Question

Why was the Battle of Buxar fought?

Answer 1

Mir Qasim, the nawab of Bengal, was determined to gain independence from the British. Abandoning Murshidabad as his capital, he went to live at Munger, where he began to gather a large army.
In 1763, he entered into a conflict with the British. The situation was aggravated after he ordered the cold-blooded murder of 148 British soldiers in Patna. Soon, the British troops captured Patna, compelling Mir Qasim to take refuge with Shuja ud-Daulah (nawab-wazir of Awadh) and the Mughal Emperor Shah Alam.
The trio, united in their objective of expelling the British, marched towards Patna and took up position at Buxar, on the Ganges. The Battle of Buxar took place on 22 October, 1764, in which Major Hector Munro, after a hard-fought battle, managed to defeat the allies. With this victory, the military conquest of Bengal and Bihar by the British was complete. With no further need of a puppet Nawab, the Company took control of Bengal.