Murshid Quli Khan

Murshid Quli Khan(c.1660 – 30 June 1727), also known asMohammad Hadi, (and according to some writers he was born asSurya Narayan Mishra), was the firstNawab of Bengal, serving from 1717 to 1727.
According to some writers, he was born a Hindu in theDeccan Plateauc.1670, Murshid Quli Khan was bought by Mughal noble Haji Shafi. After Shafi's death, he worked under theDivanofVidarbha, during which time he piqued the attention of the then-emperorAurangzeb, who sent him toBengalas the divanc.1700. However, he entered into a bloody conflict with the province'ssubahdar,Azim-us-Shan. After Aurangzeb's death in 1707, he was transferred to the Deccan Plateau by Azim-us-Shan's father the Mughal EmperorBahadur Shah I. However, he was brought back as deputysubahdarin 1710. In 1717, he was appointed as theNawab Nazimof Murshidabad byFarrukhsiyar. During his reign, he changed thejagirdarisystem (land management) to themal jasmani,which would later transform into thezamindarisystem. He also continued sending revenues from the state to theMughal Empire. He received various titles from the Mughal emperors such as Kārtalab Khān, Murshid Quli Khān, Jafar Khān and Mutamin al-Mulk Ála' al-Dauläh Jafar Khān Nasiri Nasir Jang Bahadur successively. He built theKatra Masjidmosque atMurshidabadwhere he was buried under the staircase after his death on 30 June 1727. He was succeeded by his son-in-law Shuja ud Din Muhammad Khan.
According toSir Jadunath Sarkar, Murshid Quli Khan was originally aHinduand named as Surya Narayan Mishra, born inDeccanc.1670.The bookMa'asir al-umarasupports this statement.At the age of around ten years, he was sold to a Persian named Haji Shafi who circumcised him,and raised him with the name Mohammad Hadi.Inc.1690, Shafi left his position in the Mughal court and returned to Persia accompanied by Murshid Quli Khan. About five years after Shafi's death, Murshid returned to India and worked under Abdullah Khurasani, the Diwan ofVidarbhain the Mughal Empire. Due to his expertise in revenue matters, he was noticed by Mughal EmperorAurangzeband played an important role when applying theshariabased Fatwa Alamgiri's financial strategies.
Unlike other Islamic rulers, Murshid Quli Khan had only one wife, Nasiri Banu Begum, and no concubines. He had three children, two daughters and one son. One of his daughters became the wife ofNawabShuja-ud-Din Muhammad Khanand mother ofSarfaraz Khan.
Aurangzeb appointed Quli Khan the Diwan of Bengalc.1700. At that time,Azim-us-Shan, a grandson of the Mughal emperor, was thesubahdarof the province. He was not pleased at this appointment as he intend to use the revenue collected from the state to fund his campaign to occupy the Mughal throne after Aurangzeb's death.Immediately after being appointed to the post, Quli Khan went to Jahangirnagar (present dayDhaka) and transferred officials from the service of Azim-us-Shan to himself, enraging Azim-us-Shan.
Azim-us-Shan planned to assassinate Quli Khan. Taking advantage of the fact the soldiers had yet to be paid, he convinced them that Quli Khan was responsible for the situation. He planned to have them surround Quli Khan on the pretext of confronting him over non-payment of their wages, and he would then be stabbed.
One morning when Quli Khan was going to meet Azim-us-Shan, soldiers, under the leadership of Abdul Wahid, surrounded him and asked him for their wages. But, according to Historian Chowdhury, Quli Khan knew that us-Shan was responsible for inciting the soldiers,so he said to them: "You have conspired to assassinate me. Remember that theAlamgir(Aurangzeb) will come to know everything. Abstain from doing such things, as it is a way of showing disrespect to the emperor. Be careful! If you kill me, then you will face dire consequences."
Azim-us-Shan was extremely worried Quli Khan knew of his assassination plans and was fearful of Aurangzeb's reaction. Quli Khan behaved as if he knew nothing of the plan assuring us-Shan they would remain friends in the future. However, he wrote about the matter to Aurangzeb, who in turn sent a letter to us-Shan warning him that if Quli Khan was "harmed, then he would take revenge on him".
Quli Khan felt unsafe in Dhaka, so he moved thediwanioffice to Mukshudabad.He said that he relocated the office since Mukshudabad was situated in the central part of Bengal, making it easy to communicate throughout the province. As the city was on the banks of the Ganges, European trading companies had also set up their bases there. Quli Khan thought that it would be easy for him to keep a vigil over their actions. He also relocated the bankers to the new city. Azim-us-Shan felt betrayed as this was done without his permission. Historian Chowdhury says that Quli Khan was able to do this because he had the "support" of Aurangzeb.A year later, in 1703, Aurangzeb transferred us-Shan from Bengal toBiharandFarrukhsiyarwas made the titularsubahdarof the province. Thesubahoffice was then relocated to Mukshudabad. The city became a centre for all activities of the region.
Quli Khan went toBijapurto meet Aurangzeb, and to give him the revenue which was generated from the province. The emperor was happy with his work and gifted him clothes, flags,nagra,and a sword. He also gave him the title of Murshid Quli and gave him permission to rename the cityMurshidabad(the city of Murshid Quli Khan), which he did when he returned to it.
