UPSC CORE GEOGRAPHY · NCERT · BIPAN CHANDRA VOL I CH 2: FROM PLASSEY TO PARAMOUNTCY
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Date + location of Plassey?
23 JUNE 1757 — at PALASHI (anglicised "Plassey"), on the banks of the BHAGIRATHI river in NADIA district, West Bengal. Named after the PALASH tree (red flowers, source of gulal). NEAR MURSHIDABAD — Sirajuddaulah's capital.
Who fought at Plassey + numbers?
BRITISH EAST INDIA COMPANY: ROBERT CLIVE with ~3,000 troops (mostly Indian sepoys + ~750 Europeans) + 8 cannons. NAWAB SIRAJUDDAULAH: ~50,000 troops + 53 cannons + 30 elephants. BRITISH WERE OUTNUMBERED 17:1 in numbers but had: (i) BETTER ARTILLERY positioning + tactics; (ii) the conspiracy with MIR JAFAR + RAI DURLABH (who held back ~45,000 of the Nawab's troops).
How did the battle unfold?
Brief — only 8 hours (8 am to 4 pm). Initial bombardment from both sides; AFTERNOON RAIN damaged Nawab's gunpowder (his cannons fell silent); BRITISH had covered theirs. Nawab's loyal commander MIR MADAN (and his deputy Bahadur Khan) attacked + were KILLED by cannonball. Sirajuddaulah PANICKED + fled on a camel; the bulk of his army (under Mir Jafar) refused to fight. Clive's army won with ONLY ~22 British casualties. Sirajuddaulah was later captured + killed by Miran (Mir Jafar's son) at Murshidabad.
Why is Plassey so important — Bipan Chandra's view?
Per Bipan Chandra, Plassey was NOT a tactical masterpiece but a CONSPIRACY VICTORY. Significance: (i) Established British paramountcy over BENGAL — the RICHEST PROVINCE of India; (ii) The Company gained ENORMOUS WEALTH (~3 crore rupees in immediate "presents" to Clive + officers; ~50 lakh in compensation for Calcutta); (iii) MIR JAFAR became puppet Nawab; the "PLUNDER OF BENGAL" began — wealth flowing to England; (iv) CLIVE personally took ~234,000 pounds — became one of richest men in England. Plassey is the START of British colonial rule in India.
BATTLE OF PLASSEY — exact details?
23 June 1757 at PALASHI village (~150 km north of Calcutta). CLIVE's 3,000 + 9 cannons vs. SIRAJ-UD-DAULAH's 50,000 + 53 cannons + French gunner. PRE-BATTLE conspiracy: CLIVE bribed MIR JAFAR + Jagat Seths + Amichand to BETRAY Siraj. When loyal commander MIR MADAN was killed by cannonball, Mir Jafar's contingent stayed STATIC. Siraj fled; captured + KILLED. Battle won in ~few hours. CLIVE made £234,000 personally + Company gained ZAMINDARI of 24 Parganas.
BUXAR 1764 — significance vs Plassey?
BATTLE OF BUXAR (22 Oct 1764) — combined Indian forces (Bengal Nawab MIR QASIM + Awadh Nawab SHUJA-UD-DAULA + Mughal Emperor SHAH ALAM II) ~40,000 vs EIC under HECTOR MUNRO ~7,000. UNLIKE Plassey (a conspiracy), BUXAR was a REAL BATTLE — British discipline + artillery won. Treaty of Allahabad 1765 → DIWANI of Bengal-Bihar-Orissa. BUXAR is sometimes called the "REAL beginning" of British rule because it cemented what Plassey began.
Why did Mir Jafar fall + Mir Qasim rise?
MIR JAFAR proved unable to pay the BRITISH the promised sums after Plassey; Bengal's treasury was being drained for British "presents". Clive returned to England 1760; new Governor VANSITTART overthrew Mir Jafar + installed his SON-IN-LAW MIR QASIM (1760) — promised even more BRITISH-friendly policies + immediate cash. Mir Jafar pensioned to Calcutta.
