Emran Emon

June 23 marks the historic Plassey Day. This year marks the 268th anniversary of the historic Battle of Plassey. This day is a black day in the history of Bengal. On this day in 1757, the sun of Bengal's independence set for 200 years in the desert of Plassey due to the conspiracy of local merchants, traitors and the British. Nawab Sirajuddaula's Bangla, Bihar and Orissa were defeated in an hour-long battle of farce. The history of Plassey on June 23 is the history of turning the real golden Bengal into a crematorium. The history of June 23 is the history of betrayal.

On 12 June 1757, the British troops in Calcutta joined the army at Chandannagar. Leaving a small force there to defend the fort, they marched with the remaining troops on 13 June. On the way from Calcutta to Murshidabad, despite the presence of Nawab's troops at Hughli, Katwar Fort, Agradwip and Plassey, none of them blocked the way of the British. The Nawab realized that the generals were also involved in the conspiracy. But there was nothing more to do.

After the death of Alivardi Khan, on 10 April 1756, Sirajuddaula ascended the throne of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa. He was only 22 years old then. The English had a conflict with the young Nawab for various reasons. Besides, Mir Jafar and Ghaseti Begum, loyal followers of Siraj's grandfather Alivardi Khan, were aspiring for the throne. They made contact with the English effective and solidified the blueprint against the Nawab. As the day progressed, the black clouds were thickening in the sky of this terrain. On 23 April 1757, the Calcutta Council passed a resolution in favor of dethroning the Nawab. To carry out this proposal, Lord Clive, an English general, appointed Umir Chand, an elite member of the royal court as his agent. Nawab Sirajuddaula was able to detect that Mir Jafar was the protagonist of this conspiracy and the Nawab removed him from the post of Chief of Army Staff and anointed Abdul Hadi. Mir Jafar, an expert in cunning, touched the Holy Quran and took an oath. The Nawab's mind melted and Mir Jafar was reinstated as the Commander-in-Chief. Contemporary historians say that this wrong decision became a nightmare for Nawab Sirajuddaula.

On the early morning of 23 June, in the desert of Plassey, the British were ready for a face-to-face battle. The English gathered troops at the mango orchard called ‘Laksh Bagh’. At eight o'clock, Mir Madan suddenly attacked the British forces. Unable to withstand his onslaught, Clive took refuge in the mango orchard with his army. Clive was a little upset. Mir Madan was slowly advancing. But Mir Jafar, Yar Latif, Ray Durlabh remained indifferent to where the army had gathered. With a little help from them, Mir Madan could force the English to accept defeat. When it suddenly rained around noon, the ammunition of Sirajuddaula got wet. Nevertheless, the brave Mir Madan continued to fight the English. But Mir Madan died of gunshot wounds.

Mir Jafar again betrayed and ordered his troops to return to the camp. Taking this opportunity, the English attacked the Nawab. The battle ended at five o'clock in the afternoon and the Nawab's camp came under the control of the English. Seven Europeans and 16 native soldiers were killed on the British side. Seeing no way out, Sirajuddaula set out for Murshidabad with two thousand troops to defend the capital. But no one helped him to protect the capital.

On 3 July 1757, Sirajuddaula was captured on the banks of the river Mahananda and sent to the capital Murshidabad. The Nawab was accompanied by his wife Lutfa Begum and four-year-old daughter Umme Zahura. The next day, on 4 July (July 3 in the odds), another traitor, Mohammadi Beg, killed Sirajuddaula on the orders of Mir Jafar under the supervision of his son Miron. He was buried near the tomb of Nawab Alivardi Khan at Khoshbagh in Murshidabad.

Alivardi Khan, grandfather of Sirajuddaula, died on 9 April 1756. In the battle of Plassey, Sirajuddaula fell on 23 June 1757. Namely, 14 months and 14 days later. Since ascending the throne, Siraj has had to deal with conspiracies all around.

What is the main reason for the defeat of Bengal in the battle of Plassey? We still do not know exactly. The amazing thing is how the unexpected defeat of 50,000 soldiers of Sirajuddaula happened to Robert Clive's only 3,200 soldiers in the battle of Plassey? Surprisingly, where did the thousands of soldiers of a country go next?

Only three or four years after the Battle of Plassey, Mir Qasim's Battle of Katwa, Giria, Udaynala or the resistance struggle of Nurul Din and Fakir Majnu Shah centered on Dinajpur and Rangpur did not see a united struggle of these troops. At that time Nawab Mir Jafar of Bengal was known as Clive's ass. Why the people of Bengal could not unite against that donkey at the last moment! Today we need to rethink deeply the lost context of history in the battle of Plassey. June 23, 1757, is a stigmatized chapter in the history of Bengal, a chapter of betrayal.

And yet, regarding the Battle of Plassey, Robert Clive—both in his letter to then British Prime Minister William Pitt the Elder and in his defense speech before the British Parliament in 1773—admitted: “Had the local people wished to resist, they could have finished off the British with nothing more than sticks and stones, or bricks and bare hands. But the people of this land failed to realize their own strength.” 

For whatever reason, the people of Bengal did not move forward that day. Their political awareness was very lacking then. Even after the Plassey tragedy, the common people of Bengal, the peasant society, in their daily lives, have worked in the fields as usual and the crop is sown. But what a terrible fate befell the whole nation in the battle of Plassey!

In an hour of farce, the whole nation was deprived of its independence and the British were taken away their independence but their recollection did not move. When the recollection moved, it was too late. They had nothing to do then. Sirajuddaula never betrayed the people of his country under any circumstances. He never voluntarily sold his homeland. He was the only main protagonist on the tragic stage in the battle of Plassey. Sirajuddaula was a shining example of patriotism, the last symbol of Bengal's independence.

History shows that those who betrayed Nawab Siraj and their own country were never forgiven by time. The conspirators all met tragic ends—each one of them faced a grim and sorrowful fate. Treachery, as history teaches us, ultimately consumes the traitor.

June 23, is a day of stigma in our national life as well as a day of learning. Just as this Plassey chapter in the history of Bengal is a fulsome heartbreaking event, so we have had to pay the price for our long 200 years of slavery. The history of Plassey on 23rd June, the history of handing over the independence of the country to foreign ruling classes with the connivance of some treacherous conspirators. The history of 23rd June is the history of turning the real golden Bengal into a crematorium.

Finally, there is one thing to say, independence is the greatest asset of the country, the greatest achievement of a nation. And patriotism is the biggest deposit of the country. We must always remember this fact in every aspect of life. Everyone must love the country from everyone's position.

Every year on June 23, we hear this warning, the enemies inside the country are much more terrible than the enemies outside. There is a saying, “Fifth Columnist”—the enemy in the house. (Ghorer Shotru Bivishan). We have to be aware of that. 

Even today, the shadows of the Plassey tragedy loom over our nation. The reflections of Mir Jafars are still visible. Just as in Plassey, there are always conspirators awake and alert—ready to betray the nation’s independence and sovereignty for personal gain. The question generally arises: Is the shadow of the Plassey tragedy still consuming our politics? Is history once again sounding a warning? Have we truly learned anything from the dark, shameful chapter of June 23? The greatest lesson of history, it seems, is this: “No one learns from history.”

The writer is a journalist, columnist and global affairs analyst. He can be reached at emoncolumnist@gmail.com