Hassan Ali Mirza
Nawab Bahadur of Murshidabad
Nawab Sir Sayyid Hassan Ali Mirza Khan Bahadur (25 August 1846 – 25 December 1906) was the eldest son of Mansur Ali Khan, the last Nawab of Bengal. He succeeded his father, Mansur Ali Khan, as the first Nawab Bahadur of Murshidabad as the title of Nawab Nazim of Bengal was abolished in 1880. His installation ceremony was performed in the Throne Room of Hazarduari Palace on 27 March 1883 by Sir Rivers Thompson, the Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal. The sanad conferring the hereditary title of Nawab Bahadur of Murshidabad was however dated 17 February 1882. At his death in 1906, he was succeeded by his son, Wasif Ali Mirza. Sayyid Hassan Ali Mirza was known as Burra Sahib in his childhood and he showed signs of extraordinary intelligence. He was born on 25 August 1846 as the eldest son of Mansur Ali Khan, the last Nawab of Bengal. His mother, Mehr Lekha Begum, was the second wife of his father, and was of Habshi descent. He received his early lessons in English, Persian and Arabic. He was educated at La Martiniere College in Lucknow. In 1865, he was sent to England to complete his education, where he was accompanied by his younger half brothers, Husain Ali Mirza Bahadur (Mujli Sahib) and Muhammad Ali Mirza Bahadur (Amir Sahib), in company with Colonel
Herbert. The young prince was provided with all kinds of amusements. They were kept in a hotel in South Kensington. They also attende the then Prince of Wales, Edward VII's Levée, to which the right of private entry was granted to them. Hassan Ali met Robert Clive's granddaughter, Lady Williams and he received attention from all sides. He was also introduced to Her Majesty Queen Victoria by the state's secretary. They visited many places like Sandgate, Dover Castle, Southsea, Chester, Manchester and so on. While leaving London in December 1856 they traveled back to Calcutta through France, Italy and Malta, visiting the many famous and reputed cities like Paris, Bologna, Florence, Rome, Naples and so on. Hassan Ali's second foreign visit, rather English visit, was with his father, Mansur Ali Khan in March 1869. On 16 February 1887 Hassan Ali was made the Knight Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire and on 28 May 1887 theoriental titles of Ali Kadir (Of First Rank), Ihtisham ul-Mulk (Dignifier of the country), Raes ud-Daulah (Premier of the state), Amir ul-Omrah (Noble of Nobles) and Mahabat Jang (Horror in War) were conferred upon the Nawab. On 20 May 1890 Hassan Ali was made a Knight Grand Commander (GCIE) under a royal warrant, bearing the sign Manual of Her Majesty Queen Victoria. As the, title and post of the Nawab of Bengal was abolished Hassan Ali was appointed to the lesser title of Nawab of Murshidabad (N.B.M.) on 17 February 1882, which was confirmed in this title by the British in the year 1891.
The Bengal Army was the army of the Bengal Presidency, one of the three presidencies of British India within the British Empire. The presidency armies, like the presidencies themselves, belonged to the East India Company (EIC) until the Government of India Act 1858, passed in the aftermath of the Indian Rebellion of 1857, transferred all three presidencies to the direct authority of the British Crown. In 1895 all three presidency armies were merged into the Indian Army. The Bengal Army originated with the establishment of a European Regiment in 1756. While the East India Company had previously maintained a small force of Dutch and Eurasian mercenaries in Bengal, this was destroyed when Calcutta was captured by the Nawab of Bengal on 30 June that year. A new feature in the Bengal Army was the creation of irregular infantry and cavalry regiments during the 1840s. Originally designated as "Local Infantry" these were permanently established units but with less formal drill and fewer British officers than the regular Bengal line regiments. The main source of recruitment continued to be high caste Brahmins and Rajputs from Bihar and Oudh, although the eight regular cavalry regiments consisted mainly of Muslim sowars from the Indian Muslim biradaris such as the Ranghar (Rajput Muslims), Sheikhs, Sayyids, Mughals, and Hindustani Pathans. Another innovation introduced prior to 1845 was to designate specific regiments as "Volunteers" – that is recruited for general service, with sepoys who had accepted a commitment for possible overseas duty.
