Clive did not delay and advanced with his forces. The Nawab too proceeded to oppose his advance.
On the bank of the river Bhagirathi under the mango grooves of a place named Plassey the opposite forces met each other.
On 23rd June 1757 was the Battle of Plassey fought between the armies of Siraj-ud-daula and Clive. There could be no comparison between the respective forces of the enemies.
Image Source: upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b8/Plassey1757max.jpg
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The Nawab’s army contained 50,000 infantry, 28,000 Cavalry and Clive’s army consisted only 3,000 men including English Soldiers. From the beginning of the battle both Mirzafar and Rai Durlav stood silently with their vast forces without coming forward to fight.
Only two generals Mohan Lai and Mir Madan were fighting desperately on behalf of the Nawab. Mir Madan fell dead on the field and thus the Nawab lost courage. For hours the course of the war remained undecided and uncertain. Mirzafar advised the Nawab to send order to Mohan Lai to stop war and return back. Under compelling circumstances the Nawab did it but Mohan Lal continued fighting. On receiving repeated order from the Nawab for the close of the war Mohan Lai at length returned to Siraj.
When the fighting soldiers saw their leader withdrawing from the battle field they lost heart and fled in all directions. Within no time the course of the battle turned for the worst. Amid terrible attack from Clive’s side and with his army in panic Siraj-ud-daula fled from the battle field for life but was killed by Miran the son of Mirzafar. With that ended the battle of Plassey with that too was decided the fate of Bengal and of India. In the mango grooves of Plassey was laid the foundation of the British Empire in India. This Battle of Plassey opened a new chapter in the annals of India and the British Raj in Indian history began.
After the Battle of Plassey Clive proclaimed Mirzafar as the Nawab of Bengal and placed him on the throne of Murshidabad. He thought that with the fall of Siraj he would be the real independent Nawab of Bengal but he did not know that the independence of Bengal was lost at Plassey and that he should have to rule as a puppet of the English Company.
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But it was too late for him to change the course of history. Mirzafar in order to satisfy the English as per the agreement gave 24 Parganas of Bengal to the company as its Zamidari. This could not satisfy the servants of the company. He became tired of payment and his treasury became empty. He had neither power as the Nawab nor money to live in. He quietly swallowed insults and oppression and continued to live as a Nawab in title.
In 1760 Clive returned home. His fame had spread all over England as the Victor of Plassey and the founder of British rule in India. The British Government honoured him with the title of Lord. In India after his departure the servants of the company became uncontrollable collectively and individually they began to acquire wealth by corrupt means. When Mirzafar could not satisfy them in money they removed him from the throne and placed his son-in-law Mir Kasim over the throne as the Nawab.