Mir Jafar Ali Khan Bahadur (c. 1691–February 5, 1765) was the first
Nawab of Bengal with support from British East India Company. He was the second son of Sayyid Ahmad Najafi. His rule is widely considered the start of
British imperialism in India and was a key step in the eventual British domination of vast areas of the subcontinent. By the defeat of
Siraj ud-Daulah in the
Battle of Plassey, Mir Jafar became the Nawab in 1757 with military support from the
British East India Company. However, Jafar failed to satisfy constant British demands for money. In 1758,
Robert Clive discovered that through his agent Khoja Wajid, Jafar had made a treaty with the
Dutch at
Chinsurah. Dutch ships of war were also seen in the
River Hooghly. Circumstances led to the
Battle of Chinsurah. British company official
Henry Vansittart proposed that since Jafar was unable to cope with the difficulties,
Mir Qasim, Jafar's son-in-law, should act as Deputy
Subahdar. In October 1760, the company forced him to abdicate in favor of Qasim. However, Qasim's independent spirit and plan to force the East India company out of his dominion led to his overthrow, and Jafar was restored as the Nawab in 1763 with the support of the company. Mir Qasim however refused to accept this and went to war against the company. Jafar ruled until his death on January 17, 1765 and lies buried at the
Jafarganj Cemetery in
Murshidabad,
West Bengal,
India.