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The History of Bengal (Vol. I: Hindu Period; Vol. II: Muslim Period 1200–1757) v2.c47: Chapter XXIII. Alivardi Khan

The History of Bengal (Vol. I: Hindu Period; Vol. II: Muslim Period 1200–1757) v2.c47

Language
English

Contents

Chapter XXIII. Alivardi Khan

I. Early Career of Alivardi

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The 18th century history of India was considerably influenced by the rise of Muslim adventurers of foreign extraction to exalted positions like Subahdārships, Nāib-Subahdārships, etc.; thus there was the Nizām-ul-mulk Āsaf Jāh in the Deccan, 1713; Sa‘ādat ‘Ali in Oudh, 1723; Saif-ud-daulah in the Panjab, 1713. In Bengal we find an example of this in the career of the immigrant Turko-Arab, Alivardi, who belonged to a family of adventurers.

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Alivardi’s original name¹ was Mirzā Bandé or Mirzā Muhammad ‘Ali. His grandfather, an Arab by descent, was foster-brother of Aurangzeb and was exalted by the latter as a Mughal mansabdār. His father Mirzā Muhammad began his career as a cup-bearer in the service of ‘Azam Shah, the third son of Emperor Aurangzeb. Mirzā Muhammad’s eldest son Mirzā Ahmad was born during the early years of Aurangzeb’s reign, and his second son Mirzā Muhammad ‘Ali was born ten years later in one of the cities of the Deccan. Mirzā Muhammad ‘Ali’s mother belonged to the Turki tribe of Afshār, settled in Khurāsān, and was thus related to Shujā‘uddin Muhammad Khan, son-in-law of Murshid Quli Ja‘far Khan and Deputy Governor or Orissā in the time of that Nawab. Mirzā Muhammad’s sons were favoured by ‘Azam Shah when they attained to the adult age. The elder, Mirzā Ahmad, was placed in charge of the ābdārkhāna (pantry) at Delhi, and Mirzā Muhammad ‘Ali was appointed superintendent of the filkhāna (elephant-stables) and was also entrusted with the charge of the zardozkhāna (department of embroidered cloths).

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¹ RS (English Trans.) 298; ‘Imād-us-Sa‘ādat, f. 26.

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The members of Mirzā Muhammad ‘Ali’s family were reduced to great distress after the death of their patron ‘Azam Shah in the bloody battle fought at Jājau near Agra in the month of June, 1707. But Mirzā Muhammad ‘Ali’s adversity could not damp his spirit. It rather trained him for his future eminence by compelling him to try his luck in the Bengal Subah, where in the court of Shujā‘ud-din Muhammad Khan at Cuttack his father had already found a hospitable shelter. In 1720 he proceeded towards Bengal in a state of extreme penury with his wife and daughters; but, on his arrival at Cuttack, Shujā‘-ud-din received him cordially. Being endowed with a keen intellect and a capacity for judging and transacting the most delicate affairs as well as with great prowess and bravery, Mirzā Muhammad ‘Ali soon made his influence felt in the government of Shujā‘-ud-din. His brother Mirzā Ahmad, now called Hāji Ahmad after his return from Mecca, also came to Cuttack from Delhi, with his family consisting of three sons named Muhammad Razā, Āgā Muhammad Sa‘id, and Mirzā Muhammad Hāshim. Hāji Ahmad soon got an appointment carrying a monthly salary of Rs 50/-, and his three sons were given posts on monthly salaries of Rs 30/-, 20/-, and Rs 10/-, respectively.

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Through industry and tact Mirzā Muhammad ‘Ali and Hāji Ahmad contributed in no small measure towards making the government of Shujā‘-ud-din popular and respected, and gradually strengthened their personal influence in the State. They even helped their master in securing the masnad of Bengal, and were in return elevated to loftier positions. In 1728 Shujā‘-ud-din appointed Mirzā Muhammad ‘Ali faujdār of Rājmahal, (which because of its strategic geographical position as the gate of Bengal was a place of historic importance in different periods), and conferred on him the title of Alivardi. The efficient administration of the chakla of Akbarnagar (Rājmahal) by Alivardi gave peace and prosperity to its people. Hāji Ahmad remained at Murshidabad as one of the principal advisers of Shujā‘-ud-din; his eldest son Muhammad Razā (later on known as Nawāzish Muhammad Khan) was appointed bakhshi (paymaster) of the Nawab's troops and Superintendent of customs at Murshidabad; his second son Āgā Muhammad Sa‘id (later on called Sa‘id Ahmad Khan) was appointed faujdār of Rangpur and his youngest son Mirzā Muhammad Hāshim (later on called Zainuddin Ahmad Khan) was invested with the title of Khan¹.

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¹ Yusuf Ali and Siyar, ii.

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It would appear from the accounts of writers like Salimullah, Holwell and Scrafton, that the two brothers asserted their influence in Shujā‘-ud-din's court through some ignoble and unworthy tactics. Salimullah writes that they engaged their begams to humour Shujā‘-ud-din. Holwell observes that Hāji Ahmad "soon found out the great foible of his master, which was an ungovernable appetite for a variety of women, and by indulging and feeding this passion, quickly gained an ascendant over his master, and had the disposal of all places, small or of importance; and as he was observed to be the growing favourite, all suits and petitions were preferred through his mediation¹ Scrafton has gone so far as to note that Hājī Ahmad "made a sacrifice of his own daughter to his master's lust "². But these accounts do not seem to be reliable. Salimullah does not always write about Alivardi as an impartial critic, while the statements of Holwell and Scrafton being based mostly on secondary sources are in many cases inaccurate. Their observations, especially those of Holwell, cannot always be regarded as historically true, unless they are corroborated by other sources. Hājī Ahmad was of course cunning and tactful, and was not personally a man of sound morals, but there is no evidence reliable and impartial enough to justify us in asserting that he sacrificed numerous women, including some of his own family, for the fulfilment of his own designs. Even if he is accused as having humoured his master by pandering to his tastes, the gradual elevation of Mirzā Muhammad ‘Alī was in fact the outcome of his loyal and skilful services to his patron in matters of administration.

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¹ Interesting Historical Events, Part I, p. 61.

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² Reflections on the Government of Indostan.

II. Alivardi as Deputy-Governor of Bihār

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Alivardi's fortune took a brilliant turn with his appointment as the Deputy Governor of Bihār, when it was added to Bengal by the Delhi Emperor about 1733 A. D. after the dismissal of its old governor Fakhr-ud-daulah, who being an uneducated, arrogant, proud and self-indulgent man, had unwisely provoked Khān-i-Daurān Samsām-ud-daulah by insulting his brother Khwāja Mu'tasam who was then leading a retired religious life at Patna. Alivardi started for ‘Azīmābād in 1733, with five thousand men, cavalry and infantry, his two sons-in-law, his newly born grandson Mirzā Muhammad (later Nawab Sirāj-ud-daulah) and several other relatives. Shujā‘-ud-din soon procured for him from the Delhi court the title of Mahābat Jang, the rank of a 5-hazārī mansabdār, and the honour of possessing a fringed pālki (palanquin), a standard and kettledrums.

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The province of Bihār was then in a greatly disturbed state due to the weak and capricious government of Fakhr-ud-daulah. But Alivardi faced the situation bravely. He reduced to submission the refractory zamindars of the province, like the rajahs of Bettīā, Bhanwārah, Bhojpur, Rajah Sundar Singh of Tikāri and Kāmgār Khān Ma‘in of Narhat-Samār³, and compelled them to pay the government dues which they had withheld for several years. He brought under control the chief of the Chakwārs, a brave Hindu tribe who, with their stronghold at Sambho in the Begusarāi subdivision of the Monghyr District, had long defied the authority of the Subahdārs of Bengal and "laid everything that passed the river by Monghyr under contribution, and put the European settlements to an annual heavy expense of a large armament to escort their trade to and from Patna"¹ He similarly chastised the turbulent Banjarās, who in the guise of traders and travellers had been devastating different parts of Bihar. Peace and order returned to the province as a result of Alivardi's successful administration. He thus found means both to secure Shujā'-ud-din's goodwill and augment his own power and influence.

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³ Bhanwārah—It has been mentioned as a mahal under sarkar Tirhut in Subah Bihar in Ain (transl), Vol II, 156. Stewart (History of Bengal, 478) wrongly calls it Phoolwareh. Phulwari was a mahal in sarkar Bihar.

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¹ Narhat—This zamindari extended along the south-east of zila Bihār. Buchanan, Patna-Gaya Report, Vol. II, 588-89. For an account of the Mayin family vide ibid, 56, 96, 176, 181, 219, 269, 584, 590, 591.

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Taking advantage of the weakness of Sarfarāz, Alivardi and Hāji Ahmad soon formed the design of seizing the government of Bengal. Shrewd and ambitious, they realised that the time was an opportune one for their aggrandisement, as not only was the Bengal subahdār an utterly incompetent moral wreck, but the indolent Delhi Emperor too, then shorn of prestige as a result of Nādir Shāh's invasion, was not in a position to check their pretensions. Some self-interested counsellors of Sarfarāz like Hāji Lutf 'Ali, Mir Murtaza, Mardān 'Ali Khan and others, who were not on good terms with the two brothers, poisoned his mind against them and opened his eyes to their mischievous activities. The estrangement between them and the Nawab thus growing wider and wider, they decided to strike as quickly as possible to realise their end. They were able to secure the friendship of a prominent official of the Nawab's darbār, Alamchand, and that of Jagat Seth Fatehchand, whose changed attitude towards the son of the deceased Nawab was due more to their desire to exploit his distracted situation to their own advantage than to any other motive. There is no reliable evidence for asserting that the Nawab, though a dissipated youth, ever took any direct step, calculated to tarnish the honour of the two brothers. His great defect, however, was that he was devoid of far-sighted vision and of the capacity to act rightly, which made him totally unfit for the task of administration. In short, the conspiracy of 1739-40 was the outcome of ambition and ingratitude on the one hand, and disgraceful inefficiency on the other. Its leaders decided among themselves to call Alivardi from Patna and install him on the masnad of Bengal. Hāji Ahmad, then present at the Murshidabad darbār, lost no opportunity to fan the flames of his brother's ambition and hostility against Sarfarāz by sending to him true as well as distorted reports about the Nawab's conduct and movements.

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⁴ Holwell, Interesting Historical Events 68-70. This is corroborated by several references in Fort William Consultations 1718-22 A. D. (Wilson, 50, 153 246, 255, 275, 283, 325, 353). The late Rai Sahib Rashdhari Singh of Chitror in the Begusarai subdivision of Monghyr claimed descent from the Chakwars. For accounts of the Banjaras vide Peter Mundy, Vol. II, 95-96; Tavernier, Vol. I, 30; E & D, Vol. v, 10; RS (transl), 296; Mill's British India, Vol. V, Ch, IV; Malcolm, Memoir of Central India, Vol. II, 152; Crooke, Tribes and Castes of N. W. P. and Oudh, Vol I, 179.

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Alivardi also prepared himself most cautiously and tactfully for the inevitable conflict. He had an old friend at the imperial Court, named Ishāq Khan I, then enjoying the confidence and favour of the Emperor Muhammad Shah. He wrote a private letter to him with a view to obtaining patents granting him the government of Bengal, Bihār and Orissā, in return for which he promised to send to the imperial Court a present of one krore of rupees over and above the usual annual tribute amounting to one krore and some lakhs. He also requested him through another letter for an imperial order permitting him to wrest the masnad of Bengal from Sarfarāz Khan by force of arms.

