The Trial Of The Maharaja

By Debleena Majumdar

The true account of the first Judicial Murder in British India
1775: British East India Company had won the battles of Plassey and Buxar. Their devastating tax measures and government machinery led to the Great Bengal Famine. Even as the masses struggled for survival, the Company was on a steady path towards maximizing profits and becoming the undisputed rulers of Bengal.
Maharaja Nanda Kumar was an influential landowner in Bengal, who had been put in charge for revenue collection by the Company. He stumbled upon the elaborate game of money laundering and corruption with one man behind it all – Warren Hastings.
Nanda Kumar decided to expose him and their battle of wits led to a historic eight-day Supreme Court trial. Its ripples reached London, leading to impeachment trials of two affluent British officers.
Read The Trial of the Maharaja to know what happened when a brave Indian Maharaja stood up against the British authority. This real-life historical drama shows one man’s fight against men in power, for the love of his land and countrymen.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Srishti Publishers
• Release date: Oct 15, 2022
• ISBN: 9789390441259

Book preview

The fearless Indian King who exposed the British

DEBLEENA MAJUMDAR

An imprint of

Srishti Publishers & Distributors

Srishti Publishers & Distributors

A unit of AJR Publishing LLP

212A, Peacock Lane

Shahpur Jat, New Delhi – 110 049

[e-mail]

First published by Bold,

an imprint of Srishti Publishers & Distributors in 2022

Copyright © Debleena Majumdar, 2022

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

This is a work of non-fiction, based on the author’s thorough research of Indian history. Some events have been fictionalised for dramatic effect. While due care has been taken to verify all information at press time, any inadvertent miss brought to notice shall be updated in the subsequent editions.

The author asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the Publishers.

For my parents, who discovered my love for history early on, and then encouraged me to study Math, first. They knew that this day was coming, when I go back to my first love, through writing.

For my husband, whose unending collection of non-fiction books on one side and shorter pile of the books that he loved and completed reading, on the other hand, led me to ask the question – what made the cut? Turns out it was authentic storytelling, to simplify deep topics. So, we know who to blame for that inspiration.

And for my daughter, who has always, unfailingly read everything I have written and also given me (mostly) constructive feedback. I promise to torture her with more writing in the days to come.

Acknowledgements

This book would not have been possible, first and foremost, without the support of my dynamic guide and literary agent, Mr Suhail Mathur, of The Book Bakers literary agency. His early belief in me, and his constant encouragement and guidance were invaluable in shaping this book.

My heartfelt gratitude to my brilliant publishing team at Srishti Publishers, especially to Arup Bose and Stuti Gupta, who have been fabulous partners in this journey, right from the idea to the execution. At every step, their thoughtful suggestions have made the publishing and editing process a joy to navigate, while their proactive support has transformed this book into a thoroughly collaborative experience.

Since my childhood, I loved history and dreamt of becoming an archaeologist who would dig her way into the lost civilizations. Though I chose a profession where digging the data would become my forte, history always remained my first love. I kept reading and researching the unknown facets of history in my free time. With this book, I re-discovered my enduring passion for the subject and I am forever grateful to Mr Suhail Mathur and my publishing team for the opportunity.

Writing this book indeed involved digging into a lot of historical research and I would like to thank all the people who have delved into different aspects of lives of people during the period I have been researching. Their books, articles, blogs and interviews were my guide to the creation of a multi-hued tapestry of a long-lost world and I have documented each source and reference towards the end of this book.

Thank you to my teachers, who instilled in me the love for history and research and my mentors at work, who taught me the benefits of structured thinking. A healthy dose of both was required in bringing this book to fruition.

And, of course, I would like to thank my family. They patiently endured my lost-in-research-and-writing weekends and cheerfully helped me during this journey, even tapping their feet to the Maharaja Nanda Kumar song I created to nudge myself to the finishing line.

And finally, this is an unforgettable story of two men whose interconnected lives during a complicated period in our history and whose unlikely and escalating battle had a momentous impact, at many levels, personal and political. I am honoured to get a chance to tell this story.

Meet the Key Characters and their Motivations

Maharaja Nanda Kumar: The key protagonist of this story-the Revenue Officer of Bengal, who held a series of prestigious posts, working with the Nawab of Murshidabad and the British. He was given the title of Maharaja by the Mughal Emperor, Shah Alam II. In this story, we meet him as the man who stood up against the all-encompassing power of the British and its chief, Warren Hastings.

Warren Hastings: The Governor General of India. The man who had first come to India as a young officer for the East India Company and then rose to reach key positions of power. He was the most powerful Britisher in India during the time of the story and was also the man who faced off Maharaja Nanda Kumar in an escalating battle of wits and power.

Judge Impey: The newly-appointed Chief Justice in the first criminal case of the Supreme Court of India. Though he was new to India, he had an old connection in the country. What was the connection and was justice really served?

