Author name: nusratjahan

BY EDMUND BURKE main text: These are some of my reasons, grounded on the abuse of the external political trust of that body, for thinking myself not only justified but bound to declare against those chartered rights which produce so many wrongs. I should deem myself the wickedest of men, if any vote of mine could contribute to the continuance of so great an evil.Now, Sir, according to the plan I proposed, I shall take notice of the Company’s internal government, as it is exercised first on the dependent provinces, and then as it affects those under the direct and immediate authority of that body. And here, Sir, before I enter into the spirit of their interior government, permit me to observe to you, upon a few of the many lines of difference which are to be found between the vices of the Company’s government, and those of the conquerors who preceded us in India; that we may be enabled a little the better to see our way in an attempt to the necessary reformation. The several irruptions of Arabs, Tartars, and Persians into India were, for the greater part, ferocious, bloody, and wasteful in the extreme: our entrance into the dominion of that country was, as generally, with small comparative effusion of blood; being introduced by various frauds and delusions, and by taking advantage of the incurable, blind, and senseless animosity, which the several country powers bear towards each other, rather than by open force. But the difference in favor of the first conquerors is this; the Asiatic conquerors very soon abated of their ferocity, because they made the conquered country their own. They rose or fell with the rise or fall of the territory they lived in. Fathers there deposited the hopes of their posterity; and children there beheld the monuments of their fathers. Here their lot was finally cast; and it is the natural wish of all, that their lot should not be cast in a bad land. Poverty, sterility, and desolation, are not a recreating prospect to the eye of man; and there are very few who can bear to grow old among the curses of a whole people. If their passion or their avarice drove the Tartar lords to acts of rapacity or tyranny, Traslation in Bangla These are some of my reasons, = এগুলো আমার কিছু কারণ, grounded on the abuse = ভিত্তি করে অপব্যবহারের ওপর of the external political trust = বহিরাগত রাজনৈতিক অর্পিত দায়িত্বের of that body, = সেই প্রতিষ্ঠানের, for thinking myself = নিজেকে মনে করার জন্য not only justified = শুধু ন্যায়সঙ্গতই নয়, but bound = বরং বাধ্যও to declare against = বিরোধিতা ঘোষণা করতে those chartered rights = সেই সনদপ্রাপ্ত অধিকারগুলোর which produce = যা সৃষ্টি করে so many wrongs. = এত অন্যায়। I should deem myself = আমি নিজেকে মনে করব the wickedest of men, = মানুষের মধ্যে সবচেয়ে দুষ্ট ব্যক্তি, if any vote of mine = যদি আমার কোনো ভোট could contribute = অবদান রাখতে পারে to the continuance = অব্যাহত রাখার ক্ষেত্রে of so great an evil. = এত বড় একটি অনিষ্টকে। Now, Sir, = এখন, মহাশয়, according to the plan = পরিকল্পনা অনুযায়ী I proposed, = যা আমি প্রস্তাব করেছিলাম, I shall take notice = আমি আলোচনা করব of the Company’s internal government, = কোম্পানির অভ্যন্তরীণ শাসনব্যবস্থা সম্পর্কে, as it is exercised = যেভাবে তা পরিচালিত হয় first on the dependent provinces, = প্রথমে অধীনস্থ প্রদেশগুলোতে, and then = এবং তারপর as it affects = যেভাবে তা প্রভাব ফেলে those under = তাদের ওপর, the direct and immediate authority = যারা প্রত্যক্ষ ও তাৎক্ষণিক কর্তৃত্বের অধীনে of that body. = সেই প্রতিষ্ঠানের। And here, Sir, = এবং এখানে, মহাশয়, before I enter into = আমি প্রবেশ করার আগে the spirit = মূল স্বরূপে of their interior government, = তাদের অভ্যন্তরীণ শাসনব্যবস্থার, permit me = আমাকে অনুমতি দিন to observe to you, = আপনাকে উল্লেখ করার, upon a few = কয়েকটি বিষয়ে of the many lines of difference = বহু পার্থক্যের মধ্যে which are to be found = যা দেখা যায় between the vices = দোষত্রুটির মধ্যে of the Company’s government, = কোম্পানির শাসনব্যবস্থার, and those = এবং সেগুলোর of the conquerors = বিজেতাদের who preceded us = যারা আমাদের আগে এসেছিল in India; = ভারতে; that we may be enabled = যাতে আমরা সক্ষম হই a little the better = কিছুটা আরও ভালোভাবে to see our way = আমাদের পথ বুঝতে in an attempt = একটি প্রচেষ্টায় to the necessary reformation. = প্রয়োজনীয় সংস্কার সাধনের। The several irruptions = বিভিন্ন আক্রমণ of Arabs, Tartars, and Persians = আরব, তাতার ও পারসিকদের into India = ভারতে were, for the greater part, = অধিকাংশ ক্ষেত্রেই ছিল ferocious, bloody, = হিংস্র, রক্তাক্ত, and wasteful = এবং ধ্বংসাত্মক in the extreme: = চরম মাত্রায়; our entrance = আমাদের প্রবেশ into the dominion = শাসনক্ষমতার মধ্যে of that country = সেই দেশের was, as generally, = সাধারণভাবে ছিল with small comparative effusion of blood; = তুলনামূলকভাবে অল্প রক্তপাতের মাধ্যমে; being introduced = সংঘটিত হয়েছিল by various frauds and delusions, = নানা প্রতারণা ও বিভ্রান্তির মাধ্যমে, and by taking advantage = এবং সুযোগ গ্রহণ করে of the incurable, blind, = নিরাময়-অযোগ্য, অন্ধ, and senseless animosity, = এবং অযৌক্তিক বিদ্বেষের, which the several country powers = যা বিভিন্ন দেশীয় শক্তি bear towards each other, = একে অপরের প্রতি পোষণ করত, rather than = খোলাখুলি শক্তি প্রয়োগের পরিবর্তে by open force. = প্রকাশ্য বলপ্রয়োগের মাধ্যমে।