III. Alivardi Seizes Bengal Throne

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Having taken all possible precautions, Alivardi marched from Patna for Bengal, towards the end of March 1740, with about 7000 cavalry, a large body of infantry, and a strong artillery. Crossing the Rājmahal hills, which stood as the natural defence of Bengal against any external invasion from the north-west, through the Shāhābād and Teliāgarhi passes, he arrived within the jurisdiction of the chakla of Akbarnagar (Rājmahal). Sarfarāz had till then no knowledge of Alivardi's movements, as all means of communication from Bihār to Bengal had been stopped by ‘Atāullah Khan, faujdār of Rājmahal, under the instructions of his father-in-law Hāji Ahmad.

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In justification of his own conduct, and with a view to making the position of Hāji Ahmad and his other relatives staying in Murshidabad safe before actually striking against Sarfarāz, Alivardi now wrote a letter to the Nawab to the following effect :—" Since, after my brother Hāji Ahmad has been insulted in various ways, attempts have been made to injure the prestige of our family, your servant in order to save that family from further disgrace has been compelled to come so far, but with no other sentiments than those of fidelity and submission. Your servant hopes, therefore, that Hāji Ahmad would be permitted to come to him with his family and dependants”. This letter came to Sarfarāz as a bolt from the blue. He was at his wits' end to decide what he should do with Hāji Ahmad and consulted his officers on this point. On the advice of some of them, he permitted the Hāji to proceed to his brother. This was indeed a great blunder on his part, as the two brothers were now able to act directly in concert with each other against him. Shrewd enough not to expose himself till he had come to his brother, Hāji Ahmad deceived the Nawab, in the course of his journey, by false professions of friendship and fidelity.

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Alivardi’s advance into Bengal naturally caused intense anxiety to Sarfarāz, and his chastisement was considered necessary by the generals of the Nawab. Sarfarāz himself marched out of Murshidabad on the 6th April, 1740, at the head of 4000 cavalry and a large body of infantry, leaving his son Hāfizullah surnamed Mirzā Āmāni and his faujdār Yasin Khan in charge of that city. Marching through Bāhmaniā, Dewānsarāi and Komrāh, Sarfarāz reached Giriā. Alivardi had in the meanwhile encamped in an area stretching from Aurangabad beyond Suti to Charkā Bāliāghātā. Each party had nearly an ‘equal force’, that is about 20,000 infantry and 10,000 cavalry¹. Sarfarāz had 20 pieces of artillery but Alivardi too had some. Further, the latter had 3000 Afghans in his cavalry and “his infantry levied in Bihar were much stouter than those in the army of Sarfarāz Khan, who were mostly natives of Bengal”. After some futile negotiations for compromise, Alivardi marched towards Sarfarāz’s camp at two o'clock in the night of 9th April, 1740, and fell upon it early in the next morning. A furiously contested battle ensued, causing a stampede and heavy casualties in Sarfarāz’s army. A chance shot on his forehead killed the Nawab and his body was carried to Murshidabad to be buried there at Nuktākhāli (now known as Naginābāgh) on the east side of the city, by his son Hāfizullah Khan and the faujdār Yasin Khan. Some devoted Muslim as well as Hindu generals of Sarfarāz tried to avenge the death of their master and rushed valiantly against Alivardi, but their efforts ended in failure before the opposite party, now flushed with victory.

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¹ Suti lies about 24 miles N. W. of Murshidabad city; Giriā is situated about 22 miles to the N. W. of Murshidabad city on the alluvial plain south of Suti at the angle formed by the cutting of the Bhāgirathi from the main stream of the Ganges. Aurangabad lies about 3 miles to the N. W. of Suti; Charka Bāliāghātā refers to the two villages of Charkā and Bāliāghātā lying close to each other, the former about 4 miles and the latter about 5 miles to the south of Giria. Bāhmaniāh is situated about 4 miles, Dewānsarāi about 12 miles and Komrāh about 20 miles north of Murshidabad city. Holwell, *Interesting Historical Events*, 95; Orme, *Indostan*, Vol. II, 31.

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The battle of Giriā brought the *masnad* of Bengal within Alivardi's grasp. Two or three days after this battle he entered the city of Murshidabad and tried to soothe the wounded feelings of the relatives of Sarfarāz by showing himself penitent for his vile deed. Sarfarāz's sister Nafisā Begam was allowed to take possession of a portion of the *khas tāluq* (personal demesne of Murshid Quli) yielding an annual revenue of one lakh, besides keeping her own property, and all the members of the late Nawab's family were granted allowances, due care being taken to maintain the dignity of his infant son Ākā Bābā. After some time Nafisā Begam was taken to Dacca by Nawāzish Muhammad, who respected her as a mother and entrusted her with the control of his household affairs. Alivardi seized the wealth of the late Nawab amounting to about 70 lakhs in cash and jewels, gold and silver bullion, and other precious things worth five crores of rupees. Some additional wealth belonging to Hāji Lutf Ali, Minuchihr Khan and Mir Murtazā was confiscated under his orders.

