Battle of Buxar
[Syllabus: UPSC Civil Services (Main) Examination ➨ General Studies, Paper-1 ➨ History of Modern India ➨ Topic: 18th Century India ➨ Sub-Topic: Battle of Buxar]
(I) Introduction:
The Battle of Buxar was fought in October 1764, between the forces under the command of the British East India Company, led by Hector Munro, and the d armies of Mir Qasim, Nawab of Bengal; Nawab of Awadh Shuja-ud-Daula; and the Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II. The British victory in the battle proved to be the final nail for the Mughal Emperor and laid the foundation of the British empire in India without any opponents.
(II) Events Leading to the Battle:
1. Battle of Plassey: Battle of Plassey and its unequal terms laid foundation of Battle of Buxar.
2. The sacking of Mir Jafar: British supported Mir Qasim (Mir Jafar’s son-in-law) to become the new Nawab, and Mir Jafar quit in favour of Mir Qasim under pressure from the Company.
3. Duty-free trade of the British: Abolition of all duties on internal trade of the British.
4. Expansion of Company: After Plassey, the company became more militarized and conquest oriented rather than the previous commercial stance.
(III) Causes of the battle:
A. Economic Causes:
1. British dominance: Mir Qasim opposed the English’s misuse of “dastak” and “farmans”, consequently he plotted against them by making an alliance with the Nawab of Awadh and Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II.
2. Sale of Dastaks: The English used to sell the dastaks (free passes) to Indian merchants who, thereby, were able to evade av on their goods as well.
3. Equal Mercantile Treatment: Mir Kasim treated Indian merchants and English as the same, without granting any special privileges for the latter, which angered the British.
B. Political Causes:
1. Power Struggle: Mir Kasim was prepared to accept the rights of the Company as a trading corporation but he was not willing to share with it the power of the state while the English desired that the Nawab should rule as they desired.
2. Recognition of Mughal Emperor: The English asked Mir Kasim to accept Shah Alam as the Mughal emperor after the murder of Alamgir. Mir Kasim refused the proposal of the English.
3. Handing over of Fugitive: In the case of Ram Narain, the Nawab compelled the English to hand him over and thus boosted the Nawab’s confidence over the British.
4. Foreign Influence: Mir Kasim hired foreign experts to train his army, some of whom were in direct conflict with the British.
(IV) Course of the battle:
1. Nawab flees to Oudh: Mir Kasim flees to Oudh and seeks the help of the Nawab of Oudh Shuja and the Mughal emperor Shah Alam to dispel the British from Bengal.
2. Tripartite Confederacy: Mir Kasim planned a confederacy with Shuja-Ud-Daula and Shah Alam II in a final bid to overthrow the English from Bengal
3. British Victory: Major Hector Munro won a decisive battle and Robert Clive had a major role in that against that of the 3 armies.
4. Surrender: Shuja surrendered himself to the English. The Mughal emperor, Shah Alam had already surrendered to the British at Banaras. Mir Kasim too had fled to Delhi prior to the battle of Buxar where he died in 1777 under extreme poverty.
(V) Impact/Consequences:
A. Economic Impact:
1. Duty-free British Trade: Except for a 2% tax on salt, the English were also permitted duty- free trade in Bengal.
2. Ruin of Bengal: As the company deprived natives of trading rights, it led to the ruin of Indian traders in Bengal. Ruin of Textiles: The patronage received by artisans by the Nawabs ended and they fell into ruin.
3. High Tax Burden: which gave them the right to raise large amounts of tax revenue from 20 million people.
4. British Economic Strength: English strength increased and they started winning wars, revenues from local provinces also started flowing into the Company coffers as part of the settlement.
B. Political Impact:
1. Mir Jafar returns: Mir Jafar was installed as the Nawab again as a puppet after Mir Kasim’s defeat.
2. More Expansion: Mir Jafar handed over districts of Midnapore, Burdwan and Chittagong to the English for the maintenance of their army.
3. Treaty of Allahabad: (a) Shuja was made to pay Rs 50 lakh to the Company as war indemnity; and he was made to give Balwant Singh (Zamindar of Banaras) full possession of his estate. (b) The emperor had to issue a Farman granting the Diwani of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa to the East India Company in lieu of an annual payment of Rs 26 lakh. (c) Shah Alam had to abide by a provision of Rs 53 lakh to the Company in return for the Nizamat functions (military defence, police, and administration of justice) of the said provinces.
4. Complete control of Eastern India: The English now became the undisputed masters of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa.
5. Effective end of Mughal India: With the Mughal emperor accepting British rights over Bengal, his position as the sole ruler of India ended.
6. British Dominance: It proved once again the military superiority of the English and exposed the inherent weakness of the native force
7. Final Nail in Mughal Coffin: The British emerged as the dominant force in India and the Mughal emperor came under British protection.
8. End of other Colonial empires: The French and Dutch were also defeated in India, and they only held small trading posts in the aftermath.
(VI) Conclusion:
The Battle of Buxar was the effective beginning of the British Empire in India, and also for all symbolic purposes as the Mughal emperor was forced to a position of being under British protection.
