View source for Dastak (trade permit)

{{Short description|Colonial Era trade permit issued by Indian kings}}
'''Dastak''' was a trade permit mostly issued to European traders by officials of the East India Company. The trade permit waived customs or transicharges for personal goods.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kVSh_TyJ0YoC&pg=PA151|title=Land of Two Rivers: A History of Bengal from the Mahabharata to Mujib|last=Sengupta|first=Nitish K.|date=2011|publisher=Penguin Books India|isbn=9780143416784|location=|pages=151|language=en}}</ref> The power to issue trade permits was conferred upon Company officials by the Mughal Emperor [[Farrukhsiyar]] after [[William Hamilton (surgeon)|William Hamilton]], a surgeon associated with the Company cured him of a disease.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Calcutta : society and change, 1690-1990|last=Roy, Samaren.|date=2005|publisher=iUniverse|isbn=0595342302|location=Lincoln, NE|pages=29|oclc=62595879}}</ref>
== Definition ==
The practice of using dastaks for almost any goods was consolidated by [[Robert Clive]] when he overthrew the then [[Nawabs of Bengal and Murshidabad|Nawab of Bengal]], [[Mir Qasim|Mir Quasim]] after he opposed the British East India Company's position that their dastaks meant that they could trade without paying taxes (other local merchants with dastaks were required to pay up to 40% of their revenue as tax). The British then seized control of the province of Bengal by reinstating puppet ruler [[Mir Jafar]].<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fDxyDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA90|title=Through The Ages History & Civics class 8|last=GUPTA|first=TAPATI DAS|publisher=S. Chand Publishing|year=|isbn=9789352534173|location=|pages=90|language=en}}</ref>
== Advantages ==
The dastak was an important reason for the impoverishment of Bengal. Company officials were able to make personal fortunes by using the dastaks which allowed them to skip paying custom duties altogether. This led to a drain in wealth from Bengal. The practice of abusing trade laws was institutionalized such that any gain made by the Indian products in foreign markets translated into a financial gain for Britain.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nIgp7wmh0fgC&pg=PA55|title=Remembering 1857|last1=Conference|first1=Democratic Youth Federation of India All India|last2=Basu|first2=Jyoti|last3=Committee|first3=Students' Federation of India Tamilnadu State|publisher=Bharathi Puthakalayam|year=|isbn=|location=|pages=55–56|language=en}}</ref>
== Abolishment ==
The practise of issuing dastaks to traders was abolished by [[Warren Hastings]] due to the disadvantage the dastaks offered to the local Indian traders.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1spRAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA8|title=Warren Hastings and Philip Francis|last=Weitzman|first=Sophia|publisher=Manchester University Press|year=1929|isbn=|location=|pages=8|language=en}}</ref>
== References ==<!-- Inline citations added to your article will automatically display here. See en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WP:REFB for instructions on how to add citations. -->
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== External links ==
* {{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/dastak|title=Dastak {{!}} trade permit|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en|access-date=2019-11-11}}
[[Category:Government of the Mughal Empire]]
[[Category:Bengal Presidency]]
[[Category:18th century in British India]]
[[Category:British East India Company]]