ABSTRACT
The news of peace arrived just as another series of events came to a head. The Carnatic was in theory dependent on the Deccan; and the Nawabs of the Carnatic were supposed to be appointed by the Viceroy of the Deccan. But the latter, the famous Nizam-ul-Mulk, had long been too busy establishing and maintaining his own independence of the Emperor to pay much attention to the Carnatic. There also a similar process went forward. Three successive Nawabs had belonged to the same family; and the Nawabship seemed likely to become hereditary, when suddenly the third, Safdar Ali Khan, was murdered by a relative and rival, Murtaza Ali Khan, who, however, failed to establish himself. This led to confusion, to Nizam-ul-Mulk’s personal intervention, and the appointment of a new Nawab, Anwar-ud-din, who was entirely unconnected with the late ruling family. This took place in 1743. But from the day of Anwar-ud-din’s appointment, his position had never been as secure as that of his predecessors. It had been shortly followed by the murder of the young son of the last Nawab. Anwar-ud-din and Murtaza Ali Khan were suspected of having had a hand in this; and every bazaar had been filled with a thousand uncertain rumours and prognostications. It was whispered that Anwar-ud-din would shortly be removed, and that Nizam-ul-Mulk would extend to the Carnatic that baneful practice of leasing the revenues to the highest bidder, which he had already established in the Deccan. Even to European eyes the disjointed, enervated condition of the Empire was becoming obvious; while Ananda Ranga Pillai predicted that the Nizam’s death would involve in anarchy the whole of Southern India. 1
