga and the southern portions of Kara and Bagri ; see Chap. II.,
§ 10), A.D. 1203.
§ 4. Bakhtydr Khiiji^ the first MMliammadan King of Bevgal. —
The dominions of Bakhtyar Khiiji were divided into two pro-
20 THE MUHAMMADAX RULE IX BENGAL. [cHAP. III^
vinces. Lakbnaiiti (wbere be fixed tbe royal residence, for be
destroyed tbe Hindd city of Nadiya) was tbe capital of tbe
■western province, wbicb consisted of parts of Rara or Bard wan,
and Mitbila or Bibar. Deokot, near tbe modern Dinajpur, was
the capital of tbe eastern province, wbicb consisted of Varendra
or Rajsbabi, and a part of Bagri or Presidency. During tbe
early part of bis reign be devoted bimself to tbe settlement' of
tbis province ; and be founded Rnngpur as a fortress to defend
tbe country against tlie Hindus of tbe nortb. He appears also to
have received as allies or as tributaries tbe Hind6 llajas of
Lakbmaniya s family wbo retained possession of Banga and tbe
eastern districts.
At lengtb, relying on tbe assistance of these friendly Hindus,
and especially on tbe aid of a Kaja of tbe Koch tribe (living
either in Koch Bihar or in Lower Assam) wbo bad become a
Musalman, be determined to invade the Himalayan territories of
Assam and Thibet. He crossed the Jh'abmaputra, but met with
Diany disasters ; and being forced to retreat, be was attacked by
tbe Raja of Kamrup as be was recrossing tbe river,, and was com-
pelled to fly with only a few attendants, bis whole army being
cut off. He only survived tbis disgrace a short time ; and one
report states that be was murdered by one of bis ambitious
officers, wbo after a short interval succeeded to the throne of
Bengal.
§ 5. The Khilji Successors of Bakhtijdr. — After tbe death of
Muhammad Bakbtyar Khilji, much anarchy prevailed for several
years ; and tbe most powerful officers of bis army, who belonged
to tbe Khilji tribe, became successively Governors of Lakbnauti.
Tbe last and most powerful of these was Sultan Ghiyds-ud-din
Khilji. He built a famous road through bis dominions from
Lakhnur in Birbbum to Lakbnauti, and thence to Deokot in
Dinajpur ; be also greatly improved tbe city of Lakbnauti,
and decorated it with splendid buildings. He was a wise ruler
both in peace and war; for be distributed justice with impar-
tiality alike to Mubainmadans and Hindus, and be compelled the
Rajas of Kamrup (Assam) and Jajpur (Orissa) to pay him
tribute. Tbe great Altamsb, wbo at tbis time was Emperor of
CHAP. III.] THE MUHAMMADAN RULE IN BENGAL. 2i>
horse into the stream; and Malik, plunging into the water,
dragged him to the shore, and cut off his head. The Emperor
Balban subsequently tarnished the glory of this valorous exploit
of his followers, by cruelly slaughtering a large number of the
adherents of Tughral in cold blood, with their wives and children,
A.D. 1282.
§ 8. Bughrd Khdn, and the Balbani Dynasty, — Balban now
appointed his second son Bughra Khan Governor of Bengal with
the title of Defender of the Faith (Nasir-ud-din). By the death
of his elder brother, Bughra Kban became heir to the empire, and
was begged by Balban to come back to Dehli ; but he preferred
his quiet and secure rule in Bengal, and ultimately his eldest son
Kaikubad became emperor, whilst Bughra himself remained
at Lakhnauti as king of Bengal.
A wicked and ambitious Vazir or minister of the emperor Kaiku-
bad, named Nizam-ud-din, endeavoured to sow discord between
the father and son, because Bughra Khan had warned his son
against the machinations of the wicked Yazir, and had remon-
strated with Kaikubad about his licentious habits. The result was
that the father and son met, each at the head of an army, in the
plains of Bihar. For two days the armies remained encamped near
each other ; on the third day, the old king of Bengal wrote a letter
to his son with his own hand, begging for an interview. At first
the wicked Vazir succeeded in preventing this interview ; and
even when it was arranged, he persuaded the weak young
Kaikubad that it was necessary for his dignity as emperor of
Hindustan, that his father the king of Bengal should first prostrate
himself three times before him. At length the time for the
meeting arrived. The son proceeded first to the Darbar tents
with great pomp ; then the aged father approached slowly, and
as soon as he came in sight of the throne, made his first prostra-
tion : as he came nearer, he made the second prostration ; and
when he arrived at the foot of the throne, was about to make the
thirds when the prince, deeply afiected at the humiliation of his
father, and stung with remorse at his own undutiful conduct,
rushed into the old man's arms ; and after tenderly embracing
him and imploring his foriifiveness, forced him to sit on the throne
24 THE MUHAMMADAN RULE IN BENGAL. [cHAP. Hi*
whilst he himself took a respectful place below. The designs of
the wicked Vazir were thus frustrated, and he shortly afterwards
died by poison.
Biighra Khan after this reigned peaceably in Bengal until his
death, A.D. 1292; but his unfortunate son Kaikubad was
deposed and assassinated in 1290, by Jalal-ud-din, the first emperor
of the Khiiji dynasty. For the thirty years during which this
dynasty was ruling in Dehli, the Balbani dynasty (as Bughra
Khan, son of Balban, and his descendants were called) reigned
in Bengal with little or no interference on the part of the
Emperors of Hindustan.
§ 9. The Balbani Dynastij continued; Bahddur Shdh. — The
two younger sons of Bughra Khdn, named Kai Kaus and Firiiz
Shah, reigned successively; and the two sons of the latter,
Shahab-ud-din and Bahadur Shah (who were consequently grand-
sons of Bughra Khan), appear to have divided Bengal between
them, Shahab-ud-din being king of Lakhnauti, and Bahadur
Shah king of Sunarganw. After a time Bahadur Shah expelled
his elder brother from Lakhnauti ; and Shahab-ud-din sought the
aid of Ghiyas-ud-din Tughlaq, the first of the Tughlaq Emperors,
who in the meantime had driven out the Khiiji dynasty
from the imperial throne of Dehli. The Emperor Ghiyas-ud-din
marched into Bengal, reinstated Shahab-ud-din as king, and
carried ofl Bahadur Shah as a captive to Dehli.
But immediately after the accession of the second Emperor of
the Tughlaq dynasty, Muhammad bin Tughlaq, to the throne of
Dehli in 1325, he reinstated Bahadur Shah as king of Bengal.
Bahadur, however, who was of a turbulent disposition, did not
long remain submissive to the Dehli Emperor. He began to
issue coin in his own name, and to use the white umbrella which
was the sign of independent sovereignty ; so in the year 1333,
Muhammad bin Tughlaq marched into Bengal and defeated and
slew Bahadur Shah, whose skin stuffed with straw was sent to all
the provinces of India as a warning to refractory Governors.
§ 10. The Governors of Bengal under Muhammad bin
Tughlaq. — Bahadur Shah was the last of the Balbani dynasty ;
and the Emperor now appointed his own officers as Governors in
OllAP. III.] THE MUHAMMADAN RULE IN BENGAL. 21
Debli, always spoke of Gliiyas-ud-din with the greatest respect, and
said that he well deserved the title of Sultan and the epithet
Supporter of the Faith. The latter, however, unfortunately for
himself, asserted his independence of the Dehli monarch ; and
having been reduced to submission and deprived of the Govern-
ment of Bihar, again rebelled as soon as the troops of Altamsh
had gone bacB: to Dehli. Altamsh now sent an army into Bengal
under his second son Nasir-ud-din, who defeated and slew the
rebel, and became Governor of the province for the Emperor his
father, A.D. 1227.
§ 6. Tughdn Khdn and Tughral Khan. — Prince Nasir-ud-diu
of Delhi reigned for some years in Bengal, and died at Lakhnauti
during the lifetime of his father. He was nominally succeeded by
an infant-brother, who received the same name, and afterwards
became the Emperor Nasir-ud-din of Dehli. Three of Altamsh's
generals were then Governors in succession; the third bein<^
lughdn Khdn^ who came to the throne in 1234, and reigned
until 1245.
The reign of Tughan Khan is chiefly famous for the great
war with the llaja of Jajpur in Orissa. Tughan, having reduced
tbe Raja of TIrhut to submission, was about to invade Orissa,
when he was met on the frontiers by (he Kaja of Jajpur, and
utterly routed. The Orissa army now invaded Bengal, took
and plundered Nagor the capital of Birbhum, and laid siege
to Lakhnauti. Tughan Khan in his distress applied to the Emperor
of Dehli for assistance ; and the Governor of Oudh, Timur Khan,
marched into Bengal to his aid. The approach of Timur Khan
forced the Jajpur troops to retire to Orissa ; but Timur now deter-
mined to have Bengal for himself, and Tughan Khdn after a
severe battle was f(u*ced to resign the government to him.
Tughan retired to Oudh, of which he was appointed Governor
by the Emperor of Dehli. He had originally been a slave of the
Emperor Altamsh ; as also were the three next Governors of
Bengal.
After two reigns of no importance, one of Tughan's successors,
named Tughral lihdn, endeavoured to take vengeance on the
king of Orissa for this invasion of Bengal. Tughral Khan, who
22 THE MUHAMMADAN RULE IN BENGAL. [cHAP. III.
became Governor in A. D. 1253, niarclied into Orissa, and was
at first successful ; but in the tbird battle he was totally defeated
and driven back to Bengal with ignominy. Similar reverses of
fortune attended his invasion of Kamrup ; for having at first
defeated the Raja and plundered his capital, he was ultimately
defeated, taken prisoner, and put to death, A.D. 1258.
§ 7. Sultan Mughis-ud-din Ttighral. — Three Governors of
no great note intervened between the 'j'ughral Khan, just spoken
of, and his more famous namesake Tughral, who usurped the
imperial title as Sultan Mugliis-ud-diii 2\ghral. This active
and daring officer obtained the government of Bengal by the
favour of the Emperor Balban of Dehli ; but having obtained
immense wealth, many elephants, and much glory from a
successful invasion of Tiparah, and hearing that Balban had
grown old and weak, he assumed all the insignia of royalty
as an independent monarch, pretending that Balban was dead.
The Emperor, enraged at this ingratitude, immediately ordered
the Governor of Oudh to march into Bengal ; but Tughral
utterly defeated this army, and also another stronger one that
was subsequently sent against him. At last Balban, though
now an old man, determined to march against the rebel in per-
son ; and Tughral, on his approach, fled towards Tiparah. The
Emperor pursued ; and after some time a detachment of his
troops, that had been sent on ahead to get some news of the
fugitive, obtained information of his whereabouts from some
grain-merchants who had just supplied the rebel camp with
food. It was a captain of the imperial army named Muham-
mad Sher who discovered this ; and though he had only
forty horsemen with him, he determined to attempt to seize
Tughral. At headlong speed they rode into the rebel camp,
shouting "Victory to the Great Sultan Balban." Tughral and his
adherents fancied that the whole imperial army was upon them,
and ran away in all directions. Tughral himself jumped on a
horse without a saddle, and galloped towards the river ; but he
was seen and pursued by Malik, the brother of the captain
Muhammad. MaHk overtook him whilst his horse was swimming
the river, and shot him with an arrow. Tughral fell from his
CHAP. IV.] THE MUHAMMADAN RULE IN BENGAL. 25
Lakhnautf, Satganw, and SMnargniiw. These however did not
remain long undisturbed ; and after much anarchy, the weakness
of the Tughlaq Emperors led to the establishment of an independ-
ent line of kings in Bengal.
CHAPTER IV.
THE MUHAMMADAN RULE IN BENGAL. PART II. THE
INDEPENDENT KINGS OF BENGAL.
§ 1. Establishment of the Independence of Bengal. § 2. Ilyas
Shah. § 3. Sikandar Shah. § 4. Sultan Ghiyas-ud-din. § 5. The
Hindii dynasty of Raja Kans. § G. The Ilyas Shahi dynasty restored.
§ 7. The Habshi or Abyssinian Kings. § 8. The Husaini" dynasty ; Sultan
Ala-ud-din Husain Shah. § 9. The Husaini dynasty continued. § 10.
Eeview of the condition of the people during this period,
§ 1. Establishment of the independence of Bengal. — The most
powerful of Muhammad bin Tughlaq's governors was Bahram
Khanof Sunarganw; and when he died in 1338, his armour-bearer
Fakr-ud-din Mubarak Shah proclaimed himself independent king
of Bengal. Shortly afterwards Ala-ud-din Ali Shah set up as
independent king of Western Bengal. A legend says of Ali
Sluih that a fiimous Muhammadan saint had appeared to him
before he became king, and promised him the kingdom of Bengal
on condition that he built a vault for the saint at Panduah (some-
times called Purruah) a place near Lakhnauti. Hence All Shah
chose this place as his capital. Great anarchy prevailed ;
Mubarak Shah was defeated and killed by Ali Shah ; and Ali
Shah in his turn by Shams-ud-din Ilyas Shah, commonly called
Haji Ilyas, whose mother had been Ali Shah's nurse.
§ 2. Ilyas Shdh. — Haji Ilyas became master of Firuzabad or
Panduah in the year 1345 ; and in 1352 he established himself at
Sunarganw also — thus uniting East and West Bengal, and
founding a dynasty which lasted (with one short interruption)
for nearly 150 years. This dynasty is sometimes called the
Ilyas Sh^hi dynasty.
2(j THE MUHAMMADAN RULE IN BENGAL. [cHAP. IV,
As soon as Ilyas Shah had secured his power in Bengal, he
endeavoured to extend his dominions in the north-west, and
marched as far as the Banaras district. To punish him for this
encroachment, the emperor Firiiz Shah III., one of the weakest of
the Tughlaq dynasty, raised a large army and marched with
great pomp and magnificence into Bengal. Firiiz took the capital
Panduah, at the same time making prisoner the son of llyka.
The latter threw himself into the strong fortress of Ekdalah,
where he was besieged by the Emperor.
A story that is told about this siege, illustrates the boldness of
Ilyas Shah, and the resolution and courage which doubtless
enabled him to establish his dynasty in Bengal. A celebrated
saint named Kaja Bhavani, much revered by Ilyas, happened
to die near Ekdalah whilst Ilyas was shut up in the fortress.
The latter was determined to attend the funeral ; and disguising
himself as a fakir, left the fortress, attended the funeral, and
afterwards rode into the camp of the Emperor. The latter of
course did not know him ; so he was permitted to offer his respects
as a fakir to Firuz, and then to depart unharmed. He returned
safely to the besieged fortress ; and the Emperor, when he heard
of the exploit, though he was much vexed at having lost such an
opportunity of seizing the rebel, could not but admire his
bravery.
At last the emperor was obliged to give up the siege of Ekdalah
and to acknowledge the independence of Bengal ; and as Haji
Ilyas subsequently founded Hajipur opposite to Patna, he appears
to have been confirmed in the possession of North Bihar as far
as the Ghandak. This was A.D. 1353. Ilyas Shah died in 1358.
§ 3. Sikandar Shdh. — The Emperor Firiiz repeated his attempt
to conquer Bengal as soon as he heard of the death of Ilyas ;
but the eldest son of the latter, who had succeeded with the title
of Sikandar Shdh^ successfully defended the fortress Ekdalah.
Firiiz returned to Dehli, taking with him some elephants and
other presents which Sikandar gave him, A.D. 1359 ; and meddled
no more in the affairs of Bengal. Sikandar has always been
famous as the builder of the grand Adinah Masjid, of which the
ruins are still to be seen at Panduah near Maldah. He was at
CHAP. IV.] THE MUHAMMADAN RULE IN BENGAL, 27
length killed in a battle with his favourite son Gbiy^s-ud-din,
who had been driven into rebellion by the wickedness of a jealous
step-mother.
§ 4. Sultdn Ghiyds-ud'dm. — The first act of the new Sultan
was a xery cruel one, though it has often been considered by
Indian monarchs merely as a necessary act of self-preservation.
This was the blinding of all his half-brothers, the sons of the
jealous step-mother who had caused the quarrel between him
and his father. But after this one wicked act, Ghiyas-ud-din
appears to have ruled with great justice and moderation ; and an
interesting story is told of his respect for the laws. Once upon
a time, a poor widow brought an action against the king himself
because he had accidentally wounded her son with an arrow
whilst he was practising archery. The Kazi was almost afraid
to summon the king before his court ; but he thought it better
to offend the king than to offend God, so at last he summoned
him. The king came to the court, carrying a short sword under
his garments. When at length tlie Kazi decided the case justly,
and compelled the king to make full restitution, the king returned
thanks to God that he had such an upright and fearless judge ;
and, drawing his sword and showing it to the Kazi, he said —
" With this sword I would have cut off your head if you had
judged unjustly." The Kazi, taking up the scourge wherewith
condemned criminals were whipt, answered — "I also, for my
part, swear that if you had not immediately obeyed the law,
this whip should have made deep cuts in your back ! " The king
was much pleased, and handsomely rewarded the upright judge.
Ghiyas-ud-din invited Hafiz, the famous poet of Shirdz in
Persia, to come and live in Bengal; but Hafiz declined the
invitation, as he feared to undertake such a long journey.
Some accounts say that Ghiyas-ud-din was killed by a power-
ful Hindu zamindar, the Raja of Bhatiiriah and Dinajpur, called
Ganes (he was called Rdjd Kdns by the Muhammadans). How-
ever this may be, it is certain that during the reigns of the son
and grandson of Ghiyas-ud-din, Raja Ganes became very power-
ful ; and at last succeeded in killi<ng tlie grandson, and seatino-
himself on the throne.
28 THE 3IUHAMMADAX RULE IN BENGAL. [cHAP. IV.
§ 5. The HincUi dynasfy of JRdjd Kdm. — This dynasty, under
Kaja Kans or Ganes, and his son and grandson, lasted for forty
years from A.D. 1385 to 1425; but it was only Hindu for seven
years, during the reign of Ganes himself, for his son became a
Muhammadan. Ganes ruled with great impartiality, and was
beloved equally by Musalmans and Hindus. But during these
reigns, the power of Bengal became less and its territories smaller;
for the king of Assam conquered all the north-east of Bengal ns
far as the Karataya river — and there were also successful invasions
made by the Rajas of Tiparab, and by Ibrahim the great Sultan
of Jaunpur.
[Note.— Owing to the weakness of the later kings of the Tughlaq dynasty
at Dehli, many other provinces of the Delili Empire had become indepen-
dent like Bengal. One of the greatest of these was Jaunpur, whose capital
was the city of Jaunpur in the province of Banaras. Here a Vazir of the
Emperor Muliammad Tughlaq, named Kwajah Jahan, in 1393 founded an
independent dynasty called the Sharki dynasty. The greatest prince of
this dynasty, Ibrahim Shih Sharki, came to the throne in 1401 ; in hia
reign the kingdom became very powerful, aiid lie encroached much on the
western frontier of Bengal, so as to include all Bihar in the empire of
Jaunpur.]
Jatmall, the son of Kaja Ganes, became a Muhammadan under
the name of Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Shah, Din-ing his reign/
both Pandiiah and Gaur (so Lakhnauti is now again called) were
beautified by magnificent buildings ; and Gaur once more became
the royal capital. His son Ahmad Shah succeeded him in the
year 1409. During his time, Ibrahim of Jaunpur invaded
Bengal and took away many captives ; these however he was
compelled to release, by the threats of Shah Rukh, the great
Sultan of the Mughuls, who was then living in Persia, and was
nominally Sultan of Hinddstan as the successor of the great
Sultan Timiir who had conquered Dehli in A.D. 1398.
Ahmad was the last of the dynasty of Raja Ganes ; he oppressed
his subjects very much, and at last was assassinated hj two of
his slaves, A.D. 14*26.
§ 6. 2'he Ilyds Shdhi dynasty restored. — After the assassins*
tion of Ahmad Shah, a descendant of Ilyas Shah, named Nasir-
CHAP. IV.] THE MUHAMMADAN RULE IN BENGAL. 29
ud-din or Ndsir Shdh^ was gladly set up by the adherents of the
old Muhammadan dynasty. During his reign, the Kings of
Jaunpur and Dehli were continually fighting with each other,
so that the Jaunpur monarch was unable to interfere with Bengal ;
and in this way Nasir Shah reigned prosperously for thirty-two
years, and strongly fortified the city of Gaur. He died in 1458 ;
and between this time and the year 1483, the son, grandson, and
great-grandson of Nasir reigned in succession ; the last being
set aside after a few days by Fath Shah, who appears to have
been a younger son of Nasir, and must consequently have been
an old man at the time of his accession. He was assassinated at
the instigation of the Abyssinian eunuch Barbak, who became
the first of the Habshi or Abyssinian kings of Bengal.
§ 7. The Habshi Kings. — During the reign of Barbak Shah,
who was the son and successor of Nasir Shah, a large number of
Abyssinian slaves and eunuchs had been introduced into Bengal
for the protection of the kingdom and especially of the royal
palace. These gradually became powerful and insolent ; and
after the assassination of Fath Shah, one of them, named Barbak
(he was the eunuch who had contrived the murder), became kino^
of Bengal under tlie curious title of Sultdn Shdhzddah, He was
himself in turn shortly afterwards killed by the Abyssinian
commander-in-chief named Malik Indil Habshi, who assumed
the title of Sultdn Firuz Shdh II. He reigned with some
success for three years, and was nominally succeeded by a descend-
ant of the old Ilyas Shahi dynasty named Mahmiid Shah. The
real ruler of the kingdom was an Abyssinian general named
Habshi Khan ; but both he and his master were soon assassinated
by a cruel monster called Sidi Badr Diwanah, who frightfully
oppressed the people for more than three years under the title of
Muzafiar Shah. At length the chiefs rebelled under the Vazir,
Sayyid Ala-ud-din Husain ; Muzafiar was slain, and with him
ended the dynasty of Habshi kings, A.D. 1489.
§ 8. The Husaini Dynasty; Sultdn Ald-ud-din Husain Shdh, —
Sultan Ala-ud-din Husain and his successor Nusrat Shah were
the two most powerful of all the independent kings of Bengal;
their power was owing partly to the wars between Dehli and
30 THE MUHAMMADAN RULE IN BENGAL. [cHAP. IV.
Jaunpur and the weakness of the Debli empire, but mainly to
the ability and high character of Husain himself
In the battle with Muzaffar Shah outside the walls of Gaur,
by which Husain Shah obtained the throne, no less than 26,000
were slain. Husain then gave up the city of Gaur to be plun-
dered by his soldiers ; but finding that they carried the plundering
to great excesses, and wantonly ill-treated the inhabitants, he
caused twelve thousand of them to be put to death, and all their
booty to be confiscated.
Husain Shah had observed that much of the anarchy that had
prevailed in Bengal during the troubled time of the Habshi kings,
had been due to the turbulence of the mercenary soldiers (con-
sisting partly of Abyssinians, and partly of native Paiks or " foot-
guards") who had been employed nominally to protect the
kingdom. So he now dismissed the Abyssinian troops altogether ;
and dispersed the Paiks by giving them small allotments of land
on the frontiers of Orissa and in other troubled districts, on
condition that they should defend the country against invasion.
[NpTE. — The Paiks, settled in the district of Midnapur on the frontiers
of Orissa, gave much trouble to the English Government between the years
1790 and 1800 by their turbulent behaviour. See note, page 108.]
Husain Shah invaded Assam, but made no permanent settle-
ment there; he also attacked the powerful Raja of Kamatapur
(or Koch Bihar), near the slopes of the Himalaya mountains,
took him prisoner, and destroyed the capital, which was a large
town of nineteen miles in circumference. Husain left his sou
in charge of this territory ; but the latter was driven out at a later
period, and the Koch dynasty (to which belongs the present Raja
of Koch Bihar) established its power amongst these mountains
in opposition to the kings of Bengal.
When the Emperor Sikandar Lodi of Dehli completed the con-
quest of the Jaunpur kingdom (which had been partially effected by
his fiither Buhlol) by driving Husain Shah, the last king of Jaun-
pur, out of his retreat in Bihar, the latter took refuge with his
namesake in Bengal. The king of Bengal gave the fugitive king
of Jaunpur an honourable asylum, and a pension ; the latter
CHAP, IV.] THE MUHAMMAD AN RULE IN BENGAL. 31
lived fcapplly at Gaur until his death, and the ruins of his mngni-
ficent tomb are still to be seen in that neighbourhood.
Husain Shah seems, from some inscriptions that have been
discovered, to have at one time possessed portions of Bihar,
whi<5h had long belonged to Jaunpur ; but in the year 1499, the
Emperor Sikandar Lodi subdued that province, and threatened
to invade Bengal. A treaty of peace however was concluded on
the frontiers; the terms of which were (1) that the Emperor
should retain his conquests in Bihar, provided he did not attempt
to invade Bengal ; and (2) that neither party should support or
in any way assist the enemies of the other.
Sultan Ala-ud-dln after this enjoyed a happy and prosperous
reign, beloved by his subjects, and respected by his neighbours.
He ruled altogether twenty-four years; and though he died in
1520, more than three hundred and fifty years ago, his name is
still remembered in Bengal from Orissa to the Brahmaputra as
" Husain Shah the Good."
