The British ruled India for two hundred years. British rule in India began due to the fall of the Mughal Empire, the struggle between Indian rulers, and the strong British navy and British strategy. However, recently some historians have claimed that some of the Indian businessmen and banks of that time were one of the main reasons for the beginning of British rule in India.

The time was 1600, and the British East India Company set out to expand its influence in the Indian Ocean with the royal order of Queen Elizabeth of England. At that time, the competition between European countries to discover new countries and expand colonies had begun. European countries often fought among themselves to prove their superiority. For this reason, the East India Company arrived in Surat on the west coast of India on August 24, 1608, after fighting with the Dutch and Portuguese. As a foreign trader, the East India Company set up factories in Surat and Mausilipatnam in Andhra Pradesh. Gradually, the factories of the East India Company spread almost all over India. Fort St. George in Chennai, Fort William in Calcutta and Bombay Castle in Bombay were one of the main trading centers of the British.

About 150 years after the arrival of the East India Company in India, the fall of Siraj ud Daula to the East India Company in the Battle of Plassey in 1757 created fear in British rule in India. Siraj ud Daula controlled Bengal, Bihar, and Orissa from Murshidabad. The British were abusing the commercial permission given by Siraj ud Daula, and in addition, the British started using Fort William as a military base. That is why Siraj ud Daula attacked the British and defeated them. The British alleged that Siraj had killed many British in a small dark room. This incident is known in history as the Andhakup Massacre. At that time, the head of the East India Company was Robert Clive. Robert Clive defeated Siraj ud Daulah in the Battle of Plassey through Siraj’s commander Mir Jafar. Later, the British installed Mir Jafar and Mir Quashem on the throne as their nominated candidates. But Mir Quashem later declared rebellion. Mir Quashem, along with the Nawab of Ayodhya and the Mughal emperor, attacked the East India Company in 1764, which is known in history as the Battle of Buxar. But in the Battle of Buxar, the East India Company won and the British got the right to collect the revenue of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa. The expansion of the British empire in India began after the Battle of Buxar. After the Sepoy Mutiny in 1857, the British became the rulers of all of India.

However, there are several small reasons for the victory of the British in the Battle of Plassey. For example, historians say that the British won the Battle of Plassey because of the bankers of Murshidabad. It is said that these bankers did not agree with the financial policies of Siraj ud Daulah, so they planned to defeat Siraj jointly with the British. The most important of these bankers was Jagat Seth. Siraj ud Daulah, who ascended the throne at the age of only 20, had little knowledge of economics. He ruled according to his own wishes. Siraj ud Daulah also threatened Jagat Seth. Jagat Seth was influenced by the British instead of Siraj ud Daulah for two reasons.

Firstly, the British did business according to specific written rules instead of verbal agreements, which gave security to the bankers. Secondly, the British were good at protecting their territory and taking revenge, that is, the bankers got security due to the strong British army. For these reasons, Jagat Seth helped the British. Apart from this, historians also mention a businessman named Amin Chand who helped to make an agreement between Robert Clive and Mir Jafar. In return, Amin Chand received 3 million taka. But the most important was Jagat Seth because he controlled the finances of Siraj ud Daula, then Mir Jafar and Mir Qasim. At that time, Jagat Seth lent so much to the Nawabs that out of every four taka of revenue, three taka went to Jagat Seth. Before Mir Jafar betrayed Siraj ud Daula, it was Jagat Seth who brokered the final agreement between Robert Clive and Mir Jafar. Mir Jafar agreed to pay the British 16 crore taka. But Mir Jafar did not have that much, so it was Jagat Seth who arranged this money. Jagat Seth’s influence was also in the Mughal assembly. It was Jagat Seth who convinced the Mughal Emperor Alamgir II to accept the British victory and Mir Jafar as the new Nawab.

Jagat Seth was also later angry with Mir Kasem because Mir Kasem’s French mercenary army killed members of Jagat Seth’s family. For this, Jagat Seth helped the British in the Battle of Buxar. After the Battle of Buxar, the importance of Murshidabad in the rule of Bengal decreased and Calcutta rose. However, historians also say that another major reason for Jagat Seth’s support for the British in 1757 was the British-led trade in Bombay in western India. Jagat Seth was influenced by the economic progress of Bombay.

Mughal Emperor Jahangir allowed the East India Company to trade in India, due to which the British established a factory in Surat in 1613. Many historians claim that in the seventeenth century, Surat was probably the only major city in India where Hindu and Jain bankers and merchants were influential. At that time, a famous merchant of Surat was Virji Vora. Like Jagat Seth of Bengal, Virji Bhora also supported the British financially because Mughal financial policies were backward.

He did not have a heart. Virji Vora was so influential in Surat that in 1638, the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan deposed the governor of Surat for imprisoning him.

In 1669, the Qazi of Surat introduced religious policies, according to which many non-Muslim merchants were forcibly converted to Islam. For this reason, about 8000 non-Muslim merchants and bankers left Surat and went to Bombay and Bharuch. For which, naturally, these merchants supported the British. After the death of Virji Vora, the most influential banker in Surat was Bhimji Parikh. He started a printing press business in Bombay. The British gave free land and business rights to the non-Muslim merchants and bankers who moved from Surat to Bombay. Thus began the decline of Surat and the rise of Bombay. Thus, in the seventeenth century, the importance of Murshidabad and Surat decreased and the influence of Calcutta and Bombay increased. Jagat Seth was influenced by this incident and started supporting the British. Although historians call Robert Clive the embodiment of the expansion of the British Empire in India, Clive would never have been able to do so without the support of the Indians. This incident proves that bankers and businessmen are capable of bringing down even a large empire if they want to.