Raja Balwant Singh's death, 1770

Balwant Singh's death in 1770.
 The Rajas of Benares:(1770–1835)Balwant Singh's elder son, Rafa'at wa Awal-i-Martabat Raja Sri Chait Singh Sahib Bahadur, succeeded to the throne as the first Raja of Benares in 1770. Although the Nawab still wished to hold total suzerainty over the zamindari, the British authorities prevailed upon him to recognise Chait Singh as zamindar in 1773. Two years later, the Nawab, by now fed up with British interference, transferred the domain to the Company under the direct control of the Governor-General of India, Warren Hastings. Under the new British terms, Chait Singh was empowered to contribute cavalry and maintenance grants for the Company's sepoy battalions. This, however, the Raja refused to do, and he began to secretly correspond with enemies of the Company in hopes of forcibly breaking the arrangement. Discovered, Chait Singh was stripped of his position and placed under house arrest in September 1781 pending an interview with Hastings. Instead, he killed his unarmed guards, gathered his small forces and escaped, appealing for assistance from local rulers, who did nothing. In skirmishes with the Company forces, Chait Singh's troops were easily defeated, the rebellion crushed and the zamindari confiscated and given over to his nephew Rafa'at wa Awal-i-Martabat Raja Sri Mahipat Narayan Singh Sahib Bahadur on the 14 September 1781. Chait Singh himself fled to Awadh, then to Gwalior, where he was granted a jagir for a while until it was later confiscated. He died in Gwalior on 29 March 1810 in obscurity, leaving three sons. The incident greatly tarnished Hasting's image and capability, leading to his eventual impeachment by the Company.
Chait Singh's nephew, Raja Sri Mahipat Narayan Singh Sahib Bahadur, succeeded his maternal uncle on 14 September 1781 under the terms of the Company, which were that he should serve to dispense justice within his domains and make an annual contribution of 40 lakhs. However, he proved incapable of governing, and on 27 October 1794, under a formal agreement the four sarkars, or revenue districts, held by the Raja were transferred to the direct rule of the Company administration, leaving only the family domains under the rule of the Raja; in return Mahipat Narayan Singh received 1 lakh per year in compensation and any surplus revenue of the sarkars. Mahipat Narayan Singh died barely a year later, and was succeeded by his eldest son, Rafa'at wa Awal-i-Martabat Raja Sri Udit Narayan Singh Sahib Bahadur.
The eldest surviving son of Mahipat Narayan Singh, Udit Narayan Singh Sahib Bahadur (1770-4 April 1835, r. 12 September 1795-4 April 1835) proved even more incapable as an administrator than his father had been. In 1828, he petitioned the Company to annul the 1794 agreement under which the family had lost the sarkars, and to press for their return to family control. However, the Company instead ordered a detailed enquiry into Udit Narayan Singh's personal affairs and his governance of the family domains. Finding them to be grossly mismanaged, the Company confiscated the last remaining lands of the Rajas and placed them under their own control. It would be over five decades before the domains would be restored to the family. Udit Narayan Singh died on 4 April 1835, aged 65, and was succeeded by his nephew, Raja Sri Ishwari Prasad Narayan Singh Sahib Bahadur
PRESENT RULER: HH Maharaja Shri ANANT NARAYAN SINGH, 10th Maharaja of Benares (2000/-)( The Ramnagar Palace, Varanasi - 221001, Uttar Pradesh, India)
born 1963, married HH Maharani Anamika Devi.
PREDECESSORS AND SHORT HISTORY: The Kingdom of Kashi or Benares was founded by Khsetravridha, son of Ayus, of the Somavansa dynasty of Pratishthana. It lost independance in 1194 and was eventually ceded by the Nawab of Oudh to the British in 1775 who recognized Benares as a family dominion. Benares acceded to the status of State in 1911. The ruling family claims descent from the god Shiva and benefited greatly from pilgrimage to Benares. The modern name of Benares is Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh. Mansa Ram, a Gautam Bhumiyar Zamindar of Utaria 1737-1740, received most of the Benares territory from the Governor of Benares 1737, Balwant Singh 1740-1770, Ruler of Utaria (which name was changed to Gangapur), received the territories of Jaunpur, Benares and Chunar from the Sultan of Delhi. Other places that were under the protection of the Maharajas of Benares included, Chandauli, Gyanpur, (site of a large hospital and a school), Chakia, Latifshah (site of the Maharaja's forests and hunting grounds), Mirzapur, Nandeshwar, Mint House and Vindhyachal. Rulers were....
Shri MANSA RAM 1737/1740, married and had issue.
Raja BALWANT SINGH (qv)
Raja BALWANT SINGH 1740/1770, born 1711, the best administrator that the people of the region had known although his administration was constantly hampered by the strained relations existing between him and Shuja-ud-daula of Oudh. In spite of his unwillingness, Balwant Singh was compelled to join Shuja-ud-daula, the Mughal Emperor, Shah Alam, and Mir Kasim in the battle of Buxar which was fought in 1764 against the British, which ended in victory for the British, married (a), Rani Panna Kunwar, married (b), Rani Gulab Kunwar (#2) (sister of Ajaib Singh, died 3rd April 1787), and had issue. He died 19th August 1770.
Raja CHAIT SINGH (qv)
Rajkumar Sujan Singh
Kumari (name unknown), married Shri Durg Vijay Singh, and had issue.
Raja Mahip Narayan Singh (qv)
Raja CHAIT SINGH 1770/1781, (#1) his Raj was declared independent of Oudh in 1775 and made tributary to the British; deposed by them on 16th August 1781. He died 29th March 1810 at Gwalior.

Raja Balwant Singh

Ghulam Muhammad, Ruhela Chief

Establishment of Rampur State
While most of Rohilkhand was annexed, the Rohilla State of Rampur was established by Nawab Faizullah Khan on 7 October 1774 in the presence of British Commander Colonel Champion, and remained a pliant state under British protection thereafter. The first stone of the new Fort at Rampur was laid in 1775 by Nawab Faizullah Khan. Originally it was a group of four villages named Kather, the name of Raja Ram Singh. The first Nawab proposed to rename the city 'Faizabad'. But many other places were known by the name Faizabad so its name was changed to Mustafabad alias Rampur. Nawwab Faizullah Khan ruled for 20 years. He was a great patron of scholarship, and began the collection of Arabic, Persian, Turkish and Urdu manuscripts which now make up the bulk of the Rampur Raza Library. After his death his son Muhammad Ali Khan took over, but he was killed by the Rohilla leaders after 24 days, and Ghulam Muhammad Khan, the brother of the deceased, was proclaimed Nawab. The East India Company took exception to this, and after a reign of just 3 months and 22 days Ghulam Muhammad Khan was defeated by its forces, and the Governor-General made Ahmad Ali Khan, son of the late Muhammad Ali Khan, the new Nawab. He ruled for 44 years. He did not have any sons, so Muhammad Sa'id Khan, son of Ghulam Muhammad Khan, took over as the new Nawab. He raised a regular Army, established Courts and carried out many works to improve the economic conditions of farmers. His son Muhammad Yusuf Ali Khan took over after his death. His son Kalb Ali Khan became the new Nawab after his death in 1865.Hastings and the Rohilla War By John Strachey.

Sindhia

Sindhia family, Maratha ruling family of Gwalior, which for a time in the 18th century dominated the politics of northern India. The dynasty was founded by Ranoji Sindhia, who in 1726 was put in charge of the Malwa region by the peshwa (chief minister of the Maratha state). By his death in 1750, Ranoji had established his capital at Ujjain; only later was the Sindhia capital moved to the rock fortress of Gwalior.
Probably the greatest of Ranoji’s successors was Sindhia Mahadaji (reigned 1761–94), who created a north Indian empire virtually independent of the peshwa. He emerged from war with the British East India Company (1775–82) as the recognized ruler of northwest India. With the aid of French officers, he defeated the rajputs, took the Mughal emperor Shah ʿAlām under his protection, and finally won control of the peshwa by defeating the Maratha Holkar, the peshwa’s chief general, in 1793. His grandnephew, Daulat Rao, however, suffered serious reverses. He came into conflict with the British in 1803. After being defeated in four battles by Gen. Gerard Lake, he was obliged to disband his French-trained army and sign a treaty; he gave up control of Delhi but retained Rajputana until 1817. The Sindhia became clients of the British in 1818 and survived as a princely house until 1947.

