Fall of Mughal Empire I need content key events, reasons,consequences etc.

   MUGHALEMPIRE …

… 1526 – 1540, 1555-1857Babar..

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…1526 – 1530 ADHumayun…..

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……. 1530-1540, 1555-1556 ADAkbar.

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1556 – 1605 ADJahangir…

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…… 1605 -1627 ADShahjahan..

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.1628-1658 ADAurangazeb…

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. 1658 – 1707ADBahadurshah IIDECLINE OF MUGHAL EMPIREBahadur shah I (1707-1712)· After Aurangzeb’s death,bahadur shah emerged victorious among the 3 brothers.· Reversed the narrow-mindedpolicies of his father.§ More tolerant attitudetowards Hindu chiefs and rajas§ No destruction of templesPoliticalRajputs· They demanded the highmansabs and offices of subahdar of Malwa and Gujrat butthey were not accepted.Mansabdar· Individual who holds a mansab(a position or a rank)· It was a grading system usedby the Mughals to fix – Rank, Salary and Militaryresponsibilities· Rank and salary weredetermined by a numerical value called zat.

Higherthe zat, themore prestigious position of noble and larger the salary· The mansabdar’s militaryresponsibilities required him to maintain a specified no. ofsawar or cavalrymen.· The mansabdar brought hiscavalrymen for review, got them registered, their horsesbranded and then received money to pay them as salarySubahdarThe empire was divided into many provinces called subas or subahs, governed by subadar.Subadar has military and political functions whilefinancial functions are done by Diwan(financial officer).Subadar was assisted by –· Military paymaster (bakshi)· Minister in charge ofreligious and charitable patronage (sadr)· Military commanders (fuajdar)· Townpolice commander (kotwal) Finance· Tried to improve finances bytaking some steps –§ Checked the reckless growthof jagirs and offices§ Compelled the mansabdars(nobles) to maintain their official quota of troops§ Encouraged Ijarah or revenuefarming.Downfall of Zulfiqaar khan· Many of nobles were jealousof the capable and energetic wazir. So they secretlyworkagainst him + emperor too didn’t have trust on him. Farrukh Siyar (1713 – 1719)· He became emperor by defeating his uncle Jahandar shah at Agra in 1713.

· He became emperor because of support of saiyid brothers, Abdullah khan (wazir)and Ali Khan barahow (mir bakshi)· If it was last chance to save the empire duringreign of Muhammad shah, then why hewas not able to save?· If a strong and farsightedruler with support of conscious and peril might nobilitywould have been there the empire could have been saved.(Remember better theleader, better will be the subordinate. E.g. Indian Army)· But the emperor was not theman of the moment.o He was weak-mindedand frivolous and over-fond of a life of ease andluxury.o He neglected the affairs of state.

o Instead of giving full support to able wazirs such asNizam-ul-Mulk, he fellunder the evil influence of corrupt and worthlessflatterers and intriguedagainst his own ministers.o He even shared in the bribes taken by his favouritecourtiers.· Fight of loyalty and virtue from the Empire, i.

e. leaving of Nizam – ul –mulk (one ofthe ablest noble), had confirmed that the physicalbreak-up of the Mughal Empirehad begun.Result of neglecting the affairs of emperor andflight of loyalty and virtue:· The other powerful andambitious nobles utilized their energies for carving outsemi-independent states.· Hereditary nawabs arose inmany parts of the country, for example, in Bengal,Hyderabad, Avadh, and the Punjab.· Even petty zamindars, rajas and nawabs raised the banner ofrebellion andindependence.· The Maratha sardars begantheir northern expansion and overran Malwa, Gujaratand Bundelkhand.· In short nobles, nawabs, rajas, zamindars etc.

utilized theopportunity for theirselfishness.· In 1738-1739, Nadir Shahdescended upon the plains of northern India, and theEmpirelay prostrate. · Nadir Shah was attracted toIndia by the fabulous wealth for which it was alwaysfamous.· Bankruptcy of Persia becauseof continual campaigns.· Money was needed desperatelyto maintain his mercenary army.· Spoils from India could be asolution.· visible weakness of theMughal Empire· no opposition from Indianside· neglecting of defences of thenorthwest frontier by Indian side· faction-ridden nobles refusedto unite even in sight of the enemy· no plan for defence or on thecommander of the defending forces.Q.

