Nawab of Bengal

“ About the beginning of the eighteenth century, a Nawab of Bengal, Behar, and Orissa, territories considerably larger than the United Kingdom, had removed his capital from Dacca to Murshedabad, about a hundred miles due north of Calcutta. Here he founded a dynasty, which reigned in peace for some forty years. About 1742 a usurper seized the throne of Murshedabad, and reigned as Nawab. He died of extreme old age in April, 1756, and was succeeded by a grandson, a young man timid and suspicious, surrounded by foes eager to take his life and throne. ”

“ The English had on their side in the Durbar the terror
of their arms, the faults of Siraj-ud-daula, the ruling influence
and the refined policy of the Seths, who, to conceal their game
more completely, and knowing that it pleased the Nawab,
often spoke all the ill they could think of about the English,
so as to excite him against them and at the same time gain
his confidence. The Nawab fell readily into the snare, and
said everything that came into his mind, thus enabling his
enemies to guard against all the evil which otherwise he
might have managed to do them. ”

“ I had an idea that he might write to me in a quite
different style, unknown to the English. I knew the new
Nawab, whom I met at the time I was soliciting reinforcements
to raise the siege of Chandernagore. He had not then
taken up the idea of making himself Nawab. He appeared
to me a very intelligent man, and much inclined to do us
service, pitying us greatly for having to work with a man so
cowardly and undecided as Siraj-ud-daula. ”

“ Nawab's officers! At last, giving way to my entreaties,
and on my assuring them that I have no fears, I persuade
them to be quiet and to let me go.
"I presented myself before the Nawab, who returned my
salute in a kindly manner. As soon as I was seated, he told
me, in a shamefaced way, that I must either accept Mr.
Watts's proposals, or must certainly leave his territories.
Your nation is the cause, he said, of all the importunities I
now suffer from the English. I do not wish to put the whole country
in trouble for your sake. You are not strong enough to defend
yourselves ”

“ Though Clive had to retire when the whole army was roused, the slaughter amongst the enemy had been immense; and though he mockingly informed the Nawab that he had been careful to "injure none but those who got in his way," the Nawab himself narrowly escaped capture. The action, however, was in no sense decisive. Most of the Nawab's military leaders were eager to avenge their disgrace, but some of the chief nobles, notably his Hindu advisers, exaggerated the loss already incurred and the future danger, and advised him to make peace. ”

“ Like Nawab Abdul Latif and a select little company of Muhammadan leaders, he was quick to see that the old conservative feeling of exclusiveness in social relations and education could only be persisted in at the expense of the general prosperity and well being of the Muhammadan community. He was never tired of expounding the advantages of British rule in India, and with the object of bringing them home to the people he wrote in Persian a work known as the Amir Nawab on the history of the British administration in India, which met with considerable success. ”

“ At a time when all was change and uncertainty, when the people of Bengal after long years of oppression and unrest had at length time and opportunity for social, moral and educational advancement, the strong and courageous figure of the Nawab Bahadur was a tower of strength to his co-religionists. ”

“ Yet Law thinks it was only the European war and the fear that Renault intended an alliance with the Nawab that induced the English to proceed to extremities:—
"The dethronement of the Nawab had become an absolute
necessity. To drive us out of Bengal was only a preliminary
piece of work. A squadron of ours with considerable forces
might arrive. Siraj-ud-daula might join his forces to it.
What, then, would become of the English? They needed
for Nawab a man attached to their interests. Besides, this
revolution was not so difficult to carry out as one might
imagine. ”

“ The town is still the residence of the nawab, who ranks as the first nobleman of the province with the style of nawab bahadur of Murshidabad, instead of nawab nazim of Bengal. His palace, dating from 1837, is a magnificent building in Italian style. The city is crowded with other palaces, mosques, tombs, and gardens, and retains such industries as carving in ivory, gold and silver embroidery, and silk-weaving. A college is maintained for the education of the nawab's family. ”

