REASONS FOR THE DECLINE OF

THE MUGHAL EMPIRE 1707-1857:

The Mughal Empire reached its greatest extent in the time of Aurangzeb Alamgir, but it
collapsed with dramatic suddenness within a few decades after his death. The Mughal Empire
owes its decline and ultimate downfall to a combination of factors; firstly Aurangzeb's religious
policy is regarded as a cause for the decline of the Mughal Empire as it led to disunity among
the INDIAN people.

Another reason was unworthy and incompetent successors of Aurangzeb. The character of
Mughal kings had deteriorated over a period of time. The successive rulers after Aurangzeb
were weak and lacked the character, motivation and commitment to rule the empire strongly.
They had become ease loving and cowardly. They totally disregarded their state duties and
were unable to detain the declining empire from its fall. These later Mughal rulers were
absolutely incompetent and weak. They were proven neither good generals nor good statesmen
who could control or administer the large empire which covered nearly the whole of the
subcontinent during Auragzebs rule. Trule. The later rulers were also pleasure loving and were
renowned for living an extravagant lifestyle with little thought to the effect it had on the economy
of the empire. They also lacked courage, determination and training. Money was spent lavishly
on fine buildings, jewellery, fine clothes and food. No infrastructure was created for the
improvement of administration, industry or agriculture.

The absence of any definite law of succession was another important factor. The war of
successions not only led to bitterness, bloodshed, and loss of money and prestige of the empire
over a period of time, but to its eventual fall. Wars of succession were also an important reason.
After the death of a ruler, the princess fought for the throne. This eroded the strength and led to
the instability of the Mughal Empire. Aurangzeb fought against his brothers Dara Shiko and
Shuja, and later got Kamran killed. Infighting continued even after Aurangzeb, like Moazzam
who succeeded the throne under the name of Bahadur Shah after Aurangzeb, defeated his
brothers Azam and Kam Baksh and killed them. Bahadur Shah ruled for 5 years and died in
1712. His sons also fought for the throne. The infighting for the throne greatly weakened the
Mughal Empire.
 Local and foreign Invasions on Delhi also made the Mughals weak. Marathas were the
major opponents of Mughals. They were from central and south India. Aurangzeb fought with
them but could not control them. Until 1750, they had become a major threat for the Mughals.
However, Marathas were defeated in 1761 in the battle of Panipat and powerless Mughals got
some more time to rule India. Besides Marathas, two more invasions took place from
Afghanistan and Persia. In 1738, Persian General Nadir shah invaded Delhi and looted their
wealth. Between 1747 and 1769, Afghan General Ahmed Shah invaded India ten times. Even in
Punjab, Sikhs were also a major threat for the Mughals. All these invasions made the Mughals
virtually bankrupt and they lost their power completely. Mughal Kingdom was reduced to an area
300 miles long and 100 miles wide near Delhi within 100 years after the death of Aurangzeb.

The rise of British power was the main reason for the decline of the Mughals. The British took
full advantage of the weakness of the Mughals and gradually increased their power. The British
expanded the territory under their control with the help of their superior administration and
organisation. A series of battles and annexations, through steps like subsidiary Alliance and
doctrine of Lapse͛ and effective administration the British gradually assumed control over a vast
territory in the subcontinent. They also had a clear military advantage because of Industrial
development in England (1750-1850). The British had better weapons, superior war techniques
and a well-trained and disciplined army. The British possessed a strong naval force .The result
was that by 1803 the British took over Delhi and placed Shah Alam under British protection with
a pension.

MINOR REASONS:

The degeneration of the rulers had also led to the moral degeneration of the nobility. Under
the early Mughals, the nobles performed useful functions and distinguished themselves both in
war and peace. But the elite under the later Mughals was more interested in worldly pursuit and
self-enhancement. The nobles who had once been talented men with integrity, honesty, and
loyalty, turned selfish and deceitful. Growth of hostile and rival clique in the court also
undermined the strength of the government. Widespread corruption in the administration started
and taking bribes became common.

One of the most potent causes of the fall of the Mughal Empire was the deterioration and
demoralisation of the army. The military had not only become inefficient but also lacked
training, discipline and cohesion. The army was out-dated in regard to equipment. It consisted of
contingents maintained by various nobles, which was the main source of Army's weakness. As
 the weakening of the nobles occurred, so did the army. This was because the soldiers, instead
of identifying and uniting as Mughal Indians, identified themselves with different ethnic groups
like Persian, Afghans and Central Asians. The Mughals had no navy and only maintained small
ships that were no match for the well equipped ships of the foreign traders. It was this weakness
that the French and the British used to their advantage, and were eventually able to establish
their control over India

Another factor contributing to the decline was the financial position of the Mughals, which had
become deplorable. The war of successions, rebellions and luxurious style of living had
depleted the once enormous treasury and had led to financial bankruptcy. During the time of
Aurangzeb, the Mughal Empire had expanded to reach its maximum size. This vast area had
become impossible for one ruler to control and govern from one centre. It was during the later
Mughals that Deccan, Bengal, Bihar and Orissa declared their independence.