Mahadji Sindhia

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Zaman Shah of Kabul,3rd Battle of Panipath

Third Battle of Panipat Main article: Third Battle of Panipath
The Mughal power in northern India had been declining since the reign of Aurangzeb, who died in 1707; In 1751-52, Ahamdiya treaty was signed between the Marathas and Mughals, when Balaji Bajirao was the Peshwa. Through this treaty, the Marathas controlled virtually the whole of India from their capital at Pune and Mughal rule was restricted only to Delhi (the Mughals remained the nominal heads of Delhi). Marathas were now straining to expand their area of control towards the Northwest of India. Ahmad Shah sacked the Mughal capital and withdrew with the booty he coveted. To counter the Pashtuns, Peshwa Balaji Bajirao sent Raghunathrao. He succeeded in ousting Timur Shah and his court from India and brought Lahore, Multan, Kashmir and other subahs on the Indian side of Attock under Maratha rule. Thus, upon his return to Kandahar in 1757, Ahmad was forced to return to India and face the formidable attacks of the Maratha Confederacy.
Ahmad Shah declared a jihad (or Islamic holy war) against the Marathas, and warriors from various Pashtun tribes, as well as other tribes such as the Baloch, Tajiks, and Nawabs in India, answered his call. Early skirmishes were followed by victory for the Pashtuns against the smaller Maratha garrisons in Northwest India and by 1759 Ahmad and his army had reached Lahore and were poised to confront the Marathas. By 1760, the Maratha groups had coalesced into a big enough army under the command of Sadashivrao Bhau. Once again, Panipat was the scene of a confrontation between two warring contenders for control of northern India. The Third Battle of Panipat (January 1761), fought between largely Muslim and largely Hindu armies was waged along a twelve-kilometer front. Despite decisively defeating the Marathas, what might have been Ahmad Shah's peaceful control of his domains was disrupted by other challenges.
Zaman Shah (1793-1801)Main article: Zaman Shah Durrani
After the death of Timur Shah, three of his sons, the governors of Kandahar, Herat and Kabul, contended for the succession. Zaman Shah, governor of Kabul, held the field by virtue of being in control of the capital, and became shah at the age of twenty-three. Many of his half-brothers were imprisoned on their arrival in the capital for the purpose, ironically, of electing a new shah. The quarrels among Timur's descendants that threw Afghanistan into turmoil also provided the pretext for the intervention of outside forces.
The efforts of the Sadozai heirs of Timur to impose a true monarchy on the truculent Pashtun tribes, and their efforts to rule absolutely and without the advice of the other major Pashtun tribal leaders, were ultimately unsuccessful. The Sikhs became particularly troublesome, and after several unsuccessful efforts to subdue them, Zaman Shah made the mistake of appointing a forceful young Sikh chief, Ranjit Singh, as his governor in the Punjab. This "one-eyed" warrior would later become an implacable enemy of Pashtun rulers in Afghanistan.
Zaman's downfall was triggered by his attempts to consolidate power. Although it had been through the support of the Barakzai chief, Painda Khan Barakzai, that he had come to the throne, Zaman soon began to remove prominent Barakzai leaders from positions of power and replace them with men of his own lineage, the Sadozai. This upset the delicate balance of Durrani tribal politics that Ahmad Shah had established and may have prompted Painda Khan and other Durrani chiefs to plot against the shah. Painda Khan and the chiefs of the Nurzai and the Alizai Durrani clans were executed, as was the chief of the Qizilbash clan. Painda Khan's son fled to Iran and pledged the substantial support of his Barakzai followers to a rival claimant to the throne, Zaman's older brother, Mahmud Shah. The clans of the chiefs Zaman had executed joined forces with the rebels, and they took Kandahar without bloodshed

Pashtoon

Nawab of Awad (Ayodhya)

Twelve Nawabs of Awadh

Name of Awadh is derived from Ayodhya (before Mughal's effect). Until 16^th c. AD, its name was Ayodhya and not Awadh. In ancient period, Ayodhya was the capital Kosal Province. The history of Ayodhya however as of nearly all Hindu Kingdoms between 7^th & amp; 11^th centuries is a mystery.
Awadh again came into prominence when Muslim rulers started to reign in India. Bakhtiyar Khalji was made governor of this region by Qutbuddin in 12^th c. AD. Nasiruddin Muhammad Shah was made governor in 1325 AD. Qamruddin Qaran and then Farhat Khan was made governor by Muhammad Tughluq, Who declared himself independent king and made Jaunpur his capital.

Ayodhya was given importance in the reign of Mughals also. Babur himself visited in 1538 AD with his army. Awadh became a "Subah" or province of the Mughal Empire after Babur annexed it. Mughal king Akbar divided his Empire into 12 provinces for better administration and controlled by "Sipah Salar". Awadh was one of the important provinces. Control over these provinces by the king at Delhi started weakening with the decaying conditions of Mughals by the time of Muhammad Shah until 1722, when Sadat Khan the new governor laid the foundation.

During the 139 years of Awadh reign following rulers ruled:
Nawab Wazirs of Awadh
1. Burhanul-Mulk Nawab Sadat Khan 1132-1151 AH / 1719-1737 AD
2. Nawab Safdarjung 1151-1166 AH / 1737-1753 AD
3. Nawab Shuja-ud-daula 1166-1188 AH / 1753-1775 AD
4. Nawab Asaf-ud-daula 1188-1212 AH / 1775-1797 AD
5. Nawab Wazir Ali Khan 1212-1212 AH / 1797-1798 AD
6. Nawab Sadat Ali Khan 1212-1229 AH / 1798-1814 AD
7. Nawab Ghazi-ud-din Haider 1229-1234 AH / 1814-1819 AD
8. Birjis Qadra 1273-1274 AH / 1857-1858 AD