“ Thus, busy with the management of his estate and the control of his family affairs, the Nawab Bahadur lived his quiet uneventful life at Murshidabad until his death in 1906. The relatives of the Nawab were numerous and it required much tact to decide petty disputes and generally prevent friction among them. So numerous were they that the Nizamat College was built exclusively for their education at a cost of Rs. 1,20,000. The Palace in which the Nawab Bahadur resided is a splendid building, and one of the largest in Bengal being 425 ft. ”

“ They wished to impress the Nawab, and so they sent a small force to Hugli, which lies above Chandernagore and Chinsurah, stormed the Muhammadan fort, burnt the town, and destroyed the magazines, which would have supplied the Nawab's army in an attack on Calcutta. The inhabitants of the country had never known anything so terrible as the big guns of the ships, and the Nawab actually believed the men-of-war could ascend the river and bombard him in his palace at Murshidabad. Calling on the French and Dutch for aid, which they refused, he determined to try his fortune a second time at Calcutta. ”

“ As the head of the Muhammadan community in Bengal the Nawab Bahadur held a position of great respect and his influence was widespread. Apart, however, from his social position he was universally respected for his own personal qualities, for his liberality, his ready sympathy and his unswerving loyalty. In the management of his estates he took a keen personal interest and in times of suffering and distress he was always anxious to go personally to enquire and to render help. ”

“ This incident warned the Seths to be more cautious, but still the plot against the Nawab was well known in the country. Renault, who had been at this time a prisoner in Calcutta, says:—
"Never was a conspiracy conducted as publicly and with
such indiscretion as this was, both by the Moors and the
English. Nothing else was talked about in all the English
settlements, and whilst every place echoed with the noise of
it, the Nawab, who had a number of spies, was ignorant of
everything. Nothing can prove more clearly the general
hatred which was felt towards him." ”

“ As he grew towards manhood the question of sending him to England to complete his education was long and seriously discussed. The voyage to Europe was not then the common occurrence among Indian Princes that it has since become, and the Nawab Nazim exhibited a natural reluctance to part for so long a period from his eldest son. ”

“ The affairs of his father, the Nawab Nazim, had not meanwhile been proceeding satisfactorily, and in 1869 he resolved to go to England to lay his case in person before the Secretary of State. He took with him his eldest son and continued to reside there for twelve years only returning to India in 1881. The young Nawabzada by his two visits to England enjoyed a far more liberal education than that which fell to the lot of most young Indian noblemen of his day. ”

“ Their military force, for attack, was next to nothing: all they could offer was wise counsel and brave leaders. They were loth to offer these to a man like the Nawab against Europeans, and he and his Court were as loth to accept them. Unluckily for the French, deserters from Chandernagore had served the Nawab's artillery when he took Calcutta, and it was even asserted that the French had supplied the Nawab with gunpowder; and so when the English heard of these new negotiations, they considered the proposals for a neutrality to be a mere blind ”

“ The English now tried to win over the French soldiers, and had some success, for many of them were deserters from the British forces, and they quickly saw how precarious was the shelter which Law could afford them; but the Nawab could not be persuaded to force Law to surrender, and, though he agreed to leave the country, Law declared he would not do even that unless he received passports and money. On the 8th of April he received passports, and was promised that if he would go to Phulbari, near Patna, he should there receive all he wanted. ”

“ Pratap was much gratified at this. He thought within himself, "Will not the Nawab be able to drive the devils out of Bengal? Would not Foster be seized? It is the duty of every man to help the Nawab in this matter, to the extent of his capacity. Even the squirrels [1] could bridge up the sea, can I not render any assistance? What can I do? I have no trained soldiers—I have only Lathials and gangs of plunderers at my beck and call; can they be of any service? The work of pillage, if not anything else, can be carried on with them. ”

