The clash between the East India Company vs Maratha Empire was not just a battle of arms but of minds. The Marathas embodied Hindu resurgence and resistance, while the British turned trade into conquest through strategic manipulation. This blog explores how valor met calculation, and how disunity turned sovereignty into subjugation.
East India Company Treaty, 1765, of Allahabad transformed the East India Company from traders into rulers, granting them Diwani rights over Bengal, Bihar, and Orissa. Signed by a weakened Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II, it legalized economic conquest, birthed the Dual System, caused Bengal’s famine, and laid the financial foundation of the British Empire in India.
The East India Company’s journey from a spice-trading venture to the ruler of India is one of history’s most dramatic transformations. Backed by a royal charter in 1600, it built trading posts, commanded armies, and exploited India’s political cracks. Through Plassey and Buxar, it secured dominance, accelerating the decline of Sanatana culture and Bharat’s sovereignty.