Maharaja Nandakumar

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Maharaja Nandakumar

M Nandakumar, also called Nuncomar (1705? - died 5 August 1775) was a King of West Bengal, and Indian tax official best known for his connection with Warren Hastings. He was appointed collector of Burdwan in 1764 in place of Hastings, which resulted in a long-standing enmity. He was hanged in Kolkata in 5 August 1775, for alleged forgeries committed by him.

In 1775, when Hastings was governor-general, Nandakumar brought accusations of peculation against him, which were entertained by Sir Philip Francis and the other members of council inimical to Hastings.

Hastings, along with Sir Elijah Impey, the chief justice, was impeached by Parliament. They were accused by Burke (and later by Macaulay) of committing judicial murder; but Sir James Stephen, who examined the trial in detail, states that the indictment for forgery arose in the ordinary course, was not brought forward by Hastings, and that Impey conducted the trial with fairness and impartiality.

Early life

Maharaja Nandakumar was conferred with the title "Maharaja" by Shah Alam II in 1764.[1] He was appointed as Collector of Burdwan, Nadia and Hugli by the East India Company in 1764, in place of Warren Hastings.[1] He learnt Vaishnavism from Radhamohana Thakura.[1]

Charges against Hastings

Maharaja Nandakumar accused Hastings of bribing him for more than one-third of a million of rupees and claimed that he has proof against Hastings in the form of a letter.[2]

Hanging

Nandakumar pressed an accusation against Warren Hastings of East India Company, who happened to be a school friend of Sir Elijah Impey and some historians are of the opinion that Maharaja Nandakumar was falsely charged for forgery and Sir Elijah Impey, the first Chief Justice of Supreme Court in Calcutta gave judgement to hang Nandakumar.[3] Nandakumar's hanging was termed as a judicial murder by certain historians.[3] Macaulay also accused that both of them conspired to execute a judicial murder.[3] Maharaja Nandakumar was hanged at Calcutta, near present day Vidyasagar Sethu, during Warren Hasting's rule on 5 August 1775.[4] During those days, the punishment for forgery by any native was hanging.[5]

Aftermath

Maharaja Nandakumar was reasonably respectable person and his hanging created panic in local people which resulted in Bengali exodus from Calcutta to places like Benaras etc.[3]

Books

  • Sir James Stephen, The Story of Nuncomar (2 vols., 1885)
  • H Beveridge, The Trial of Nanda Kumar (Calcutta, 1886).

Legacy

  • A college in remembrance of him, viz. Maharaja Nandakumar Vidyalaya was established in Calcutta in 2007 and the college is affiliated to Vidyasagar University.[6]
  • A road in Kolkata is named as Maharaja Nandakuamr Road.[7]
  • Nandakumar is also the name of a locality in the West Bengal district of East Midnapur.[8]

External links

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "The Kunjaghata Raj family". Murshibad.net. Retrieved 10 June 2013. 
  2. ↑ Barbara Harlow, Edited by Mia Carter (2003). From the East India Company to the Suez Canal. Durham, NC [u.a.]: Duke Univ. Press. p. 132. ISBN 9780822331643. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Bhattacharya, Asim (2010). Portrait of a Vancouver Cabbie. USA: Xlibris Corporation. p. 141. ISBN 9781456836078. 
  4. ↑ Mandal, Sanjay (9 November 2005). "History that hangs fire - Nandakumar neglect". The Telegraph (Calcutta). Retrieved 10 June 2013. 
  5. ↑ Lion Feuchtwanger und Bertolt Brecht, Lion Feuchtwanger, (1927). Kalkutta, 4. Mai: drei Akte Kolonialgeschichte. Dr.PLISCHKA Hans Peter. p. 12. 
  6. ↑ "Affiliated Colleges". Vidyasagar University. Retrieved 12 June 2013. 
  7. ↑ Your local guide. "INDRANI DUTTA KALA NIKETAN IN MAHARAJA NANDAKUMAR ROAD". Bharat Desi. Retrieved 12 June 2013. 
  8. ↑ "Floods result in epidemic threat". The Statesman. 20 October 2013. Retrieved 22 October 2013. 
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