Question

Explain the following statement with a reason. 

Siraj-ud-Daulah was defeated in the Battle of Plassey.

Answer 1

The Battle of Plassey was a decisive victory of the British over the Nawab of Bengal and his French allies on 23 June 1757, under the leadership of Robert Clive. The battle enabled the company's presence in Bengal, which later extended to cover much of India over the next hundred years.

Reasons for Siraj-Ud-Daulah’s defeat are:

1. Robert Clive's conspiracy with the Nawab's Commander-in-Chief Mir Jafar and rich bankers of Bengal
2. Siraj-Ud-Daulah’s soldiers fought hard but were leaderless and without direction.
3. The cannon and musket fire from Clive’s positions inflicted great loss on Siraj-Ud-Daulah’s troops.
4. Clive’s army suffered casualties of 23 dead and 49 wounded. The wounded ones of Siraj-Ud-Daulah’s army were around 500 dead and many wounded. The English captured horses, elephants, and all of the 53 guns brought against them.
5. The British guns opened fire and murdered many of the cavalries, killing their commander Mir Madan Khan.
6. The Nawab Siraj-Ud-Daulah panicked at the loss of this and ordered his forces to fall back. This was rushed by the British and they captured Calcutta.
7. The British bombarded the nawab’s positions without reply and Nawab fled the battlefield on a camel, and Mir Jafar was duly installed in power as a British puppet.
8. The victory had cost the lives of only twenty-two soldiers on the British side while achieving a major step toward British control of Bengal.