www.gradeup.co CHAPTER 2 : INDIA IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY DISINTEGRATION OF THE MUGHAL EMPIRE During the reign of Aurangzeb, the last of the Great Mughals, there were revolts against the empire. These were the revolts of the Marathas, the Sikhs, the Jats and many others. After the death of Aurangzeb, the Mughal empire began to disintegrate fairly fast. The country soon broke up into smaller territories many of which became more or less independent. THE LATER MUGHALS The death of Aurangzeb in 1707 led to the usual event—a war of succession among his sons. Head three surviving sons who fought each other for the throne. The one who was victorious took the title of Bahadur Shah and began to reign in 1707. His short reign of four years was full of trouble. Bahadur Shah had tried to extend his control over the Rajputs. But they rebelled. Bahadur Shah could not do very much as meanwhile the Sikhs had revolted. The Marathas at this time were not in a position to create a serious problem for the Mughals, because they were fighting among themselves. They continued to raid Mughal territory now and again. The Maratha Raja Shahu had accepted a mansab (rank) in the Mughal administration. ➢ Death of Bahdur Shah in 1712 again started war of succession among his sons. ➢ Jahandar -Shah came to the throne in 1712, with the help of Zulfiqar Khan, who was Aurangzeb's senior most general. ➢ Farrukhsiyar became the Emperor in 1713.The most powerful nobles in this period were Abdullah Khan and" Husain Air Khan, popularly known as Saiyad brothers. ➢ The Saiyids raised to the throne, successively two cousins of Farrukhsiyar and then another cousin, Mohammad Shah. ➢ Mohammad Shah reigned for 29 years till 1748 ➢ The successors of Mohammad Shah were – Ahmed Shah (1748- 1754) , Alamgir (1754 – 1759), and Shah Alam II ( 1759- 1809) Independent states • Bengal ▪ Murshid Quli Khan had been the Diwan of Bengal under Aurangzeb. ▪ Farrukhsiyar made him the governor of Bengal. He soon became almost an independent ruler and shifted his capital to a town in central Bengal which he renamed Murshidabad. ▪ Murshid Quli Khan and his successor nawabs administered Bengal, Bihar and Qrissa as independent rulers though they continued to send revenue to the Mughal emperor regularly. • Hyderabad ▪ Chin Qilich Khan had been given the title of Nizam-ul-MuIk and had been made the governor . www.gradeup.co ▪ Though he never declared his independence, he governed the Deccan as an independent ruler . His successors were called Nizams of Hyderabad. • Avadh ▪ Saadat Khan, a junior Mughal officer, had helped in the overthrow of the Saiyid brothers. He was governor of Awadh in 1722. He was succeeded by his son-in-law Safdar Jang who also became wazir of empire. ▪ The authority of the Awadh rulers extended up to Rohilkhand, a territory to the east of Delhi. A large number of Afghans from the mountain ranges (Ruh)of the north-west frontier, called the Rohillas, were settled there. The Rohilla chiefs were trying to carve out independent principalities of their own in the area. • Punjab North of Delhi, the territories of Lahore and Multan were ruled by the Mughal governor. However, as a result of Nadir Shah's and later, Ahmed Shah Abdali invasions, their power was destroyed, and the Sikhs began to emerge as the supreme political power in India. Other states • The Rajputs ▪ The Rajput chiefs from the time of Akbar had provided strong support to the Mughal empire. Many of them, however, had rise in revolt against Aurangzeb when he tried to interfere with their privilege of inheriting their ancestral land. And after death death of Aurangzeb , they started reorganizing them. ▪ It time that the Rajputs were regaining their position and influence in the empire and emerging as its major support against the Jats and the Marathas. www.gradeup.co ▪ With the rise in the power of the Jats, the Marathas and the provincial rulers, they lost their Jagirs outside their own states and their began to shrink influence though the political ▪ Though the influence of the Rajputs declined, influence of a group of Rajasthani in the economy of the country increased. These were the These were the merchants who had earlier concentrated on the cross-country trade between the important centres in Gujarat , Agra at that time. • The Sikhs ▪ The Sikhs, had not been able to found a reign of Aurangzeb even though they had been organised into a group by the tenth and the last Guru— Guru Govind Singh. ▪ After the death of the Guru, the Sikhs found a capable leader in Banda Bahadur. Under his leadership offered valiant resistance to the Mughals and overran the entire territory between