About this Event
This research examines the transformation of political authority in Bengal through the changing status of the Nawabs of Murshidabad between 1750 and 1850. Rather than viewing the Battle of Plassey (1757) as an abrupt rupture, it explores colonial transition as a gradual process of negotiation, adaptation, and redefinition. The appointment of a British Resident in 1765, the transfer of the capital to Calcutta in 1772, the Regulating Act (1773), and the Permanent Settlement (1793) progressively reduced the Nawabs from sovereign rulers to ceremonial elites. Yet Murshidabad remained an important site where authority, legitimacy, and courtly identity continued to be negotiated. Drawing on archival records, Persian and Bengali chronicles, paintings, architecture, travel accounts, and official documents, the project investigates how diplomacy, revenue reforms, courtly consumption, and ceremonial practices reshaped ideas of sovereignty under colonial rule. It also highlights the often-overlooked role of the Begams and the Nawabi household in sustaining courtly traditions amid political decline. By placing Murshidabad at the centre of Bengal's colonial transition, the research demonstrates that the erosion of Nawabi power was not an immediate collapse but a complex process through which political authority and cultural legitimacy were continually reimagined.
About the Speaker:
Arunima Chakraborty is a PhD candidate and Senior Research Fellow in the Department of History at Jadavpur University, Kolkata. Her research focuses on court culture, politics, and the transformation of Nawabi authority in early colonial Bengal, and she is the recipient of the Charles Wallace India Trust Fellowship (2026–2027).
Event venue & nearby stays
Paul Webley Wing (Senate House), WOLFSON Lecture Theatre, SOAS University of London, 10 Thornhaugh Street, London, United Kingdom
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