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| House of Jagat Seth,Murshidabad, WB tbsnews.net |
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| House of Jagat, Bengal Province tbsnews.net |
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| House of Jagat Seth, tbsnews.net |
Do you know in Bengal province, 300 years ago, when EIC was trying to grab the land, the finance sector was meticulously controlled by a single man named Jagat Seth?
The arrival of Robert Clive of East India company from its Madras branch to Calcutta in the mid 1700s to tackle the belligerent Nawab of Bengal Siraj-ud daulah (1733 -1757) who took possession of Ft. William, had impacted severely the political scenario in Bengal. As ill fate would have it, Jagat, became a victim of murky political game hatched by the East India Company led by Robert Clive and William Watts. EIC had an eye on the rich province and was keen to possess it. Jagat Seth got a bad name as one of the masterminds of hatching the Plassey conspiracy - to dispose of Siraj, shaking hands with conspirators Mir Jafar and the British imperialists. Unfortunately, Jagat Seth and his associates due to this misadventure, were less recognised by the descendants for their excellence in trade and banking. Jagat Seth emerged as successful bankers at a time when there was no conventional banking system in the subcontinent. The family of traders controlled half of Bengal's economy and became the financial advisor to the nawabs.
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| Jagat Seth's palace, Murshidabad, WB shutterstock |
Above image: Home of Jagat Seth, Murshidabad, W.B. Beyond Hazarduari Palace and its 1,000 doors. Jagat Seth's palatial home attracted countless rich people for his advice and guidance in matters related to finance and banking. He was insanely rich beyond comprehension.......
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| Jaigarh Seth of Bengal indiatimes.com |
The family's prosperity reached its zenith during the time of Fateh Chand. However, the family's legacy was set out by Hirand Sahu, who turned into a money lender from a jeweler after travelling all the way from Naguar to Patna in search of a better living. Hirand, a great financial manager during his time in Patna, a prosperous city and an important business hub because of its busy riverways used for trade became successful.
Fateh Chand had surpassed all his predecessors in extensive networking and expertise in financial and banking matters. Emperor Ruler Mahmud Shah conferred upon him the title of Jagat Seth – banker of the world for his extensive hundi network, monopoly in the currency business and acumen in complex banking operations.
From minting, selling and purchasing bullions, collecting revenue and remittances, and dealing with foreign traders, to controlling exchange rates and lending to emperors and zamindars, Jagat Seth, became a financial wizard and popular among the rich people and Amirs in Bengal. His palatial house was ever busy functioning like the central bank of that time.Even the British company used to borrow money from him to meet contingency.
Jagat Seth's estate was considered the king's treasure and he prospered and expanded his dominance over Bengal, Bihar and Orissa regions so rapidly that his family was compared to that of the Rothschilds in Europe. Jagat Seth's House was even compared to the Bank of England. The power and influence he exercised was believed to be enormous, second to that of the nawab. The nawabs had to take his advice on every important decision and expenditure.
Though the title of Jagat Seth was bestowed on Fateh Chand, his later generations were also referred to by this title. Describing their riches, Historian Ghulam Hussain Khan wrote, "Their wealth was such that there is no mentioning it without appearing to exaggerate and deal in extravagant fables." A Bengali poet wrote, "As the Ganges pours its water into the sea by a hundred mouths, so wealth has flowed into the treasury of the Sheths."
In addition to financial expertise, the family's political instincts were sharp.They had the power to put someone on the throne and remove them. As it was a flourishing time for Bengal's trade and export, the Dutch, English, French, and Armenians came to Bengal for business and the export trade was centrally controlled by Fateh Chand.
In 1722, during Fateh Chand's dominance, there was a currency crisis. The scarcity of silver coins led to a man-made famine which put thousands of people on the verge of death. In such a situation, Fateh Chand, in an agreement with the emperor, distributed hundi from his Delhi trading house. This hundi was treated the same as silver coins. Over the time many nawabs came and left but the influence of Jagat Seth's family continued to grow.
During the Bargi invasion, they carried away three to four crore Arakan coins with them as their bounty. This was 30 to 40 million rupees of that time but the large amount did not deter the great Sheths from conducting their business.
Even the East India Company used Jagat Seth 's credit facilities. It is believed that between 1718 and 1730, the imperialist company borrowed, on average, Rs.400,000 annually from the Jagat Seth family, as mentioned by William Dalrymple in his book "The Anarchy."
Understanding the mutual benefits of an alliance with Jagat Seths, the East India Company befriended Jagth. When Siraj-ud-doula came into power, he began to alienate the Jagat Seths, who had long been the advisors of the nawabs. This angered Jagath. To remove Siraj from power, Jagat Seths in collusion with Mir Jafar, a dissident Amir and a relative of Siraj sold the country to the East Indian Company through conspiracy. However, the act of treachery and disloyalty to their own country eventually brought about the great Jagat Seths' downfall.
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| Pinrest.com |
After Mir Jafar, his successor Mir Qasim ordered the assassination of the two Seth brothers, ending the luminous chapter of power and influence of the Jagat Seths in Bengal. A wrong move by Jagath Seth pushed him to a disgraceful status and finally to his death.
https://tbsnews.net/feature/jagat-seth-bengal-banker-world-41777
https://www.indiatimes.com/trending/social-relevance/jagat-seth-richest-family-of-bengal-565339.html
https://www.navrangindia.in/2020/09/jagat-seth-banker-to-nawabs-and-english.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jagat_Seth
https://murshidabad.net/history/history-topic-jagat-seth.html
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