The other Supreme Court judges: LeMaistre, Hyde, Chambers. Their judgments and decisions would add volume to the story. Specifically, the notes left behind by Judge Hyde said a lot about the events of the time.

Philip Francis: Supreme Council member and the man whose long enmity with Hastings would play a key role in the story. It would lead, over time, to one criminal trial, one bitterly fought duel, and even two impeachments.

Other Council Members: Monson, Clavering and Barwell. Each of them had their own wills and battles to fight. Their loyalties and their enmities played into the dynamics of our main characters. How would that influence the story?

Lord Clive: The sharp military leader whose battle-wins gave early power and glory to the British. He had been at the helm of the British affairs in India prior to Hastings. It would be interesting to know about his equation with Maharaja Nanda Kumar and how that led to the story.

Bolaqi Das: The man who had served as the banker for Mir Qasim. The story of his money and the journey of its recovery is the link to the tale of the trial of Maharaja Nanda Kumar.

Mohan Prasad: The man who accused Maharaja Nanda Kumar of forgery of a bond. Was there something hidden behind his story?

Padma Mohan, Kista Jiban, Ganga Vishnu: The people involved in the story of Bolaqi Das and of Mohan Prasad. What role did they play during the trial?

Munni Begum: An erstwhile dancer and the favourite wife of Mir Jafar. What message was conveyed in her letter and how did it start the entire chain of events?

James Augustus Hicky: An irrepressible Irish journalist in India. Did he get to tell the real story?

Catherine Grand: A beautiful lady in Calcutta, whose story had an important impact on the actions that would be taken by one of the characters in the book.

Lord North, Edmund Burke: Away from the heart of the story, the men in Britain who shaped a key arc in the story. What actions did they take later?

The Nawabs: Nawab Siraj ud-Daula, Nawab Mir Jafar, Nawab Mir Qasim. Much has been talked about their battles with the British. In this story, they played the side characters as the flow of money took centre stage, and through it, the story of Maharaja Nanda Kumar and his battle of wits with Hastings evolved.

Despite the story being such a turning point in the rule of the British in India, little is known even today about Maharaja Nanda Kumar apart from the fragments pieced together from various sources, which often contradict each other. As already mentioned that this book is about his fight with the British, and specifically with Warren Hastings, we have given voice to Maharaja Nanda Kumar, through an imagined first person account. That tells his side of the story and appears in the book every few chapters, apart from the third person account that takes the story forward.

A Brief Timeline of Events

1

The Language of Money

In the voice of Maharaja Nanda Kumar

If once upon a time meant three centuries ago, then indeed this story could start with that old cliché – once upon a time. But instead, let me ask you one question, dear reader – If you could imagine the eighteenth century Bengal, what would you think of first?

Some of you might think of the battles that history books talk of! Battles which were pivotal in changing the course of history. Perhaps, in your mind you would conjure up the images of the Battle of Plassey, where rain and treachery played a dangerous mix, forever cementing the fate of the recently appointed Nawab Siraj ud-Daulah or the Battle of Buxar, which led to the defeat of Nawab Mir Qasim.

Each of these battles was lost to the British. Some of you would be thinking of the role of the British at that time. How they had insidiously shapeshifted from being traders who tried to get a trading license by meeting with the Mughal Emperors during their early days in the country, to becoming the real powers-that-be and the centres of money and intrigue.

Maybe, a few of you might remember hearing of the famine that had ravaged through the land. Bengal saw a terrible famine outbreak during this time and the real reasons for it shocked many. The emaciated faces, the apathy of some in power – it was a dreadful sight to see for those living through it.

You might have heard or read about all that and more. Chances are, unless you have been a very serious student of history, you might not have heard of me – Nanda Kumar, or as some of the Britishers called me, Nuncomar. Or even Nundocomar. Yet, if I can say so myself, I did play a key role in the events that unfolded in Bengal during that time. In particular, my name would be inexorably linked with the name and the memories of Warren Hastings – the Governor General of India and the most powerful of all the British in the country. How did that happen?

Well, for that, let me first take you further back in time. I was born in the year 1705. My home was in a small town called Bhadrapur in Birbhum, West Bengal. If you had travelled there to some of the villages, you would find the red roads leading you down picturesque paths and spot the pottery that the talented craftsmen made. I was born to Padmalabh Rai and my ancestry dated right back to Ram Gopal Rai. My great grandfather, Gopal Rai, had married into the influential family of Mathura Majumdar.

My grandfather was Chandicharan Rai. I had a son, Gordass, and a daughter, Sumani.¹ It was an illustrious family, across many generations.

I grew up learning Sanskrit and Arabic along with Vaishnava. Learning was easy for me, but money was the language that I understood early. And that early knowledge of money shaped into my career. Of course, it brought me in close contact with both the Nawabs and the British, the