Mir Jafar

Mir Muhammed Jafar Ali Khan Bahadur, commonly known as Mir Jafar, second son of Sayyid Ahmad Najafi, (1691–February 5, 1765) was the Nawab of Bengal (Bengal, Bihar and Orissa). He was the first Nawab of the Najafi dynasty after deceiving Nawab Siraj-Ud-Daulah. His rule is widely considered the start of British rule in India and was a key step in eventual British domination of the country. His lust to become Nawab of Bengal led him to make a secret pact with Robert Clive and surrender to slaughter the Army of Bengal in the Battle of Plassey, withholding his division from the fighting. Thus the British won the battle and established their rule in India. For this act the word "Mir Jafar" is now synonymous with "traitor" and he has been infamously called Gaddar-e-Abrar ("Betrayer of the true Faith") in Hindi and Urdu. Thus, he was installed as the Nawab in 1757 by the British East India Company. However, Mir Jafar failed to satisfy the constant demand of money from the British. In 1758, Robert Clive discovered that Mir Jafar through an agent, Khoja Wajid, had made a treaty with the Dutch at Chinsurah. Dutch ships of war were also seen in Hooghly. Circumstances led to the Battle of Chinsurah and the Battle of Biddera. English Governor Henry Vansittart of Bengal proposed that Mir Jafar was unable to cope up with the difficulties and Mir Qasim (Mir Jafar's son-in-law) should act as Deputy Subahdar. In October 1760, ultimately the company forced Mir Jafar to abdicate in favour of Mir Qasim. However, Mir Qasim's independent spirit led to his overthrow and Mir Jafar was restored as the Nawab in 1763. He ruled till his death on January 17, 1765 and lies buried at the Jafarganj Cemetery in Murshidabad, West Bengal, India.