ABSTRACT
Historians have for long propounded the thesis that Sirajuddaullah was not only cruel, ruthless and swollen-headed but also steeped in debauchery and sensuous pleasures which made him universally hated by his nobles and subjects alike. They have also held that the young nawab was mainly responsible for the conflict with the English Company which ultimately cost him his throne, and that the treachery of Mir Jafar, the nawab’s disgruntled commander, led to the Plassey conspiracy and ultimately the fall of the independent nawabship of Bengal. As if all these were not enough, some of these historians, probably in an attempt to find a justification for the British conquest of Bengal, would have us believe that on the eve of Plassey, the society in Bengal was vertically divided along communal lines, the majority Hindus were tired of the Muslim government and hated it so much that they earnestly yearned for a saviour. Hence they heartily welcomed the British as the deliverer from the tyranny of Muslim rule.