§ 9. The Husaini Dynasty continued. — Husain Shah was
succeeded by his son N"usrat Shah, who reaped all the advantages
of his father's courage and wisdom. He at first seemed to deserve
his good fortune ; for he treated his brothers and other relations
with great kindness, and at the same time displayed his militaiy
talents by conquering Tirhilt, Hajipur, and Munger {Monghyr),
He was enabled easily to effect these conquests, because Sultan
Ibrahim Lodi and the Afghans of Dehli were at this time, hard
pressed by Babar, the great Mughul invader ; and it has lately
been proved that Nusrat for a short time occupied even a part
of the North- Western Provinces. But at last Babar and his
Mughuls utterly defeated the Afghans at the battle of Panipat
in 1526, and the empire of Dehli was transferred from the
Afghans to the Mughuls ; and as many of the Afghan chiefs
(including Mahmud Lodi, brother of the late Sultan Ibrahim)
obtained protection in Bengal from I^usrat Shah, and as the latter
had married the daughter of the late Sultan, Babar determined to
conquer Bengal. Twice however the king of Bengal succeeded
in buying off" the hostility of Babar by very costly presents;
and at length in 1529, the two raonarchs concluded a solemn
32 THE MUHAMMADAN RULE IN BENGAL. [cHAP. IV.
treaty of peace and amity. Nusrat however broke bis word ;
for after the deatli of Babar he again gave all the assistance he
could to the Afghan chiefs, especially to Mahmiid Lodi, and
concluded a treaty with Sultan Bahadur Shdh of Gujarat, who
was the most formidable enemy of Babar's son Humlyifn.
At length Nusrat, who had made himself very much disliked
by all the people and especially by his own servants, on account
of his cruelty, was assassinated (A.D. 1533) by the eunuchs of
the palace, because he had threatened to punish one of them
very severely for a trivial offence. He is often called Nasib Shah,
because Nasib Khan was his name as a prince during the lifetime
of his father Husain Shah.
Nusrat's son and successor, Firuz Shah III., was almost
immediately set aside and murdered by his uncle, Nusrat'a
brother Mahmiid Shah III., who may be regarded as the last
of the independent kings of Bengal — though we shall see that
a short-lived dynasty maintained its existence for some time
against Akbar the greatest of the Mughul Emperors. Mahmtid
was ultimately defeated and deposed by the great Sher Khdn (of
whom an account will be given below), and compelled to take
refuge with the Mughul Emperor Humayiin. Whilst Humayiin
was engaged in endeavouring to put down Sher Khan, Mahmiid
died of grief caused by his many misfortunes, and especially by
the deaths of his two sons, who had fallen into the hands of Sher
Khan's adherents, A.D, 1538-39.
§ 10. Review of the condition of the People under the Afghan
Kings, — The magnificent architecture which was characteristic of
the period treated of in this chapter, of which we see the remains
in the ruins at Gaur, Panduah, and elsewhere, shows that the
people of Bengal had arrived at a high pitch of civilisation in
some points of art ; and that the higher classes, or at least the
king and his courtiers, lived in a state of considerable comfort
and often of luxury. But the money expended on these great
works was wrung from the poor, who were always oppressed ;
and the incessant wars that disturbed the land often prevented
the peasants from tilling the soil, and thus increased their
sufferings. In these wars, not the slightest care was taken of life
CHAP, v.] THE MTJHAMMABAN RULE IN BENGAL. 33
or property, as is evident in the sacking of the great and rich
city of Gaur by the soldiers of a man who nevertheless was called
" the good" — viz., Husain Shah. In the account of that event,
it is stated that the rich inhabitants of Gaur were in the habit of
using gold dishes for their food ; and that a man's respectability
was judged by the number of gold dishes he could display at
banquets. This shows that a- great deal of luxury was prevalent.
It is also stated that Husain Shah, though a good and kind man
generally, thought it no harm to give up Gaur to be sacked by
liis soldiers, because most of the people were Hindus and not
Muhammadans. At the same time, the many fine tanks and
sar^is that were built by these kings of Gaur, prove that they
were not entirely selfish, and that they were willing to help their
subjects sometimes.
CHAPTER V.
THE MUHAMMADAN RULE IN BENGAL, PART HI. THE
DYNASTY OF SHER SHAH.
§ 1. Sher Shah Sur. § 2. Sher's successors of the Sur family.
§ 3. Sulaim4a Kararaai. § 4. D4ud Khaa, the last of the Afghaa
kings of Bengal.
§ 1. Sher Shdk Sur. — Sher Shah was an Afghan belonging to
the Sur family or tribe. He was at first &jdgirddr (i.e., one who
holds land from the king on condition of serving him in the wars)
of Sahsaram in West Behar» He had greatly distinguished him-
self as a youth by his courage and prudence ; and once on a time,
while hunting with Sultan Mahmiid Lohani, had killed an enor-
mous tiger with one blow of his sword — for which exploit he was
given the title of Sher Khan (his name had originally been Farid).
In 1528, Sher Khan made his submission to Babar, whom he
accompanied on a great expedition against a place called Chanderi,
the last stronghold of the Rajputs who had opposed the Mughul
invasion. An anecdote is related of Sher Khan's conduct during
this campaign, that well illustrates his character. He was once
M . THE MUHAMMADAN RULE IN BENGAL. [cHAP. V.
dining at the Emperor's own table, and some food was set before
him which could not be eaten without being first cut with a knife.
Now the servants had been ordered not to give him a knife,
because he was considered to be a man of too dangerous a
character to be trusted with a knife in the emperor's presence.
Sher called for a knife ; and when he was not immediately
supplied, he drew his dagger, cut the food with it, and made a
hearty meal without caring for the jeers of the courtiers who
were astonished at this unceremonious conduct. Babar, who
had been remarking his behaviour, turned to one of his friends
and said — " This Afghan will one day be a great man, for he is
not turned from his purpose by trifling difficulties."
Sher Khan on his return became Vazir of Jalal-ud-din Lohani,
who was for a short time the Afghan King of Bihar ; and ulti-
mately acquired the sole power in the province, as the king fled
to Bengal, being afraid of Sher's increasing power. In the
following year, 1529, Mahmiid Lodi made himself master of Bihar ;
but Babar, returning with his army, drove him away into Bengal,
and putting in an officer of his own as Governor, left Sher Khan
in possession of his paternal jagirs.
In 1531, Sher Khan obtained possession of the strong fortress
of Chun^r in the province of Banaras, by a marriage with
the widow of the Afghan officer who had held it since the
breaking up of the Afghan empire of Dehli ; and from
this time his progress was rapid, though sometimes varied by
reverses.
In 1536, he captured Gaur, notwithstanding the assistance
which Mahmiid Shah III. the king of Bengal [see Chap. IV.,
§ 9] obtained from the Portuguese ; and drove Mahmud to
take refuge with the Mughuls, who were now commanded by
Humayun the son of Babar. About this time also, by a detest-
able act of treachery, Sher obtained possession of the impregnable
fortress of Rahtas on the river Son in Bihar, which was of the
greatest value to him as it afforded him a place of security
wherein to place his family and the immense treasures which he
had acquired by the capture of Gaur.
In the meant'me Humayun had overrun the greater portion of
CHAP, v.] THE MUHAMMADAN RULE IN BENGAL. 35
Western Bengal, and now occupied Gaiir. But Sber, retiring
westward, seized Banaras and took possession of the passes into
Bengal, thus cutting off Humayiin's retreat ; whilst at the same
time one of Humajun's brothers proclaimed himself Emperor at
Agra. Sher now assumed the title of Shah, as king of Bengal
and Bihar. Humayiin, after waiting several months at Gaur, was
at length alarmed at the progress made by his enemies ; and deter-
mined to try to make good his retreat to Dehli, A.D. 1539. The
two armies met at Chausa or Ghuparghat, at the confluence of the
Karmanasa and the Ganges, between Patna and Banaras ; and for
nearly three months they lay encamped at a short distance apart,
neither side daring to make the attack. At length Sher had
recourse to the disgraceful menns by which he had succeeded in
taking Rahtas — viz., perfidy and fraud. He solemnly swore on the
Kordn that he would allow the Mughul army to pass in safety, on
condition that Humayiin acknowledged him as King of Bengal
and Bihar,- and that very night, he made a sudden attack on the
Mughuls, who were feasting in honour of the peace ; he killed a
large number, and the rest escaped with great difficulty. The
Emperor himself had only time to leap on his horse and plunge
into the Ganges ; he would have been drowned in the stream, had
he not been rescued by a water-carrier ; and he reached Agra
almost alone. Sher Shah made the most of the advantage which
he had thus treacherously obtained ; for he employed the following
year in consolidating his Government in Bengal, and in
besieging Jaunpur ; and then marched, at the head of 50,000
Afghans, to expel Humayiin from India. In this attempt he was
completely successful ; for in the decisive battle of Kanauj, he
utterly defeated Humayiin, and thus for a short time restored the
Afghans to the empire of Hindustan from which Babar and his
Mughuls had thrust them.
Sher Shah, though still king of Bengal, was now Emperor of
Dehli as well ; and his history is not connected much further
with that of Bengal, which enjoyed uninterrupted prosperity
during his reign. He only once returned to this part of his
empire, to put down an ambitious viceroy ; at the same time be
divided Bengal into provinces, over each one of which he placed
3G THE MUHAMMADAN RULE IN BENGAL. [cHAP. V.
a GoTernor. In 1545 he was killed by tbe bursting of a sbell at
the siege of Kalinjhar in Bandelkband.
In his government, bath of Bengal and of the Empire, Sher
Shah was wise, active, and benevolent ; but all the excellence of
his character, both public and private, was marred by a faithless-
ness which must disgust every one. Tbe security and quiet of
the country under his government was remarkable ; insomuch
that travellers and merchants, throwing down their goods, went
to sleep at the side of the highway without fear of robbery. He
made a splendid road from Sunarganw in Eastern Bengal, to the
Indus, with a sarai or rest-house at each stage, wells at intervals
of a mile and half, row& of fruit-trees on each side, and many
masjids ; and ordered that all travellers, without distinction of
race or religion, should be entertained at each stage at the public
expense. He also established, for the first time in India, a
horse-post, for forwarding quick intelligence to the Government
and for the advantage of trade and correspondence.
§ 2. Sker's successors of the Sur family. — Sher Shah and his
family reigned in Dehli as Emperors of Hindustan, from 1540
to 1556 ; but Sher*s son, Islam Shah, when he came to the
imperial throne, neglected the prudent precautions of his father
with regard to Bengal, and united the whole province under a
chief related to himself, named Muhammad Khan Sur, The
latter, however, was faithful to his benefactor Islam ; but as soon
as the infamous Muhammad Adil Shah made himself master of
Dehli, Muhammad Khan Sur declared his independence, and
seized some districts beyond his own limits, in Jaunpur. In the
following year, A.D. 1555, however, he was defeated and slain by
Hemu, the famous commander-in-chief of Muhammad Adil's
army.
Bahadur Shah, the son and successor of Muhammad Khan,
avenged his father's death by defeating and killing Muhammad Adil
Shah in the great battle of Munger (Monghyr), A.D. 1556. He
was succeeded by his brother Jalal-ud-din, and the latter by his
son, a youth who was slain by an obscure person who usurped
the Government for a short time.
§ 3. Sulaimdn Kararmi. — The chief of the Kararani tribe of
CHAP, v.] THE MUHAMMADAN RULE IN BENGAL. 37
Afghans, named Sulaiman Kararani, had been appointed Governor
of Bihar by Islam Shah, son of Sher Shah Sur, Emperor of Dehli.
In the times of anarchy that followed the death of Islam Shah,
Sulaiman had declared his independence, and had aided Bahadur
Shah of Bengal at the battle of Munger. He now sent his
brother Taj Khan into Bengal with a powerful army ; the latter
easily subdued the obscure usurper, and reigned at Gaur for a
year as his brother's deputy. In the year 1564 Taj Khan died;
Sulaiman then proceeded himself to Bengal, and made Tdndah
his capital — a place (now deserted) opposite Gaur on the right
side of the Ganges.
The great Emperor Akbar, the greatest of all the Mughul
Emperors, had now succeeded Humayiin in Dehli ; and, with the
aid of his famous General Bairam Khan, had thoroughly
subdued the adherents of the Afghan dynasty of Sher Shah Sur.
Sulaiman, therefore, as soon as he had obtained possession of
Bengal, sent an envoy to Akbar with valuable presents and
promises of attachment. By this prudent behaviour, which he
continued to maintain, Sulaiman secured the friendship of Akbar
and the peace of Bengal throughout his reign, which lasted until
A.D. 1573.
The only event of the reign which was very important, was
the conquest of Orissa in 1567. Raja Pratap Chandra Deo, the
last monarch of the Ganga Vansa dynasty, had died in 1532 ; and
a period of anarchy had followed in Orissa. Raja Mukund Deo
was now king ; and he was the last Gajpati, or " Lord of
Elephants," as the native independent kings of Orissa were called.
Sulaiman's first attempt to conquer Mukund Deo was unsuccessful ;
but he subsequently sent his famous General Kalapahar to
complete the conquest, aided by the king's own son Bayazid, who
marched into Orissa over the mountains of Jharkand (or Chutia
Nagpur). Kalapahar was originally a Brahman ; but he had
become a Muhammadan in order to marry a beautiful princess of
the royal family of Bengal, who had fallen in love with him. He
had now become a ferocious persecutor of the Hindus, and
especially of Brahmans ; his conquest of Orissa was marked by
the greatest cruelty, and the Uriyas retained for centuries the
38 THE MUHAMMADAN RULE IN BENGAL. [CHAP. V.
remembrance of the atrocities perpetrated by liim, and of the
rage witli wliicli be destroyed every idol and pulled down every
temple. He is especially famous for the sack of the great temple
of Jagannath at Piiri. He was wounded in the battle of Akma-
liall ; and killed many years afterwards, in one of the fights
between Qutlu Khan [see § 4, and Chap. VI., § 3] and the
Mugliul Generals.
The conquest of Orissa was disgraced by a base act of treachery.
Sultan Ibrahim Siir, a nephew of Sher Shah, who for a short time
had been Emperor of Dehli, had established himself in Orissa
after he had been driven out of Dehli. Sulaiman now invited him
to a conference, and basely assassinated him. Sulaiman left
Khan Jahan as Governor of Orissa ; Qutlu Khan being the
subordinate Governor of Puri. He now attempted to effect the
concpiest of Koch Bihar; but was prevented by a rebellion which
broke out in Orissa. This was successfully put down ; and from
this time, Sulaiman applied himself to the peaceful administration
of his dominions.
- § 4. Ddud Khan^ the last of ike Afghdn Kings of Bengal, —
P>ayazid, the son of Sulaiman, was soon set aside by the Afghan
chiefs of Bengal, in favour of Daifd Khan. Daiid foolishly
abandoned the conciliatory policy of Sulaiman towards the Em-
peror Akbar ; and proclaimed his independence by ordering the
Khutba* to be read, and coin to be struck, in his own name. The-
prudence and good government of Sulaiman had accumulated an
immense treasure; together with an army numbering 180,000
men, with 20,000 cannons and 3,600 elephants. Elated by the
possession of these great resources, Daiid determined to encroach
on the Mughul dominions ; and accordingly seized Zamaniya (nov«r
a station on the East Indian Railway), a fortress near Ghazipur,.
lately erected by one of Akbar's officers for a frontier garrison.
Akbar quickly sent against him, into Bihar, Munim Khan, one of
his best generals, who was now Khdnkhdnda (i.e., commander-in-
chief; and Vakil of the Empire. Munim Khan made peace
* The khutba was the public prayer offered up in Muhammadan countries
for the reigning sovereign ; it could only be used for independent kings,
CHAP, v.] THE MUHAMMADAN RULE IN BENGAL. 39
w i til DaucVs Governor of Blliar on very easy terms; but both
Akbar and Daiid refused to be bound by tbis treaty ; and Akbar
actually sent one of bis Hindii generals, the famous financier
Kaja Todar Mall Kbatri, to supersede Munim Khan. The latter
liowever marched back at once and besiepred Daiid in Patna, in
tlte early part of the year lo74. As Patna held out, Munim
induced Akbar to come himself to the seat of war with reinforce-
ments. Akbar came by water with a fleet of boats, soon captured
the town of Hajipur opposite to Patna, and sent the heads of the
Governor and his chief officers to Daiid. The latter was fright-
ened, and fled in a swift boat by night to Tandah ; Patna was
taken by Akbar, and the fugitives pursued for fifty miles— after
which Akbar returned to Agra, leaving Munim Khan as Governor
of Bihar and Bengal, with orders to pursue Daiid.
Daud had stopped, on his way to Tandah, at the famous pass of
Teliagarbi near Rajmahall; and finding its fortifications very
strong, strictly ordered its garrison to defend it to the last extre-
mity. The garris(m however, seeing that their king had himself
fled to Tandah, and being warned by the fate of the garrison of
Hajipur, ran away ; so Munim Khan got possession of it without
the loss of a single man. Daud, immediately on hearing of this
mishap, fled to Orissa ; and Munim occupied the capital of
Bengal.
The Raja Todar Mall was now sent after Ddiid into Orissa*
But he was at first unsuccessful ; and dissensions breaking out
between him and his officers, Munim Khan was himself compelled
to march from Tandah to his aid. Many skirmishes had already
taken place ; and the combined imperial forces at length came up
with Daud and his army at a place between Midnapur and Jellasor
( Medinipur and Jaleswara) called Takaroi or Mughulmabi.
The battle of Mughulmari is one of the most important in the
annals of Bengal; it was fought on March 3, 1575. The num-
bers of troops on each side were about equal ; but Daiid's army
excelled in elephants, which had been clothed with black yak tails
and skins of wild beasts, so as to increase the terror of their
appearance and fiighten the horses of the Mughuls. Munim
Khan had the advantage of a number of small cannons mounted
40 THE MUHAMMADAN RULE IN BENGAL. [cHAP. V.
on gun-carriages. The battle raged long with the greatest fury
on both sides. Muniin*s cannon put to flight the elephants of
Daiid ; but the Afghan cavalry charged the Mughuls with such
valour and resolution, that Munim Khan himself was wounded
and nearly captured, many of his bravest officers were killed, and
the whole line of the Mughuls was thrown into confusion. 'J' lie
Hindu Raja Todar Mull, however, retrieved the fortune of the
day by his undaunted firmness. " What matters it," cried he,
" if Khan Alam is dead ? what fear, if the Khan Khauan has run
away? the empire is ours!" So saying, he rallied the Mughul
line which had already begun to waver ; once more they charged
the Afghans ; and the timid Dadd, alarmed at the death of some
of his favourite officers, fled hastily from the field. The battle of
Mughulmari was won; and with it, the supremacy in Bengal
passed from the Afghans to the Mughuls, notwithstanding several
attempts of the former to recover their lost power.
Todar Mall pursued Daiid to Katak ((Suttack) ; and near this
place, Munim Khan having coming up in the meanwhile, Daiid
threw himself on the mercy of the emperor, gave up his sword
to Munim, and was presented by the latter with the sovereignty
of Katak as a vassal of the empire. Munim left Mughul Governors
in the other portions of Orissa, and returned to Tandah.
Shortly afterwards Munim Khan very unwisely ordered the seat
of Government to be transferred from Tandah to Gaur, though
the season was very unsuitable for such a change, as it was in the
middle of the rains. A dreadful pestilence broke out almost
immediately ; vast numbers of the people and soldiers, and even
many grandees, died ; and at length Munim Khan himself was
carried ofi* by it. From this time Gaur, the most ancient and
formerly by far the greatest of all the cities of Bengal, was
gradually deserted by its inhabitants. A few years later, at the
time of the Great Military Rebellion in Bengal [see Chap. VI.,
§ 2] we hear of the rebels seizing it as an important place ; but very
soon it sinks altogether out of notice, and for centuries its magni-
ficent ruins have been buried in jungle, the haunt only of wild
beasts.
Immediately on the death of Munim Khan, all the Afglifms
CHAP. YI.] THE MUHAMMADAN RULE IN BENGAL. 41
in Ben<Tal and Orlssa flew to arras ; and Daiid, unmindful of the
oath of allegiance which lie had sworn after the battle of Mughul-
mari, marched through Bengal, expelling all the Mughul garri-
sons, and took up a strong position, guarded on one side by the
mountains and on the other by the Ganges, at Akmahall (now
called Rajmahall). The emperor, on hearing the news, appointed
Husain Kuli Khan (who had received the title of Khan Jahdn,
which was only second in the Mughul army to that of Khan
Khanan) as Munim's successor ; Raja Todar Mall being again
appointed second in command. Khan Jahan repulsed the Afghan
outposts at the pass of Teliagarhi ; and then marched on to
Akmahall, where he immediately commenced the siege of Daiids
entrenchments. At length, one of Dadd's best generals was
killed in a skirmish ; and this brought on a general battle —
the battle of Akmahall, 1576.
In the battle Todar IMall again distinguished himself as before.
The right wing of the Afghan army was under the command of
the ferocious conqueror of Orissa, Kdla Pahar {^see § 3] ; and
Daud himself led the centre. Whilst the fortune of the day was
still undecided, Kala Pahar was seen to fall wounded, and the
Afghans under his command immediately gave way. Khan
Jahan, seeing his advantage, charged with the Mughul centre
straight upon Daiid's position ; and the whole Afghan array
turned and fled. Daud himself was captured, and brought before
Khan Jahan, who sent his head to the emperor Akbar at Agra.
CHAPTER VI.
THE MUHAMMADAN RULE IN BENGAL. PART IV. THE
MUGHUL SUBAHDARS UNDER THE EMPERORS OF DEHLI.
§ 1. Khan Jahan, and the Settlement of Bengal. § 2. The Great
Military Revolt of the Mughul Jagirdars of Bengal. § 3. The First
Afghan Rebellion. § 4. Raja Man Singh, and the Subjugation of the
Afghans. § 5. The Story of Sher Afkan. § 6. The Collection of the
Revenue. § 7. The Final Subjugation of the Afghans in Bengal.
§ 8. Review of the Condition of the People. § 9. The Portuguese_Wars
42 THE MUHAMMADAN RULE IN BENGAL. [("HAP. VI.
in Bengal. § 10. Ibrahim Khan, and the Rebellion of Shah Jahau.
§ 11. Islam Khan Mashhadi. § 12. Settlement of the English in
Bengal. § 13. Condition of the People under Sultan Shuja. § 14.
Shuja s Attempt on the Empire. § 15. Mir Jumlah. § 16. Shaistah
Khan. § 17. Shaistah Khan's Quarrel with the English Merchants.
§ 18. The Nawab Ibrahim Klian ; the Rebellion of Sobha Singh, and the
fortification of Calcutta by the English. § 19. Sultjin Azim-us-Shan ;
the English allowed to purchase the Zamindari of Calcutta. § 20. The
Union of the Old and New East India Companies. § 21. The Rise of
Murshid Kuli Khan. § 22. Murshid Kuli Khan as Governor of Bengal,
§ 23. Surgeon Hamilton, and the English Embassy to Dehli. § 24.
Nawab Shuja-ud-din. § 25. The Rise of Ali Virdi Khau. § 26. Shuja-
ud-din continued^ and Iiis son Sarfaraz Kh4n.
§ 1. Khdn Jahdn and the Settlement of Bengal.— After the
decisive battle of Akmahall, Khan Jahan sent Raja Todar Mall
back to Akbar, with all the booty he had obtained, and the
elephants of the Afghans. He himself pursued the remains of
Dadd's army, came up with them at Satganw,* and utterly
dispersed them. He employed the next two years in suppressing^
the Afghan power in various parts of these provinces, and in
reducing the Raja of Koch Bihar to submission ; and before his
death, which occurred near Tandah in 1578, nearly the whole of
Bengal, Bihar and Orissa had submitted to him.
§ 2. The Great Military Revolt of the Mughul Jagirddi^s of
Bengal. — Muzaffar Khan, who had been Diwan of the Empire,
was appointed by the Emperor Akbar to succeed Khan Jahan.
When Munim Khan first conquered Bengal \_see Chapter V.,
§ 4], he sent one of his officers, named Majniin Khan Qaqshal,
the chief of the Qaqshal tribe of Afghans, to Ghoraghat, with
orders to put down the Afghans of Northern Bengal. Majniin
* Satganw, near Hugli, was at this time a port of great importance, at
which much of the royal customs-duties were levied on goods exported and
imported. Formerly a large branch of the Ganges flowed by Satganw to
Tamluk; but this river dried up long ago, and consequently the trade of
Satganw died out. At present the place is an insignificant village of a
few huts. In Muhamraadan times, it had the nickname of Bulghdk khdnah
or place of rebellion.
CHAP. VI.] THE MUHAMMADAN RULE IN BENGAL. 43
was successful ; and, settling himself in the district as if he were
a Jagirdar appointed by the Emperor, he collected around him
the whole Qaqshal tribe, and divided the land amongst them,
only requiring from them their personal service as soldiers in
case he should need it.
[Note.— A Jdgirddr is the holder of ajdgir,—i.e., land given (generally
as a reward for distinguished conduct) to a person on condition of his
performing certain services to the supreme lord. These services
were nearly always of a military nature, — i.e., the Jagirdar was bound to
attend his lord in time of need with a specified number of troops ; and if
the rules were exactly followed, the surplus revenues of the jagir, after
paying the stipends of the Jagirdar himself and his troops, ought to be
paid to the supreme lord.
The plan which Majnun introduced into Bengal, of allowing his officers
to hold subordinate Jdgirs under him, had long been in use amongst the
Afghans. The whole system is very much like that which was long
prevalent amongst the warlike nations of Europe under the name of the
Feudal System.]
