06-23-2006, 07:51 AM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>The turning point </b>
<i>Two-and-a-half centuries ago today, the decline of Muslim rule in
India began with the Battle of Plassey, says Prafull Goradia</i>
The Battle of Plassey was fought on June 23, 1757 - 249 years ago.
The East India Company forces, led by Colonel Robert Clive, had many
local allies. Uncannily, they were all Hindu, until Mir Jafar
defected in the heat of battle as an exchange for being made Nawab
of Bengal.
According to a book written in Bengali, Kolikata Ekale-o-Shekale
(published in 1905), the reason was the nawab's oppression of
Hindus. Siraj-ud-Daulah, the new nawab, who came to the throne at
the age of 27 on the death of his sagacious grandfather, Alivardi
Khan, was callous.
Being especially sacred for the Hindus, the Nabadwip area was
sensitive but Siraj-ud-Daulah could not care less. Maharaja Krishna
Chandra got his opportunity to strike back when Clive in 1756
arrived in Bengal in order to recapture Calcutta.
Krishna Chandra gave the Company his whole hearted support and was
rewarded with 12 cannons which, incidentally, were used against the
nawab at Plassey the following year.
Raja Nabakrishna Deb was another example of the support given by the
Hindu elite to the British at the time. His contact began by his
offering to teach Persian to Warren Hastings, then a young writer in
the service of the Company. His help to the Company was critical
when he provided prior information of Siraj-ud-Daulah' s plan to
attack the old fort at Calcutta.
The warning helped to save many a British life. Incidentally, the
nawab was so communally inclined that after his victory at Calcutta,
he renamed the city Alinagar.
Before counter attacking the Calcutta fort, Clive got invaluable
information about Siraj-ud-Daulah' s strength through the good
offices of Nabakrishna. The accurate assessment, too, helped Clive
to make his plan for the Battle of Plassey the following year.
Reverend James Long wrote at length about the Hindu help that
enabled the British victory at Plassey. Gobind Ram Mitra and Sobha
Ram Basack were two zamindars who were also British allies. They
were so trusted as to be appointed commissioners for distributing
the company's relief to the citizens of Calcutta, who had suffered
during Siraj-ud-Daulah' s attack on Calcutta.
The other commissioners were Ratan Sarkar, Sukhdeb Mullick, Nayan
Chand Mullick, Daya Ram Basu, Neelmani Mitra, Hare Krishna Thakur.
All were Hindus and not a single belonged to the Muslim community.
Over the last century, all these gentlemen would be accused of
treachery. During the 18th and 19th centuries, this was not so. In
those decades, Hindus were the subjects of Muslim rulers, who
treated them as zimmis (protected citizens) at best and kafirs at
worst.
The nawabs were rightly viewed as conquerors and not as fellow
citizens. Little wonder when the East India Company became
politically active in the country, it was looked upon as bringing
much needed relief from Muslim oppression.
Accepting an enemy's enemy as a friend was commonsense. The Hindu
elite saw no hope of striking back at the nawabs on their own.
Symbolic of the deliverance, Nabakrishna unveiled his palace to the
public with a Durga puja as a celebration of the victory at Plassey
with Robert Clive as the chief guest. Never before could a public
puja be celebrated as it would offend the Muslim rulers.
The notion that Hindus and Muslims were fraternal citizens and that
the British were the common enemy was the illusion thrust down our
throat by Mahatma Gandhi and his followers. Muslims did not suffer
from this fantasy and had no hesitation in dividing the country
eventually. Even today few Muslims have a conscience about Pakistan.
The Battle of Plassey was, in fact, the beginning of relief to the
Hindu civilisation after many a century. It began to dislodge the
nawabs from their thrones and make them sit on the ground as
subjects which was the Hindu fate in most parts of the country.
