Bengal And Awadh In The 18th Century

 

•    Taking advantage of the central authority's growing weakness, two exceptional men, Murshid Qui Khan and Alivardi Khan, virtually independent Bengal. 

 

•    Despite the fact that Murshid Quli Khan was only appointed as Bengal's Governor in 1717, he had been the state's effective ruler since 1700, when he was appointed as its Dewan. He was soon free of central control, though he continued to pay tribute to the Emperor on a regular basis. 

 

•    He brought peace to Bengal by freeing it from both internal and external threats. Bengal was also relatively free of zamindar uprisings. Sitaram Ray, Udai Narayan, and Ghulam Muhammad led the first three major uprisings against him, followed by Shujat Khan, and finally Najat Khan. Murshid Quli Khan defeated them and gave their zamindaris to his favourite, Ramjivan. 

 

•    Murshid Quli Khan died in 1727, and Shuja-ud-din, his son-in-law, ruled Bengal until 1739. Alivardi Khan deposed and killed Shuja-ud-son, din's Sarfaraz Khan, and proclaimed himself Nawab in that year.

 

•    These three Nawabs provided Bengal with a long period of peace and order, as well as encouraging trade and industry. By transferring large portions of jagir lands into khalisah lands, carrying out a new revenue settlement, and introducing the revenue-farming system, Murshid Quli Khan effected economies in the administration and reorganised the finances of Bengal.

 

•    He enlisted the help of local zamindars and merchant bankers to recruit revenue farmers and officials. He also gave poor cultivators agricultural loans (taccavi) to alleviate their distress and enable them to pay land revenue on time. As a result, he was able to increase the Bengal government's resources. However, the revenue-farming system put more economic pressure on zamindars and peasants.

 

•    He also collected revenue from the zamindars and peasants with utmost cruelty, despite the fact that he only demanded standard revenue and prohibited illegal cesses.

 

•    Many of the older zamindars were driven out as a result of his reforms, and their places were taken by upstart revenue-farmers. 

 

•    Murshid Quli Khan and the subsequent Nawabs provided equal employment opportunities to Hindus and Muslims. Bengalis, mostly Hindus, were appointed to the highest civil and military positions. 

 

•    Murshid Quli Khan preferred local zamindars and mahajans (moneylenders), who were mostly Hindus, when selecting revenue farmers. As a result, he laid the groundwork for a new Bengali landed aristocracy.

 

•    All three Nawabs recognised that increased trade benefits both the people and the government, so they encouraged all merchants, both Indian and foreign. They established regular thanas and chowkies to keep thieves and robbers out of the roads and rivers. 

 

•    Officials' private trade was monitored. They kept the customs administration from abusing its power. Simultaneously, they made it a point to keep a tight grip on foreign trading companies and their employees, preventing them from abusing their privileges.

 

•    They required the servants of the English East India Company to follow the laws of the land and pay the same customs duties as other merchants. The English and the French were not allowed to fortify their factories in Calcutta and Chandernagore by Alivardi Khan. The Bengal Nawabs, on the other hand, proved to be shortsighted and negligent in one regard.

 

•    They didn't do enough to stop the English East India Company from using military force, or threatening to use it, to get its demands met after 1707. Despite the fact that they had the power to deal with the Company's threats, they continued to believe that a simple trading company could not threaten their dominance.

 

•    They failed to recognise that the English Company was more than just a trading company; it was also a symbol of the most aggressive and expansionist colonialism of the time. 

 

•    The state would pay a high price for their ignorance of and lack of contact with the rest of the world. They would have known about the devastation caused by Western trading companies in Africa, Southeast Asia, and Latin America if they had known about it.

 

•    The Bengali Nawabs failed to build a strong army and paid a high price as a result. Murshid Quli Khan's army, for example, had only 2000 cavalry and 4000 infantry. The repeated invasions of the Marathas bothered Alivardi Khan, and he eventually had to cede a large portion of Orissa to them.

 

•    When the English East India Company declared war on Siraj-ud-Daulah, Alivardi's successor, in 1756-1767, the foreigner's victory was aided by the lack of a strong army.

