Battle of Giria

The Battle of Giria were two battles that took place in Giria, an insignificant census town in Bengal, although not well known, were very significant in the history of Bengal and like the Battle of Plassey, had far reaching consequences.^{[ citation needed ]}

First Battle of Giria, 1740
Date 26 April 1740 Location Giria, modern day district of Murshidabad in the state of West Bengal, India. Result Short and severe battle resulting in the defeat and death of Sarfaraz Khan and Alivardi Khan usurping and becoming the Nawab of Bengal. End of the Nasiri Dynasty of Murshid Quli Khan. Territorial changes The Subah of Bengal
Belligerents
Sarfaraz Khan, Nawab of Bengal	Alivardi Khan, Nazim of Azimabad (Patna), servant of the Nawab of Bengal
Commanders and leaders
Ghaus Khan Haji Lutfullah Sarfaraz Khan Alam Chand (betrayed Sarfaraz Khan in battle)	Alivardi Khan Nandalal Nawazish Muhammad Khan
Strength
5,000	5,000

Location

5km
3miles

B

A

N

G

L

A

D

E

S

H

Kherur Mosque

H

Bhagirathi River

Bansloi River

Farakka Feeder Canal

Padma River

Rajnagar

R

Nurpur

R

Sagardighi

R

Sadikpur

R

Raghunathganj

R

Morgram

R

Manigram

R

Harua

R

Bansabati

R

Ahiran

R

Jangipur

M

Sagardighi TPS

FV

AMU: Murshidabad Centre

F

Bara Jumla

CT

Krishna Sali

CT

Teghari

CT

Donalia

CT

Khodarampur

CT

Osmanpur

CT

Jot Kamal

CT

Mithipur

CT

Giria

CT

Mirzapur

CT

Ramnagar

CT

Dafarpur

CT

Charka

CT

Srikantabati

CT

Ghorsala

CT

Nayabahadurpur

CT

Madna

CT

Fatellapur

CT

Ramakantapur

CT

  

Cities, towns and locations in the southern portion of Jangipur subdivision, Murshidabad district (including Suti I, Raghunathganj I, Raghunathganj II, Sagardighi CD blocks)
M: municipal town, CT: census town, R: rural/ urban centre, F: Facility
Abbreviation- TPS: Thermal Power Station, AMU: Aligarh Muslim University
Owing to space constraints in the small map, the actual locations in a larger map may vary slightly

Located at 24°31′N88°04′E / 24.52°N 88.07°E / 24.52; 88.07 and within 10 km from Jangipur on NH-34 close to where the river Ganges enters Bangladesh on one side; and within 10 km in the Indian side of the Indo-Bangladesh border, Giria is located in the alluvial sediment plain if the river Padma, a distributory of the river Ganges and Bhagirathi. It falls in the modern day district of Murshidabad in the state of West Bengal, India.

Battles

Background

Alivardi Khan the then Subahdar of Azimabad was not satisfied with the position of Governor and had always harboured ambitions of becoming the Nawab of Bengal and had real ambitions of deposing Sarfaraz Khan. He was willingly aided and abetted in this treacherous activity by his brother Haji Ahmed.

To effect this, he required an imperial commission directed to himself, empowering him to wrest the three provinces out of the hands of the present viceroy, Sarfaraz Khan. After having dispatched these letters, he gave out that he intended marching against the zamindars of Bhojpur, and under that pretence he mustered his troops, which he always kept in constant readiness. At the same time, he had the art to give Sarfaraz Khan public notice of his project, though he in reality waited ready to avail himself of the first opportunity to effect his true purpose.

Haji Ahmed and then Alivardi Khan entered the city and laying hold of the treasures, which were seventy lakhs in Cash and fifty crores in jewels, placed them in charge of Yeasin Khan. As Alivardi did not care to have more than one wife, the seraglio of Sarfraj Khan, including five hundred beautiful women, was taken possession of by his relatives, while the principal wife, with two sons, was sent by the Nawab to Dacca, with a scanty allowance for their support, from the revenue of the Khas Mahal (private estate) of Sarfraj Khan. His sister, Nafissa Begum (w/o Syud Reza Khan), condescended to the post of waiting-maid in the seraglio of Nawajesh Muhammad Khan, and thus contrived to save the son of her brother Aka Baba, whom she had adopted. ^[1]

Eventually, ten months after Nadir Shah's departure for Persia, and just thirteen months after Shuja-ud-Din Muhammad Khan's death, he received the imperial commission, drawn up in the style he had requested. Being now resolved on marching against Sarfaraz Khan, he wrote secretly to Jagat Seth Fateh Chand that on a certain day he would commence his march. In March 1740; Alivardi Khan, set out for Murshidabad, on the context of expedition to Bhojpur, and encamped at some distance from the city of Patna.

Alivardi Khan, in a message to Sarfaraz Khan, suggested that he was not marching on him but was arriving to pay homage to the Nawab. Initially satisfied, Sarfaraz Khan eventually decided to march on the head of his army and arrived at the town of Comrah on 9 April 1740. Alivardi, in the interim, secured the Teliagarhi pass and camped at Rajmahal. The Nawab's army was being led by a seasoned general, Ghaus Khan. Ray-Rayan, and Alam Chand also accompanied him. The rebel army was being led by Alivardi Khan with Nandalal and Nawazish Muhammad Khan as his deputies.

They opposing armies marched on to Giria (Battle of Giria), a village on the banks of the river Bhagirathi for a showdown on 26 April 1740.

The Second Battle of Giria, 1763

On the first of August, the Bengal Army crossed their way through the Bansli river and the following day was the start of the Second Battle of Giria against Mir Kasem's army. The battle was about a mile from the village of Giria. After his losses in Catwa, Mir Kasem was determined to fight a decisive battle and assembled his troops at Suti. This position was naturally strong and artificial as entrenchments covered the whole front. Mir Kasem had superior numbers and highly efficient troops than the English as their left flank was being met with heavy cavalry forces. This attack was headed by Mir Badr ud din who managed to drive the battalion into the Bansali river. This gap in the Bengal Army's formation left their 84th Regiment to be attacked from the front and back.

Major Adams would bring up reserves from Major Carnac, who was handling the right wing and managed to send reinforcements to them. The 84th freed themselves from Mir Badr ud din's cavalry troops and recovered their guns. With Mir Badr ud din getting wounded in battle and his troops weakened, Adams seized the opportunity and charged in for another attack. The exchange would result in a victory for Major Adams but at a heavy loss and the English were still pushed back. ^{[2] [3]}

Battle Giria, 1763
Date 2 August 1763 Location Giria, modern day West Bengal, India Result Defeat and retreat of Mir Qasim from Bengal to Monghyr (Munger). Mir Jafar is re-installed as the Nawab at Murshidabad. Bengal would have two Nawabs for the next one year till the Battle of Buxar in 1764. Mir Qasim would continue to be the Nawab at Munger till about 1764. Territorial changes The Subah of Bengal
Belligerents
Mir Qasim, Nawab of Bengal	British East India Company, Mir Jafar

References

1. "Murshidabad History - Sarfaraz Khan". murshidabad.net. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
2. Majumdar, Purna Chundra (1905). The Musund of Murshidabad (1704-1904): Being a Synopsis of the History of Murshidabad for the Last Two Centuries, to which are Appended Notes of Places and Objects of Interest at Murshidabad. Saroda Ray. p. 270.
3. Stubbs, Francis William (1877). History of the Organization, Equipment, and War Services of the Regiment of Bengal Artillery: Compiled from Published Works, Official Records, and Various Private Sources (Vol. 1 ed.). Henry S. King & Company. pp. 22–23.