But the difference = কিন্তু পার্থক্যটি in favor of = প্রথম বিজেতাদের পক্ষে the first conquerors = ছিল এই যে, is this; = তা হলো;the Asiatic conquerors = এশীয় বিজেতারা very soon abated = খুব শিগগিরই কমিয়ে দিয়েছিল of their ferocity, = তাদের নিষ্ঠুরতা, because they made = কারণ তারা বানিয়েছিল the conquered country = বিজিত দেশটিকে their own. = নিজেদের দেশ। the Asiatic conquerors = এশীয় বিজেতারা very soon abated = খুব শিগগিরই কমিয়ে দিয়েছিল of their ferocity, = তাদের নিষ্ঠুরতা, because they made = কারণ তারা বানিয়েছিল the conquered country = বিজিত দেশটিকে their own. =

BY EDMUND BURKE main text: was As to the first, the unhappy abdicated Peshwa, and pretender to the Maratta throne, Ragonaut Row, was delivered up to his people, with an article for safety, and some provision. 65 This man, knowing how little vague the hatred of his countrymen was towards him, and well apprised of what black crimes he stood accused (among which our invasion of his country would not appear the least) took a mortal alarm at the security we had provided for him. He thunderstruck at the article in his favor, by which he was surrendered to his enemies. He never had the least notice of the treaty; and it was apprehended that he would fly to the protection of Hyder Ali, or some other, disposed or able to protect him. He was therefore not left without comfort; for Mr. Anderson did him the favor to send a special messenger, desiring him to be of good cheer and to fear nothing. And his old enemy, Scindia, at our request, sent him a message equally well calculated to quiet his apprehensions.By the same treaty the Guickwar was to come again, with no better security, under the dominion of the Maratta state. As to the Rana of Gohud, a long negotiation depended for giving him up. At first this was refused by Mr. Hastings with great indignation; at another stage it was admitted as proper, because he had shewn himself a most perfidious person. But at length a method of reconciling these extremes was found out, by contriving one of the usual articles in his favor. What I believe will appear beyond all belief, Mr. Anderson exchanged the final ratifications of that treaty by which the Rana was nominally secured in his possessions, in the camp of the Maratta chief, Scindia, whilst he was (really, and not nominally) battering the castle of Gwalior, which we had given, agreeably to treaty, to this deluded ally. Scindia had already reduced the town; and was at the very time, by various detachments, reducing, one after another, the fortresses of our protected ally, as well as in the act of chastising all the Rajahs who had assisted Colonel Camac66 in his invasion. I have seen in a letter from Calcutta, in-hand with the protecting treaty) to Mr. Hastings; but he was not admitted to his presence. In this manner the Company has acted with their allies in the Maratta war. But they did not rest here: the Marattas were fearful lest the persons delivered to them by that treaty should attempt to escape into the British territories, and thus might elude the punishment intended for them, and by reclaiming the treaty, might stir up new disturbances. To prevent this, they desired an article to be inserted in the supplemental treaty, to which they had the ready consent of Mr. Hastings and the rest of the Company’s representatives in Bengal. It was this, “That the English and Maratta governments mutually agree not to afford refuge to any chiefs, merchants, or other persons, flying for protection to the territories of the other.” This was readily assented to, and assented to without any exception whatever, in favor of our surrendered allies. On their part a reciprocity was stipulated which was not unnatural for a government like the Company’s to ask; a government conscious that many subjects had been, and would in future, be driven to fly from its jurisdiction.To complete the system of pacific