The Achievement of Robert Clive
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Clive’s chief claim to fame as a statesman rests upon the achievements of his second governorship. His work falls into three parts: external policy, the settlement of Bengal, and the reform of the company’s service. In his external policy Clive had to face one of the most difficult tests of statesmanship: that of knowing where to stop. Though there was nothing to prevent him from restoring Shah ʿĀlam II to Delhi and ruling north India in his name, he wisely decided to limit the company’s commitments to Bengal and Bihar. Oudh was returned to as a buffer state between Bengal and the turbulent northwest. The emperor was solaced with an annual tribute, and in return he conferred the revenue administration (dewanee) of Bengal on the East India Company. This grant formed the key to Clive’s second achievement, the settlement of Bengal. It gave legal authority to the company to collect the revenues of Bengal and Bihar, sending the emperor only his annual tribute. The administration of the dewanee was organized through a deputy nawab appointed by the company. The police and magisterial power was still exercised by the nawab of Bengal as the emperor’s deputy, but he in turn nominated the company’s deputy to act for him. This was Clive’s so-called dual system, which made the company the virtual ruler of India’s two richest provinces.