THE MUGHAL EMPIRE is a fascinating mosaic in the history of India. Its power wealth, territoriality, exquisite and surreal character, and more so its 'decline', have engaged historians for several decades in a complex , contentious debate. the writings in this book by prominent scholars focus on the various paradigms and assumptions that have shaped the interpretations of this decline.
Was the downfall of this once vast and seemingly stable empire a mere deterioration of power over the final few decades, or did the decentralizing tendencies of the empire merely become more apparent and aggressive during this year? The Decline of the Mughal Empire seeks answers to these questions by analysing the various factor that have influenced the collapse.
These include areas such as the Mughal administrative structure, the nature of the jagirdari system and the agrarian crisis, the imperical crisis in the Deccan, and the rise of Shivaji and the marathas.
Taking into consideration a wide range of research and new interpretations, the volume shows how despite the decline of the imperial power at the centre, the economy and polity of the subcontinent as a whole showed resilience and patterns of growth development.
MEENA BHARGAVA
The Mughal Empire has been a fascinating and overwhelming chapter in the history of India, whether one considers its power, its wealth, its stability, its extent, its character, or its decline in the eighteenth century. It is the latter that has engaged historians for over three decades in contentious debate. Many propositions and counter-propositions have been made. It may be pertinent to pose a question: what does 'decline'- one of the most value-loaded and emotional concepts in historical analysis-actually mean? Certainly, the notion of decline envisages a prior state of perfection, efflorescence, harmony, and cohesion, in contrast to corruption, moral degradation, and loss of ethical values, principles, and customs. Historians therefore wish to understand the phenomenon of change and its causes. For instance, social decay, deterioration of the previous order, and brief or long spells of chaos and disorder are all considered to be causes of decline.' Conscious, then, of the different meanings of the term, and the emotions it can arouse, we look at the kind of responses that the decline of the Mughal Empire has evoked over the years.
Was it merely a deterioration of power over a period of roughly thirty to fifty years, or did the empire's decentralizing tendencies become more apparent and aggressive during these years? Did the decline of the Mughal Empire lead to a 'dark age' when 'the gates were opened to reckless rapine, anarchy and foreign conquest'? Notwithstanding the decline, 'intricate layers of interconnections and continuities" prevailed, although changes or restructuring within the Mughal structure remained equally significant.
While the weakening and collapse of the Mughal Empire overshadowed much of the eighteenth century, it was by no means the only phenomenon of that period. Regional political structures emerged and thrived amidst the waning of Mughal power. In these provincial and regional political configurations, Mughal institutions generally continued. Yet some, like Hyderabad, were able to move beyond Mughal patterns of governance even while maintaining the fiction that they were Mughal dependencies. Ultimately, however, as Munis Faruqui argues, Hyderabad emerged as neither a poor imitation nor a miniature version of the Mughal Empire." These developments suggest that the disintegration of the Mughal Empire meant neither the eclipse of political authority nor the economic stagnation of the entire society. The economy visibly moved in new directions, leading to decentralization and economic density at local levels, which remained integrated by networks of trade and monetary transactions. The period also acquired significance as it coincided with the rising power of the East India Company. As European influence grew, the regions came into contact with institutions that threatened to erode the foundations of the erstwhile social order,' and which heralded the unmistakable rise of a new one as an inqilab-a world turned upside down."
In view of these historical processes, should we then follow Frank Perlin and call this phase the 'late pre-colonial period' of Indian history and rescue it from its long-standing characterization as a chaotic or 'black' century?" Or should we perhaps use the term 'Early Modern' for these pre-colonial centuries? Sanjay Subrahmanyam argues that this is necessary not merely for reasons of justice to the history of the period, but also for reaching a better understanding of the colonial intervention." Maybe there is also a need, as several scholars have argued, to re-think this era 'whose core was the eighteenth century, but whose antecedents were earlier and whose consequences extended well into the nineteenth century'."
The present volume, however, attempts something more modest, which is to identify the divergent views and debates that surround the withering of the 'mammoth imperial banyan tree',10 and to focus on the different paradigms or assumptions that have shaped interpretations of the decline of the Mughal Empire. A few core issues or groups of issues that form the basis of the debate can be identified here, namely: (a) the personality and religion of the Mughal emperors, in particular the religious policy of Aurangzeb (or 'Alamgir, r. 1658-1707), which alienated large sections of the population; (b) the nature of the assignment system, or the jagirdari system, which was intrinsically exploitative of peasants; (c) the role of bankers and merchants and their failure to support the empire fiscally or commercially; (d) cultural, scientific, or other transregional forces, since three large empires (Mughal, Safavid, and Ottoman) all faced their decline at roughly the same time; and (d) the failure of the centre to retain the loyalty of regional elites.
