History of Orissa from the Earliest Times to the British Period v2.c39.2

v2.c39.2

With the appointment of Muḥammad Ḥadī, *alias* Kartalab Khān *alias* Murshid Qulī Khān Ja’afar Khān Nāṣirī, the history of Orissa takes a new turn. His distinguished services in the Deccan when Aurangzib was the Viceroy had won the approbation of all right-minded men and he became one of the most trusted officers of the empire when Aurangzib rose to the throne. Up to 1701 he was the Dīwān of revenues in Orissa and in that year was transferred to Bengal as the Dīwān with the title of Murshid Qulī Khān.¹ From Bengal Murshid Qulī supplied immense sums of money to meet the insatiable needs of the Deccan wars. He was assured by Aurangzib in writing that all his prayers would be readily granted and nobody’s complaints against him would be heard. The *Ṣūbahdārī* of Orissa being temporarily in abeyance, he was appointed *Faujdār* of Orissa a little before 1704.² Among the great Musalman traitors of the 18th century, to whom the dismemberment of the Mughal empire is due, Murshid Qulī Khān stands in the foremost rank. Long before Chin Kilich Khān, Niẓām-ul-Mulk, Aṣaf Jāh I, and Sa’adat Khān, Burhān-ul-Mulk, Murshid Qulī started the game by defeating Rashid Khān, the nominee of the new emperor Farrukhsiyar outside Murshidabad in 1713.³