2 June 1757 – 20 October 1760 25 July 1763 – 17 January 1765

Predecessor Siraj ud-Daulah

Successor Mir Qasim
Mir Qasim (after 1760) and Najimuddin Ali Khan
Najimuddin Ali Khan (after 1765)

Born 1691

Died 17 January 1765 (aged 74)

Burial Jafarganj Cemetery, Murshidabad

Wives

Shah Khanum Sahiba (m. 1727, d. August 1779) Munni Begum (noble) (m. 1746, d. 10 January 1813) Rahat-un-nisa Begum (Mut'ah wife) Babbu Begum (d. 1809)

Issue

Sadiq Ali Khan Bahadur (Mir Miran) Najimuddin Ali Khan
Najimuddin Ali Khan Bahadur Najabut Ali Khan
Najabut Ali Khan Bahadur (Mir Phulwari) Ashraf Ali Khan Bahadur Mubaraq Ali Khan Bahadur Hadi Ali Khan Bahadur Fatima Begum Sahiba Misri Begum Roshan-un-nisa Begum Sahiba (Nishani Begum) Husaini Begum and 2 more daughters.

Full name

Mir Muhammad Jafar Ali Khan Bahadaur

Dynasty Najafi

Father Sayyid Ahmed Najafi (Mirza Mirak)

Religion Shia Islam

Mir Jafar
Mir Jafar Ali Khan Bahadur (Bengali: মীর জাফর আলী খান বাহাদুর; c. 1691 — 5 February 1765) was the first Najafi Nawab
Nawab of Bengal
Bengal with support from the British East India Company. He was the second son of Sayyid Ahmad Najafi. His rule is widely considered the start of British imperialism in India
India and was a key step in the eventual British domination of vast areas of the subcontinent. Siraj ud-Daulah, the previous Nawab
Nawab of Bengal
Bengal along with his army were defeated and killed in the Battle of Plassey
Battle of Plassey by the British due to the betrayal of the commander of Siraj ud-Daulah′s army, Mir Jafar, who betrayed Siraj ud-Daulah
Siraj ud-Daulah to become the next Nawab. Thus after helping the British defeat Siraj ud-Daulah
Siraj ud-Daulah he became the new Nawab
Nawab of Bengal
Bengal in 1757 with military support from the British East India
India Company as a reward for his betrayal. However, Jafar failed to satisfy constant British demands for money. In 1758, Robert Clive discovered that through his agent Khoja Wajid, Jafar had made a treaty with the Dutch at Chinsurah. Dutch ships of war were also seen in the River Hooghly. Circumstances led to the Battle of Chinsurah. British company official Henry Vansittart
Henry Vansittart proposed that since Jafar was unable to cope with the difficulties, Mir Qasim, Jafar's son-in-law, should act as Deputy Subahdar. In October 1760, the company forced him to abdicate in favor of Qasim. However, Qasim's independent spirit and plan to force the East India
India company out of his dominion led to his overthrow, and Jafar was restored as the Nawab
Nawab in 1763 with the support of the company. Mir Qasim
Mir Qasim however refused to accept this and went to war against the company. Jafar ruled until his death on 17 January 1765 and lies buried at the Jafarganj Cemetery in Murshidabad, West Bengal, India.

Contents

1 Subedar
Subedar of the Nawab
Nawab of Bengal 2 Nawab
Nawab of Bengal

2.1 Shah Alam II's attempts to overthrow Mir Jafar

3 Legacy 4 See also 5 Notes 6 References 7 External links

Subedar
Subedar of the Nawab
Nawab of Bengal[edit] In 1747 the Marathas led by Raghoji I Bhonsle, began to raid, pillage and annex the territories of the Alivardi Khan, the Nawab
Nawab of Bengal. During the Maratha invasion of Odisha, its subedar Mir Jafar
Mir Jafar and Ataullah the faujdar of Rajmahal
Rajmahal completely withdrew all forces until the arrival of Alivardi Khan
Alivardi Khan and the Mughal Army
Mughal Army at the Battle of Burdwan where Raghoji I Bhonsle
Raghoji I Bhonsle and his Maratha forces were completely routed. The enraged Alivardi Khan
Alivardi Khan then dismissed the shamed Mir Jafar.[1] Nawab
Nawab of Bengal[edit]

Mir Jafar
Mir Jafar and his son Miran delivering the Treaty of 1757 to William Watts

