Jagat Seth family

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House of Jagat Seth
House Of Jagat Seth Complex - Mahimapur - Murshidabad 2017-03-28 6165-6169.tif
Panoramic view of the mansion of Jagat Seth in Murshidabad, West Bengal
Etymology'Merchant/Banker of the world'
Members
  • Hiranand Shah
  • Manik Chand
  • Fateh Chand
  • Mehtab Chand
  • Maharaj Swaroop Chand
Traditions Jainism [1]
Estate(s)House of Jagat Seth (Museum)

Jagat Seth was a wealthy merchant, banker and money lender family from Murshidabad in Bengal [2] during the time of the Nawabs of Bengal. [3] [4]

Contents

Though not at the same scale, but the influence exercised by this family in the finances of the Mughal Empire during the 17th and 18th century would be akin to that exercised by the Rothschild family in Europe. [5]

History

House of Jagat Seth (also known as the Nashipur Rajbari) in Murshidabad House of Jagat Seth, Nashipur, Murshidabad, West Bengal 01.jpg
House of Jagat Seth (also known as the Nashipur Rajbari) in Murshidabad

The house was founded by a Jain [6] Oswal [7] Bania [8] named Hiranand Shah from Nagaur, [9] Rajasthan, [1] who came to Patna in 1652. [10] In 1707, Manikchand helped Prince Farrukhsiyar financially to become the Mughal Emperor. In award, Farrukhsiyar conferred the title of Jagat Seth on Manik Chand, [9] the head of the family, meaning "banker or merchant of the world". [6] This indicates the favour the family had gained at the Mughal court. [11]

Kachari bari (office premises) of the Palace of Jagat Seth Jagat Seth's office premises at Murshidabad district 13.jpg
Kachari bari (office premises) of the Palace of Jagat Seth

Roben Orme, the official historian of the British East India Company described Jagat Seth as the greatest banker and money changer known in the world at that time. [12] The historian Ghulam Hussain Khan believed that "their wealth was such that there is no mentioning it without seeming to exaggerate and to deal in extravagant fables". [6] They built up their business towards the last quarter of the 17th century and by the 18th century, it was perhaps the largest banking house in the country. In the 1750s, their entire wealth was estimated to be 14 crores.[ vague ] [2] Jagat Seth was extremely influential in financial matters in Bengal and had a monopoly of minting coins there. [11] [6]

The temple associated with memory of Jagat Sett's house at Mahimapur The temple associated with memory of Jagat Sett's house at Mahimapur.jpg
The temple associated with memory of Jagat Sett's house at Mahimapur

The Nawabs of Bengal such as Murshid Quli Khan used the credit networks of the Jagat Seth family to pay annual tribute to the Mughal Emperors in Delhi. [6] Alivardi Khan came to the throne of Bengal in a military coup financed and planned by the Jagat Seths. [6] According to William Dalrymple, they could "make or break anyone in Bengal, including the ruler, and their political instincts were sharp as their financial ones". [6] Once a local businessman named Kantu borrowed money from Jagat Seth Fateh Chand and was interested in the purchase of silk. However, he failed to return the money. Indian businessmen refused to deal with the East India Company unless Kantu returned the money to Fateh Chand. This shows the great respect the local businessmen had for the Jagat Seths. [10] Fateh Chand suffered a great loss in Delhi during Nader Shah's sack of the city in 1740, but he was able to continue his business. [10] He died on 2 December 1744. [10] The Jagat Seths were the most prominent moneylenders to the East India Company. [13]

During the Maratha invasions of Bengal, the Bargi Maratha mercenaries plundered the mansion of the Jagat Seth, taking away two and a half crore rupees as booty. [14]

Conspiracy against Siraj ud-Daulah

House of Jagat Seth The house associated with memory of Jagat Sett's house at Mahimapur.jpg
House of Jagat Seth

Siraj ud-Daulah, the new Nawab of Bengal, alienated figures important to the interest of his state- including the Jagat Seth Mehtab Chand. The Nawab demanded a lavish tribute of 30 million rupees from the banker. Jagat Seth Mehtab Chand refused, and a result, Siraj ud-Daulah hit him. [11] [6] The Jagat Seth was [6] a co-conspirator of Robert Clive [4] against Siraj ud-Daulah, along with other alienated figures, among them prominent being- Mir Jafar, Krishnachandra Roy, Omichund, Ray Durlabh & other leading men. [15] [16] The Jagat Seth and other wealthy bankers funded the British for the conspiracy. [3]

Front view of the old palace of Jagat Seth Jagat sett's palace.jpg
Front view of the old palace of Jagat Seth

Any members of the conspiracy group had no intention to found British rule in India, instead they were just concerned about their political futures. [17]

Decline

Corridor of Jagat Seth's official residence Corridor of Jagat Seth's office.jpg
Corridor of Jagat Seth's official residence

After the Battle of Plassey, Mir Qasim became the new Nawab. He organised the killing of several member of the family including Jagat Seth Mehtab Chand and his cousin Swarup Chand, in 1763, and threw their bodies off the ramparts off Munger Fort. [9] [4] Mahtab Chand's son, Kushal Chand, was granted the title of Jagat Seth, but with the transfer of the treasury and mint to Kolkata by the British, the need of a private banker at Murshidabad was vastly diminished. [1]