IV. Alivardi Khan as Nawab of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa

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Having formally ascended the *masnad* in the *Chihil Satun*, Alivardi effected some changes in the officers of the government. His nephew Nawāzish Muhammad was appointed Diwān of Crown-lands and Deputy Governor of Dacca with Husain Quli Khan as his deputy. The Deputy Governorship of Bihār fell to Alivardi's youngest nephew, Zainuddin, who had married his daughter Āminā Begam (mother of Sirāj-ud-daulah). ‘Abdul ‘Ali Khan, maternal uncle of the historian Ghulām Husain and a cousin of Alivardi, was placed in charge of the government of Tirhut in addition to his duties as the revenue-collector of the parganas of Bihār and Biswāk. Mir Muhammad Ja‘far Khan was made the paymaster of the old army in the place of Alivardi's brother-in-law Qāsim ‘Ali Khan, who was appointed *faujdār* of Rangpur, while the paymastership of the new army was entrusted to Nasrullah Beg Khan. Mirzā Mazar alias Haidar ‘Ali Khan, a cousin of Husain Quli Khan, was appointed superintendent of the Nawab's artillery. On the death of the diwān Alamchand, his peshkār Chin Rāy was made diwān of peshdasti and diwān of khālsa with the title of Rāy-i-Rāyān. Jānkirām diwān of Alivardi's house-hold affairs, became diwān of the miscellaneous departments. ‘Atāullah Khan, a son-in-law of Hāji Ahmad, who had served as the faujdār of Rājmahal since the time of Nawab Shujā‘-ud-din, was made faujdār of Bhāgalpur also, and Ghulām Husain, an old follower of Alivardi became his chamberlain (*hājib*) in the place of Mir Murtazā.

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It took some time for Alivardi to remove the bad impression that had been created in the minds of the people by his ungrateful conduct towards Sarfarāz. Khwāja ‘Abdul Karim tells us that “by behaving kindly and being on friendly terms with all, by distributing money and by acting with discretion, Alivardi gained over to his cause all men living far and near”. He also secured a formal recognition of his new authority from the Delhi Emperor Muhammad Shah by profusely bribing him and the principal nobles and officers like the wazir, Qamruddin Khan, the Bakhshi, Āsaf Jāh Nizām-ul-Mulk, and others. It should be noted that though the Mughal Empire had virtually collapsed by the middle of the 18th century, yet the name of the Emperor and the fiction of imperial suzerainty were sought to be utilised by almost all who were then trying to build political supremacy in India. During the second half of that century, the Marathas, the English and also the French, tried to use this fiction to serve their own ends.

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The Bengal revolution of 1739-40 was a significant episode not only in the history of that province, but also in that of the decadent Mughal Empire. It is a clear illustration of the grossly vitiated atmosphere of the age, and of the effects of treachery, ungratefulness and inordinate ambition. Alivardi’s behaviour towards Sarfarāz, the son of his benefactor, was certainly abominable, so much so that even Ghulām Husain, with his usual partiality for Alivardi, could not justify it wholly. A Nemesis followed it when his favourite grandson and successor Sirāj-ud-daulah fell a victim to the same forces which had worked to cause the ruin of Sarfarāz. It might very well be said that the battle of Plāssey was the reply of divine justice to the battle of Giriā. To sanction such an act of usurpation in return for a bribe was certainly an ignoble transaction on the part of the Delhi Emperor and his court. The fact that the supreme head of a State and its highest executive, could sell themselves for a mess of pottage, was an ample proof of the growing moral bankruptcy of the Mughal Empire, which was soon to bring about its tragic collapse.

V. Subjugation of Orissā by Alivardi

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The battle of Giriā brought Bengal under Alivardi’s control, but Orissā, which for various reasons formed an important part of the Bengal Subah, still remained unsubdued. Its Deputy Governor, Rustam Jang (originally known as Murshid Quli II), son-in-law of Nawab Shujā-ud-din, being goaded by his wife Dardāna Begam, refused to recognise the usurper's authority. With a strong determination to reconquer Bengal, he started from Cuttack towards Balasore in the month of December 1740. Alivardi also marched out of his capital in January 1741, accompanied by his nephew Saulat Jang and a large body of troops, with a view to opposing him. The zamindārs of Midnapur were won over by Alivardi, but, while crossing the river Subarnarekhā, he met with furious opposition at the ferry of Rājghāt, from Rajah Raghunath Bhanja of Mayurbhanj. He was able to overcome this opposition quickly, and having crossed the river fixed his camp at Rāmchandrapur, situated at a distance of three miles from Rustam Jang's camp at Phulwāri (four miles north of Balasore town). But shortage of provisions caused some trouble to him. The zamindārs of Midnapur and the neighbouring areas failed to supply him with the requisite quantity of food-stuffs. The little that could be sent by them, was intercepted on the way by the other zamindārs of Orissā, who out of their love for Rustam Jang, were not well-disposed towards the usurper. In such critical circumstances, Alivardi thought of coming to terms with Rustam Jang, but Mustafā Khan screwed him up and advised him to wait during the rainy season in his entrenchments and attempt the conquest of Orissā after its expiry.

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The collision, however, came about soon. Mirzā Bāqar, the youthful son-in-law of Rustam Jang, took the offensive by proceeding against Alivardi's troops, and a bloody fight ensued. But fortune went against Rustam Jang, who was defeated at Phulwāri on the 3rd of March, 1741, and Mirza Bāqar was severely wounded. Rustam Jang fled with his wounded son-in-law to Masulipatam, his family consisting of his begam, a son, and a daughter being left in a forlorn condition in the fort of Bārābāti. They were fortunately saved from being captured by Alivardi's men through the timely aid of the zamindār of Khurdā, who was a friend of Rustam Jang. His general Shāh Murād safely conducted them to Inchāpur in the Ganjam district, whence they were brought to Mirzā Bāqar. They had to spend their days in a destitute condition in the Deccan.