<b>The Battle of Plassey was, therefore, the first battle of Hindu
deliverance from the Muslim yoke. The proof was the Indian
Renaissance that followed in the 19th century and continued
thereafter.</b>
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<i>Two-and-a-half centuries ago today, the decline of Muslim rule in
India began with the Battle of Plassey, says Prafull Goradia</i>
The Battle of Plassey was fought on June 23, 1757 - 249 years ago.
The East India Company forces, led by Colonel Robert Clive, had many
local allies. Uncannily, they were all Hindu, until Mir Jafar
defected in the heat of battle as an exchange for being made Nawab
of Bengal.
According to a book written in Bengali, Kolikata Ekale-o-Shekale
(published in 1905), the reason was the nawab's oppression of
Hindus. Siraj-ud-Daulah, the new nawab, who came to the throne at
the age of 27 on the death of his sagacious grandfather, Alivardi
Khan, was callous.
Being especially sacred for the Hindus, the Nabadwip area was
sensitive but Siraj-ud-Daulah could not care less. Maharaja Krishna
Chandra got his opportunity to strike back when Clive in 1756
arrived in Bengal in order to recapture Calcutta.
Krishna Chandra gave the Company his whole hearted support and was
rewarded with 12 cannons which, incidentally, were used against the
nawab at Plassey the following year.
Raja Nabakrishna Deb was another example of the support given by the
Hindu elite to the British at the time. His contact began by his
offering to teach Persian to Warren Hastings, then a young writer in
the service of the Company. His help to the Company was critical
when he provided prior information of Siraj-ud-Daulah' s plan to
attack the old fort at Calcutta.
The warning helped to save many a British life. Incidentally, the
nawab was so communally inclined that after his victory at Calcutta,
he renamed the city Alinagar.
Before counter attacking the Calcutta fort, Clive got invaluable
information about Siraj-ud-Daulah' s strength through the good
offices of Nabakrishna. The accurate assessment, too, helped Clive
to make his plan for the Battle of Plassey the following year.
Reverend James Long wrote at length about the Hindu help that
enabled the British victory at Plassey. Gobind Ram Mitra and Sobha
Ram Basack were two zamindars who were also British allies. They
were so trusted as to be appointed commissioners for distributing
the company's relief to the citizens of Calcutta, who had suffered
during Siraj-ud-Daulah' s attack on Calcutta.
The other commissioners were Ratan Sarkar, Sukhdeb Mullick, Nayan
Chand Mullick, Daya Ram Basu, Neelmani Mitra, Hare Krishna Thakur.
All were Hindus and not a single belonged to the Muslim community.
Over the last century, all these gentlemen would be accused of
treachery. During the 18th and 19th centuries, this was not so. In
those decades, Hindus were the subjects of Muslim rulers, who
treated them as zimmis (protected citizens) at best and kafirs at
worst.
The nawabs were rightly viewed as conquerors and not as fellow
citizens. Little wonder when the East India Company became
politically active in the country, it was looked upon as bringing
much needed relief from Muslim oppression.
Accepting an enemy's enemy as a friend was commonsense. The Hindu
elite saw no hope of striking back at the nawabs on their own.
Symbolic of the deliverance, Nabakrishna unveiled his palace to the
public with a Durga puja as a celebration of the victory at Plassey
with Robert Clive as the chief guest. Never before could a public
puja be celebrated as it would offend the Muslim rulers.
The notion that Hindus and Muslims were fraternal citizens and that
the British were the common enemy was the illusion thrust down our
throat by Mahatma Gandhi and his followers. Muslims did not suffer
from this fantasy and had no hesitation in dividing the country
eventually. Even today few Muslims have a conscience about Pakistan.
The Battle of Plassey was, in fact, the beginning of relief to the
Hindu civilisation after many a century. It began to dislodge the
nawabs from their thrones and make them sit on the ground as
subjects which was the Hindu fate in most parts of the country.
<b>The Battle of Plassey was, therefore, the first battle of Hindu
deliverance from the Muslim yoke. The proof was the Indian
Renaissance that followed in the 19th century and continued
thereafter.</b>
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->