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| East India company, corrupt officials. blogs.warwick.ac.uk |
India's rampant corruption has its roots in the colonial rule under the East India company who believed illegal gratification was a way to serve the natives and to fill their coffers to the brim. What started out as a trickle in the British period, after independence became a ravaging river, reaching nook and corner of the country. Prior to the arrival of Europeans on the Indian soil, there was no such a thing called corruption.
Mir Qasim, the new Nawob of Bengal, was at last at loggerheads with the East India company officials for two solid reasons. Large-scale abuse by the company officials of the trade privileges granted by Mogul emperor Farruksiyar's ''firman'' of 1717. The British were openly without any inhibition doing illegal trade without taxes, thus had a monopoly over the Indian traders who had to cough up heavy tariff. There was a big disparity between these two groups of traders with respect to profits. Indian traders were losing out against the British on account of non compliance of trade laws by them. This became so serious a matter, Qasim protested against the British for their breach of trade treaty and misuse of ''dasak''. He asked the English Governor of Calcutta to immediately put an end the scandalous affairs. But the members of the council were inclined to the illegal gains .The Nawob's patience had started wearing out.
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| Corruption in British East India co. jantoo.com |
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| East India co coat of arms. faculty.history.wise.edu |
The other reason was
company officials, now armed with more power and the imminent
prospects of wealth and in pursuit of riches, had begun to ill treat
and oppress not only the prominent officials in the employ of Nawob,
but also the poor people of Bengal. With the newfound pelf and power after
the victory at Plassey, they forced the Indian artisans and peasants
to sell their products at rock-bottom price so that they could make
enormous profits - their mark-up would be around 4 to 5 time times.
In order to become rich overnight, without shame the company officials forced the Nawob's senior officials and the well-to-do Zamindars to give them expensive gifts in the form of gold and jewelry, etc. They, with out character and integrity demanded bribes to get a favor sanctioned. Illegal gratification became a hall- mark of British East India company's Indian operations. Literally the British were going around the places, carrying a big panhandle and demanding alms from the rich Zamindars and Amirs in the form of sacs of gold, precious stones and silver - by threats! The only difference is ordinary, emancipated beggars won't demand alms by threats, whereas the fat British sahibs did it with their daggers drawn against the givers' skull!
In his famous speech
before the parliament in late 1600s on British East India company, Edmund Burke, one of the greatest English parliamentarians and personalities said, ''The English youth in India drink the
intoxicating draught of authority and dominion before their heads are
able to bear it and as they are full grown in fortune long before
they are ripe in principle, neither nature nor reason have any
opportunity to exert themselves for the excesses of their premature
power. The consequence of their conduct which in good minds (and many
of theirs are probably such) might produce penitence or amendment are
unable to pursue the rigidity of their flight. Their prey is lodged
in England: and the cries of India are given to the seas and winds to
be blown about in every breaking up of the monsoon over a remote and
unhearing ocean.''
The moot question is whether a land can be ruled by two masters. Mir Qasim, being assertive wanted to be an independent ruler; no trespassing on his privacy or authority. At Patna the factory chief Ellis forcefully occupied Patna and led the movement against Qasim. The Nawob ultimately arrested him and and sent him to jail. This led to a war between the British and the Nawob who was defeated later. Qasim ordered his men to put the English prisoners in Patna to death and fled to Awadh to seek Shuja-ud-daulah's aid and council.
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