English
1 Marsh id abiid was the latest Muhammadan Capital of Bengal, its immedi¬ ate predecessor for over 100 years being Dacca or Jahangirnagar, in Eastern Bengal. In 1704 A.C., Mursbid Qnli Ehan also known as Jafar Khan (then the Moghul Diwan) falling out with Prince Azim-us-shan, the Mnghnl Vice¬ roy or Nawab at Dacca, transferred the seat of government from Dacca to the little town of Makhsusabad, and named the place after himself “ Murshida- ^ad.” After the battle of Plassey in 1757 A.C., Clive on entering Marshida- bad describes it thus: “ This city is as extensive, populous, and rich as the city of London . . . The inhabitants, if inclined to destroy the Europeans, might have done so with sticks and stones.” Even after the battle of Plassey, Murshidibad remained for some years the seat of administration. The result of the battlo of Plassey was at the time appreciated both by Clive and the people, for the reason that it ended the misrule of Sirajndaula, who had ren¬ dered himself obnoxious both to the people and the English by his youthfal pranks and vagaries; it was not regarded at the time as interfering with Musulman sovereignty: it merely affected the substitution of a now Nawab (Mir Jafar) for Sirajndaula. In 1765, the East India Company received the grant of Diwani or financial administration of Bengal, Behar, and Orissa from the Moghul Emperor of Delhi, Shah Alam, and in the following year Lord Clive, as the Emperors Diwan, presided in person at the Puniya, or annual oolleotion and settlement of revenues. On this ocoasion, the young Nawab Nazim (as administrative and military representative of the Mnghnl Emperor of Delhi) sat on the viasnad, with the Diwan (Lord Clive) on his right hand. The work of administration still remained in the hands of Muhammadan officials. In 1772, Warren Hastings removed the Supreme, Civil, and Criminal Courts from Murshidabid to Caloutta, but after three .years the Criminal court (Nizamat Adalat) was re-transferred to Murshi- dabad, and it was only in 1790, under Lord Cornwallis, chat the entire revenue, civil, and orimin&l staff were posted in Calcutta. The Murshidibad Mint, the recognised emblem of metropolitan supremacy, was abolished in 1799. Thenceforth, Murshidibad has been left only as the residence of the Nawib, a descendant of Mir Jafai. I now it has ceased to be of importance. 28 In the beginning, a merchant named Makhsus Khan built a serai or guest-house there, and called the place Makhsusabad. The houses of a few shop-keepers were placed there. In the reign of Emperor Aurangzib Alamgir, Nawab Jafar Khan Nasiri, who held the office of Diwan of Orissa, received the title of Kartalab Khan and obtained the office of Diwan of Bengal. After bis arrival at Jahangirnagar, otherwise called Dhakah (Dacca), which at that time was the Viceregal Capital and where from before Prince Azim-u-shan, who had been appointed Vice¬ roy by Emperor}Aurangzib (as will be setforth here after) lived, finding that he (Jafar Khan) could not pull on with the Prince, put forward the pretext that the mahals of Bengal were at a long distance from that place (Dacca), separated himself from association with the Prince, and established himself at Makhsusabad, and placed there the Amlas of Zemindars, and Qanungos and other officials em¬ ployed in connection with the Revenue Administration of Crown- lands. And at Dughariah, which was quite a wilderness, he erected a palace, established the Board of Revenue (Dewankhanah) and the Court of Exchequer, and made collections of the Imperial revenue. And when he was appointed permanently Subahdar (Viceroy) of Bengal and Orissa in addition to the office of Diwan, with the title of Murshid Quli Khan and with the gift of a valuable Khil'at, and of the standard and the Naqarah (a royal drum) and the advancement of Mansab, on arrival at Makhsusabad, he improved the city, and called it after his own name “ Murshidabad.’ And establishing a mint 1 there, he had the words “ struck at Murshi¬ dabad ” inscribed on the coins. From that time, this city became the Viceregal seat. It is a beautiful city. Its inhabitants, in the society of the Subahdars, being thrown into contact with the people of Delhi, in point of refinement of manners and conversation, re¬ semble the people of Hindustan, unlike those of other parts of Bengal. Amongst its buildings, noae that was seen was note¬ worthy, except the Imambarah building, which was erected by l it may be of interest to note here that the following mint towns existed in Bengal daring the earlier Muhammadan kings : (1) Lakhnauti, (2) Firna- Sbad (Panduah), (3) Satgaon, (4) Shahr-i-Nau (not identified), 15) Ghiyaspur, (6) Stmargion, (7) MuazzamSbSd (i.e., Sylhet or Mymensingh), (8) Fatha- bad (Farldpur town), (9) Khalifatibid (Bagerhat town in Jessore), and (10) Husainabad (probably close to Gaur) 'See Thomas’ “ Initial Coinage an Bloctim&un’s Contributions). 