PERSONALITY AND THE RELIGIOUS POLICY OF THE MUG HAL EMPERORS
The decline of the Mughal Empire, together with its courtly pomp and luxury, its rituals of power, and its enormous wealth, was described in some detail by contemporary European travelers, in particular Francois Bernier (d. 1688). These accounts influenced the perceptions of early historians of Mughal India-both British imperialist and Indian nationalist historians of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries-and their characterization of the eighteenth century. Indeed, these historians tended to conflate developments of eighteenth century India with developments in the Mughal Empire. They also held the empire's administrative and religious policies and the weak personalities of the post-1707 emperors and their nobles responsible for the decline.
In this book of four volumes together comprise a detailed study of the causes and the result of the events between 1739-1803, that is between the death of Aurangzib and the conquest of Delhi. The successors of Aurangzib were weak and were not able to hold the administration effectively. Most of them were puppets in the hands of powerful nobles. The war of succession that plagued Delhi from c 1707-1719 CE gradually weekend the empire.
Sir Jadunath Sarkar CIE FRAS (1870 -1958) was a prominent Indian historian and a specialist on the Mughal dynasty. He graduated in English from Presidency College, Calcutta. In 1892, he topped the Master of Arts examination, in English at Calcutta University and in 1897, he received the Premchand- Roychand Scholarship Sarkar's works faded out of public memory, with the increasing advent of Marxist and postcolonial schools of historiography. Academically, Jos J L. Gommans compares Sarkar's work with those of the Aligarh historians, noting that while the historians from the Aligarh worked mainly on the mansabdari system and gunpowder technology in the Mughal Empire, Judunath Sarkar was best remembered for his historical works, including: A History of Jaipur, Military History of India, A History of Aurangzib (in 5 volumes), Studies in Mughal India, and Mughal Administration.
The birth of the New India in which we live was praceded by the death of a political and social order under which the millions of this country had been nurtured for two centuries and a half and which had done great things for them. The Mughal Empire, established in 1556, had united much of the Indian continent under one sceptre, given it a uniform civilisation whose conquering light had penetrated beyond the bounds of that empire, and on the whole promoted the general happiness of the people in a degree unapproached except in the 'mythical past. It broke the isolation of the provinces and the barrier between India and the outer world, and thus took the first step necessary for the modernisation of India and the growth of an Indian nationality in some distant future. The achievements of that empire under four great sovereigns have been the worthy themes of the historians of Akbar and Jahangir, Shah Jahan and Aurangzib. But the exhaustion of this civilising force with the consequent ruin of this country has hitherto repelled historians, probably because of the dismal nature of the subject which presents no spectacle calculated to elevate the human mind or warm the human bosom.
And yet our immediate historic past, while it resembles a tragedy in its course, is no less potent than a true tragedy to purge the soul by exciting pity and horror.. Nor is it wanting in the deepest instruction for the present. The headlong decay of the age-old Muslim rule in India and the utter failure of the last Hindu attempt at empirebuilding by the new-sprung Marathas, are intimately linked together, and must be studied with accuracy of detail as to facts and penetrating analysis as to causes if we wish to find out the true solutions of the problems of modern India and avoid the pitfalls of the past.
The light of our fathers' experience is indispensably necessary for guiding aright the steps of those who would rule the destinies of our people in the present. Happily, such light is available in unthought of profusion. The dissolution of the old order in India did not form a dark age, during which the activity of the human mind ceased. or the human brain and the human hand left no memorial of their working. On the contrary, the Eighteenth Century in India is illumined for its historian by a host of witnesses of the most diverse races, creeds and tongues and recording events as looked at from all different points of view. We, no doubt, lack detailed official annals like those written for Akbar and his four immediate successors; but the Indian actors in the scenes and detached foreign observers alike have left a multitude of private memoirs and journals which are in some respects of even greater value than the former class of works though lacking in their minuteness of dates and names. For this century masses of manuscript news-letters have been preserved, giving us the current news in the freshest form. The records of the Maratha Government have at last been made available to students in their entirety.
