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| RUPEE NEWS | Moin Ansari
n> | ???? ??????? | ????? ????? | Polashi to Meerut to Karachi:- Islamabad and Dhaka 
Nawab Shir Ud Dualah ruled this Sonar Bangla a part of the Mudhal Empre and then a successor state. It was the land of milk and honey–the most prosperous part of the Subcontinent.
1) October 17, 1483: Spanish Inquisition destorys the last Muslim foothold in Andulusia paving the way for the Reconquista of not only Spain but the obliteration of Muslims from the Philipines, and may Caribbean countries as well as Puerto Rico etc.2) Set sail: August 2, 1492 Landed in the Bahamas: October 12, 1492. Discovery of America by Columbus led to the wholsale massacre of Muslims in the new world3) December 24, 1524 in Kochi, India) When Vasco De Gama discovered the Subcontinent he paved the way for the destruction of the Muslims in Asia.4) June 23rd 1757: The Battle of Plassy where Lord Clive defeats the standing Muslim patriot Nawab Sirij Ud Dualah–day the decline of the Muslims started and was transformed into enslavement5) The Death of Tipu Sultan in Mysore (Date of Death: May 4, 1799)6) The end of the Mughal Epire 18577) 24th October 1906: The parition of Bengal and its consequences8) 14th Augst 1947: The creation of Pakistan as a successor state of the Muhal Empire9) 16th December 1971: The separation of Bangladesh based on linguistinc and ethnic notions of nationhood10) 14th August 1975: The refusal of the Bangladeshis to revert back into India-Assassination of the Mujib Ur Rehman and burial of the Bengali secularism deep into the Bay of Bengal.11) 14th August 2020: Reuniion of Pakistan and Bangladesh as successor states of the Muslim Union
June 23rd is a day which will live in infamy. It was not just a defeat of an inexperienced Nawab. It was the destruction of a people, the obliteration of a culutre, the decimation of a way of life, the devastation of the industrial base of Muslim Bengal, the subversion of Islam—in every way a death of a civilization. This is the day on which the enslaement of the people of the Subcontinent began. This is the day when the disenfranchisement of the Muslims started. Under the guise of “democracy”, the entire Subcontinent was stolen from the Muslims and handed over to the Hindus. Muslims were marginalized and dumpud into the cesspool of penury poverty and illiteracy from which they have barely begun to recover–it has been three centuries lost.The defeat at Polashi was not a simple military defeat, it was the culmination of a conspiracy hatrched by the Hindus of Bengal (Umi Chand, Krishna Chandra Roy, Jagat Seth, Rai Durlav and others ) against the Muslims of Bengal (Nawab Siraj Ud Daulah and the Bengali elite who were the founders and successors of the Muslim Mughal empire in the Subcontinent).This was a true Zero Sum Game for the Hindus. As long as the Muslims remained in power they could not enslave Bengal. They used the British to try to achieve their goals, and long term strategies. Muslim Bengal was lost to Lord Clive, the Subcontinent lost to the British crown and then the Bengalis enslaved. What Dr, K.M.A. Malik and General (Brig Gen (Retd) ASM Hannan Shah are whispering under the lip–some true Bengali patriots are saying out loud. “The India Doctrine” by Munshi, and the elequent writings of Mr. Isha Khan warn the world– that the RAW of today is but a successor agency of the conspiracies hatched by Jagat Singh of yesteryear.
The Battle of Plassey was more devastating for the Muslim than the destruction of Baghdad by the Mongols. At the time that the East India Company brutally savaged Bengal, Urdu was the language of the country, and the Muslims were in power. The landed gentry was Muslim and as the overseers of culture, poetry, music, painting and industry. Muslim was made here and it was so fine an entire “than” could be pulled through a ring. 1873 all that ended. In 1873 the British government abolished Urdu as the national language. All Muslim were made illiterate overnight. The center of learning and literature moved to Hindu Bengal. They produced the attorneys, doctors, lawyers and the poets. Muslim Benglis were considered uncouth and bohemian. In 190740 the Devanagari script was imposed on the entire subcontinent with devastating affect. Plassey to Bangistan dream to Bangladesh to Brohit Bengal
Following on from the partition of Bengal in 1905 two critical events took place in 1906. A large delegation of Muslim leaders – the Simla Deputation – had a meeting with Lord Minto in October. They got what they had demanded: separate electorates to safeguard their interests. And, secondly, the All-India Muslim League was founded in Dacca on December 30
….The partition of the Bengal – the precursor to The Partition of 1947 – had become effective the year before. Viceroy Lord Curzon was behind the move to re-organise the large and unwieldy Bengal presidency. The creation, in October 16,1905, of the Muslim-majority province of Eastern Bengal and Assam had certainly helped the Muslims and aided their journey to independence.
