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After the Battle of Plassey, the British East India Company under the leadership of Robert Clive realised that they can administer the Indian colony and expand their territories and improve their profits. This led to a series of new policies which resulted in many battles.

Battle of Buxar (23 June 1764)

Fought against the British under Major Hector Munro by Mir Qasim, Shuja-ud-Daulah of Avadh and Shah Alam II of Mughal

Mir Qasim fled the battlefield and later committed suicide

The Allies are defeated and Mir Jaffer is again crowned as the puppet Nawab

The company did not want to indulge in the administration of the country

They wanted to expand their settlements to improve the trade

They began involving in the affairs of the Princely States to achieve this objective

They began appointing Residents in all the Princely States to look after the relationship and trade between the company and the State

The company wanted to use political, economic and diplomatic methods to extend their influence

With the residents, the company decides who would be the successor and also who should be appointed in administrative posts in these Princely States

Robert Clive chose Warren Hastings as the British Resident for Bengal in 1758

Warren Hastings was one of the prisoners of Siraj-ud-Daulah during his campaign in Fort William

Robert Clive left India in 1760 amassing massive wealth

Clive returned to India in 1765 after the Battle of Buxar and was appointed the Governor of Bengal

After the death of Mir Jaffer in 1765, the tone of the company changed

Clive wrote a letter to the company chairman that they should become the nawab themselves

In the same year, the dual system of governance was introduced

Dual System of Bengal (1765-1772):

The East India Company set up a dual system of Diwan and Nizam

The Diwan was selected by the company for revenue collection for them and the Nizam to rule the region

The company basically took over the defence administration and left the nawab with the civil administration

This happened under the Mughal emperor, Shah Alam II who was forced to allow the company to collect taxes from Bengal, Bihar and Orissa

In return, the company paid an annual tribute to the Emperor

The revenue received from these regions were used to buy merchandise from India and the returns would go to England

Thus the company became economically self-sufficient in India - Thus began the British loot of India

The Regulating Act of 1773

The act brought the three provinces under one rule and established the governor-general of India

By 1772, the company acquired Bombay and Madras, too, as their presidencies

Warren Hastings (1773-1785) became the first Governor-General of Bengal in 1771 and the Governor-General of India in 1773

The Great Famine of 1770 (almost 10 million deaths) brought about a need to change the system in the colonies

The share prices of the company plummet and the British Government had to bail out the company

Hastings’ Judicial Plan of 1772 created Faujdhari (criminal) and Diwani Adalat in the districts of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa

Each district had a district collector - he had the power of administrator, judge and magistrate

The Kazis and pandits translated the local laws to the officials

This created a fair justice system and it led to the present-day District Administrative System

It helped correct the defects and retain the local traditions of the courts and law in the regions

But it also this led to unsatisfactory judgements due to the bias of Kazis and pandits

In 1773, a Supreme Court was established in Fort William

It was set up due to the dilemma the British government was in due to the importance of the company but their need to stop corruption

Want for expansion

After Bombay and Madras presidency, the British wanted to ex

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