Modern Indian History Class 04
Impact of Nadir shah invasion
- Huge loss of prestige for the Mughals.
- Muhammad Shah lost the respect of Mansabdars as did not stand up for his dignity despite insults by Nadir Shah.
- Lost prestige among people as Nadir Shah massacred 2 lakh, civilians in Delhi, therefore people realized that the Mughals cannot protect them.
- Loss of military prestige as it was a huge military defeat, Soon after a defeat by Marathas in 1738.
- Huge economic loss and now the Mughals could not maintain a strong army.
- Nadir shah took away Peacock's throne that had Kohinoor in it, a huge loot of elephants and workers, and a huge wealth worth 100 crores.
- Therefore Mansabdars were also drained of wealth as they had to contribute to the loot.
- It is not a coincidence that Nizam left Delhi permanently for Hyderabad in 1740 (also fear of Marathas west of Hyderabad).
- Now chances of foreign invasion increased (1748-1st Afghan invasion by Abdali, 1756- 2nd Afghan invasion by Abdali, 1799-3rd Afgan invasion by Zaman Shah).
More Proofs of the decline of the Mughals(5.22 PM)
- 1st Afghan invasion failed 1748, however, the fear of future invasion remained, therefore in 1752 Mughals came under the protection of Marathas (sahu 1949 recognised authority of mughal emperor + accepeted mansab and promise to maintain mmansab as mansabdar), who were now the top power in India.
- Shahu recognized the authority of the Mughal emperor, accepted a Mansab, and promised to maintain the army as Mansabdars.
- Alamgir-II (5459)was a puppet brought to power by Marathas by interfering in succession disputes.
- Therefore by the mid-18th century Marathas were top power along with strong autonomous states, that is successor states of Bengal, Hyderabad, and Awadh, + Rebel states like Marathas, Sikhs, Jats, and Afghans, and Already autonomous states like Rajput, Mysore, and Travancore.
- While the Mughal emperor's authority was limited to Delhi and Agra.(Q Mughal empire was figment of imagination by mid 18th Century elaborate ? - Ans = Decline of Mughals with more focus on political and military decline with some proofs of decline )
- Q By Mid 18 th cent. Clarify how India was beset with spectre of Fragmented polity ? Ans = Lack of Strong Centre
- + focus on Rebel , AA States, SS
- focus on 1 subject complete it --- at least ek din to karlo pura .. sufficient ki something to karo ki kl phir se suru na karna pare
- e ke power x never happen --- if continously shifting the subject
Successor States ( nawab khud se hi mansab aur jagir dene laga -- not asking to mughal emperor, mnn kiye war karne ka kr liya without consent of emperor,, who are you --nothing in context of emperor, in family mother acting as successor )
- They included Bengal( Murshid Quli Khan 1717-27 MQK 1727), Hyderabad(Nizam-Ul-Mulk 244048 - 1724-48), and Awadh(Sadat Ali Khan 1722 - 40).
- Within the Mughal empire, certain powerful nobles established themself as autonomous power centres by carving out successor states within the Mughal empire, that is they ruled autonomously but never formally broke ties with the Mughal empire.
- This was because of personal ambitions in Delhi politics, that is the desire for greater influence outside their principalities by holding positions like Wazir, Mir Bakshi, etc.
- They also wanted the legitimacy of the Mughal empire for better trade with the rest of the Mughal empire and the potential of military help from the rest of the Mughal empire.
- These nobles after getting appointed as governors consolidated power by ending the system of checks and balances, therefore leading to over-concentration of power.
- They ensured they ensured that their relatives and loyalists were appointed to important positions/Mansabs like Dewan, Deputy-Subadar, War commander, and other important positions
- For example, Sadat Ali Khan 2240 got his son-in-law Safdarjung appointed as Deputy-Subadar and Murshid Quli Khan mqk 1727 was already Dewan when he was appointed as Subadar/Najim/Nawab/Governor of Bengal Subha.
- They gathered the support of economically powerful sections like intermediary Zamindars, Ijaradars/revenue farmers, merchants, moneylenders, and bankers by:
- Not harassing them.
- Not applying arbitrary taxes.
- By proving law and order stability that was good for trade.
- By Providing security of property.
- Distributing Mansabs which was a new feature as traditionally men of money were not made Msabdars and nobles based on lineage dominated the Mansabdari system traditionally.
- Therefore there was a rise of men of money in successor states, for example:
- By 1727, 15 intermediary Zamindars were responsible for 50% of land revenue collection.
- The House of Jagat Seth became a strong financial power and the Dutch describe Jagat Seth as the richest banker in the world.
- Jagat Seth controlled the royal mint, acted as a banker for the nawab(loaned money to nawab), and financed trade all across India(loaned money to merchants).
- In Hyderabad, the core feature of the Mansabdari system changed as men of money now dominated the Mansabdari system.
- They converted Tankha Jagir into Vatan Jagir to get the support of pre-existing Mansabdars, example in Hyderabad core feature of Tankha Jagir vanished as many were converted into Vatan Jagir.
- They established effective revenue administration and this increased their monetary power.
- For example, Murshid Quli Khan was known for its effective revenue administration and did detailed surveys for land revenue assessment(that is identify the soil productivity, irrigation available, crops sown, past trends of land revenue collection, and area under production) before demanding land revenue.
- Then they began ruling autonomously as distributed Mansabs and Jagirs without permission or reference to the Mughal emperor, and behaved autonomously in important matters like matters of war and peace, signing treaties with neighbours, domestic policies, etc.
- They gradually reduced financial reporting of revenue collected to Delhi, that is books of account were not sent.
- They also stopped sending revenue regularly to Delhi and later also reduced the amount of revenue and finally stop it.
- Finally, these nobles established their dynastic rule, and therefore Mughal emperor lost power in the successor state, and the appointment of Mansabdars is important.
- The Mughal emperor lost power to act as a patron and therefore even the Parton-client relationship that led to personal loyalty instead of impersonal loyalty also ended as the client itself became Parton.
- However, power was not centralized and was shared between different segments, Nawab/subadar and men of money, and traditional Masabdars.
Rebel states (7:27 PM)
- Marathas, Sikhs, Jats, and Afghans.
- Marathas:
- Maratha kingdom was founded by Chhatrapati Shivaji in 1674( declared himself Chhatrapati, legally independent from Mughal unlike successor states In 2nd half of the 17th century by fighting against Bijapur and Aurangzeb).
- Periods in Maratha Polity:
- 1680-1719- period of instability after the death of Shivaji in 1680.
- 1719-1761- period of stability and growth.
- 1761 onwards- period of decline with a temporary revival in the 1770s.
- 1774 onwards- British influence in Maratha polity begins.
- 1680 onwards there was turmoil due to the death of Shivaji and the continuous warfare of Aurangzeb.
- After the release of Shahu in 1707, there was a civil war.
- During the civil war, Deshmukh and Maratha Sardars frequently switched sides between Tarabahi, Shahu, and Mughals.
- The important role of 6th Peshwa Balaji Vishwanath was a very able leader and helped Shahu gather the support of powerful sections, support of a strong Brahmin banking family.
- Support of new independent Maratha Sardars, therefore by 1719 Shahu emerged victorious leading to a period of stability and growth.
- The dispute with Shivaji-II was settled via the treaty of Warna, in 1731 where he was given Kolhapur.
- Peshwa was PM/Wazir and was one of the 8 ministers in the council of Chhatrapati.
- Maratha sardars:
- Scindia of Gwalior.
- Bhonsle of Nagpur.
- Holkar of Indore.
- Gaekwad of Baroda.
The topic of the next class: The family tree of Marathas.
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