Result of Nadir Shah Attack:· Disunity, poor leadership,and mutual jealousies and distrust can only result indefeat.o invader inflicted a crushing defeat on the Mughal army· Inflicted immense damage onthe Mughal Empire.o Caused anirreparable loss of prestige and exposedthe hidden weakness ofthe Empire to the Maratha sardars and the foreign tradingcompanies.· The Emperor Muhammad Shah wastaken prisoner· massacre of the citizens ofthe imperial capital· invader took possession ofthe royal treasury and other royal property· Plunderedthe rich of Delhi. · Ceding of all the provincesof the Empire west of the river Indus.· Exempted his own Kingdom fromtaxation for three years!· Initiation for Furtherinvasions in future.· In administration –o Central administration paralyzed· In finance –o Invasion ruined imperial financeso adversely affected the economic life of the country.o The impoverished nobles began to rack-rent and oppress thepeasantryo Nobles start fighting for rich jagirs and offices moredesperately.

o one another over rich jagirs and high offices moredesperately than ever.After the invasion· Empire seems to revive but itwas deceptive and superficial· Area under empire’s effectivecontrol started shrank rapidly· After death of Muhammad shahin 1748, civil war broke out between power hungrynobles.· Further weakening of thenorth western defences, invited repeated invasions ofAhmad Shah Abdali (one of the ablest generals of NadirShah)o He had invaded and plundered north India repeatedlybetween 1748 and1761o Defeated Marathas in 3rd battle of Panipat in 1761 Q. Why Mughal Empire remained merely as the kingdomof Delhi or ceased to exist as allIndia Empire in practice?· Invasion of nadir shah andAhmad Shah Abdali had made larger damage to Mughalprestige· Internal conflicts of nobles· Dailyriot and tumult in Delhi Causes of the Decline of the Mughal Empire· Existing means ofcommunication and the economic and political structure of thecountry made it difficult to establish a stablecentralized administration over allparts of the countryAurangzeb factors· Created too many enemies(while in same case Akbar had made alliances withRajputs and not enemies)§ destroyed main pillar ofstrength of Mughals i.e. Rajputs· Suppressing the other powerslead to draining of resources· Absence from north for 25years lead deterioration in administration, defying ofcentral authority by local officials· Jat and Sikh uprisings werenot large but significant because of popularity – peasantsform their backbone· Religious orthodox and policytowards Hindu rulers§ Imposing the jaziya,destroying many of the Hindu temples in the north, andputting certain restrictions on the Hindus.§ while Akbar, Jahangir, shahjahan was basically a secular state and followedpolicy of non-interference with religious beliefs· Widen the gulf between theHindu and Muslim upper classes· But the role of the religious policy of Aurangzeb in causing the decay ofMughalpower shouldnot be over-stressed.This policy was followed only in the latter partof his reign.

It was speedily abandoned by his successors.After Aurangzeb· Neither the Hindus nor theMuslims formed a homogenous community at that time.· If Aurangzeb left the Empirewith many problems unsolved, the situation was furtherworsened by the ruinous wars of succession.

· Thousands of trained soldiersand hundreds of capable military commandersand efficient and tried officials were killed.· Moreover, these civil warsloosened the administrative fabric of the Empire.· After Bahadur Shah, theupcoming Emperor doesn’t possess required capabilities.

· Most of were worthless,weak-willed and luxury- loving kings while rulers likeAurangzeb was neither weak nor degenerated. He livessimple and austerelife. · Deterioration in character of nobles. i.e.