Kings of Awadh
1. Ghazi-ud-din Haider 1234-1243 AH / 1819-1827 AD
2. Nasir-ud-din Haider 1243-1253 AH / 1827-1837 AD
3. Muhammad Ali Shah 1253-1258 AH / 1837-1842 AD
4. Amjad Ali Shah 1258-1263 AH / 1842-1847 AD
5. Wajid Ali Shah 1263-1272 AH / 1847-1856 AD
Earlier known as Lakshmanpur Awadh is claimed to be among the most ancient of Hindu States. According to popular legend Ramchandra (Hindu God) of Ayodhya, the hero of the Ramayana gifted the territory of Lucknow to his devoted brother Lakshaman after he had conquered Lanka (present Shri Lanka) and completed his term of exile in jungle. Therefore people say that original name of Lucknow was Lakshmanpur, popularly known as Lakshmanpur or Lakhanpur. Ayodhya was so large a city that Lakshmanpur was described as its suburb.
BURHAN-UL-MULK NAWAB SADAT KHAN
(1132-1151 AH / 1719-1737 AD)
Muhammad Amin s/o Muhammad Nasir
Capital: Faizabad near Ayodhya
Founder of Faizabad City
Muhammad Naseer came to Patna (today capital of Bihar State) along with his elder son Muhammad Baqar from Khurasan (in Persia) and worked for Murshid Quli Khan. Muhammad Naseer 's second son Muhammad Amin also came to Patna but his father expired before he reached. Muhammad Amin came to Delhi in 1709 AD. He started his life as a Fauji Sardar under Faujdar Sarbuland Khan of Kara Manikpur. He got annoyed with Sarbuland Khan, left his services, and came to Delhi. There He joined the force of Farukhsiyar and got the title of Hift-e-hazari. When Muhammad Shah came to power, Muhammad Amin was assigned many important tasks and he completed all the tasks successfully. He was given the title of "Sadat Khan Bahadur". He was made governor of Agra on Oct 15, 1720 AD. He was given the title of "Captain of the Imperial Body Guards" on Jan 12, 1721 AD.
He was also made the governor of Awadh on Sep 9, 1722 AD and the army-in-charge of Gorakhpur. Awadh now includes five districts Khalilabad, Faizabad, Gorakhpur, Bahraich and Lucknow. Boundries of Awadh stretched to Himalayan hills in north, Bihar in east, in south unto Kara Manikpur of Allahabad province and in west unto Kannauj. From Gorakhpur to Kannauj 270 miles long and from northern hills to Kara Manikpur the province was 230 miles wide, totaling to 1,01,71,080 Bigha in area.
Local kings, Zamindars and Jagirdars have created mismanagement and destroyed the peace of the area since the reign of Aurangzeb, specially the Sheikh Zadas. Sadat Khan tamed them, made his own palace near Ayodhya, and founded a new city Faizabad, which became the capital of the new government. Due to his management policy state's income rose from Rupees 70 lakhs to 2 crores.
On this success Muhammad Shah was very pleased and given him the title of "Burhan-ul-Mulk". Sadat Khan enlarged the state boundary on eastern front by taking Banaras, Jaunpur, Ghazipur and Chunar under his control from Jagirdar Murtaza Khan in 1728 AD.
For his assistance, he called his maternal nephew (Bhanja) Muhammad Muqeem from Nishapur and got him married with his alder daughter. Sadat Khan also got the title of "Abul Mansoor" through Muhammad Shah and a post Deputy Governor of Awadh for Muhammad Muqeem.
Sadat Khan moved to Delhi to assist the king in central administration of the country. After the conflict with Muhammad Shah over the fight with Baji Rao Peshwa in 1736 ADdue to backbiting of nobles, Sadat Khan came back to Lucknow.
In 1729 AD Nadir Shah attacked Delhi and started blood shedding. Sadat Khan started for Delhi to face him. He compromised with Nadir Shah to take two crores of Rupees and go back, but the credit of this compromise was given to Asaf Jah, with the title of "Amir-ul-umra". This demoralized Sadat Khan. He informed the fact to Nadir Shah and made himself aloof. Nadir Shah arrested Asaf Jah and started massacre in Delhi.
Sadat Khan died on Mar 19, 1739 AD. At the time of his death, there were 22 lakhs army men, 50 tanks and crores of Rupees.
NAWAB SAFDARJUNG
(1151-1166 AH / 1737-1753 AD)
Abul Mansoor Muhammad Muqueem
Son-in-law of Sadat Khan
Capital Faizabad
After Sadat Khan there were two claimants for the governorship of Awadh. Sadat Khan's nephew Sherjung and Abul Mansoor Muhammad Muqueem. Muhammad Mucked was efficient having the experience of 5 years but for Nadir Shah these qualities were of no use. He only knows the language of money. He accepted the offer of the advocate of Abul Mansoor, Raja Lakshminarayana that a sum of rupees 2 crores will be given to him as Nazrana after Muhammad Muqueem becomes the governor of Awadh. One crore eighty lakhs from Awadh and twenty lakhs from the Delhi's residence of Sadat Khan were given to Nadir Shah and Muhammad Muqueem was made the governor of Awadh. Muhammad Shah gave him the title of "Safdarjung".
He has to face the same problem as of Sadat Khan, currupt policy of Delhi court, rebellion kings and wellbeing of his people and army. He succeeded on all the fronts, crushed rulers and maintained peace in Awadh, gained the confidence of Muhammad Shah and was awarded with the title of "Meer-e-Atash" and the governorship of Kashmir. Muhammad Shah was so impressed by him that all the administration was looked after by Safdarjung. There was full peace in Awadh.
After the accession of Ahmad Shah in 1748, he made sufdarjung his Chief Minister and gave him the charge of "Harem". He was also made the governor of Ajmer and became the "Faujdar " of Narnaul. His son Jalaluddin Haider has been given the title of "Shuja-ud-daula" and was made the Superintendent. Of Imperial army. This was fact that all the power of Mughal Empire was bestowed upon Safdarjung by the end of second half of 18th century. Apart from these responsibilities of Delhi Safdarjung has not neglected the Awadh and its prosperity, which he considered as his family property. Due to corrupt policy of Delhi court and confrontation with Ahmad Shah, he came to Awadh in Dec' 1753 AD, where he died in Oct'1755 AD at the age of 46 years. He was very generous and helped the needy, specially the scalars, poets and artists.
NAWAB SHUJA-UD-DAULA
(1166-1188 AH / 1753-1775 AD)
Jalaluddin Haider S/o Safdarjung
Capital : Faizabad
After Safdarjung his son Shuja-ud-daula concentrated on his province Awadh, which by now has become a strong and important state and have no fear from other Indian Kings but foreign power in the form of East India Company was posing danger. In 1764 Shuja-ud-daula fought against British forces at Buxer along with Mir Qasim but was defeated. He again fought British with the help of Marathas at Kara Jahanabad and got defeated. So on Aug 16, 1765 AD he signed on "Allahabad Treaty", which says that Kara and Allahabad district will go to Company and Company will get 50 lakhs of rupees from Awadh. British will be allowed free trade in Awadh and will help each other in case of war with other powers, which was a very shrewd politics of the Company.
Shuja-ud-daula so organized and strengthened his army by 1768 AD that it posed threat to East India Company. Company then imposed a new term in 1768 AD that the Nawab's army will not increase by 35,000. During his last days, Company has got much control over the Awadh administration. He died on Jan 26, 1775 AD.
NAWAB ASAF-UD-DAULA
(1188-1212 AH / 1775-1797 AD)
Mirza Yahiya Khan S/o Shuja-ud-daula
Capital : Lucknow
After the death of Shuja-ud-daula, Asaf-ud-daula was made Nawab of Awadh on Mar 4, 1775 AD. Pressures were increasing on Awadh in the name of different "Universal Peace", "Firm Friendship" and "Perfect Union" treaties. Benaras, Jaunpur and Ghazipur districts were taken out from Awadh.
Monthly burden for British was increased from Rs. 2,10,000 to 2,60,000. A temporary brigade was formed by the Company whose expenditure also came on the shoulders of Awadh. Nawab was compelled to appoint British army officers in Awadh army. Above this Nawab was asked to improve the administration and peoples condition. Asaf-ud-daula had no option but to obey the orders, otherwise his brother Sadat Ali Khan (Whose character and ability was doubtful) would have been made Nawab in his place. But when the pay of the Nawab's servants and allowances of his family members were heavily in arears, he told his helplessness to Warren Hesting. He accepted this fact. When Govt. Revenue became nil, Warren Hesting along with Nawab's Wazir (Murtaza Ali Khan) looted Begum and their servants. Asaf-ud-daula was also demanding money in lakhs from his mother at Faizabad. In fifth loot he was accompanied by Mukhtar-ud-daula Murtaza Ali Khan and Resident John Bristo and looted worth 36 lakhs of cash and jewelry. Sixth and last loot was done in 1782 AD by Haider Beg and Resident Medilton under the guidance of Governor general.
This shows that almost every officer in Awadh Sultanat have become opprtunist, became well wisher of the Company for their own benefit. Well wishers of Nawab were harassed and punished. Nawab has got no control over the officers and army. He died on Sep 21, 1797 AD.
In his reign he transfered his capital from Faizabad to Lucknow and constructed big palaces, bazaars, gardens, Imambara, Roomi Gate, Residency and many others. Muslims and Hindus were equally placed at high ranks. Rupees 5 lakhs were spent every year on Holi festival in which he also use to prticipate.
NAWAB WAZIR ALI KHAN
(1212-1212 AH / 1797-1798 AD)
Adopted son of Asaf-ud-daula
(Mother a servant of Haram)
Capital : Lucknow
After the death of Asaf-ud-daula Wazir Ali Khan came to power for four months only. He was the adopted son of Asaf-ud-daula, whose Mother was a servant of his "Harem" (Ladies Palace). Nobles of Royal coart and Bahu Begum signed a letter and sent to Governor general to remove Wazir Ali. But the people were in favor of Wazir Ali Khan as he was against the British.
NAWAB SADAT ALI KHAN
(1212-1229 AH / 1798-1814 AD)
S/o Shuja-ud-daula
Capital : Lucknow
Company after the assurance from Sadat Ali Khan for acquiescence to the company and to carry out its orders, announced his accession on Jan 21, 1798 AD. He was to sign another treaty by which the annual amount to be paid to the Company was increased by 20 lakhs to 76 lakhs. Fort of Allahabad and Fatahgarh along with 12 lakhs were given to Company for putting him on the throne. Governor asked him to reduce the force of Awadh ( Which was 80,000 at the time of Asaf-ud-daula). His powers got reduced very much within three years of his reign. He became unable to pay the duesto the Company. On Nov 10, 1801 AD Company has taken half of the Awadh after his signature. Company got the area of Ruhelkhand, Farukhabad, Mainpuri, Itawa, Kanpur, Fatahgarh, Allahabad, Azamgarh, Basti and Gorakhpur, from where Awadh was getting an income of Rs. 3 crores.
Sadat Ali Khan had changed his way of life, no hunting, wine and women. Now he was a responsible ruler. He by his able management and extra ordinary caliber brought again happiness in his reduced Awadh. He also encouraged poets, writers and artists. He died on Jul 11, 1814 AD.
GHAZI-UD-DIN HAIDER
Nawab (1229-1234 AH / 1814-1819 AD)
King (1234-1243 AH / 1819-1827 AD)
S/o Sadat Ali Khan
Capital : Lucknow
After the death of Sadat Ali Khan his son Ghazi-ud-din Haider became Nawab Wzir on July 11, 1814 AD with the promise that he will continue to obey the previous treaty and will act as an independant prince and must be subservient to the British Govt. He accepted all these conditions. After the death of Bahu Begum all her property was siezed by British Govt. Instead of giving it to its legal heir Ghazi-ud-din Haider. He also did not claimed for it. Relation between him and British Govt. Became pleasant. British Govt. Asked him to declare as an independent king in 1819. During his reign poets were encouraged very much. He died on Oct 10,1827.
NASIR-UD-DIN HAIDER
(1243-1253 AH / 1827-1837 AD)
S/o Ghazi-ud-din Haider
Capital Lucknow
After the death of Ghazi-ud-din Haider his son Nasir-ud-din Haider ascende the throne on October 20, 1827 at the age of 25 years. He was fond of woman and wine. There was total mismanagement in his reign. He changed three times his Wazir. He was enamoured of English dresses and culture. Due to this British got the doors to enter the Darbar (court) politics and started defaming the king. He even lost the faith on her Begamats (wives). Even under these circumstances he worked for the betterment of his people. He always helped the poor and needy. He died on Jul 7, 1837 AD.
MUHAMMAD ALI SHAH
(1253-1258 AH / 1837-1842 AD)
S/o Sadat Ali Shah
Capital : Lucknow
After the death of Nasir-ud-din Haider her mother Badshah Begum declared Munna Jan (Faridoon Bakht) S/o of Nasiruddin as King. Company was not ready for this. There was first battle between Awadh and British forces.Badshah Begum and Munna Jan were arrested and Muhammad Ali Shah brother of Ghaziuddin Haider and uncle of Nasiruddin was declared King after getting a written assurance that he will accept any new treaty put up by Governor General. Administrative, financial and defence powers were reduced very much. In his reign new canals were constructed, wells and ponds were dug, Musafir Khana (Inn) were constructed. Imambara Hussainabad, pond Hussainabad, Jama Masjid and other buildings were constructed. He died on May 7, 1842 AD.
AMJAD ALI SHAH
(1258-1263 AH / 1842-1847 AD)
S/o Muhammad Ali Shah
Capital : Lucknow
After the death of Muhammad Ali Shah, his son Amjad Ali Shah was put on the throne. By this time British Govt. Have become so power full in Awadh that it was searching a way to grab it. He was of helping nature, very polite and well mannered. He constructed Iron Bridge on Gomti river, metal road from Lucknow to Kanpur for the benefit of his people. He died on February 13, 1847 at the age of 48 years.
WAJID ALI SHAH
(1263-1272 AH / 1847-1856 AD)
S/o Amjad Ali Shah
Capital : Lucknow
Wajid Ali Shah came to power on Feb 14, 1847 AD. British Govt. Now started framing different charges of mismanagement, public unrest and inefficient ruler against Wajid Ali Shah. Lord Harding warned him on Nov' 1847 AD, if there is no improvement in the administration, Company will take over the charge of Awadh in her hand. Col. Sluman was sent as Resident specially for this work. In the words of Samual Lucas "...The character of his report was determined for him. He professed to examine but he was under orders to sentence, he pretended to try, but he was instructed to simply condemn."
British Govt. Started even interfering in the internal Palace affairs. All the appointments were done by the resident. After 9 years on Feb 4, 1856 AD Resident General Outram read out the orders that you are no more a king and company has taken over the full charge of Awadh.
Wajid Ali Shah was beloved and respected by his subjects, for the highest to the lowest, from the Raja to the Raiyat and this the more so as he has ever discharged the duties of his high office with justice tempered by mercy. Music and drama was also encouraged in his reign. King himself has written about 50 books. As a poet his title was "Akhtar". Despite several obstacles Awadh progressed in trade, industry, Urdu literature, whose foundation was put by his forefathers 135 years ago.
BIRJIS QADRA
(1273-1274 AH / 1857-1858 AD)
S/o Wajid Ali Shah
Capital : Lucknow
Begum Hazrat Mahal wife of Wjid Ali Shah led the Indian Independance movement against British Government in 1857. She put her son Mirza Birjis Qadra on the throne of Awadh on 12 Ziqada 1273 AH at the age of 12 years. They had to leave Lucknow due to British conspiracy. They went to Kathmandu (Nepal) where he got married with Nawab Mahtab Ara, the grand daughter of the last Mughal King Bahadur Shah Zafar. Begum Hazrat Mahal died on April' 1879. Brijis Qadra came to Calcutta in 1893 where he was murdered with poison in food on Aug 14, 1893. After 1857 war, when British Govt. Came in power in whole India, Awadh has also lost its gegraphical status. It was given the name of United States of Agra and Awadh. It was renamed as United Provices in 1902 (Now Uttar Pradesh).

