A critical Study of Kalyan Singh’s Khulasat‑ut‑Tawarikh
By S. H. Askari
Summary
Maharaja Kalyan Singh, son of the influential administrator Shitab Rai, governed Bihar as Naib‑Subadar and Naib‑Diwan and wrote Khulasat‑ut‑Tawarikh, a Persian chronicle of events from the 1760s to the 1780s. Because he claimed to be an eye‑witness and participant in key events, his book has been regarded as an important primary source. The present article reassesses this view. It recounts Kalyan Singh’s background: he belonged to a Saxena Kayastha family of Delhi, was born around 1750–51, and succeeded his father in provincial offices. An accomplished scholar and poet, he composed verses and historical works. Khulasat‑ut‑Tawarikh portrays him and his father as pivotal in obtaining the Mughal sanad granting the revenue (Diwani) of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa to the East India Company and the governorship (Subahdari) to Mir Jafar. In his narrative he describes carrying letters, petitions and a cheque for six lakhs to Nawab Shuja‑ud‑Daula and persuading the Nawab and his minister Beni Bahadur to expel the ex‑nawab Mir Qasim and ally with the English; he claims he was invested with the title of Raja, delivered the sanads to the English camp and influenced subsequent events leading up to the Battle of Buxar. The article compares these claims with contemporary correspondence from Clive, Carnac and Ghaziuddin and with Persian and English records. It notes that letters show Shitab Rai accompanying Clive and acting as emissary, but there is no evidence that a young Kalyan Singh, then about eight or nine, negotiated on behalf of the Company. The supposed cheque and secret negotiations are absent from other sources. The author concludes that Kalyan Singh exaggerated his role to restore his family’s fortunes after losing office; his account mixes fact and fiction, and the translator’s omissions in the English version further distort the story. Nevertheless the chronicle contains valuable details about provincial politics, relationships between Indian chiefs and Company officers, and offers rare insight into the motives and self‑perception of a native elite. The article thus urges historians to read Khulasat‑ut‑Tawarikh critically, corroborating its statements with independent sources while appreciating its unique perspective.
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Conclusion
Kalyan Singh’s chronicle is both informative and self‑serving. Although it provides first‑hand details of provincial administration and Anglo‑Indian relations in the 1760s, its narrative inflates the author’s role and includes claims unsupported by contemporary evidence. Historians should therefore treat it as a subjective memoir rather than a fully reliable document, checking its assertions against other records. Even so, the work offers valuable glimpses into local politics and the aspirations of a deposed provincial noble.