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Home > Battle of Plassey


The Battle of Plassey was a battle that took place in June 1757, at Plassey (pronounced Palashee, in Bengali ), a small village between Calcutta and Murshidabad. It was a battle between the forces of the British East India Company and of Siraj Ud Daulah, the last independent Nawab of Bengal. The reason for the battle was the Nawab's attack and capture of Calcutta (which he renamed to Alinagar) , following the British policy of favouring Hindu Marwari merchants over local ones. The battle commenced on June 23.

The British army was vastly outnumbered, consisting of 800 Europeans and 2200 Indians. The Nawab had an army of about 50,000. But the British generalGeneral is a military rank, in most nations the highest rank, although some nations have the higher rank of Field Marshal. The title is used by land and sometimes air forces. In the navies of the world, the equivalent rank is Admiral. Its equivalent rank Robert Clive bribed the Nawab's uncle and chief of army, Mir Jafar , who controlled the artillery . The soldiers were also bribed to surrender to the British, and the Nawab was soon captured and killed while he attempted to escape.

After the battle, all the soldiers who had betrayed their Nawab were killed by the British on the maxim : "If you could betray your Lord and Master, you will betray us tomorrow."


The Battle of Plassey is considered to be the start of British rule in India.

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Pre-Independence battles in India

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