The Battle of Plassey (, Pôlashir Juddho), 23 June, 1757, was a decisive British East India Company victory over the Nawab of Bengal and his French allies, establishing Company rule in India which expanded over much of South Asia for the next 190 years. The battle took place at Palashi, West Bengal, on the riverbanks of the Bhagirathi River, about 150 km north of Calcutta, near Murshidabad, then the capital of the Nawab of Bengal. The opponents were Siraj Ud Daulah, the last independent Nawab of Bengal, and the British East India Company.

The battle was waged during the Seven Years' War (1756–1763) and in a mirror of their European rivalry, the French East India Company sent a small contingent to fight against the British. Siraj-ud-Daulah had a numerically superior force and made his stand at Plassey. The British, worried about being outnumbered and so promising huge amounts in bribes, reached out to Siraj-ud-Daulah's demoted army chief - Mir Jafar, along with others such as Yar Latif, Jagat Seth, Umichand, Maharaja Krishna Nath and Rai Durlabh. Mir Jafar thus assembled his troops near the battlefield, but made no move to actually join the battle, causing Siraj-ud-Daulah's army to be defeated. Siraj-ud-Daulah fled, eventually to be captured and executed. As a result, the entire province of Bengal fell to the Company, with Mir Jafar appointed as the Company's puppet Nawab.

This is judged to be one of the pivotal battles leading to the formation of the British Empire in South Asia. The enormous wealth gained from the Bengal treasury, and access to a massive source of foodgrains and taxes allowed the Company to significantly strengthen its military might, and opened the way for British colonial rule, mass economic exploitation and cultural domination in nearly all of South Asia. The battles that followed strengthened the British foothold in South Asia and paved way for British colonial rule in Asia.

Pôlash (), an extravagant red flowering tree (Flame of the forest), gives its name to a small village near the battlefield. A phonetically accurate romanization of the Bengali name would be Battle of Palashi, but the anglicised spelling "Plassey" is now conventional in English.

Growing French influence

At the connivance of the enterprising French Governor-General Joseph François Dupleix, French influence at the court of the Nawab was growing. French trade in Bengal was increasing in volume. The French also lent the Nawab some soldiers to operate heavy artillery pieces.

Ahmad Shah Abdali

Siraj-Ud-Daulah faced conflicts on three fronts simultaneously. In addition to the threat posed by the British East India Company, he was confronted on his western border by the advancing army of the Afghan Ahmad Shah Abdali, who had captured and looted Delhi in 1756—as well as the possibility of raids by the Marathas (who had raided/looted Bengal many times during the reign of his grandfather, and continued to raid Northern and Eastern India of which Bengal was part). So, Siraj sent the majority of his troops west to fight under the command of his close friend and ally, the Diwan of Patna, Ram Narain.

Court intrigue

In the midst of all of this, intrigues were occurring at Siraj Ud Daulah's court at Murshidabad. Siraj was not a particularly well-loved ruler. Young (he succeeded his grandfather in April 1756 at the age of 23) and impetuous, he was prone to make enemies quickly. The most dangerous of these were his wealthy and influential aunt, Ghaseti Begum (Meherun-Nisa) who had wanted another nephew to succeed to the throne; Shaw (who had suffered as a result of the siege of Calcutta); and Mir Jafar (who was demoted from the post of army chief and eventually brought into the British fold).

Company policy

The Company had long since decided that a change of regime would be conducive to its interests in Bengal. In 1752, Robert Orme, in a letter to Clive, noted that the company would have to remove Siraj's grandfather, Alivardi Khan, in order to prosper.

After the premature death of Alivardi Khan in April 1756, his nominated successor was Siraj-ud-Daulah, a grandson whom Alivardi had adopted. The circumstances of this transition gave rise to considerable controversy, and the British began supporting the intrigues of Alivardi's eldest daughter, Ghaseti Begum, against that of his grandson, Siraj.

Instructions dated 13 October, 1756 from Fort St. George instructed Robert Clive, "to effect a junction with any powers in the province of Bengal that might be dissatisfied with the violence of the Nawab's government or that might have pretensions to the Nawabship". Accordingly, Clive deputised William Watts, chief of the Kasimbazar factory of the Company, who was proficient in Bengali and Persian, to negotiate with two potential contenders, one of Siraj's generals, Yar Latif Khan, and Siraj's grand-uncle and deposed army chief, Mir Jafar Ali Khan.