Why did Mir Qasim turn against the British?
MIR QASIM was a FAR MORE COMPETENT ruler than expected; tried to GENUINELY restore Bengal's administration: (i) abolished INTERNAL DUTIES that the Company was abusing through dastaks (the Indian merchants paid; the Europeans + their Indian agents got off free); (ii) shifted treasury to MUNGER (deeper inland); (iii) built a MODERN ARMY with European officers (German + French mercenaries) + drilled sepoys on European lines; (iv) reduced tribute payments to British. The BRITISH saw this as REBELLION + decided to overthrow him.
Battle of BUXAR (22 October 1764)?
After preliminary battles at GIRIA + UDHWANALA (1763, both lost by Mir Qasim despite his modernised army), Mir Qasim FLED to Awadh; allied with SHUJA-UD-DAULA (Awadh Nawab) + SHAH ALAM II (Mughal Emperor — formally still suzerain of all). COMBINED FORCE: ~50,000. BRITISH UNDER HECTOR MUNRO: ~7,000 (mostly sepoys). Battle at BUXAR (Bihar) on 22 October 1764 — Indians DEFEATED decisively due to (i) BRITISH artillery + drill; (ii) DISORGANISATION of the multi-power coalition; (iii) corruption among Mughal/Awadhi officials.
Treaty of ALLAHABAD (12 August 1765) — significance?
CLIVE (returned for second tour 1765) negotiated with the defeated SHAH ALAM II + Shuja-ud-Daula. Two treaties: (i) WITH AWADH — Shuja-ud-Daula pays 50 lakh rupees war indemnity; surrenders Allahabad + Kara to Mughals (effectively to Company). (ii) WITH MUGHAL — Shah Alam II grants the Company DIWANI (revenue rights) of BENGAL + BIHAR + ORISSA. The DIWANI made the Company TERRITORIAL POWER + REVENUE COLLECTOR over ~3 lakh sq km — the FIRST formal British rule in India.
FOUR Anglo-Mysore Wars — sequence?
(i) FIRST (1767-69) — Haidar Ali defeated British; reached gates of Madras; British signed Treaty of Madras 1769 (mutual return of conquests + alliance against future enemies — broken later). (ii) SECOND (1780-84) — Haidar Ali, then his son Tipu after Haidar's death 1782; Tipu won at POLLILUR 1780 (used iron rockets to devastating effect); ended in TREATY OF MANGALORE (1784) — mutual return of conquests. (iii) THIRD (1790-92, Cornwallis) — Tipu lost half his kingdom + had to pay 4 crore indemnity + give 2 sons as hostages; Treaty of Seringapatam 1792. (iv) FOURTH (1799, Wellesley) — Tipu Sultan KILLED defending Srirangapatna 4 May 1799; Mysore restored to Wodeyars under Subsidiary Alliance.
Tipu Sultan — who was he?
TIPU SULTAN (1750-1799) — son of Haidar Ali; "Tiger of Mysore"; brilliant military innovator; (i) introduced IRON-CASED ROCKETS (Pollilur 1780 — devastated British detachment; Tipu's rockets inspired British WILLIAM CONGREVE's rockets used in Napoleonic + American Wars); (ii) modernised army on European lines with French officers; (iii) administrative reforms — KANNADA + Persian as official; new MAULUDI calendar; (iv) sought ALLIANCES with FRANCE + Ottomans + Persia against the British; (v) sent diplomatic missions to PARIS, ISTANBUL, BAGHDAD, MUSCAT, KABUL. Despite resistance, India's LAST major independent ruler before British paramountcy.
This topic is part of the NCERT UPSC Core History syllabus, drawn from the chapter Bipan Chandra Vol I Ch 2: From Plassey to Paramountcy. Content is cross-referenced against the latest NCERT textbook editions + standard reference works.
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