However, there was immense Hindu agitation against the partition. The Hindu reaction was as anti-British as it was anti-Muslim. Historian Khalid B Sayeed has noted that Hindu revivalist movements such as the Swadeshi movement, “took a clear anti-Muslim turn and was run and organised on Hindu lines… It was well-known that partition would benefit Muslims of East Bengal”.
I had travelled back to October 24, 1906 to witness a huge, pro-partition Muslim rally in Dacca. The crowd welcomed the partition and resented the Hindu agitation. A resolution was passed at the meeting that as a result of the division of the Bengal Muslims “would be spared many oppressions which they had hitherto had to endure from the Hindus”. Ahsan
June 23 marks an inglorious day in the history of Bangladesh, since on this day, in 1757, Bengal lost its independence to the forces of the English East India Company led by Robert Clive in an infamous skirmish (battle) at Polashi (Plassey), a small village and mango grove between Kolkata and Murshidabad, on the bank of the river Bhagirathi. The battle of Polashi was only a skirmish, not a big battle, but it had far reaching historical and strategic implications not only for the people of Bengal and India but also for the onward mach of the British colonial Empire in South Asia and other parts of the world.All historians agree that the fate of the battle of Polashi had been determined long before the two forces met at the ˜battlefield. About fifty thousand strong army of Siraj-ud-daulah, the Nawab of Bengal, was defeated by about three thousand of Clive’s army (many of them local mercenaries) only in about eight hours. This was possible only because the Nawab’s uncle and army chief Mir Jafar aspired to mount on the Nawab’s throne, and threw his lot with Clive in a secret pact. On the battlefield, the greater number of the Nawab’s soldiers were bribed to throw away their weapons, surrender prematurely, and even turn their arms against their own army. Only a small number of soldiers under Mir Madan and Mohon Lal fought bravely but they were soon vanquished. Siraj-ud-daulah fled from his capital Murshidabad, and was caught a few days later and killed by Mir Jafar˜s son. Mir Jafar ruled Bengal for a while as Clive’s puppet, but he was also deposed by his foreign masters. Clive’s victory at Polashi led gradually to the consolidation of the English power in Bengal, Bihar and Orissa. The foundation of the British Empire in South Asia was thus laid in the plain fields of Polashi.
For the English, Polashi presented a golden opportunity and strategic victory over their main rival the French, who were competing with the English for trade advantages in South and South East Asia. These two European powers were locked in bitter competition and conflict both in Europe and in other places for expanding their respective trade opportunities and gaining colonial possessions. Both of these powers (as well as the Portugese and the Dutch) established trading posts and forts at different points along the sea coasts of India, including the southern parts of Bengal. Calcutta (Kolkata) was such a post of the English East India Company while Chandernagore was a French post. The French supplied some arms and guns to the Nawab, which the English considered to be detrimental to their interests.
After the battle of Polashi, it was decreed that the French would never be allowed to settle or trade in Bengal, Bihar and Orissa. Thus the French suffered the first strategic defeat at the hands of their archrival English in Bengal (the second mortal blow to the French ambition in India came with the defeat and death of their ally Sultan Fateh Ali Tipu of Mysore at the hands of the English East India Company, in 1799). The battle of Polashi thus signifies the precursor of the defeat of the French and rise of the English colonial power in India.
While the battle of Polashi brought about unprecedented opportunity for the English trading and colonial expansion, it brought about only foreign subjugation, economic ruin and destruction to the people in the region. One of the most prosperous regions in the world at that time, Bengal became a land of ruthless exploitation, hunger and famine only in few decades of the English rule. The colonial rule and exploitation in Bengal continued for 190 years until 1947 when the people of this area would have another chance to become citizens of independent countries (India and Pakistan). The eastern part of the erstwhile Bengal remained a part of Pakistan until 1971 when it opted for its own separate statehood (Bangladesh) and won its freedom as an independent and sovereign country after a bloody war with the Pakistani army.
In discussing the battle of Polashi today, two questions come to our mind. What is the relevance of remembering Polashi in the context of current situation in Bangladesh? And are we learning any lessons from this tragic event? To many of us, these are very important questions but unfortunately most of our intellectuals, columnists, and political leaders avoid any serious discussion or comment on these matters.