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Alivardi remained in Orissā for a month in order to consolidate his authority there. He left his nephew and son-in-law Sa'id Ahmad Khan, surnamed Mahām-ud-daulah Saulat Jang, as Deputy Governor of Orissā and returned to Murshidabad. But this was a bad choice. Saulat Jang was quite unfit for governing a newly-acquired country. His intemperance, folly and over-bearing manners soon made him unpopular and gave an opportunity to the old officers and partisans of Rustam Jang to invite Mirzā Bāqar. After the soldiers of Saulat Jang, newly recruited in Orissā and less faithful than the Bengal troops who had returned discontented from Orissā due to his ill-advised policy of reducing their pay, had openly revolted against him, Mirzā Bāqar reentered Cuttack with a batch of Maratha infantry in the month of August 1741. Saulat Jang and his entire family were captured and placed under strict confinement in the fortress of Bārābāti. Midnapur and Hijli also soon fell under the control of Mirzā Bāqar.

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This was a severe blow not only to Alivardi’s newly established authority in Orissā but also to his prestige. Saulat Jang’s parents, Hāji Ahmad and his wife, requested him to secure the release of their son by permitting Mirzā Bāqar to enjoy the government of Orissā. But he decided to restore his prestige and power by effecting the rescue of his nephew and frustrating Mirzā Bāqar’s aims. He left Murshidabad for Orissā at the head of 20,000 cavalry, strengthened by a good corps of artillery, and defeated Mirzā Bāqar at Rāipur on the southern bank of the Mahānadi in the month of December, 1741. Mirzā Bāqar again ran away to the Deccan with his Maratha allies by the road of Champāghāti. He was able, through the help of Murād Khan, commander-in-chief of the Raja of Khurdā, to baffle the attempts of some Afghan generals of Alivardi to capture him. Saulat Jang was then rescued by some generals of Alivardi, like Mir Muhammad Ja’far Khan, Mir Muhammad Āmin Khan (a stepbrother of Alivardi and brother-in-law of Mir Ja’far) and others, and was sent back to Murshidabad with a portion of the Nawāb’s army, and thus only five thousand cavalry and some of his leading officers remained with Alivardi.

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The Nawab stayed in Orissā for about three months with a view to restoring order in its government. He appointed his friend Shaikh Ma’sum, a native of Pānipat and a brave general, Deputy Governor of Orissā, and Durlabhrām, son of Rajah Jānkirām his peshkār, and started back for Bengal. On the way he halted at Balasore in order to punish the Rajah of Mayurbhanj for his unfriendly behaviour during the recent war. While he was at Jaygarh, near Midnapur, one of his revenue-collectors in that quarter reported to him the news of a Maratha advance towards Bengal.

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Thus Alivardi was not destined to enjoy peacefully the kingdom which he had gained by his cleverly engineered plots and hard fightings. The repeated incursions of the Marathas, complicated by the rebellions of the Nawab’s Afghan soldiers in 1745 and 1748, gave him no rest during the greater part of his rule, devastated his province, affected its trade and manufactures most injuriously, paved the way for its economic decline which became so alarming after 1757, and also ultimately led to the establishment of Maratha supremacy over Orissā. This subject will be treated in the next chapter.

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Alivardi concluded a treaty with the Marathas in May or June, 1751 and thus became comparatively free to devote his attention to the task of healing the wounds that had been inflicted on Bengal by the Maratha ravages. With a view to giving more efficiency to the administrative machinery, he made some new appointments. Rājārām Singh, hitherto head of the espionage department, was appointed faujdār of Midnapur and Karam Ali, the author of Muzaffarnāmah, faujdār of Ghorāghāt. On the death of the Nawab's old diwān Biru Dutt, Raja Kiratchand the son of Rāy-i-Rāyān Ālamchand, was appointed in his place. Kiratchand died after two years when his deputy Ummid Rāy succeeded him with the title of Rāy-i-Rāyān. On the death of Raja Jānkirām, deputy governor of Bihār, in the year 1752, his office was conferred upon his diwan Rāmnārāin¹. Durlabhrām, son of Raja Jānkirām, was elevated to the post of the diwān of the military department and also began to act as the agent (vakil) of Rāmnārāin at the Murshidabad court.

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¹ Siyar, ii. 593; Muzaffarnāmah, f. 89B. We get a short account of Ramnarain's family in the preface to the Diwan-i-Mauzoom of Raja Ramanarain compiled by Rai Lachman Prasad in 1870 A. D. and published by the Nawal Kishore Press in the same year. Ramnarain's father Rang Lal, a Srivastava Kayastha, originally lived in the village of Kishunpur in pargana Sāsaram of Shahabad district. Rang Lal held an inferior post in the Bihar government during the Deputy-Governorship of Alivardi. Rāmnārāin first entered public life as a khāsnavis during the administration of Zainuddin. Because of his merit he was appointed in a few years peshkār of the Diwān and then Diwān under Raja Jānkirām. Rāmnārāin was well versed in Persian. He remained in charge of the Bihār government for 11 years. A representative of his family, Rai Mathurā Prasad, B.A., still occupies his old house at Mahārājghāt in Patna city.

VI. Last Days of Alivardi

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But the zeal of the Nawab, about 76 years old in 1751, for ameliorative measures was not destined to contribute to the welfare of the province much longer. Some premature bereavements in his family made his last days extremely unhappy. Ikrām-ud-daulah, the younger brother of Sirāj-ud-daulah, who had been brought up with care by Shahāmat Jang as an adopted son, died of small-pox in the year 1754 A. D. Shahāmat Jang, overpowered by grief for the boy, died from an attack of dropsy on the 17th December, 1755. His brother, Saulat Jang, followed him to the grave on the 26th of February, 1756.

