Nawab of Bengal

Nawab Of Bengal

Nawabs of Bengal were the rulers of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa from 1740 until 1793. They were the hereditary Nazims or Subahdars (provincial governors) of the subah (province) of Bengal during the Mughal rule and later became the rulers of the province. Siraj ud-Daulah, the last independent Nawab of Bengal was betrayed in the Battle of Plassey by Mir Jafar. He lost to the British, who took over the charge of Bengal in 1757, installed Mir Jafar on the Masnad (throne) and established itself to a political power in Bengal.

In 1765 the system of Dual Government was established, in which the Nawabs ruled on behalf of the British and were mere puppets to the British. In 1772 the system was abolished and Bengal was brought under direct control of the British. In 1793, when the Nizamat (governorship) of the Nawab was also taken away from them, they remained as the mere pensioners of the British East India Company. The last Nawab of Bengal, Mansur Ali Khan abdicated on 1 November 1880 in favour of his eldest son.

Nawabs of Murshidabad succeeded the Nawabs of Bengal as Nawab Bahadur of Murshidabad, following Mansur Ali Khan's abdication They got the title changed as the title of the Nawab of Bengal was abolished in 1880. They had little or no say in the share of the revenue collected and were ceased to use any force. After Indian Independence in 1947 it was declared that the princely states must accede to either India or Pakistan (East/West Pakistan). It is a fact that Murshidabad (the capital city) became a part of East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) for two days, as it had a Muslim majority. It became a part of India on 17 August 1947. The Pakistani flag was brought down from the Hazarduari Palace and the Indian tricolour was hoisted atop the palace. After merging with India, they had no power as the Government of India took over all the princely states in India. The house of the Nawabs came to end in 1969 with Waris Ali Mirza being the last Nawab. Although he left three sons and three daughters there has been no clear successor to the title since his death as he died without declaring one.