Nizam of Hyderabad

Nizam palace

India since 1719, belonging to Asaf Jha dynasty .The dynasty was founded by Mir Qamar-Ud -din Siddiki, a viceroy of the Deccan under the Mughal emperors from 1713-1721 and who immediately ruled under the title Asaf Jah in 1724, and after Aurangazeb's death in 1707,  the Mughal empire crumbled and the viceroy in Hydderabad, the young Asaf Jah, declared himself independent.From 1798 Hyderabad was one of the princely states of British India, but retained control of its internal afairs.Seven Nizams ruled Hyderabad for two centuries until Indian Independence in 1947.

                                                                                                   

The Asaf Jahi dynasty originated in the origin around Samarkand, but the family came to India from Baghdad in the late 17th century.

A legend about the first  Nizam states that once he was on a hunting trip and he was asked by a monk to take as many bread as he could , he could take only seven. Tnat is the number of the seven Nizams.    

Hyder Ali, Valiant Fighter

Hyder Ali ; (1717 -1782)

Historians have not shown justice to the valiant fighter and commander, Hyder Ali, founder of a kingdom in Mysore and father of the inimitable Tipu Sultan. He was born in Ajmir, Rajasthan in 1717 to Fateh Muhamed, an ordinary soldier of the Mysore army. Whether Hyder Ali’s ancestors were from Punjab, from Rajasthan, or from the far away Baghdad has not yet been conclusively agreed upon. But we know of an illiterate Hyder, who was very bold, extra-ordinarily shrewd and hard working, of high qualities of an administrative leader and a successful military campaigner.
His father was killed in a battle and Hyder and his elder brother Shabas joined the army for a living. Within a short span of time, Hyder proved his mettle not just as a soldier, but as a leader too. He had a career of continuous military campaigns. He had two wives, the second he married at the insistence of the sick first wife. His celebrated son, Tipu was mothered by the second wife, Fatima, in 1750.
In 1749 he established himself as a powerful military leader at a battle in Devanahalli, Mysore. Hyder, though from Mysore, led the large army of the Nawab of Arcot (Capital of Karnatak) to a stunning victory against the French. As commander in chief of the Mysore army, Hyder won several brilliant military victories one after the other. The ruler of Mysore was pleased and he made Hyder the foujdar of Dindigul where he built up a powerful army with the support of the French. He managed to defeat even the Nizam of Hyderabad in a battle. One of his great achievements was the conquest of the Peshwa of Maharashtra and annexation of Badannur with Mysore in 1763. In 1757 he led an army to Calicut and defeated the Zamorin, on an invitation from the ruler of Kannur. In 1766 he reached Kannur again, leading a huge army of 12, 000 men including a cavalry of 4000. During this campaign, he killed the ruler of Chirakkal, and found that the rulers of Kottayam and other towns ran away in fear, and the Zamorin committed suicide, all in fear. He had plans to invade Travancore, the famous kingdom in the south too, but the monsoon ruined his dreams. He put out some internal bickerings within the army through his tactical and intelligent moves. The King rewarded him with several rewards.
In 1767 he took over the power of Mysore, keeping the then ruling king a mere puppet. Maharashtra found this an opportunity to attack Mysore, with the support of the Nizam of Hyderabad; but the shrewd Hyder bought peace by paying Rs.32,00,000/-. Then came a couple of rounds of military engagements with the British. In 1771, Maharashtra again attacked Mysore and captured many parts of it; but Hyder again bought peace for a huge price. Having come to know that it was the puppet king of Mysore who helped the Maharashtrians, Hyder assassinated him. He went round and annexed some small kingdoms around Mysore, in the meanwhile.

The final phase of Hyder’s life was of problems, anxieties and defeats. It was Hyder who led the campaigns in South India against the British. But his partners in this warfare like Maharashtra and Hyderabad stealthily made peace with the British. Undeterred, Hyder continued his fight against the foreigners supported ably by his son Tipu. But in 1782, he succumbed to cancer, leaving his legacy and crown to Tipu.

Early movements against the British since eighteenth century

Two Confederacies ;

Ramesh Chandra Majumdar in his book 'History of Freedom Struggle' wrote ' the earliest instance of a plan of concerted action to drive out the British goes back to the year 1778 or 1779 A.D. when the English were involved in a war with the Marathas and the French in India. On this occasion Hyder Ali of Mysore, almost all the Maratha chiefs, and the Nizam    organised a grand confederacy for making a simultaneous attack against the British from their respective headquarters. It was an ingenious plan and there was every chance of its being successful. Unfortunately, the superior Statesmanship of Hastings ensured its failure by drawing away the Nizam from this alliance.
Towards the close of eighteenth century, about A.D. 1795 a similar attempt of understanding was made between Zaman Shah of Kabul, Tipu Sultan, Sindhia, Asaf-ud-Daulah , Nawab of Avadh, a refugee Prince from Delhi, and Ghulam Muhammad, the defeated Ruhela Chief. The details of this conspiracy are not known.
In both the occasion a part of U.P., eastern part, was involved.

