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Updated: May 5, 2025
Aliverdi Khan had always been extremely jealous of allowing the European nations to erect any fortifications, but, during his last illness, all of them, expecting a contested succession, during which, owing to complications in Europe, they might find themselves at war with each other in India, began to repair their old walls or to erect new ones. This was exactly what Siraj-ud-daula wanted.
It was necessary for him to be supported by some one who had his confidence and was capable by his own firmness of fixing the irresolution of the Prince. "Mohan Lal, chief Diwan of Siraj-ud-daula, was this man, the greatest scoundrel the earth has ever borne, worthy minister of such a master, and yet, in truth, the only person who was really attached to him.
Forced by Mir Jafar and the English to flee to a foreign country, he would have been a burden to us rather than an assistance. "In India no one knows what it is to stand by an unfortunate man. The first idea which suggests itself is to plunder him of the little which remains to him. Besides, a character like that of Siraj-ud-daula could nowhere find a real friend."
We have seen in a previous chapter the real reasons why Law was unable to rejoin Siraj-ud-daula in time for the battle. "I now saw that a junction with him had become impossible, unless I determined to run the most evident risk of losing my liberty and all I had."
"Siraj-ud-daula was one of the richest Nawabs that had ever reigned. Without mentioning his revenues, of which he gave no account at the Court of Delhi, he possessed immense wealth, both in gold and silver coin, and in jewels and precious stones, which had been left by the preceding three Nawabs. In spite of this he thought only of increasing his wealth.
The Seths and the English had long found the chief difficulty in their way to be the choice of a man of sufficient distinction to replace Siraj-ud-daula on the throne. At this moment the Nawab himself gave them as a leader Mir Jafar Ali Khan, who had married the sister of Aliverdi Khan, and was therefore a relative of his.
Siraj-ud-daula, who was informed by his spies which of them were beautiful, sent his satellites in disguise in little boats to carry them off.
Then, as now, the difficulty of dealing with native agents was to induce these agents to express their own opinions frankly and clearly. So far from the English Chief being corrected by his wakil, we find the latter, whilst applying to other nobles for patronage and assistance, studiously refraining from making any application to Siraj-ud-daula when English business had to be transacted at Court.
"the best informed were the bankers and merchants, who by their commercial correspondence had been in a position to learn many things. The house of Jagat Seth, for instance, was likely to help the English all the more because to its knowledge of them it joined several causes of complaint against Siraj-ud-daula. Up to the death of Aliverdi Khan it had always enjoyed the greatest respect.
Watts's expectations, Aliverdi Khan's last acts so smoothed the way for Siraj-ud-daula, and the latter acted with such decision and promptitude on his grandfather's death, that in an incredibly short time he had all his enemies at his feet, and was at leisure to attend to state business, and especially the affairs of the foreign Settlements.
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