Modern History

The Battle of Plassey

& Buxar
(Theory + MCQ)
By – Indo Pathshala
Contact Number – 9123206137
https://www.youtube.com/@indopathshala400

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  Battle of Plassey was a major turning point in modern Indian history that led to the
consolidation of British rule in India.

 The Battle of Plassey was fought in 23rd June 1757 in the Plassey (or Palashi) region of West
Bengal, on the east of Bhagirathi river

 This battle was fought between the East India Company headed by Robert Clive and the last
independent Nawab of Bengal ,Siraj-Ud-Daulah and his French Troop.

 This battle is often termed as the ‘decisive event’ which became the source of ultimate rule
of the British in India.

 The battle occurred during the late reign of Mughal empire (called later Mughal Period).
Mughal emperor Alamgir-II was ruling the empire when the Battle of Plassey took place

 It consolidated British dominance in Bengal on the political and military fronts. The
majority of historians consider the Battle of Plassey to be the pivotal event that established
British authority and sovereignty over India.

 Bengal was the most fertile and the richest province of the Mughal Empire. The
authoritative powers of the province lay in the hands of the Nawab of Bengal

 Bengal held economic importance for its famous textiles, silk and saltpeter. Bengal became
the first kingdom to be occupied by the British in India. The East India Company carried on
profitable trade with this province

 The English East India Company had significant commercial interests in Bengal, as
nearly 60% of British imports from Asia comprised goods from Bengal.

 The battle unfolded against a backdrop of conflicting interests as the British sought to
secure their commercial foothold in Bengal

Causes of the Battle of Plassey

 The Nawab of Bengal, Siraj-ud-Daulah succeeded his grandfather Alavardi Khan after his
death.

 The British victory in the Carnatic had already made Siraj apprehensive of the growing
power of the East India Company.
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 The rampant misuse of the trade privileges given to the British by the Nawab of Bengal, that
adversely affected the nawab’s finances. Non-payment of tax and duty by the workers of the
British East India Company

 The special privileges enjoyed by the British Company was strongly opposed by the Nawabs
of Bengal as it meant a huge loss to the provincial exchequer

 Consequently, This friction between the Company's interests and the Bengal government
became the leading cause of conflict.

 Fortification of Calcutta by the British without the Nawab’s permission.Misleading Nawab

on various fronts by British

 As a result, the British felt a need for a “puppet” as the Nawab on the throne of Bengal to
willingly give them trade concessions and other privileges and establish their indirect but
ultimate power in the province.

 The Company further attempted to deceive him and exacerbated the situation by granting
asylum to a political fugitive, Krishna Das, son of Raj Ballabh, who had fled with immense
treasures against Nawab's wishes..

 Taking advantage of the Maratha incursions in Bengal, the English East India Company
obtained permission from the Nawab to dig a ditch and construct an entrenchment around
their settlement of Fort William

 The East India Company had a strong presence in India majorly at Fort St. George, Fort
William and Bombay Castle

 The British resorted to having an alliance with the Nawabs and princes in exchange for
security against any form of external and internal attack and were promised concessions in
return for their safety and protection

 The problem arose when the alliance was disrupted under the rule of Nawab of Bengal
(Siraj-Ud-Daulah)

 The Nawab started seizing the fort of Calcutta and imprisoning many British Officials in
June 1756

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 The prisoners were kept in a dungeon at Fort William. This incident is called the Black Hole
of Calcutta since only a handful of the prisoners survived the captivity where over a
hundred people were kept in a cell meant for about 6 people

 Following this tragic defeat of British by the Nawab of Bengal, a strong force under Robert
Clive was sent from Madras to overthrow nawab and strengthen the British position in
Bengal.

 In March 1757, the French settlement of Chandernagore was captured by the English. This
was the ignition point of the Battle of Plassey

 The East India company planned an attack and Robert Clive entered into a secret alliance
with the traitors of the Nawab, Mir Jafar, the commander-in-chief of the Nawab’s army, and
also promised him to make him Nawab of Bengal including Rai Durlabh, Jagat Seth (an
influential banker of Bengal), and Omichand.

 He faced challenges from his hostile aunt, Ghasiti Begum as well as a rebellious commander
of the army, Mir Jafar, who was married to Alivardi Khan's sister.

 There was a dominant group in his court comprising Jagat Seth, Omichand, Rai Ballabh, Rai
Durlabh and others who were opposed to him

 Siraj-ud-Daulah was surrounded by a number of rivals in his own court who helped the
British in winning the Battle of Plassey.

