Dastak was a trade permit mostly issued to European traders by officials of the East India Company. The trade permit waived customs or transicharges for personal goods. The power to issue trade permits was conferred upon Company officials by the Mughal Emperor Farrukhsiyar after William Hamilton, a surgeon associated with the Company cured him of a disease.

Definition

The practice of using dastaks for almost any goods was consolidated by

Robert Clive Robert Clive, 1st Baron Clive, (29 September 1725 – 22 November 1774), also known as Clive of India, was the first British Governor of the Bengal Presidency. Clive has been widely credited for laying the foundation of the British ...

when he overthrew the then

Nawab of Bengal The Nawab of Bengal ( bn, বাংলার নবাব) was the hereditary ruler of Bengal Subah in Mughal India. In the early 18th-century, the Nawab of Bengal was the ''de facto'' independent ruler of the three regions of Bengal, Bihar, ...

, Mir Quasim after he opposed the British East India Company's position that their dastaks meant that they could trade without paying taxes (other local merchants with dastaks were required to pay up to 40% of their revenue as tax). The British then seized control of the province of Bengal by reinstating puppet ruler

Mir Jafar Sayyid Mīr Jaʿfar ʿAlī Khān Bahādur ( – 5 February 1765) was a military general who became the first dependent Nawab of Bengal of the British East India Company. His reign has been considered by many historians as the start of the expan ...

Advantages

The dastak was a important reason for the impoverishment of Bengal. Company officials were able to make personal fortunes by using the dastaks which allowed them to skip paying custom duties altogether. This led to a drain in wealth from Bengal. The practice of abusing trade laws was institutionalized such that any gain made by the Indian products in foreign markets translated into a financial gain for Britain.

Abolishment

The practise of issuing dastaks to traders was abolished by

Warren Hastings Warren Hastings (6 December 1732 – 22 August 1818) was a British colonial administrator, who served as the first Governor of the Presidency of Fort William (Bengal), the head of the Supreme Council of Bengal, and so the first Governor-Genera ...

due to the disadvantage the dastaks offered to the local Indian traders.

References

External links

* {{Cite web, url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/dastak, title=Dastak {{! trade permit, website=Encyclopedia Britannica, language=en, access-date=2019-11-11 Government of the Mughal Empire Bengal Presidency 18th century in British India British East India Company