Introduction
The Battle of Buxar, fought on 22–23 October 1764 near Buxar on the Ganges in western Bihar, decisively pitted the British East India Company’s army under Major (Sir) Hector Munro against a triple alliance of Mir Qasim (ex-Nawab of Bengal), Shuja-ud-Daula (Nawab of Awadh), and the Mughal emperor Shah Alam II, and ended in a sweeping Company victory that remade the political order in North India. The triumph at Buxar, more than Plassey, directly produced the 1765 Treaty of Allahabad granting the Company the Diwani (revenue-collection rights) of Bengal, Bihar, and Orissa, inaugurating effective British fiscal sovereignty over India’s richest province.
Background
After Plassey (1757), the Company dominated Bengal politics, first with Mir Jafar and then Mir Qasim as Nawab; disputes over trade privileges (dastaks), revenue control, and Company interference pushed Mir Qasim into open conflict in 1763, where he was defeated in successive actions at Katwa, Murshidabad, Giria, Sooty, and Monghyr. Forced to flee to Awadh, Mir Qasim forged a confederacy with Shuja-ud-Daula and Shah Alam II to expel the Company from Bengal, setting the stage for a decisive confrontation on the Ganges plain at Buxar in October 1764.
Opposing forces and commanders
- East India Company: c.17,000 troops under Major Hector Munro, including roughly 1,800 British regulars, c.5,300 sepoys, and c.9,000 Indian cavalry, organized for rapid deployment and steady volley fire.
- Triple Alliance: over 40,000 men combining Mughal, Awadh, and Mir Qasim’s contingents, including cavalry and artillery, but hampered by weak coordination among allied chiefs.
Notable figures included Mirza Najaf Khan commanding the Mughal right, Shuja-ud-Daula as overall political head of the alliance, and Shah Alam II present with imperial contingents; Munro’s subordinate commanders led divisional attacks that exploited allied disunity and tactical openings.
The battle (22–23 October 1764)
At daybreak the Mughal right, under Mirza Najaf Khan, advanced; Munro rapidly formed line within minutes, stabilizing the front and reversing the initial push with disciplined fire. British columns seized a village that anchored the enemy’s left, enabling an outflanking movement that pressured the allied advance and exposed their formations to musketry and gunfire. By midday, allied powder magazines were blown up by Shuja-ud-Daula to prevent capture, signaling collapse; in the ensuing pursuit, Shuja destroyed his boat-bridge to escape, abandoning Shah Alam II and dislocating allied cohesion, while Mir Qasim fled with jewels and ultimately disappeared from power. The Company’s steadiness in line, control of key terrain, and superior fire discipline proved decisive against numerically larger but poorly coordinated opponents.
Outcome and immediate consequences
The alliance was routed; Shuja-ud-Daula retreated west, Shah Alam II sought terms, and Mir Qasim fled into obscurity. The victory confirmed the Company’s military supremacy in Bengal and Awadh’s eastern marches and paved the way for a political settlement at Allahabad in 1765 that formalized the fiscal transfer of power in eastern India.
Treaty of Allahabad (1765): Terms and significance
Concluded in August 1765 by Robert Clive after Buxar, the Allahabad arrangements comprised agreements with both Shah Alam II and Shuja-ud-Daula that transformed Company authority:
- Diwani granted: Shah Alam II granted the East India Company the Diwani—the right to collect land revenue in Bengal, Bihar, and Orissa—against an annual payment (often cited as Rs26 lakh) to the emperor for the maintenance of his court at Allahabad.
- Emperor’s seat and districts: Shah Alam II was to reside at Allahabad under Company protection; the districts of Kora and Allahabad were separated from Awadh and assigned for the emperor’s support (variously configured in the settlements).
- Awadh settlement: Awadh was restored to Shuja-ud-Daula but he owed a heavy indemnity (c.Rs50 lakh) and entered an alliance that made him dependent on Company military support at his expense.
- War indemnities and confirmations: The Company secured cash indemnities and political leverage, anchoring a protectorate-like system in the mid-Gangetic plain.
The Treaty of Allahabad thus marked the beginning of the Company’s constitutional role in India: revenues from Bengal, Bihar, and Orissa financed a larger sepoy army and further expansion, while the emperor’s authority became nominal under Company tutelage.
Why Buxar mattered more than Plassey
- From influence to sovereignty: Plassey yielded influence through a puppet nawab; Buxar delivered fiscal sovereignty via the Diwani, converting commercial power into governmental revenue and administration.
- Regional hegemony: A triple alliance—Bengal, Awadh, and the Mughal emperor—was defeated in the field, demonstrating the Company’s ability to dominate North Indian politics beyond Bengal.
- Financing expansion: Bengal’s revenue base after 1765 underwrote the Company’s armies and campaigns that reshaped the subcontinent over the next decades.
Key figures and fates
- Mir Qasim: Overthrown, fled after Buxar with treasure and died in poverty in 1777; his attempt to build a centralized, reformist Bengal state collapsed after defeats in 1763–64.
- Shuja-ud-Daula: Defeated but restored in Awadh under costly terms; his realm became a buffer and a client of Company arms and finance.
- Shah Alam II: Abandoned on the field, he aligned with the Company and, under Allahabad’s terms, granted the Diwani while residing under Company protection—his sovereignty reduced to ceremonial status.
- Hector Munro and Robert Clive: Munro commanded at Buxar; Clive negotiated Allahabad, becoming the architect of the Company’s fiscal-state in Bengal.
Numbers, tactics, and reasons for allied defeat
- Numbers: Company force around 17,000 against 40,000+ in the allied army, yet the British prevailed through discipline and tactical handling of line infantry and artillery.
- Tactics: Rapid formation, seizing key village cover, coordinated volleys, and exploitation of allied disarray contrasted with poor coordination among Mughal–Awadh–Bengal contingents.
- Logistics and command: Allied magazines exploded under pressure; Shuja’s destruction of the boat-bridge and flight split the coalition, leaving the emperor’s camp exposed.
Legacy
Buxar stands as the decisive battle that institutionalized Company rule in eastern India, shifting the axis from mercantile influence to revenue-backed sovereignty and setting a template for protectorate arrangements with North Indian states like Awadh. The Diwani made Bengal’s agrarian surplus the engine of Company militarization and governance, enabling advances across the subcontinent and laying the fiscal foundations of British imperial rule in India.
Fast facts
- Date and place: 22–23 October 1764, Buxar (Bihar) on the Ganges.
- Belligerents: East India Company (Hector Munro) vs. alliance of Mir Qasim (Bengal), Shuja-ud-Daula (Awadh), Shah Alam II (Mughal emperor).
- Strength: Company c.17,000; alliance 40,000+; decisive Company victory.
- Settlement: Treaty of Allahabad (Aug 1765) grants Company Diwani of Bengal, Bihar, Orissa; indemnities; Awadh restored as a dependent ally; emperor under Company protection at Allahabad.
- Significance: Launchpad for Company’s fiscal-military state and British political ascendancy in India.