intention and public faith, which predominate in those treaties, Mr. Hastings fairly resolved to put all peace, except on the terms of absolute conquest, wholly out of his own power. For, by an article in this second treaty with Burke’s Speech on East India Bill Scindia,67 he binds the Company not to make any peace with Tippoo Sahib without the consent of the Peshwa of the Marattas, and binds Scindia to him by a reciprocal engagement. The treaty between France and England 68 obliges us mutually to withdraw our forces, if our allies in India do not accede to the peace within four months; Mr. Hastings’s treaty obliges us to continue the war as long as the Peishwa thinks fit. We are now in that happy situation, that the breach of the treaty with France, or the violation of that with the Marattas, is inevitable; and we have only to take our choice. My third assertion, relative to the abuse made of the right of war and peace is, that there are none who have ever confided in us who have not been utterly ruined. The examples I have given of Ragonaut Row, of Guickwar, of the Rana of Gohud, are recent. There is proof more than enough in the condition of the Mogul; in the slavery and indigence of the Nabob of Oude; the exile of the Rajah of Benares; the beggary of the Nabob of Bengal, the undone and captive condition of the Rajah and kingdom of Tanjore; the destruction of the Polygars; and lastly, in the destruction of the Nabob of Arcot himself, who when his dominions were invaded was found entirely destitute of troops, provisions, stores, and (as hethat the Rana of Gohud’s agent would have represented these hostilities (which went hand  of money, being a million in debt to the Company, and four millions to others: the many millions which he had extorted from so many extirpated princes and their desolated countries having (as he has frequently hinted) been expended for the ground-rent of his mansion-house in an alley in the suburbs of Madras. 69 Compare the condition of all these princes with the power and authority of all the Maratta states; with the independence and dignity of the Subah of the Deccan; and the mighty strength, the resources, and the manly struggle of Hyder Ali; and then the House will discover the effects, on every power in India, of an easy confidence, or of a rooted distrust in the faith of the Company. Translation in Bangla:

EDMUND BURKE It is very remarkable, that the late controversy between the several presidencies, and between them and the Court of Directors, with relation to these wars and treaties, has not been, which of the parties might be defended for his share in them; but on which of the parties the guilt of all this load of perfidy should be fixed. But I am content to admit all these proceedings to be perfectly regular, to be full of honor and good faith; and wish to fix your attention solely to that single transaction which the advocates of this system select for so transcendent a merit as to cancel the guilt of all the rest of their proceedings; I mean the late treaties with the Marattas. I make no observation on the total cession of territory, by which they surrendered all they had obtained by their unhappy successes in war, and almost all they had obtained under the treaty of Poorunder. The restitution was proper, if it had been voluntary and seasonable. I attach on the spirit of the treaty, the dispositions it shewed, the provisions it made for a general peace, and the faith kept with allies and confederates; in order that the House may form a judgment, from this chosen piece, of the use which has been made (and is likely to be made, if things continue in the same hands) of the trust of the federal powers of this country. It was the wish of almost every Englishman, that the Maratta peace might lead to a general one; because the Maratta war was only a part of a general confederacy formed against us on account of the universal abhorrence of our conduct which prevailed in every state and almost in every house in India. Mr. Hastings was obliged to pretend some sort of acquiescence in this general and rational desire. He therefore consented, in order to satisfy the point of honor of the Marattas, that an article should be inserted to admit Hyder Ali to accede to the pacification. But observe, Sir, the spirit of this man, (which if it were not made manifest by a thousand things, and particularly by his proceedings with regard to Lord Macartney)57 would be sufficiently manifest by this. What sort of article think you does he require this essential head