Historical Background of British India (contd-2)

EMS Namboodiripad in his book 'A History of Indian Freedom Struggle' mentioned 'in fact, the changes that were brought about in the system of land ownership following the grant of the Diwani of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa and later on in all other areas under British domination had their impact in the administrative and educational spheres and in all sectors of the socio-economic life of the country'. 
The chages they introduced were mainly on three aspects,
1.  In Military affairs,
2. In Economic affairs, and
3. In judicial affairs.
So that they can 1. introduce laws in favour of them, 2. to implement their own laws for their benifit of their development in Capitalism, 3. they can exploit to their utmost ability the resources of India by colonial exploitation.
During the changes from Hindu to Mohammedan masters there had been only a change in the hands by which the sword was wielded and favours were dispensed ; The civil part of the administration was in the hands of the Hindus. But in the case of British era everything was changed. Even the generation of employment in the second and first  rank was in their favour which was the root of the freedom strstruggle of India.
The moves towards evolving and consolidating the new administrative set up were gradual. In 1773, 1783, 1813, 1833, and 1853, each year, either an India act was inacted in the British Parliament or the administrative system was reorganised in some other manner.At each stage the role of the British Govt. was enhahanced. The foundation of the formal rulers and their subordinates, the feudal land lords and of the socio-cultural life that was the basis of their administrative functioning, were eroded in proportion to the increase in the role of the British Government.      

Historical Background of British India (contd-1)

The theory that each piece of land must have an owner-- either the ruler or the landlord or alternatively the possessor -- was basic to the laws of land relations enacted by the foreign rulers. The core of the old Indian village system was that although the possessors of the land, the landlord, the feudal chief and the ruler, had certain rights of their own, none of them had an unlimited right.
When the English concept of land ownership was brought into practice in India, the owner whether be it the Zamindar, or the land owner created by a legal enactment or the possessor of the land could now mortgage or sell his right on the land.The land possessor now could be seized for default of payment of taxes due to the Government. As a consequence, a new class of persons were generated known as money lenders who with high rate of interest lent for short period.
Thus in the new system the East India Company could loot the vast majority of peasants and the other section of the rural poor.
Alongside the old handicrafts and the foreign trades based on these crafts which had been extant for centuries in India, declined gradually.For instance Indian textiles exported in
1795-96  amounted to Rs. 21,22,319.5. In
1829-30        ,,            Rs. 6,95,725
On the other side the value of imported goods to India from England in
1814  was pound   18,00,000 , whereas in
1829     ,,       ,,       45,00,000.
In England too the agrarian revolution had throw laborer out of land and increased unemployment, causing great misery and hardship. But the Industrial Revolution which followed soon absorbed the unemployed laborer in the new established manufacturing industries and the period of unemployment was short.  

Historical Background of British India

East India Company won the Battle of Plassey. But they actually became the ruler of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa when in 1764 they were granted by the Mughal Emperor the Diwani of Bengal, Bihar, and Orissa.
Subsequently they won over the territories of north, south, east and west of India in about 100 years of war.
After the gradual defeat the Indians had nothing to do than to find the ways and means of throwing the yoke from their shoulder. Marx said, "the Indians will not reap the fruits of the new elements of society scattered among them by the British Burgeoisie till in Great Britain itself the new ruling classes shall have been supplanted by the industrial proletariat, or till the Hindus themselves shall have grown strong enough to throw off the English yoke altogether."
The social and administrative set up that prevailed in India prior to the advent of British rule were, more or less, self sufficient village communities with local self government at the bottom.i.e., the level of th villages , feudal chieftains, with limited rexponsibilities of tax collection and rendering help during wars, occupying an intermediate position, and the prince or the Emperor at the top.
But when the East India Company was granted diwani by the Mughal Emperor and because the British wanted to exploit the peoples of India for their own benifit they had to impose all ways and means of removing the incoming obstacles from the local authorities. They had to maintain Military and Judicial department for their administration. Moreover they had to change the land ownership for maximum earning of tax collection.
Consequently, they developed three landownership systems-- Zamindari, Ryotwari, and Mahalwari -- with several variants came into existence in different parts of the country.
For instance, in Madras Presidency, under the Ryotwari system, the land revenue collected in the year 1810-1811 was pound 10,00,000, by
1825-1826   ,,       ,,      40,00,000.
In Bombay the revenue collected was
1817           pound     8,00,000
1818               ,,        11,00,000
and by
1837-1838      ,,        18,60,000
Where as in Bengal the agents of the Mughal emperor collected in
1764-1765       pound      8,18,000,
which rose to
1765-1766          ,,           14,70,000 and to
1790-1791          ,,            28,60,000.

Movement Against Colonial Rule

To expand the colonial rule throughout India the British undertook several measures.1. to occupy the areas governed by the kings they enforced the annexation policy was a deadly weapon for conquest which increased the East India Company rule to the elevation of glory. The annexation policy was known as the Doctrine of Lapse. The Doctrine of Lapse was based on the forfeiture for the right rule in the non-appearance for a natural successor. By Doctrine of Lapse policy the province of Satara was annexed in 1848, the state of Sambhalpur in 1849, the state of Jhansi in 1853 and the state of Nagpur in 1954 was also annexed.
Additional system of annexation brought victory. The state of Punjab was annexed in 1849 after the Second Anglo Sikh war. The state of Burma also known as Pegu in 1852 was annexed. In 1853, the territory of Berar and in 1856, Oudh was also annexed By this way they occupied during 1848-1858 Satara, Nagpur, Jhancy, Sambalpur, and many other Kingdoms.After the death of the King of Tanjore and Nawab of Carnatak  their titles as king and Nawab were abolished.As the loan of Hyderabad were unpaid, they captured the vast fertile lnd of cotton at Berar. From 1831 Mysore came under the rule of British. Though the King got his pension but his descendants were deprived of getting it. For misruleof the king of Audh, the map of the province of Audh had been wiped out from the map of India since 1856.
After the demolition of the Kingship, they closed their council of Ministers. As a result the members were deprived of  their allownces, The kings also closed their set of soldiers. During the time of draught or flood there were loss of harvest . but the farmers didnot get any help from the British and hence the economic condition of the farmers became depressed. The British withdrawn the prestiguous position of the family members of the Kings for which they were also agrieved. For all these reasons the Indian people, specially the farmers under the leadership of the feudal lords began to revolt. The colonial policy for the tribes was not friendly, they had also joined the revolts. as a result several revolts took place in the whole India. This happened since the first half of nineteenth century. The British had to stop all these revolts during 1801-1805 and again from 1813 -1914 and 1831 by lathi charge and other forms of suppression.
In 1807 the whole of Delhi was in armed revolt. In 1814 armed Rajput farmers , in 1817-1818 farmers of Orissa, in 1826-1829people of Pune were in revolt.        

The last stage of Victory of India.

In the 6th century BC,during the reign of Cyrus the Great Punjab was a part of the Persian empire. In the 4th century BC, Punjab became a part of Chandragupta Maurya's empire. Followed were Indo-Greeks,the Kushans,Sakas and the Parthians.In the 11th century a ruler of Central Asia called Mahmud of Ghazni invaded Punjab . However,his successors were overcome by Prithviraj who regained Punjab. In 1192,Muhammad Ghori's won the battle and ruled this region. Thereafter Punjab was ruled by whoever was ruling in Delhi.
In the 15th Sikhism was founded by Guru Nanak that became  widely accepted by the people living around there. Later Guru Arjan Dev and Guru Gobind Singh played important roles in the evolution of Sikhism.
Banda Singh Bahadur,a hermit turned military leader temporarily liberated the eastern part of the province from Mughal rule in 1709-10. By the late 18th century, Ranjit Singh (1780-1839) had built up the Punjab into a powerful kingdom. But in 1849 Punjab came under British empire.

At the middle of the eighteenth century Punjab was out of the expansion of British empire. After the evolve of Sikhism Punjab was out from the clutches of Muslim or Hindu feudalistic society.The death of Ranjit Singh allowed British to enter the periphery of Punjab. 

Indian Economy at the beginning of the 19th Centuy (contd-1)

After re-establishing trade relation of India with different parts of the world the ports were gradually developing. At the 30's there were several unrests of the workers of Great Britain,e.g., 1. Lechattliers movement, 2. Ludhite movement etc. As a result the British Industrial Capitalists began to shift their capital to India at the middle of the 19th century. That was why the heavy industries began to form in India.The first railine was constructed in India in 1953. All the infrustructure were being prepared very soon to enhance the capitalist exploitation in India.This was done in the period of Lord Dalhousie (1848-1856). From this time the Indian money lenders from Calcutta and Bombay converted to a new set of trade families.

At the middle of the 19th century India Bourgeoisie began to develop.

Thus at 30's,40's, and 50's the Indian Industrial Capitalists began to grow. These were mainly cotton mills at Bombay and Calcutta. But the rate of expansion of Indian Capitalists was very low.The main economic relation was 'C--M'( Commoditee- Money relation), at that stage.

