The Battle of Plassey was a war fought between the British East India Company and the Nawab of Bengal and his close allies, who were mainly the French troops. The battle was won on June 23, 1757, leading to the consolidation of the British in Bengal and later expanding other territories of India.

The Battle of Plassey was fought at Palashi, on the banks of the Bhagirathi River near Calcutta and Murshidabad which was the public capital of Bengal. It was more of skirmishes than a battle according to some historians, who were part of the seven years’ war fought in India by the British.

Background

• The Company had a strong presence in India and were located in three main stations; Fort St. George, Fort William, and Bombay Castle. The stations or camps were under the stewardship of the President and a Council which was appointed by the directors in England.
• The British allied themselves with the Nawabs and princes in exchange for security against rebels and any form of external and internal attack. The Nawabs would give concession in return for their safety and protection. The Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle of 1748 stopped the direct hostility between the British and the French powers.
• The treaty did not last long before the two powers were again involved in indirect hostilities. The feud between the powers was for the succession of the position of Nawab and Nazam with both powers nominating their candidates for both posts. In both cases, the French candidates usurped the position through manipulations and assassinations.
• When Alvardi Khan who was the Nawab of Bengal died in April 1756, his son Siraj-Ud-daula succeeded him. The young Nawab immediately laid siege to Calcutta, capturing it and imprisoning several British officials in June 1756. The news of the fall of Calcutta reached Madras in August 1756, with the Council sending an expedition of forces under Colonel Clive to confirm the report and try and salvage the city.
• Clive concluded that the only way to secure the interest of the Company was to replace Siraj with a friendly Nawab. General Mir Jafar was found as a possible replacement. And a secret agreement was passed to Mir Jafar’s residence.
• The traders in Bengal were in constant fear that their wealth under Nawab was not secure as was under his father’s reign. The traders secretly met with Mir Jafar and agreed to support him for the position of Nawab in exchange for the protection of their wealth.

The Grand March To Plassey

• On June 12, 1757, Clive assembled more than 2,000 armed forces with sophisticated artilleries at Chandernagar. His army set out for Murshidabad, with Clive sending messengers to Nawab declaring his intention to march into the city to lodge complaints regarding the treaty of February 9 with the Nawab’s government.
• Siraj immediately ordered his army to move to Plassey with the army reaching the ordered destination on June 21, 1757. On June 23, Clive and his army also reached the villages of Plassey and immediately occupied Laksha Bagh which was an adjoining grove enclosed by a ditch and a mud wall. The grove was near the Nawab’s entrenchment. The French under Jean Law reached Plassey two days after the British with their army lying behind the entrenchment.

The Battle

• On June 23, 1757, the Nawab’s army emerged from their camps and started to advance towards the grove. Their army consisted of about 40,000 with elephants and over 50 cannons and 50 French artillerymen. Clive, who was commanding the British Army anticipated the news of Mir Jafar taking his side, but all was in vain.
• The French artillery fired the first shot which acted as a signal for the Nawab’s army to engage in heavy and continuous fire. The British forces opposed the enemy fire using their artilleries to target the Calvary divisions.
• After three hours of intense fighting, the British army retreated to re-strategize. During the retreat, there was a heavy downpour, with the British taking precaution to protect their ammunition while the Nawab army was not taking any precaution. The rains reduced the effectiveness of the Nawab’s weapons.
• Rendered ineffective by the rains, the Nawab army retreated while Siraj and 2000 members of the armed forces fled Plassey for safety with the British entering the enemy’s camp at about 5 pm.

Casualties And Effects of the Battle

• According to Clive, the British lost 22 men while 50 were wounded. The Nawab army lost about 500 men including several key officials and suffered several casalities and the exact number was not confirmed.
• Siraj was killed by his people and was replaced by Mir Jafar. Clive became the master of Bengal and supported the new Nawab. The French became insignificant in Bengal. The British installed puppet governments in various parts of India leading to the atrocities by the British East Indian Company.
• The British drew a treaty with Mir Jafar which allowed the British to acquire all land within the Maratha Ditch and the land between Calcutta and the sea.

Significance:

• The victory at Buxar allowed the British to extend their domination up to Allahabad. Mir Qasim lost all hopes of curbing the British.
• In fact, with the fall of Mir Qasim, the era of independent Nawabs ended in Bengal.
• The seeds of British imperialism sown at Plassey flowered after the Battle of Buxar, a fact that makes the latter battle historically more important.
• It finally consolidated British rule in Bengal, the Nawab was reduced to a mere figure-head, the Company started an unchecked plundering of the wealth of Bengal, the
• Nawab of Oudh turned to a submissive ally and the Mughal emperor was reduced to thriving on an allowance from the Company.
• These were the first steps to start off Company’s domination in the north.