Akarshan by Sachindranath Mondal [Hardcover]

Clive admitted that when his 2,400 soldiers went from Plassey to the capital Murshidabad without any resistance, many common people stood as silent spectators. Clive stated that if these people had risen against his soldiers with even a stick, it would have been impossible for him to conquer Bengal. But why did everyone turn away from Siraj? Regarding Siraj's character, the historian of the time, Ghulam Hussain, wrote in his book "Sayar-ul-Mutakhareen," "Siraj was a ruler driven by greed, debauchery, and cruelty." Charles Samuel in his Bengal in 1756-1757 and Doddwell in Oxford History of India have extensively documented the various incidents of Siraj's tyranny. At times, Siraj would deliberately sink boats and enjoy the cries of the people in the middle of the river while sitting on the riverbank. On other occasions, he would cut open the bellies of pregnant women to satisfy his unknown curiosity. Nineteenth-century Bengali scholars Bhola Nath Chandra and Akshay Kumar Maitra mention that Siraj would look at young women bathing in the Ganges with lustful eyes, and whenever he wished, he would capture them, satisfy his desires, and kill them if they disobeyed. There was no justice to be found. The French merchant of Kashim Bazar, Monsieur Ja La, in his memoirs, said, "Siraj was the most cruel young man of all time, skilled in every kind of debauchery."