12-11-2005, 10:53 PM
Mudy,
You mistake the context of the Battle of Plassey. Nawab Siraj-ud-daulah was a widely hated muslim tyrant and was also a noted debauch. Also the Nawabs of Bengal (Murshidabad) had always vaunted and publicised their Turani origins - which apparently puts them above native Indians. So for the people of Bengal it was one foreigner against another. Why on earth should the Hindus unite behind a muslim tyrant? As a matter of fact all the Hindu rajas and big Zamindars rallied behind the British as a mode of deliverence from the Nawab. Their haunch later proved correct. The Brits no doubt stole a lot more money but they never indulged in the kind of atrocities and depredations the Muslim Nawab used to commit. If you also read the contemporary history and 'Ananda Math' carefully you'll see that the famous Sanyasi Rebellion of the 1780's were against the Puppet Nawab of Bengal - Mir Zafar Ali Khan (Siraj's successor propped up by the British) and his policy of farming out the collection of State taxes to private collectors. The British got involved only at the last stage.
You mistake the context of the Battle of Plassey. Nawab Siraj-ud-daulah was a widely hated muslim tyrant and was also a noted debauch. Also the Nawabs of Bengal (Murshidabad) had always vaunted and publicised their Turani origins - which apparently puts them above native Indians. So for the people of Bengal it was one foreigner against another. Why on earth should the Hindus unite behind a muslim tyrant? As a matter of fact all the Hindu rajas and big Zamindars rallied behind the British as a mode of deliverence from the Nawab. Their haunch later proved correct. The Brits no doubt stole a lot more money but they never indulged in the kind of atrocities and depredations the Muslim Nawab used to commit. If you also read the contemporary history and 'Ananda Math' carefully you'll see that the famous Sanyasi Rebellion of the 1780's were against the Puppet Nawab of Bengal - Mir Zafar Ali Khan (Siraj's successor propped up by the British) and his policy of farming out the collection of State taxes to private collectors. The British got involved only at the last stage.