 After three hours of intense fighting, there was a heavy downpour. One of the reasons for
the defeat of Nawab was the lack of planning to protect their weapons during the heavy
downpour which turned the table in favour of the British army apart from the major reason
being the treachery of Mir Jafar

 However, the secret alliance of the British with the conspirators strengthened the British
foothold in the battle

 Moreover, Mir Jafar, with around one-third of the Bengali army, did not join the battle and
contributed to Nawab's defeat

 Siraj-Ud-Daulah’s army with 50,000 soldiers, 40 cannons and 10 war elephants was
defeated by 3,000 soldiers of Robert Clive

 The battle ended in 11 hours and Siraj-Ud-Daulah fled from the battle post his defeat, but
was killed by Miran, the son of Mir Jafar

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  According to Robert Clive, 22 men died and 50 were injured from the British troops

 The Nawab army lost about 500 men, including several key officials and many of them even
suffered several casualties

Participants of Battle of Plassey

Siraj-ud-Daula

 He was the Nawab of Bengal. He was involved in the Black-Hole Tragedy (imprisoned 146
English persons who were lodged in a very tiny room due to which 123 of them died of
suffocation)

 Was affected negatively by the East India Company's rampant abuse of trade privileges

 He attacked and seized the English fort at Calcutta, thus exposing its hostility against the
British

Robert Clive

 He gave asylum to Political fugitive Krishna Das which disappointed Siraj-Ud-Daulah.

Misused the trade privileges

 He fortified Calcutta without the nawab's permission

Mir Jafar

 He was Commander-in-Chief of Nawab’s army. He bribed the East India Company (EIC)

 EIC was going to make him Nawab for conspiring against Siraj-Ud-Daulah.He cheated Siraj-
Ud-Daulah during the battle

Rai Durlabh

 He was one of the commanders of Nawab’s army. He joined Siraj-Ud-army Daulah's but did
not take part in the battle, thus betraying Siraj.

Jagat Seth

 He was an influential banker. He was involved in the conspiracy that resulted in the
imprisonment and eventual killing of Nawab Siraj-Ud-Daulah

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Omi Chand

 He was a merchant from Bengal. He was one of the main organizers of the conspiracy
against the Nawab and a signatory to the treaty negotiated by Robert Clive before the Battle
of Plassey in 1757


Effects
 The Battle of Plassey resulted at the end of the French forces.

 They were granted territories to maintain a properly equipped military force, and their
prestige skyrocketed

 However, there was no discernible change in the form of government, despite the fact that
supreme control of affairs had passed to Clive, on whose support the new nawab, Mir Jafar,
was entirely dependent in order to maintain his newly acquired position

 The Battle of Plassey granted the English access to the vast resources of Bengal. the English
virtually monopolised the trade and commerce of Bengal

 The battle caused significant political upheaval in the region, leading to a shift in power
dynamics and weakening the indigenous rulers

 After the Battle of Plassey Clive proclaimed Mir Jafar as the Nawab of Bengal and placed
him on the throne of Murshidabad

 Mir Jafar in order to satisfy the British as per the agreement gave the Zamindari of 24
Parganas (group of villages) of Bengal to the company.

 Mir Jafar was unhappy with the position and instigated the Dutch to attack the British in
order to consolidate his foundation

 Battle of Chinsura was fought between the Dutch and British forces on November 25, 1759

 The Dutch, however, were defeated and humiliated by English forces at Bedara in
November 1759

 Following the signing of a treaty between Mir Kasim and the Company in 1760, Vansittart,
the new Governor of Calcutta, agreed to support Mir Kasim's claim

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  Consequently he was removed from the throne and his son-in-law Mir Kasim was placed on
the throne as the new Nawab of Bengal. The British became the paramount European
power in Bengal

 Mir Kasim agreed to hand over the districts of Burdwan, Midnapur, and Chittagong to the
Company. The Company would receive half of Sylhet's chunam trade

 Mir Kasim moved the capital from Murshidabad to Munger in Bihar after assuming power.
The decision was made to keep a safe distance from the Company in Calcutta

 Robert Clive was titled “Lord Clive”, Baron of Plassey and also obtained a seat in the British
House of Commons.

 The economy of India was affected severely. Post the victory, the British started imposing
severe rules and regulations on the inhabitants of Bengal in the name of tax collection

 Economic Exploitation and Drain of Wealth: The British East India Company exploited
Bengal's resources, leading to economic hardships for the local population

 The Battle of Plassey exposed the moral weakness of the Indian people and made it clear to
the British Company that India could be conquered with the help of the Indian people
because they had no conception of nationalism.

Battle of Buxar 1764

 The Battle of Buxar occurred in the year 1764 in the Bihar territory. It was fought between
the British troops and the Nawab of Bengal, Oudh (Awadh), and the Mughal emperor. Mir
Qasim, Shuja-ud-Daulah, and Shah Alam II’s combined army fought against Major Hector
Munro who was the commander of the British East India Company.

