When we talk about how Britain built its empire in India, the spotlight usually falls on the Battle of Plassey in 1757 – Robert Clive, a daring gamble, and the betrayal of Siraj-ud-Daulah.
But the real foundation was laid forty years earlier, in 1717, inside Delhi’s Red Fort. A desperately ill Mughal emperor, a Scottish surgeon, and one royal decree (farman) changed the course of Indian history forever. This is the story of Emperor Farrukhsiyar’s 1717 Farman – the single most valuable concession any European power ever extracted from a Mughal ruler, and the document that turned a struggling trading company into an unstoppable colonial force.
A Life-Saving Surgery That Cost an Empire
In 1715, Emperor Farrukhsiyar (r. 1713–1719) was in agony. A painful groin swelling – most likely a malignant tumour or severe scrotal infection – had left the 30-year-old emperor bedridden. None of the royal hakims could help. A British embassy led by John Surman had been waiting in Delhi for months. Among them was William Hamilton, a Scottish surgeon of the East India Company. Called to the palace as a last resort, Hamilton performed a difficult and risky operation in primitive conditions and successfully cured the emperor. In gratitude, Farrukhsiyar asked what reward the Company desired. The British were ready with a carefully prepared list. After nearly two years of negotiations, in 1717 the emperor issued three interconnected farmans that together formed the historic charter of privileges.
What Exactly Did the 1717 Farman Grant?
The concessions were revolutionary:
- Duty-free trade in Bengal, Bihar, and Orissa (the richest provinces) in exchange for a token annual payment of just ₹3,000.
- The Company could issue dastaks (customs passes) exempting its goods from all inland transit duties and inspections across the Mughal empire.
- Permission to purchase 38 additional villages around Calcutta, dramatically expanding British territorial control in Bengal.
- Right to further fortify Calcutta and to mint rupees in Bombay bearing the Mughal emperor’s name – a major step toward financial sovereignty.
- Confirmation of all previous grants made since Aurangzeb’s time.
- Company servants were allowed private trade, provided they paid the same duties as Indian merchants (a clause that was systematically abused).
The “Magna Carta” of the East India Company
Contemporary British officials called the 1717 Farman their “Magna Carta in the East”. It was not an exaggeration. Before 1717, the Company was losing money in Bengal and barely competing with Indian and Asian merchants. After 1717, its profits exploded – historians estimate a 400–500% increase in Bengal trade revenue between 1717 and 1757.
The Dastak Abuse: How Corruption Fueled an Empire
The most devastating provision was the misuse of dastaks for private trade. Company servants and their Indian gomastas used these passes to trade salt, tobacco, betel nut, and textiles completely tax-free.
Indian merchants, paying up to 40% in duties, were ruined. Bengal’s weaving centres and inland trade collapsed under unfair competition. By the 1750s, the value of private British trade in Bengal was four times greater than the Company’s official trade. This untaxed wealth created a permanent war chest inside India, something no European rival possessed.
That money funded:
- Modern artillery and disciplined sepoy armies
- The massive expansion of Fort William in Calcutta
- The huge bribes paid to Mir Jafar before Plassey
Robert Clive himself later told the British Parliament:
“A great mine of wealth was opened to us in Bengal.”
The Devastating Impact on Bengal and India
The long-term effects were catastrophic:
- Collapse of indigenous merchants and artisans
- Severe drain of wealth from Bengal (once the richest province of the Mughal empire)
- Drastic fall in customs revenue of the Bengal Nawabs → weakened military power
- Growing British military presence funded entirely by Bengal’s own trade
- Systematic interference in Bengal’s politics, culminating in Plassey (1757)
Historians such as P.J. Marshall, Percival Spear, and Om Prakash unanimously agree: without the economic foundation provided by the 1717 Farman, the political conquest of Bengal and later India would have been impossible or delayed by decades.
The Tragic Irony
Farrukhsiyar did not live to see the consequences. In 1719, the same Syed Brothers who had placed him on the throne decided he had outlived his usefulness. They blinded him with a hot needle, imprisoned him in a dungeon, and finally had him strangled to death. He was only 35. The emperor who signed away India’s future in exchange for relief from physical pain never imagined that his signature would echo for two centuries.
The Direct Road from 1717 to British India
The chain of events is crystal clear:
1717 → Duty-free profits + dastak abuse → Massive private fortunes
1740s–50s → Company builds private army funded by Bengal trade
1757 → Battle of Plassey → Control of Bengal
1764 → Battle of Buxar
1765 → Grant of Diwani Rights → Company becomes revenue collector of Bengal, Bihar, and Orissa
By 1857 → British Crown rules most of the subcontinent
Conclusion: The Quiet Decree That Echoed Louder Than Cannons
The Farman of 1717 had no battles, no drama – just ink, wax, and a grateful emperor’s seal.
Yet its impact was greater than a thousand Plasseys.
It transformed a joint-stock trading company into a military-financial juggernaut. It crippled Indian commerce. It gave the British the decisive economic edge over French, Dutch, and Portuguese rivals.
Next time someone says Britain conquered India through superior guns or brilliant generals alone, point them to 1717.
Long before the Union Jack flew over Delhi, a single Mughal farman had already tilted the scales irreversibly.
Farrukhsiyar’s 1717 Farman wasn’t just a trade concession. It was the seed from which the British Empire in India grew.
FAQ
Who issued the Farman of 1717?
Emperor Farrukhsiyar issued it in 1717.
Why did Farrukhsiyar grant such huge concessions to the East India Company?
Scottish surgeon William Hamilton successfully operated on the emperor and cured a life-threatening groin tumour/infection. The farman was granted as a reward.
What were the most important privileges granted in 1717?
- Duty-free trade in Bengal, Bihar, Orissa (later extended)
- Right to issue dastaks (customs passes)
- Permission to buy 38 villages around Calcutta
- Right to fortify Calcutta and mint coins in Bombay
- Private trade rights for Company servants (heavily abused)
What was the role of dastak misuse?
British servants used dastaks for private trade, evading all duties. This destroyed Indian merchants and created enormous untaxed wealth that later funded military expansion.
Is the 1717 Farman called the “Magna Carta of the Company”?
Yes, British officials themselves described it as their “Magna Carta in the East”.
How is the 1717 Farman linked to the Battle of Plassey (1757)?
The wealth generated from duty-free trade and dastak abuse gave the Company the money to build a strong army and bribe Mir Jafar, making Plassey possible.
What happened to Emperor Farrukhsiyar after issuing the farman?
In 1719 he was deposed, blinded with a hot needle, imprisoned, and strangled to death by the Syed Brothers at age 35.