Many other great Mughul officers had followed the example of
Majnun Khan ; and consequently a great deal of the land of
Bengal, Bihar, and Orissa was now held by these powerful Military
Jagirdars, who paid very little revenue to the Emperor. About
this time, Shah Mansur, the Imperial Vazir, was introducing many
reforms into the management of the revenues of the empire; and
MuzafFar Khan, at the instigation of Shah Mansur, determined
to make these Jagirdars account strictly for the revenues of their
jagirs, and to prevent any one of them remaining too long in one
jagir so as to obtain permanent possession of it. But as soon as
he commenced to carry out Shah Mansiir's orders, many of the
chief Jagirdars broke out into open rebellion. Of these the
greatest were Masiim Khan Kabuli, a most distinguished officer
who had been wounded in a fight with Kala Pahar, and Baba
Khan, the young chief of the Qaqshal Afghans of Ghoraghat.
Muzafiar Khan defeated the Bengal rebels several times ; but
at length the Jagirdars of Bihar under Masum Khan Kabuli
forced the Pass of Teliagarhi, joined the Qaqshals and others in
Bengal, and laid siege to Tandah. The rebels at first would have
44 THE MUHAMMADAN RULE IN BENGAL. [CHAP. VI.
submitted if thej could have obtained the Emperor's pardon and
permission to settle on new jagirs in Orissa ; but Muzaffar
foolishly showed them his weakness by shutting himself up in the
fort of Tandah, which was little better than four mud walls—and
now the rebels demanded the most exorbitant terms. They
proceeded to storm the fortress, captured Muzaffar and put hun to
death ; and thus were for a time masters of the province.
The Emperor Akbar at this crisis sent the Raja Todar Mall
as Governor of Bengal and Bihar. At first, by his influence with
the Hindu Zamindars, the Raja succeeded in preventing the
rebels from getting any supplies of food ; and in this way, he
drove them to retire into Bengal (some even took refuge with
Isa, the great zamindar of Orissa), and brought the whole of
Bihar again under the imperial sway. But there was much
jealousy between the Hindu Kdja and the Muhammadan Generals
who were his colleagues ; and Akbar was at length obliged to
recall Todar Mall, and appoint the great general Aziz to his
place with the title of Khan Azam.
[NoTK.— Todar Mall after this was appointed Vakil of the Mughul
Empire; and in that capacity he carried out the financial reforms for which
he is so famous. He drew up a new Rent-roll for the whole empire ; in
which the land-revenue of Bengal was assessed in 1582 at about one crore
and seven lukhs of rupees. This was levied from the ryots in money, as
the equivalent of the fourth shave of the entire produce of the land claimed
by the sovereign as proprietary lord of the soil. The great historian of
this period, Abul Fazl, says of the revenue of Bengal, "The ryots of
Benf^al are obedient and ready to pay the taxes. During eight months of
the year they pay the required sums by instalments. They personally
bring the money in rupees and gold muhurs to the appointed place. Pay-
ment in kind is not usual. The amount of the land-tax is settled by the
Collector and the ryot."
Todar Mall also ordered that all Government accounts should be kept
in Persian, instead of in Hindi as formerh'' ; it was in consequence of this
that the Hindus first began to cultivate Persian, and in this way a new
dialect called Urdu (compounded of Persian and Hindi) arose in Upper
India. Like Raja Man Singh and many other Hindus in Akbar's time
Todar :Mall was one of the chief grandees of the Mughul Court, and was a
Counnander of 4,0C0.]
-CHAP. VI.] THE MUHAMMADAN RULE IN BENGAL.
45
The Khan Azam, by sowing dissensions amongst the hostile
Jagirdars, continued to detach them one by one from the rebel
cause; so that before the end of the year 1582, he took quiet
possession of the capital Tandah, and this rebellion (one of the
most dangerous that ever threatened the stability of the Mughul
Empire) was at an end.
§ 3. The First Afghan Rebellion.— Dwvmg the time that the
Emperor's officers in Bengal had been hard-pressed by the Great
Military Revolt, the Afghans, who had been so recently con-
quered, again collected together under Qutlu Khan \_see Chap.
v., § 3], recovered the whole of Orissa, and much of Western
Bengal as far as the river Damiidar. In 1583, a treaty had been
arranged between an officer of Khan Azam and Qutlu Khan ;
but it was broken off owing to the arrogance of some of the
Afghans. Qutlu Khan was compelled to take refuge in the
forests, but as Khan Azam at this time left the province of
Bengal and returned to Agra, the Mughul successes were not
followed up ; and Khan Azam's successor, Shd,hbaz Khan, who
was only Subahdar for a few months, gave up to the Afghans the
whole of Orissa, on condition that they should not interfere with
any part of Bengal.
§ 4. Rdjd Man Singh, and the Subjugation of the Afghans* —
Shahbaz Khan was recalled, because it was believed that he had
been bribed to give the Afghans such easy terms. Another
Governor was appointed, who, however, very soon died; and
then at last, in 1587, Akbar appointed Kajd Man Singh of Amber
or Jaipur — perhaps the greatest of all the great men who at this
time adorned the Mughul Court, and a general and statesman
of whom the Hindus are to this day justly proud.
Kumar Man Singh (he did not become Raja until the death of
his father in 1590) was the son of Raja Bhagavan Das, and the
grandson of Raja Bihari Mall ; a chief of the Kachwawah
* An interesting Bengali romance, called Durgeshanandini, by B4ba
Bankim Chandra Chattopfidhj^^ya, is founded on the events narrated in
this and the preceding sections.
46 THE MUHAMMADAN RULE IN BENGAL. [cHAP. VI.
Rajputs, and 20th in descent from the founder of Amber (the
present Maba»aja of Jaipur is 34th in descent). His sister was
married to Prince Salim (afterwards the Emperor Jaliangir^ ;
of which marriage Prince Khusrau was the offspring. Man
Singh had ah'eady served with the highest distinction in the
Paiijab and elsewhere, and was a commander of 5,000.
His first attempts to conquer Orissa were unsuccessful, mainly
owing to the disobedience of Lis deputy-governor, who neglected
to bring the necessary reinforcements. Indeed his son Jagat
Singh was actually taken prisoner by the Afghans, who were
highly elated at their victory; but fortunately for the Piaja,
Qutlu Khan died a few days after, and the Afghan chiefs sent
back their prisoner Jagat Singh with proposals for peace. Raja
Man Singh was very glad of this, for the rains had set in, and lie
was unable to march against the rebels ; so he made an agree-
ment with the great zamindar Isa, who was the guardian of Qutlu
Khan's children, that the Afghans should retain Orissa, on
condition of their putting the Emperor's name on all coins
and public edicts, and of their giving up to himself the sacred
temple of Jagannath at Pilri.
This treaty was faithfully observed during the life of Isa ; but
after his death two years later, the other Afghan chiefs, under
Usman, the son of Isa Khan, seized and plundered the rich
lands of the temple of Jagannath. At this the Raja, as a
Hindii, was much incensed ; he invaded Orissa with all his forces,
and in a great battle on the banks of the river Siibanrekha
totally defeated the Afghan army, and once more annexed Orissa
to the Mugliul Empire. He sent no less than 120 elephants
taken from the Afghans to the Emperor at Agra ; and then took
up his residence at Akmahall, which he now made the capital of
Bengal, under the name of Rajmahall. He built there a palace
and strong fortifications ; and ultimately the city increased so
much in size and fame, that the Muharamadans called it Akbar-
nagar in honour of the Emperor.
In 1595, Rija Man Singh married the sister of Lakshmi Nara-
yana, the Raja of Koch Bihar, who had declared himself a vassal
of the Mughul Empire. Lakshmi Narajana was in consequence
CHAP. VI.] THE MUHAMMADAN RULE IN BENGAL. 47
of this set aside by bis relations and subjects ; but Man Singh
soon sent an army into Koch Bihar and restored him. This was
the first time that the Mughuls obtained a footing in that part
of Bengal.
In the year 1598, Man Singh, at the command of the Emperor,
left Bengal to join the Mughul army in the Dakhin, his son
Jagat Singh remaining behind as deputy. The latter however
soon died ; and the Afghans of Orissa seized the opportunity
once more to rebel. Under the command of Usman Khan they
met the imperial army near Bhadrak in Balasor, and completely
routed it, and tlien made themselves masters of a great portion
of Bengal. On hearing this, Raja Man Singh, who was at Ajmir,
hastened into Bengal ; he hidted at the strong fortress of Rahtas
to collect all his followers, and then marched against the
Afghans. He met them at Sherpur Aidi, a place between Bard-
w4n and Murshidabad, and totally routed them, compellin«if
Usman Kban to fly to Orissa. After this victory, the Raja paid
a short visit to the Emperor ; when he was promoted to be a
commander of seven thousand, being thus raised to a rank
higher than that of any other subject.
He continued to govern Bengal with great wisdom and
justice until the year 1604 ; when a report that the Emperor
Akbar was likely to die, caused him to resign his governorship
and return to Agra. He did this because he was anxious that
his sister's son Prince Kliusrau, instead of her husband Prince
Salim, should succeed Akbar as Emperor. He was unable to
effect this purpose ; and Salim succeeded in 1605 under the title of
the Emperor Jahangir. Jahangir thought it prudent to forgive
Man Singh for having opposed him ; so he reappointed him
Governor of Bengal — but in a few months he recalled him to
make way for his own foster-brother Shaikh Khubii, on
whom he had bestowed the title of Kutb-ud-diu Khan.
[NoTK. — Raja Man Singh after this enjoyed a life of ease for some
years ia Rajput4na, where he raised levies to aid Jahangir in the Dakhin.
He at last marched to the Dakhin, where he died in 1615. It is related
that sixty of his fifteen hundred wives burned themselves on his funeral
48 THE MUHAMMADAN RULE IN BENGAL. [cHAP. VI.
pile ; onlj' one of his numerous sons was alive at the time of his death —
Raja Bhao Singh, who succeeded to his title and estates.]
§ 5. The Story of Sher Afkan. — The Emperor Jahangir,
during the life of his father Akbar, had fallen in love with a very-
beautiful woman named Mihrunnisa, and wished to marry her ;
but Akbar disapproved of the marriage, and by his wish the lady
was married to a young Persian of noble family named Sher
Afkan^ who was made Governor (iuyulddr) of Bardwan. Jahangir
however still wickedly hoped to be able to marry Milirunnisa,
either by inducing her husband to divorce her, or by killing Sher
Afkan. Accordingly, as soon as he became Emperor, he appointed
his foster-brother Kutb-ud-din Khdn (in 1606) to be Governor of
Bengal, because he could be sure of his aid in the matter ; and
then he ordered him to send Sher Afkan to Court, but the latter
refused to go. Kutb then went to Bardwan, having first sent on
his nephew to assure Sher that no harm would be done to
him. Wben Kutb arrived, Sher Afkan went to meet him,
accompanied by two men. On his approach, Kutb lifted up his
horsewhip as a sign for his men to cut down Sher Afkan.
*' What is all this? " — exclaimed Sher. Kutb then waved his hand
to call back his men ; and advancing towards Sher, upbraided
him for his disobedience. Kutb's men, mistaking his signal,
began to close around Sher; who immediately rushed on the
Subahdar and gave him a deep wound with his sword in the
abdomen. Some of the nobles surrounding Kutb attempted to
cut down the lion-like Sher — but they too fell a sacrifice to his
terrible sword ; till at length, large numbers pressing round him,
he was borne to the ground covered with a multitude of wounds.
Kutb was still on horseback, when he was told that Sher Afkan
had been killed ; and he gave the necessary orders about the
disposal of Sher's family and property. But his wound was a
mortal one, for his bowels were protruding through it, though
he had supported them with his hand ; he died as he was being
carried away in a palanquin.
[Note. — Mihrunnisa bore the death of her husband with great fortitude,
and after a time became the famous empress Niir Jahan. Jahangir, in his
book called the Tuzuk^ expresses the most ungenerous pleasure at the death
CHAP. YI.] THE MUHAMMADAN RULE IN BENGAL. 49
of Sher Afkan, adding his hope that "the black-faced wretch will for ever
remain in hell."]
§ 6. I'he Collection of the Revenues. — Kutb-ud-din's successor
in the Subah of Bengal was Jahdngir Kuli Khan, who conquered
and slew the famous Sankara Rama, Kaja of Gorakhpur, in 1607.
He was however chiefly known for the cruel rigour with which
he personally exacted the revenues. He was always accompanied
by a hundred trumpeters who, whenever any one disputed any
point of revenue with liim, made such a dreadful noise as to
terrify the defaulters into submission ; and in case this failed, he
had also with him a hundred Kashmirian archers who could bring
down the smallest bird in its flight, and whose arrows were
ready to be lodged in the breast of any one pointed out to them.
§ 7. The Final Subjugation of the Afghans in Bengal. —
Shaikh Islam Khan succeeded Jahanglr Kuli ; and under his rule
occurred the last attempt of the Orissa Afghans to recover their lost
power in Bengal. Usman was probably the son of Isa Khan, the
chief of the Lohani Afghans, though he has generally been
called the son of Qutlu Khan [see § 4] ; he was now the
acknowledged head of the Afghans, and determined to assert his
independence. But Islam Khan sent against him a brave and
experienced officer named Shujaat Khan. The fight took place
somewhere in Eastern Bengal. Usman Khan having caused his
elephant to be driven against Shujaat, the latter wounded the
elephant with his own spear ; and Usm^n was finally struck in the
forehead by a bullet, and expired during the night. After this
decisive defeat, the relations of Usman submitted to the Emperor,
and his brother became one of Jahangir's courtiers. Shujaat
Khan received from the emperor the title of Ihistam-i-zamdn
(the Hercules of the Age) as a reward for his bravery ; and
Islam Khan was also promoted.
§8. Review of the condition of the People. —Thus in 1612 W^
expired the last remains of Afghan power in Bengal, For more ;
than 370 years, from the conquest of Nadiya by Bakhtyar Khilji
in 1203, to the battle of Akmahall in 1576, they had been the i
rulers of these great provinces ; and for a further term of 36 ■
years their turbulence and dislike to the Mughul rule bad kept
50 THE MUHAMMADAN RULE IN BENGAL. [CHAP. VI.
the country in a continual state of disorder, and had frequently
devastated it with fire and sword and all the horrors of war.
During the whole of this time, the native Hindus, who formed
the bulk of the population, were utterly neglected, where they
were not maltreated ; in times of peace they were allowed to
■cultivate the land and carry on commerce, in order that the
wealth thus produced might yield a rich harvest of revenue to
the Government and the military aristocracy. This military
aristocracy was composed of Afghan J dgirddrs ^ who held their
lands or Jdgirs on the system explained at page 43 ; and who
maintained a considerable number of rapacious and often lawless
followers who disdained all kind of labour except that of a soldier.
The harshness with which the Afghan authorities used to collect
the revenue is shown by all the historians of the Afghans ; one
of the best of whom, the author of the Tdrikh-i-FiruZ'Shdhi,
says : — " When the collector of the Diwan asks them (the
Hindus) to pay the tax, they should pay it with all humility and
submission. And if the collector wishes to spit into their
mouths, they should open their mouths without the slightest fear
of contamination so that the collector may do so. In this state,
with their mouths open, they should stand before the collector.
The object of such humiliations and spitting into their mouths
IS to prove the obedience of infidel subjects under protection.*
In time of war the Afghan armies occupied the country much as
if it were the land of an open enemy ; and as, after the death of
Isa \_see § 4] they plundered the lands of the temple of Jagan-
nath in Piiri, so at all times no considerations of religion ever
interfered with their plundering propensities.
} Ihe condition of the Hindus of Bengal vastly improved under
; the Mughuls during these early times, mainly owing to the
impartial and tolerant policy of Akbar ; who (as we have seen in
the cases of the Rajas Todar Mall and Man Singh) chose his
fidvisers and generals only because of their qualifications, and
■with no regard to their religion or their race. On the whole,
* This passage is quoted from the Tarikh-i-Flruz Shdhi, p. 290.
CHAP. VI.] THE MUHAMMADAN RULE IN BENGAL. 51
the suppression of the Afglian power by the Mughuls may be
considered to have been a blessing to the greater portion of the
inhabitants of Bengal. At a later period of the history, however,
we shall see that some of the Miighul Nawabs rivalled the
earlier Afghans in their profligacy and their oppressions ; so
that the establishment of the British rule, always kind and
equitable, though firm and vigorous, was really the greatest
blessing that has ever happened to this country.
§ 9. llie Portuguese Wars in Bengal. — It was during the
reign of Islam Khan, the conqueror of the Afghans, that the
Portuguese first began to attract notice in Bengal. The first act of
Islam Klian's authority was to transfer the capital of the province
from liajmahall in the north, to Dacca in the south-east ; and
the reason assigned for this transfer was the Subahdar's desire
to be near the scene of the inroads of the Portuguese and Maghs
or Arakanese.
The Portuguese had established themselves on the west coast
of India during the first years of the 16th century. As early as
1537-38 their vessels had visited the Ganges ; and at the time
of which we are speaking, large numbers of them had settled on
the coasts of Arakan and Chittagong, subsisting for the most part
on the plunder of the neighbouring coast of Bengal The most
important body of these Portuguese pirates, for they were really
no better than pirates, had seized and fortified the islands of
Sondip and Dakhin Shahbazpur at the mouth of the Megna (the
river formed by the junction of the Brahmaputra and the Ganges)
under the leadership of one Sebastian Gonzales, who had
formerly been only a common sailor^ but who was elected chief
of these freebooters. Gonzales now, allied with the Raja of
Arakan and his subjects the Maghs, invaded Bengal in 1610,
under the agreement that all conquests should be equally divided
between the Maghs and the Portuguese. The allies however
were defeated by the vigour of Islam Khan, who pursued them
nearly as far as Chittagong ; and this fortunate victory gave the
Mughul Subahdar sufficient strength to complete the conquest of
the Afghans, as described in the last section.
On the death of Islam Khan in 1613, he was succeeded by his
52 THE MDHAMMADAN RULE IN BENGAL. [oHAP. VI.
brother Kasiin Khan. During his reign the Portuguese pirates,
through the treachery of Gonzales, quarreled with the Raja of
Arakan, seized his fleet, and plundered the coasts of Arakan ;
and even invited their countryman, the viceroy of the Portu-
guese possessions in India, who lived at Goa, to aid them in
conquering the whole country of Arakan. The Raja, however,
got assistance from some Dutch ships, and succeeded in beating
off the Portuguese ; and ultimately invaded Sondip, utterly
defeated Gonzales and drove him away. The Maghs now began
to plunder Bengal ; at whicli the emperor Jahangir was so angry
that he dismissed the Siibuhdar Kasim Khan, and appointed
in his place Ibrahim Khan, the brother of the empress Nur
Jahan, A.D. 1618.
To conclude the history of the Portuguese in Bengal, we shall
here omit the reigns of the next five Stibahdars, returning to them
in the next section ; and we now pass on to Kdsim Khan Juwaini
(not related to the Kasim Khan of whom we have just been
speaking) who was appointed Governor of Bengal by Shah Jahan
in 1628, immediately after the accession of the latter to the throne
of Dehli. Of late years the Portuguese had largely extended
their power in Bengal, possessing two strong settlements, one at
Hugli, the other at Chittagong. Shdh Jahan, whilst prince, had
governed Bengal [see next section] and had been very angry at
the practices of the Portuguese, who were in the habit of forcing
the natives to become Christians ; so he ordered Kasim to destroy
their settlement utterly. In February 1632, Kasim sent a strong
araiy against Hugli under his son luayatuUah. The Portuguese
defended themselves with valour, and slew numbers of the
besiegers; and for several months they held out. At last the
Mughuls succeeded in laying dry the ditch in front of the church,
dug a mine under it and blew it up ; and the town and fort were
taken, on September 10, 1632. More than four thousand prisoners
were captured ; and the Portuguese never again recovered their
power in Bengal. Hugli was made a royal port by the Mughuls,
and rapidly became a great and prosperous city ; attracting all
the trade of Satganw, which declined from this time.
§ 10. Ibrdhim Khan and the Rebellion of Shah Jahan. — We
CHAP. VI.] THE MUHAMMADAN RULE IN BENGAL. 53
must now return to the history of the five Siibahdars whose
reigns intervened between those of the first Kasim Khan and
Kasim Khan Juwaini.
Ibrahim Khan Fath-jang was the fourth son of Ghiyas Beg,
and younger brother of the empress Nur Jahan. As his family
were all powerful at the Court of Agra, he ruled Bengal in
great power and prosperity. Agriculture and commerce were
encouraged ; and as the empress had entirely changed the fashion
of ladies' dresses, and caused them to wear all manner of dresses
of delicate and expensive texture, the manufactures of Bengal
were carried to a high state of perfection — for the fine muslin
cloths manufactured at Dacca (of which many yards could be
drawn through a small ring), and the silks of Maldah, supplied
clothes for all the courtiers of Agra.
A further impetus was given to the commerce of Bengal by the
arrival of the first English merchants, who temporarily established
a factory at Patna in 1620 \_see § 12].
Now that the attacks of the Afghans, of the Portuguese, and
the Maghs, had all been successfully repelled, there appeared a
reasonable hope that Bengal might long enjoy this unwonted
peace and prosperity. But the rebellion of the Prince Shah Jahan
against his father, the Emperor Jahangir, soon again filled the
country with bloodshed and rapine. Shah Jahan had attained a
very high reputation by his successful wars in the Dakhin ; till
at length, in the year 1631, finding that the succession to the
Empire was likely to be given to his elder brother, he determined
to use the Mughul army of the Dakhin to rebel against his father
and enforce his own succession. Being defeated in the Dakhin, he
formed the bold resolution of invading Bengal, so as to possess him-
self of the great wealth and resources of that country, wherewith
to carry on the rebellion. He marched through Talinganah to
Orissa, of which he obtained quiet possession; and refreshed his
troops by a rest at Katak. He then advanced into Bengal, and
took Bard wan by storm ; and demanded aid from the Portuguese
Governor, which however was refused [see last section]. The
prince then marched to attack the Subahdar Ibrahim Khan ; who
had fortified the pass of Teliagarhi [see Chap. I., § 3], and seized
54 THE MUHAMMADAX RULE IN' BENGAL. [cHAP. VI.
all the boats on the Ganges so as to prevent Shah Julian from
crossing the Ganges to avoid Teliaorarhi. Ibrahim posted himself
%vith part of his army on the banks of the Ganges opposite to
Teliagarhi, where he believed himself safe from the attack of Shah
Jahan ; but the latter, having obtained boats from some zamindars
of Bhagalpur, crossed the river and fell on Ibrahim's army with
great fury. When Ibrahim saw that the battle was going against
liim, he exclaimed, " my life is of no value, I will devote it to the
service of His Majesty the Emperor, and either conquer or die ! "
So saving, he rushed into the thickest of the fight, and fell
covered with wounds. The fort at Teliagarhi was captured by
the Prince's officers on the same day ; and Shah Jahan was now
master of Bengal. He employed the two years, during which
he remained in possession of the province, in collecting as much
treasure and as many men and elephants as possible, to carry on
the war against his father ; and he also succeeded in seizing the
impregnable fortress of Rahtas, in which he placed his family.
He was however defeated at length by the Emperor's forces on
the banks of the Tons ; and finally, being reduced to great
distress, had to throw himself on the mercy of his father. Jahangir
forgave him ; but he had to give up all the places in his posses-
sion ; and Mahabat Khan (the General who had defeated him)
was appointed to succeed him as Governor of Bengal — Khanah-
zad Khan, the son of Mahabat, being deputy and ruling for his
father.
The short reigns (16*24 — 1628) of the three Governors who
came after Shah Jahan — Khanuhzad Khan, Mukarram Khan, and
Fidai Khan — were not marked by any everts of importance ;
and the history of the reign of Kasim Kban Juwaini, 1628—1632,
has been given in § 9.
§ 11. Jsldm Khan Mashhadi. — Kasim Khan Juwaini was
succeeded by Azim Khan in 1632; but as it was found that he
did not possess sufficient ability or courage to defend his province
from the Maghs and Assamese who frequently made incursions,
he was superseded in 1637 by Isldm Khan Mashhadi.
In the following year, 1638, the Magh Governor of Chittagong,
named Makat Rai, came and ollered to hold the territory of
CHAP. VI.] THE MUHAMMADAN RULE IN BENGAL. 55
Ohittagong as a vassal of tlie Mughul Emperor instead of the
Raja of Arakan. Islam Khan accepted his ofier ; and chan-ged
the name of the town to Islamabad— by which name it is still
known to Muliammadans. Chittagong however was not finally
attached to the Mughul Empire until twenty-eight year& later.
In the same year the Assamese invaded Bengal with a large
army ; they plundered all the towns on the banks of the Megna^
and had nearly reached Dacca, when they were met and defeated
by the Siibahdar. Islam Khan in revenge entered Assam, and
took many forts ; he also overran part of Koch Bihar ; but hadJ
to retire at the approach of the rainy season. Soon afterwards
he was recalled to Agra, to become Vazir of the Mughul Empire.
His conquests were completed by Mir Jumlah, many years
afterwards.
§ 12. The First Settlement of the English in Bengal, — Sultan
Shujd^ the second son of the Emperor Shdh Jahan, was
appointed to succeed Islam Khan as Siibahdar of Bengal ; and
immediately transferred the capital of Bengal from Dacca to
llajmahall once more. During his long reign of twenty-two
years, the English obtained a firm footing as traders in Bengal ;
but we must go back a little to trace their earliest history here.
