Question

Battle of Plassey is a very important event in Indian history because______?
A) Nawab of Bengal lost it
B) It enabled British to have power in Bengal
C) It laid the foundation for British rule in India
D) It enabled the British to reap higher trade profits

Answer 1

Hint: Siraj-ud-daulah of Bengal was defeated by the British in a fierce battle on 23 June 1757.
The Battle of Plassey was fought between the English and Nawab Siraj-ud-daulah of Bengal in 1757 .


Complete answer:
The main cause of the battle was that the English company was not content with its commercial activities and they wished to expand their territory; with this in mind ,they started political conspiracy in Bengal. They tried to foil the political aims of Nawab Siraj-ud-daulah of Bengal and started misusing the facility of free pass(Dastak). Now let's see the options:-

Nawab of Bengal lost it- It's true that the Nawab of Bengal lost the war to the Britishers but it is not an important event as many rulers lost against the Britishers hence this is incorrect.
It enabled British to have power in Bengal - Although British got some powers in Bengal but they were still not a significant force in and had to deal with local native rulers like Mir Qasim , Mir Jaffer etc. Thus it is not the right answer.
It laid the foundation for British rule in India- Battle of Plassey was the first event in British history which laid the foundation of their rule in Bengal. As the result of this battle ,British got revenue rights in 24 Parganas which ensured their sound footing in Bengal Thus this is the correct option.
It enabled the British to reap higher trade profits-. Britishers still did not have full control of Bengal after the war. The Battle of Buxar gave them the actual powers hence this is incorrect.

Hence the correct answer is option (C).

Note: The British won the war because of the treachery of Nawab's commander in chiefs and higher officials. It was not won by sword and bravery but with a stroke of diplomacy.