Indeed, the rumour was widely spread in Murshidabad that the English had espoused the cause of Ghasiti Begam. Dr. Forth, attached to the factory of baz&r, visited ‘Alivardi about a fortnight before his death. While he was talking with the Nawab, Sir&j-ud-daulah came in and reported that he had information to the effect that the English had agreed to help Ghasiti Begam. The dying Nawab immediately questioned Forth about this. Forth not only denied the charge but avowed on behalf of his nation any intention to interfere in Indian politics.
This denial had but little effect on the mind of Siraj.ud-daulah which was already embittered against the En over the question of fortification. Immediately after his accession to the throne, he communicated his views to Watta, the chief of the English factory at Cassimbazar,in remarkably plain language. The Nawab pointed out that be looked upon the English only as a set of merchants and they were welcome as such, but he disapproved of their recent fortifications and insisted on their immediate demolition. The Nawab also sent envoys to Calcutta with similar instructions and a demand for the surrender of Rajballabh’s family, but they were dismissed with scant respect by the English governor. This incredible conduct can only be explained by a tenacious belief that Rajballabh would ultimately succeed against Siraj-ud-daulah.
The first concern of Siraj -ud-daulah after his accession to the throne was, therefore, to remove the great internal danger that threatened his safety. By a masterly stroke, which has not been sufficiently recognised in history, he succeeded in quietly removing Ghasiti Begam to his own palace, without any bloodshed. The English now came to their mistake. Excuses and apologies were offered for their late conduct. But Siraj-ud-daulah was not the man to be satisfied by mere hollow promises. He wrote a letter to Mr. Drake, the governor of Calcutta, repeating his orders to demolish the additional fortifications. For the time being he could do no more, for although Ghasiti Begam had been suppressed, Shaukat Jang, the governor of Purnea, still remained the centre of a revolutionary conspiracy against him. The Nawab rightly concluded that he must remove this danger before he could adopt a strong policy towards the English. Accordingly he marched towards Purnea. When he reached Rajmahal, the reply of Governor Drake reached him. It was couched in polite language, but contained no indication that he would comply with the Nawab’s request. The Nawab immediately changed his mind, and returned to Murshidabad, in order to begin a campaign against the English in good earnest. The letter of Drake evidently convinced him that he had more, to fear from the inveterate enmity of the British than anything that Shaukat Jang could do against him.
Once having taken the decision, Siraj-ud-daulah acted with unwonted energy. The return journey from Rajmahal commenced on 20th May. He reached Murshidabad on lst June and on 4th June seized the English factory at Cassimbazar. On 5th June he marched against Calcutta and reached there on the 16th. Three days later, Governor Drake, the Commandant and many prominent Englishmen abandoned the fort to its fate and sought their own safety on board the ships. Next day, ie..on 20th June, Fort William surrendered to Siraj-ud-daulah after a feeble resistance.
The capture of Calcutta will ever remain memorable in history on account of the-so-called Black Hole episode, which occupies a prominent place in the narrative of Holwell. According to his version, 146 English prisoners were confined during the night in small room, known as the Black Hole, 18 feet long by 14 feet 10 inches wide. One hundred and twenty-three died of suffocation, and 23 miserable survivors alone remained to tell the tale of that tragic summer night.
The truth of this story has been doubted on good ground That some prisoners were put into the Black Hole and a number of them, including those wounded in the course of the fight, died there, may be accepted as true. But the tragic details, designed to suit a magnified number of prisoners, must almost certainly be ascribed to the fertile imagination of Holwell, on whose Authority the story primarily rests. In any case, it is agreed on all hands that Siraj-uddaulah was not in any way personally responsible for the incident.
Leaving his general Manikchand in charge of Calcutta, Siraj-ud-daulah returned to Murshidabad. Shaukat Jang bad in the mean. time procured from the titular Mughul Emperor of Delhi the formal Sanad for the Subahdarship of Bengal and made no secret of his intention to make a bold bid for the viceregal throne. He no doubt relied upon the help of disaffected chiefs of Bengal like the banker Jagat Seth and the general Mir Jafar. But before they could agree upon any general plan, Sir&j-ud-daulah marched against Shaukat Jang and defeated and killed him.
It reflect no small credit upon the young and inexperienced Nawab that he could get rid of his three powerful enemies within a few months of his accession to the throne. A superficial observer might well have regarded the future with equanimity, and perhaps even the Nawab was led into a false sense of security. But if he had been a true statesman he should not have been unaware of the dangers and difficulties ahead.
It was, for instance, sheer ineptitude to expect that the English would retire from Bengal after their first defeat without making fresh efforts to retrieve their situation. For, although small in number, the possession of the am gave them a decided advantage ‘m any warfare with the Nawab as it kept open the way for retreat when pressed hard, and the means of securing fresh supplies of resources, either from home or from other settlements in India. If the Nawab had fully realized this fact he would have continued his hold upon Calcutta in order to keep the English permanently in check.
The Nawab would perhaps have devoted his serious attention to this problem and evolved suitable measures if his own house were in order. But that was the chief plague-spot. Bengal, like most other provincial States, lacked almost every element that makes a State strong and stable. It had only recently emerged as a semi-independent kingdom; and no tradition or attachment- bound the people to the ruling house. The theoretical powers of the Emperor of Delhi still and the mm of Shaukat Jang showed what practical use could be’made of them. The common people were too accustomed to revolutions to trouble themselves seriously about any change in the government, while the more influential chief shaped their policy with a view to their own interests alone. The idea of nationality or patriotism was virtually unknown. Personal allegiance to the ruler, which was the main foundation of go t in those days, was conspicuously lacking in the case of Siraj-ud-dulah. Although we may not credit all the stories of his severity and self-indulgence, which were mostly invented ‘by his enemies, we cannot but regard him as. a wayward, pleasure-loving and erratic young man, a typical product of the age in which he lived. To prove this we need only recall a few incidents of his life such as his deliberate defiance of ‘Alivardi, when merely a boy of fifteen, his bouts in Moti jhil, and the murder of Hussain Quli Khan in a public street in broad daylight. However we might condone them, they were not certainly calculated to inspire either love or confidence in the young Nawab.