In the year 1600 the great English Queen, Elizabeth, granted
permission to some of her subjects to form a Company for the
purpose of trading to India and the East. This Company was.
afterwards the famous East India Company ; which ruled a great
part of India until 1858, when Her Gracious Majesty the present
Queen of England, Victoria, took the government into her own
hands. The East India Company at first traded chiefly with tha
west coast of India, especially at the port of Surat, and with the
islands of the Eastern Archipelago. But as early as 1611, some of
the Company's vessels visited the coasts of Bengal, at a port
called Pipli, near Balasor.
[Note.— Pipli or Shahbandar is now no longer on the sea-coast,, but on
the Siibanrekha ; tliis is owing to the fact that mueh land has been formed
between it and the sea.]
It has already been mentioned [§ 10] that during the time of
Ibrahim Khan, about 1620, the English for a short time set up a
56 THE MUHAMMADAN RULE IN BENGAL. [cHAP. VI.
factory at Patna. This only lasted about a year ; but in 1634,
during the brief reign of Azim Khan, the Company obtained a
Farmdn^ or imperial edict, from the Emperor Shah Jahan, allow-
ing them to erect a permanent factory in Pipli,
Whilst the Sultan Shuja was Siibahdar of Bengal (1638—1661)
a fortunate accident enabled the English Company largely to
extend their trading operations throughout India, and especially
in Bengal. It happened that one of the daughters of the
Emperor Shah Jahan was dreadfully burnt one day, by her
clothes catching fire ; an express was sent to the English factory
at Siirat for an English Surgeon; and Mr. Boughton quickly
proceeded to the imperial camp, and soon cured the young
Princess. The Emperor offered Mr. Boughton any reward he
liked to name ; and the latter requested and obtained permis-
sion for his countrymen to carry on trade in Bengal free of
all duties or taxes, A.D. 1636. Mr. Boughton then went to
Prince Shuja with this order, and was favourably received by
him, and allowed to extend the trade of the English factory at
Pipli. Shortly afterwards it happened that one of the ladies of
Sultan Shuja's haram was taken ill ; Mr. Boughton was sum-
moned to attend her, and was as fortunate as before in effecting a
cure, A.D. 1639. From this time, the favour shown to the
English by the Sultin was unbounded ; they were allowed to
erect factories at Hugli and Balasor, and to export and import
goods free of duty — especially to export large quantities of salt-
petre, which at that time was an article of great value.
§ 13. Condition of the people under Sultdn Shuja, — Sultan
Shuja governed Bengal for about twenty-two years, with the
exception of two years during which he was sent as Governor to
Kabul. During the first eighteen years of this period, from 1639
to 1657, the province enjoyed profound peace; and consequently
attained to a pitch of prosperity unknown since the first Muham-
madan conquest. The people were secured from foreign invasion
by the fact that their Governor was the son of the mighty
Mughul Emperor ; and they were protected from domestic
oppression by his impartial administration of justice, whilst the
country flourished both in commerce and in agriculture under
CHAP. VI.] THE MUHAMMADAN RULE IN BENGAL. 57
the encouragement which he wisely gave to industry. The
frontiers of Bengal had of late been considerably extended ; and
Shuja, shortly before 1658, drew up a new rent-roll, showing a total
revenue of more than one crore and thirty-one lakhs of rupees.
Thus the revenue had increased since the time of Akbar
[see § 2] by more than twenty-four lakhs.
§ 14. Shujd's attempt on the Empire. — But the contest for
the empire of Hindustan, which occurred as soon as the great
Shah Jahan became dangerously ill, produced just the same
effects on Bengal as those which we have described when Shah
Jahan himself aspired to the empire during the life of his father
Jahangir \_see § 10].
In 1657 the illness of the Emperor Shah Jahan became known
to his younger sons ; although the eldest. Prince Dara, endea-
voured to conceal it. Shuja immediately prepared to march
against Dara, to secure the throne for himself; but was met near
Banaras by Prince Sulaiman, the son of Dara (1658), and being
taken by surprise in the midst of some negociations, was com-
pelled to fly with the loss of all his baggage, treasures, and
elephants, and to take refuge in the fortress of Hunger.
Meanwhile the two other sons of Shah Jahan, Aurangzeb and
Murdd, had joined their forces ; and had secured the assistance
of Mir Jiimlah, the greatest of the Mughul generals. Sulaiman
was recalled by his father Prince Dara to aid him against these
new enemies. A great battle was fought near Agra, in which Dara
was defeated ; and the subsequent treachery of Aurangzeb against
Murad gave the former full possession of the Imperial throne.
Shuja thought it prudent at first to conciliate Aurangzeb ; but
at length marched on Allahabad to claim the empire. Near this
place another great battle was fought with the imperial forces
under Aurangzeb and Mir Jiimlah ; and here, as in the battle of
Banaras, Shuja allowed himself to be surprised, and suffered a
total defeat, A.D. 1659. He was pursued by Mir Jiimlah and
Prince Muhammad, son of Aurangzeb, to Rajmahall, whence he
was compelled to fly to Tandah ; and the rains setting in, he
remained at Tandah, whilst Mir Jiimlah occupied Bajmahall for
several months.
58-, THE MUHAMMADAN RULE IN BENGAL, [cHAP. VI.
During this interval a remarkable and interesting event
liappened, which at one time seemed likely to retrieve Shuja's
fortunes. The young son of Aurangzeb, Prince Muhammad,
who was now associated with ^lir Jiimlah as commander of the
imperial army, had been betrothed to a beautiful daughter of the
Sultan Shuja before the outbreak of the war between Shuja and
Aurangzeb. The betrothal had been almost forgotten during the
progress of the war; and even if remembered, it was regarded
as having been broken off by the quarrel between the parents of
the lovers. But whilst Shuja was now shut up in Tandah, the
young Princess, his daughter, wrote a pathetic letter with her
own hand to her former lover. The Prince was a young man
of a generous disposition, and was touched with pity at the
misery of the beautiful damsel whom he had formerly promised
to make his wife. He determined to desert his father's cause
and take up that of his uncle Shuja ; and he endeavoured ta
induce the army also to desert Aurangzeb. He accordingly
joined Shuja at Tandah, and his nuptials were celebrated with
great pomp and rejoicings ; but Mir Jiimlah not only prevented
the army from following the example of Prince Muhammad, but
also prepared immediately to attack Shuja and his new son-in-law.
A decisive battle was fought outside the walls of Tandah ; and
Shuja and Muhammad, utterly routed, were compelled to fly to
Dacca. Subsequently (A.D. 1660) an artifice of Aurangzeb, who
wrote a friendly letter to Muhammad so that it might be intercepted,
caused Shuja to suspect his son-in-law of treachery, and to
dismiss him ; and the unhappy young Prince, falling into the hands
of his ruthless father, was condemned to pine away many years
of his life in the great prison-fortress of Gvvaliar. Shuja ultimately
was driven into Arakan, where he was shamefully ill-treated by
the Raja, who demanded his daughter in marriage; and at length
was taken prisoner and drowned, A. D. 1661. His wife and two
of his daughters committed suicide; the third daughter was
forcibly married to the Raja. No prince was ever more beloved
than the unfortunate Shuja ; but he had neither the energy nor
the ability to contend with such an enemy as Aurangzeb.
§ lo. i¥irJw»iM.— The great General Mir Jdmlah, having
CHAP. VI.] THE MUHAMMADAN RULE IN BENGAL.
59
been appointed Governor of Bengal by Aurangzeb for the purpose
of extinguisbing the hopes of Shuja, made Dacca his capital; and
for nearly thirteen years he governed the province with vigour
and success. He determined to punish the Assamese for their
frequent invasions of Bengal; and assembled a large army for
that purpose in 1661. He first overran Koch Bihar, and seize<l
its capital, which he called Alamgirnagar in honour of his imperial
master (Alamgir is another name of Aurangzeb\ In the follow-
ing year, 1662, he marched up the banks of the Brahmaputra,
and finally captured Ghargaon, which was then the capital.
[NoTR, — The site of Ghargaon is now occupied by a place called Nazirah
near Sibsagar, one of the chief civil stations of Assam.]
From Ghargaon he wrote to the Emperor Aurangzeb that he
had conquered the road to China, and that he intended in the
following year to invade that vast and almost unknown country.
During the year however numerous disasters from floods and
pestilence overtook the Mughularmy; and Mir Jumlah at last
thought it prudent to retreat. By the time he reached Gauhat i
on the march back, most of his soldiers were incapacitated by
disease or fatigue; nevertheless he sent ofi* from that place a
strong detachment to reconquer Koch Bihar, which had revolted
on hearing of the sufferings of the Mughul army. Shortly after
his return to Dacca, Mir Jumlah died, overcome by the anxieties
of the expedition and by the bad effects of the climate of Assam,
A.D. 1664. It was generally believed that the Emperor
Aurangzeb was glad to hear of his death, as he was jealous of his
power and reputation.
§ 16. Shdistah Khan, — The Emperor appointed Shaistah
Khan to be the next Governor of Bengal, who was the nephew of
the Empress Ndr Jahan, son of Asaf Jah, and therefore brother
of the Empress Mumtaz Mahall. With the exception of the short
interval between 1676 and 1679, when Fidai Khan and the
Sultan Muhammad Azim (third son of Aurangzeb) were succes-
sively governors, he ruled Bengal from 1664 to 1689. During
his reign the Dutch, French, and Danes established important
factories in Bengal— the Dutch at Chinsurah, the French at Chan-
60 THE MUHAMMADAN RULE IN BENGAL. [cHAP. VI.
dernagar, and the Danes at Serampur. The chief English factory
in Bengal was unfortunately placed in the midst of the great
native city of Hugli ; and this was the cause of numerous disturb-
ances during the time of Shaistah Khan, and at last resulted in
the temporary abandonment of the country by the English.
The Raja of Arakan, emboldened by the impunity with which
he had ill-treated the unfortunate Shiija, and hearing of the
misfortunes of Mir Jumlah in Assam, began to plunder the
Bengal territories about the mouths of the Megna and the Ganges.
He also encouraged the Portuguese vagabonds,* who were very
numerous in his dominions, to commit the greatest atrocities on
the unoffending inhabitants of the Bengal coasts and river-banks.
Shaistah Khan accordingly determined to invade Arakan; and
first of all, he induced the Portuguese, partly by threats and
partly by promises, to desert the Raja. From these he selected
the most suitable for his army; and the rest he settled at a place,
since called Firing! Bazar, near Dacca. He then marched against
Arakan, and completely subdued the territory of Chittagong,
which he finally annexed to Bengal, A.D. 1666.
§ 17. Shdistah Khan's quarrel ivith the Etiglish Merchants. —
During the three years that Shaistah Khan was absent from
Bengal, Fidai Khan and the Sultan Muhammad Azim were succes-
sively governors of Bengal, from 1676 to 1679; and in 1677 the
English merchants had obtained a perpetual Farmdn from the
Emperor Aurangzeb, giving them great privileges of trade in
Bengal with only the small annual payment of 3,000 rupees. In
consequence of this, the East India Company determined to
make their settlements in Bengal independent (they had formerly
been subordinate to the Government of Madras) : and they sent
out Mr. Hedges in 1681 as the first Governor of the Bengal
factories. They then possessed extensive factories or trading-
houses at Hugh, Patna, Dacca, and Kasimbazar near Murshida-
bad. The Governor or chief agent resided at Hugli ; and though
* These were for the most part escaped criminals, murderers and the
like, who had run away from Goa and the other Portuguese possessions in
India, and taken refuge in Arakan.
CHAP. VI.] THE MUHAMMADAN RULE IN BENGAL. 61
he had no fortress, yet he was allowed a small guard of English
soldiers to give dignity to his office.
The quarrel between Shaistah Khan and the English merchants
sprang originally from insignificant causes. In the year 1682, a
rebellion occurred in Bihar, which was soon suppressed ; but for
a short time the rebels had been sufficiently strong to besiege
the city of Patna — and during this siege, the English factory
near Patna had been uninjured by the rebels. On this account
the Subahdar suspected the English of having been implicated in
the rebellion ; and consequently put a stop to their trade for that
year, notwithstanding the Emperor's Farmdn. Again in 1685, the
English requested permission to erect a small fort near the mouth
of the Ganges, to prevent other English ships, not connected
with the East India Company, from sailing up the river. The
Subahdar not only refused to grant this request, but, to punish the
merchants for making it, he ordered that they should in future
pay a heavy duty on their trade, instead of the 3,000 rupees
ordered by the Emperor. He also wrote to the Emperor
Aurangzeb to influence him against the English ; and at length the
Company were so exasperated that they obtained permission from
King James II. of England to make war against Shaistaii Khan,
and if necessary against the Emperor Aurangzeb himself. This
war, which was foolishly determined on by the Company, was
never carried on with spirit; for those merchants who were resident
in the country were generally anxious to live on terms of peace
with the natives, by which means alone they saw that they could
carry on trade to advantage.
A fleet of ships was sent out in 1686 by the East India
Company, with orders to conquer Chittagong and erect a strong
fortress there, and afterwards to attack the Nawab at Dacca and
force him to make restitution to the English merchants. Admiral
Nicholson was in command of this fleet ; but his ships were
dispersed by tempests, and part of them by mistake entered the
western arm of the Ganges and proceeded to Hugli. About this
time a street-quarrel in the town of Hugli between some English
soldiers and the Nawab's troops ended in the Bombardment of
Hugli by the English ships (1686). In this bombardment a large
62 THE MUHAMMADAN RULE IN BENGAL. [cHAP. VI.
quantity of property, including the factory belonging to the
English merchants, was destroyed ; and to revenge this outrage,
the Nawab immediately seized all the other English factories at
Patna, Maldah, Dacca, and Kasimbazar, and ordered a powerful
army to march against Hugli. Mr. Charnock^ famous to this day
as the founder of Calcutta, was at this time Governor of the
English settlements in Bengal ; and he, thinking that Hugli was
an insecure position, ordered all the English to remove to a
village called " Chuttanutty," part of the present site of Calcuttn,
because that place could be protected by the English ships in the
river. This was in 1686; which therefore may be considered the
date of the founding of Calcutta. Early in the next year, how-
ever, Mr. Charuock determined to retreat to a position lower
down the river ; so the English took up their position at Hijli,
a very unhealthy position at the mouth of the Hugli river. A
short peace with the Nawab followed, during which Mr. Charnock
and his followers returned to Calcutta ; but new quarrels soon
arose, and the affairs of the English in Bengal were well-nigh
ruined by the rashness and violent temper of Captain Heath,
who arrived from England in 1688. This officer, not considering
the ill-effects that must result from such violence, in estranging
the minds of the natives from the English merchants, first ordered
all the English to embark on board his'ships, and then proceed
to attack the rich town of Balasor : where he captured a battery
of thirty guns, and sacked the city. After this he made an abor-
tive attempt on Chittagong ; and then, without waiting for the
Nawab's auswer to some proposals he had made for peace, he
sailed away to Madras with all the English merchants on board
his ships. Thus Bengal was entirely abandoned for a time by the
English, A.D. 1689.
It was about this time that the Nawab Shaistah Khan resigned
the government of Bengal. His conduct to Europeans appears
to have been sometimes harsh ; but it must be admitted that he
received many provocations from them, and that the behaviour
of the European traders in the country was very often arrogant
and insulting. The memory of Shaistah Khan has always been
held in respect by his own countrymen. It is related of him that,
CHAP. VI.] THE MUHAMMADAN RULE IN BENGAL.
63
when rice was so cheap as to be sold at the rate of eight »iqw5,
(320 seers) for the rupee, he ordered the gate of Dacca through
which he passed on his departure to be closed and built up, and
never to be opened by any of his successors until rice again
became so cheap [see § 26].
§18. The Nawdh Ibidhim Khdn ; the rebellion of Sobhd
Singh, and the fortification of Calcutta by the English. — Shaistah
Khan was succeeded in the government of Bengal by the N^awab
Ibrdhim Khdn, who was appointed by Aurangzeb in 1689. He
was a man of no military talents ; but he loved to encourage
agriculture and commerce, and he was consequently very glad to
receive, in the following year, 1690, an order from the Emperor
Aurangzeb, authorising him to invite the English merchants to
return from Madras to Bengal. The English ships of war had
been capturing many ships belonging to the Mughuls on the
various coasts of India, and had also prevented the Muhammadau
pilgrims from going in ships from India to Mecca ; so that Aurang-
zeb was very anxious to become friendly with the English again.
Mr. Charnock at first refused to return to Bengal, unless very large
concessions were made to the English ; but at length he and
all the merchants and officers of the settlement came back in
1690; and the next year (1691) they received a. Hasbulhuqam,
or imperial order, from Aurangzeb, authorising the English to
carry on trade in Bengal free of all customs or duties, except the
payment of a peshkash of 3,000 rupees yearly. Twice during
the next four years the trade of Calcutta was threatened with
serious interruption : the first time was in 1692, when the Sultan of
Turkey in Europe requested the Emperor Aurangzeb to prevent
Europeans from exporting saltpetre,* on the ground that they
used it in making gunpowder wherewith to fight against the
Muhammadan subjects of the Sultan of the Turks ; the second
time was in 1695, when Captain Kyd, a famous English pirate,t
captured a number of Mughul ships, including two pilgrim -vessels
* Saltpetre was at this time one of the principal exports from Bengal,
t Captain Kyd captured the ships and plundered the property of his own
countrymen quite as readily as those of other nations.
64 THE MUHAMMADAN RULE IN BENGAL. [cHAP. VI.
going from India to Arabia. On each of these occasions, the
Emperor Aurangzeb was very angry with the Engh'sh, and ordered
their trade to be stopped ; but the favour of the Nawab Ibrahim
Klian enabled them to cany it on.
The English merchants in Bengal, however, had long observed
that the merchants of Bombay and Madras were able to carry on
their trade in security even when the Emperor was angry with them,
because Bombay was a fortified island, and Madras possessed a
strong fortress ; so they were very anxious to build a fortress at
Calcutta. Neither the Emperor, nor the Nawab, was willing to
allow them to do this ; but at last a fortunate combination of
circumstances enabled them to erect " Fort "William" in 1696-
1697. It happened in the following way. In the year 1696 a
Hindu zamindar of the Bardwan district, named Sobhd Singh,
had some grievance against the Raja of Bardwan who was called
Raja Krishna Ram ; so he got together some troops, and being
joined by a number of discontented Afghans under Rahim Khan,
he raised a serious insurrection. He reached Bardwan, killed
the Raja, and overran all the surrounding country ; and at length
besieged and took Hugli, driving out the Faujdar* of Hugli,
who ran away to get assistance from the Nawab.
As soon as the rebellion became serious, the English at
Calcutta (and also the Dutch at Chinsurah and the French at
Chandernagar) asked the Nawab that they might be allowed,
as friends of the Government and enemies of the rebels, to fortify
their factories. The Nawab told them to "defend themselves;"
so with o-reat alacrity they proceeded to build the long-wished-for
fortress ; and as King William the Third was then King of
England, they called it " Fort William."
Huf^li was soon retaken by the troops of the Nawab, by the
aid of the Dutch of Chinsurah ; and Sobha Singh returned to
Bardwan, whilst his followers proceeded to overrun Nadiya and
Murshid4bad under Rahim Khan. The end of Sobha Singh was
* The Faujddr under the Muhammadan Governments in India was the
head of the police and the chief military officer of a district.
CHAP. VI.] THE MUHAMMADAN RULE IN BENGAL. 65
tragical, and is a well-known story. At the time of his sacking
Bardwan and killing the Raja, he had captured the Raja's
daughter, a young damsel flxmous alike for her beauty and her
virtue ; and the vile wretch had kept her in close confinement
ever since. On his return to Bardwan, he attempted to offer
her violence; but the heroic girl drew a long sharp knife
which she had kept secreted under her dress, and first stab-
bed the villain to the heart, and then plunged the dagger into
her own bosom.
After the death of Sobha Singh, the rebels elected Rahim
Khan as their Chief; and, owing to the extraordinary apathy of
the Nawab Ibrahim Klian, managed to make themselves masters
of all Western Bengal, from Rajmahall to Midnapur. At length
the Emperor Aurangzeb superseded Ibrahim in 1696, and
appointed his own grandson Prince Azim-us-Shan (son of the
Sultan Muazzam, afterwards Bahadur Shah or Shah Alam I.) to
be Governor of Bengal. Before the arrival of the Prince Azim,
a brave and active son of Ibrahim, named Zabardast Khan,
had done something to atone for his father's feebleness, by
defeating the rebels in a decisive battle near Rajmahall, A.D. 1697 ;
but the insurrection was not entirely suppressed until 1698, when
Rahim Khan, after treacherously assassinating the envoy of
Prince Azim, was defeated and slain in a battle near Bardwan,
and of his followers some were killed and others entered the
service of the prince.
§ 19. Sultan Azim-us-Shdn; the English allowed to pur^
chase the Zammddri of Calcutta. — The Prince Azim-us-Shan,
grandson of the Emperor Aurangzeb and son of the Emperor
Bahadur Shah, governed Bengal nominally from his appointment
in 1696 till his death in 1712; but his reign virtually ended in
1706, when he left the province in order to assist his father
Bahadur Shah in securing the throne of Dehli. The most
important event of his reign was the grant of largely increased
privileges to the English merchants of Calcutta, in the year 169&.
By the payment of a large sum of money to the Prince, they
obtained permission to purchase " the villages of Chuttanutty,
Govindpur, and Calcutta" from the zamindar who formerly held
66 THE HUHAMMADAN RULE IN BENGAL. [cHAP. VI.
them; and from tliis time the East India Company were the
possessors of territory in Bengal — though of course as yet in
strict subjection to the Nawab.
§ 20. The union of the Old and New East India Com^
panies. — In the same year that the Old East India Company
acquired the zamindari of Calcutta, a new Company was started
in England with the favour of the King of England ; and this
was the cause of much quarrelling amcnigst the English mer-
chants, and also of the failure of an embassy that was sent under
Sir William Norris by the King of England to the Emperor
Aurangzeb in 1701-2. Whilst the ambassador Sir William Norris
was with the Emperor Aurangzeb in his camp in the Dakhin,
news arrived that some Mughul ships had been captured by
English pirates ; the ambassador was required to give a guarantee
that this should not happen again ; but refusing to do so, he left
the country in disgust. Aurangzeb, in anger at this, ordered all
Europeans in his dominions to be seized and put into prison ;
but Mr. Beard, the President of the English Factory at Calcutta,
prepared to defend his fort — and shortly afterwards the Emperor
consented to allow the English trade to <»o on as before. In
1706 — 1708 the two English Companies were united imder the
title of the United Company of Merchants trading to the East
Indies ; and the whole of the property of both Companies being
brought into Fort William, its garrison was augmented to the
number of 130 European soldiers, and a number of cannons were
mounted on the ramparts. This gave great confidence to the
native merchants, who now resorted to Calcutta in vast numbers ;
80 that the town soon became one of the richest and most popu-
lous in Bengal.
§21. The Rise of Murshid Kuli /aaw.— Murshid Kuli
Khan, who is sometimes also called Jafar Khan, is said to have
been originally the son of a poor Brahman, sold in infancy to a
Persian merchant, who brought him up as a Muhammadan.
By his energy in business affairs, he had risen to be Diwan
of Haidarabad under the Emperor Aurangzeb ; and in 1701 he
was appointed by the Emperor to be Diw^n of Bengal, Prince
Azim -US-Shan hQin^ still Nazim.
CHAP. VI.] THE MUHAMMADAN RULE IN BENGAL. 67
[Note. — The two offices of Ndzim and Diwdn of the various great provinces
of the Empire were carefull^^ kept distinct by Aurangzeb, so that no officer
should become too powerful. The Ndzim was the Military Governor ; his
business was to defend the country both from external invasion and from
internal insurrections, to act as head of the police, and enforce obedience
to the laws: and under him were the Faujdars of districts \see page 64].
The duty of the Diwan was to collect the revenue, and to superintend
all expenditure. He was in a certain degree subject to the orders of the
Nazim, being obliged to supply the Nazim with money for the service of
Government, if the latter forwarded a written demand for it ; but the
Nazim was responsible for making a proper use of the money thus supplied
him by the Diwan; and the two great officers were ordered by the Mughul
Emperors to consult together and act in harmony on all important occasions.]
Mursbid Kuli Khan, as soon as he was appointed Diwan,
induced the Emperor to annul all grants of MWiiSiV j J dgirs [see
page 43] in Bengal, the jagidars being compensated by having new
jagirs assigned to them in Orissa and other districts not so fully
settled and quiet as Bengal. In this and other ways he largely
increased the revenues of the province, and grew more and more
in the favour of the Emperor; but he greatly offended the Nazim,
Prince Azim-us-Shan. The latter tried, without success, to get
him assassinated ; at last the jealousy grew to an open quarrel,
when the Emperor took the side of Murshid Kuli Khan and
severely reprimanded the Prince. After this, Murshid resolved
no longer to live in the same capital with Azim ; so he left Dacca,
and took up his abode at Makhsiisabad, the name of which city
he altered some years afterwards to Murshidabad. At the same
time the Prince was ordered by Aurangzeb to leave Bengal and
go to Bihar. In the following year, the Diwan visited the
Emperor's camp in the Dakhin, and presented the accounts of the
province in person, together with an immense present ; he was
consequently reappointed Diwan of Bengal, Bihar, and Orissa,
and at the same time made Deputy Nazim under Prince Azim
in Bengal and Orissa.
