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Synopsis The British Residents at the Darbar of Bengal Nawabs played a vital role in consolidating the English power in Bengal. Encouraged by the weaknesses of the Indian rulers, the English obtained the zamindari of Calcutta, fortified their settlements, claimed trade privileges and extended asylum to the fugitives from the Nawab. To accept a British Resident at the darbar was the greatest blunder of the Nawab as a result, the Plassey-episode became a deliberate intrigue fomented and successfully finalized by the Resident. So Plassey was neither a great battle nor was it a fair fight. The battle proved that the life of Siraj was a story of betrayal. The office of the Resident was of great weight, next only to the Governor, but after Plassey, the Residency at Murshidabad became a guarantee of fortune. The savage spirit of monopoly and extortion occasioned anxiety and horror, destitution and helplessness. This unending rapacity and attendant vices culminated in the terrible famine, unknown to the history of mankind. The situation rumbled as far as England where it was realized to undertake direct responsibility of administering the province in 1772.