On 23 April, 1757, the Select Committee of the Board of Directors of the British East India Company approved coup d'état as its policy in Bengal.

Mir Jafar, negotiating through an Armenian merchant, Khojah Petrus Nicholas, was the Company's final choice. Finally, on 5 June, 1757, a written agreement was signed between the Company, represented by Clive, and Mir Jafar. It ensured that Mir Jafar would be appointed Nawab of Bengal once Siraj Ud Daulah was deposed.

Troops

The East India Company's army led by Robert Clive, consisting of 950 Europeans and 2100 native Indian sepoys and a small number of guns was vastly outnumbered. The Nawab had an army of about 50,000 with some heavy artillery operated by about 40 French soldiers sent by the French East India Company. However, 16,000 of the 50,000 were under the control of Mir Jafar. Upon the promise of crown from the 'company masters', he chose not to fight, so the morale of the Nawab's army sank.

Along with Mir Jafar, the troops commanded by yar Latif and Rai Durlabh did not take part in the battle because of a secret pact made with the British. Only 15,000 troops actually engaged in battle, which was still significantly superior to the estimated 2,500 British soldiers facing them and there was a time when Clive thought that he would be forced to retreat. A cannonball strike that killed army chief Mir Madan and the ensuing confusion in the Nawab's ranks turned the course of the battle. The casualty figures - less than 20 British deaths - point to a very unequal battle.
Principal officers - British

• Major Killpatrick

• Major Grant

• Then Major Eyre Coote, later Lieutenant-General, and then Sir Eyre Coote

• Captain Gaupp

• Captain Richard Knox, 1st CO of the 1st Bengal Native Infantry

Principal officers - Nawab

• Mir Jafar Ali Khan - commanding 16,000 cavalry

• Yar Latif

• Mir Madan

• Jagat Seth

• Rai Durlabh

• Monsieur Sinfray - French artillery officer

British East India Company regiments

• 1st Bombay European Fusiliers, also known as 103rd Regiment of Foot

• Royal Madras Fusiliers, also known as 102nd Regiment of Foot

• Royal Bengal Fusiliers, also known as 101st Regiment of Foot

• 1st Bengal Native Infantry (BNI), also known as the Lal Paltan (Hindi for Red Platoon)

Queens troops (regular British army units lent to the EIC)

• 39th (Dorsetshire) Regiment of Foot, 1st Battalion

• 9th Battery, 12th Regiment, Royal Artillery

• 50 naval ratings from HMS Tyger

Battle details

The battle opened on a very hot and humid morning at 7:00 a.m. on 23 June, 1757, when the Nawab's army came out of its fortified camp and launched a massive cannonade against the British camp. The 18th century historian Ghulam Husain Salim describes what followed:

At around 11:00 a.m., Mir Madan, the chief of the army and one of the Nawab's most loyal officers, launched an attack against the fortified grove where the East Indian Company was located. However, he was mortally wounded by a British cannonball, and this caused confusion among his troops.

At noon, a heavy rainstorm fell on the battlefield. The British quickly covered their gunpowder, cannons and muskets against the rain, but the untrained troops of the Nawab, in spite of French assistance, failed to do so. When the rains stopped, therefore, the British still had firepower while the Nawab's guns were useless. As a result, the cannonade ceased by 2:00 p.m. Clive's chief officer, Kilpatrick, launched an attack against the water ponds in between the armies. With their cannons and muskets completely useless, and with Mir Jafar's cavalry, who were the closest to the English, refusing to attack Clive's camp, the Nawab was forced to order a retreat. By 5:00 p.m., his army was in full retreat and the British had command of the field.

The battle cost the British East India Company just 22 killed and 50 wounded (most of these were native sepoys), while the Nawab's army lost at least 500 men killed and wounded.

Aftermath

The Battle of Plassey is considered as a starting point to the events that established the era of British dominion and conquest in India.

Mir Jafar's fate

Mir Jafar, for his betrayal of the Nawab Siraj Ud Daulah and alliance with the British, was installed as the new Nawab, while Siraj Ud Daulah was captured on 2 July in Murshidabad as he attempted to escape further north. He was later executed on the order of Mir Jafar's son Miran. Ghaseti Begum and other powerful women were transferred to a prison in distant Dhaka, where they were eventually drowned in a boat accident, widely thought to have been ordered by Mir Jafar.