of a solemn treaty of general pacification to be? In his instruction to Mr. Anderson, 58 he desires him to admit “a vague article in favor of Hyder. Evasion and fraud were the declared basis of the treaty. These vague articles, intended for a more vague performance, are the things which have damned our reputation in India Hardly was this vague article inserted, than, without waiting for any act on the part of Hyder, Mr. Hastings enters into a negotiation with the Maratta chief, Scindia, for a partition of the territories of the prince who was one of the objects to be secured by the treaty. He was to be parcelled out in three parts one to Scindia; one to the Peishwa of the Marattas; and the third to the East India Company, or to (the old dealer and chapman) Mahomet Ali. 59During the formation of this project, Hyder dies; and before his son60 could take any one step, either to conform to the tenor of the article, or to contravene it, the treaty of partition is renewed on the old footing and an instruction is sent to Mr. Anderson to conclude it in form. A circumstance intervened, during the pendency of this negotiation, to set off the good faith of the Company with an additional brilliancy, and to make it sparkle and glow with a variety of splendid faces. General Matthews61 had reduced that most valuable part of Hyder’s dominions called the country of Biddanore. 62 When the news reached Mr. Hastings, he instructed Mr. Anderson to contend for an alteration in the treaty of partition, and to take the Biddanore country out of the common stock which was to be divided, and to keep it for the Company.The first ground for this variation was its being a separate conquest made before the treaty had actually taken place. Here was a new proof given of the fairness, equity, and moderation of the Company. But the second of Mr. Hastings’s reasons for retaining the Biddanore as a separate portion, and his conduct on that second ground, is still more remarkable. He asserted that that country could not be put into the partition stock, because General Matthews had received it on the terms of some convention which might be incompatible with the partition proposed. This was a reason in itself both honorable and solid; and it showed a regard to faith somewhere, and with some persons. But in order to demonstrate his utter contempt of the plighted faith which was alleged on one part as a reason for departing from it on another, and to prove his impetuous desire for sowing a new Speech on East India Bill a general war even in the prepared soil of pacification, he directs Mr. Anderson, if he should find strong difficulties impeding the partition, on the score of the subtraction of Biddanore, wholly to abandon that claim, and to conclude the treaty on the original terms. General Matthews’s convention was just brought forward sufficiently to demonstrate to the Marattas the slippery hold which they had on their new confederate; on the other hand, that convention being instantly abandoned, the people of India were taught, that no terms on which they can surrender to the Company are to be regarded, when farther conquests are in view. Next, Sir, let me bring before you the pious care that was taken of our allies under that treaty which is the subject of the Company’s applauses. These allies were Ragonaut Row, for whom we had engaged to find a throne; the Guickwar, 63 (one of the Guzerat princes) who was to be emancipated from the Maratta authority, and to grow

EDMUND BURKE In Bengal, Seraja Dowla was sold to Mir Jaffier; 29 Mir Jaffier was sold to Mir Cossim;30 and Mir Cossim was sold to Mir Jaffier again. 31 The succession to Mir Jaffier was sold to his eldest son;32 another son of Mir Jaffier, Mobarech ul Dowlah, was sold to his step-sold to mother. 33 The Mahratta Empire was Ragobah;34 and Ragobah was sold and delivered to the Peishwa of the Mahrattas. 35 Both Ragobah and the Peishwa of the Mahrattas were offered to sale to the Rajah of Berar. 36 Scindia, 37 the chief of Malwa, was offered to sale to the same Rajah; and the Subah of the Deccan38 was sold to the great trader, Mahomet Ali, Nabob of Arcot. To the same Nabob of Arcot they sold Hyder Ali and the kingdom of Mysore. 39 To Mahomet Ali they twice sold the kingdom of Tanjore. 