Maharaja Nandakumar and Hooghly

Maharaja Nandakumar, one of the richest paid officials in 18th century Bengal and an important player in its politics is perhaps most importantly known for being the first Indian to be hanged by the Company. However, he had a long tenure of service to the nawabi of Bengal even before Plassey, which brought him time and again to Hooghly.

Nandakumar's House in Cossimbazar- Bengal Past & Present

Nandakumar had initially worked in multiple positions under Nawab Alivardi, ultimately becoming the dewan of Hooghly. Hooghly since the mid-seventeenth century had been the royal port, also consisting of a Mughal-era fort built as a precaution against the multiplicity of European powers in this region.

Soon after Siraj-ud-daulah ascended the musnud, he lay siege to Calcutta. On his way back, he marched against the English in Hooghly, sacking the town. Siraj again appointed Nandakumar the dewan of Hooghly, and eventually the faujdar. After appointment, he began arrangements for protecting the mouth of the Ganges through construction and repair of fortifications. However, these preparations proved futile when the Governor Manikchand was defeated by the English. The English reclaimed Calcutta, and soon moved upstream to Hooghly, bombing the Mughal fort which lay under the command of Nandakumar.

We again find Nandakumar's mention when he was dismissed by Siraj ud-daulah after being accused of being bought over by the English. It was believed that Nandakumar had remained neutral in Hooghly because of this, while the English bombared the French settlement of Chandernagore in 1757. He now retired to Calcutta, but remained absent from the conspiracy against Siraj.

Plan of the Siege of Chandernagore | Wikimedia commons

The subsequent events of Plassey are well known to us. After English victory, he was recommended to Robert Clive for appointment as their agent to collect revenues of the districts of Burdwan, Nadia and Hooghly. After Mir Jafar was restored the musnud in 1763, Maharaja Nandakumar remained by his side in Murshidabad till his death.

Maharaja Nandakumar Road, Lake Market, Kalighat area, Kolkata

The events since this again remain much discussed. Maharaja Nandakumar continued to be a politically active player in Bengal, with his diwan khana becoming a centre of political action ultimately aimed at his old enemy Hastings. He became an ally of Hastings' three opponents in the Calcutta Council, through which he presented to them the bomshell accusation of bribery against the Governor General. Hastings slapped a case of forgery against him, for which he was eventually hanged.

Nandakumar's final petition was filled with accusations against his enemies along with an appeal for justice. In this document, he also described himself as a Persianate nobleman with a long legacy of service to the "Mughals" and the Company, inextricably tying him to Hooghly, a town where he provided service for a considerable part of his life.

References~

De, S.C. Hooghly Past and Present. M.M. Day, 1906, Calcuta.

Mitra, Sudhir Kumar. Hooghly Jelar Itihas o Bangasamaj- II, Mitrani Publication, 1975, Kolkata.

“Hanging of Nanda Kumar.” KolkataOnWheels. March 15, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20190206200233/https://www.kolkataonwheels.com/hanging-of-nanda-kumar/.

Travers, Robert. "The Argumentative Indian in the Eighteenth century." Victoria Memorial Hall, Kolkata, January 12, 2024.

Campos, J.J.A. The History of the Portuguese in Bengal. 1st ed., Butter Worth and Co., 1919, Calcutta.