 

•    The Bengal Nawabs also failed to keep an eye on the rising levels of corruption among their officials. Even judicial officials such as qazis and muftis were prone to accepting bribes. Foreign firms took full advantage of this flaw to undermine official rules, regulations, and policies.

 

•    Saadat Khan Burhan-ul-Mulk, who was appointed Governor of Awadh in 1722, founded the autonomous kingdom of Awadh. He was a fearless, energetic, strong-willed, and intelligent individual. Many rebellious zamindars had raised their heads all over the province at the time of his appointment.

 

•    They defied the Imperial Government by refusing to pay the land tax, forming their own private armies, erecting fortifications, and refusing to pay the land tax.

 

•    Saadat Khan had to fight them for many years. He was successful in suppressing lawlessness and disciplining the big zamindars, thereby increasing his government's financial resources.

 

•    Through various concessions, he won over the chieftains and zamindars. Furthermore, the majority of the defeated zamindars were not displaced. They were usually confirmed in their estates after they had submitted their dues (land revenue) and agreed to pay them on a regular basis.

 

•    In 1723, Saadat Khan completed a new revenue settlement. He is said to have improved the peasant's lot by levying a fair land tax and protecting him from the big zamindars' oppression. He, too, did not discriminate between Hindus and Muslims, as did the Bengal Nawabs.

 

•    Many of his commanders and high officials were Hindus, and he dealt harshly with rebellious zamindars, chiefs, and nobles regardless of religion. He had well-paid, well-armed, and well-trained troops. His management was effective.

 

•    He, too, kept the jagir system going. He had virtually gained independence and made the province a hereditary possession before his death in 1739. In 1748, he was succeeded by his nephew Safdar Jang, who was also named Wazir of the Empire and given the province of Allahabad. Before his death in 1754, Safdar Jang provided a long period of peace to the people of Awadh and Allahabad.

 

•    He put down rebellious zamindars, wooed others, and formed an alliance with the Maratha sardars to protect his domain from their incursions. He was able to sway Rajput chieftains and shaifyizadas to his side.

 

•    He continued to battle the Rohelas and the Bangash Pathans. In his war against the Bangash Pathans in 1750-51, he paid a daily allowance of Rs 25,000 to Maratha soldiers and a daily allowance of Rs 15,000 to Jat soldiers.

 

•    Later, he made an agreement with the Peshwa, in which the Peshwa agreed to aid the Mughal emperor in his fight against Ahmad Shah Abdali and to protect the emperor from internal rebels such as the Indian Pathans and Rajput rajas.

 

•    In exchange, the Peshwa would be paid Rs 50 lakhs, given the chauth of Punjab, Sindh, and several northern Indian districts, and appointed Governor of Ajmer and Agra. However, the agreement fell through when the Peshwa sided with Safdar Jang's enemies in Delhi, who promised him the governorships of Awadh and Allahabad.

 

•    Safdar Jang also established a just and equitable justice system. He, too, followed an impartial hiring policy when it came to Hindus and Muslims. Maharaja Nawab Rai, a Hindu, held the highest position in his government. The nobles' long period of peace and economic prosperity under the Nawabs' rule resulted in the development of a distinct Lucknow culture centred on the Awadh court over time.

 

•    Lucknow, long an important city in Awadh and, after 1775, the seat of the Awadh Nawabs, quickly caught up to Delhi in terms of patronage of the arts and literature. It also grew into a significant centre for handicrafts. Under the patronage of local chieftains and zamindars, crafts and culture spread to towns.

 

•    Safdar Jang upheld a high moral code in his personal life. He dedicated his entire life to his one and only wife. In fact, Nizam-ul-Mulk, Murshid Quli Khan, and Alivardi Khan, as well as Saadat Khan and Safdar Jang, the founders of the three autonomous kingdoms of Hyderabad, Bengal, and Awadh, were all men of high personal morality. Almost all of them lived simple and austere lives.

 

•    Their lives debunk the myth that all of the eighteenth century's leading nobles lived extravagant and luxurious lives. They only used deception, intrigue, and treachery in their public and political dealings.