§ 22. Murshid Kuli Khan as Governor of Bengal. — Prince
Azim-us-Shan, after leaving Bengal in 1706, was mainly instru-
mental in placing his father Bahadur Shah on the throne of
Hindustan. This he was able to effect partly by the troops that
68 THE MUHAMMADAN RULE IN BENGAL. [cHAP. VI.
he brought with him from Bengal ; but chiefly by the immense
treasures that he carried away with him, with which he was able
to employ other troops.
[Note.— It must be remembered that there were, at the time of which
we are speaking, large numbers of troops scattered about in various parts
of Northern India, ready to serve any one who had money to pay them.
These soldiers provided their own horses and arms ; and in addition to the
pay which they got from their employers, they expected to be allowed to
plunder tiie country of the enemy. The suppression of these mercenary
bands of soldiers by the English rule was a great blessing to India.]
From the time when Prince Azim-us-Shlin leflfc Bengal in 1706,
the Nawab Murshid Kuli Khan was really Governor of Bengal.
The Prince continued to be nominally the Nazim, during the
reign (five years) of his father Bahadur Shah at Dehli ; and he
even appointed his son Farrukh Siyar to be his Deputy during
that period ; but Farrukh Siyar, though he lived in the palace at
Murshidabad, in no way meddled with the affairs of goveinment,
leaving all to the Diwan Murshid.
[Note.— After the death of Bah^iir Sh^h in 1712, Prince Azim-«s-
Shin was slain in the contest for the Empire; and his elder brother
became Emperor under the title of Jahanddr Sh4h, having slain all his
relations, except Farrukh Siyar, who was safe in Bengal. Farrukh Sij-ar
asked Murshid Kuli Khan to assist him in killing Jahdndar ; but the Diw6a
refused, and Farrukh Siyar left Bengal. Ultimately, however, he obtained
the assistance of the two famous Sayyids, Husain All, Governor of Bihiir,
and Iiis brother Abdullah, Governor of Allahabad ; and in the battle of
Agra, defeated and slew Jahaadar, and succeeded to the throne of Dehli as
the Emperor Farrukh Siyar.]
During all these contests for the Empire of Hindiistan, Mur-
shid Kuli Khan remained quiet and strengthened his government
in Bengal; regularly sending a large revenue to the reigning
Emperor of Dehli, whoever he might be, and in this way
retaining the favour of all the successive Emperors. In the
course of less than sixteen years, he is said to have sent no les»
than 16 J crores of rupees to Dehli.
We have stated [§21] that Murshid, shortly after hii»
appointment as Diwan, induced the Emperor to annul most of the
€HAP. VI.] THE MTTHAMMADAN RULE IN BENGAL. €9
grants of Jagirs in Bengal, thus taking the collection of the
revenue more directly into the hands of the Government. Gra-
dually he drew up a new rent-roll, which was the third that had
been drawn up since the Mughul conquest— the first [see § 2]
having been completed by Raja Tod ar Mall in 1582; and the
second by Sultan Shuja in 1658. Murshid's rent-roll was com-
pleted in 1722, and was called the lidmil Jama Tumdri or ** Per-
fect Rent-roll; " in which Bengal was divided into 34 Sirkars,
forming 13 CkaJdahs, and subdivided into 1660 Parganahs, with
a total revenue of Rupees 14,288,186 — or more than one crore
and forty-two lakhs, showing a further increase on Shuja's reve-
nue of more than eleven lakhs.
This enormous revenue was collected by the Diwan and his
subordinate officers in the diwani department,* directly from the
^reat zamindars, who in their turn collected it from the ryots ;
but before he made over the collection of the revenue to the
zamindars, he caused all the lands to be remeasured, and a large
quantity of waste lands to be brought under cultivation by ryots
who held these lands directly from the Government. Murshid
Kuli Khan, who was generally very just and impartial in his
government, was however very rigorous and even extortionate
in the collection of the revenue ; and he allowed such frightful
oppression of his Hindu subjects by the subordinate diwdni
officers, that his name is detested by the Hindus to the present
day. ISTotwithstanding this, he preferred to employ Hindus in
the subordinate posts of the diwdni department, because they
were more docile than Muhammadans, and more skilled in keep-
ing accounts.
Many stories are told to illustrate the severity of Murshid
Kuli Khan in revenue matters, especially to his Hindu subjects*
One of the principal agents of his oppression was the Nasir
Ahmad, to whom he used to deliver up any zamindars who were
in arrears, to be tormented by every species of cruelty ; such as
hanging them up by the feet ; the bastinado ;f setting them in
* That is, the department that collected and administered the revenue,
t The Bastinado consisted in beating, with bamboos, tlie soles of the feet
or the stomachs of the unfortunate prisoners.
70 THE MUHAMMADAN RULE IN BENGAL. [cHAP. VI.
the sun in summer time ; stripping them naked and sprinkling
them with cold water in winter. But the most disgusting cruelty
was that of Sayyid Reza Khan, who had married the grand-
daughter of the Naw^b, and who was made Deputy-Diwan of
Bengal. He ordered a tank to be dug, and filled with ordure
and everything filtliy that could be thought of; and if the
zamindars were still unwilling or imable to pay their arrears of
revenue after having suilered all the other punishments, they
were stripped naked and dragged repeatedly through this filthy
pond by a rope tied under their arms. This tank he ironically
named Bcdkunt or Parxidise.
On the accession of Farrukh Siyar to the throne of Dehli in
1713., Murshid Kuli Khan was appointed both Nazim and Diwan —
thus uniting the two offices which had been separated since the
time of Akbar. He was very strict in his religious observances ;
and devoted two days in the week to the administration of justice,
personally sitting in the Court ; and so rigorously impartial was
he in his decisions, that on one occasion he sentenced his own son
to death. He maintained great state in bis Court ; no one was
allowed to speak to another in his presence ; and he even ordered
that Hindii zamindars should not be allowed to ride in palkis,
but should be restricted to dhulis. The Rajas of Tiparah,
Koch Bihar, and Assam, though they still maintained an appear-
ance of independence, were so much impressed by the power and
abilities of the Nawab, that they annually sent him valuable
presents, and received in return khilats — thereby acknowledging
his superiority.
§ 23. Surgeon Hamilton, and the English Embassy to Dehli —
The Nawab greatly encouraged the foreign trade of Bengal,
especially that which was in the hands of Mughul and Arab
merchants. But be was extremely jealous of the political power
which the English possessed owing to the possession of a strong
fort at Calcutta, and to the far mans they had obtained from the
Emperors of Dehli. At last, in 1713, when he became both Nazim
and Diwan, he ordered that the English merchants should pay
the usual duties on their merchandize. In consequence of this
the East India Company sent an embassy to the Emperor Farrukh
CHAP. VI.] THE MUHAMMADAN RULE IN BENGAL. 71
Siyar. As the Nawab was highly esteemed at Court on account
of the regularity with which he transmitted the revenue, it is
probable that no good would have resulted to the Company
from this embassy, had it not been for a fortunate accident
very similar to that one [^see § 12] which had first obtained
for them a footing in Bengal. Whilst the embassy was at
Dehli, it happened that the Emperor's marriage with a
beautiful Rajput princess was delayed by his sickness; and
in this difficulty, the services of Dr. Hamilton, the surgeon
of the British Embassy, were asked for. The doctor quickly
cured the emperor, and was told to name his own reward ; and
with rare disinterestedness, he (like Mr. Boughton long before)
asked that the Emperor would grant the requests of the Embassy.
These were, that the Company should be allowed to trade free
of duty in Bengal ; that they should have permission to purchase
38 villages in the neighbourhood of Calcutta ; that the mint at
Murshidabad should coin rupees for them on three days in the
week : and that all persons indebted to the Company should be
delivered up to them by the Nawab's government. After many
delays, the patent conceding these privileges was signed by
Farrukh Siyar; and the embassy returned in triumph to Bengal.
The Nawab succeeded in preventing the Company from availing
themselves of the Emperor's permission to purchase the 38
villages, by strictly charging the zamindars not to sell the land ;
but the other privileges were of immense value to the English
merchants, and Calcutta grew in wealth and size more rapidly
than ever.
§ 24. Nawdb ShuJd'Ud-din.^The Nawab Murshid Kuli Khan
had in 1718 been made Governor of Bihar as well as of Bengal
and Orissa ; and when in 1719, Muhammad Shah had succeeded
to the throne of Dehli after the assassination of Farrukh Siyar
and the deaths of his two successors, the new Emperor confirmed
the Nawab in all his appointments.
Shvjd-ud-din was an Afghan soldier of fortune who had married
the only daughter of Murshid Kuli Khan. She had borne him a
son to whom the title of Sarfaraz Khan had been given ; and
the old Nawab had declared Sarfaraz Khan his heir. But Shuja
72 THE MUHAMMADAN RULE IN BENGAL. [cHAP. VI,
mauaged, whilst acting as Deputy- Governor of Orissa under Lis
father-in-law, secretly to get a patent from the Emperor
Muhammad Shah, declaring him Deputy-Governor; one of
Muhammad's great courtiers being nominally Governor. On the
death of Murshid Kuli Khan, Shiija succeeded him without any
disturbance, and Sarfaraz Khan was pacified by being made
Diwan of Bengal.
Shuja began his reign by an act which brought him much
popularity amongst his Hindu subjects ; for he set at liberty all
those zamindars who had been imprisoned by the late Nawab for
arrears of revenue. He also appointed a Hindu, named Rai
Alam Chand, to be Joint-Diwan of Bengal with his son Sarfaraa
Khan ; and procured for him the high title of Rdy-Rdydn. The
new Nawab also selected a Council of Four by whose advice he
carried on all important measures of Government ; two of these
were relations of his who had lately migrated into Bengal from
Dehli, two brothers named Hdji Ahmad and AH Virdi Khan ;
the third member of Council was the Kay-Kayan ; and the fourth
was the great banker Jagat Seth.
During the first part of his reign Shuja-ud-din appeared fully
to deserve his good fortune; for he administered justice with
great impartiality, and was singularly charitable and liberal, and
distinguished also for his care for religion ; but in his later days,
he became indolent and luxurious. At first he carefully guarded
the subjects from all oppression ; and even executed Nasir
Ahmad [see § 23], who had been his predecessor's instrument in
extortion. At the same time he was very careful to remit large
sums of revenue to Dehli ; and he also largely increased the
army, maintaining 25,000 men instead of the four or five thousand
with which Murshid Kuli Khan had governed. With all these
expenses, and his own luxurious and libei'al habits, he soon began
to feel the want of money ; and hence during his reign first
commenced a system of supplementary taxation in addition to the
taxation on land. This additional taxation was called Abwdbs ;
and though, long before this, vast sums had been raised in this
way, they had always been looked upon as the perquisites of the
subordinate officers. The Ahwih revenue was publicly collected
CHAP. VI.] THE MUHAMMADAN RULE IN BENGAL. 73
for the Government for the first time in the reign of Shuja-ud-
din ; and then amounted to nearly twenty-two lakhs in addition
to the regular revenue.
[Note. — The Abwdbs were fees on the renewal of zamindars' leases,
nazardnahs, fees to maintain the Nawab's elephants, and many more
arbitrary exactions of the same nature. The Abwdbs rapidly increased
under All Virdi Khan and Kasim Khan ; so that when the East India
Company in 1765 acquired the Diwam', the total revenue of Bengal was
more than two crores and fifty six lakhs of rupees.]
§ 25, The Rise of Ali Virdi Khan.— In the year 1729, the
Nawab appointed a member of his Council, the famous Ali Virdi
Khan, to be Deputy-Grovernor of Bihar. Ali Virdi found the
country in a great state of insubordination and disorder, the
zamindars of Bhetia in Champaran, and Bhqjpur in Shahabad,
being in open revolt; so he took into his pay some Afghan troops
under Abdul Rahim Khan, and by their aid suppressed all
the bands of robbers, and subdued the refractory zamindars
one by one. He forced the zamindars to pay him large
sums in addition to all their arrears of revenue. After he had
thoroughly settled the province, he found that his Afghan troops
were inclined to be overbearing and insolent ; so with no com-
punction or remorse he caused Abdul Rahim to be assassinated.
This outrage confirmed his authority ; but will always be a dis-
grace to his name.
§ 26. Shujd'ud'din continued; and his son Sarfardz Khdn,-^
The most important events of the reign of Shuja-ud-din were :
(1) the conquest of Tiparah by Mir Habib, the Diwan of Dacca,
in 1732 ; this territory was now for the first time fully included in
the Mughul Empire : (2) the abortive attempt of the Germans
to establish an East India Company, called the Ostend Company,
1730—1734.
When Ali Virdi Khan was appointed Governor of Bihar,
Shuja had wished to give the appointment to his son Sarfaraz
Khan ; but the young man's mother (who, as heiress of Murshid
Kuli Khan, often took upon herself to meddle in aifairs of State)
refused to part with him. So Sarfaraz was at length appointed
74 THE MUHAMMADAN RULE IN BENGAL. [cHAP. VI.
Governor of Dacca ; but a Deputy-Governor was also appointed,
so that Sarfaraz mij^ht remain with his mother at Murshidabad ;
and a very able and popular Hindii, named Jeswant Rai, was
appointed Diwan, and had the real charge of the administration
in the province of Dacca. From the benevolent conduct and
successful measures of his Diwan, Sarfaraz Khan obtained great
credit for his government of Dacca ; and especially for the fact
that the district was so prosperous that rice was once more sold,
as it was in the time of Shaistah Khan, at eight mans for the
rupee — in consequence of which, Jeswant Rai ordered the gate
that had been closed by Shaistah Khan [see § 17, last paragrapK]
to be again opened in 1735. But this prosperity was short-
lived; for when Sarfaraz Kban made his own son-in-law Governor
of Dacca, Jeswant Rai resigned his post, and the whole of
the district soon sank into comparative poverty and desolation.
During the last years of Shuja's reign, Sarfaraz Khan had nearly
the whole management of the State in his own hands ; and
he contrived at this time to offend many of the greatest men in
the State, especially the councillor Haji Ahmad, the brother of
All Virdi Khan. When Shuja died, he nominated Sarfaniz as
his heir; but with strict injunctions to attend to the advice
of the Council, i.e.^ of Haji Ahmad, the Ray-Rayan, and Jagat
Seth. But he had not been on the throne long before he grossly
insulted Jagat Seth and disgraced his family, by insisting on
being allowed to see the face of the beautiful wife of Jagat*s
eldest son. He also interfered in a marriage that had been
arranged by Haji Ahmad, and married the young lady to his own
son. Jagat Seth and Haji Ahmad now determined to depose
the Nawab ; and accordingly entered into a conspiracy to set up
All Virdi Khan, the Governor of Bihar.
The first step of the conspirators was to obtain a fresh patent
from the Court of Dehli, appointing Ali Virdi to the government
of Bengal as well as to that of Bihar ; and this was easily
obtained from the weakness of Muhammad Shdh, who had only
just been reinstated after the conquest of Dehli by Nadir Shah,
King of Persia They then induced the Nawab to dismiss many
of his troops ; and all these soldiers were immediately sent up
CHAP. VII.] THE MUHAMMADAN RULE IN BENGAL, 75
to Patna, v'here they were re-engaged by Ali Virdi. At length,
nil preparations being complete, the latter marched from Patna
with his army — at first, ostensibly, against a refractory zamindar
— and even up to the last, with a pretence of being friendly to
Sarfaraz Khan. But when Haji Ahmad had been allowed to
leave Murshidabad and join his brother under the excuse of a
negociation, Ali Virdi suddenly fell on the army of the Nawab ;
Sarfaraz Khan fought bravely, but his army was utterly routed
and he himself killed. This battle was fought near Gheriah,
about twenty -two miles north of Murshidabad^ in the year 1740.
CHAPTER VIL
THE MUHAMMADAN RULE IN BENGAL. PART V. THE NAWABS
OF BENGAL NOMINALLY UNDER THE EMPEROR OP
DEHLI, BUT REALLY INDEPENDENT.
§1. Settlement of Bengal by Ali Virdi Khan. §2. Settlement of
Orissa. § 3. The Mahratta Invasions of Bengal. § 4. Other events of
the reign of All Virdi Khan. § 5. The Accession of Siraj-ud-daulah.
§ 6. The Massacre of the Black Hole. § 7. The defeat and death of
Sakat Jang. § 8. The End of Siraj-ud-daulah.
§ 1. Settlement of Bengal hy Ali Virdi Khan. — Ali Virdi
Khan, whose character presented the unusual combination of
valour and energy with prudence and even dissimulation, behaved
with the utmost moderation after his victory over Sarfaraz Khan.
He pretended the utmost submission to the old Begum Zainat-
ul-nisa, the daughter of Murshid Kuli Khan and the mother of
Sarfaraz. He transmitted immense presents to the Emperor
Muhammad Shah and the courtiers of Dehli ; and when the
Emperor was dissatisfied with these presents and sent Marid Khan
to demand the arrears of revenue, he induced Marid by bribes to
return to Dehli with some further presents without obtaining any
76 THE MUHAMMADAN RULE IN BENGAL. [CHAP. VII.
settlement of the revenue. The three sons of Haji Ahmad
were married to their cousins the daughters of Ali Virdi ; on
these Ali Virdi now bestowed the chief offices in Bengal ; and
he adopted his grandson the son of Zain-ud-din the youngest
of the three brothers — a youth who is best known by the title
obtained for him from the Emperor, Siraj-ud-daulah.
§ 2. Settlement of Orissa. — The brother-in-law of the late
Nawab Sarfaraz, by name Murshid Kuli Khan, had been
appointed Governor of Orissa by his father-in-law the iJ^awab
Shuja-ud-din ; and with him was associated the able Diwau
Mir Uabib, who had conquered Tiparah and annexed it to
Bengal during the time that he was Diwan of Dacca [see
Chapter VI., § 26], Mir Habib had been present with all the
troops of Orissa at the battle of Gheriah, but had taken no
part in it ; and when victory declared for Ali Virdi, he imme-
diately marched back to Orissa to his master Murshid Kuli.
When Murshid Kuli refused to give up the government of
Orissa, Ali Virdi marched against him ; drove him out of the
country, and made his own nephew Sayyid Ahmad (the second son
of Haji Ahmad) Governor. The imprudence and profligacy of
this young man soon led to a rebellion, in which he was taken
prisoner, and the son-in-law of Murshid Kuli Khan was enabled
again to establish himself in Katak. But the vigour and deter-
mination of Ali Virdi suppressed this rebellion ; and with some
difficulty he succeeded in rescuing his nephew Sayyid Ahmad
from his dangerous captivity.
§ 3. The Mahratta Invasions of Bengal. — AH Virdi was in
the midst of the festivities which celebrated his final conquest
of Orissa, when he was startled by the news that a powerful
army of Mahrattas, forty thousand strong, had marched from
Barar to invade his dominions ; and before he had any time to
make preparations, he was again surprised by the news that the
invaders, so swift were their movements, were within a few miles
of his camp.
[Note.— TIiG Mahrattas, a Hindu nation of western and west-central
India, were at this time the greatest native power in India ; and if they
had been united, they would probably have succeeded to the Empire of
CHAP. VII.] THE MUHAMMAD AN RULE IN BENGAL. 77
India which was then falling to pieces in the weak hands of the later
Mughul Emperors of Dehli. The Mahratta power was, however, divided
amongst a number of chiefs; who were even more jealous of each other
than of their common enemies. The two chiefs with whom we are con-
cerned in the History of Bengal, were : (1) Balaji Baji Rao, the Peskivd,
who ruled at Piina, and who was regarded as the head of the Mahratta
confederation ; and (2) Raghuji Bhonsle, who was K6ja of Barar. The
armies of the Mahrattas were dreaded throughout Hindustan and the
Dakhin, for their plundering propensities, and for the'Jrapidity of the
movements of their fine cavalry. Their habit was to sweep through tlie
provinces of an enemy at a rapid rate, to collect as much plunder and do
as much damage as possible, and to retreat before they could be engaged
in a pitched battle. Sometimes indeed they would remain long in the
country of an enemy, as they did in Bengal ; but they always moved about
rapidly from place to place, so as to elude pursuit and harass their enemy,
whilst they invariably avoided a pitched battle.]
This first invasion of the Mahrattas occurred in 1741 ; and for
the next ten years, the unfortunate inhabitants of Bengal endured
the most terrible sufferings from these pitiless and rapacious
enemies, who overran the province in at least five separate
invasions, who never gave the country rest for many months, and
who literally desolated tlie face of the land, leaving hardly a
handful of rice, a head of cattle, or even a living being, in the
territory through which they passed.
The first invasion was under the command of Bashdr Bdo, one
of the chief officers of Kaghuji Bhonsle of Barar. The Mahrattas
at the first attack surrounded the camp of Ali Yirdi near Bardwan,
captured all his baggage and treasure, and very nearly made him
a prisoner. Mir Habib, the Diwan of Orissa under Murshid, who
subsequently had taken service under Ali Virdi, having been
captured by the Mahrattas, joined their standard, and now
became one of the most dangerous enemies of Ali Virdi. The
JMahratta general gave him the command of a troop of horse ;
and with these he hastily rode off and plundered Murshida-
bad, and was only driven away by the rapid approach of the
Nawab. The Mahrattas now obtained absolute possession for
a time of tlie whole of Western Bengal ; but at last tlie Nawab
succeeded in defeating them in a great battle at Katwd {Cuiwa)
and finally drove them out of the province, 1 742.
78 THE MUHAMMADAN RULE IN BENGAL. [CHAP. VII.
During the progress of this invasion, large numbers of the
inhabitants of Western Bengal crossed the river Hugli, and took
refuge in Calcutta: and the English in consequence solicited
and obtained permission from the Nawab to dig a ditch around
the city for its protection. This work was commenced in 1742;
but only half the circuit of the city was completed, as the
English began to think that they need no longer fear an attack
from the Mahrattas. This moat was always called " the Mahratta
Ditch."
In 1743, Bengal was invaded both by Raghuji Bhonsle himself,
and also by Baldji the Peshwa ; but the Nawab, by heavy bribes,
induced the Piina chief to march against the Barar Mahrattas
and drive them out of the country. Next year (in 1744) the
latter returned under their old general Baskar Rao; when Ali
Virdi, with the blackest and most disgraceful treachery, invited
tlie general and his chief officers to a conference near Murshida-
bad, and caused them all to be assassinated ; after which he
easily expelled the Mahratta army from the province.
Again and again did these bold and persevering marauders
return and devastate the fertile plains of Bengal, and oppress
and massacre its inhabitants; until at last in 1751, the Nawab
agreed by treaty to cede to them the province of Katak (Cuttack)
and to pay them annually twelve lakhs of rupees as Chauth for
Bengal. The deserter Mir Habib was made governor of Katak,
nominally under the Nawab, but with orders to hand over its
revenue yearly to the Raja of Barar : and he was subsequently
assassinated and the province brought fully under the Mahratta
power. Only a small portion of the north of Orissa remained
annexed to Bengal ; and when the Diwani of Bengal, Bihar, and
Orissa was ceded to the British in 1765, the grant of Orissa
referred only to this small portion [see Chap. VIII., § 3, foot-
note ; and Chap. IX, § 3].
[Note. — The Emperor Muhammad Shah had ceded to the Mahrattas
in 1720, the " Chauth" or fourth part of the revenues of the Dakhin ; and
in consequence of this grant, the Mahratta leaders' claimed a similar
percenta<]^e on the revenues of the other provinces of the Mughul empire.]
§ 4. Other events of the reign of Ali Vi7'di Khdn. — The
CHAP. VII.] THE MUHAMMADAN RULE IN BENGAL. 79
happy result of this treaty was that Bengal at last obtained rest
from its sufferings, which had been incessant for more than ten
years ; and the Nawab was enabled to apply himself to the
internal administration of the country. He induced the people
to rebuild the villages which had been destroyed, and to cultivate
the lands which had been deserted or depopulated, during the
Mahratta invasions ; and during the later years of his reign,
the country enjoyed great prosperity, which was only disturbed
in some parts by the atrocities of his young grandson Siraj-ud-
daulah.
During the Mahratta invasions, Ali Virdi's government had
been threatened at various times by no less than three serious
rebellions. The first was that of Mustapha Khan, the Nawab's
commander-in-chief; he succeeded in plundering Rajmahall and
in seizing the fortress of Hunger, but was subsequently defeated
and slain by Zain-ud-din, the governor of Bihar, who was the
son-in-law of the Nawab and father of Siraj-ud-daulah. In the
next rebellion, however, — that of the Afghan troops of the
Nawab's army, under Shamsher Khan — Zain-ud-din was slain
by the rebels at a conference ; his aged father also, Haji
Ahmad, was tortured to disclose his treasures, until he too expired ;
and all Zain-ud-din's family and treasures, including his wife
the daughter of the Nawab, fell into the power of Shamsher
Khan. The Nawab however, with his usual bravery and success,
soon afterwards engaged the rebels at Barh near Patna ; and
though a large force of Mahrattas was at the time in the imme-
diate neighbourhood, he utterly routed them, slew their leaders,
and rescued his daughter, 1749.
The third rebellion was a short-lived attempt of Siraj-ud-
daulah, in 1750, to depose his grandfather; and was remarkable
on account of the extraordinary fondness for his profligate grand-
son displayed by the foolish old Nawab, who was far more
anxious about the safety of Siraj than about the success of his
own arms. Siraj was immediately forgiven, with every display ot
affection ; although the insolent messages which he had sent
to his grandfather ought to have convinced Ali Virdi of the
utter worthlessness and shameful ingratitude of the young Prince.
80 THE MUHAMMADAX TIULE IX BENGAL. [CHAP. VII.
During the remainder of Ali Virdi's reign, Siraj-ud-daulah was
allowed to gratify his bloodthirsty and licentious tastes almost
as he pleased. He procured the assassination of a large number
of persons who had o/Tended him ; including Husain Kuli Khan
and his brother, who had been the favourites of Siraj's uncle the
Governor of Dacca.
Both the uncles of Siraj (who were at once the nephews and
the sons-in-law of the Nawab) died shortly before the death of
Ali Virdi himself in 1756. One of them, Sayyid Ahmad, the
Governor of Purnia, left a son named Sakat Jang^ who was about
as old as Siraj-ud-daulah ; and he was the only person from whom
the latter could anticipate any opposition in succeeding his grand-
father.
All Virdi Khan was intelligent in all affairs ; and made a point
of encouraging the deserving in every line of life. He was
affable in manners, a good and wise statesman, and a brave and
skilful general. He always had a high regard for the English of
Calcutta ; and when urged by some of his officers to expel them,
he is said to have remarked, *' What have the English done against
" me, that I should use them ill ? It is difficult to extinguish fire
*' on land ; but should the sea be in flames, who can put them out ? "
This he said, referring to the maritime power which he well knew
the English possessed. In accordance with this opinion, he never
interfeied with the English trade; and though commerce was
often injured by the depredations of the Mahrattas, yet Calcutta
continued to flourish and increase during his reign.
§ 5. 7'Ae Accession of SirdJ-tid-daulah.—We have already
seen that the young heir of All Virdi Khan had been so much
indulged by his fond grandfather, that being naturally of a cruel
and perverse temper, his vices ripened with his age. As he grew up,
he associated only with infamous and profligate companions ; and
with these, he used to walk about the streets of Murshidabad and
insult every person of respectability, male and female, whom he
might meet.
Immediately after his accession he commenced oppressing his
Hindu subjects in the most atrocious manner; degrading the
noblest families of Bengal by his licentiousness, impoverishing
CHAP. VII.] THE MUHAMMADAN RULE IN BENGAL. 81
them by Lis extortions, and terrifying them by his inhuman
oppressions. But his first acts were directed against the relatives
and friends of his grandfather the late Nawab. He dispossessed
his aunt, the widow of the late Governor of Dacca, of all the
property she possessed ; and turned Jier out of her beautiful
palace called the Mutijhil, near Murshidabad. He next displaced
]iis grandfather's chiaf officers; appointing in their room the
base companions of his own debaucheries. Amongst the officers
thus set aside was Mir Jafar the paymaster-general. He also
endeavoured to seize all the wealth of Raja liajballabh, the
deputy-governor of Dacca ; but the latter contrived to send off
his son Krishna Das with his family and treasures to Calcutta.
Very soon a conspiracy was formed by all those persons whom
the JSTawab had injured or insulted, to depose him and set up his
cousin Sakat Jang^ the son of Sayyid Ahmad and his successor in
the government of Piirnia. Siraj-ud-daulah however got inform-
ation of this conspiracy, and immediately set out with his army
to punish his cousin ; but before he got very far, he received
letters from Calcutta which so enraged him that he altered his
course and prepared to march at once and expel the English
from the country.
§ 6. The Massacre of the ^^ Black Hole.'' — During the reign
of All Virdi Khan, the English at Calcutta had been growing very
rich and prosperous; and in the years just preceding the eleva-
tion of Siraj-ud-daulah, the military abilities of a young officer
named Clive had made the English name feared and respected
throughout India, by his splendid victories in the Carnatic.
The independence of the English merchants of Calcutta had
made them the objects of the special wrath of Siraj-ud-daulah ; and
his anger was now further inflamed by the reply of Mr. Drake to
his demands that Krishna Das (the son of Raja Rajballabh) should
be given up and the fortifications of Calcutta dismantled.
J\Ir. Drake peremptorily refused to comply with either of these
demands ; in consequence of which the Nawab returned with his
army to Murshidabad, and proceeded to seize and plunder the
Company's factory at Kasimbazar, near Murshidabad taking as
prisoners all the English officers, amongst whom was young Warren
82 THE MUHAMMADAN RULE IN BENGAL. [cHAP. VII,
Hastings, now twenty-four years of age. He then marched on
Calcutta, where the English Council were altogether unprepared
for such an attack. They tried in vain to conciliate the Nawab ;
and in their distress asked help from the Dutch at Chinsurah and
the French at Chandernagar, who only replied with a contemp-
tuous offer of protection within the walls of the latter settlement.
The Nawab arrived before Calcutta on the 16th June, 1756 ; and
after a slight check at the Mahratta Ditch, began to bombard
the fragile defences of the Englisb, who were soon driven within
the walls of the fort. They now (18th June) held some hurried
and disorderly councils ; the women and children were sent on
board one of the vessels in the river under the charge of two
high officials; and at nightfall the Governor lost courage and
went off to the ships in the last boat. The ships now weighed
anchor and dropped down the river to Faltah, leaving the unfor-
tunate soldiers and officers of the garrison to their fate.
The latter elected Mr. Holwell as their leader ; who the fol-
lowing morning felt himself compelled to negotiate, and in the
afternoon the Nawab's army marched in. The Nawab summoned
Mr. Holwell to his presence, accused him of rebellion and of
having concealed the treasures of the English factory ; but
promised him that no harm should happen to the prisoners.
Notwithstanding this, the whole garrison, consisting of 146 men,
were crammed into a small dungeon eighteen feet square, with
very small apertures for liglit and air. This miserable dungeon,
ever since infamous in history under the name of The Black
Hole, had been used as a place of punishment for single indivi-
duals ; and the torments now endured by the unhappy prisoners,
during a night of the hottest season of the year, were more
terrible than any thing that has ever been described. They
endeavoured by alternate threats and bribes to induce their
jailors either to put an end to their tortures by death, or to obtain
better quarters from the Nawab ; but the miscreant Siraj was
asleep, and the guards were (or pretended to be) afraid to awake
him. At first the struggles of the victims for the places near the
windows, and for the few skins of water that were handed in to
them, were terrific ; but the ravings of madness gradually sub-
OHAP. VII.] THE MUHAMMADAN RULE IN BENGAL. 83
sided into the moans of exhaustion ; and in the morning, only
twenty-three wretched figures almost in the pangs of death, were
extricated from a pestilential mass of dead bodies. It is uncer-
tain whether the Nawab was really an active accomplice in this
wholesale murder ; but in his anxiety to discover the treasures
which he supposed the English had concealed, he took no pains
to prevent it, and he evidently felt no subsequent remorse about
it. He was morally responsible for it, and a terrible vengeance
was justly inflicted on him.
§ 7. The Defeat and Death of Sakat Jang. — The Nawab,
after this fatal success which was to prove his ruin, marched back
to his capital ; but he first extorted 4|- lakhs from the Dutch
at Chinsurah, and 3J lakhs from the French at Chandernagar,
by threatening to treat them as he had already treated the
English. Shortly afterwards he gave orders for the release of
Mr. Plolwell, at the intercession of his grandmother the widow
of All Yirdi Khan ; and then proceeded to test the intentions
of his cousin Sakat Jang, by appointing an officer to a post
under the authority of the latter, and ordering Sakat Jang to
see that his wishes were carried out. Sakat Jang immediately
sent back a defiant answer, claiming the government for himself,
and offering Siraj-ud-daulah an asylum in Eastern Bengal ;
"but," Sakat Jang's letter continued, "do not presume to
take with you any of the treasures or other valuables."
Sir^j-ud-daulah was enraged at this insolence ; and immediately
marched towards Piirnia. His officers were however so little
pleased with his conduct, that Sakat Jang if he had been only
moderately prudent must certainly have succeeded in conquering
him. But the character of Sakat Jang was hardly, if at all,
better than that of Siraj-ud-daulah; he was equally vain, cruel,
and incapable of government; he delighted to humiliate all the
old and experienced officers of his father, who were skilled in
war ; and as he would allow no one to command the army but
himself, and he was utterly ignorant of war, no order or disci-
pline was maintained. But even under these circumstances he
might have gained the day, so strong was the hatred felt against
Siraj-ud-daulah ; but he insisted on giving the most foolish orders
84 THE MUHAMMADAN RULE IN BENGAL. [CHAP. VII.
to Ills troops, reproached his officers with cowardice when tbey
remonstrated with him ; and when at last it was necessary that
he should appear on his elephant in the battle to encourage the
troops, it was found that he was so drunk as not to be able to sit
erect. He was however held up by a servant ; but he had not
advanced far, before a ball struck him in the forehead and killed
him on the spot. All his troops immediately took to flight.
This battle was won at Nawdhganj near Pdrnia, in October
1756. The troops of Siraj-ud-daulah were led by R^ja Mohan-
lal. The Nawab himself had not ventured nearer to the scene
of war than Rajmahall ; and yet he assumed no little merit for this
victory, and returned with great pomp and rejoicing to
Murshidabad.
§ 8. The End of SirdJ-vd-daulah, — The Nawab had supposed
that, by the capture of the fort and the destruction of the
garrison of Calcutta, he had rendered his government secure and
had expelled the English from the country ; he little thouglit that
his wicked and cruel conduct had brought upon himself the
vengeance of an inveterate foe, which would result in his own
shameful death and the transfer of the Government of Bengal to
the hands of the English. The news of the disasters in Bengal
8000 arrived in Madras, and filled the settlement with consterna-
tion. But Colonel Clive and Admiral Watson were now at
Madras, where they had arrived in triumph after the capture of
Gheriah. They were soon ready to sail to avenge the massacre
in Bengal, with 900 English troops and 1,500 Sepoys, all full of
enthusiasm for the cause and of confidence in their leaders.
Various delays however occurred ; and they did not arrive in the
river Hugli till December 1756. And now commenced in earnest
the work of retribution ; Budge-budge was taken, Calcutta occu-
pied, and the town of Hugli stormed. At Budge-budge Warren
Hastings (afterwards the great Governor-General) fought as a
volunteer, and here he met Clive for the first time; Hugli was
stormed by a young Captain named Eyre Coote, afterwards
the conqueror of Lally and of Haidar. Such was the band
of heroes who, with their little army, decided the fate of
India. The tyrant Nawab knew something of the wars in the
CHAP. VII.] THE MUHAMMADAN RULE IN BENGAL. 85
Carnatic, and had a lively dread of the defender of Arcot and the
conqueror of Gheriah ; hence after the recapture of Calcutta by
Clive on January 2, 1757, he made pressinor overtures for peace,
offering to reinstate the English in their former position. The
honest old Admiral Watson disapproved of any accommodation
with the author of the Black Hole massacre, saying that the
Navvab should be " weH thrashed ; " but Chve from political
motives agreed to sign the treaty, February 9, 1757.
Clive now seized the opportunity to humble the French in
Bengal. Notwithstanding the opposition of the ISTawdb, who
aided the French with men and money, he attacked Chander-
nagar ; and with the aid of Admiral Watson and the fleet, he
captured the town in May |757.
The Nawab, filled with distrust and fear of the English, was
intriguing with the Frenchman Bussy, who was now at Katak
(Cuttack), which he had lately obtained for the French ; the English
had learnt their power, and remembered the Black Hole; so it was
obvious that the peace could not last long. Meanwhile, the Hindii
subjects of the Nawab had been goaded to desperation by his
frantic excesses ; and a powerful conspiracy was set on foot against
hira, headed by Haja Raidurlabh, his treasurer, and Jagat Seth the
richest banker in India — ^joined by Mirjafar the Commander-in
Chief, and many discontented Muhammadans. The English,
represented by Mr. Watt, the resident at Murshidabad, entered
into the conspiracy with alacrity ; and it was felt by Clive, and
indeed by all the Council at Calcutta, that Siraj-ud-daulah must
be crushed if the English settlement wished for peace and security.
The conspirators agreed that Mirjafar should be set up as N"awab
in the place of the tyrant ; and that the English should receive
from the gratitude of Mirjafar ample compensation for all their
losses and rich rewards for their assistance.
Umachand, a crafty Bengali, was the agent employed to transact
business between the English and the Nawab ; and he was an
active helper in the plot. But at the last moment he threatened
to turn traitor and disclose all to the Nawab, unless he were
guaranteed a payment of tliirty lakhs (£300,000). Clive and
the other conspirators were in despair ; and at last they con-
S& THE MUHAMMAD AN RULE IN BENGAL. [cHAP. VII.
descended to cheat Umachand, in order to escape from their pre-
sent difficulty. Two copies of the treaty between the English
and Mirjafar were made out ; one on white paper was the real
treaty, in which no mention was made of Umachand's claims ; the
other, on red paper, a mere fictitious treaty, in which Umachand
was guaranteed all the money he demanded, was shown to the faith-
less Bengali. This piece of deception has always been a stain on
dive's character ; Admiral Watson (who had already shown him-
self to be an honest English gentleman in objecting to a temporiz-
ing policy with the Nawab) refused to sign the false treaty — so
his signature was forged by the others.
Clive now wrote in peremptory terms to the Nawab, demand-
ing full redress of all grievances, and announcing his approach
with an army to enforce his claims ; and immediately after-
wards set out from Chandernagar, with 650 European infantry, 150
gunners, 2,100 sepoys, a few Portuguese, and 10 guns, the
Nawab's army consisted of 50,000 infantry, 18,000 cavalry, and
an immense train of artillery. As Clive approached the Nawab's
encampment near Kasimbazar, Mijrafar appears to have lost
courage ; for he ceased to communicate directly with the English,
whilst it was known that he had taken solemn oaths to his master,
that he would be faithful to him. Under these alarming circum-
stances, Clive called together his officers in a Council of AVar, to
decide whether they should fight against such enoi-mous odds, or
should wait for a better opportunity. The majority of thirteen,
including Clive himself, voted for the latter course ; only seven, at the
head of whom was Eyre Coote, voted for immediate fight. After
dismissing the council, Clive took a solitary walk in an adjoining
grove ; and after an hour's solemn meditation, he came to the
conclusion that Coote was right, and that the attack ought to be
made at once. Accordingly, early next morning he crossed the
river with his little band, and came upon the Nawab's army
about daybreak in the fields and groves of Plassey. During the
early part of the day the English remained almost entirely on
the defensive ; contenting themselves with repelling the charges
of the enemy's cavalry, and keeping up a desultory cannonade.
At length, however, some of the Nawab's chief officers having
CHAP. VIII.] THE ENGLISH RULE IN. BENGAL. 87
fallen, the troops of Mirjafar (who had hitherto remained
undecided) were seen to separate themselves somewhat from the
rest of the Nawab's army ; Clive now gave the order for a general
charge and carried all before him. tSiraj-ud-daulah mounted a
swift camel ; and escorted by 2,000 of his best cavalry, fled to
Murshidabad. The great battle of Plassey, which virtually
transferred the sovereignty of Bengal (and ultimately of India)
to the English, was fought on June 23, 1757 ; the victors only
losing 22 killed and 50 wounded.
Mirjafar, now that the English were successful, openly joined
Clive ; who did not condescend to notice his vacillation, but
saluted him Nawab of Bengal, Bihar, and Orissa. Siraj-ud-
daulah fled in disguise from Murshidabad, and the victors at
once occupied that city. The fugitive was soon betrayed by a
Hindu whose ears he had formerly cut off. He was seized and
brought before the new Nawab. Mirjafar wished, or pretended
to wish, to spare him; but his son Miran caused him to be put to
death. And now came the settlement of the engagements of
the treaty. Vast sums were paid to the Company, to the British
merchants, and to the ISTative and Armenian merchants of Calcutta
as indemnity for their losses in the sack of the city. The army
and the navy with their leaders, including Clive, Watson and the
members of Council, all shared in the spoil. Umachand expect-
ed, too, to get his thirty lakhs, but he was soon undeceived. He
was at first stunned by the blow ; but he seems to have recovered,
for he was afterwards recommended by Clive as " a person capable
of rendering great services, and therefore not wholly to be
discarded.'*
CHAPTER VIII.
THE ENGLISH RULE IN BENGAL. PART I. FROM THE BATTLE
OF PLASSEY, 1757, TO THE REGULATING ACT, 1774.
§ 1. Olive's first Administration. § 2. Vansittart and Spencer, suc-
cessively Governors of Bengal. § 3, dive's second Administration,
§ 4. Verelst, Cartier, and Hastings successively Governors of Bengal.
§ 5. The Regulating Act, 1773-4.
§ I. Clive s First Administration. — Clive was now virtually
88 THE ENGLISH RULE IN BENGAL. [CHAP. VIII.
ruler of Bengal, Mirjafar being a mere tool in bis hands. He
was made Governor of the Company's settlements and fortresses,
and remained at the head of affiiirs until 1 760.
The new Nawab soon displayed the utmost ingratitude and jeal-
ousy towards those of his subjects who had been the leaders in the
conspiracy by which he had obtained the throne, and especially
towards the Hindus. Kaja Raidurlabh the treasurer, Raja Ram
Narayan (who had long been deputy-governor of Patna), Raja
Ram Singh the Governor of Midnapore, and Raja Adit Singh who
bad been appointed to succeed Sakat Jang ns Governor of Piir-
nia — all experienced the hatred of Mirjafar; and in several
cases a reconciliation was only effected by the mediation of Clive
himself.
In 1759 the new Nawab was terribly frightened by an invasion
of All Gauhar, now called the Emperor Shah Alam II. All
Gauhar had fled from Delill whilst his father Alamgir II. was
under the power of one of his usurping nobles called Ghazi-ud-
din ; and inasmuch as Alamgir had made him titular Subahdar of
the eastern provinces, he crossed the Karmanasa (between Oudh
and Bihar) to obtain possession of his rights, at the very time
that his father was murdered by Ghazi-ud-din. He did not
receive the news of this murder for a whole month ; he then
assumed the title of Emperor, and appointed the Nawab of Oudb
his Vazir. The Governor of Biliar, a Hiudii named Ram
Narayan, was defeated by the imperial troops, and shut himself
up in Patna.
Clive promised Mirjafar and Ram Narayan that he would help
them; and immediately sent off Colonel Calliaud with some
troops, who soon defeated the forces of the Emperor and the
Nawab of Oudh, in the Cfirst) battle of Patna, 1760. The
Emperor now wrote to Clive asking for his help ; and the latter
at once sent him some money on condition that he left the pro-
vince of Bihar without delay. This Shah Alam consented to do ;
and Mirjafar, in gratitude for his deliverance, presented Clive
with the revenues due to him from the Company, as dijdgir.
About the same time it was discovered that the Dutch at
Chinsurah were intriguing with the faithless Mirjafar, to help him
CHAP. VIII.] THE ENGLISH RULE IN BENGAL. 89
to rid himself of his powerful English masters. Clive imme-
diately attacked the Dutch by sea and land, besieged them in
Chinsurah, and compelled them to submit to the most humiliating
terms. He now sailed for England, 1760; and did not return
until 1765. He was received with the greatest honour by the
King, by the great prime minister Pitt, and by the whole nation ;
and was raised to an Irish peerage as Lord Give.
§ 2. Vansittart and Spencer^ successively Governors of
BengaL-^Mv. Vansittart, an utterly incompetent man, succeeded
the great Olive as Governor in Bengal. The l!»I^awab was hope-
lessly in arrear in the payments which he was pledged to make to
his English protectors ; and was evidently actuated by no very
friendly feelings towards them. He was madly extravagant in his
expenditure ; and since the death of his son Miran, who had
been killed by lightning in the Patna campaign, his affairs had
got into worse and worse confusion. At length he sent his son-
in-law Mir Kasim to Calcutta, to arrange matters with Mr. Van-
sittart and the Council; the latter were struck with Mir Kasim's
abiUty, and resolved to dethrone the Nawab and put his son-in-
law in his place. The plan was carried out. Mirjafar was
induced to resign, and to take up his residence in Calcutta; and
Mir Kasim, as the price of his elevation, ceded to the British the
three districts of Midnapur, Bardwdn, and Chittagong. This was
in 1760.
Mir Kasim began with great energy to carry out reforms. He
reduced expenditure * and paid off* his English friends ; and,
disgusted with his position, resolved to shake off their yoke. He
removed his capital to Munger, and there quietly gathered
together and disciplined his army. This he did with surprising
judgment and skill. His conduct on the whole was vigorous and
just; but he was cruel in his treatment of liam Narayan the
Governor of Patna, whom he despoiled. One of the worst
features in the administration of Mr. Vansittart, who was con-
* By increasing the Abvjdb revenue enormously [sae Chap. VI., ^§24,
noto] he raised the revenue to a total of lis. 25,624,2'23.
90 THE ENGLISH RULE IN BENGAL. [cHAP. VIII.
tinually quaiTeling with bis Council, was bis failure to protect
Ram Narayan.
About tbis time Sbih Alam II., wbo dared not return to his
capital, was bovering about Bibar witb a lawless bost. Colonel
Carnac attacked and dispersed them in tbe second battle of
Patna ; and Law, tbe Frenchman, was taken prisoner with bis band,
and to tbe surprise of tbe natives treated witb great courtesy.
Tbe Emperor himself was persuaded by Camac to join him, and
accompany him to Patna ; where Mir Kasim was induced to pay
him homage, and was in consequence formally invested with the
Sdbabdarship of Bengal, Bihar, and Orissa.
A quarrel between tbe Nawab and tbe Calcutta Council soon
arose. The cause was the immunity from the payment of transit
duties claimed by tbe servants of tbe Company. This freedom
had been formerly granted by Imperial Farman to the Company
itself [see Cbap. VI., § 17]. It was now grossly abused. All the
servants of the Company traded largely on their own private
account; and they claimed freedom from tbe payment of all inland
duties for themselves, their servants and dependents. Every
native in fact, hoisting the English flag, could evade the payment
of all duties. The Nawab was defrauded of his revenues. His
servants were insulted and the trade of the country was thrown
into confusion. After attempts at a compromise, tbe Nawab in
desperation resolved to put bis subjects and tbe English upon an
equal footing, by abolishing all transit dues throughout bis domi-
nions. War ensued. Some English boats were stopped and
examined by the Nawab's officers at Patna. Mr. Ellis, tbe resident,
rashly began hostilities and seized tbe city of Patna ; but his
European soldiers got drunk and tbe Native Commandant
recaptured the city. Mr. Ellis and the other Englishmen were taken
prisoners. Tbe Nawab even ordered every Englishman in his
dominions to be seized. The Calcutta Council was resolved to
dethrone Mir Kasim and remstate Mirjafar. A severe struggle
ensued; and at Gheriab a battle was fought, which lasted for four
hours, aud in which tbe Nawab's well-trained and disciplined
troops showed most determined bravery, and were with difSculty
overcome. Tbis was in Aun;ust 1763. Munger was soon after
CHAP. VIII.] THE ENGLISH RULE IN BENGAL. 91
taken; and the Nawab had only Patna remaining in his
power.
Hitherto there had been little to blame in the conduct of Mir
Kasim, which had been spirited, though his cause was a hopeless
one. But the Massacre of Patna, 1763, the account of which
we must now give, marks him as a man to be branded with per-
petual infamy. On the approach of the English, he became
desperate; he cast Ram Narayan into the river with weights
around his neck ; and caused the Seths, the great bankers who
were friends of the English, to be flung from one of the bastions
into the river. He then declared his intention of murdering all
his English prisoners, the moment their friends advanced to the
attack of the city. The officer in command of the English forces
sent a letter to the prisoners, asking them if they could suggest
any means of releasing them. Their reply was a magnanimous
one : — " There is no hope of escape ; never mind us ; do not
delay the advance of the army one hour." The army moved on
to the attack, and the ferocious Nawab fulfilled his threat. He
ordered his officers to kill all the Europeans in prison ; but they
nobly replied, " No ! turn them out and we will fight with them^
but not massacre them." But an executioner was found. A
German, who had been a serjeant in the French service, and
now held a commission in the l!^awab's army under the name of
Sumru or Sombre, volunteered to do the bloody deed. He led a
file of soldiers to the house, fired on the unarmed men through
the windows : and soon forty-eight English gentlemen (Mr. Ellis
among them) and 100 soldiers, were lying in their blood on the
floor.
The English troops advanced, and took Patna after a vigorous
resistance (November 1763) ; and Mir Kasim fled to Shuja-ud-
daulah, Nawab of Oudh, with whom was Shah Alam the Emperor
of Dehli. The three now advanced on Patna, but were repulsed
by the English army ; and they then took up their position at
Baxar on the Son.
And now took place the first Sepoy mutiny in the Bengal
army. Major Munro acted with firmness. A whole battalion
attempted to desert to the enemy. They were brought back^
92 THE ENGLISH RULE IN BENGAL. [cHAP. VIII.
and twenty were blown away from guns. This firmness and
promptitude at once crushed the mutiny. In October 1764,
Munro led his troops against the Nawab Vazir, who was still
encamped at Baxar with an army of 50,000 men. The latter
was routed, and 160 pieces of cannon taken. The consequences
of this victory were very great. The Nawab of Oudh, long
master of the empire, was humbled; and it thus made the
English supreme in Hindustan. The emperor himself came to
the British camp, and opened a negotiation with the Council at
Calcutta for his restoration to the throne. It was reserved for
Clive to reap the full fruits of this victory [see § 3].