1.The colonial exploitation was mainly based on imposing increasing tax structure to the zaminders who in turn raised the taxes from the cultivators converting their condition wretched.

2. Increasing the area of economic exploitation.

As a result India was gradually converted to an agency of supplying raw materials and agricultural products to Great Britain. Simultaneously , developing feudalistic society within India which was obstructing the formation of capitalist relation within India.

Indian Economy at the beginning of the 19th century.

                                                 The Industrial Capitalist in Great Britain after consolidating their position in Great Britain were utilising India as their market to sell their finished goods. and to procure

raw material at cheaper cost from the Indian market. 

The tax system of Britain was in favour of import to India as regards to tax deduction.But the the export of goods of cottage industry from India to Britain was a bit difficult as the tax for export was gradually increasing. The Indian clothes had to pay 20 to 30 %  as their tax was high. As such India was forced to import clothes from great Britain than to stop to export. The ship industry of India also had the same fate as their quality was not so good as that of Great Britain. But since the ship industry of Bombay was in the hands of Persian and the business with China was favourable, that industry remained upto the middle of 19th century. In Madras Presidency the artisans had to lose 75% of their income in 1815-1844.

In 1820's Britain made cotton began to be exported to India and at the middle of this century cotton -made products  exported from Great Britain to India was about 1/6th  of its requirement.The traders and hoarders of cotton-made product made the life of the weavers more complex. In 1844 about 60% of the weavers  were under debt of the traders.

Except the cultivation of tea in less populated Assam, the Britishers purchased by force the Ohefame and Nil without any compensation.Probably for this reason large scale cultivation in India was not possible.

A revolt took place in 1780's regularly.

At the beginning of the 19th century there occured famine seven times in different parts of India and 15 lacs people were dead..  

Economic Condition in 19th century (contd-1)

In 1813, the renewal of Company's permission, the administration of India became a constitutional matter. The victory of Mysore, possession of Maratha Kingdon, and 2nd English-Maratha war were ended and India became a profitable country for the burgeoisie of Great Britain. India act of 1813 curtailed all trade facilities of the Company except the trade for tea in China. India gradually became a colony of the British Burgeoisie than the colony of the company.
In 1833, the status of the company with relation to India was further changed.The instrument of colonial exploitation in India was gradually sharpened. The net work of trade organisation was spread throughout the country .
In 1832, owner of more than fifty % share was divided among st  474 influential persons who  controlled the activities of the Company. According to Marx these director were among the great bourgeoisie of Great Britain.
One of the important factor of the colonial administration was the strength of military force. In 1830, the number of soldiers was 2 lac  23thousands and 5 hundred After the third Eng-Maratha war the British was not involved in  any war for thirty years since 1830.
In 1833, the status of Compny was changed further. The rule intrduced by the Whig party did not change the rights of the company towards the administration of India but they had introduced a post of govt. officer in the Bengal Council. His duty was to frame rules and regulation for the whole India. The first person entrusted with the job of Legal Advisor was the progressive historian T.J.Macaulay (1800-1859). But the criminal law he formulated was not introduce. In different parts of India there wee different rules in vogue, as  result, there had been many difficulties. The British  bourgeoisie  wanted to intrduce the same rule throughout India. But this is to be noted that all the important posts  were occupied by the Britishers. Most ordinary posts were left for Indians.

Economic condition : Beginning of the 19th century

The first result of British administration was to damage the old system of administration, such as, existence of feudal families, their army, men and weapons  and their maids and servants. The hundred  years  of feudalistic society to be changed to new system. The set of artisans to be destroyed to take over the market flooded with British goods. At the begining of the 19th century Indian clothes were imported to England. This was not organised by any company. It was organised by the employees of the company. From the 19th century the import of clothes to England was stopped. In place of clothes the threads prepared by the weavers in India were imported. From  the end of the 18th century the cultivation of seeds, production of salt and lime were stopped. The cottage industry was gradually destroyed, the artisans were tortured, cut their thumb finger and did all sorts of nuisance.
The situation in decaan was a bit different one. The cultivation land was spoilt due to different wars. Therefore, agrobased industry was decreased. The irrigation system was also broke down.
Moreover, before 1818, Madras Presidency was constituted with several small kingdoms where the artisans could take their shelter. Due to the destruction of different armies of the feudals in India, the previous agents who supplied foods and other important goods were replced by fresh set of agents nd traders.in Madras and Bombay.
India was gradually entering into a colony of British and the policy of the East India Company was formulated in accordance with the expectation of the Burgeoise of Great Britain. In 1773 the Parliament first formulated rules for governing  India. As a result , it was not the Company  but the Parliament took the responsibility of  appointing Governor  general , Bengal Councillors, and the members of the Supreme court.
The Whig also stood against the East India Company. They said the alliance  between th king and the company was becoming terror to the freedom of Great Britain. The Progressives also joined the campaign.They had observed that the company's activity was based on bribe and became full of malpractices.
In 1784, during settlement of contract with the king and the east India Company the whig placed Fox bill in the Parliament which was turned down. Fox himself stood for the post of Prime Ministers but he he was defeated by Pitt. In 1784, Pitt's India Act was passed in the parliament.
Pitt's India Act of 1784 was the enactment of the British Parliament to bring the administration of the British East India Company under the control of th British Government. It was necessary to address the shortcoming of the East India Company Act ( also known as the Regulating act of 1773 which was enacted prim arily to weed-out corruption in the East India Company.

Economic condition after British India (contd-2)

Not only political changes but also economic disaster took place in India after British victory. In the earlier cases the persons after winning the country they had settled in India and mixed up with them as of India to settle over here. But in this case they wanted to fed their capitalist hunger with our resources. They wanted to collect money and material from  India and wanted to utilise it as the storage of resources of  their capitalist development. After their defeat in America they placed India as the centre of their imperialism.
From the time of victory of India they imported money and wealth  from India to their own country. This unbounded  economic exploitation converted India into a poor and penniless country. The fifteenth century traveler Afanasi Nikitin narrated the then economic poverty of India which had been exposed in the form of famine in 1770. About 1 crore of people died in the famine. Moreover, after the famine cholera,plague, and other epidemic diseases spread all over the country.
The people of India had no means to improve their economic condition other than to participate in the freedom movement of India. During the period of their victory they looted the wealth of the landlords and kings and sent those to their own country. For example, the case of Srirangapattnam might be cited. The tax collected from the farmers was the main source of income.
In the second stage the form of exploitation was to change the rules of the land for better form of exploitation expand their area of possession by force, falls and formation of different laws, such as Permanent Settlement etc.

Economic condition after British India (contd-1)

The economic condition of Bengal was gradually depressing. First, after the victory of Clive, he did not give due importance to revenue collection and on the persons who were in charge of doing such business. Secondly, Hastings introduced the system of revenue collection. Hastings had a difference of opinion with Francis. Francis was of opinion that the owner of the Indian lands were Indian landlords.But Hastings in a short term lease distributed the lands to the persons who agreed to pay maximum tax. As a result the farmers were thrown to extreme poverty. The tax of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa was increased double the amount in 1790-1791 than that of 1765. Due to this policy,  1/3 rd amount of the land of Bengal remained under wood and forest. The fertile lands gradually became ferocious animals habitat.
Then the farmers revolt became a day to day affairs. The greatest of these revolts was the revolt of the farmers of Dinajpur against the Landlord Devi Singh in 1783. He tortured the farmers inhumanly for collecting taxes. They assembled near the city Rangpur and elected their leader. They occupied the Thana and sent an application to Calcutta.As they didnot got any reply they took up arms in their hands. But ultimately they were suppressed by the British army. During the four decades of eighteenth century revolt took place in the different places of Bengal . The trlbals of the under developed areas were assembled with the farmers. The Santhal and Chuar revolt were amoing those.
The revolt of the monks (Sannyasi Bidroha) lasted for long. Once they reached near Calcutta. Hastings took several steps to suppress the revolt.        

