F10195_0056

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24.
ever, he had an important task set
him. The Nawab Wazir, like so many
of the Indian rulers of the time, was
quite powerless to manage his kingdom.
His troops were disorderly & disaffected,
a danger rather than a defence:
his civil administration was as
rotten & useless as his army. Oudh
had long been under the Company's
protection. A former treaty with Sir
John Shore had given the Wazir 13,000
British troops in return for his annual
payment of about [pound symbol]750,000; & he was
moreover given a guarantee that these
troops should effectually protect him
against his enemies. This treaty had
served its purpose at the time, & 13,000
troops would have been sufficient under
any ordinary circumstances. But
a new factor had intruded itself into
the position. Oudh, the most vulnerable
point in all the British dominions
in India, was threatened by no common
foe. The danger may have been
exaggerated; it may have been real.
In any case it is certain that anxious
fears were being entertained concerning
the possibility of an invasion from
Zeman Shah, a most powerful Afghan

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