Question

Explain Dual government of Robert Clive.

Answer 1

Hint: Robert Clive’s dual government system was introduced in 1705 and lasted till 1772. He was the governor of Bengal from 1757-60. Under this system, he divided the administration of Bengal into Diwani and Nizamat.

Complete answer: Robert Clive was the governor of Bengal during 1757-60 and also during 1765-67. During his first tenure under Nawab Mir, the company was corrupted. His only aim was to gain profit by extracting revenues from peasants. However, there was corruption in the company due to which he prohibited his employees from engaging in any kind of trading. Later Mir Qasim ascended the throne and became the nawab of Bengal. However, even he could not satisfy the company officials and the Battle of Buxar took place. Then finally Robert Clive decided to become the Nawab of Bengal, under which he introduced the dual government system. It was divided into Diwani and Nizamat.
-Under Diwani company officials start generating revenues from the peasants which helped in managing their expenses.
-Nizamat was the administrative jurisdiction which was under the control of Nawabs.
However, the Nizamat was also under the control of company officials. After this system, the trade expanded rapidly between India and Britain. Earlier Britain had no goods to sell in India and had to buy things in either gold and silver. Soon after the Diwani system the outflow of gold from Britain slowed down and finally stopped, as now companies could buy products from the revenue collected.

Note: Company used harsh measures to collect revenues. Robert Clive under this period became rich and it marked the beginning of economic loot in India.