History of Aurangzib, Based on Original Sources v3.c42.s6.16

v3.c42.s6.16

A heavy loss was caused to imperial revenue by the depopulation of the riverside areas of East Bengal. Imperial prestige was even more grievously affected. As Shihab-ud-din Talish complains, "In no other part of the Mughal dominions has any neighbouring infidel king the power to oppress and domineer over Muslims, but has to humble himself to save his lands; in Bengal alone the opposite is the case." (Cont., 125 a.) The safety of the province demanded that the nest of pirates should be conquered. Chatgaon was a convenient half-way house between Arrakan and Bengal, and the base of operations of the pirates. The king of Arrakan, therefore, strongly defended this outpost of his dominions. "Every year the Rajah of Arrakan sends to Chatgaon a hundred ships full of soldiers and artillery munitions, with a relieving officer, and then the former officer with the ships sent the previous year returns to Arrakan. There is always some trusted relative or faithful clansman of the Rajah in charge of the Government of Chatgaon." (Ibid., 163 b.)