Mir Jafar
Mir Jafar pretended loyalty to Alivardi Khan's successor Siraj Ud Daulah, but betrayed him to the British in the battle of Palashi.[2] After Siraj Ud Daulah’s defeat and subsequent execution, Jafar achieved his long-pursued dream of gaining the throne, and was propped up by the British East India
India company as puppet Nawab. Jafar paid Rs. 17,700,000 as compensation for the attack on Calcutta to the company and traders of the city. In addition, he gave bribes to the officials of the company. Clive, for example received over two million rupees, Watts over one million[3] Soon, however, he realized that company's expectations were boundless and tried to wriggle out from under them; this time with the help of the Dutch. However, the British defeated the Dutch at the Battle of Chinsurah
Chinsurah in November 1759 and retaliated by forcing him to abdicate in favor of his son-in-law Mir Qasim. However, Qasim proved to be both able and independent, strongly condemned the interference of East India
India company in the governing of his domain. Mir Qasim
Mir Qasim formed an alliance to force the British East India
India company out of East India. The Company soon went to war with him and his allies. The Battle of Buxar
Battle of Buxar was fought on 22 October 1764 between the forces under the command of the British East India
India Company led by Hector Munro and the combined army of Mir Qasim, the Nawab
Nawab of Bengal:suja ud-dullah the Nawab
Nawab of Awadh
Awadh and the Mughal Emperor
Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II. With the defeat in Buxar, Mir Qasim
Mir Qasim was eventually overthrown. Mir Jafar
Mir Jafar managed to regain the good graces of the British; he was again installed Nawab
Nawab in 1764 and held the position until his death in 1765. Shah Alam II's attempts to overthrow Mir Jafar[edit] Main article: Treaty of Allahabad

The Mughal Emperor
Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II, reviewing the British East India Company's troops, painted 1781

"Some ill-designing people had turned his brain, and carried him to the eastern part of the Mughal Empire, which would be the cause of much trouble and ruin to our regimes."

Imad-ul-Mulk's letter to Mir Jafar, after the escape of the Mughal crown prince Ali Gauhar.[4]

In 1760, after gaining control over Bihar, Odisha
Odisha and some parts of the Bengal, the Mughal Crown Prince
Crown Prince Ali Gauhar and his Mughal Army
Mughal Army of 30,000 intended to overthrow Mir Jafar, Imad-ul-Mulk after they tried to capture or kill him by advancing towards Awadh
Awadh and Patna
Patna in 1759. But the conflict soon involved the assertive British East India Company. The Mughals were led by Prince Ali Gauhar, who was accompanied by Muhammad Quli Khan, Hidayat Ali, Mir Afzal and Ghulam Husain Tabatabai. Their forces were reinforced by the forces of Shuja-ud-Daula
Shuja-ud-Daula and Najib-ud-Daula. The Mughals were also joined by Jean Law and 200 Frenchmen and waged a campaign against the British during the Seven Years' War.[5] Although the French were eventually defeated, the conflict between the British East India Company
British East India Company and the Mughal Empire
Mughal Empire would continue to linger and ended in a draw, which eventually culminated during the Battle of Buxar. Legacy[edit]

Robert Clive, 1st Baron Clive, meeting with Mir Jafar
Mir Jafar after Plassey, by Francis Hayman.

Lord Clive receiving from the Nawab
Nawab of Bengal
Bengal a grant of money for disabled officers and soldiers

The breakup of the centralized Mughal empire by 1750, led to creation of a large number of independent kingdoms (all provinces of the former Mughal empire). Each of them were in conflict with their neighbor. These kingdoms bought weapons from the British and French East India companies to fuel their wars. Bengal
Bengal was one such kingdom. The British and French supported whichever princes ensured their trading interest. Jafar was one such puppet who came to power with support of British East India
India company. After the defeat of Sirajuddoula and later Mir Qasim the British strengthened their position in Bengal
Bengal and in 1793 abolished Nizamat (Mughal suzerainty) and took complete control of the former Mughal province. Jafar is widely reviled by the people of Bangladesh, India
India and Pakistan.[citation needed] The word "mirjafar" in Bengali and the phrase "meer jafar" in Urdu, are used much as quisling is used in English, and Jaichand of Kannauj
Jaichand of Kannauj in Indian history. Allama Iqbal, in his poetry wrote about his treachery in these words, "Jaffar az Bengal, Sadiq az Deccan; nang-e-deen, nang-e-millat, nang-e-watan" which mean "Jafar(Mir) of Bengal
Bengal and Sadiq(Mir) of Deccan are a disgrace to the faith, a disgrace to Nation, a disgrace to Country. British with the help of Jafar and Mir Sadiq were able to take control of Bengal
Bengal and kingdom of Mysore (Sultanat-e-Khuda daad)." [6][7] Today Mir Jafar
Mir Jafar has become an icon of a treacherous person in India. His name symbolises the treachery and his house at Murshidabad knowned as 'Nimak haram Deuri' (Traitor's home) for the visitors.

Nimak haram Deorhi (House of Mir Jafar)

See also[edit]

Siraj Ud Daulah Nawabs of Bengal Robert Clive Mir Jafar
Mir Jafar Awards Great Britain in the Seven Years War List of rulers of Bengal History of Bengal History of Bangladesh History of India Shia Islam
Shia Islam in India

Notes[edit]

^ "Riyazu-s-salatin", Ghulam Husain Salim - a reference to the appointment of Mohanlal can be found [permanent dead link] here ^ "Seir Muaqherin", Ghulam Husain Tabatabai - a reference to the conspiracy can be found [permanent dead link] here A website dedicated to Mir Jafar

References[edit]

^ Jaques, Tony (2007). Dictionary of Battles and Sieges: A-E. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 9780313335372.  ^ Mohammad Shah (2012), " Mir Jafar
Mir Jafar Ali Khan", in Sirajul Islam and Ahmed A. Jamal, Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Second ed.), Asiatic Society of Bangladesh  ^ Modern India
India by Dr. Bipin Chendra, a publication of National council of Educational Research and Training ^ Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland (1852). Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, Volume 13. University Press. pp. 123–.  ^ O`malley, L.S.S. Bihar
Bihar And Orissa District Gazetteers Patna. Concept Publishing Company, 1924. ISBN 9788172681210.  ^ Ahsan, Syed Badrul (31 October 2005). "Iskandar Mirza, Ayub Khan, and October 1958". New Age. Dhaka. Archived from the original on 19 August 2007.  ^ Buyers, Christopher. " Murshidabad
Murshidabad family information". The Royal Ark. Archived from the original on 25 April 2006. [self-published source]

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mir Jafar.