“ Nawab in name. No one would believe me. In fact, how
could one persuade people who had never seen a race of
men different from their own, that a body of two or three
thousand Europeans at the most was able to dictate the law
in a country as large as Bengal?"
Law could do nothing at Delhi, and it was only by bribing the Maratha general that he obtained an escort through the Jat country to Agra. Most of his soldiers were glad to be off, but about 60 Europeans deserted with their arms to Delhi, where the Vizir offered them pay as high as 50 rupees a month. ”

“ Kulsam then said,
"It is good that you all have come here—I will now unfold to you a thrilling story. The Nawab will immediately order my death—no body will come to know of the story, if I do not relate it to you before my death; so, you all listen to me. There is a foolish ruler of Bengal and Behar, named Mir Kashim. He had a Begum whose name was Dalani—she was the sister of the Nawab's commander-in-chief, Gurgan Khan." ”

“ For many years before his death he had given over the management of his estates to his eldest son, known later as the Nawab Sir Khawja Ahsanulla whom he had carefully trained as his successor and who so worthily followed in his father's footsteps. In 1896 Nawab Abdul Ghani died, full of years and honour, loved and respected by all who knew him. Throughout his long life he had been consistently loyal both to the British Government and to the interests of his own community. A keen businessman, he never aggrandised himself at the expense of others. ”

“ Owing to the general disgust felt at Murshidabad for the Nawab, his cousin, Saukat Jang, Nawab of Purneah, thought the opportunity favourable for reviving his claims, and, early in October, Siraj-ud-daula, hearing of his contemplated rebellion, invaded his country.
"Every one longed for a change, and many flattered
themselves it would take place. ”

“ Close to the brink of the river, however, there are some tolerable houses, mosques and temples, but these, too, are inferior to those of other cities.
The most conspicuous and handsome building in the city, is the palace of the Nawab. It is quite a magnificent place, and is called "Eina Mahal." It was planned and built under the superintendence of Lieutenant-General Duncan M'Leod, of the Bengal Engineers. It is a most chaste and elegant structure, built in the European style, of pure white marble of dazzling [Pg 432] brightness. It almost rivals the Government House, at Calcutta. ”

“ He was a man of good reputation, and a brave and skilful soldier. It was such a person as this that the Nawab, after a long course of petty insults, saw fit to abuse in the vilest terms in full Durbar and to dismiss summarily from his post. He now listened to the proposals of the Seths, and towards the end of April terms were settled between him and the English. [101] The actual conclusion of the Treaty took place early in June, and on the 13th of that month Mr. Watts and the other English gentlemen at Cossimbazar escaped under the pretence of a hunting expedition and joined Clive in safety. ”

“ With one or two exceptions there was not a man of note upon whom he could rely, and he had not the wit to distinguish the faithful from the unfaithful. Accordingly he granted the English everything they asked for—the full restoration of all their privileges, and restitution of all they had lost in the sack of Calcutta. As the English valued their losses at several hundreds of thousands, and the Nawab had found only some £5000 in the treasury of Fort William, it is clear that the wealth of Calcutta was either sunk in the Ganges or had fallen as booty into the hands of the Moorish soldiers. ”

“ Once more the heartiest congratulations came from all sides and the Hindu and Muhammadan residents of Patna again presented him with an address expressive of the affection and esteem in which he was universally held.
The Nawab Bahadur lived only three years to enjoy his latest honour. He had lived a long and strenuous life, using his energies both physical and mental to the full in the casue of progress, never sparing himself in his devotion to his Queen and country. ”

“ Nawajis Muhammad Khan [71] had
been at least as vicious as Siraj-ud-daula, and yet he had
become the idol of the people."
Law, therefore, had cultivated the young Nawab. Mr. Watts, on the other hand, was not only foolish enough to neglect him, but carried his folly to extremes. He was not in a position to prevent his accession, and ought therefore to have been careful by the correctness of his behaviour to show no signs of being opposed to it. ”