Sambhav-2024

• Start the answer with a discussion that sets a context for the question.
• Discuss the leadership factors that led to the decline of the Mughal Empire.
• Discuss the administrative policies that led to the decline of the Mughal Empire.
• Discuss the external challenges that led to the decline of the Mughal Empire.
• Conclude suitably.

Introduction

The first half of the eighteenth century saw the decline of the mighty Mughals. The decline of the Mughal Empire was a complex process influenced by a combination of leadership failures, administrative shortcomings, and external challenges.

Body

• Leadership Challenges:
  • Incompetent and Weak Rulers: The Mughal Empire witnessed a series of incompetent and weak rulers who lacked administrative acumen and struggled to address internal strife and external threats effectively.
    • In 1719, Farrukhsiyar was killed by his nobles (Sayyid Brothers)
  • Lack of Succession Planning: The absence of a clear and stable system of succession often led to infighting, weakening the empire's central authority and diverting attention from external threats.
    • After nearly two-year-long war of succession, Bahadur Shah I became the emperor after Aurangzeb's death
• Administrative Policies:
  • Shifting Allegiance of Zamindars: Later Mughals failed to curb the power of Zamindars and many local Zamindars helped the powerful classes within the empire to carve out independent kingdoms for themselves.
  • Jagirdari Crisis: In the absence of strong central leadership, the mutual rivalry among the nobility based on religion, homeland, and tribe reduced the prestige and strength of Later Mughals.
  • Rise of Regional Aspirations: The regional kingdoms defy the authority of the Mughal State in their bid to create kingdoms of their own.
    • The later Mughal period witnessed the rise of powerful regional groups like the Jats, Sikhs, and Marathas.
  • Stagnant Economy: Mughal rulers faced challenges in managing the vast empire's economic resources. Heavy taxation, coupled with corruption at various administrative levels, led to economic instability and discontent among the masses.
    • There was no significant scientific and technological advance that could have improved a stagnant economy
• External Challenges:
  • Invasions and Military Challenges: External invasions, particularly those by the Persian ruler Nadir Shah and the Afghan invader Ahmad Shah Durrani, inflicted severe blows on the Mughal Empire.
    • The sacking of Delhi by Nadir Shah in 1739 resulted in the loss of immense wealth and weakened the empire's military strength.
  • European Colonialism: The emergence of European colonial powers, primarily the British and the French, posed a significant external challenge.
    • The economic exploitation and political interference by these colonial forces undermined Mughal authority, as exemplified by the Battle of Plassey (1757) and the subsequent British ascendancy.

Conclusion

The decline of the Mughal Empire marked the beginning of the formal colonization of India by European powers. The East India Company took advantage of the power vacuum, gradually expanded its control over vast territories, and fundamentally altered the political structure of the subcontinent.