 The Battle of Buxar was one of the pivotal conflicts in India’s history and its lengthy alliance
with British Colonial forces. British hegemony over the local kingdoms in the Indian
subcontinent was successfully established during the Battle of Buxar 1764 War

 The British took advantage of the commercial privileges that were granted to them, mostly
due to their imperial and colonial ambitions toward the territorial, economic, and political
conquest of India

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Background of Battle of Buxar
 After the death of Siraj-ud-Daulah in the battle of Plassey in 1757, his commander, Mir
Jafar, was installed as Bengal’s puppet Nawab by Robert Clive. During his reign, he did
several things that irked the British

 Firstly, he began changing the power equations. He maintained close connections with the
Dutch East India Company, the rival of the British. This step naturally didn’t go down well
with the British, who did away with Mir Jafar and, in his place, installed Mir Qasim as the
Nawab of Bengal

 Mir Qasim started to exert his independence. He did not favor the officials of the East
India Company, who disobeyed his administration. His economic reforms minimized
expenses on administration and palaces, which enraged the English officials

 Mir Qasim also allied with the Nawab of Oudh and the Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II, who
were themselves not happy with the East India Company’s imperialist ambitions. The trio
formed a united front

 Qasim also restricted the trade advantages that the British enjoyed. It led them to incur
enormous losses in Bengal. Furthermore, he also collaborated with foreign experts to
make his army stronger

The Battle of Buxar Commences

 Mir Qasim boldly disobeyed the British demand of having preferential treatment. It was
the last straw that made it fully evident to the British that Bengal needed to be conquered
at all costs

 While the English won in Katwah, Murshidabad, Giria, Sooty, and Munger, Mir Qasim
suffered severely. As a result, Mir Qasim had to leave Awadh (or Oudh

 He established a confederacy with Shah Alam II and Shuja-Ud-Daulah (the Nawab of Awadh)
in order to retake Bengal

 The British East India Company gathered a force of Indian soldiers and cavalry. It
advanced to assert its sway over Bengal against the Mughals

 In October 1764, the forces of Mir Qasim, Shuja-Ud-Daulah, and Shah Alam II came face to
face with the English near Buxar. Sir Hector Munro led the British force, which he
segmented into three chief sections.

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 There was Major Stibbert’s force on the left plank, Major Champion’s force on the right,
and in the center was the Bengal cavalry. Although Indians were more than the forces of
the British, they underwent heavy casualties from the English army.

 The force of Mir Qasim, Shuja-Ud-Daulah, and Shah Alam II amounted to 40,000 troops.
However, it was mercilessly defeated by an army of just 10,000 men belonging to the
British.

 Major Hector organized the lines in a mere 20 minutes and put an end to the advancing
army of Mughals

 A major cause of the defeat was an absence of coordination between the two Nawabs and
the Mughal emperor. As the war drew to an end and victory became predictable, Shah
Alam II abandoned the war.

 At the same time, Mir Qasim ran away from the field, and Shuja-Ud-Daulah had no option
but to give up on the English

 Two crucial treaties were signed after the battle. Robert Clive signed them with Shah
Alam II and Shuja-Ud-Daulah. They were called the Treaty of Allahabad (1765)

 Under the first treaty, Shuja-Ud-Daulah was forced to surrender Allahabad and Kara to
Shah Alam II and ordered to pay Rs 50 lakh as a war indemnity to East India Company. He
was made to give Balwant Singh (Zamindar of Banaras) full possession of his estate

 Second, Shah Alam-II was forced to live under the Company’s protection and the Mughal
emperor had to issue a Farman granting the Company the Diwani of Bengal, Bihar, and
Orissa to the East India Company in lieu of an annual payment of Rs 26 lakh.

 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

Participants of Battle of Role in the Battle of Buxar

Buxar

Mir Qasim – (Administering He disliked misuse of dastak, farmans by the

Bengal in place of Mir Jafar English, hence tried to conspire against them
– Nawab of Bengal) by forming an alliance with Nawab of Awadh

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 and Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II

Shuja-Ud-Daulah – Nawab of Was a part of a confederacy with Mir Qasim

Awadh (Oudh) and Shah Alam-II

Shah Alam II – Mughal He wanted to overthrow English from Bengal

Emperor

Hector Munro – British He led the battle from the English side
Army Major

Robert Clive Signed the treaties with Shuja-Ud-Daulah and

Shah Alam-II after winning the battle

Effect
 By winning it, the British became a significant power in the region. At the end of this
combat, the East India Company attained full authority over the Awadh and Mughal
Empires and became a strong political power

 One of the major reasons why the battle is important in India’s history is because it
brought the independent Nawab rule to an end

 This happened as Mir Qasim was defeated. The fight also led to the grant of Diwani to the
British East India Company by Shah Alam II, the Mughal Emperor

 But most importantly, the battle of Buxar revealed the loopholes apparent in the Indian
force. It was the single most significant factor that led the British to defeat the native
forces

