Maharaja Krishnachandra

Abstract

Maharaja Krishnachandra, the intermediary zamindar in eighteenth century Nadia, was famous for his liberal patronage to the Brahmins. He was a strict enforcer of caste codes in his domain. He built temples and organised many costly religious rites. However, such show off of liberality and lavish expenses for the religious rites coincided with a financial crisis of the zamindari. This article tries to show that the efforts of Krishnachandra, though appearing irrational or even suicidal from the economic viewpoint, were necessary for the maintenance of social control. It also helped him to retain his position of power among the rival big Hindu zamindars. This article tries to show that politics, not economic considerations, was the driving force in a political economy of crisis. The process engulfed the big zamindars in pre-colonial Bengal.