Lahore and Delhi. But he was defeated and put to death. ▪ Following invasion of Nadir Shah, the Mughal authority in Punjab declined and confusion prevailed as a result of the conflicts between the Afghans and the followers of Nadir Shah left in the region. ▪ Taking advantage of the situation, the Sikhs began to occupy province step by step. They formed themselves into twelve groups known as Misls. Even Ahmad Shah Abdali was unable to destroy the Misls and within two years of his departure, the governors appointed by him at Sirhind and Lahore were driven out. ▪ Nabha, Patiala and Kapurthala emerged as small independent states. Expansion and Decline of the Maratha Power ➢ The Marathas were small chieftains who owed allegiance to the Deccan kingdoms Many of them were employed as officers in these kingdoms as well as under the Mughals. When they saw the Deccan kingdoms being attacked by the Mughals, they began to break away. ➢ They gathered bands of soldiers around them and began defying the authority of the Deccan kingdoms. ➢ By using the tactics of guerilla warfare they succeeded in harassing the Mughal armies. Gradually they became so strong that they defied not only the local kingdoms but the Mughals too. ➢ The most powerful of the Maratha chiefs was Shivaji. His father had been a feudatory of Bijapur and had served in the Bijapur army. He declared himself the independent ruler of the Maratha kingdom and was crowned m 1674. ➢ After the death of Aurangzeb, Shivaji ‘s grandson Shahu was released from captivity; Tara Bai, the widow; Raja Ram, had installed her son arrival king at Kolhapur, while Shahu ruled at Satara RISE OF PESHWAS ▪ Balaji Vishwanath contributed greatly to the success of Shahu. He rose to the position of the Peshwa and inaugurated an era of Maratha expansion. He entered into a pact with one of the Sayyid brothers. ▪ Balaji Vishwanath was succeeded by his son Baji Rao in 1720. He started the policy fighting an offensive war against the Nizam and of extending Maratha power in the north to levy tribute. He conquered. MaJwa, Gujarat and Bundelkhad and conducted raids upto Delhi. www.gradeup.co However, he did not occupy Delhi as the Mughal emperor still carried considerable prestige. The Maratha raids were not conducted for conquest. They were primarily interested in laying their hands on a major part of the land revenue of these areas. ▪ Baji Rao's son Balaji Baji Rao continued the forward policy of his father. During his Peshwaship,the Marathas reached as far as Bihar and Orissa in the east" and the Punjab in the north. This was the period of the greatest the Maratha power. WEAKNESSES OF THE MARATHA SYSTEM ▪ The Marathas were never able to develop a political system which could help them to consolidate their conquests and establish a stable administration. ▪ the policy which helped them to extend their power also brought their ultimate ruin. Apart from fixed Sardeshmukhi and Chauth tax sent to central Maratha power at Satara , rest was retained by sardar who maintained his own army. The Third Battle of Panipat (1761) exposed their internal weaknesses and for them other quarters. THIRD BATTLE OF PANIPAT The Third Battle of Panipat took place on 14 January 1761 at Panipat, between the Maratha Empire and the invading Afghan army of (Ahmad Shah Durrani), supported by three Indian allies — the Rohilla(Najib-ud-daulah), Afghans of the Doab region, and Shuja-ud-Daula-(the Nawab of Awadh). The Maratha army was led by Sadashivrao Bhau who was third in authority after the Chhatrapati (Maratha King) and the Peshwa (Maratha Prime Minister). The main Maratha army was stationed in Deccan with the Peshwa. The consequences of the war with Ahmad Shah Abdali were disastrous for the Marathas. SOME FEATURES OF SOCIETY AND POLITICS ▪ During this period of political conflicts, trade and commerce continued to flourish. Some of the important centres of trade and commerce i in this period were Murshidabad and Dhaka in Bengal, Hyderabad and Masulipatam in the south, and Faizabad , Benaras, Lucknow and Gorakhpur , Awadh. ▪ Indian society also presented picture of disunity. A large number of people were treated badly by the upper castes and were considered 'untouchables'. ▪ The Muslim community also were divisions and some considered - themselves to be superior to the others. There were reasons for this disunity : ▪ Political rulers lived a luxurious life and cared less about social lives of their subjects and other scientific developments around the world. ▪ Rulers were fighting among themselves , becoming unaware towards real danger about foreign power and willing to become tools of the foreign trading produced companies. .