Maharaja Nandakumar was a Mughal

Mughal (tribe)

The term Mughal is simply a Turkic word and many groups in India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh use the term Mughal to describe themselves...

 India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

n tax official best known for his connection with Warren Hastings

Warren Hastings

Warren Hastings PC was the first Governor-General of India, from 1773 to 1785. He was famously accused of corruption in an impeachment in 1787, but was acquitted in 1795. He was made a Privy Councillor in 1814.-Early life:...

. He learned Vaishnava from Radhamohana Thakura

Radhamohana Thakura

Rādhāmohana Thākur was a Vaishnava guru. He was born in Malihati, Bardhaman and was the great-great-grandson of Srinivasa Acarya. His father was Jagadananda Thakura, and his siblings were Yadavendu, Bhuvanamohana, Gauramohana, Syamasundara, and Madanamohana. Maharaja Nandakumar and Vaishnava...

. He was appointed collector of Burdwan in 1764 in place of Hastings, which resulted in a long-standing enmity.

In 1775, when Hastings was governor-general, Nandakumar brought accusations of peculation against him, which were entertained by Philip Francis

Philip Francis (English politician)

Sir Philip Francis was an Irish-born British politician and pamphleteer, the possible author of the Letters of Junius, and the chief antagonist of Warren Hastings. His accusations against the latter led to the Impeachment of Warren Hastings by Parliament.-Early life:Born in Dublin, he was the only...

 and the other members of council inimical to Hastings. While the matter was still pending Nandakumar was indicted for forgery

Forgery

Forgery is the process of making, adapting, or imitating objects, statistics, or documents with the intent to deceive. Copies, studio replicas, and reproductions are not considered forgeries, though they may later become forgeries through knowing and willful misrepresentations. Forging money or...

, condemned and executed.

Hastings, along with Sir Elijah Impey

Elijah Impey

Sir Elijah Impey was a British judge, at one time chief justice of Bengal and MP for New Romney.He was born the youngest son of Elijah Impey and his wife Martha, daughter of James Fraser and was educated at Westminster School with Warren Hastings, who was his intimate friend throughout life...

, the chief justice, was impeached by Parliament

Impeachment of Warren Hastings

The Impeachment of Warren Hastings was a failed attempt to impeach the former Governor-General of India Warren Hastings in the Parliament of Great Britain between 1788 and 1795. Hastings was accused of misconduct during his time in Calcutta particularly relating to mismanagement and personal...

. They were accused by Burke

Edmund Burke

Edmund Burke PC was an Irish statesman, author, orator, political theorist and philosopher who, after moving to England, served for many years in the House of Commons of Great Britain as a member of the Whig party....

 (and later by Macaulay) of committing judicial murder; but Sir James Stephen

James Fitzjames Stephen

Sir James Fitzjames Stephen, 1st Baronet was an English lawyer, judge and writer. He was created 1st Baronet Stephen by Queen Victoria.-Early life:...

, who examined the trial in detail, states that the indictment for forgery arose in the ordinary course, was not brought forward by Hastings, and that Impey conducted the trial with fairness and impartiality.

See Sir James Stephen, The Story of Nuncomar (2 vols., 1885); and, for another treatment of the case, H Beveridge, The Trial of Nanda Kumar (Calcutta, 1886).

External links

• The story of Nuncomar and the impeachment of Sir Elijah Impey Cornell University Library Historical Monographs Collection. {Reprinted by} Cornell University Library Digital Collections