Book's Contents and Sample Pages
No empire in history is survived forever. The Mughal Empire of India was no exception. It declined for various reasons. The following were the main causes of its decline. The Vastness of the Empire: The Mughal Empire is growing in size from the time of Akbar. Zahiruddin Babur found the Mughal Empire in 1526 AD. It expands to its full glory under Akbar in the second half of the 16th Century. However, the causes of the Decline of the Mughal Empire started from the period of 1707 AD onwards when Aurangzeb took over as the Mughal Emperor. Most historians have blamed Aurangzeb solely responsible for the decline of the Mughal Empire. Aurangzeb's military campaigns against Bijapur and Golconda and against the Marathas were also another reason that contributes to the decline of the Mughal empire. The victory of the British in the Battle of Plassey and Battle of Buxar ended the long reign of the Mughals. This valuable book is an effort to describe Mughal Empire and its decline in India. Students and all interested in History learning will find the book important in their study.
Prakash Ayyar is Lecturer in the Department of History, Sundarwati Mahila College, T.M.B.U., Bhagalpur. His several research papers have been published in reputed journals. He has also attended many national seminars.
No empire in history is survived forever. The Mughal Empire of India was no exception. It declined for various reasons. The following were the main causes of its decline. The Vastness of the Empire: The Mughal Empire is growing in size from the time of Akbar. Zahiruddin Babur found the Mughal Empire in 1526 AD. It expands to its full glory under Akbar in the second half of the 16th Century. However, the causes of the Decline of the Mughal Empire started from the period of 1707 AD onwards when Aurangzeb took over as the Mughal Emperor. Most historians have blamed Aurangzeb solely responsible for the decline of the Mughal Empire. Aurangzeb's military campaigns against Bijapur and Golconda and against the Marathas were also another reason that contributes to the decline of the Mughal empire. Aurangzeb's long absence from Northern India led to many provincial governors declaring themselves independent from the control of the Mughals. As a result, it obstructs the smooth function of the state government. Weak Successors were other causes of the Decline of the Mughal Empire. Unfortunately, all the Mughal Emperors who succeeded in the throne after Aurangzeb were weak and incapable. They were incapable to meet challenges. Bahadur Shah, I (1707-1712) lacked the quality and personality of a leader to maintain the empire's former glory. He wants to appease all sections of the society by simply granting unnecessary titles and rewards at the expense of the state treasury. Jahandar Shah (1712-1713) was equally an incapable ruler as Bahadur Shah. While Farrukhsiyar (1713-1719) did not have the stature to rule such a massive empire. Muhammad Shah's reign (1719-1748) though it was pretty long, however, he did not contribute to the development of the empire. Besides, the emperor himself was an addict to the pleasure of the Harem (a place where the female members of a royal family live) and other enjoyments of life. These addictions divert his attention from the state's policies. The next successors inline, i.e. Alamgir II and Shah Alam II also did not contribute to the development of the empire. Besides, they were under the control of the Marathas and the British. Thus, the absence of strong successors after Aurangzeb was indeed a very important factor that contributes towards the causes of the Decline of the Mughal Empire. Shah Alam II was the last Mughal emperor and the British took over. Diwani's rights (Bengal, Bihar, and Orissa) which Shah Alam II gave to the British triggers the end of the Mughal Empire and the British became real rulers and India was annexed to the British Empire.
Apart from the role played by the Mughal Emperors, the action and personalities of the nobles also contributed towards the causes of the Decline of the Mughal Empire. Their characters have destroyed the empire to a large extent. Subsequently, most of them became corrupt and led a lavish lifestyle at the expense of the state treasury. The existing families of the nobles began to fill the important posts in the government. As a result, it stops more capable individuals to fill such posts. A large number of energetic and capable officials, along with brave military commanders came into prominence during the 18th Century. However, most of the nobles use their positions to promote their own selfish interests. Besides, if their interest is not met, conflict takes place they fought amongst themselves. Other Causes of the Decline of the Mughal Empire is the Jagirdari system. It is a land assessment or a system of land grants. One of the major causes of the growing selfishness and disunity among the nobles was the scarcity of Jagirs and the reduced income that the nobles received from the jagirs as a result of their scarcity. The main reason was that the number of nobles and their expenditure was rising up and there was no enough land for these nobles. As a result, more than one noble was assigned a jagir. The scarcity of Jagirs had some serious consequences. After the death of Muhammad Shah in 1748 AD, the imperial power weakened further with the establishment of several hereditary kingdoms in the provinces of the Mughal India. With the growing weakness of the center, these kingdoms began to proclaim their independence from the Mughal rule. Except for Punjab independent kingdom also known as a regional power was formed by the middle of the 18th Century. Thereafter, the British entered into another battle, with the then of Nawab of Bengal, Mir Qasim. The victory of the British in the Battle of Plassey and Battle of Buxar ended the long reign of the Mughals.
This valuable book is an effort to describe Mughal Empire and its decline in India. Students and all interested in History learning will find the book important in their study.
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