The Calcutta Council, during the five years' absence of Clive,
had fallen into a state of utter corruption under Vansittart and
Spencer; and thought of nothing but enriching themselves.
Mirjafar died in January 1765, partly of vexation at their harass-
ing demands. His son, a youth of twenty years of age, named
Nazim-ud-daulah, was put on the throne; the Council received
large sums from him, and had the virtual control of the country.
The Directors of the East India Company had at first hesitated
about sending out Clive again, as he declined to go, unless full
powers, independent of the Council, were entrusted to him.
But at length they perceived the importance of the crisis, and the
impossibility of proper administration without a man of Clive's
energy and resolution; so he was at last sent out, May
1765.
§ 3. dive's second Administration, — Clive's first measure was
to enforce the orders of the Directors prohibiting the acceptance
of presents by their servants. He made all sign covenants
binding themselves to obey this rule.
Clive then proceeded to the English army which was at Allaha-
bad, where the Emperor Shah Alam and Shuja-ud-daulah the
Nawab of Oudh, were suppliants in the camp of General Caruac.
The result of bis negotiations was that Oudh was restored to
Shuja on condition of his being a faithful ally of England ; the
districts of Korah and Allahabad were given to the emperor :
and the latter conferred on the English the Diwani (/.(?., the
Office of Diwdn (really involving the whole sovereignty) of
CHAP. VIII.] THE ENGLISH RULE IN BENGAL. 93
Bengal, Bihar, and Orissa,* in return for a yearly payment
of 26 lakhs. Though the English had long virtually possessed
all the power thus given to them, the Imperial grant of the
Diivdni was valuable, as constituting them the legal (as well as
the actual) sovereigns of the country. This happened on the
12th of August 1765. The Nawab of Bengal was soon com-
pelled to retire on a large pension.
The army had been accustomed to what was called double hatta
when on service. This was nominally an allowance of subsist-
ence-money; but the amount was unreasonably great. Clive was
instructed to stop this anomalous system. He was met by a com-
bination of the European officers ; which, in fact, was a mutiny.
Two hundred officers agreed to resign in a single day; and as the
Mahrattas were advancing, they thought themselves necessary to
the State. Clive accepted each resignation, and put the ex-officer
in immediate arrest ; while he sent to Madras for every available
man. Clive's firmness subdued the mutiny in a fortnight. Plis
next contest was with all the services of the Company; the mem-
bers of which universally were engaged in trade, which their
position made especially lucrative, and which injured their
character, while it prevented them from doing their duty as public
servants. They were now absolutely forbidden to engage in any
species of trade, and a compensation was granted.
Clive left India for the last time in 1767, a poorer man than he
was when he returned to it in 1765. He was received in England
with great honour ; but his reforms had raised up for him a host
of enemies. All whom he had punished, or whose corrupt
schemes he had thwarted, leagued against him. The Court of
Directors did not support him as it ought to have done ; but a
resolution was passed, " that he had rendered meritorious services
to his country." He died in 1774.
* When All Yirdi Khan ceded the Province of Katak to the Mahrattas,
it was agreed that the river Siinamukhi (now called the Burhabalang)
which tlows by Balasor, ^should be the boundary between the Mughuis and
Mahrattas. This was the boundary till 1803, when the English in tha
becond Mahratta War conquered and annexed the whole province*
94 THE ENGLISH RULE IN BENGAL. [cHAP. VIII.
§ 4. Verelst, Car tier, and Hastings succesnvely Governors of
Bengal— From 1767 to 1772, Mr. Verelst and Mr. Cartier were
Governors of Bengal. From the grant of the Diwkni in 1765, to
the accession of Warren Hastings in 1772, Bengal was under
what was called a " double government," i.e., the actual adminis-
tration of the country was in the hands of the Nawab's servants,
whilst the European officials vied with them in making haste to
become rich by every species of corruption. The Governor in
vain strove to stem the torrent. The Muhammadan Govern-
ment had been destroyed ; and no vigorous English rule had
been substituted. The constitution of the Home Government of
India was equally vicious. The Directors were appointed but
for one year, and their chief anxiety was to make the most of
their patronage. It was a period of unblushing jobbery and
corruption.
The excuses that have generally been offered for the English
officials in Bengal, are — that their salaries were shamefully small
and insufficient, that they were consequently obliged to embark
in private trade, that they were engrossed in this private trade,
and (above all) that they knew nothing whatever of the system on
which the land-revenue was levied. Muhammad Reza Khan had
been appointed Diwan of Bengal, and Raja Sitabray, Diwan of
Bihar; the former lived at Murshidabad, the latter at Patna,
and kept all knowledge of revenue matters to themselves.
The same defects that were evident in the administration of
the revenue, were even more glaring in the administration of
justice. This branch of the Government was nominally still in
the hands of the Nawab Nazim ; and the power of the English
authorities, being nominally restricted to Diwdni affairs, did not
extend beyond the limits of Calcutta in faiijddri or police matters.
A frightful increase of crime, and the enactment of the most
severe and even cruel regulations to repress it, were the natural
consequences of this state of things ; and the affairs of Bengal
only began to mend when the East India Company resolved in
1772 to abolish the Double Government, and to assume the
direct management of the province through their own civil
servants.
CHAP. VIII.] THE ENGLISH RULE IN BENGAL. 95
[Note. — The sufferings of the unfortunate people of Bengal during this
period of anarchy were increased by a most terrible famine which occurred
in the year 1769-1770, owing to the failure of the usual rains. Whole
districts were depopulated, and vast numbers of villages were actually left
silent and deserted. It has been computed that one-third of the whole
population of Bengal died of starvation or disease resulting from insuffi-
cient food.]
Warren Hastings was appointed in 1772 Governor of Bengal
by the Directors of the East India Company, for the special
purpose of effecting the great reform known as the aholition of the
Double Government. Hastings was now forty years of age ; and for
the next thirteen years, from 1772 to 1785, the history of British
India is the history of this great man. He had already distin-
guished himself greatly in various high and important posts in
the Bengal civil service ; he had given valuable evidence about
Indian affairs before the English Parliament ; and he had been a
Member of Council at Madras. He was now sent as President
or Governor to Calcutta ; which was now made the seat of the
Diwani, instead of Murshidabad.
Hastings immediately issued a proclamation, declaring that the
East India Company, as Diwan, would henceforward take the
management of the revenues into its own hands, through its
Civil Servants called Collectors ; and he also sent out a Com-
mittee, consisting of four Members of Council, to go throughout
the land, and effect a revenue-settlement for five years with the
landholders. The Diwans of Bengal and Bihar, Muhammad
Beza Khan and Raja Sitabray, were put on their trial for mal-
practices ; and the former, though acquitted, was not allowed to
return to the public service. Raja Sitabray, however, was not
only honourably acquitted, but he was also presented with a
" Dress of Honour" by the Council, to compensate him for the
humiliation which had been inflicted on him. He was also
declared Ray Rayan of Bihar ; but all these honours came too
late, for the high-spirited old man could not brook the indignities
that had been offered him, and he died soon after of a broken
heart.
Warren Hastings also without delay made new arrangements
96 THE ENGLISH RULE IN BENGAL. [CHAP. VIIt»
for the administration of justice. He established two Courts of
Civil and Criminal justice in each district; and two Courts of
appeal in Calcutta, the Sadar Diwdni Addlat for appeals in civil
cases, the Sadar Nizdmat Addlat for appeals in criminal cases.
A new code also was drawn up without delay.
[Note. — In 1775, the Sadar Nizdmat Addlat was moved back to Mur-
shidab^d, and again put under native management only — Muhammad
Reza Klian was put at its head as Ndih Ndzim, or deputy of the Nawab.
All tliis was again finally altered by Lord Cornwallis in 1790 ; when the
Sadar Nizamat Adilat was again brought to Calcutta, and was ordered to
consist of the Governor-General and the Members of the Supreme Coun-
cil, aided by the chief native law officers. At last Lord Wellesley in 1801,
finding it impossible that the duties could be adequately discharged by the
Governor-General and Members of Council, determined that they would
give up both the Sadar Diwdni Adalat (as Warren Hastings had done,
see Cliap. IX., § 1) and the Sadar Nizamat Adalat ; placing the chief civil
andcriminal jurisdiction in the hands of three Judges, called the Sadar
Court. The Sadar Court remained as the final Court of Appeal until 1862,
when it was joined with the Supreme Court [see § 5] to form the present
High Court.]
§ 5. The Regulating Acty 1773-1774.— Meanwhile the affairs
of the East India Company were still involved in the most utter
confusion^ for the conquests of Clive and the large increase of
territory had been glorious but not profitable, as the expenses
incurred liad been enormous. The financial distress of the Com-
pany, and the accounts that had been received in England of that
bad administration in India of which we spoke in the last section,
induced the English Parliament to enquire carefully into the con-
duct of English subjects in India, and to consider the whole
question of the Government of India. The consequence was
that an Act of Parliament was passed to regulate the Govern-
ment of India ; it was called the Regulating Act, and came into
operation in 1774, though it had been passed in 1773. It laid
down some wise laws about the appointment of the Directors of
the East India Company in London ; its most important provi-
vsions immediately affecting India were the following : —
(1.) — That the Governor of Bengal should henceforth be the
GHAP. IX.] THE ENGLISH RULE IN BENGAL. 97
Governor-General ; and, 7vith his Council^ should be supreme
over all the British possessions in India.
(2.) — That a Supreme Court of Judicature should be estab-
lished in Calcutta, consisting of a Chief Justice and two other
Judges, all barristers, appointed by the English Ministers of
State and independent of the Company. It was intended that
this Court should only have jurisdiction over the city of Calcutta,
and in cases in which Englishmen were concerned.
In consequence of this Act, Mr. Hastings became Governor-
General of India, as well as Governor of Bengal, in October
1774.
CHAPTER IX.
THE ENGLISH RULE IN BENGAL. PART II. — THE GOVERNORS-
GENERAL OF BRITISH INDIA AS GOVERNORS OF BENGAL.
§ 1. Warren Hcastings. § 2. Lord Cornwallis. § 3. Lord Wellesley.
§ 4. The Conquest of Orissa by the British. § 5. Lord Cornwallis, a
second time Governor-General; Sir George Barlow; Lord Minto. § G.
The Marquis of Hastings, § 7. Lord Amherst. § 8. Lord William
Bentinck. § 9. Lord Auckland. § 10. Lord Ellenborough. § 11. Lord
Hardinge, § 12. Lord Dalhousie. § 13. Conclusion.
§ 1. Warren Hastings. — Warren Hastings was the first man
who, under the Regulating Act, performed at the same time the
functions of Governor of Bengal, and those of Governor-General
of the whole of British India. It must of course be remembered,
in reading this Chapter, that many great and important events
occurred in other portions of India under the jurisdiction of the
Governor-General, which will not be mentioned here, because we
^re only concerned with those things which happened in Bengal
Itself. And in accordance witli this, it must also be remembered
that, although the events we have to describe here are concerned
only with the peaceful administration of the country — for with
hardly any interruption, Bengal has enjoyed profound peace ever
«ince the battle of Plassey — yet the Governors of Bengal, in their
capacity as Governors-General of India, have been almost always
98 THE ENGLISH RULE IN BEXGAL. [cHAP. IX;
engaged in great wars, have fought great and famous battles, and
have made great conquests. But after all, no part of India does
more credit to the British name, than Bengal ; for the triumphs of
peace are more important and more honourable than those of
war ^ and the gratitude of a happy and prosperous people well
governed, is far more valuable than the empty glory that is gained
by extensive conquests.
Warren Hastings became Governor-General, with his Coun*
cil of four, in October 1774. The provision of the lle^u-
lating Act, by which the members of the Governor- General's
Council were invested with equal power in Council with himselfj
soon proved to be destructive of all good government. The first
members of Council were Mr. Francis (afterwards Sir Philip
Francis), Colonel "Monson, General Clavering, and Mr. Barwell.
Francis soon displayed the most bitter hostility against Hastings
and all his measures ; and was supported by Monson and Claver-
ing, thus forming a majority in the Council. Barwell, who had
long served in India, supported Hastings ; but the latter was
unable successfully to contend against the factious opposition of
the other three, until the death of Monson in 1776.
The people during this interval generally regarded the power
and authority of Hastings as extinct; and many accusations were
brought against him by persons who wished to please the factious
majority in the Council. Of these charges the most serious were
brought forward by Nandakumdr, a man infamous for his treachery
and ])erfidy ; Francis and his colleagues, however, took him under
their protection and encouraged him in his charges against the
<jlovernor- General. Suddenly Nandakumar was arrested, at the
suit of an eminent native merchant, for forgery ; he was tried by
Sir Elijah Impey, in the Supreme Court, was found guilty by a
jury, and hanged — hanging was at that time the usual punishment
for forgery. This execution of a Brahman created a great sensa-
tion, and Hastings has often been accused of having procured it
unjustly to screen himself; but there seems no reason to doubt
that Nandakumar was justly condemned to death. Good proof
that Hastings was in no way concerned with the conviction and
execution, is to be found in the fact that the members of Council
CHAP. IX.] THE ENGLISH RULE IN BENGAL. 99
might have interfered to refer the matter to England ,• but they
refused to do so.
The Judges of the Supreme Court established in Calcutta, in
striving to " protect natives from oppression and give India the
benefits of English law," committed many great mistakes. They
interfered between the zamindars and their rayats. Their attor-
neys stirred up strife everywhere. Hastings interfered to protect
the landholders from this vexatious interference, and Parliament
was petitioned for a change of system ; and meanwhile a remedy
was discovered. In the Sadar Diwdni Addlat, the Governor-
General himself and his Council were appointed to preside.
This they could not do ; and Hastings offered the appointment of
Chief Judge of this Court to Sir Elijah Impey, the Chief Justice
of the Supreme Court. This reconciled all parties, and enabled
Impey to turn his attention to the subject of the administration
of justice according to such forms as might suit the great simpli-
city of native habits. This, though disallowed by the Court of
Directors at the time, is the system now restored by the amalga-
mation in each presidency of the Supreme Court with the Com-
pany's old Court of Appeal.
The settlement of the land revenue in 1772 had been for five
years ; and the experience of these five years proved that the
assessments of the amounts payable by the various zamindars
had been made without sufficient knowledge of the circumstances.
The revenue got frightfully into arrear, nothwithstanding the
fact that the Government remitted large sums ; and many influen-
tial zamindars were irretrievably ruined. So when a .new settle-
ment had to be made in 1777, it was determined that a fresh
settlement should be made every year, with a due regard to the
circumstances of the zamindaris at the time when each settle-
ment should be made. The disadvantages of this system were,
(1) that no zamindar could know exactly the value of his land,
because of the variable amount of the government rent ; and
(2) that the zamindars had little inducement to improve their estates,
for they were afraid that the improvement mi^ht result in an
increased demand for rent from the Government. We shall see
that the system was altered by Lord Cornwallis a few years later
100 THE ENGLISH RULE IN BENGAL. [cHAP. IT.
During the later years of bis reign, Mr. Hastings adopted some
Ijarsh measures to obtain money for tbe many wars in various
parts of India in which the British GoveiTiment was involved.
Many of these measures, especially those by which he obtained
money from Chait Singh, Raja of Banaras, and from the Begums
of Oudh, were strongly condemned by the Directors of the East
India Company ; so Hastings signified his intention of retiring.
He addressed letters to all the chiefs and princes of India, taking
leave of them; and resigned with dignity a trust which he had
held, first as Governor of Bengal, afterwards as Governor-Gene-
ral, for 13 years. He leffc India in February 1785. In England,
he was received with favour by the King, the Ministry, and
the Directors. But Pitt had a prejudice against him, though he
extolled and even vindicated him. Francis, his rancorous foe,
was in Parliament. The renowned orator Burke and tbe Whig
party in general combined against him, and it was resolved to
impeach him for his conduct in India. His trial before the House
of Lords began on the 13th February 1788 ; and was protracted
till the *23rd April 1795, when he was completely and honourably
acquitted. The trial cost him 100,000/. Though thus reduced
to comparative poverty, he lived peaceably at Daylesford till his
death in 1819. Once only did he again appear in public, and
then he was called to give, in 1813, evidence before the House of
Commons regarding Indian affairs. On that occasion the whole
assembly stood up to do him honour.
Some important alterations were made by the English Parlia-
ment in 1774, in the constitution of the Government of India
both in England and in this country. The chief point was that
the control of the British Indian empire was confided in aH
essential points, to a Minister of the King of England, who was
called President of the Board of Control ; who had the power
of appointing the Governor-General. The Act of Parliament
that made these alterations was called Pitt's India Bill.
The names of two Englishmen who occupied important posi-
tions in Bengal during the Governorship of Mr. Hastings, deserve
to be mentioned here. Mr. Cleveland was the Magistrate in
chart^e of the district of Bhagalpur; aud he devoted his life to
CHAP. IX.] THE ENGLISH RUL,j3 IN -BENgXi.^ . , ,, ; . ■, .1^1',
the civilisation and improvement of the condition of the poor
aboriginal tribes so numerous in that district [see Chap. I., § 3].
His health was ruined by the bad climate of the hills and jungles
amongst which he laboured, and he died at sea on his way to Eng-
land ; but the natives of his district showed their gratitude to
him by erecting a monument to his memory. The fame of Sir
William Jones depends not so much on his philanthropy — though
he too was distinguished for his zeal for the improvement of the
natives of this country — as on his devotion to all branches of
Indian literature, and especially to the cultivation of Sanskrit
learning. He was the founder of the Bengal Asiatic Society ,
a society of English and native scholars devoted to the study of
oriental science and literature.
After the departure of Mr. Hastings, Sir John Macpherson,
senior Member of Council, acted as Governor- General, and
Governor of Bengal, for twenty months, from February 1785 to
September 1786 ; and at length Lord Cornwallis was appointed
by the Indian Minister of the King of England to take his place.
§ 2. Lord Cornwallis. — Lord Cornwallis arrived in Calcutta
in September 1786, and remained until 1793. His administra-
tion was firm and vigorous, and greatly consolidated the British
Indian Empire ; which, founded by Clive and Hastings, was
strengthened and reduced to order by Cornwallis. His great
energies were at first directed to the removal of corruption
from all branches of the public service. At this time small
salaries were given to the Company's servants ; and as their
opportunities were great, they easily yielded to the temptation
of enriching themselves by every species of official depreda-
tion. His first real measure of effectual reform was assign-
ing to every officer of Government such a salary as should
leave him no shadow of excuse for trading, or attemptino- to
acquire money by corrupt practices. This measure, added to an
incomparable firmness and consistency in resisting all jobbery
and favouritism, and in punishing all frauds, soon caused the
purity of the Indian services to become as conspicuous as their
corruption had been notorious.
Lord Cornwallis obtained great glory from his successful wars;
D
102 , TaE BlNaLISM'RULE IN BENGAL. [cHAP. IX.
but the chief ground of his fame was the Permanent Settlement
which he effected of the revenues of Bengal. The Directors of
the East India Company had in 1786 written out to Indin
orders that all engagements for the payment of revenue ought
to be made directly with the zamindars. Lord Cornwallis issued
a series of enquiries on the subject throughout; and made a
settlement with the zamindars at first for ten years — at the same
time promising that the settlement should be declared a perma-
nent one, if it were found to be on the whole satisfactory. Opi-
nions differed very widely as to whether the settlement ought to
be made permanent ; but at length, in 1793, Lord Cornwallis,
with the consent of the Directors, declared it to be permanent.
By this measure the zamindars were assured that they wouUl
always be maintained in the possession of their lands, provided
they regularly paid a fixed sum annually to the Government as
rent ; and in this way they were encouraged to improve their
estates, by the knowledge that the fruits of all improvements
would be secured to themselves. It appears however that the
ri^rhts of some classes of rayats were not sufficiently protected
from the encroachments of zamindars, owing to the fact that
the English officials were very generally uncertain about the
exact nature of these rights.
The reform of the Civil and Criminal Courts of Bengal next
occupied the attention of Lord Cornwallis. We said above that
Sir Elijah Impey, when he was put at the head of the Sadar
Diwani Adalat, devised some rules for the administration of
justice in a way suited to the habits of the people of India.
These rules were now developed into a book of Regulations by
Sir George Barlow ; and the system of Civil Courts and pro-
cedure, which with modifications still exists, was established.
The greatest evil of this system was the power it gave to the
police of oppressing the people. I^atives were excluded from
all share in the administration of justice, and from all but the
most subordinate public offices. This was remedied in after
times.
Lord Cornwallis left India in October 1793, after a most suc-
cessful administration. He was succeeded by Sir John Shore
CHAP. IX.] THE ENGLISH RULE IN BENGAL. 103
(afterwards Lord 'reignmoutb), a civilian who had obtained great
praise for bis able conduct of affairs in the preparations for tbe
Permanent Settlement ; of wbicb measure, however, he had been
an opponent. His five years' administration was marked by no
event of importance.
§ 3. Lord Welleslcy. — The Marquis Wellesley arrived in
India as fourth Governor-General, May 1798, and left in August
1805. He was a man of real genius, a good scholar and a great
statesman ; his administration was more brilliantly successful
than that of any other Governor- General.
At the moment of his arrival, the British empire in India was
threatened by a combination of a large number of native chiefs,
who were encouraged to resist the English arms by the aid and
the money of the French, with whom the English had now been
long at war. Tippu, the powerful Sultan of Mysor, the ]Nizam
of Haidarabad, and Sindia the most powerful of the Mahratta
chiefs, were all under French influence, and had their armies
chiefly officered by Frenchmen ; whilst Zaman Shah, the Durrani
monarch of Afghanistan and the Panjab — the grandson of the
terrible Ahmad Shah Abdali who had so often overrun Hindustan
— threatened to invade Northern India as an ally of Tippii
Sultan. But Lord Wellesley, by his extraordinary vigour
and ability, soon dissipated all these dangers. He expelled the
French officers from every part of India ; he overawed the Nizam
and Sindia ; and finally he took by storm the great fortress of
Seringapatam, the capital of Mysor, the cruel Tippu Sultan being
slain in the battle. By the conquest of Mysor, the British power
became unquestionably paramount in the Dakhin, A.D. 1799.
After this, a short interval of peace enabled the Governor-
General to attend to some internal reforms [see the note on the
history of the Sadar Court^ page 96] and to establish some useful
institutions. Amongst the latter may be mentioned the College
of Fort William in Calcutta; which was intended to instruct the
young members of the Civil Service in the languages and liter-
ature of India. An important result of this foundation was a
largely increased cultivation of the Bengali language; followed
by the ditlusion of a desire for education amongst the natives of
104 THE ENGLISH RULE IN BENGAL. [cHAP. IX.
this country, which began to bear fruit a few years later, in the
time of the Marquis of Hastings.
One of the subjects of continual debate during this adminis-
tration was the question of allowing private trade to India. The
Company in 1793 allowed 3,000 tons annually for this purpose ;
but the trade of private individuals soon passed this limit.
Lord Wellesley wished to throw the trade open, and thereby
incurred the displeasure of the Directors. In 1802, the Court
reduced various items of expenditure sanctioned by the Gover-
nor-General, removed Mr. Webbe the able Secretary of the
Madras Government, and interfered in such a vexatious way
with the prerogatives of the Governor-General, that the latter
intimated his intention of returning to England that year. Lord
Clive, the Governor of Madras, son of the great Clive, resigned in
consequence ; and was succeeded by Lord W. Bentinck. The
Governor-General, however, was induced to remain another year ;
and that year fixed the destinies of British India ; it was the year
of the Second Mahratta War.
In this war the power of the Mahrattas was completely broken
by the British — mainly owiog to the great military talents of the
brother of the Governor-General, General Wellesley, who after-
wards became the great Duke of Wellington. In the battle
of Assai, 1803, Sindia and the Raja of Barar were totally
defeated by General Wellesley, and forced to run away from the
field ; and before the end of the year all the Mahratta dominions,
including Dehli and Agra and the person of the Mughul
Emperor, had fallen into the hands of the English.
§ 4. The Conquest of Orissa by the British. — The parts of
the Mahratta dominions nearest to Bengal were those under the
power of the Bajd of Barar; for ever since the treaty of 1751
between Ali Virdi Khan and the Mahrattas Uee Chap. VII.,
§ 3], the whole of Orissa except the small tract north of Balasor
had been under the Barfir Raja.
[Note.— The poor Uriyas had suffered great oppression from their
Mahratta conquerors, as may be seen from the following description of the
Mahratta taxation : — The taxes levied in different places varied with the
idiosyncrasies of the Government or of the individual tax-collector ; but
CHAP. IX.] THE ENGLISH RULE IN BENGAL. 105
among them it may be noticed that people were mulcted for having houses
to live in, or, if they had no houses, for their temporary sheds or huts.
If they ate grain, their food was taxed at every stage in progress through
the country ; if they ate meat, they paid duty on it through their butchers.
When they married, they paid for beating drums or putting up marquees.
If they rejoiced at the set Hindu festivals, they paid again : at the " holi,"
for instance, on the red powder which they threw at each other; at the
" paia," on the ornaments which they tied to the horns of their cattle.
Drinkers were mulcted by an excise, and smokers by a tobacco duty.
