From here, the next phase of Aliwardi’s scheme of things began. As Nawab Shuja grew old and more dependent on the advice of Haji Ahmed and his friends, Aliwardi opened direct negotiations with Vazir Kamruddin Khan, sending him many gifts, and obtaining yet another title – Mahabat Khan. In Murshidabad, Haji Ahmed was active in sowing dissent between Shuja-ud-Din’s two sons: Zebunnisa’s son Sarfaraz Khan and Mohammed Taqi Khan – born of another wife – and based in Odisha. Taqi Khan came with a large army towards Murshidabad to meet his father but was conciliated and sent back. However, he died shortly after and was succeeded by Shuja-ud-Din’s son-in-law Rustam Jung who had been appointed to Dhaka.
It was Rustam Jung who brought Mir Habib into the limelight. While in Dhaka, Rustam Jung had grown fond of an immigrant from Shiraz in Persia named Mir Habib. At first a mere merchant, his charming manners helped him enter Rustam Jung’s inner circle. Mir Habib had earned his fortune by getting a local Zamindar murdered and appropriating his wealth. When Rustam Jung was appointed to Odisha in place of Taqi Khan, he took Mir Habib with him as his deputy. In Odisha, Mir Habib gave it a good administration. The Suba was losing revenue on account of a perceptible fall in the number of pilgrims. Mir Habib found that this was due to Taqi Khan’s odious practice that led to the idols of Jagannath Puri to be shifted to an island in Chilika Lake by a local Raja named Danda Deo. Mir Habib stopped the intolerant practices of the earlier administration and gave a guarantee of protection to the temple. Danda Deo then moved the idols back to the temple.
In early 1739, Nawab Shuja-ud-Din fell ill. Seeing he had but a short time to live, he nominated his son Sarfaraz to be the next Nawab. Those were the days when Nadir Shah was at Delhi and many nobles such as the Khan Dauran and Sadat Khan of Awadh perished in the sack of Delhi. Shuja-ud-Din entrusted son Sarfaraz to the care of his three counsellors Jagat Seth, Aalam Chand and Haji Ahmed, and died on 13 March 1739. Sarfaraz Khan continued the same three ministers in their posts and relied on their advice. In his personal life, however, he was devoted to pleasure and in a matter of months he could boast of a fifteen-hundred strong harem.
A Marwadi businessman in Dhaka named Manik Chand, originally from Jodhpur, was the first of the famous Seths. Manik Chand accompanied Murshid Quli to Murshidabad in 1704. He became the chief banker and in 1715, Farrukhsiyar gave him the title ‘Seth’. Manik Chand adopted a nephew named Fateh Chand who took over the firm in 1722. He prospered beyond measure and in 1724, Badshah Mohammedshah conferred the highest title of Jagat Seth or ‘banker of the world’ to Fateh Chand.
The Jagat Seths were a powerful banking family in eighteenth century Bengal. There is a story of why the Jagat Seth Fateh Chand came to despise Nawab Sarfaraz Khan. Fateh Chand, who was the counsellor to Shuja-ud-Din, continued the same office in Sarfaraz’s reign. However, Sarfaraz was a philanderer like his father, and when he heard of the beauty of Fateh Chand’s daughter-in-law, he expressed a desire to see her – a demand that was a great insult to the Jagat Seth. Holwell believes that Jagat Seth could not resist the demand, “The young creature was carried in the greatest secrecy in the night to visit him. She was returned the same night, we will suppose (for the honour of that house); be that as it may, the violence was of too delicate a nature to permit any future commerce between her and her husband. The indignity was never forgotten by Jagat Seth.”
Fateh Chand was furious, and he soon joined Haji Ahmed in the plot against Sarfaraz. The Nawab’s dependence on his three advisors and his life of abandon made it easy for a plot to be hatched against him.
As the first step of the conspiracy, Aliwardi Khan was invited to Murshidabad, ostensibly to pay his respects to the new Nawab. In Bengal, they also convinced the gullible Sarfaraz to reduce his army in order to cut expenses. Secretly, the disbanded Bengal soldiery was recruited by Haji Ahmed and sent to his brother Aliwardi Khan at Patna. A large amount of treasure was also sent. Earlier, the three ministers had advised Sarfaraz to mint coins in the name of Nadir Shah, read the Khutba in the Persian invader’s name and indicate acceptance of his rule. On Nadir Shah’s departure, it is said Haji Ahmed conveyed these acts as proof of treason against Mohammedshah, and secured orders from Delhi for the removal of Sarfaraz Khan as the Nawab. Stealthily, the conspiracy headed towards a coup.
To be continued…
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