they were no longerloyal, efficient andalert· The Mughal court consisted of four groupsof nobles, the Turanis, the Iranis,the Afghans and the Indian born Muslims· Fond of Excessive luxury· They took their families with themselves whenthey go out to fight· Many were poorly educated· Many of them even neglected the art offighting· Monopolizing of offices by making themhereditary and depriving the ablestperson· Fighting with each other· Formed groups and factions against eachother and even against the king· Lack of public virtue and politicalforesight· Selfishness and lack of devotion to stategave birth to corruption inadministration· Reason for this was paucity of jagirs andthe reduced income of the existingjagirs at a time when no. of nobles and their expenditures wasincreasing§ Reduced their expenditure by notmaintaining full quota of troops andthus weakened the armed strength of Mughal§ To balance their own budgets, appropriatedkhalisah (crown) lands, thusintensifying the financial crisis of the central Government· One of basic cause was – Mughal Empirewas not able to satisfy the minimumneeds of its population.· Stagnation and deterioration in agriculture and impoverishmentof peasants· Burden of land revenue increasing fromAkbar’s time· Constant transfer of nobles from theirjagirs also led to great evil. They tried toextract as much from a jagir as possible in the short period of theirtenure asjagirdars.§ They made heavy demands on peasants andcruelly oppressed them· Rise of new class of revenue farmers andtalukdars whose extortions frompeasants formed no bounds· Impoverishment of peasants Resulted in:· Discontent increased§ In some instances, peasants left the landto avoid paying of land revenue§ Discontent found outlet in series ofuprisings (the Satnamies, the Jats, theSikhs, etc.) which eroded the empire’s stability· Some ruined peasants formed roving bandsof robbers and adventurersundermining the law and order and efficiency of empire· Agriculture no more producing surplus· Trade and agriculture was alternative but they also faced stagnation· Bad communications hamperedthe growth of trade and commerce· No new advances in science and Technology· Neglect of overseas trade and navy· Important socio-politicalcause – absence of spirit of political nationalism among people· Reason –§ existing character of theIndian economy, social relations, caste structure,and political institutions was such that the time was notyet ripe for theunification of Indian society or for its emergence as anation§ took little interest in thepolitic of empire· Administrative· Rapid decline in theadministrative efficiency of empire· Law and order broke down inmany parts of the country.· Unruly Zamindars openlydefied central authority.· Even the royal camp andMughal armies on the march were often plundered byhostile elements.

· Corruption and bribery,indiscipline and inefficiency, disobedience and disloyaltyprevailed on a large scale among officials at all levels.· Financial· The Central Government wasoften on the verge of bankruptcy.· The old accumulated wealthwas exhausted while the existing sources of incomewere narrowed.· Many provinces failed toremit provincial revenues to the centre.· The area of the khalsah landswas gradually reduced as Emperors tried to placatefriendly nobles by granting jagirs out of these lands.· The rebellious Zamindarsregularly withheld revenue.

· Efforts to increase income byoppressing the peasantry produced popularreaction.· Army· Mughal army lacked disciplineand fighting morale during 18thcentury· Lack of finance made itdifficult to maintain a large army§ Its soldiers and officerswere not paid for months,· Since soldiers were meremercenaries, they were constantly disaffected andoften verged on a mutiny.· Again, thenoblemen-cum-commanders did not maintain their full quota ofmilitary contingents because of their own financialtroubles· Moreover, the civil warsresulted in the death of many brilliant commanders andbrave and experienced soldiers. Thus, the army, theultimate sanction of anempire, and the pride of the Great Mughals, was soweakened that it could nolonger curb the ambitious chiefs and nobles or defend theEmpire from foreignaggression. · Foreign invasion· Attacks by Nadir Shah andAhmad Shah Abdali drained the Empire of its wealth,ruined its trade and industry in the North, and almostdestroyed its militarypower.· British challenge took awaythe last hope of the revival of the crisis-riddenEmpire.

Q. What were the Consequences of Decline of MughalEmpire?· None of the Indian powersrose to claim the heritage of the Grand Mughals for theywere strong enough to destroy the Empire but not strongenough to unite it or tocreate anything new in its place.· They could not create a newsocial order which could stand up to the newenemy from the West.

All of the powers which were againstMughals weresuffering from same weakness which Mughals suffered.· Degenerated state of Mughalsinvited Europeans to knock at the gates of India.· They had the benefit ofcoming from societies which had evolved a superioreconomic system and which were more advanced in scienceand technology.· The centuries-oldsocio-economic and political structure of the country was replacedit with a colonial structure.· The stagnation of Indiansociety was broken and new forces of change emerged.· Because the motives ofEuropeans were colonial they brought extreme misery,nationaldegradation, economic, political, and cultural backwardness.   What factors lead to thedecline of Mughal Empire? European invasion of India waspossible because of the lack of any central power in India. For a very longtime Mughals held that status but then by the end of 18th century theystarted to wither away.

