The Beginng of the End for the Indian People

One aspect of the conquering of the Indians I viewed as fascinating yet frustrating was the lack of leadership due to inexperience shown by Suraj Dowlah during the Battle of Plassey in 1756. The Battle of Plassey was a decisive battle and it really affected the relationship between the indigenous people and the incoming British. It tilted the balance of power in favor of the British and a key stepping stone to a complete British invasion and takeover. Before the battle at Plassey, the British had been in India since the beginning of the 17^th century and relations between the two sides could have been deemed as fair due to the fact that Indian politics were yet to be interfered with by the British government even though the British were gaining income through Asian trade.[1] The only power the British had was in main port cities such as Calcutta. In the mid-18^th century, after the accession of Suraj Dowlah as Nawab of Bengal, tension grew between the two parties. This was a direct result of the Nabob’s swift invasion of Calcutta, where he brutally massacred all British servants and took Calcutta for himself. In response, the British East India Company sent in an army led by Robert Clive to recapture Calcutta and eliminate Suraj Dowlah. This is where I believe the most inexperience and lack of leadership are put on display. Robert Clive had only 3,000 troops, 2,000 of them being Indian.[2] The Nawab had over 50,000 men and French weaponry. The Nawab, being inexperienced and trigger happy, started the battle with an all-out bombardment that eliminated few, if any of Clive’s men. The British were then able to quite easily man handle the remaining Indian forces, and took Calcutta back from the Nawab.[3] Because Suraj was not prudent in his battle tactics, his army was left with no choice than to surrender to the British army.