 The battle is widely seen as the initial step of the British power in establishing their rule
over the entire Indian subcontinent

 Mir Qasim gave the English control over the Midnapore, Burdwan, and Chittagong districts
in order to support the army. Duty-free trade permits were issued to English traders
following the Battle of Buxar in 1764. Only salt was still subject to a 2% tariff

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  After the death of Mir Jafar, his minor son, Najimud-Daula, was appointed nawab, but the
real power of administration lay in the hands of the naib-subahdar, who could be appointed
or dismissed by the English

Important Question Related to Battle of Plassey and Buxar

Which one of the following was the last Governor of Bengal appointed by the Mughal emperor?
(a) Sartraz Khan
(b) Murshid Quli Khan
(c) Alivardi Khan
(d) Shujauddin Muhammad Khan

Answer: (b) Murshid Quli Khan

The Battle of Plassey was fought in the year ?

(a) 1761
(b) 1757
(c) 1760
(d) 1764

Answer: (b) 1757

Who is considered as the founder of the British Empire in India?

(a) Warren Hastings
(b) Lord Amherst
(c) Robert Clive
(d) Lord William Bentinck

Answer: (C) Robert Clive

Which of the following shifted his capital from Murshidabad to Munger?

(a) Alivardi Khan
(b) Siraj-ud-Daula
(c) Mir Jafer
(d) Mir Qasim

Answer: (d) Mir Qasim

The most decisive battle that led to the establishment of supremacy of the British in India was :
(a) The battle of Buxar
(b) The battle of Plassey
(c) The battle of Wandiwash
(d) The third battle of Panipat

Answer: (a) The Battle of Buxar

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Who was the ruler of Delhi at the time of the battle of Buxar?
(a) Aurangzeb
(b) Shah Alam I
(c) Bahadur Shah Zafar
(d) Shah Alam II

Answer: (d) Shah Alam II

Who was the Nawab of Bengal when the Battle of Buxar was fought?
(a) Sirajuddaula
(b) Mir Jafar
(c) Mir Qasim
(d) Naeem Ud Daula

Answer: (c) Mir Qasim

Which one of the following rulers granted Diwani to the East India Company ?
(a) Farukhsiyar
(b) Shah Alam- I
(c) Shah Alam- II
(d) Shujauddaula

Answer: (c) Shah Alam- II

In which Governor’s tenure, Diwani rights of Bengal, Bihar and Odisha was granted to the East
India Company by Emperor Shah Alam?
(a) Robert Clive
(b) Lord Cornwallis
(c) Lord Wellesley
(d) Lord William Bentick

Answer: (a) Robert Clive

Which one of the following is the correct chronological order of the battles fought in India in the
18th Century?
(a) Battle of Wandiwash-Battle of Buxar-Battle of Ambur-Battle of Plassey
(b) Battle of Ambur-Battle of Plassey-Battle of Wandiwash-Battle of Buxar
(c) Battle of Wandiwash-Battle of Plassey-Battle ofAmbur-Battle of Buxar
(d) Battle of Ambur-Battle of Buxar-Battle of Wandiwash-Battle of Plassey

Answer: (b) Battle of Ambur-Battle of Plassey-Battle of Wandiwash-Battle of Buxar

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Who was the Nawab of Bengal at the time of Battle of Plassey?

A. Aurangzeb
B. Siraj-ud-daulah
C. Jahagir
D. None of these

Answer – B Siraj-ud-daulah

The Nawab of Bengal, Siraj-ud-Daulah, was defeated at the Battle of Plassey. When was this?

A. 30 August 1757
B. 23 June 1757
C. 23 June 1760
D. 30 April 1755

Answer – B 23 June 1757

What was the main cause for the defeat of Siraj ud Daulah in the battle of Plassey?

A. He was not well-equipped with artillery

B. His commander in chief Mir Jafar joined with the forces of Robert Clive
C. He had no such quality like Clive to command the army
D. His army was weak

Answer – B

Who was the commander in chief of Nawab Siraj-Ud-Daulah's army?

A. Murshid Quili Khan

B. Mir Qasim
C. Mir Zafar
D. Alam Shah

Answer – C Mir Zafar

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Where in India is Fort William situated?

a) Kolkata
b) Mumbai
c) Chennai
d) Hyderabad
Answer – A Kolkata

The Battle of Buxar was fought between __________ and the combined forces of Mir Qasim
a) Hector Munro
b) Cornwallis
c) Dalhousie
d) John Shore
Answer – A Hector Munro

The combined forces of ________ fought against British in the Battle of Buxar in 1764.
a) Siraj-ud-Daulah, Shuja-ud-Daulah, Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II
b) Shuja-ud-Daulah, Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II, Mir Qasim
c) Mir Qasim, Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II, Mir Madan
d) Mir Jafar, Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah II, Shuja-ud-Daulah
Answer - B

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