Garden bench at the house of Jagat Seth Garden Bench - House Of Jagat Seth - Mahimapur - Murshidabad 2017-03-28 6199.JPG
Garden bench at the house of Jagat Seth
Interior of the house of Jagat Seth Varanda With Door And Windows - House Of Jagat Seth - Mahimapur - Murshidabad 2017-03-28 6154.JPG
Interior of the house of Jagat Seth

Kushal Chand was only 18 years old when he became the Seth. He lacked his father Mehtab Chand's political shrewdness and was a spendthrift. Thus the fortunes of the Jagat Seths began declining. Govindchand, the next Seth, died in 1864, succeeded by Gopal Chand and Gulab Chand respectively. By then, the fortunes of the family had declined by a considerable amount. [9] The last member of the family died in 1912, their fortunes being a thing of the past and surviving on a pension given by the British. [18]

Museum

Gate (main entrance) of the house of Jagat Seth GATE OF JAGAT SETH HOUSE - panoramio.jpg
Gate (main entrance) of the house of Jagat Seth
Sculpture at the Jagat Seth's house in Mahimapur, Murshidabad Standing Woman Statue - House Of Jagat Seth - Mahimapur - Murshidabad 2017-03-28 6163.JPG
Sculpture at the Jagat Seth's house in Mahimapur, Murshidabad

The house of the Jagat Seths, complete with a secret tunnel as well as an underground chamber, where illegal trade plans were hatched, has been converted into museum. House of Jagat Seth Museum was established in 1980. It is privately managed. It contains personal possessions of the Jagat Seth family including coins of the bygone era, muslin and other extravagant clothes, Banarasi sarees embroidered with gold and silver threads. [19]

Jain foot marks inside the temple within Jagat Seth's palace Jain Foot marks Inside Temple.jpg
Jain foot marks inside the temple within Jagat Seth's palace
Middle building with pool Middle Building With Pool - House Of Jagat Seth - Mahimapur - Murshidabad 2017-03-28 6164.JPG
Middle building with pool

According to the Archaeological Survey of India the house, temple and ruins associated with the memory of Jagat Seth's house at Mahimapur are State Protected Monuments (Item no S-WB-94). [20]

See also

Further reading

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Plassey</span> 1757 battle between Nawab of Bengal and British East India Company

The Battle of Plassey was a decisive victory of the British East India Company, under the leadership of Robert Clive, over the Nawab of Bengal and his French allies on 23 June 1757. Robert Clive was paid £1 million by the Jagat Seth family - a rich Indian family business group - to defeat Siraj-ud-Daulah. The victory was made possible by the defection of Mir Jafar, Nawab Siraj-ud-Daulah's commander in chief who was also paid by the Jagat Seths. The battle helped the British East India Company take control of Bengal in 1772. Over the next hundred years, they continued to expand their control over vast territories in the rest of the Indian subcontinent, including Burma.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siraj ud-Daulah</span> Last independent Nawab (ruler) of Bengal from 1756 to 1757

Mirza Muhammad Siraj-ud-Daulah, commonly known as Siraj-ud-Daulah or Siraj ud-Daula, was the last independent Nawab of Bengal. The end of his reign marked the start of the rule of the East India Company over Bengal and later almost all of the Indian subcontinent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Murshidabad</span> City in West Bengal

Murshidabad is a historical city in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is located on the eastern bank of the Bhagirathi River, a distributary of the Ganges. It forms part of the Murshidabad district.

Rajmahal is a subdivisional town and a notified area in Rajmahal subdivision of the Sahebganj district in the Indian state of Jharkhand. It is situated at the banks of Ganges and was former capital of Bengal Subah under Mughal governor, Man Singh I.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nawabs of Bengal</span> Rulers of Eastern India and Bengal in the 18th-century

The Nawab of Bengal was the hereditary ruler of Bengal Subah in Mughal India. In the early 18th-century, the Nawab of Bengal was the de facto independent ruler of the three regions of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa which constitute the modern-day sovereign country of Bangladesh and the Indian states of West Bengal, Bihar and Odisha. The Bengal Subah reached its peak during the reign of Nawab Shuja-ud-Din Muhammad Khan. They are often referred to as the Nawab of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa. The Nawabs were based in Murshidabad which was centrally located within Bengal, Bihar, and Odisha. Their chief, a former prime minister, became the first Nawab. The Nawabs continued to issue coins in the name of the Mughal Emperor, but for all practical purposes, the Nawabs governed as independent monarchs. Bengal continued to contribute the largest share of funds to the imperial treasury in Delhi. The Nawabs, backed by bankers such as the Jagat Seth, became the financial backbone of the Mughal court.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mir Jafar</span> 18th-century Nawab of Bengal

Mir Syed Jafar Ali Khan Bahadur was a commander-in-chief or military general who reigned as the first dependent Nawab of Bengal of the British East India Company. His reign has been considered by many historians as the start of the expansion of British control of the Indian subcontinent in Indian history and a key step in the eventual British domination of vast areas of pre-partition India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mir Qasim</span> Nawab of Bengal (reign 1760–1763)

