the Raj The rise of

Petty jealousy and betrayal within the royal family began an inexorable train of events that led to the entrenchment of the British raj in India and Portuguese were also trying to make their presence felt, but their scope was limited.

Royal conspiracy

Siraj-Ud-Daula ascended the Mughal throne in April 1756 at just 26 years of age, after the death of his grandfather Ali Vardi Khan. He superseded other princes, senior ministers and nobles, arousing extreme jealousy among close family members and officials. From the beginning of his rule, Siraj was not in good terms with the British East India Company, particularly because of their strengthened fortifications in Calcutta. In June 1756, he attacked the fort in full force, capturing it and holding 146 British subjects in a small, dark chamber, recorded in history as the infamous “Black Hole of Calcutta”. Only 23 were said to have survived the ordeal. Revenge became a top-of-the-agenda item for the Company.

At the same time, a conspiracy to overthrow Siraj was growing exponentially in Murshidabad. His most senior minister Mir Zafar, aunt Ghasetti Begum and many others including wealthy merchants like Jagath Seth and Umichand joined hands with Lord Clive, commander of the British East India Company, and struck a deal that if Siraj were to be ousted, the throne would be awarded to Mir Zafar.

The Battle of Plassey

On June 23, 1757, the 3000-strong army of Clive met face-to-face with Nawab Siraj’s 50,000 men who were equipped with a train of heavy artillery. The confrontation was at the tranquil mango grove of Plassey, but the outcome of the battle had been decided long before the soldiers even came to the battlefield. The Nawab’s soldiers were bribed by Mir Zafar to throw away their weapons, surrender prematurely, and even turn their arms against their own army, if required. Without many gunshots fired the battle ended within a day, with Siraj fleeing for his life, only to be captured by Mir Zafar’s son and brutally murdered.

Mir Zafar and his descendants became the future Nawabs of the province, but they remained as puppets in the hands of British who did not waste much time thereafter in establishing their reign, not only in Bengal, but all over India. Nehru, referring to this battle in his book, aptly described Clive as having won the battle “by promoting treason and forgery”, thus marking a sordid start to British rule in India.

The price of betrayal

“Unless you visit Murshidabad, you will not understand the history of modern India,” says my omniscient guide Quasim, during my recent visit there. “Here every stone and brick has a story to narrate, of lust and passion, obedience and conspiracy, power and greed!”

Accordingly, history becomes our other companion when browsing through the impoverished townscape dotted with ruined palaces, mosques, monuments, mausoleums, tomb and graveyards, all of which remain silent witnesses of a fiery past.

There is nothing much left to remember Siraj by, other than his grave in Khosh Bagh located on the other side of the river. He rests there alongside his grandfather and wife Luft-un-nisa, inside an arcaded mausoleum surrounded by a pleasant garden peppered with 108 varieties of roses. History reveals that Siraj had an unpleasant character: he was cruel, disrespectful to elders, greedy and a womanizer. But despite these negative traits, he is still adored; perhaps because of his fight against the English. People still come to his grave, light a candle and pray; but that’s not what happens when they storm Mir Zafar’s grave at nearby Zafargunge. It is alleged that they kick and spit on it. Mir Zafar was never forgiven for his disloyalty to his motherland. He was nicknamed Gaddar-e-Abrar in Urdu, meaning ‘unfaithful traitor’ and is remembered in history as another word for betrayal. In the foreground of his cemetery lies his ruined palace where the conspiracy between him and the British was hatched. Nothing much remains of the main edifice except the main ornamental entrance which stands as a soundless spectator to his shameful past. It is called the “Nimak Haram Deorhi”, meaning ‘traitors gate’.

Modern Murshidabad

The oldest monument of significance in Murshidabad is the Katra Masjid, a large mosque built on a 20-acre property in 1723, by Nawab Murshid Quili Khan. As per his wishes, he was buried under the staircase that leads up to the main hall, so that he could be trampled by all who climbed up and down. During its heyday, this mosque could easily accommodate thousands, and it had numerous cavetype cells for worshippers to read the Koran. Though this monument, like a few others in Murshidabad, is maintained by the Archeological Society of India, unfortunately signs of neglect and decay are evident all around.

The town’s most tourist-infected venue is the Hazarduary Palace, a three-storied edifice of Italian architectural style, fitted with 900 real and 100 artificial doors (‘hazarduary’ literally means a thousand doors), guarding 114 rooms.

Now a museum displaying an exquisite collection of memorabilia from the Nawabi era, it was built in 1837 by one of the descendants of Mir Zafar. Amongst several artifacts exhibited such as paintings, sculptures and weapons, the one that draws attention is the jewel studded sword of Siraj.

The colossal palace is nestled within a 41-acre walled area that also houses a Clock Town often referred as “Big Ben of Mushidadbad”, an impressive white-painted Imambara (a place of worship for Shiaite Muslims) standing on the same site where the old one built by Siraj was destroyed by fire, and a huge 4m long cannon, which has been kept idle after it fired its first shot. Its debut explosion was so loud that all pregnant women within 15km radius gave birth to their child prematurely.

You can still visit the ill-fated mango grove in Plassey where a monument has been erected to remind present generations of independent India of this significant event: a battle which was fought and won within a day, and in which the sovereignty of a nation was lost. Since then, it has taken another 190 years to regain total independence, but at the cost of myriad lives and sacrifices.

Standing there, surrounded by hordes of large mango trees, some of which presumably may have witnessed the battle–drama, I wonder what India would have been like today if a fair game had been played.

Planning a visit?

The best time to visit this town is during the winter from November to March.

Getting to Murshidabad is easy. Thai Airways (www.thaiairways.com.au) have regular flights from Australia via Bangkok to Kolkata, from where Murshidabad is only 4 hours away by road or rail.

Visitors can stay at West Bengal Government Tourist Lodge or at Hotel Samrat in nearby Beharampore. While in Kolkata, the Taj Bengal Hotel (www. tajhotels.com), which is very reminiscent of British India, can be a good choice.