ABSTRACT
The military and financial reforms instituted by Mir Qasim, when coupled with the efforts he was making to ensure greater loyalty from the aristocracy of Bengal and Bihar, could conceivably have produced a state that was not only willing but was also able to withstand British pressures. British campaigns against Mir Qasim and later Haider Ali and Tipu Sultan were instrumental not only in determining the shape of Britain's empire in India, but were also critical in shaping subsequent efforts at accounting for historical developments there. Haider Ali's military record as well as that of his son Tipu Sultan has been much better documented and more widely celebrated. Mir Qasim and Haider Ali both pursued with varying degrees of success administrative reforms intended to put their militaries on sounder financial footings. They also proved to be receptive to new technologies, though they carefully selected the technological and organizational developments that best suited their needs.
