Historical Memory Journey

Mir Jafar

Commander and Later Nawab of Bengal

A senior commander in Siraj ud-Daulah's camp, he joined the anti-Siraj conspiracy and was installed as Nawab after Plassey.

Context

Court and military politics of Bengal, 1757.

Contribution

A senior commander in Siraj ud-Daulah's camp, he joined the anti-Siraj conspiracy and was installed as Nawab after Plassey.

Impact

His realignment was decisive in the outcome of Plassey and in the transfer of influence to the Company.

plasseybengal-courtpower-shift

Appears In Events

Timeline View

1757

Battle of Plassey

The Battle of Plassey in 1757 marked a decisive shift in Bengal's political destiny. A short military encounter turned into a structural transfer of power as the East India Company used alliance, betrayal, and financial leverage to secure influence in Bengal. The aftermath reshaped governance, revenue extraction, and sovereignty, laying the foundation for long-term colonial rule.

1764

Battle of Buxar

In 1764, the Battle of Buxar gave the East India Company a decisive military advantage over the combined forces of Mir Qasim, Shuja-ud-Daula, and Shah Alam II. While Plassey opened the gate in Bengal, Buxar consolidated Company coercive power at a wider regional scale. The outcome set the stage for the 1765 diwani arrangement and deeper colonial revenue extraction.

1765

East India Company Gets Diwani Rights in Bengal

In 1765, the East India Company secured the diwani, or the right to collect revenue, in Bengal, Bihar, and Orissa. That settlement turned post-Plassey influence into formal fiscal power. Revenue extraction, administrative leverage, and political authority began to flow through the Company, even as Mughal and nawabi institutions remained in place.

1770

Great Bengal Famine

The famine of 1770 devastated Bengal, producing catastrophic mortality across agrarian and urban communities. Crop failure, grain-market distortions, and rigid revenue collection under East India Company authority combined to turn environmental stress into a social collapse. The crisis became an early warning of how colonial political economy could magnify human vulnerability.