Economic condition of Bengal after British Victory

The economic relation  of India with other countries of the world and with the different provinces was completely disrupted due to the victory of India by British . Before their entry to India Bengal had good trade relations with the countries of south-east Asia. Now all the trade relations in sea were centered round  Britain. The domestic business was gradually becoming under control by the British. The local agents of the British had to obey certain conditions at the end of eighteenth century to get large amount of  transaction.The British were driving away the others from the merket in this way.
Before the possession by the British, the money lenders and big business magnets found the only way out in big advantageous transactions  to be related with the revenue collection for treasury at Murshidabad.
In 1772, when the treasury was shifted to Calcutta from Murshidabad Jagat Seth and his descendants lost their influence over the treasury. To extend the control of the Government over the revenue system Warren Hastings , in 1773-1774, closed all the mints in Dacca, Patna, and Murshidabad with a view to centralise and concentrate the activities of the Government. This was done to establish its monopoly  control over the production of exchange system. From that time the ruin of Jagat Seth and his family started. The process was accelerated by the establishment of three British Banks. These banks issued notes , loans and did other relevant jobs.   
The first business organisation of Britishers in India was formed on 1770 in place of Indian agents and traders engaged in business of British. These organisations gradually took the responsibility of exploitation of the colonial India. Indian powerful traders being driven fron city went to village nd became zaminder and invested their capital to small businesses.
The exploitations of the artisans was also increased.The weavers were prevented to prepare clothes for market till they had not supplied orders by English officers from 1775. Thus they had lost all their freedom to work. They began to leave their villages and took shelter in some other village just to increase the number of agricultural labour. !773 and 1786 there broke an weavers revolt. In  1787 the weaversd of Dacca and in 1789 the weavers of Sonargna were cheated,tortured and then arrested. Salt producing workers also made same complains..   

Recapitulation ( Establishment and Extension Of British Empire In India)

India had a trade relation with different European countries from ancient times in the land and sea route. The Indian products had good markets in Europe. In the medieval period the Arabian traders procured Indian goods for the markets of the cities of Venice, Geneva etc of Europe. After the discovery of sea route to India   round the Cape of Good Hope by Vasco-da-gama in 1498, the trade relations of Europe with India increased enormously.In due course Portuguese, Dutch, French, English and other powers of Europe came to India through this route and established trade relations. But it was only the English who overtook all other forces of Europe. The major struggle took place between French and English at Carnatak in south of India. There were three wars at Carnatak. Ultimately British overpowered French and took the lead.
The second war which the British had won over the local authority of Mughal empire and Siraj-ud-daullah at Palassey in 1757 undeer the leadership of Lord Clive. English fought another war at Bauxer ( 1764)against Mirkashem Nawab of Murshibad, Nawab of Ayodhya Suja-ud-daullah, and Mughal Samrat 2nd Shah Alam. British won over the battle and took the responsibility of revenue collection of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa against a revenue of 26 lakhs of Rupees a year (1765) to the then King of Delhi , 2nd Shah  Alam.
In 1764, the soldiers revolted against the British authority for the first time at Patna but  all the leaders had to face death by court marshall.
Clive was appointed as governor of bengal for the 2nd time and was called as Lord Clive. A committee was formed with  four persons 1. general Karnak, 2. Mr. verelst, 3. Mr.Samnar and Mr. Sykes.
Mughal Samrat  offered all the responsibilty of collection of revenue, army and administrative power to East India Company. Clive introduced judicial power of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa administered all powers of revenue, army and judicial power over 2 and 1/2 crpres of people. The East India Company got yearly revenue of 4 crores of Rupees.
Clive also stopped double dearness allowance to all the official employees. At this the Bengal officers revolted and submitted resignation letter. Clive accepted the resignation letter and ordered court marshall to all of them.
Clive also controlled the domestic business of Salt and Jayfall by organising a society  for the traders. After two years the board of Administration in England formed a permanent Committee replacing the previous society.
Clive submitted resignation for illness and died a suicidal death at 1774.    

Lord William Bentinck (contd-1)