MANSABDARI SYSTEM:

Mansab͟ is an Arabic word which means a post, an officer a rank, or status. Therefore,
Mansabdar means an officer or the holder of the rank, status, and post. Akbar introduced a new
system for regulating imperial services which was called the Mansabdari system. It was
introduced in 1570 A. D. All the imperial officers of the state were styled as Mansabdars. They
were classified into (66) grades, from the rank of (10) to ten thousands (10,000) constituted. The
(10) was the lowest rank and the ten thousand (10,000) was the highest. The Mansabdars
belonged to both the Civil and Military departments.

AURANGZEB'S DECCAN POLICY:

Aurangzeb spent the last 25 years of his life (1682-1707) in the Deccan. During all this long
period, he had practically no rest. The object of his Deccan wars was to conquer the states of
Bijapur & Golconda & crush the power of Marathas. But the Marathas did not submit themselves
and continued their struggle till the end. Thus his 25 years of campaign in Deccan resulted in
nothing. The wars in the Deccan drained his resources & loosened his grip in the north. This led
to his tragic end in 1707 at Ahamadnagar and slowly led to downfall of Mughal Empire.

SUBSIDIARY ALLIANCE:

The doctrine of subsidiary alliance was introduced by Lord Wellesley, (1798-1805).According to

this the Indian rulers were not allowed to have their own armed forces. They were protected by
the company's forces but had to pay for them. If any ruler failed to make the payment, a part of
his territory would be taken away.

PARAMOUNTCY:

Under Warren Hasting (1774-85), a new policy of paramount was initiated. The company
claimed its authority was paramount or supreme as its power was greater than the Indian rulers.
So they decided that they could annex or threaten to annex any state of India. It ǁas applied ďy
Lord Dalhousie in 1852.when a ruler did not govern his state the British would annex his land.
(Oudh, Nagpur)

RELIGIOUS POLICY OF AURANGEB:

●​ 1. Demolishing temples and breaking idols :Mosques were built at the sites of different
temples
●​ 2. Imposed Jaziya: Akbar had abolished this tax on the Hindus but Aurangzeb again
levied this tax. Aurangzeb issued very strict instructions to the officers regarding the
collection of Jaziya.
●​ 3. Discriminatory toll fare: The Hindu traders were required to pay a toll tax of 5 per cent
as against half of it paid by the Muslim traders. Later on Muslim traders were totally
exempted from the payment of this tax.
●​ 4. Removal of the Hindus from Government jobs: Aurangzeb's predecessors, especially
Akbar had appointed a large number of Hindus in the various departments, but
Aurangzeb followed the policy of removal of the Hindus from these jobs. The Hindus
were not allowed to occupy high administrative or executive posts. A general order
prohibiting the employment of the Hindus in the revenue department was passed in
1670.
●​ 5. Restrictions on Hindu educational institutions: For destroying the culture of the
Hindus, Aurangzeb destroyed their several educational institutions at Varanasi, Multan
and Thatta. He placed restrictions on the starting of new pathshalas. The Hindu children
were disallowed to study the fundamentals of their faith. They were not allowed to attend
Muslim Madaras and Maqtabs
●​ 6. Conversion through different means: For the Hindus the only way to escape from the
payment of various taxes like pilgrim tax, trade tax, Jizya, etc. was conversion to Islam.
Getting jobs after conversion also became easier. The Hindu prisoners were freed on
their conversion to Islam. All sorts of promises were made to the converted.
 ●​ 7. Social restrictions: Aurangzeb issued order that except Rajputs, no Hindu could ride
an elephant, a horse and a palanquin. Holi and Diwali festivals were allowed to be
celebrated with certain restrictions. The Hindus could no longer put on fine clothes. The
Hindus were not allowed to burn their dead on the banks of the river Sabarmati in
Ahmedabad. Similar restrictions were placed at Delhi on the river Jamuna.

Results of the religious policy of Aurangzeb: The religious fanaticism of Aurangzeb

overshadowed his virtues. His reǀersal of Akbar's policy of religious toleration resulted in
weakening the entire structure of the Mughal Empire. It led to several conflicts and wars in
different parts of the country