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These calamities caused a terrible depression in the mind of the old Nawab and affected his health seriously. He was attacked by dropsy on the 10th of February, 1756; the best efforts of the renowned physicians failed to cure him, and he expired at 5 A. M. on the 10th April, 1756, at the age of eighty. His body was buried near his mother's grave at Khushbāgh, on the west bank of the Bhāgirathi, opposite the Motijhil outside the Murshidabad city. Just before his death he gave the following advice to Sirāj-ud-daulah:—

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"My darling! the strength of youth has given place to the weakness of old age and the inevitable death is near me. Through the grace of God, I have carved out a very rich dominion for you. Now my last words to you are that you should try to suppress the enemies of the kingdom and to elevate its friends, and that you should devote yourself to securing the well-being of your subjects by removing all evils and disorders. Union brings forth prosperity and disunion causes misery. Your government would be stable if its foundation is laid on the goodwill of the governed. If you take to the ways of malice and hostility, the garden of your prosperity will wither away". (Muzaffarnāmah, f. 101b.)

VII. Alivardi's Character and Habits

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In his private life Alivardi was free from the prevailing vices of the great in that age. Trained in the school of adversity in his early days, he developed a puritanic temperament and was not addicted to debauchery or drunkenness. Orme has justly remarked that "his private life was very different from the usual manners of a Mahometan prince in Indostan; for he was always extremely temperate, had no pleasures, kept no seraglio and always lived the husband of one wife". Though, as M. Jean Law, the then chief of the French factory at Qāsimbāzār, observes "deceitful and ambitious in the highest degree", he had an implicit faith in God, and often utilised his leisure hours in studying books on theology and history.

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Regular in his daily habits, Alivardi apportioned his time in such a way as to enable him to pay proper attention to each duty. He left his bed two hours before day-light and having finished the usual ablutions, performed the additional prayers. After the first obligatory prayer he drank coffee in the company of some choice friends, and next sat in his darbār at 7 A.M. to transact the affairs of the State. Here he granted interviews to his principal civil and military officers and gave suitable replies to their queries. After two hours he retired into a closet with some of his favourite friends and his nephews, Shahāmat Jang, and Saulat Jang, and his grandson Sirāj-ud-daulah. For full one hour he amused himself by listening to verses and stories. Fond of delicious food, he sometimes personally supervised the preparation of his victuals and suggested new methods of cooking to his cook. He always took his dinner in company with a large number of guests. After dinner he enjoyed a short nap, attended by story-tellers and guards. He left his bed at I P. M., and after finishing his noon-day prayers read aloud a chapter of the Quran before devoting himself to his evening prayers. A cup of water cooled with saltpetre or ice, according to the season, was drunk by him to the dregs, as this answered his necessity for full twenty-four hours. He next conversed with some pious and learned men, and after their departure spent full two hours in transacting the affairs of government. Early in the night he first attended to the necessary prayers, after which his Begam, Sirāj-ud-daulah's Begam, and other ladies of his family appeared before him. He ate only some fruits and sweetmeats in their company before going to bed.

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Alivardi was a brave warrior. He knew, writes M. Jean Law, how to command an army. Ghulam Husain observes that "in generalship he had no equal in his age except Asaf Jah Nizam-ul-mulk." He had a great fondness for keeping animals, seeing animalfights, and chasing wild animals. A letter from the French Council at Chandernagore to M. Le Vernier, the French Chief of Surat, dated 11th January, 1746, states :— "The Nawab has been requesting us for a long time to have Persian cats. Can you send two of them on the American vessels which will start from your place in May for their destination in the Ganges? He has demanded white and male cats". In 1749 the English tried to please him by presenting a fine Arab horse, and in 1754 also they sent him one Persian cat. For his hunting excursions the Nawab went during the winter to the hills of Rajmahal.

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Alivardi was a kind and generous master, well attentive to the interests of the officers of his government. He extended his favours, in the shape of money or posts, to the relatives of his old friends at Delhi, from whom he had received help during his early days of adversity. He patronised arts and letters, and his court was adorned by a number of scholars proficient in different branches of learning. The more important of them were Maulavi Nasir ‘Ali Khan, his son Dāud ‘Ali Khan, Zākir Husain Khan, Mir Muhammad ‘Ālim, Maulavi Muhammad ‘Ārif, Mir Rustam ‘Ali, Shāh Muhammad Āmin, Shāh Ādham, Hyāt Beg, Shāh Khizr, Sayyid Mir Muhammad Sajjād, Sayyid, ‘Alimullah, (the grandfather of the historian Ghulām Husain), Shah Haidari (a matneral uncle of Ghulām Husain’s paternal grandfather), and Qāzi Ghulām Muzaffar whom Alivardi elevated to the office of the supreme judge of Murshidabad. Azimabad (Patna) was an important centre of Persian education and some scholars from Persia came to settle there in his time. (Siyar., ii. 611-620).

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Due to the constant engagement of Alivardi with the Marathas, during the first eleven years of his administration, he could not undertake any productive work during this period. But with comparative security after the treaty of 1751 with the Marathas, he “applied himself with judgement and alacrity to the repose and security of his subjects and never afterwards deviated in the smallest degree from these”. He turned his attention towards repairing the towns and villages, which had suffered from the ravages of the Marathas, and also towards improving the condition of agriculture. “The custom then was to settle the mālguzāri (land-assessment) with the different zamindars on moderate terms; the Nawab (Alivardi) abided by this agreement; the zamindars had a natural interest in their districts, and gave proper encouragement to the ryots (peasant-cultivators), when necessary would wait for their rents, and borrow money to pay their own mālguzāri punctually. There were in all districts shroffs (money-lenders, bankers) ready to lend money to zamindars when requested, and even to the ryots, which enabled many to cultivate their grounds, which otherwise they could not have done¹.

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¹ Calendar of Persian Correspondence, Vol. II 191 & 197. Siyar, Vol. II, 591. Letter from Mr. Richard Becher to the Secret Committee of the Court of Directors dated 24th May, 1769, quoted in Ramsay Muir’s Making of British India, 92-95.

