Jagat Seth
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The Jagat Seth family was a wealthy merchant, banker and money lender family from
Murshidabad Murshidabad fa, مرشد آباد (, or ) is a historical city in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is located on the eastern bank of the Bhagirathi River, a distributary of the Ganges. It forms part of the Murshidabad district. Durin ...
in
Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...
during the time of the Nawabs of Bengal.


History

The house was founded by
Jain Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current time cycle being ...
Hiranand Shah from Nagaur,
Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern s ...
, who came to
Patna Patna ( ), historically known as Pataliputra, is the capital and largest city of the state of Bihar in India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Patna had a population of 2.35 million, making it the 19th largest city in India. ...
in 1652. In 1707, Manikchand helped Prince
Farrukhsiyar Farrukhsiyar or Farrukh Siyar () (20 August 16839 April 1719) was the tenth emperor of the Mughal Empire from 1713 to 1719. He rose to the throne after assassinating his uncle, Emperor Jahandar Shah. Reportedly a handsome man who was easily ...
financially to become the
Mughal Emperor The Mughal emperors ( fa, , Pādishāhān) were the supreme heads of state of the Mughal Empire on the Indian subcontinent, mainly corresponding to the modern countries of India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. The Mughal rulers styled t ...
. In award,
Farrukhsiyar Farrukhsiyar or Farrukh Siyar () (20 August 16839 April 1719) was the tenth emperor of the Mughal Empire from 1713 to 1719. He rose to the throne after assassinating his uncle, Emperor Jahandar Shah. Reportedly a handsome man who was easily ...
conferred the title of ''Jagat Seth'' on Manik Chand, the head of the family, meaning "banker or merchant of the world". This indicates the favour the family had gained at the Mughal court. Roben Orme, the official historian of the British East India Company described Jagat Seth as the greatest banker and money changer known in the world at that time. The historian
Ghulam Hussain Khan Ghulam Hussain Khan ( ar, غلام حسین خان طباطبائی) was an Indian historian from the 18th-century Bengal who is writer of the famous book ''Seir Mutaqherin'' (سیر المتاخرین; {{lit, ''Review of Modern Times''), one of t ...
believed that "their wealth was such that there is no mentioning it without seeming to exaggerate and to deal in extravagant fables". They built up their business towards the last quarter of the 17th century and by the 18th century, it was perhaps the largest banking house in the country. In the 1750s, their entire wealth was estimated to be 14 crores. Jagat Seth was extremely influential in financial matters in
Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...
and had a monopoly of minting coins there. The Nawabs of Bengal such as
Murshid Quli Khan Murshid Quli Khan ( fa, , bn, মুর্শিদকুলি খান; 1660 – 30 June 1727), also known as Zamin Ali Quli and born as Surya Narayan Mishra, was the first Nawab of Bengal, serving from 1717 to 1727. Born a Hindu in the De ...
used the credit networks of the Jagat Seth family to pay annual tribute to the
Mughal Emperor The Mughal emperors ( fa, , Pādishāhān) were the supreme heads of state of the Mughal Empire on the Indian subcontinent, mainly corresponding to the modern countries of India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. The Mughal rulers styled t ...
s in
Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders ...
.
Alivardi Khan Alivardi Khan (1671 – 9 April 1756) was the Nawab of Bengal from 1740 to 1756. He toppled the Nasiri dynasty of Nawabs by defeating Sarfaraz Khan in 1740 and assumed power himself. During much of his reign Alivardi encountered frequent Mar ...
came to the throne of Bengal in a military coup financed and planned by the Jagat Seths. According to William Dalrymple, they could "make or break anyone in Bengal, including the ruler, and their political instincts were sharp as their financial ones". Once a local businessman named Kantu borrowed money from Jagat Seth Fateh Chand and was interested in the purchase of silk. However, he failed to return the money. Indian businessmen refused to deal with the
East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and South ...
unless Kantu returned the money to Fateh Chand. This shows the great respect the local businessmen had for the Jagat Seths. Fateh Chand suffered a great loss in
Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders ...
during Nader Shah's sack of the city in 1740, but he was able to continue his business. He died on 2 December 1744. The Jagat Seths were the most prominent moneylenders to the
East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and South ...
. During the
Maratha invasions of Bengal The Maratha invasions of Bengal (1741-1751), also known as the Maratha expeditions in Bengal, refers to the frequent invasions by the Maratha forces in the Bengal Subah (Bengal, Bihar, parts of modern Orissa), after their successful campaign i ...
, the
Bargi Bargis were a light cavalry mercenary group of Maratha Empire's who indulged in large scale plundering of the countryside of western part of Bengal for about ten years (1741–1751) during the Maratha invasions of Bengal. Maratha invasions too ...
Maratha mercenaries plundered the mansion of the Jagat Seth, taking away two and a half crore rupees as booty.