When Bentinck took charge of the government, only four years had elapsed since, in consequence of the death of Tipu and the downfall of his dynasty, the Madras presidency had received a large accession of territory. The question of the system of landed tenures and of revenue administration which should be applied to the newly acquired provinces and to other parts of the Madras presidency was hotly debated. The supreme government was strongly in favour of extending to the whole of Southern India the system of large landed proprietors, or zemindárs, which ten years previously had been adopted by Lord Cornwallis in Bengal.
On the other side Colonel (afterwards Sir Thomas) Munro was engaged in establishing the system of peasant proprietors, commonly known as the ryotwár system, in the ceded districts, and his views found an ardent supporter in the new governor. ‘It was apparent to him,’ Bentinck wrote in the third year of his government, ‘that the creation of zemindárs, where no zemindárs before existed, was neither calculated to improve the condition of the lower orders of the people, nor politically wise with reference to the future security of this government.’ At one time he appears to have contemplated making an extensive tour through the Madras provinces for the purpose of investigating the question in person, but this was prevented by the circumstances which led to his recall, and he was obliged to confine himself to assigning the investigation to Mr. Thackeray, a trusted assistant of Colonel Munro.
The recall was a severe blow to Bentinck, who complained bitterly of the want of consideration with which he had been treated, the orders of the court having been issued without awaiting the explanations of the functionaries whose conduct was impugned. Another point urged in his defence was that the innovations which were supposed to have aroused the suspicions of the sepoys had been introduced by the commander-in-chief into a compilation of military regulations, which the latter had obtained permission to codify, and had not been brought specially to the notice of the governor or of the members of council. On the other hand it is to be said that the outbreak at Vellore had been preceded by remonstrances on the part of the native troops, which ought to have received greater attention from the government. The massacre at Vellore took place on 24 July 1806. Early in the previous May the sepoys of one of the regiments at that place had remonstrated against the form of the new turban, and their remonstrance having been rejected by the commanding officer, some of the men had been tried and in two cases had received nine hundred lashes. This incident had been brought to the notice of the governor, who supported the commander-in-chief, and proclaimed his determination to enforce the obnoxious order. It is difficult, therefore, to resist the conclusion that a full share of responsibility for the action of the commander-in-chief devolved upon the governor.
Bentinck, on his return to England early in 1808, addressed to the court of directors a memorial in which he demanded reparation for the harshness with which he considered himself to have been treated; but the court declined to rescind or modify their decision, while recognising ‘the uprightness, disinterestedness, zeal, and respect for the system of the company’ with which Bentinck had acted in the government.
During his absence in India Bentinck had been promoted to the rank of major-general, and in August 1808 he was appointed to the staff of the army under Sir Harry Burrard in Portugal. He was subsequently sent on a mission to the supreme junta in Spain, in which capacity he was for some time engaged in endeavouring to evoke more vigorous action on the part of the junta, and in corresponding on the subject with his own government and with Sir John Moore. On the arrival of Mr. Frere he joined Sir John Moore, and having commanded a brigade at the battle of Corunna he was favourably noticed in the despatch of Sir John Hope, who had succeeded to the command on the death of Moore. Bentinck was next appointed, with the rank of lieutenant-general, to command a division in Sir Arthur Wellesley's army; but he appears shortly afterwards to have been sent to Germany to make arrangements for raising a German contingent, which was subsequently employed under his command in Sicily and on the east coast of Spain.
In 1811 he went as envoy to the court of Sicily and as commander-in-chief of the British forces in that island. During the greater part of the three following years he remained in Sicily, nominally as envoy, but practically as governor of the island, into which he introduced constitutional government, based in some measure upon the pattern of the British constitution. A German writer (Helfert, Queen Caroline), describing Bentinck's government of Sicily, characterises him as a man of a violent and haughty nature, imbued with English prejudices, and regarding the English constitution as the salvation of the human race. Bentinck's great difficulty during this period was the hostility of the queen, who resented his influence and disliked his policy. In 1813 Bentinck proceeded to the east coast of Spain in command of a mixed force of British, German, and Calabrian troops. Bentinck's diversion had the effect of detaining the French marshal, Suchet, in Catalonia, but the campaign does not appear to have added to Bentinck's military reputation.
On 12 September, at the pass of Ordal, he was defeated by the French marshal and forced to retreat. His strategy on this occasion was much called in question; but Napier, while attributing to him some errors, including a delay in reinforcing his brigadier-general, Adam, pronounces the position which Bentinck took up to have been very good, and lays the greater share of the responsibility for the defeat upon Adam's faulty arrangements. On 22 September Bentinck, with the sanction of Lord Wellington, re-embarked with the troops under his command for Sicily, influenced, it would seem, partly by apprehensions of an invasion of that island by Murat, and partly by some expectation of concluding a treaty with the latter, who at that time was coquetting with the allies, but whom Bentinck to the last regarded with distrust. It is tolerably clear that Wellington did not entertain a high opinion of Bentinck's judgment. In Napier's history there is a short correspondence regarding the apprehended invasion of Sicily, which ends with the following laconic letter from Wellington to Bentinck: ‘Huarte, 1 July 1813: My lord, — In answer to your lordship's despatch, I have to observe that I conceive that the island of Sicily is at present in no danger whatever’ (History of the Peninsular War, v. 435, edition of 1860). In 1814 Bentinck commanded a successful expedition against Genoa, where he issued two proclamations, which, anticipating by nearly half a century the establishment of Italian unity, caused some embarrassment to his government. He returned to Palermo, and quitted Sicily 14 July 1814. At the close of the war he remained at Rome, and was unemployed until 1827. He was made K.B. in1813, G.C.B. in 1815 and G.C.H. in 1817.
In July 1827 Bentinck was appointed governor-general of Bengal, and was sworn of the privy council. He did not assume office in India till July 1828. Although India was at peace, its finances were embarrassed by the prolonged war in Burma and by the siege of Bhartpur during Lord Amherst's government. There had been a series of heavy financial deficits, extending to the year in which Bentinck took charge of the government, when the expenditure still exceeded the income by more than a million. Bentinck's first duty was to devise means of reducing the expenses in every branch of the administration which was susceptible of reduction, and although in carrying out this duty he was merely obeying the repeated orders of the court of directors, the result for a time was much personal unpopularity. He appointed commissions to investigate the expenditure, both civil and military. He threw open to natives posts hitherto filled by Englishmen at a larger cost, and he gave effect to orders of the court, which had been twice reiterated, for the reduction of an allowance which, under the name of ‘battá,’ had for many years been given to the European officers of the army in addition to their pay. The result of Bentinck's financial measures was that the deficit which he found on his arrival was converted into a surplus, amounting at the time of his retirement from the government to two millions a year.
Financial reductions were not, however, the most important reforms which distinguished Bentinck's administration as governor-general. In the north-western provinces the settlement of the land revenue still remained upon a very unsatisfactory footing. Bentinck, after carefully investigating the question in consultation with the principal officers of the provinces concerned, set on foot a settlement which, carried on under the direction of Mr. Robert Merttins Bird, one of the ablest officers in the Indian service, and brought to a completion in nine years, was an enormous improvement on the previous state of things. It limited the public demand upon the land to a fixed sum for a period of thirty years, and provided a complete record of individual rights. Bentinck also established a separate board of revenue for the north-western provinces at Allahabad. In the judicial department the provincial courts of appeal and circuit, which had become proverbial for the dilatoriness and uncertainty of their decisions, were abolished, and there was substituted for them a civil and sessions judge in each district, the whole of the original civil business being transferred to native judicial officers. The north-western provinces were at the same time provided with a separate sudder, or chief court of appeal. An inquiry into the working of the inland transit duties, instituted under Bentinck's orders, resulted in the abolition of those duties after his departure from India.
The education of the natives also engaged Bentinck's attention. Here, acting upon the advice of Macaulay, who joined his council in the last year of his government, he issued a resolution which may be regarded as the first decisive step taken by the government of India towards raising up a class of natives educated in western literature and science. It prescribed that, without peremptorily abolishing the institutions for promoting oriental learning, all other available funds should be employed in imparting a knowledge of English literature and science through the medium of the English language. A closely allied question was that of the employment of natives of India in the public service. Bentinck was the first governor-general who seriously dealt with this question. He treated it in a liberal and comprehensive spirit, and by his measures for the employment of natives upon duties and in positions not previously entrusted to them, he greatly raised the status of the native official hierarchy throughout Bengal. Nor was he less zealous in promoting the settlement of unofficial Europeans in India, and the application of European capital to the development of the resources of the country. The employment of steam communication between England and India, and also on the Ganges and other Indian rivers, was another object which received his cordial support.
Bentinck's views in regard to the Indian press would seem either to have been misunderstood, or to have varied at different periods. The common impression is that, although he left it to his successor, Sir Charles Metcalfe, to pass the law which formally conferred freedom upon the Indian press, he fully shared the opinions upon which that measure was founded, and it is certainly true that during Bentinck's government there was no sort of interference in Bengal with the liberty of the press; but it is nevertheless the fact that in one of his latest minutes, written on 13 March 1835, when he was on the point of leaving India, he described the spread of knowledge and the operations of the press as among the dangers which threatened British rule in India. In the same minute, he put on record for (apparently) the first time the opinion that the advance of Russia in the direction of India was the greatest danger to which India was exposed, and he advocated various changes in the military organisation, some of which ran very much upon the lines of those introduced after the mutiny of 1857. The measure most constantly associated with Bentinck's tenure of the governor-generalship is the abolition of suttee, or widow-burning, which by a regulation passed on 4 Dec. 1829 was declared to be punishable as culpable homicide. In arriving at this decision Bentinck was supported by a strong body of official opinion; but after what had passed in his own case at Madras, it was by no means a light responsibility that he incurred in resolving upon a measure of this nature which none of his predecessors had ventured to carry into effect. The suppression of the Thugs, an alteration of the law of inheritance securing to converts from Hinduism and Muhammadanism their rights of property, and the admission of native christians to employment in the public service, were all measures of Bentinck's administration.
The political management of the native feudatory states under Bentinck's government was not satisfactory; but for this he can hardly be held responsible, inasmuch as a policy of strict non-intervention in the internal affairs of those states was strongly inculcated by the home authorities. He, however, assumed the administration of Mysore, which, owing to the misrule and oppression of the rájá, was verging on a condition of anarchy; and in the case of Oudh he intimated that unless matters considerably improved, the administration of the country would be taken over by the company's government. The only diplomatic measures in which he was engaged in relation to foreign states, were a treaty of alliance with Ranjít Singh, the ruler of the Panjáb, and a treaty of commerce with the Amírs of Sindh. The negotiation with Ranjít Singh was the occasion of an imposing ceremonial, when the maharaja and the governor-general met at Rupar on the banks of the Satlej.
Bentinck was still governor-general when the East India Company's Charter Act of 1833 was passed, whereby he became the first ‘governor-general of India;’ he and his predecessors having been ‘governors-general of Bengal,’ although vested with control in certain matters over the minor presidencies of Madras and Bombay. During the latter part of his government Bentinck's health became seriously impaired, and he was spending the hot season on the Nilgiris, the mountain sanatorium of the Madras presidency, when the change in the constitution of the supreme government took effect in India. He was there joined by Macaulay, the new law member of council, with whom he speedily contracted a warm friendship.
He resigned the government and embarked for England on 20 March 1835, much regretted both by Europeans and natives, with the former of whom his early unpopularity had yielded to a sense of his singleness of purpose, and of his earnestness and capacity as an administrator. After his departure a statue in his honour was erected at Calcutta bearing this inscription from the pen of Macaulay: ‘To William Cavendish Bentinck, who during seven years ruled India with eminent prudence, integrity, and benevolence; who, placed at the head of a great empire, never laid aside the simplicity and moderation of a private citizen; who infused into oriental despotism the spirit of British freedom; who never forgot that the end of government is the happiness of the governed; who abolished cruel rites; who effaced humiliating distinctions; who gave liberty to the expression of public opinion; whose constant study it was to elevate the intellectual and moral character of the nations committed to his charge, this monument was erected by men who, differing in race, in manners, in language, and in religion, cherish, with equal veneration and gratitude, the memory of his wise, upright, and paternal administration.’
Whatever may be thought of the foregoing eulogium, there can be no question that Bentinck's Indian administration must be regarded as a marked era in the history of Indian progress. He was the first British statesman entrusted with the government of India who declared and acted upon the policy of governing India in the interests of the people of that country. Of his numerous reforms some have been improved upon by his successors, but none have been abandoned. Two great qualities, perfect indifference to popular applause and high moral courage, he possessed in an eminent degree. Singularly simple and unostentatious in his habits, irreproachable in his private life, he and Lady William Bentinck set an example which, coming from persons placed in the high station which they filled in India, could not fail to inspire respect. It has been said that Bentinck too often exhibited mistrust of those who served under him, and that at times, in pressing forward his measures, he was unduly regardless of the interests of individuals. Of the first of these failings there are some indications in the letters of Lord Metcalfe, written when the two men first came into official relations; but it is evident that in this case the mistrust on the part of Bentinck, to whatever extent it may have existed, speedily disappeared, for nothing could have been more cordial than his subsequent friendship for Metcalfe, with reference to whom he used the memorable expression that ‘he never cavilled upon a trifle, and never yielded to me on a point of importance’.
By the three most eminent historians of British India Bentinck's government is characterised in terms of high praise. James Mill, writing to a friend shortly after Bentinck's return from India, describes him as ‘a man worth making much of, I assure you. When I consider what he is, and what he has done in a most important and difficult situation, I know not where to look for his like.’ Horace Hayman Wilson, who had been Bentinck's most formidable opponent in India on the question of the abolition of suttee, in his continuation of Mill's history, after reciting Bentinck's principal measures, affirms that ‘a dispassionate retrospect of the results of his government will assign to Lord William Bentinck an honourable place among the statesmen who have been entrusted with the delegated sovereignty over the British empire in the east.’ And Marshman says of Bentinck's administration that ‘it marks the most memorable period of improvement between the days of Lord Cornwallis and Lord Dalhousie, and forms a salient point in the history of Indian reform.’
Bentinck survived his retirement from the government of India little more than four years, dying at Paris on 17 June 1839. He was elected member for Glasgow in the liberal interest in Feb. 1836 and was re-elected at the general election of 1837, retaining the seat until a few days before his death. He had previously declined a peerage. He was married in 1803 to Lady Mary Acheson, second daughter of Arthur, first earl of Gosford, who survived him. He had no issue.