Recruits for the Bengal Army who were prepared to travel by ship if required, received a special allowance or batta. Two of these BNI regiments were serving in China in 1857 and so escaped any involvement in the great rebellion of that year. The East India Company's Bengal Army in 1857 consisted of 151,361 men of all ranks, of whom the great majority - 128,663 - were Indians. In 1895 the three separate Presidency Armies began a process of unification which was not to be concluded until the Kitchener reforms of eight years later. As an initial step the Army of India was divided into four commands, each commanded by a lieutenant-general. These comprised Bengal, Bombay (including Aden), Madras (including Burma) and Punjab (including the North West Frontier). In 1903 the separately numbered regiments of the Bombay, Madras and Bengal Armies were unified in a single organisational sequence and the presidency affiliations disappeared. The Bengal infantry units in existence at the end of the Presidency era continued as the senior regiments (1st Brahmans to 48th Pioneers) of the newly unified Indian Army.
The Nawab of Bengal was the hereditary ruler of Bengal Subah in Mughal India. In the early 18th-century, the Nawab of Bengal was the de facto independent ruler of the three regions of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa which constitute the modern-day sovereign country of Bangladesh and the Indian states of West Bengal, Bihar and Odisha. They are often referred to as the Nawab of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa. The Nawabs were based in Murshidabad which was centrally located within Bengal, Bihar, and Odisha. Their chief, a former prime minister, became the first Nawab. The Nawabs continued to issue coins in the name of the Mughal Emperor, but for all practical purposes, the Nawabs governed as independent monarchs. Bengal continued to contribute the largest share of funds to the imperial treasury in Delhi. The Nawabs, backed by bankers such as the Jagat Seth, became the financial backbone of the Mughal court. During the 18th century, the Nawabs of Bengal were among the wealthiest rulers in the world. The Nawabs, especially under the rule of Alivardi Khan of 16 years, were heavily engaged in various wars against the
Marathas. Towards the end, he turned his attention to rebuilding and restoring Bengal. The Nawabs of Bengal oversaw a period of proto-industrialization. The Bengal-Bihar-Orissa triangle was a major production center for cotton muslin cloth, silk cloth, shipbuilding, gunpowder, saltpetre, and metalworks. Factories were set up in Murshidabad, Dhaka, Patna, Sonargaon, Chittagong, Rajshahi, Cossimbazar, Balasore, Pipeli, and Hugli among other cities, towns, and ports. The region became a base for the British East India Company, the French East India Company, the Danish East India Company, the Austrian East India Company, the Ostend Company, and the Dutch East India Company. The British company eventually rivaled the authority of the Nawabs. In the aftermath of the siege of Calcutta in 1756, in which the Nawab's forces overran the main British base, the East India Company dispatched a fleet led by Robert Clive who defeated the last independent Nawab Siraj-ud-Daulah at the Battle of Plassey in 1757. Mir Jafar was installed as the puppet Nawab. His successor Mir Qasim attempted in vain to dislodge the British. The defeat of Nawab Mir Qasim of Bengal, Nawab Shuja-ud-Daula of Oudh, and Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II at the Battle of Buxar in 1764 paved the way for British expansion across India. The South Indian Kingdom of Mysore led by Tipu Sultan overtook the Nawab of Bengal as the subcontinent's wealthiest monarchy; but this was short-lived and ended with the Anglo-Mysore War. The British then turned their sights on defeating the Marathas and Sikhs. In 1772, Governor-General Warren Hastings shifted administrative and judicial offices from Murshidabad to Calcutta, the capital of the newly formed Bengal Presidency, and the de facto capital of British India. The Nawabs had lost all independent authority since 1757. In 1858, the British government abolished the symbolic authority of the Mughal court. After 1880, the descendants of the Nawabs of Bengal were recognised simply as Nawabs of Murshidabad with the mere status of a peerage. Nawab Mansur Ali Khan was the last titular Nawab Nazim of Bengal. During his reign the nizamat at Murshidabad came to be debt-ridden. The Nawab left Murshidabad in February 1869, and had started living in England. The title of the Nawab of Bengal stood abolished in 1880. He returned to Bombay in October 1880 and pleaded his case against the orders of the government, but as it stood unresolved the Nawab renounced his styles and titles, abdicating in favour of his eldest son on 1 November 1880. The Nawabs of Murshidabad succeeded the Nawab Nazims following Nawab Mansur Ali Khan's abdication, The Nawab Bahadurs had ceased to exercise any significant power but were relegated to the status of a zamindar and continued to be a wealthy family, producing bureaucrats and army officers.
Awards. Collar, sash and star of the Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire.
