The British conquest of India

The province of Bengal was the most fertile and suitable for trade and commerce. The British saw its importance and established a factory in Calcutta. The Farman issued by the Mughal emperor allowed free trade in Bengal but the Farman didn’t apply to private trade by Company officials. The Nawabs of Bengal had forced the British to pay heavy taxes due to wrong interpretation of the Farman. Yet the Company officials continued to break rules whenever given a chance. Nawab of Bengal was now Siraj-ud-daulah, he learnt of fortification by British and French. He ordered them to cease from this but the British continued. The Nawab waged a battle and defeated the British. But in haste he allowed them to escape to an island guarded by British navy. The Company officials waited there for reinforcements from madras. Meanwhile they managed to lure Mir Jafar and other nobles of Nawabs court to their side. In the battle between the English army led by Robert Clive and Admiral Watson and Nawab at Plessey the Nawab was defeated. He was captured and executed. Mir Jafar replaced him. Mir Jafar paid tributes to the Company but soon even he couldn’t meet their demands and the British felt that he wasn’t able to fulfill their expectations and soon he too was replaced by his son in law Mir Qasim.

Mir Qasim proved to be a threat to the British power in Bengal. He wanted to free Bengal from British control. For this he wanted to build a strong army and good administration. On the other hand the British wanted a titular Nawab. This led to confrontation between them and soon the Nawab with the help of Shuja ud dawlah, Nawab of Awadh and shah alam II, the fugitive Mughal emperor waged a war against British. In this battle of Buxar they were defeated.

The battle of Baksar established British supremacy in India. The British got diwani rights of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa. All conquerors of orissa wanted domination over the Puri temple as it gave legitimacy to their rule in minds of local.

British Conquest of India: The Beginning:-

The beginnings of British influence in India can be traced back to the early 17th century, when the East India Company was granted a royal charter to trade with Asia. Over time, the Company established a foothold in India, initially in the form of trading posts and warehouses, but soon expanding to include military and administrative control over large swathes of the subcontinent. By the mid-18th century, the Company effectively ruled over Bengal, Bihar, and Orissa, and had established a lucrative trade in textiles, spices, and other commodities.

British Conquest of India: Unpopular British Rule

Despite these reforms, however, British rule in India remained deeply unpopular, particularly among Indian nationalists who saw it as an affront to their culture and identity. The Indian National Congress, founded in 1885, became the main vehicle for Indian opposition to British rule, and demanded greater autonomy and eventually independence. The British responded with a mixture of repression and concession, including the establishment of a separate Muslim League in 1906 and the introduction of limited self-government in 1909.

The Battle

Course of War:–

In October 1764, in a final attempt to oust the British from Bengal, the combined armies of Mir Kasim, the Nawab of Awadh and Shah Alam II came together to fight against the former.

Result:–

This decisive battle confirmed British power over Bengal and marked the end of the attempt to rule Bengal through a puppet nawab.

Significance:–

Unlike the battle of Plassey which was more of British conspiracy, the battle of buxar was a full-fledged war which established the British prowess in warfare.
- The importance of this battle lay in the fact that not only the Nawab of Bengal but also the Mughal Emperor of India was defeated by the British.
- The victory made the British, a great power in northern India and contenders for supremacy over the whole country.