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The masses of the people were not directly subjected to forcible exaction of money by the government. But, under pressure of extraordinary financial needs due to the Maratha raids, the Nawab took ‘casual aids’ from European trading companies and some of the chief zamindars of the province, like Raja Rāmkānta of Rajshahi, Raja Rāmnāth of Dinājpur, and Mahārājā Krishnachandra of Nadiā, whose jurisdictions were free from Maratha ravages. Further, like Murshid Quli Ja’far Khan and Shujā‘-ud-din he levied ābwābs on the zamindars, the total of which amounted to Rs. 22,25,554,² and the indirect effects of which must have been similar to what has been already noted about the impositions of his predecessors.

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² Firminger, Fifth Report, Vol. II, 217, II.

VIII. Relation with the European Trading Companies

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Alivardi realised the importance of looking after the traders in his province for its economic prosperity. "He understood perfectly well", remarked M. Jean Law, "the interests of his government, favoured the poor merchants and administered justice when complaints succeeded in reaching him". The council in Calcutta observed in 1747 that it had been "customary at these darbārs (of the Nawab and the Deputy Nawabs) to allow merchants to settle their accounts in a fair manner whenever it has been required by either party".¹ Mr. Scrafton writes that "he used to compare the Europeans to a hive of bees of whose honey you might reap the benefit, but that if you disturbed their hive they would sting you to death" ². He did not harass them unnecessarily, but it was only in times of extreme need that he asked them to render him financial help. Thus, hard pressed by the Maratha invasions, he exacted contributions from the English, the French and the Dutch for the safety of the province of Bengal, where "they participated of (in) the protection of his arms" and enjoyed the profits of trade. In July 1744 A. D., he accused the English of assisting the Marathas and pointed out that "the English (who now) carried on the Trade of the whole World, used (formerly) to have 4 or 5 ships, but now brought 40 or 50 sail, which belonged not to the Company...". The English were ordered not to carry on their trade unless they supplied him with three millions of rupees to clear off two months' pay of his soldiers and some of their gumāshtas were actually arrested and military guards were posted at their gurrah aurungs (coarse cotton cloth factories). After several unsuccessful attempts to conciliate the Nawab through his friend Jagat Seth Fatehchand, his nephew Sa'id Ahmad Khan, and one of officers named Chin Rāy, Mr. Forster, chief of the English factory at Qasimbazar, paid a visit to the Nawab according to the instructions of the Council in Calcutta. He was graciously received by the Nawab was presented with a saropā, (a full khil'at or dress of honour), and was able to effect a settlement in the month of September by agreeing to pay him three lakhs and a half. The Cāsimbāzār factors had to pay an additional amount of Rs. 30,500 to the Nawab's generals and officers; the Patna factors had also to present Rs. 5,000 to the Nawab and Rs. 3,000 to his officers, besides signing a paper for the annual rent of the Chapra town at the rate of Rs. 4,537; and the Dacca factors too were obliged to pay Rs. 5,000. A fine horse was also presented to the Nawab which cost 25000 Madras rupees. The restrictions on the Company's trade were then removed and its *gumāstas* were released.

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¹ Hill, Vol. III, 160. Letter to Court, 22nd February, 1747, para 189.

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² Scrafton, Reflections on the Govt. of Indostan.

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But more than four years did not elapse after this when fresh troubles arose. In the year 1748 Commodore Griffin, or some men of his squadron, captured some trading vessels of the Armenian and the Mughal merchants of Bengal, who complained before the Nawab for redress. The Nawab thereupon sent a *parwānah* to Governor Barwell demanding the delivery of "all the merchants' goods and effects" and adopted various repressive measures against the English Company. This obstructed the Company's trade in the different factories and added to its pecuniary troubles. After various attempts the Company could at last persuade the Armenians to express satisfaction regarding the losses sustained by them in a public darbar held by the Nawab on the 15th October, 1749. The English had also to satisfy the Nawab by the payment of one lakh and fifty thousand rupees, which they borrowed with great difficulty from the Seths. He at last issued a *parwānah* in favour of the Company's trade on 8th October, 1752.

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Alivardi was always particular about exerting his authority as the *subahdār* of the province over the European traders. "He was", writes M. Jean Law, "zealous of his authority. He especially affected a great independence whenever there was question of any affair between himself and the Europeans. To speak to him of *farmāns* or of privileges obtained from the Emperor was only to anger him. He knew well how to say at the proper moment that he was both King and Wazir". In the month of July, 1745, he issued a *parwānah* asking the English, the French, and the Dutch not to carry on "any hostilities against each other in his dominions", during the war of the Austrian Succession (1740-48). Point Palmyras was fixed as the point whence neutrality should be observed. In spite of this prohibition the English and the Dutch in Bengal allied themselves against the French, and their mutual relations continued to be hostile till the suspension of their conflicts in Europe. But the Nawab always tried to maintain a strict control over them so that they might not encroach upon the field of politics in Bengal as they had already done in the Deccan. M. Jean Law writes that "he saw with equal indignation and surprise the progress of the French and the English nations on the Coromandal coast as well as in the Deccan, for by means of his spies he was informed of everything that happened there . . . He feared that sooner or later the Europeans would attempt similar enterprises in his government".

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Thus, he did not allow the English and the French to build fortifications in Calcutta and Chandernagore respectively, just as Murshid Quli Ja'far Khan had stopped the construction of forts by the English Company in 1718. "You are merchants", Alivardi often said to the French and the English *vakils*, "what need have you of a fortress? Being under my protection you have no enemies to fear".

