It has been a year since unprecedented violence took place in West Bengal after the Assembly election results were announced. Why Bengal has been suffering violence (both West Bengal and Bangladesh)? What was the original demographic composition of Bengal and how it has changed; and how this has affected the socio-political milieu in this region? This multi-part series would attempt to trace the origin of socio-political trends in the larger Bengal region (state of West Bengal and Bangladesh) over the last several decades. These trends are related to the evolution of Bengal over the last 4000 years. It’s a long journey and unfortunately most part of it has been forgotten.
Bengal was annexed to the Mughal empire in the late 16th century. Till 18th century large parts of Bengal were ruled by Muslim rulers. It was Battle of Plassey in 1757, Battle of Buxar in 1764 and the Treaty of Allahabad in 1765 between the Mughals and the British that ended practically the Muslim rule in Bengal and started a colonial rule which lasted till 1947.
Before we move ahead, it is important to understand how Bengal suffered at the hands of Mughal administration and how common Hindus fought the battle of survival on the ground against the misrule, from 15th to 18th century.
It was Vaishnavism of Chaitanya in the late medieval period which provided moral support to the Hindus to withstand the onslaught of an Islamic establishment. The resilience of common Hindus even during this tough period was noteworthy as they promoted and practised both Sanskrit and Vaishnavism in their day to day life.
The historical evidence also shows how both Vaishnavism and Sanskrit bound all sections of society together. Their role as tools of social integration has been underplayed by colonial and Marxist historians as well as the western academia.
To understand the composition of present day Bengali Hindu society, it is important to understand the influence of Vaishnavism as well as Sanskrit on Bengal’s cultural fabric.
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Role of Vaishnavism
According to Sir Jadunath Sarkar (The History of Bengal, Vol.II, pp 221), Chaitanya’s (1486-1534) Vaishnavism greatly reformed Hindu society in Bengal and Odisha. He goes on to say that “the new religion of Chaitanya has made Bengali Hindu society what it is today … Even greater than this moral reformation of the upper and middle classes, has been the work of Vaishnavism in uplifting the lower ranks of the society and the illiterate masses, by carrying religion to their doors through the device of ‘Naam-Sankirtan’ or chanting processions – which is spoken of as the unique contribution of Chaitanya to the spiritual life of the modern age. The new creed like Methodism in England born two centuries later has opened a new life of spirituality and knowledge to the lower castes, and under its life giving touch it has produced many Vaishnav saints and poets, scholars and leaders of thought…. Thus Vaishnavism has proved the saviour of the poor; it has proclaimed the dignity of every man as possessing within himself a particle of the divine soul.”
Sanskrit in Bengal
Even as Muslim rulers of Bengal pushed for promotion of Persian and neglected Sanskrit, people of Bengal didn’t let their language down. Sanskrit witnessed a great period of revival with the advent of Chaitanya’s Vaishnavism.
Highlighting the significance of Sanskrit’s role in Bengal’s cultural and religious life, Sarkar says (pp 222), “Sanskrit literature is the root of our general culture, no less than of theology throughout Hindu India. A revived and widespread study of Sanskrit among all castes (and not confined to the Brahmin and physician castes) and its creation of a new Bengali literature with a marked popular appeal are among our gains from this creed during the Mughal age. It has vivified and sweetened Bengal’s intellectual life, no less than the spiritual — and greatly broadened the basis of our culture. The Vaishnav leaders (including Chaitanya himself) were passionate collectors of Sanskrit manuscripts from other parts of India.”
Sarkar underlines the resilience of common Hindus in Bengal (pp 223), “Sanskrit learning except in the form of dry logic and barren philosophical wrangling had been greatly crippled in Bengal by the disappearance of Court patronage. In 16th and 17th century, it greatly revived under the influence of Vaishnavism; but this renaissance was the work of the people themselves. The direct action of the Government, however, fostered our education in another and quite unexpected direction.”
Muslim Rulers: Excellent Administrators or Tyrants?
Meanwhile, another myth has been propagated by a large section of historians, projecting many Muslim rulers of Bengal as excellent administrators. One of the most talked about administrators is Murshid Quli Khan who ruled Bengal first as a Dewan, then as a Subedar and finally as a Nawab from 1700-1727. Most historians have praised him for his administrative capability!
Here is an example of his excellent administration (Tarikh-i-Bangla by Munshi Samillulah Khan). “On the last days of the month he exacted from the (land revenue) and other departments, the amount due. He put strict muhasils (bailiffs) over the … officers, confining them in the Kachahari (court) or ‘diwan khanah’ (a big hall for visitors) of the Chihil Situn (Hall of Forty Pillars) in Murshidabad, where they were refused food and drink, and even to perform necessary calls of nature. To these severities were added the cruelties of Nazir Ahmad (his major domo); this man used to suspend the Zamindars by the heels and bastinado them with a switch … And he also used to have them flogged till they consented to pay the money … When Murshid Quli Khan discovered that an ‘amil’ or ‘Zamindar’ had dissipated the revenue and was unable to make good the deficiency, he compelled the offenders, his wife and children to turn Mohammedans.”
Ali Vardi Khan, the ruler of Bengal from 1740 to 1756, is also often projected as a great and benevolent Muslim administrator with high moral standards. However, he is known to have imposed heavy taxes to extract maximum possible revenue to finance his army, which created huge discontent among common people. He was highly deceitful. He invited a Maratha delegation led by Bhaskar Pandit on March 31, 1744 to negotiate a settlement with them. The meeting was organised at a place called Mankara near Berhampore Cantonment station. The Maratha General and 21 of his captains were killed in cold blood by assassins already hidden in the tent where this meeting was supposed to take place. The conspiracy was hatched by Ali Vardi Khan as he was not able to militarily counter the growing influence of Marathas in Bengal.
Ali Vardi’s grandson Siraj-ud-Daulah succeeded him in 1756. His misadventures and recklessness resulted in the British getting a strong foothold in Bengal. It was just a matter of time before they spread their tentacles to rest of the country. Siraj-ud-Daulah and his predecessors lacked the vision and foresight for which the whole country paid a dear price. Had these Muslim rulers focused less on religious bigotry, debauchery and conspiracies against their own kith and kin and more on nipping the European invasion in the bud, India wouldn’t have to suffer the unashamed plunder and loot for another two centuries!
You can read other articles in The Bengal Conundrum series here.
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The writer, an author and columnist, has written several books. One of his latest books is ‘The Forgotten History of India’. The views expressed in this article are those of the writer and do not represent the stand of this publication.
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