Mir Qasim
Also called: Mir Kasim · Topic: Europeans in India and the Rise of Company Rule · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
Mir Qasim (also spelt Mir Kasim) was Nawab of Bengal from 1760 to 1763. The Company put him on the throne in place of Mir Jafar. He tried to rule as a real, independent ruler. He moved his capital from Murshidabad to Monghyr and built up his army there. He also fought against the Company's misuse of duty-free trade passes, called dastaks. Company servants used these passes for their own private trade and avoided paying tax.
Example
Mir Qasim then removed internal trade duties for all merchants, so Indian traders could compete on equal terms. The angry Company went to war with him and drove him out in 1763. In 1764 he joined Shuja-ud-daulah, Nawab of Awadh, and the Mughal emperor Shah Alam II. Together they were defeated at the Battle of Buxar. This victory made the Company the real power in Bengal.
Don't confuse with
- Mir Jafar: he betrayed Siraj-ud-daulah at Plassey in 1757 to help the British. Mir Qasim instead fought the Company at Buxar in 1764.
Related concepts
- Divide and rule
- Dastak
- Black Hole of Calcutta
- Siraj-ud-daulah
- Robert Clive
- Battle of Plassey
- Mir Jafar
- Battle of Buxar 1764
- Treaty of Allahabad 1765
- Diwani of Bengal