In the media, we have noted only one politician (Brig Gen (Retd) ASM Hannan Shah, New Nation, June 23, 2008) as saying that “there is a similarity” between the current situation and the defeat in the Plassey (Polashi) battlefield. Hannan Shah did not elaborate his comment, but there is enough material for all Bangladeshi patriots to ponder.
Do we see any similarity between the two historically very important periods of Bengal and its inhabitants? Of course, it is illogical to look for exact match in any society in two different circumstances about 250 years apart. But as far as the collusion and conspiracy between some dominating foreign powers and their local collaborators are concerned, one cannot but agree with Hannan Shah’s assertion.
In 1757 the Nawab of Bengal was relatively a young and inexperienced person in running the state and conducting wars. He depended for advice and action on several persons within the royal court, including his distant uncle Mir Jafar, who was also the chief commander of his armed forces.
The Nawab was not fully aware that Mir Jafar was colluding with other powerful people including Jagat Seth, Rai Durlav, Umi Chand, Krishna Chandra Roy and others who were secretly conspiring with Robert Clive of East India Company to depose the Nawab. Mir Jafar was aspiring for the throne, his local associates wanted more money, power and privileges, and the East India Company was looking for unlimited concessions for the lucrative trade in Bengal. It is said by many historians that at the initial stage the Company was interested only in trade and not in political control, but when the opportunity arose, it made full use of the situation and opted for financial, military and political control of the land.
The local conspirators and traitors could not foresee that once they accept the Company as advisers and arbiters in their internal disputes, the foreign friends would pretend to be ˜sympathetic” but they would want more money and power and that in case of failure to fulfil their gradually increasing demands, the puppet government would be ousted from power by the ˜friends” who catalysed the regime change. They did not realise that the East India Company and its officials would make promises and sign treaties only to be violated at a later time. In their hatred for the Nawab and lust for power and money, Mir Jafar and cohorts believed in the promises made by Robert Clive and other Company officials but could not foresee that the new foreigners were a breed of different kind, more cunning, more determined, more ambitious, more organised and more advanced in war techniques than any of the foreigners who had visited Bengal or India at earlier times.
Jawaharlal Nehru, in The Discovery of India (1946), stated that Robert Clive won the battle of Polashi “by promoting treason and forgery“. He also noted that the British rule in India had “an unsavoury beginning and something of that bitter taste has clung to it ever since.”
On January 14 last year, only two days after the foreign backed, military controlled interim government was installed into power in Bangladesh, I stated in a TV talk show that the ghosts of Robert Clive have descended on the streets of Dhaka. The truth of my statement was not immediately obvious; few of my friends even telephoned me so say that I was being unfair and that I was prejudging the situation. In the light of the experience of the last 18 months, many of them have now changed their opinion. The link between the foreign powers who want to control Bangladesh reducing it to a vassal state and the power-hungry local elites within the political class, civil and military bureaucracy, business circles, NGOs, etc., is now clearly visible. It is important to remember what one analyst has said, ˜few British victories were achieved without the use of bribes and few promises made by the British were ever kept. Whether the sovereign nature of Bangladesh state could be preserved in future depends on if the nation as a whole has learnt any lesson from the tragic consequences of the Polashi tragedy.”
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(Dr. Malik is an academician and political analyst. He has already published three books: Bangladesher Rajniti : Mookh O Mookhosh (Bangla), Challenges in Bangladesh Politics – A Londoner’s View (English) and The War on Terror – A Pretext for New Colonisation (English). He writes from Cardiff and can be reached by e-mail: kmamalik@aol.com) http://newsfrombangladesh.net/view.php?hidRecord=206915
This is the Bengal that Lord Clive faced. This is the bengal that has to be revived.
The devastation ravaged by the East India company on the Subcontinent can be seen in land of Sonar Bengal–the richest and most affluent, most educated and most cultural part of the Subcontinent. The fatefut event in 1757 in one stroke not only enslaved the Bengalis, but transformed the entire area into a cesspool of penury and poverty from which it has not been able to unshackle itself.
In 1971 Bangladesh was created in the name of Bengali nationalism. However the Hindu Bengalis rejected Bengali nationalism, and on August 14th 1975 secularism was assassinated in Dhaka and buried deep in the Bay of Bengal. A Muslim ummah is born again in Bangladesh. How long till it uncovers its true potential and create Brohit Bengal or Greater Bangladesh?
Many consider the 15th of December 1971 as big a tragedy for the Muslims of the Subcontinent as that of June 23rd, 1757.
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