Question

The Battle of Plassey was fought between whom and in which year?

Answer 1

Hint: The Battle of Plassey was fought on the banks of the Bhagirathi-Hooghly River, near the small village of Plassey (Palashi). The result was that the Britishers were established as the greatest economic and military power in India.

Complete answer:
On 23 June 1757, soldiers of the British East India Company, headed by Robert Clive, battled against the forces of Siraj-ud-Daulah, the Nawab of Bengal at that time, and his French allies. There were two major reasons for the battle to take place. Firstly, Siraj-ud-Daulah did not like the rampant usage of the trade privileges by the officials of the East India Company, and secondly the non- payment of tax and duty by the workers of the Company.

The Battle of Plassey took place on the banks of the Bhagirathi-Hooghly River, near the small village of Plassey (Palashi), and was won by Clive. It resulted in the establishment of the British as the greatest economic and military power in India.

Later, Clive was appointed Governor of Bengal. In 1765, he even obtained the ‘diwani’ , the authority to collect the tax and customs income of Bengal for the Company. The earnings from the Indian tax were now used to purchase Indian goods for export to Britain. No longer purely a trading organisation, it had become an authoritarian power.

Note: In the following years, the British used their newly gained revenues and military power to cast out their European colonial rivals, the French and the Dutch, from the remaining India. The victory at Plassey initiated a process that finally resulted in British rule over the sub-continent.