DECLINE OF MUGHAL

The first half of the eighteenth century saw the decline of the Mughals. The reign of Aurangzeb (1658-1707) proved to signify the beginning of the end of Mughal rule in India. It is argued that Aurangzeb’s misguided policies weakened the stability of the state and the decline gained momentum after his death due to wars of succession and weak rulers.

After the death of Aurangzeb in 1707, a war of succession began amongst his three surviving sons, Muazzam – the governor of Kabul, Azam-the governor of Gujarat, and Kam Baksh-the governor of Deccan.

Muazzam defeated both Azam at Jajau in 1707 and Kam Baksh near Hyderabad in 1708. Muazzam emerged victorious and ascended the Mughal throne with the title of Bahadur Shah I. He was also known as Shah Alam I.

Though Muhammad Shah ruled for 29 years (1719-48) but was an incompetent ruler. Muhammad Shah’s reign witnessed the establishment of independent states of Hyderabad, Bengal, Awadh, and Punjab.

CHALLENGES BEFORE THE MUGHALS

1. EXTERNAL CHALLENGES

The northwestern borders had been neglected by the later Mughals and not much effort was expended in protecting the border.

• Nader Shah
  The Persian emperor, attacked India in 1738-39, conquered Lahore and defeated the Mughal army at Karnal in 1739. According to an estimate, apart from the Peacock Throne and the Kohinoor diamond, seventy crore rupees were collected from the official treasury and the safes of the rich Nobles.

• Ahmad Shah Abdali (Ahmad Shah Durrani)
  He was elected the successor of Nadir Shah. He invaded India several times between 1748 and 1767. In 1757, Abdali captured Delhi and left behind an Afghan caretaker to watch over the Mughal emperor. In 1761, Abdali defeated the Marathas in the Third Battle of Panipat. The last of Abdali’s invasions came in 1767.

2. WEAK RULERS AFTER AURANGZEB (INTERNAL CHALLENGE)

• Bahadur Shah I (1707-12)
  He tried to reverse some of the narrow-minded policies and measures adopted by Aurangzeb. He followed a conciliatory policy towards the Rajputs and Marathas but a strict policy towards the Sikhs.

  • He granted Marathas the sardeshmukhi of Deccan but failed to give them the chauth. He also did not recognize Shahu as the rightful Maratha king. Thus, the Marathas were not fully satisfied.
  • He made reconciliation with Guru Gobind Singh and granted him high mansab but after his death he also crushed a rebellion by Banda Bahadur, who was Gobind Singh’s successor.
  • Khafi Khan called him Shah-i-Bekhabar (Headless King).

  Previously, the contest for power was between the royal princes. Now nobles became direct aspirants to the throne and began using the prince as pawns to capture authoritarian positions.

  

• Jahandar Shah (1712-1713)

  • He was a weak ruler and came to the throne chiefly with the help of Zulfikar Khan, the powerful noble who as a reward was made the wazir (prime minister).
  • The prince was the least interested in administration and it passed into the hands of Zulfiqar.
  • He advocated a friendly policy towards the Rajputs, Marathas, and the Hindu chieftains not only to strengthen his own position but to ensure the survival of the empire. He abolished the jizya.
  • He introduced the evil practice of revenue-farming (Ijarah) whereby the government established contact with the revenue farmers and middlemen who paid the government a fixed amount while they were free to collect whatever they could from the peasant.

  Reign of Jahandar Shah soon came to an end in 1713 when he was defeated by his nephew Farrukh Siyar at Agra.

• Farrukh Siyar (1713-1719)

  • Farrukh Siyar came to power with the help of Sayyid brothers, Abdullah Khan and Hussain Ali Khan Barha – the kingmakers. They were given the office of the wazir and mirbakshi respectively.
  • In 1717, Farrukh Siyar granted many trading privileges to the East India Company and also exempted customs duties for its trading through Bengal.
  • The struggle for power between the emperor and the Sayyid brothers increased and the efforts of the emperor to overthrow the brothers failed repeatedly. Finally, Farrukh was deposed and killed in 1719.

• Muhammad Shah (Rangeela) (1719-48)

  • The Sayyid brothers quickly raised two young princes, Rafi-ud-Darajat and Rafi-ud-Daula (Shah Jahan II) who died within months. Finally, Roshan Akhtar, the son of Jahan Shah, was placed on the throne under the title of Muhammad Shah.
  • The Sayyid brothers followed a policy of religious tolerance. They abolished the jizyah as well as the pilgrimage tax at many places.
  • The weakness of the Mughal empire was exposed when Nadir Shah invaded India, defeated the Mughal emperor in Battle of Karnal and looted Delhi in 1739. He carried away with him the famous Kohinoor diamond and the jewel-studded Peacock throne of Shahjahan.

CAUSES OF DECLINE OF MUGHAL

• Aurangzeb’s expansionist policies created many fissures and his weak successors led to the decline of the Mughal Empire.
• Nerve center of Mughals Delhi also saw multiple uprisings from Jats, Satnamis, Sikhs, etc.
• Battles with Marathas drained Mughals of their wealth.
• Military machinery was outdated and naval power was never given any attention.
• Poor thrust on science made the Mughal empire backward in outlook.
• Revenue policies started to take a toll on the peasantry.
• Corruption, wars for succession, decline in arts, trade, and commerce, decline in loyalty of nobles, foreign invasions (Nadir Shah, Abdali, etc.) were other factors which proved fatal for the Mughal Empire.
• The emergence of British and other European colonial powers and their arrival in India as they were militarily and financially superior and politically informed of the Indian conditions.

Rise of Regional States

• Successor States – The Mughal provinces that turned into states after breaking away from the empire:

  • Bengal (Founder – Murshid Quli Khan)
  • Awadh (Founder – Saadat Khan)
  • Hyderabad (Founder – Nizam-ul-Mulk Asaf Jah)

• Independent Kingdoms – These states came into existence primarily due to the destabilization of Mughal control over the provinces:

  • Mysore
  • Kerala
  • Rajput states

• The New States – These were the states set up by the rebels against the Mughal empire:

  • Maratha
  • Sikh
  • Jat states