GK Update – Modern Indian History : The decline of the Mughal empire – Part 1
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In this article we will discuss the later Mughal rulers, the
decline and disintegration of the dynasty during the first half of the 18th
century.
The death of the sixth Mughal emperor Aurangzeb in 1707 was
the beginning of the Mughal empire’s collapse. During his nearly 50-year reign,
Aurangzeb adopted many harmful policies that shook the unity and stability of the
empire. However, till his death, the Mughal administration was quite efficient
and its army was strong enough to rule over India.
Bahadur Shah I:
1.
After his death, Aurangzeb’s three sons, namely
Muhammad Azam Shah, Kam Baksh and Bahadur Shah I, fought for the throne. In the
end, the 65-year-old Bahadur Shah was triumphant in claiming his right to the
throne.
2.
He was learned and dignified and tried to undo Aurangzeb’s
narrow-minded policies.
3. Political
policies:
a) Rajputs:
●
Initially, he tried to take control of Rajpur states of
Amber and Marwar by replacing Jai Singh of Amber by his younger brother Vijay
Singh.
●
He also forced Raja Ajit Singh of Marwar (Jodhpur) to yield
to Mughal authority. He also attempted to garrison both Amber and Jodhpur.
●
However, due to strong resistance, Jai Singh and Ajit
Singh were reinstated as rulers of the states.
b) Marathas:
●
Bahadur Shah granted the Sardeshmukhi tax of the Deccan to Marathas, but he denied them the Chauth, which was also a tax collected during the early 1700s.
●
Further, he did not recognise Shahu as rightful Maratha
king and kept Tara Bai (of Satara) and Shahu (Kolhapur) busy fighting with
themselves for supremacy to prevent them from collectively raising arms against
the Mughal sultanate. As a result, disorder reined in the region.
c) Sikhs:
● He gave Sikh Guru Gobind Singh a high mansab (rank) in order to make peace with the Sikhs.
● But soon after the death of Guru Gobind Singh, the Sikhs, led by Banda Bahadur, revolted and took control of the area between Sutlej and Jamuna.
● He tried to take a firm military action against the rebels and succeeded in capturing the Lohgarh fort, which was built by Guru Gobind Singh. However, Sikh rebels recaptured the fort from Mughals in 1712.c) Sikhs:
● He gave Sikh Guru Gobind Singh a high mansab (rank) in order to make peace with the Sikhs.
● But soon after the death of Guru Gobind Singh, the Sikhs, led by Banda Bahadur, revolted and took control of the area between Sutlej and Jamuna.
● He tried to take a firm military action against the rebels and succeeded in capturing the Lohgarh fort, which was built by Guru Gobind Singh. However, Sikh rebels recaptured the fort from Mughals in 1712.
d) Other powers:
●
Bahadur Shah succeeded in making peace with Bundela
chief Chhatrasal.
●
He also allied with Jat king Churaman in a war against Sikh
rebels led by Banda Bahadur.
4. Bahadur Shah I had a weak hold
over state administration and expenses. The administrative and economic
position of Mughals worsened due to reckless grants of jagirs and promotions.
5. Before he could set it right,
he died in 1712 AD.
Jahandar Shah:
1.
After the death of Bahadur Shah I, his son Jahandar
Shah sat the throne with the support of the most powerful noble of Mughal court-
Zulfiqar Khan, who became Shah’s wazir and took control of the empire’s
administration.
2. Political policies:
Zulfiqar
Khan reversed Aurangzeb’s policies beginning with the abolishment of jizya
(religious tax).
a) Rajputs:
● Jay Singh, the Rajput king of Amber, was given the title of Mirza Raja Sawai and also appointed as the governor of Malwa.
● The Maharaja title was conferred on Rajput king of Marwar, who was appointed as the governor of Gujarat.
b) Marathas:
● Daud Khan Panni, the deputy of the Mughals in Deccan concluded an agreement with Maratha King Sahu in 1711.
● Zulfikar Khan recognised this agreement and granted Sardeshmukhi and Chauth of the Deccan to Sahu.
c) Other Powers:
●
Zulfikar Khan also continued the policy of appeasement
towards Jat king Churaman and Bundela king Chhatrasal.
●
He continued the policy of military suppression against
Banda Bahadur and the Sikh rebels.
4. Economic
policies:
●
Khan kept a check on the growth of jagirs and offices in
order to improve financial stability of the empire.
●
He tried to compel mansabdars to maintain official
quota of troops so as to reduce excessive expenses.
●
However, he started the evil tradition of ijarah or
revenue farming.
●
As opposed to collecting revenue at a fixed rate based
on Todar Mal’s land revenue settlement, the Mughal government started to make
contracts with revenue farmers and middlemen to pay a fixed amount of revenue
to government. Whereas these middlemen were free to extract any amount of
revenue from farmers.
To read the other articles in the series
Part 2 :
Part 3 :
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