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Thus Alivardi's attitude towards the European traders in Bengal was strict, but he was not oppressive towards them. He exacted money from them occasionally under pressing financial needs due to extraordinary circumstances, and not on "groundless pretences" as the Council at Fort St. George wrongly reported to Admiral Watson in August 1756. He did not certainly contemplate the expulsion of the Europeans from his province or the destruction of their trade in any way. A contemporary French writer observed that the Nawab "was very fond of the Europeans and they all feared the moment of his death because of the disturbances which might then take place". The Dutch at Chinsurā remarked in their petition to Sirāj-ud-daulah, dated 26th June, 1756, that previously they had "generally been befriended and countenanced by the Princes of the land and, up to the glorious Nawab Shujā'-ul-mulk Mahābat Jang (Alivardi) inclusive, always endowed with privileges". About the year 1755 the Danes were permitted by Alivardi to settle at Serampore.

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J. Z. Holwell's charge that in his death-bed speech Alivardi instructed his grandson Sirāj-ud-daulah to suppress the Europeans, seems to be a concoction. Holwell had the habit of inventing stories or fabricating facts to suit his motives¹. Further, his charge against Alivardi is refuted by some contemporary documents. Mr. Matthew Collet, second in the English factory at Qāsimbāzār, wrote to the Council in Calcutta on the 22nd January, 1757:— "As to Alivardi Cawn's last dying speech to his nephew (? grandson) I look upon it as a specious fable". Mr. Richard Becher, Chief of the Company's factory at Dacca, remarked in his letter to the Council in Calcutta, dated the 25th January, 1757:— "Mr. Holwell will excuse me if I do not admit Alivardi Cawn's speech as genuine till better proofs are brought to support it than I have yet seen. Such advice if really given, it is reasonable to imagine, had few or no witnesses so that it appears very improbable Mr. Holwell in his distressed situation at Muxadabad should have been able to unravel the mysteries of the Cabinet and explore a secret never yet known to any one but himself”. Mr. Watts, Chief of the English Factory at Qāsimbāzār, wrote to the Court of Directors on the 30th January, 1757 :—“The last dying speech of Mahābat Jung or Alivardi Cawn to his grandson neither he, or I believe any of the Gentlemen of the Factory, ever heard of; neither have I since heard from any of the country people; it seems an imitation of the speech of Louis XIV to his grandson, and appears, as Mr. Collet aptly terms it, only a specious fable”. Instigated by the Afghan general Mustafa Khan, Alivardi’s nephews, Shahāmat Jang and Saulat Jang, once proposed to him the expulsion of the English from Bengal. But the old Nawab did not support their proposal, and, after the departure of Mustafa Khan from his court, gave them a significant reply :—“Dear children! Mustafa Khan is a soldier of fortune, . . . He wishes that I should always have occasion to employ him and to put it in his power to ask favours for himself and his friends; but in the name of common sense, what is the matter with your own selves, that you should join issue with him, and make common cause of his opinion? What wrong have the English done, that I should wish them ill? Look at yonder plains; should you set fire to it, there would be no stopping its progress; and who is the man then who shall put out a fire that shall break forth at sea, and from thence come out upon land. Beware of lending an ear to such proposals again; for they will produce nothing but evil”¹

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¹ Bengal Past and Present, July-Sept., 1915. Hill, II, 129 162, iii: 336:

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¹ Siyar, ii. 611.

Hindu Officers in Alivardi's Government

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Alivardi could cleverly utilise the services of a few able Hindu officers in the task of administration. With a brilliant tradition of administrative capacity since the early days of Indian civilisation, the Hindus displayed a fine genius in the transaction of both civil and military affairs under successive governments like those of the Turko-Afghans, the Great Mughals, the later Mughals and the British.² Among the Hindu officers employed in Alivardi’s government the most prominent were Jānkirām Shom, his son Durlabhrām, Rāmnārāin, Kiratchand, Ummid Ray, Biru Dutt, Rāmrrām Singh and Gokulchand. Orme wrongly asserts that the Hindus discharged only civil functions. Ghulām Husain tells us that many of them were employed in the military service of Alivardi’s government and helped him greatly during his Orissa expedition and in subduing the Afghan rebels. The principal Hindu merchants and bankers were also attached to him. As a matter of fact, Hindu support was an important factor in his career.

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² In some unpublished papers, discovered in the Record room of the District Judge of Patna, I find the names of many eminent Bengali Hindu officers being employed in the task of administering Bihar since the year 1790 A. D.

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But there remained at the same time an under-current of discontent among some Hindu zamindars, probably due to the ābwābs imposed on them. Colonel Scott, chief engineer of the Company, wrote to his friend Mr. Noble in 1754 that "the Jentue (Hindu) rajahs and the inhabitants were disaffected to the Moor (Muhammadan) government and secretly wished for a change and opportunity of throwing off their yoke". This discontent of the Hindu zamindars openly manifested itself in the time of Sirāj-ud-daulah, and their support and sympathy went to the English East India Company in Bengal.

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Alivardi was no doubt a tactful governor, always solicitous for the welfare of his province. But his regime of sixteen years was not so brilliant as has been described by Ghulām Husain or Karam ‘Ali, both of whom were indebted to him in several ways and naturally did not refer to the dark aspects of the period. A reflective student of history will not fail to note that, in spite of almost sleepless vigilance and care, Alivardi could not save his province altogether from the influence of the same disruptive forces which were then distracting the other parts of the decaying Mughal empire. Political troubles like the Maratha invasions, the Afghan rebellions, and the incursions of the Maghs from the Arakan side, disturbed the peace and order of Bengal and seriously affected the different departments of the economic life of its people.

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Nevertheless, the period is instructive from two points of view. It shows that retribution follows crimes even in political circles, and thus an adventurer could not secure real peace, for himself or his family, from a position usurped by him through force and treachery. But it is at the same time significant to note that it was possible for a tactful and active governor like Alivardi to utilize profitably the services of officers belonging to both the Hindu and Muslim sects, in the task of administration, even when there were various discordant factors in the politics of the country.