Bengal under the Mughals: Politics, Society and Culture:

The rule of Muslim sultans of Bengal started by the conquest of Bakhtiyar

Khalji in 1204-05 A.D. until the battle of plassey in 1757, where the English East India
Company defeated the young Muslim Nawab Sirajud-Dawlah. The east India Company
soon after that controlled Bengal politics and the administration in the name of another
nawab for some years.
The Muslim rule in Bengal had two phases one is the Sultanate and second
phase is the Mughal rule in India and Bengal. The sultanate period ended in 1576, when
in the battle of Rajmahal, Hulast. Afghan Sultan Daud Khan Karrani was defeated on
the 12th July by Khan Jahan, a very able general of the great Mughal Emperor Akbar
Daud Karrani was beheaded and his capital city Tanda was occupied. This did not bring
glory to the Mughal for the conquest of Bengal far from it. It meant the end of the sultan
and their sultanate in Bengal. But the occupation of Bengal by the Mughals was far off.
Akbar made great efforts by sending troops and general after general to bring the whole
of Bengal under his control but failed miserably. So the dream of the Mughal ruler was
fulfilled in the reign of his son Jahangir a young energetic subahdar named Islam Khan
Chisti. Apart from the fact that various powerful military chiefs, the Afghans, the Bengali
Bhuiyans together with inhospitable Bengalis climate, the monsoon prevails half the
year and the geography of Bengal had been the major causes for the Mughal failure to
conquer Bengal. As mentioned earlier in the lecture the riverine scenes of Bengal are
dominated by big rivers, the Ganges and the Brahmaputra, flow downward toward Bay
of Bengal. In otherwords, the natural geography of Bengal offered barriers to the
Mughal conquest of Bengal but the political geography offered no difficulties. By this
time, Bengal had various rule in various parts of Bengal. For instance, Bir Hammir of
Bishnapur (Bankura, Birbhum) shams Khan of pachet, Salim Khan of Hijli (Medinipur
area), there were pitambar, Ananta, Chilajawar and Allah Baksh of Alaipur all in north
Bengal centering Rajshahi; there were Raja pratapaditya of Jeaaore.
The most serious obstacles were Raja Lakshthan Manikya and Anant
Manikya of Bhulna (Noakhali). The Bhaiyas of Bhati, their chief in Akbar’s time was Isa
Khan Masnad-i-Ala and in Jahangir’s time Isa Khan’s son Musa Khan Mashael-i-Ala of
other prominent Bhuiyas of Bhati, Chand Rai and his brother Kedar Rai of Bikrampur
and the Ghazi’s of Bhawal. Khawaja Osman and the Bara Bhuiyas proved to be the
most serious obstacle to Mughal aggression of Bengal for several dacades. With the
appointment of Islam Khan Chisti as Subahdar of Bengal by Emperor Jahangir in
1608C, the situation changed completely. The new subahdar climed noble birth as the
grandson of Sheikh Salim Chishti a Sufi Saint of Fatehpur Sikri. Islam Khan Chishti from
Rajmahal in the western subah, transferred his capital to Dhaka so as to keep the Bara

Bhuiyas far away from the capital. Islam Khan, however, subjugated many Zamindars
and chiefs in his way to Dhaka, by the end of 1612C. the whole of Bengal except
Chittagong was brought under Mughal control and next year he occupied Kamrup. Islam
Khan examined the situation quite carefully, so he did not allow the defeated chief to go
balk to their station, but they were forced into Mughal services. They were compelled to
fight against their brethren. This policy was very effective and it crippled those small
Raja’s zamindars and chiefs and consolidated the Mughal authority in Bengal.
During the subahdari of prince shah shuja Bengal enjoyed peace for thirty
years, 1639-1658, but when emperor Shahjahan fell ill the Mughal empire suffered a
civil war in which all four princes- Dara, Shuja, Aurangzeb, Murad took part. Shuja made
himself at Rajmahal, he fought first against Dara, then against Aurangzeb but being
defeated finally in 1660 C. took shelter with the king of Arakan. There he was brutally
murdered in 1661 A.D.
Mir Jumla, who drove Shuja out of Bengal, was appointed subahdar of
Bengal. He was an Iranian and was a successful Diamond Merchant. In Bengal, Mir
Jumla’s chief contribution was the conquest of Assam. He died in Assam. The next
Mughal subahdar in Bengal was Shaista Khan. He ruled in Bengal for about 22 years
with a short break in the middle, when Azam Khan Koka (Fidai Khan) and Prince
Muhammad Azam Khan became the subahdar. Shaista Khan came from a noble family;
his father was Asif Khan who was the father of Mumtaz Mahal wife of Emperor Shah
Jahan. Asif Khan was the son of Itimad-ud-Dawla, brother of Noorjahan, queen of
Emperor Jahangir. Shaista Khan came to Bengal at the age of 63, with grown up sons,
and with their helping hards he served Bengal as the perfect subahdar and with
distinction. Shaista Khan’s great contribution was this conquest of Chittagong from the
Portuguese pirates. After the death of Aurangzeb in 1707 and with ambitions of Mughal
princes and nobility the central government of the Mughal princes became very weak
and gave rise to provincial kingdoms. In Bengal, Murshid Quli Khan a great imperial
officer made himself at the nead of every branch of administration. Murshid Quli khan
became the subahdar of Bengal and Orissa and then Diwan of Bihar. He also got the
highest title of “Mustamin-ul-Mulk Jafar Khan Nasiri Jung”. He infact became the defect
ruler of Bengal. His important work was the transfer of the capital Dhaka to
Murshidabad. He died in 1727 leaving no male issue and he hoped that his grandson
(daughter’s son) Asadullah Sarfaraz Khan will succeed him. It didn’t happen.
Asadullah’s father Shujauddin Muhammad Khan instead of his son he himself became
the subahdar of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa both the Nizamat and Diwani in his own
control. However, he died appoint Alivardi Khan as deputy subahdar of Bihar and
couple of other dignitaries. Shujauddin ruled quite peacefully for a decade and died in
1739. Sarfaraz occupied the masnad of Murshidabad after his father’s death in bague

with members of the council. Eventually Sarfaraz Khan was killed and Ali Vardi Khan
occupied the Masnad of Murshidabad.
In 1740 C. Ali Vardi Khan occupied the masnad of Murshidabad at the age of
64 with a title of Mohabbat Jung. He had conformed many intrigues, confrontation and
repeated Maratha invasions which seriously damaged his reputation. He appointed
several of his young nephews Naib Nazim of Purnea, Dhaka, patha etc. But they soon
died and he was heart broken and died in April 1756.
After many conspiracies, an intrigue in the court Alivardi’s successor was his
daughter’s son Siraj-ud-Dawla. This young nawab many enemies particularly his own
cousin Mir Mohammad Jafar Ali Khan. (Mir Jafar) the commander of army who was very
ambitions and entered into a leaguc and conspiracy with the Hindu fancier Jagat Seth
etc, who wanted to in the mansad of Bengal himself. But Siraj-ud-Dawla succeeded the
mansad at the age of 23. His first attention was to streamline the administration and his
government. His uncle Mir Jafar made a pect with the Hindu financer Jagat seth and the
East India company and Siraj-ud-Dawla to have war with the East India Company in
order to drive them away from the part of Calcutta. This battle was known as the battle
of Plassey – here with lot of dirty intrigues Siraj-ud-Dawla was beheaded by the East
India Company who took over Bengal mansad and ruled India for two hundred years.