Forbidden history: Black hole tragedy - The hoax up on which the British conquered India
Most of us would have read about the Black hole tragedy in primary school. But have we been taught the real facts? Read on.
The story:
In 1752, four years before he died, the Nawab of Bengal, Alivardi Khan, declared his grandson Siraj ud-Daulah as his successor. When the Nawab died of dropsy in 1756, there was a clash for power between Siraj ud-Daulah, his maternal aunt, his cousin and his uncle Mir Jafar (then paymaster of the army who later became the Nawab of Bengal). By then, the British East India Company had already established its presence in India and was expanding its military capabilities in the country, foreseeing a french offensive. Fearing such an eventuality, they backed Mir Jafar to take the throne over Siraj ud-Daulah who they perceived would align with the French. This along with the growing power of the British and the never ending expansion of forces in the region did not go well with Siraj ud-Daulah who thought the British were planning to overthrow him. In his desperation, he attacked Fort William in Calcutta on June 20, 1756 and captured a certain number(varies between 43 to 146) of British soldiers as prisoners.
Black hole:
Black hole was a term used to refer a English-controlled military prison in the 18th century. So, it is not a symbolic name(a black hole is astronomy is something in space out of which nothing escapes) attributed to the event, rather it refers to the tragedy that happened inside a prison. In modern times, the name has been used fallaciously by the "No-Window" theorists to stake their claims.
Survivour accounts:
Strangely for a tragedy of such magnitude, no written official reports from the period exist today. And the whole story has been based on the account of one survivour, a John Zephaniah Holwell, who is considered as one of the 23 survivours of the tragedy.
According to Holwell, a surgeon by profession, he and 145 others from Fort William were captured by Siraj ud-Daulah's men when the fort fell and on the nawab's orders, were locked up in a small cell(again the size of the cell has been debated) with only two windows that were grated with iron bars. The windows offered little in terms of ventilation and the fire that was raging elsewhere in the fort made breathing difficult. The British soldiers tried to bribe the guards to find a larger room but without any success. By 9PM, one hour after they were forced into the of 275 sq.ft. dungeon, men started suffocating. By 11PM, they began to die in masses. Fearing death, others started fighting among themselves to get near the windows. The stampede and the scuffle that ensued killed the weak. It was not before six in the morning, the nawab woke up from his sleep and ordered the doors be opened. Out of the 146 that were locked up, only 23 survived and all of them were semiconscious. Holwell also claimed that the nawab showed no signs of sympathy after the men were released. However, he does not blame the nawab for the tragedy, instead he claims that it was the doing of lowly officers who were simply negligent. Later, he and three others were sent to prison while others were freed after the nawab made a pact with Robert Clive, the governor of Bengal.
Out of the 23 survivors, a few others were interviewed too. However, none of their stories matched with Holwell's account and had inconsistencies in the number of the men that were captured, the size of the rooms and the number of windows in the room. Over the years, these stories have lost their shine and faded under the glitter of Holwell's account.
Consequences:
It is not an overstatement to say that the black hole tragedy laid the foundation for British rule in India. When the news of this terrible event reached England, it gave the English a message of Indian oppression and intolerance. The British East India Company was reinforced with personnel and was given the permission to dethrone Siraj ud-Daulah. Under Robert Clive and Admiral Charles Watson, a vast British force moved to Calcutta from Madras. The force downed Siraj ud-Daulah in the Battle of Plassey and captured Calcutta. The French who came to Siraj ud-Daulah's rescue were also routed. Mir Jafar who betrayed Siraj ud-Daulah by preventing his army from taking part in the battle was made the nawab of Bengal. He paid Britain a compensation for the black hole tragedy and allowed his land to be taxed by the British. Soon, East India company started taxing other lands under their control. Thus, the black hole tragedy truly marks the accession of Britain in India.
Conspiracies:
In recent times, it has been widely accepted that the number of men who died in Fort William's black hole was much lesser than 146. Historians and researchers have pointed out the holes in Holwell's account such as the following:
- Holwell named 123 men and women that he claimed died in the black hole. Fort William declared that it was only missing 43 men after Siraj ud-Daulah's offensive.
- Holwell claimed that the black hole was a 18*14 room. The other survivours claimed that it was much larger than that. The biggest of which was 22*18 (more than 140 sq.ft. large).
- Holwell claimed that the black hole had two grated windows. Others spoke of no or one window.
Historians have also pointed out at how Holwell was forthcoming with the story of the tragedy in which he plays the hero when none of his alleged survivours spoke out for a long time and the ones who came out had little to no memory of the incident. Some of them claim that the incident never happened and it was a conspiracy hatched by Robert Clive, Holwell and others to satisfy their own aspirations. After the Battle of Plassey, Robert Clive became a star in Britain and was the governor of Bengal for the next three years. After Clive's reign, Holwell served in the post for a brief period. After his return to Britain, he authored various articles and books on the black hole tragedy in all of which he portrayed himself as not only a survivour, but also a hero.
Conclusion:
It has been over 250 years since the black hole tragedy happened and all the means to establish the truth have been lost. All men involved directly or indirectly are dead. No official reports exist. The fort itself - along with the black hole - has been razed down and reconstructed. One thing is certain though. India was slaved under Britain for over 200 years and the Black hole served as the whip.
