Shi ism in Bengal during the Nawabs of Murshidabad's Era

Prior to the emergence of Islam, Bengal was along the trade route of Arabs and Iranian to China. After the emergence of Islam, Bengali people became familiar with Islam. However no evidence was found related to the entrance of Shi’ism into Bengal, but prior to the conquest of Bengal by Bakhtiyar Khilji in the 13th century, Shia Muslims started to appear in Bengal in the form of Sufism. In the 17th century Shuja-ud-Din Muhammad Khan, the son of Nawab Jan Muhammad Khan, became the Nawab (independent ruler) of Bengal; as the first Shia Nawab of Bengal, he succeeded in development of Shi’ism. In the early 18th century, Murshid Quli Khan was appointed as the Nawab of Bengal by Aurangzeb. Gradually, he declared independence and established the dynasty of Nawabs of Bengal. Also he made every effort to develop Shi’ism, which led to magnificent scientific, cultural, economic, political and religious developments of Shia Muslims. Nevertheless, nobody has ever done any research on Bengali Shia Muslims during the times of Nawabs of Murshidabad; therefore, the present paper will analyze the condition of Bengali Shia Muslims during the times of Nawabs of Murshidabad, from 1717 to 1880. In this era sixteen Shia Nawabs have ruled in Bengal for 163 years, which led to the topmost developments of Shi’ism in Bengal. The late 19th century was the begging of their decline. Conspiracies and occupation by East India Company were the main reasons of the collapse of this powerful dynasty. Therefore, the main question of the present paper is: How was the condition of Bengali Shia Muslims during the Nawabs of Murshidabad’s era? And the hypothesis of the present paper is: Bengali Shia Muslims reached the topmost political, religious, cultural, social and economic achievements in this era.