The factors which lead to the decline of MughalEmpire were: ? Policiesof Aurangzeb: by the end of his rule Aurangzeb had converted the liberalMughal Empire into an orthodox Sunni state. This disenchanted the non-Muslimrajas and ministers and lead to rebellions by Sikhs, Marathas, Rajputs, Jatsetc. ? Noproper policy for Succession: As there was no common rule for successionAurangzeb’s death lead to war for succession between the princes. BhadurShah proved to be a good successor, but later kings were incapable. ? Corruptbureaucracy: kings were surrounded by corrupt and selfish incapablebureaucracy who was good for nothing but buttering. ? Independentstates: Many capable ministers practically declared their stateindependent. They made treaties, declared wars at their will. Most prominentamongst them were, Hyderabad, Bengal, Rohilkhand etc.

? Riseof Marathas: with the help of guirilla warfare technique Marathas weregaining more power and acquiring more land. ? Downfallof economy: Mughals couldn’t serve the basic needs of its population.Condition of peasantry was deteriorating and this lead to many revolts.

? Battle of Buxar: ShahAlam II lost the battle of Buxar against the British. This was a major blow tothe power and status of Mughals. After this Mughal empire practically shrinkedto Delhi.   Why was the battle of Buxarfought and why was it so decisive in establishing the Administration of Britishin India? The Battle of Buxar, asignificant battle in the history of India, was fought between British EastIndia Company and the combined forces of Nawabs and the Mughal Emperor. Whilethe East India Company’s force was led by Hector Munro, the Indian force wasled by the Mughal rulers of three princely states – Mir Qasim, the Nawab ofBengal, Shuja-ud-Daulah, the Nawab of Awadh and Shah Alam II, the MughalEmperor. Both the Nawabs were governors under the Mughal Emperor. The seeds of the Battle ofBuxar were sown after the Battle of Plassey, when Mir Qasim became the Nawab ofBengal. The primary cause was the conflict between the English and Mir Qasim.

Mir Qasim was an independent ruler and was the strongest and ablest of allNawabs. He undertook some reformation, under which there was a reduction inexpenditure on administration and palaces; fire locks and guns were manufactured,there was regular payment of salaries, new taxes were imposed and the capitalwas shifted from Monghyar to Murshidabad, which annoyed the British nobles andofficers. The English wanted Mir to remain as a puppet in their hands. But, healways wanted to keep himself away from the British influence.

This led to anumber of conflicts between him and the English. He was defeated in threesuccessive battles (between June to September 1763) before the Battle of Buxar,which eventually compelled him to flee to Allahabad where he metShuja-ud-Daulah. In the meantime, after the acquisition of power as the MughalEmperor, Shah Alam II also wanted to combine several states as one physicallystronger empire, which included Bengal (Bengal+Bihar+Orissa). But, he alsocould not overpower the British and was under the shelter of Shuja-ud-Daulahwho always wanted to destroy the English supremacy in Bengal. The historic battle foughtbetween the British and the Indian forces resulted in victory for the British.The three combined army forces of Mir Qasim (Bengal), Shuja-ud-Daulah (Awadh),and Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II met with a crushing defeat under the hands ofMajor Munro. Thesignificant outcomes of this battle were as follows: · It led to the signing of the Allahabad Treaty in 1765 byLord Robert Clive with Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II.

?With the defeat of Mir Kasim,the rule of Nawabs came to an end. ?Diwani rights or fiscalrights were secured which meant that the British would administer and managerevenues of large areas which included the present-day West Bengal, Jharkhand,Bihar, and Uttar Pradesh, as well as of Bangladesh. The British became themasters of the people of these places.

?In return of this right, theBritish would give Rs 26 lakh to the Mughal emperor Shah Alam II. ?After the Buxar victory, theEnglish armies moved towards Awadh and established their control over Banarasand Allahabad. ?Shuja-ud-Daulah would pay Rs50 lakh immediately to the company as expenses of war. He also needed to paylater Rs 25 lakh in instalments. ?The treaty legalised the EastIndia Company’s control over the whole of Bengal. Thus, the British establishedtheir control in the eastern part of the country.

?Ghazipur and its adjacentarea were handed over to the East India company. ?The Allahabad fort became thehome of the emperor and he would be protected by few men of the company’s army.? Avakil of the English (British Resident) would remain in the court of Shah AlamII. But he was not allowed to interfere in the administration of the country. Themost significant outcome of this war was the Diwani rights of Bengal given toBritish. The British East India Company, apart from being a business entity nowofficially got the rights of Administration.