Conspiracy against Siraj ud-Daulah

Siraj ud-Daulah Mirza Muhammad Siraj-ud-Daulah ( fa, ; 1733 – 2 July 1757), commonly known as Siraj-ud-Daulah or Siraj ud-Daula, was the last independent Nawab of Bengal. The end of his reign marked the start of the rule of the East India Company over Beng ...
, the new Nawab of Bengal, alienated figures important to the interest of his state- including the Jagat Seth Mehtab Chand. The Nawab demanded a lavish tribute of 30 million rupees from the banker. Jagat Seth Mehtab Chand refused, and a result,
Siraj ud-Daulah Mirza Muhammad Siraj-ud-Daulah ( fa, ; 1733 – 2 July 1757), commonly known as Siraj-ud-Daulah or Siraj ud-Daula, was the last independent Nawab of Bengal. The end of his reign marked the start of the rule of the East India Company over Beng ...
hit him. The Jagat Seth was a co-conspirator of Robert Clive against
Siraj ud-Daulah Mirza Muhammad Siraj-ud-Daulah ( fa, ; 1733 – 2 July 1757), commonly known as Siraj-ud-Daulah or Siraj ud-Daula, was the last independent Nawab of Bengal. The end of his reign marked the start of the rule of the East India Company over Beng ...
, along with other alienated figures, among them prominent being- Mir Jafar,
Krishnachandra Roy Raja Krishnachandra (born Krishnachandra Ray, (1710–1783) was a raja and zamindar of , Nadia, from 1728 to 1782. He belonged to the Nadia Raj family and Shakta Hindu tradition. He is credited not only with his resistance to the Mughal rule ...
,
Omichund Omichund or Umichand ( bn, উমিচাঁদ; died 1767) was a native merchant of Bengal Nawabi period in India who was one of the principal authors of the conspiracy against Nawab and associated with the treaty negotiated by Robert Clive bef ...
, Ray Durlabh & other leading men. The Jagat Seth and other wealthy bankers funded the British for the conspiracy. Any members of the conspiracy group had no intention to found British rule in India, instead they were just concerned about their political futures.


Decline

After the Battle of Plassey,
Mir Qasim Mir Qasim ( bn, মীর কাশিম; died 8 May 1777) was the Nawab of Bengal from 1760 to 1763. He was installed as Nawab with the support of the British East India Company, replacing Mir Jafar, his father-in-law, who had himself been su ...
became the new Nawab. He organised the killing of several member of the family including Jagat Seth Mehtab Chand and his cousin Swarup Chand, in 1763, and threw their bodies off the ramparts off
Munger Fort The Munger Fort, located at Munger (also spelt as Monghyr during the British Raj), in the state of Bihar, India, is built on a rocky hillock on the south bank of the Ganges River. Its history is not completely dated but it is believed that it wa ...
. Mahtab Chand's son, Kushal Chand, was granted the title of Jagat Seth, but with the transfer of the treasury and mint to Kolkata by the British, the need of a private banker at Murshidabad was vastly diminished. Kushal Chand was only 18 years old when he became the ''Seth''. He lacked his father Mehtab Chand's political shrewdness and was a spendthrift. Thus the fortunes of the Jagat Seths began declining. Govindchand, the next ''Seth'', died in 1864, succeeded by Gopal Chand and Gulab Chand respectively. By then, the fortunes of the family had declined by a considerable amount. The last member of the family died in 1912, their fortunes being a thing of the past and surviving on a pension given by the British.


Museum

The house of the Jagat Seths, complete with a secret tunnel as well as an underground chamber, where illegal trade plans were hatched, has been converted into
museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these ...
. House of Jagat Seth Museum was established in 1980. It is privately managed. It contains personal possessions of the Jagat Seth family including coins of the bygone era, muslin and other extravagant clothes, Banarasi sarees embroidered with gold and silver threads. According to the
Archaeological Survey of India The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is an Indian government agency that is responsible for archaeological research and the conservation and preservation of cultural historical monuments in the country. It was founded in 1861 by Alexande ...
the house, temple and ruins associated with the memory of Jagat Seth's house at Mahimapur are
State Protected Monuments This article contains lists of State Protected Monuments of India. Table of monuments The State Protected Monuments are designated by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). The state governments of India are authorised to maintain, protect and ...
(Item no S-WB-94).List of State Protected Monuments as reported by the Archaeological Survey of India
.


See also

*
Siraj ud-Daulah Mirza Muhammad Siraj-ud-Daulah ( fa, ; 1733 – 2 July 1757), commonly known as Siraj-ud-Daulah or Siraj ud-Daula, was the last independent Nawab of Bengal. The end of his reign marked the start of the rule of the East India Company over Beng ...
*
East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and South ...
* Nawabs of Bengal


Further reading

* * *


External links


The Rise and Fall of the Jagat Seths

Bengal banker Jagat Seth who gave loans to East India Company, financial tips to Aurangzeb
The Print


References

{{reflist Murshidabad Jains Rajasthani people Bengali families