"Riyazu-s-salatin", A History of Bengal, Ghulam Husain Salim (translated from the Persian): viewable online at the Packard Humanities Institute Mir Jafar
Mir Jafar Ali Khan in Banglapedia Humayun, Mirza (2002). From Plassey to Pakistan. Washington D.C.: University Press of America; Revised edition (28 July 2002). ISBN 0-7618-2349-2.  Murshidabad
Murshidabad History-Mir Muhammad Jafar Ali Khan [1]

Mir Jafar Born: 1691 Died: January 17, 1765

Preceded by Siraj ud-Daulah
Siraj ud-Daulah (before 1757) and Mir Qasim
Mir Qasim (before 1763) Nawab
Nawab of Bengal 2 June 1757 – 20 October 1760 25 July 1763 – 17 January 1765

Succeeded by Mir Qasim
Mir Qasim (after 1760) and Najimuddin Ali Khan
Najimuddin Ali Khan (after 1765)

v t e

Bengal
Bengal Nobility

Topics

History of Bengal Permanent Settlement
Permanent Settlement Act of 1793 and 1888 East Bengal
Bengal State Acquisition and Tenancy Act of 1950

Sovereign Rulers

Middle kingdoms of India
India (3rd century BC-1279) Sultanate of Bengal
Bengal (1342-1576) Mughal emperors
Mughal emperors (1576-1707) Nawabs of Bengal
Bengal (1717-1880) Nawabs of Murshidabad
Murshidabad (1882-1969) British Raj
British Raj (1880-1857) Emperor of India
India (1857-1948)

Nawabs of Bengal

Murshid Quli Khan
Murshid Quli Khan (1717–1727) Sarfaraz Khan
Sarfaraz Khan (1727–1727) Shuja-ud-Din Muhammad Khan
Shuja-ud-Din Muhammad Khan (1727–1739) Sarfaraz Khan
Sarfaraz Khan (1739–1740) Alivardi Khan
Alivardi Khan (1740–1756) Siraj ud-Daulah
Siraj ud-Daulah (1756–1757) Mir Jafar
Mir Jafar Ali Khan (1757–1760) Mir Qasim
Mir Qasim (1760–1763) Mir Jafar
Mir Jafar Ali Khan (1763–1765) Najmuddin Ali Khan
Najmuddin Ali Khan (1765–1766) Najabat Ali Khan
Najabat Ali Khan (1766–1770) Ashraf Ali Khan (1770) Mubarak Ali Khan (1770–1793) Baber Ali Khan (1793–1810) Zain-ud-Din Ali Khan
Zain-ud-Din Ali Khan (1810–1821) Ahmad Ali Khan
Ahmad Ali Khan (1821–1824) Mubarak Ali Khan II
Mubarak Ali Khan II (1824–1838) Mansur Ali Khan
Mansur Ali Khan (1838–1880)

Nawabs of Murshidabad

Hassan Ali Mirza
Hassan Ali Mirza Khan Bahadur (1882–1906) Wasif Ali Mirza
Wasif Ali Mirza Khan Bahadur (1906–1959) Waris Ali Mirza
Waris Ali Mirza Khan Bahadur (1959–1969)

Zamindars of Bengal

Bhawal Estate Burdwan Raj Chakma Raj Nawabs of Dhaka Dighapatia Raj Dinajpur Raj Gayen Estate of Dhanyakuria Gouripur Raj Homnabad-Pashchimgaon Estate Kandi Raj Kirtipasha Raj Lalgola Raj Muktagacha Raj Nadia Raj Padamdi Nawab
Nawab Estate Panchkot Raj Prithimpassa Raj Puthia Raj Natore Raj Rajshahi Raj Ramgopalpur Raj Ratanpur Nawab
Nawab Estate Singranatore family Susanga Raj Teota Estate (See: Parbati Sankar Roy Choudhury and Raja Shyama Sankar Roy Choudhury) Uttarpara Raj

Establishments and Heirlooms

Hazarduari Palace Uttara Gano Bhaban Ahsan Manzil Israt Manzil Palace Tajhat Palace Natore Palace Bhawal Estate University of Dacca Varendra Research Society Varendra Research Museum Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology Gole Afroz College Rahmat Iqbal College Rose Garden Palace Ghughudanga Palace Moyez Manzil Palace Puthia Temple Complex

Authority control

WorldCat Identities VIAF: 36352279 LCCN: