Jagat Seth

The Jagat Seths were a rich business and Money lender family in Murshidabad, Bengal during the time of Nawab Siraj-ud-Daula. He came from a rich Jain Marwari business family in Murshidabad.^[1] His spiritual guru was Jain Acharya Sri Bhratruchandra Suri. The Seths were among the most powerful bankers of India during the first half of 18th century. Roben Orme (official historian of East India Company) described Jagat Seths as the greatest shroff (money changer) and banker in the known world.^[2]

According to Nick Robins:^[3] "The Jagat Seths were unrivalled in northern India for their financial power. Known as 'banker of the world', this Marwari family had build up formindable economic resources on the back of its control of the imperial mint and extensive monelylending. They wielded this financial clout at the Bengali court and were judged to be 'the chief cause of revolutions in Bengal' by a French commentator at the time."

He, along with Omichund and Mir Jafar joined the successful conspiracy against the Nawab, engineered by Robert Clive, due to which the Nawab lost the battle of Plassey. The British East India company thus emerged as a major power broker in India.^[4] Mir Jafar became the ruler of Bengal with the support of East India company.

The Jagat Seth family were beheaded in 1763, during the reign of Mir Jafar's successor, by the troops of Mir Kasim. Mir Kasim was initially supported by the East India Company as he was in friendly terms, but later he had attempted to curb their power and throw them out of Eastern India.

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