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Jagat Seth family

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Jagat Seth)

House of Jagat Seth

 Panoramic view of the mansion of Jagat Seth in Murshidabad, West

Bengal

Etymology 'Merchant/Banker of the world'

Hiranand Shah
Members
Manik Chand

Fateh Chand

Mehtab Chand

Maharaj Swaroop Chand

Traditions Jainism[1]

Estate(s) House of Jagat Seth (Museum)

Jagat Seth was a wealthy merchant, banker and money lender family
from Murshidabad in Bengal[2] during the time of the Nawabs of Bengal.[3][4]
Though not at the same scale, but the influence exercised by this family in the finances
of the Mughal Empire during the 17th and 18th century would be akin to that exercised
by the Rothschild family in Europe.[5]
History[edit]

House of Jagat Seth (also known as the Nashipur

Rajbari) in Murshidabad
The house was founded by a Jain[6] Oswal[7] Bania[8] named Hiranand Shah from Nagaur,
[9]
Rajasthan,[1] who came to Patna in 1652.[10] In 1707, Manikchand helped
Prince Farrukhsiyar financially to become the Mughal Emperor. In
award, Farrukhsiyar conferred the title of Jagat Seth on Manik Chand,[9] the head of the
family, meaning "banker or merchant of the world".[6] This indicates the favour the family
had gained at the Mughal court.[11]
 Kachari bari (office premises) of the Palace of Jagat
Seth
Roben Orme, the official historian of the British East India Company described Jagat
Seth as the greatest banker and money changer known in the world at that time. [12] The
historian Ghulam Hussain Khan believed that "their wealth was such that there is no
mentioning it without seeming to exaggerate and to deal in extravagant fables". [6] They
built up their business towards the last quarter of the 17th century and by the 18th
century, it was perhaps the largest banking house in the country. In the 1750s, their
entire wealth was estimated to be 14 crores.[vague][2] Jagat Seth was extremely influential in
financial matters in Bengal and had a monopoly of minting coins there.[11][6]

The temple associated with memory of Jagat Sett's

house at Mahimapur
The Nawabs of Bengal such as Murshid Quli Khan used the credit networks of the Jagat
Seth family to pay annual tribute to the Mughal Emperors in Delhi.[6] Alivardi Khan came
to the throne of Bengal in a military coup financed and planned by the Jagat Seths.
[6]
According to William Dalrymple, they could "make or break anyone in Bengal,
including the ruler, and their political instincts were sharp as their financial ones". [6] Once
a local businessman named Kantu borrowed money from Jagat Seth Fateh Chand and
was interested in the purchase of silk. However, he failed to return the money. Indian
businessmen refused to deal with the East India Company unless Kantu returned the
money to Fateh Chand. This shows the great respect the local businessmen had for the
Jagat Seths.[10] Fateh Chand suffered a great loss in Delhi during Nader Shah's sack of
the city in 1740, but he was able to continue his business.[10] He died on 2 December
1744.[10] The Jagat Seths were the most prominent moneylenders to the East India
Company.[13]
During the Maratha invasions of Bengal, the Bargi Maratha mercenaries plundered the
mansion of the Jagat Seth, taking away two and a half crore rupees as booty. [14]
Conspiracy against Siraj ud-Daulah[edit]
 House of Jagat Seth
Siraj ud-Daulah, the new Nawab of Bengal, alienated figures important to the interest of
his state- including the Jagat Seth Mehtab Chand. The Nawab demanded a lavish
tribute of 30 million rupees from the banker. Jagat Seth Mehtab Chand refused, and a
result, Siraj ud-Daulah hit him.[11][6] The Jagat Seth was[6] a co-conspirator of Robert
Clive[4] against Siraj ud-Daulah, along with other alienated figures, among them
prominent being- Mir Jafar, Krishnachandra Roy, Omichund, Ray Durlabh & other
leading men.[15][16] The Jagat Seth and other wealthy bankers funded the British for the
conspiracy.[3]

Front view of the old palace of Jagat Seth

Any members of the conspiracy group had no intention to found British rule in India,
instead they were just concerned about their political futures.[17]
Decline[edit]

Corridor of Jagat Seth's official residence

After the Battle of Plassey, Mir Qasim became the new Nawab. He organised the killing
of several member of the family including Jagat Seth Mehtab Chand and his cousin
Swarup Chand, in 1763, and threw their bodies off the ramparts off Munger Fort.[9]
[4]
Mahtab Chand's son, Kushal Chand, was granted the title of Jagat Seth, but with the
transfer of the treasury and mint to Kolkata by the British, the need of a private banker
at Murshidabad was vastly diminished.[1]
 Garden bench at the house of Jagat SethInterior of the
house of Jagat Seth
Kushal Chand was only 18 years old when he became the Seth. He lacked his father
Mehtab Chand's political shrewdness and was a spendthrift. Thus the fortunes of the
Jagat Seths began declining. Govindchand, the next Seth, died in 1864, succeeded by
Gopal Chand and Gulab Chand respectively. By then, the fortunes of the family had
declined by a considerable amount.[9] The last member of the family died in 1912, their
fortunes being a thing of the past and surviving on a pension given by the British. [18]
Museum[edit]

