The Diwani Grant of 1765: How the East India Company Became Tax Lord

In 1765, Robert Clive secured the diwani of Bengal, Bihar, and Odisha from the Mughal emperor Shah Alam II. This grant—the right to collect revenue—transformed the East India Company from a trading firm into a territorial power. But how did this arrangement actually work? Lucas and Luna explore the mechanics of the diwani system: the dual government that left the nawab as a figurehead while the Company ran the treasury. They look at Warren Hastings' later reforms, the devastating Bengal Famine of 1770, and the flow of silver that financed British expansion. Along the way, they ask whether the diwani was a clever tax farm or a license for plunder—and why its legacy still matters for understanding colonial extraction. A focused look at the bureaucratic machinery behind empire. #Diwani #RobertClive #ShahAlamII #EastIndiaCompany #Bengal #BattleOfBuxar #TreatyOfAllahabad #WarrenHastings #MughalEmpire #BengalFamine1770 #NawabOfBengal #DualGovernment #BritishRaj #Colonialism #FexingoHistory #History #18thCentury #India Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo