In Search of Siraj’s Son and Descendants

Some key facts related to the Battle of Plassey (1757) were believed to be missing. A reputed Professor of History started looking for them almost half a century ago. He meticulously examined all the available sources including books and journals published from India and England. Even the contemporary records preserved by the Government of India were of no help.

Undeterred, he went on hunting for them in the family records of the 18th Century. From the plethora of moth eaten papers, he finally selected and then short listed only those that recorded the adoption of male heirs by Zamindar families in or after 1757.

Some crucial information, meanwhile was traced back in a book called Mymensingher Itihas (The History of Mymensingh). Following the trail the Professor unearthed a truth of groundbreaking significance.

Nawab Siraj-ud-Daulah, the last sovereign ruler of Bengal (and the first adversary to the growth of the British Empire) did not die without leaving behind a male heir. The ensuing history and its tricky turns would outshine even the best in the genre of conspiracy fiction. Professor Amalendu De, former President of Asiatic Society, not only ‘discovered’ Siraj’s son, hitherto unmentioned in the received history of our country and the commonwealth, but actually  went on to prove that the Nawab’s descendants exist and are very much living even today.

This slender volume is the harvest reaped from Professor De’s tireless research spanning over fifty years. Originally published in Bengali in 2012, it won critical acclaim and awards apart from some erudite though violently irreverent remonstrations as well.