Mir Jafar chafed under the British supervision, and so asked the Dutch East India Company to intervene. They sent seven ships and about 700 sailors up the Hoogley to their settlement, but the British led by Colonel Forde managed to defeat them at Chinsura on 25 November, 1759. Thereafter, Mir Jafar was deposed as Nawab (1760) and Mir Kasim Ali Khan, (Mir Jafar's son-in-law) was appointed as Nawab. Mir Kasim showed signs of independence and was defeated in the Battle of Buxar (1764), after which full political control shifted to the Company.

Mir Jafar was re-appointed and remained the titular Nawab until his death in 1765, though all actual power was exercised by the Company.

Rewards

As per their agreement, Clive collected £2.5 million for the company, and £234,000 for himself from the Nawab's treasury . In addition, Watts collected £114,000 for his efforts. The annual rent of £ 30,000 payable by the Company for use of the land around Fort William was also transferred to Clive for life. To put this wealth in context, an average British nobleman could live a life of luxury on an annual income of £ 800 .

Robert Clive was appointed Governor of Bengal in 1765 for his efforts. William Watts was appointed Governor of Fort William on 22 June, 1758. He later resigned in favour of Robert Clive, who was also later appointed Baron of Plassey in 1762. Clive committed suicide in 1774, after being addicted to opium.

Diwani and Dual government In Bengal: Terms of Agreement

These were the terms agreed between the new Nawab and the Company:

• Confirmation of the mint, and all other grants and privileges in the Alinagar treaty with the late Nawab.

• An alliance, offensive and defensive, against all enemies whatever.

• The French factories and effects to be delivered up, and they never permitted to resettle in any of the three provinces.

• 100 lacs of rupees to be paid to the Company, in consideration of their losses at Calcutta and the expenses of the campaign.

• 50 lacs to be given to the British sufferers at the loss of Calcutta

• 20 lacs to Gentoos, Moors, & black sufferers at the loss of Calcutta.

• 7 lacs to the Armenian sufferers. These three last donations to be distributed at the pleasure of the Admiral and gentlemen of Council.

• The entire property of all lands within the Mahratta ditch, which runs round Calcutta, to be vested in the Company: also, six hundred yards, all round, without, the said ditch.

• The Company to have the zemindary of the country to the south of Calcutta, lying between the lake and river, and reaching as far as Culpee, they paying the customary rents paid by the former zemindars to the government.

• Whenever the assistance of the British troops shall be wanted, their extraordinary charges to be paid by the Nawab.

• No forts to be erected by the Nawab's government on the river side, from Hooghley downwards.

Contributing factor in Battle of Plassey and Buxar

• One of members of Clive's entourage at Plassey was a young volunteer called Warren Hastings. He was appointed the British Resident at the Nawab's court in 1757. Hastings later became the first Governor-General of India for the British East India Company from 1773 to 1786, he was impeached for corruption.

• Clive was later awarded the title Baron of Plassey and bought lands in County Limerick and County Clare, Ireland naming part of his lands near Limerick City, Plassey. It retains this name to this day and is now the site of the University of Limerick.

• The French guns captured at this battle can still be visited at the Victoria Memorial in Calcutta .

• The infamous meeting between Mir Jafar and Watts took place at Jaffarganj, a village close to Murshidabad. Mir Jafar's palace now stands in ruins at the place, but close to it is a gate called Nemak Haramer Deori (literally traitor's gate) where Watts is supposed to have entered the palace disguised as a purdanasheen (Urdu for veiled) lady in a palanquin.

• One of the unseen protagonists of the court drama was a wealthy Marwari trader who went by the family name Jagat Sheth ( (actual name - Mahtab Chand)). He was a hereditary banker to the Mughal Emperor and the Nawab of Bengal and thus well conversant with court intrigues. He negotiated a 5% commission from Clive for his assistance with the court intrigue to defeat Siraj. However, when Clive refused to pay him after his success, he is supposed to have gone mad. The family (i.e. Jagat Seth's) remained bankers to the Company until the transfer of the British head quarters to Calcutta in 1773 .