When the city was renamed is disputed by historians.Sir Jadunath Sarkarsays that he was given the title on 23 December 1702, and his return to the city would have taken at least three months; so Mukshudabad was renamed in 1703.But according to the newspaperTarikh-i-Bangla,and Persian historian Riwaz-us-Salatin, the city was renamed inc.1704. Chowdhury opines that this "might be the correct date" as the representative of theBritish East Indian CompanyinOrissaprovince met Quli Khan in early 1704. The fact that the first coins issued in Murshidabad are dated 1704 is strong evidence of the year of the name change.
Until the death of Aurangzeb in 1707, all the powers of thesubahdarwere vested in the hands of Quli Khan. He was succeeded by Azim-us-Shan's fatherBahadur Shah I. He reappointed his son as thesubahdarof the province and made Quli Khan his deputy. Azim-us-Shan influenced his father to throw Quli Khan out of the province. As a result, he was appointed the Diwan of Deccan in 1708, and served in the post until 1709.
But, in 1710, Quli Khan was brought back as thediwan(revenue officer) of the province on the advice of us-Shan. According to Sarkar, he did so to form an allegiance with him, as he thought that it would be impossible to occupy the Delhi throne without the support of local nobility. Though he was brought back, his relationship with the Mughal prince remained stained.
Shah was succeeded byJahandar Shahin 1712, (27 February 1712 – 11 February 1713) and he was followed by Farrukhsiyar in 1713. In 1717,he gave Quli Khan the title of Zafar Khan and made him the Subahdar of Bengal, thus holding both the post ofsubahdaranddiwanat the same time. He declared himself the Nawab of Bengal and became the first independentnawabof the province.The capital was shifted from Dhaka to Murshidabad.
Quli Khan replaced the Mughaljagirdarisystem with themal jasmanisystem, which was similar to France'sfermiers generals. He took security bonds from the contractors orijardaarswho later collected the land revenue. Though at first there remained manyjagirdars, they were shortly squeezed out by the contractors, who later came to be known aszamindars.
Quli Khan continued his policy of sending part of the revenue collected to the Mughal Empire. He did so even when the empire was in decline with the emperor vesting no power, as the power became concentrated in the hands of kingmakers. He justified his action by saying that it would be impossible to run the Mughal Empire without the revenue he sent. Historian Chowdhury says that his real reason was to show his loyalty to the Mughal Emperor so that he could run the state according to his own wishes.
Records show that every year 1 crore 30 lakh rupees was sent as the revenue to the Mughal emperor. Besides money revenue was also paid in kind.Quli Khan himself used to carry the money and other forms of revenue with theinfantryand thecavalrytoBiharwhere they were given to the Mughal collector.
With Murshidabad evolving as the capital ofBengal, it became necessary for Quli Khan to build buildings and offices for work to be carried out from that city. In the Dugharia region of the city he built a palace, adiwankhana("office of revenue collection", a court of exchequer). He also built an inn and a mosque for foreign travellers. He constructed a mint in the city in 1720.In the eastern end of the city he built theKatra Masjidmosque in 1724 where he was buried after his death.
During Quli Khan's reign  the people of the Murshidabad used to participate in many festivals. One of them was thePunyahwhich occurred in the last week of the Bengali month ofChaitra. Thezamindars,or their representatives, took part in it. However, the festival which was celebrated with the greatest pomp and grandeur wasMawlidthe festival to celebrate the birth of the Islamic prophetMuhammad. During Mawlid people from neighbouring provinces came to the city to celebrate. On Quli Khan's orderchiragor lamps were lit in all religious places such as mosques, andimambararas.
Quli Khan also imitated the Mughal tradition of holding adurbarin the city which was attended by the city's bankers, foreign tourists, and European companies' representatives. Because of the increase in trade, a new class of businessmen arose who also attended hisdurbar. Due to his pious nature, Quli Khan followedIslamstrictly and, according to Islamic rules, visitors were fed twice a day.
The city used to be a major exporter ofriceacross India butc.1720, Quli Khan prohibited all export of rice.Chowdhury says that the condition of Hindus during his reign was "also good" as "they became more rich". Though Quli Khan was a Muslim, Hindus were employed in the tax department primarily because he thought they were experts in the field; they could also speak fluentPersian.
Quli Khan died on 30 June 1727.He was succeeded initially by his grandsonSarfaraz Khan. But his son-in-lawShuja-ud-Din Muhammad Khandid not accept the succession, and planned to fight a war against him. Khan gave up without a fight  and Shuja-ud-Din became the nawab in 1727.Sarfaraz would ascend the throne after his father's death in 1739 only to be defeated and replaced byAlivardi Khanin 1740.
Quli Khan remains buried under the stairs to the main-floor ofKatra Masjid—a five-bayed rectangular mosque constructed by himself—pursuant to his wishes.Popular belief holds the mosque to have been constructed of material obtained upon destruction of several Hindu temples and residences;however, it is unlikely since the mosque shows an uniformity of material and Khan used to be an active patron of local temples.