40 To the same Mahomet Ali they sold at least twelve sovereign princes, called the Polygars.41 But to keep things even, the territory of Tinnevelly, belonging to their Nabob, they would have sold to the Dutch;42 and to conclude the account of sales, their great customer, the Nabob of Arcot himself, and his lawful succession, has been sold to his second son, Amir ul Omrah, whose character, views, and conduct, are in the accounts upon your table. It remains with you whether they shall finally perfect this last bargain. All these bargains and sales were regularly attended with the waste and havoc of the country; always by the buyer, and sometimes by the object of the sale. This was explained to you by the honorable mover, when he stated the mode of paying debts due from the country powers to the Company.44 An honorable gentleman, who is not now in his place.objected to his jumping near two thousand miles for an example. 45 But the southern example is perfectly applicable to the northern claim, as the northern is to the southern; for, throughout the whole space of these two thousand miles, take your stand where you will, the proceeding is perfectly uniform, and what is done in one part will apply exactly to the other. My second assertion is, that the Company never has made a treaty which they have not broken. This position is so connected with that of the sales of provinces and kingdoms, with the negotiation of universal distraction in every part of India, that a very minute detail may well be spared on this point. It has not yet been contended, by any enemy to the reform, that they have observed any public agreement. When I hear that they have done so in any one instance, (which hitherto, I confess, I never heard alleged) I shall speak to the particular treaty. The governor general has even amused himself and the Court of Directors in a very singular letter to that board, in which he admits he has not been very delicate with regard to public faith; and he goes so far as to state a regular estimate of the sums which the Company would have lost, or never acquired, if the rigid ideas of public faith entertained by his colleagues had been observed. 46 The learned gentleman over against me has, indeed, saved me much trouble. On a former occasion he obtained no small credit, for the clear and forcible manner in which he stated, what we have not forgot, and I hope he has not forgot, that universal, systematic breach of treaties which had made the British faith proverbial in the East. It only remains, Sir, for me just to recapitulate some heads. The treaty with the Mogul, by which we stipulated to pay him £ 260,000 annually, was broken. This treaty they have broken, and not paid him a shilling. They broke their treaty with him, in which they stipulated to pay £ 400,000 a year to the Subah of Bengal.48 They agreed with the Mogul, for services admitted to have been performed, to pay Nudjif Cawn a pension. 49 They broke this article with the rest, and stopped also this small pension. They broke their treaties with the Nizam, 50 and with Hyder Ali.51 As to the Marattas, they had so many cross treaties with the States General of that nation, and with each of the chiefs, that it was notorious, that no one of these agreements could be kept without grossly violating the rest. It was observed, that if the terms of these several treaties had been kept, two British armies would at one and the same time have met in the field to cut each other’s throats. The wars that desolate India originated from a most atrocious violation of public faith on our part. In the midst of profound peace, the Company’s troops invaded the Maratta territories, and surprised the island and fortress of Salsette. 52 The Marattas nevertheless yielded to a treaty of peace, by which solid advantages were procured to the Company. 53 But this treaty, like every other treaty, was soon violated by the Company. Again the Company invaded the Maratha dominions. The disaster that ensued gave occasion to a new treaty. The whole army of the Company was obliged, in effect, to surrender to these injured, betrayed, and insulted people. Justly irritated, however, as they were, the terms which they prescribed were reasonable and moderate; 54 and their treatment of their captive invaders of the most distinguished humanity. But the humanity of the Marattas was of no power whatsoever to prevail on the Company to attend to the observance of the terms dictated by their moderation. The war was renewed with greater vigor than ever; and such was their insatiable lust of plunder that they never would have given ear to any terms of peace, if Hyder Ali had not broke through the Gauts, and rushing like a torrent into the Carnatic, swept away everything in his career. This was in consequence of that confederacy which by