PLASSEY

The Battle of Plassey, fought
on 23 June 1757, changed the course of Indian history forever. When the
short, sharp hostilities between the forces of the nawab of Bengal,
Siraj-ud-daulah, and East India Company troops led by Robert Clive, an
ambitious soldier of fortune, ended, Britain was on its way to becoming the
dominant force in the region. The eighteenth century was a time of great
political churn in the subcontinent. After the death of Emperor Aurangzeb,
the Mughal empire began to slowly fracture. In the east, the nawabs of
Bengal, who ruled in the name of the Mughals, took the opportunity to break
free. By the middle of the century, Siraj-ud-daulah succeeded his
grandfather, Alivardi Khan, to the throne of Bengal. The young nawab clashed
frequently with the Company as it looked to aggressively expand and safeguard
its interests. Their skirmishes led inexorably to Plassey, a decisive battle
in a mango orchard by the banks of the Bhagirathi-Hugli. But what was Plassey
all about, besides a young nawab who stood in the way of a company?s business
plans and a country?s dreams of conquest? Was it really a battle or was it
won before it began? What were the politics of the time that permitted
Plassey? Why did the British so desperately want Bengal? Who were the faces
beyond a callow Siraj and a crafty Clive, the two main combatants? What are
the stories behind the spurned general, the ambitious and hateful aunt, the
rude and covetous cousin, the insulted banker, the grasping merchant? And how
was?is?Plassey seen? By the victors and the vanquished? The colonizer and the
colonized? Why does Plassey remain such a fascinating story even today? Using
multilingual sources and a multidisciplinary approach, Sudeep Chakravarti
answers all these questions and a myriad others with great insight and
nuance. Impeccably researched and brilliantly told, Plassey is the best
account yet of one of the turning points in Indian history.