BATILE OF BUXAR

BATILE OF BUXAR Soon, differences arose between Mir Kasim and the English due to Kasim's desire to assert his authority, especially, on the matter of private trade by the servants of the Company. He was deposed by the English in 1763. He took refuge with Shuja-ud-daula, the Nawab of Avadh. The Mughal emperor, Shah Alam II, and Shuja-ud-daula decided to support Mir Kasim. Thus the . three of them formed an alliance and invaded Bengal and reached Buxar. The English officer, Major Munro, defeated them in the Battle of Buxar in October 1764. The importance of this battle lay in the fact that not only the Nawab of Bengal but the emperor bf India also was defeated. Further, under the Treaty of Allahabad (1765), the English got the diwani (or right to collect revenue) of Bengal and thus became the master of the whole of Bengal (i.e. Bengal, Bihar and Orissa). The Mughal emperor was virtually their prisoner at Allahabad.

ROBERT CLIVE A survey of this period of British rule cannot be complete without a reference to Robert Clive, who joined the army after resigning from a clerk's post. He was instrumental in laying the foundations of British power in India. He was made the Governor of Bengal twice from 1757 to 60 and then from 1765 to 67. He administered Bengal under the dual government system till his return to England where he committed suicide in 1774.