The story:
In 1752, four years before he died, the Nawab of Bengal, Alivardi Khan, declared his grandson Siraj ud-Daulah as his successor. When the Nawab died of dropsy in 1756, there was a clash for power between Siraj ud-Daulah, his maternal aunt, his cousin and his uncle Mir Jafar (then paymaster of the army who later became the Nawab of Bengal). By then, the British East India Company had already established its presence in India and was expanding its military capabilities in the country, foreseeing a french offensive. Fearing such an eventuality, they backed Mir Jafar to take the throne over Siraj ud-Daulah who they perceived would align with the French. This along with the growing power of the British and the never ending expansion of forces in the region did not go well with Siraj ud-Daulah who thought the British were planning to overthrow him. In his desperation, he attacked Fort William in Calcutta on June 20, 1756 and captured a certain number(varies between 43 to 146) of British soldiers as prisoners.
Black hole:
Black hole was a term used to refer a English-controlled military prison in the 18th century. So, it is not a symbolic name(a black hole is astronomy is something in space out of which nothing escapes) attributed to the event, rather it refers to the tragedy that happened inside a prison. In modern times, the name has been used fallaciously by the "No-Window" theorists to stake their claims.
Survivour accounts:
Strangely for a tragedy of such magnitude, no written official reports from the period exist today. And the whole story has been based on the account of one survivour, a John Zephaniah Holwell, who is considered as one of the 23 survivours of the tragedy.
According to Holwell, a surgeon by profession, he and 145 others from Fort William were captured by Siraj ud-Daulah's men when the fort fell and on the nawab's orders, were locked up in a small cell(again the size of the cell has been debated) with only two windows that were grated with iron bars. The windows offered little in terms of ventilation and the fire that was raging elsewhere in the fort made breathing difficult. The British soldiers tried to bribe the guards to find a larger room but without any success. By 9PM, one hour after they were forced into the of 275 sq.ft. dungeon, men started suffocating. By 11PM, they began to die in masses. Fearing death, others started fighting among themselves to get near the windows. The stampede and the scuffle that ensued killed the weak. It was not before six in the morning, the nawab woke up from his sleep and ordered the doors be opened. Out of the 146 that were locked up, only 23 survived and all of them were semiconscious. Holwell also claimed that the nawab showed no signs of sympathy after the men were released. However, he does not blame the nawab for the tragedy, instead he claims that it was the doing of lowly officers who were simply negligent. Later, he and three others were sent to prison while others were freed after the nawab made a pact with Robert Clive, the governor of Bengal.
Out of the 23 survivors, a few others were interviewed too. However, none of their stories matched with Holwell's account and had inconsistencies in the number of the men that were captured, the size of the rooms and the number of windows in the room. Over the years, these stories have lost their shine and faded under the glitter of Holwell's account.
Consequences:
It is not an overstatement to say that the black hole tragedy laid the foundation for British rule in India. When the news of this terrible event reached England, it gave the English a message of Indian oppression and intolerance. The British East India Company was reinforced with personnel and was given the permission to dethrone Siraj ud-Daulah. Under Robert Clive and Admiral Charles Watson, a vast British force moved to Calcutta from Madras. The force downed Siraj ud-Daulah in the Battle of Plassey and captured Calcutta. The French who came to Siraj ud-Daulah's rescue were also routed. Mir Jafar who betrayed Siraj ud-Daulah by preventing his army from taking part in the battle was made the nawab of Bengal. He paid Britain a compensation for the black hole tragedy and allowed his land to be taxed by the British. Soon, East India company started taxing other lands under their control. Thus, the black hole tragedy truly marks the accession of Britain in India.
Conspiracies:
In recent times, it has been widely accepted that the number of men who died in Fort William's black hole was much lesser than 146. Historians and researchers have pointed out the holes in Holwell's account such as the following:
- Holwell named 123 men and women that he claimed died in the black hole. Fort William declared that it was only missing 43 men after Siraj ud-Daulah's offensive.
- Holwell claimed that the black hole was a 18*14 room. The other survivours claimed that it was much larger than that. The biggest of which was 22*18 (more than 140 sq.ft. large).
- Holwell claimed that the black hole had two grated windows. Others spoke of no or one window.
Historians have also pointed out at how Holwell was forthcoming with the story of the tragedy in which he plays the hero when none of his alleged survivours spoke out for a long time and the ones who came out had little to no memory of the incident. Some of them claim that the incident never happened and it was a conspiracy hatched by Robert Clive, Holwell and others to satisfy their own aspirations. After the Battle of Plassey, Robert Clive became a star in Britain and was the governor of Bengal for the next three years. After Clive's reign, Holwell served in the post for a brief period. After his return to Britain, he authored various articles and books on the black hole tragedy in all of which he portrayed himself as not only a survivour, but also a hero.
Conclusion:
It has been over 250 years since the black hole tragedy happened and all the means to establish the truth have been lost. All men involved directly or indirectly are dead. No official reports exist. The fort itself - along with the black hole - has been razed down and reconstructed. One thing is certain though. India was slaved under Britain for over 200 years and the Black hole served as the whip.
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