Gate (main entrance) of the house of Jagat Seth

Sculpture at the Jagat Seth's house in Mahimapur,

Murshidabad
The house of the Jagat Seths, complete with a secret tunnel as well as an underground
chamber, where illegal trade plans were hatched, has been converted into museum.
House of Jagat Seth Museum was established in 1980. It is privately managed. It
contains personal possessions of the Jagat Seth family including coins of the bygone
era, muslin and other extravagant clothes, Banarasi sarees embroidered with gold and
silver threads.[19]

Jain foot marks inside the temple within Jagat Seth's

palace Middle building with pool

According to the Archaeological Survey of India the house, temple and ruins associated
with the memory of Jagat Seth's house at Mahimapur are State Protected
Monuments (Item no S-WB-94).[20]
See also[edit]
 Siraj ud-Daulah
 East India Company
 Nawabs of Bengal
Further reading[edit]
 D. K. Taknet (July 2016). The Marwari Heritage (EBook). IntegralDMS.
p. 64. ISBN 9781942322061.
 Surendra Gopal (17 January 2019). Jains in India: Historical Essays (EBook). Taylor
& Francis. ISBN 9780429537370.
 William Dalrymple (12 November 2020). The Anarchy (EBook). Bloomsbury
Publishing. p. 34. ISBN 9781526634016.
External links[edit]
 The Rise and Fall of the Jagat Seths
  Bengal banker Jagat Seth who gave loans to East India Company, financial tips to
Aurangzeb The Print
References[edit]
1. ^ Jump up to:a b c "The Rise and Fall of the Jagat Sheths". Joseph Rozario. Marwar India, 12 June
2015. 12 June 2015. Retrieved 20 July 2021.
2. ^ Jump up to:a b M. Rajivlochan (30 September 2020). Making India Great Again: Learning from Our
History (EBook). Manohar. ISBN 9781000194463.
3. ^ Jump up to:a b "Jagat Seth". The Week.
4. ^ Jump up to:a b c Silliman, Jael (28 December 2017). "Murshidabad can teach the rest of India how to
restore heritage and market the past". Scroll.in. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
5. ^ Dalrymple, William (2019). The Anarchy. Great Britain: Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-1-63557-
395-4.
6. ^ Jump up to:a b c d e f g h i William Dalrymple (12 November 2020). The Anarchy (EBook). Bloomsbury
Publishing. p. 34. ISBN 9781526634016.
7. ^ Gopal, Surendra (2019). Jains in India: History Essays. Routledge.
8. ^ Ray, Aniruddha (2017). Towns and Cities of Medieval India. Routledge. p. 508.
9. ^ Jump up to:a b c d Taknet, D. K.; IntegralDMS (22 July 2016). The Marwari Heritage. IntegralDMS.
pp. 64–65. ISBN 978-1-942322-06-1.
10. ^ Jump up to:a b c d Surendra Gopal (17 January 2019). Jains in India: Historical Essays (EBook).
Taylor & Francis. ISBN 9780429537370.
11. ^ Jump up to:a b c Asher, Catherine B.; Talbot, Cynthia (2006). India Before Europe. Cambridge
University Press. p. 282. ISBN 978-0-521-80904-7.
12. ^ "Murshidabad Tour Guide – beyond Hazar Duari". 11. House of Jagat Seth and Pareshnath
Temple. Offbeat Untold. 19 November 2019. Retrieved 20 June 2021.
13. ^ Michael S. Moss; Anthony Slaven (1998). Eugenia Núñez, Clara (ed.). Entrepreneurial Networks
and Business Culture (in English and French). Universidad de Sevilla. p. 96. ISBN 9788447204441.
14. ^ foundation, Temple of India (10 August 2018). Bengal – India's Rebellious Spirit. Notion
Press. ISBN 978-1-64324-746-5.
15. ^ The Calcutta Review. University of Calcutta. 1874. p. 97. Retrieved 4 April 2017.
16. ^ Banu, U. A. B. Razia Akter (1992). Islam in Bangladesh. BRILL. p. 26. ISBN 90-04-09497-0.
17. ^ Ray, Rajatkanta (1994). Palashir Sharajantra O Sekaler Samaj.
18. ^ The Rise and Fall of the Jagat Sheths | Marwar. 23 November 2021. Archived from the original on
23 November 2021.
19. ^ "House of Jagat Seth Museum". Museums of India. Archived from the original on 26 November
2021. Retrieved 20 July 2021.
20. ^ List of State Protected Monuments as reported by the Archaeological Survey of
India Archived 2013-05-23 at the Wayback Machine.

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Categories:
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 Jains
 Rajasthani people
 Bengali families
 Banking families
 This page was last edited on 24 May 2024, at 23:19 (UTC).
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