Mir Qasim was the Nawab of Bengal from 1760 to 1763. He was installed as Nawab with the support of the British East India Company, replacing Mir Jafar, his father-in-law, who had himself been supported earlier by the East India Company after his role in winning the Battle of Plassey for the British. However, Mir Jafar eventually ran into disputes with the East India Company and attempted to form an alliance with the Dutch East India Company instead. The British eventually defeated the Dutch at Chinsura and overthrew Mir Jafar, replacing him with Mir Qasim. Qasim too later fell out with the British and fought against them at Buxar. His defeat has been suggested as a key reason in the British becoming the dominant power in large parts of North and East India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jiaganj Azimganj</span> City in West Bengal, India

Jiaganj Azimganj is a city and a municipality in Murshidabad district in the Indian state of West Bengal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alivardi Khan</span> Nawab of Bengal

Alivardi Khan was the fourth Nawab of Bengal from 1740 to 1756. He toppled the Nasiri dynasty of Nawabs by defeating Sarfaraz Khan in 1740 and assumed power himself.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sarfaraz Khan</span> Nawab of Bengal (1700–1740)

Sarfarāz Khān, born Mīrza Asadullāh, was a Nawab of Bengal. Sarfaraz Khan's maternal grandfather, Nawab Murshid Quli Khan of Bengal nominated him as the direct heir to him as there was no direct heir. After Murshid Quli's death in 1727, Sarfaraz ascended to the Masnad (throne) of the Nawab. Sarfaraz's father, Shuja-ud-Din Muhammad Khan, then the Subahdar of Orissa, getting to know it arrived at Murshidabad, the capital of the Nawabs of Bengal with a huge army. To avoid a conflict in the family the dowager Begum of the Nawab asked Shuja-ud-Din to ascend to the Masnad after Sarfaraz abdicated in favour of his father. However, circumstances led Shuja-ud-Din to nominate Sarfaraz as his heir and after Shuja-us-Din's death in 1739, Sarfaraz Khan again ascended to the Masnad as the Nawab of Bengal.

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References

  1. 1 2 3 "The Rise and Fall of the Jagat Sheths". Joseph Rozario. Marwar India, 12 June 2015. 12 June 2015. Retrieved 20 July 2021.
  2. 1 2 M. Rajivlochan (30 September 2020). Making India Great Again: Learning from Our History (EBook). Manohar. ISBN   9781000194463.
  3. 1 2 "Jagat Seth". The Week .
  4. 1 2 3 Silliman, Jael (28 December 2017). "Murshidabad can teach the rest of India how to restore heritage and market the past". Scroll.in. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
  5. ↑ Dalrymple, William (2019). The Anarchy. Great Britain: Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN   978-1-63557-395-4.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 William Dalrymple (12 November 2020). The Anarchy (EBook). Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 34. ISBN   9781526634016.
  7. ↑ Gopal, Surendra (2019). Jains in India: History Essays. Routledge.
  8. ↑ Ray, Aniruddha (2017). Towns and Cities of Medieval India. Routledge. p. 508.
  9. 1 2 3 4 Taknet, D. K.; IntegralDMS (22 July 2016). The Marwari Heritage. IntegralDMS. pp. 64–65. ISBN   978-1-942322-06-1.
  10. 1 2 3 4 Surendra Gopal (17 January 2019). Jains in India: Historical Essays (EBook). Taylor & Francis. ISBN   9780429537370.
  11. 1 2 3 Asher, Catherine B.; Talbot, Cynthia (2006). India Before Europe. Cambridge University Press. p. 282. ISBN   978-0-521-80904-7.
  12. ↑ "Murshidabad Tour Guide – beyond Hazar Duari". 11. House of Jagat Seth and Pareshnath Temple. Offbeat Untold. 19 November 2019. Retrieved 20 June 2021.
  13. ↑ Michael S. Moss; Anthony Slaven (1998). Eugenia Núñez, Clara (ed.). Entrepreneurial Networks and Business Culture (in English and French). Universidad de Sevilla. p. 96. ISBN   9788447204441.
  14. ↑ foundation, Temple of India (10 August 2018). Bengal – India's Rebellious Spirit. Notion Press. ISBN   978-1-64324-746-5.
  15. ↑ The Calcutta Review. University of Calcutta. 1874. p. 97. Retrieved 4 April 2017.
  16. ↑ Banu, U. A. B. Razia Akter (1992). Islam in Bangladesh. BRILL. p. 26. ISBN   90-04-09497-0.
  17. ↑ Ray, Rajatkanta (1994). Palashir Sharajantra O Sekaler Samaj.
  18. ↑ The Rise and Fall of the Jagat Sheths | Marwar. 23 November 2021. Archived from the original on 23 November 2021.
  19. ↑ "House of Jagat Seth Museum". Museums of India. Archived from the original on 26 November 2021. Retrieved 20 July 2021.
  20. ↑ List of State Protected Monuments as reported by the Archaeological Survey of India Archived 2013-05-23 at the Wayback Machine .
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