29 Nawab SJraja-d-daulab. Its praise is beyond description; its equal is not to be found in the whole of Hindustan. Although at present one-tenth of it does not exist, yet a remnant of it is a fair specimen of the original edifice. These two verses of Maulana ‘Urfi Shirazi , 1 (May peace of God be on him !) being found to be apposite to the present case, are transcribed below :— How much of morning is known to the dwellers at its gate, In that in its neighbourhood, the sunset has no access; Wonderful is the fairness of the building, that in gazing at it, The glance does not turn back to the socket from the flight of the wall! And the palaces of Mutijhil * and Hirajihl, which were most beautiful, at present have been dug up from their foundations, and are in complete ruin. PORTS OF HOQBLI AND SATGAON. # The Ports of Hughli and Satg&on 8 are at a distance of half a karoh from each other. In former times, Satgaon was a large city, thickly populated, and was the Beat of a Governor. And the factories of the Christian Portugese, and of other traders were also there. When Satgaon fell into ruin owing to its river silt¬ ing up, the port of Hughli became populous. The Faujdars of 1 Urfi was a famous Persian poet of Shiriz, attached to the Court of Em¬ peror Jahangir. He possessed poetical genius of a high order, and was much appreciated by the Emperor. I published an English translation of some of his 44 Odes ” or 44 Qas&id,” many years ago. * The palace of Mutijhil was for several years, after the installation of Nawab Mir Jafar, the residence of the British Political Resident attached to the Court of the Nawab Nazims of Bengal. • Satgaon, the ancient royal port or 41 Ganges Regia ” of Bengal. It lay at the point of junotion of the Hughli and the holy Saraswati. The river Saras- witi silted up daring the first-half of the sixteenth century, and the Por- taguegi^merchants found that the harbour of Satgaon was no longer practica¬ ble, and accordingly fixed their port at Gholaghat in 1537, a few miles lower down on the same east bank of the river. Gholaghat soon became the chief emporiam, and took the name of the river, that is, Hughli town or port. 8atgion is now become a petty village, though when I visited it from K’ighli in 1888,1 found traces of a ruined mosque. The first mention of Satgaon that I find in Muhammadan history is in the reign of Sul(an Ghiasuddin Tngh- Ink 0hah who invaded Jlengal to ohastise Bahadur Shah. King of Sunargaon. (See pp 45-46 Tarikh-i-Firoxahihi). 30 tliis port had always been appointed directly by the Emperors of Delhi, and 'had little concern with the Nazims or Viceroys of Beiigal. Nawab Jafar Khan brought the office of Faujdar of this port within his jurisdiction, as an appendage to the Nizamat and Diwani of Bengal, as will be mentioned hereafter, if God pleases. And in that the abovementioned Nawab placed the centre of the financial resources of the country of Bengal upon the customs- duties levied from traders, he maintained peaceful and liberal re¬ lations with the merchants of England, China, Persia, and Turan, and beyond the legitimate imports he did not levy one dam oppressively or against the established usage. Hence the port of Hughli, in his time, became more populous than before. And merchants of all the ports of Arabia and Ajav t , 1 and English Christians who were ship-owners and wealthy Mughuls made their quarters there; but the credit of the Mughul merchants was greater than that of merchants belonging to other classes. The English were absolutely prohibited from erecting towers and build¬ ing bazars and forts and moats. After this, when oppression aud extortion of the Faujdars increased, the port of Hughli declined, and Calcutta owing to the liberality and protection afforded by the English, and the lightness of the duties levied there, became populous. _ 0 _ THE CITY OF CALCUTTA. The City of Calcutta 8 in past times was a village in a taluqah endowed in favour of Kali, which is the name of an idol which is there. Inasmuch as in the language of Bengal, ‘ Karta and 1 A jam. The Arabs divided the races of the world into the Arabia and the Ajamtt or non-Arabs. Persia Proper was called Irak-i-Ajam. 8 In 1596 A.C., it is mentioned in the Ain-i-Akban as a rent-paying village named “ Kallkatta ” under Sarkar Satgaon. (See Ain, p. 141, Vol. 2, Jar. Tr.) In 1686, in consequence of a rapture with the Mnsulman authorities at Hughli port, the English merchants, led by their Chief, Job Charnook, were obliged to quit their factory there and to retreat to Sutaniiti (now a northern quarter of Calcutta). Their new settlement soon extended itself southwards first over the village of “ Kulikatta ” (between the present Customs-House and the Mint) and subsequently over the village of Gobindpur (whioh existed to the south of the present site of Fort William).