Weavers, oilpressers, fishermen, and such low caste industrials, had as a
matter of course to bear a special burthen. No houses or slaves or cattle
could be sold, no cloth could be stamped, no money could be changed— even
prayers for rain could not be offered, without payment on each operation
of its special and peculiar tax. In short, a poor man could not shelter
himself, or clothe himself, or earn his bread, or eat it, or marry, or rejoice,
or even ask his gods for better weather, without contributing separately on
each individual act to the necessities of the State ! These were the regular
taxes merely, and it certainly does not seem likely that any money could
have slipped by owing to their want of comprehensiveness ; but the
revenue accounts of the times show that supplementary measures were
occasionally found necessary to reach men who would otherwise have
escaped.]*
As soon fis the campaign between General Wellesley and the
Mabratta chiefs commenced, the Governor-General sent an army
from Madras into Orissa under the command of Colonel Harcourt;
who entered Piiri without opposition on the 18th September
1 803, and having left a guard of English soldiers to protect the
sacred temple of Jagannath, passed on to Katak {Cuttack).
The town of Katak capitulated on the 10th of October ; and its
fortress was taken by storm three days later. Meanwhile a
detachment of Bengal troops from Calcutta took possession of
Balasor and the northern portion of the province ; and the two
armies, joined under the command of Colonel Harcourt, soon
completed the conquest of Orissa, 1803-1804.
Towards the close of the year 1804, a serious insurrection
broke out amongst the Uriyas themselves. The chief Eaja of
the Uriyas, the Raja of Khurdah, was a descendant of the old
* This account is taken from Toynbee's Bisior?/ 9f Orissa,
D 2
106 THE ENGLISH RULE IN BENGAL. [cHAP. IX.
Hindu kings of the country. During the rule of the Afghans
und MughultJ, his ancestors had been the most powerful zamin-
(lars in Orissa, and "vvere regarded as semi-independent princes,
only feudally subject to the Muhammadau rulers. Though the
Mahrattas had taken away all that part of his territory which lay
in the plains and which therefore was accessible, he had still
maintained a sort of independence in his mountain strongholds .
As soon as the British had driven out the Mahrattas, the Raja of
Khurdah tendered his allegiance to the new conquerors ; but in
the following year, 1804, being displeased, because Colonel Har-
court did not give him back the lands formerly taken from him
by the Mahrattas, he foolishly ventured to rebel. He was
immediately defeated, captured, and confined as a prisoner in the
fort of Katak.
The great Lord Wellesley lefl Calcutta in August 1805, after
a glorious and successful administration. He had largely extended
the British dominions in India ; and though the Directors of the
East India Company did not approve of his policy, yet they
praised him for his " ardent zeal to promote the well-being of
India, and to uphold the interest and honour of the British
Empire." They granted him a sum of £20,000 ; and placed his
statue in the India house.
§5. Lord CoimwalUs, €L second lime Governor- GeneraL Sir
George Barlow ; and Lord Minto. — That party in England which
"was opposed to the bold policy of the great Marquis Wellesley,
succeeded in obteiing the appointment of Lord Cornwallis as his
successor ; and the latter arrived in Calcutta for the second time,
August 1, 1805. He came to India pledged to reverse the policy
of Lord Wellesley, and to bring about an immediate peace with
the Mahratta chiefs, Sindia, and Holkar at any cost. He con-
demned the treaty of Bassein ; and was proceeding to join Lord
Lake at the seat of war with the intention of insisting on a peace,
■when he died at Ghazipur.
The senior member of Council, Sir George Barlow, succeeded
to the Governor-Generalship, and was bent on carrying out the
peace policy of Lord Cornwallis. He was however soon super-
seded ) and Lord ^linto, who had been Viceroy of Corsica, and
CHAP. IX.] THE ENGLISH RULE IN BENGAL, 107
subsequently President of the Board of Control, was sent out to
India in bis place. Sir George Barlow was made Governor of
Madras.
The administration of Lord Minto was not marked by any
important events in Bengal ; though he soon found it impossible
to avoid all interference with Native States, and was indeed com-
pelled frequently to interfere in the affairs of the Mahrattas and
others. He returned to England in 1813. He was made Earl
of Minto ; but he died in the same year. His name has always
been respected as that of one of the ablest rulers of British
India.
In 1793, the East India Company's Charter had been renewed
for twenty years. The time had now come for the reconsidera-
tion of the subject. The result was the destruction of the Com-
pany's monopoly, for which the Court of Directors made a deter-
mined struggle. The trade to China was still to remain in their
hands, but the trade to India was thrown open.
§6. The Marquis of Hastings, 1813— 1823.— The Earl of
Moira (afterwards the Marquis of Hastings) was appointed to
succeed Lord Minto ; and arrived in Calcutta in October 1813.
He found the finances embarrassed, and many disputes with
Native States pending ; for nine years he ruled with resolution
aud success, and left the Empire in a flourishing condition. He
was a distinguished soldier, an experienced statesman, and a man
of amiable manners and noble character. During his reign of
nine years, Lord Hastings was chiefly engaged (1) in a war
against Nepal, (2) in settling the affairs of the Mahrattas, who
as well as the Pindaris* were at this time finally reduced to sub-
mission. A band of Pindaris threatened Orissa in 1816, but
were dispersed by some English troops from Madras.
Subsequently, in 1817, a formidable insurrection broke out in
Orissa, under a brave and clever Uriya named Jagahandhu, who
* The Pindaris were hordes of lawless predatory freebooters, that had
followed like jackals the armies of the early Mahratta Chieftains, by whom
assignments of land had been made to them on the banks of the Nar-
baddah.
108 THE ENGLISH RULE IN BENGAL. [cHAP. IX.
was the hereditary Bahshi {ov paymaster of the forces) under the
Haja of Khurdah [see last section]. This man had been treated
unjustly by the English officers after the conquest of Orissa in
1803 ; and now, instead of complaining of his grievances in the
English Courts in a lawful manner, he put himself at the head of a
disorderly band of paiks* and actually succeeded in capturinfl^
the town of Piiri; but the rebellion was soon suppressed, and its
leader driven into the jungles of Central India. Jagabandhu was
a man of gigantic size and strength ; and in a temple at Khurdah
there is still shown a large rock of 225 cubic feet in content,
which he partially raised from the ground on one occasion when
he was scratching his back against it. After this insurrection
had been put down, bands of paiks continued to infest the jungles
of Khurdati for some time, acting as dacoits, and often murdering
inoffensive subjects; at length, in 1818, they were regularly
hunted down by the British sepoys, and Orissa has ever since
enjoyed profound peace.
The arms of Lord Hastings were successful in all parts of India
and a great portion of this vast country was brought under the
British power ; at the same time this truly great Governor used
his utmost exertions to promote the cause of civilisation and
education amongst the people committed to his charge. Under
his encouragement, a great College was founded in Calcutta and
called the Hindu College; and this was the origin of the Presi-
dency College. Lord Hastings also warmly encouraged the
cultivation and diffusion of vernacular literature ; and the first
Bengali newspaper appeared during his reign, and was allowed
by him to be circulated through the post at a very cheap rate.
* The Paiks or zamindari militia of Orissa {Sipdhi Zaviinddri) were
soldiers who performed military service to their chiefs in return for assign-
ments of land (see the note on Jdgirs at page 43). The war dress of the
Paiks consisted of a cap and vest made of the skin of the tiger or leopard, a
sort of chain-armour for the body and thigh, and a girdle formed of
the tail of some wild animal. They further heightened the ferocity of their
appearance by staining their limbs with yellow clay and their countenance
with vermilion. These men had often fought bravely for their chiefs both
against the Miigluils and against the Mahrattas.
CHAP. IX.] THE ENGLISH RULE IN BENGAL. 109
The Marquis of Hastings returned to England in 1823, accom-
panied by the applause of all.
§ 7. Lord Amhe7^st, 1823 — 1828. — Lord Amherst was appointed
to succeed the Marquis of Hastings ; Mr. Canning having been
offered and having declined the nomination. Mr. Adam acted as
Governor-General until the arrival of Lord Amherst in August
1823, and made himself very unpopular by imposing some severe
restrictions on the press.
The arrogance of the Burmese, whose territories had lately
been extended through Arakan and Assam to the frontiers of
Bengal, had long threatened to bring them into collision with the
English, In 1818, the King of Ava made an impudent demand
for the cession of some of the eastern districts of Bengal, as part
of the ancient kingdom of Arakan ; which demand was, of course,
treated with contempt. In 1823, the Island of Shahpuri was
occupied by thirteen sepoys, for the protection of British subjects.
A body of a thousand Burmese expelled them. Kachar was next
attacked, and British troops were sent to aid the fugitive Raja.
It was now determined to invade Burmah, and bring the King of
Ava to his senses.
Sir Archibald Campbell commanded the expedition, which
comprised both Bengal and Madras troops ; and sailed to the
mouth of the Rangoon river in May 1824. Great difficulties
were experienced on account of the heavy rains, and the defective
commissariat arrangements. Many successes, however, were
obtained, and many battles gained ; the most noted Burmese general
named Maha Bandula being killed at the capture of Donabu early
in 1825. Town after town was taken; and at the battle of
Pagahn in the following year (1826), two thousand British troops
routed a Burmese army of 18,000. After this the English prisoners ^
were released ; and the negotiations for peace, which had been
twice broken off' by the obstinacy of the King of Ava, were
renewed.
At length when the English army had reached Yendabu, only
four miles from the capital, a treaty was signed ; by which the
King of Ava agreed to resign all claims to Assam, Kachai-, and
Juintia, to cede Arakan and several other rich provinces, and to
110 THE ENGLISH RULE IN BENGAL. [cHAP. IX.
pay a crore of rupees as a partial indemnification for the cost of
tlie war.
A mutiny occurred among tbe sepoys at Barrackpur, in con-
nexion with this war. The 47th regiment of native infantry,
feeling aggrieved at some trifling hardships to which they were
temporarily subjected, broke out into open mutiny. Sir K. Pa<jet,
the Commander-in-Chief, hastened to the spot, surrounded the
mutineers, and on their obstinately refusing to submit, caused a
battery of artillery to fire upon tliem. They fled at once * and
some who were taken prisoners were executed. The number of
the regiment was erased from the list of the army.
After the annexation of Assam and Kachar by the treaty of
1826, the British ofiicer who had formerly been called the Com-
missioner of the north-east Frontier, was made Commissioner of
Assam, and put under the Government of Bengal. But it was
only by degrees that a regular administration was established
there. Upper Assam was granted in 1833 to Raja Purandhar
Singh as a tributary, and similar engagements were entered into
•\vith the chiefs of several tribes; but gradually the whole of the
country was regularly settled under a British administration ; and
in 1837 a Code of rules for the administration of Assam was put
forth by the Sadar Court with the sanction of Government.
In 1826, the fortress of Bhartpur was stormed by the English
army under Lord Combermere, who was Comma!)der-in-chief
under Lord Amherst. The only importance attached to this
conquest was owing to the fiict that many of the enemies
of the English rule in India had believed, or pretended to believe,
tliat Bhartpur was such a strong fortress that even the English
could not tuke it.
In 1827, Lord Amherst went to Dehli, and solemnly informed
the King of Dehli (the representative of tlte old Mughul
Emperors, who at this time was in receipt of a pension from the
British Government) that the English were now the paramount
Power in India. Up to the period of this declaration, the
representative of the Mughul Emperors had been regarded as
nominally the Lord Paramount of India, though his power had
long before really passed into the hands of the British.
CHAP. IX.] THE ENGLISH RULE IN BENGAL. Ill
Lord Amherst, one of the least eminent of Jhe rulers of British
India, retired in March 18*28 ; and Mr. Biitterworth Bayley, one
of the distinguished school of statesmen trained under the
Marquis Wellesley, acted as Governor- General unti the arrival
of his successor.
§ 8. Lord William Cavendish Bentinck, 1828 — 1835. — Lord
William Bentinck had formerly been Grovernor of Madras; and
he had been recalled in 1807. He was consequently anxious to
have a chance of retrieving his reputation, by becoming Governor-
General of India; and he fully attained the object of his wishes,
for his administration marks an era of peaceful improvement and
progress in India. It commenced in July 1828, and lasted until
March 1835; and though not remarkable for any great military
exploits, was distinguished by a large number of reforms, econo-
mical, judicial, and social, of the greatest value and importance.
Many important economical reforms were carried out by Lord
William Bentinck in the civil and military administrations. Of
these the one that provoked most opposition was the abolition of
double hatta. Double batta is an allowance given to the army
when on service, in addition to their ordinary pay. The judicial
reforms carried out at this time were of considerable importance ;
especially with reference to the extended employment of native
judicial officers in responsible posts.
But the reform for which Lord William Bentinck is most
famous, was the abolitition of sati or suttee. This horrible custom
(the self-immolation of widows on the funeral pile of their
deceased husbands) had long been practised in India, though by
many scholars it was believed not to be authorised by the Sastras.
The Governor-General, aided by Mr. Butterworth Bayley and
Sir Charles Metcalfe, his two councillors, at this time (December
1829) enacted that any person aiding or abetting a sati should be
visited with the terrors of the law. The barbarous superstition
is now nearly obsolete in India.
In 1829, the Governor- General appointed Major Sleeman
(afterwards Sir William Sleeman) as Commissioner fur the sup-
pression of thuggee. The thugs were bands of wretches, half-
robbers and half- fanatics, who were in the hubit of decoying away
112 THE ENGLISH RULE IN BENGAL. [cHAP. IX.
and murdering unprotected travellers, especially in the forests of
Central India. This occupation was at once their relitjion and
their mode of subsistence. The active efforts of Major Sleenian
and his coadjutors fortunately resulted in the almost total sup-
pression of the crime.
Thomas Babington Macaulay (afterwards the famous Lord
Macaulay) was the law member of Council in Calcutta from
1835 to 1840. It was chiefly owing to his influence, that at this
time the oriental system of education was displaced by the Euro-
pean system in Government educational institutions. The exclu-
sive use and study of the English language was somewhat modified
at a later time, under Lord Auckland. It was seen that tlie great
impulse to native education must be given through the medium
of English, as the key to all modern science. It is for native
scholars who have received a high English education to revive and
enrich their own vernacular literature ; nnd thereby to render
possible a wholesome system of education for the mnsses of India,
who can only be reached through the vernacular languages.
About this time was established steam communication between
India and England, by the overland route through Egypt and
the Red Sea. Rammohan Rai, a distinguished Bengali scholar
and reformer, visited England as an agent of the titular King
of Dehli; and died at Bristol in 1833.
At the renewal of the Company's Charter in 1834, its com-
mercial character was altogether taken away, the monopoly
of the trade with China being now abrogated. The Company
thenceforward existed only as a ruling body. At the same time
Agra was made the capital of a fourth Presidency, and Sir
Charles Metcalfe appointed the first Governor; but in 1835, this
was again changed, and the North- Western Provinces have
remained ever since under a Lieutenant-Governor. The Governor-
General in Council became Governor-General of India ; but as
Governor-General of Bengal, ruled this province without a
council.
Lord William Bentinck left India in May 1835; and Sir Charle
Metcalfe took his place as acting Governor-General, until the
arrival of a successor in March 1836. Under Metcalfe, who was
CHAP. IX.] THE ENGLISH RULE IN BENGAL. 113
supported by the advice of Macaulay, all vexatious restrictions
on the free action of the press were removed.
§ 9. Lord Auckland, 1836— 1842.— Lord Auckland, who was
appointed to succeed as tenth Governor- General of India, arrived
in Calcutta in March 1836, and ruled until March 1842. His
administration is chiefly famous for the melancholy disasters of
the Afghan war; in which a large number of British soldiers
perished, and which spread a gloom over British India, until the
brilliant successes of General Pollock and the conquest of Kabul
under the next Governor-General (Lord EUenborough) restored
the glory of the British arms. During this reign, the excellent
measures of Lord Hastings and Lord William Bentinck were
gradually bearing fruit in Bengal; and though no public events
of o-reat importance occurred in this province, its peaceful progress
was most remarkable, and a large number of able and patriotic
Native gentlemen were receiving the benefits of an education
which they have since used in the good work of educating and
civilising their countrymen.
In 1838, the sanitarium of Darjiling was ceded by the Kaja
of Sikkim.
[Note. — Some more territory was taken from the Raja of Sikkim in 1850,
as a punishment for imprisoning a British Officer. Subsequentlj'- in 1865
a war was undertaken against the inhabitants of Bhutan, to punish them
for some misconduct; a considerable tract of territory, called the Bhutan
Dwars, was taken from them, and annexed to the British district of
Darjiling.]
Lord Auckland retired in March 1842. The disasters of the
Afghan war, authorised by him, have clouded a reputation which
would otherwise have been an honourable one. His abilities
were great ; and before the commencement of the war his goo d
management had placed the finances of the country in a most
flourishing condition.
§ 10. Lord EUenborough, 1842— 1844.— Lord EUenborough,
who had been President of the Board of Control ^see § 1], was
appointed to succeed Lord Auckland ; and arrived in Calcutta
in February 1842. His general administration of the govern-
ment of India is chiefly famous for (1) the avenging expedition
114 THE ENGLISH RULE IN BENGAL. [cHAP. IX,
into Af«;hanlstan under General Pollock, which conquered
Kabul and punished its inhabitants for their former resistance,
juid then evacuated the country; (2) the conquest of Sindh;
and (3) a short war with Gwaliar, which effectually put a stop to
the turbulence of that State, Lord Ellenborough had many
quarrels with the Directors of the East India Company; and at
lenjith he was suddenly recalled by them in August 1844.
§ IK Lord Hurdinrre, 1844 — 1847. — Sir Henry Hardinge,
afterwards Viscount Hardinge, was appointed to succeed Lord
Ellenborough. He arrived in Calcutta in 1844, and left it in 1847.
He had served with distinction under the Duke of Wellington
in the Peninsular war and at the battle of Waterloo, where he
lost an arm. The chief events of his administration are connected
with the First Sikh War ; but we shall here have to notice some
important social reforms carried out by him, particularly the
suppression of infanticide and of human sacrifices amongst some
aboriginal tribes.
After all the great and bloody wars, in which the armies of
Sindh, of Gwaliar, and of the Sikhs hud been successively anni-
hilated, India enjoyed peace for nearly two years ; and Lord
Hardinge was able to apply himself to those humane efforts for
the suppression of cruel customs, with which his name is honour-
ably connected. The horrible crimes of thuggee, infanticide, sati^
and human sacrifices were still prevalent in many parts of India.
Of the last the most important were the Meriah sacrifices in
Gumsar, amongst the Khands and other aboriginal tribes of
Orissa, Gondwana, and the hills and forests of Central India.
These were now suppressed, chiefly by the efforts of Captain
Macpherson and Colonel Campbell.
Free trade was at this time promoted by the abolition of octroi
duties, that is, of taxes paid for importing food and other mer-
chandise into some of the large towns of India.
Lord Hardinge left Calcutta early in 1848. During his short
administration he had gained the affections of all classes ; and
his name will always be remembered with respect as that of a
skilful and gallant soldier, and a no less able and beneficent
poiiiician.
CHAP. IX.] THE ENGLISH RULE IX BENGAL. 115
§ 12. The Earl of Dalhousie, 1848— 1856.— The Earl af
Dalhoiisie was appointed to succeed Lord Hurdinge as tliirteentli
Governor-General. He arrived in Calcutta early in 1848, and
left it in 1856. The most important events of his administration
were connected with (1) the Second Sikh War ; (2) the Second
Burmah War ; (3) the annexation of Oudh ; (4) the reversion
of the States of Tanjor and l^agpiir to the British ; (5) consi-
derable improvements in the material prosperity, especially aided
by the introduction of railways and telegraphs.
When Lord Dalhousie was appointed, it was with the hope
that he would be able to secure peace for India after the late
terrible wars. But the turbulence of the Sikhs soon rendered
the maintenance of peace impossible. When the news of the
outbreak in the Panjab arrived in Calcutta, and Lord Dalhousie
had determined that there must be another Sikh war, he made
the following famous speech : — " I have wished for peace ; I have
longed for it ; I have striven for it. But if the enemies of India
desire war, war they shall have; and on my word, they shall
have it with a vengeance."
The result of the war thus begun was the annexation of the
fine country of the Sikhs called the Panjab ; and this acquisition
of territory was followed, during the reign of Lord Dalhousie,
by the addition of Pegu in Burmah, of Oudh, of Nagpur, and of
Tanjor, to the British Empire in India.
And now we come to the time when Bengal was given a
Government of its own, separate from the general Government
of India, though of course subordinate to that Government.
The English Parliament was occupied during several months
of 1853 in the consideration of the renewal of the East India
Company's Charter; and amongst many other important changes
made at this time, it was ordered that Bengal should be put
under a Lieutenant-Governor. Mr. Halliday, an eminent Bengal
civilian, now Sir Frederick Halliday, being the first Lieutenant-
Governor. The jurisdiction of the new Lieutenant-Governor
was declared to be co-extensive with that of the former Govern-
ment of Bengal, with the exception of the Burmese provinces
which were retained under the direct authority of the Govern-
116 THE ENGLISH RULE IN BENGAL. [cHAP. IX,
nient of India. At the same time the Civil Service of India
was thrown open to public competition ; and the old Company'^s
8adar Courts were combined with Her Majesty's Supreme Courts
at the Presidency towns, and named *' High Courts" [see note,
page 96].
Before leaving the account of Lord Dalhousie's administration,
we should observe that it was marked by a wonderful degree of
material, social, and political progress. The first Indian railway
was opened in 1853; and railways and telegraphs began rapidly
to spread over the whole country. Vast schemes of education
were set on foot ; Universities were ordered to be founded, and
the Presidency College in Calcutta was established in 1855.
Gigantic schemes of public works were planned, and large
sums of money borrowed for them ; and the crime of extracting
evidence by torture was stringently put down. Lord Dalhousie
left Calcutta on the 6th of March 1856. His administration had
been a singularly vigorous and brilliant one, and had lasted eight
years. His health was utterly broken down by his labours and
anxieties; but his fame will always endure as one of the greatest
of the Governors-General of British India.
§ 13. Conclusion. — With the establishment of the Lieutenant-
Governorship of Bengal under Sir Frederick Halliday in 1854,
we shall close this brief survey of Bengal history; for the events
of svibpcquent years are too recent to be fitly recorded in a book
of this nature. We may however simply mention a serious insur-
rection of the Santals, which was put down in 1855, and which
led to some salutary measures for ameliorating the condition of
the poor and rude aboriginal tribes of Bengal ; and to the war
with Bhutan in 1865, which led [see note, page 113] to the annex-
ation of a portion of the Darjiling district.
Sir John Peter Grant succeeded Sir Frederick Halliday in
1858; and he was followed by Sir Cecil Beadon. Sir William
Grey succeeded on the retirement of Sir Cecil Beadon; Sir
George Campbell succeeded Sir William Grey. Early in the
year 1874, the present Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal, the
Hon'ble Sir Richard Temple, k.c.s.i., entered on his high and
important ollice.
CHAP. IX.] THE ENGLISH RULE IN BENGAL. 117
Under the six great Statesmen whose names have been here
thus briefly given, Bengal has vastly improved in every possible
way. Education has been largely extended and greatly improved ;
in a primary form it has been extended to vast masses of the
poorer classes ; whilst in its highest form it has been so much
improved, that some of our Bengali gentlemen are amongst the
most learned men in the world, and many of them are authors
and scholars of no mean repute. Bengali literature is rapidly
increasing and improving; and the vernacular press has expanded
in the most wonderful way.
The cultivation of Science, though not hitherto so successful as
that of Literature, has also made great strides of late years.
The Medical College of Calcutta, founded by Lord William
Bentinck, is now the largest Medical School in the world; and
the benefits of a scientific and humane system of medicine and
surgery are thus rapidly being diffused amongst the millions of
Bengal. Railways, telegraph lines, and finely-made roads and
tanks, are covering the whole country; and large numbers of
native Engineers, and other scientific men, are every year sent
out from the Government schools, and are able to use their
knowledge in the patriotic task of developing the resources of
their country.
Whilst Literature and Science have thus flourished, the wealth
of the country has increased at an equal rate. Commerce hns
been fostered in every conceivable way ; and new and scientific
methods of agriculture, and of manufacturing jute, cotton, and
the other products of the soil, have been introduced, and promise
to make Bengal one of the richest countries in the world. Evei-y
endeavour has been used by the benevolent Government to make
the life and property of all subjects perfectly secure ; and most
valuable reforms in the judicial system have from time to time
been effected, with the view of giving cheap and speedy justice
to all. In every way the rulers of Bengal have tried, and
successfully tried, to prove to the world that the great object
of the Government is the happiness of the people. That the
people of this country may be happy and prosperous, has been
often declared, and is well known, to be the ardent wish of Her
p3
118 THE ENGLISH RULE IN BENGAL. [cHAP. IX,
Gracious Majesty Queen Victoria, who is Empress of India as
well as Queen of England ; and tbe same kind feelings inspire
His Excellency tbe Viceroy of India, and His Honour the
Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal, who are tlie rulers more imme-
diately set over us, by tbe Divine Providence, in this land. We
cannot conclude this little book better than with the expression
of a hope, that the same Divine Providence that has given us a
good and benevolent Government, may at all times guide our
llulers to such measures as may best conduce to the true welfare
of the country.
CALCUTTA: rKINTJSD BY THACKEB, SriNK AND CO.
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