St.
Joseph’s High School – CBSE
Notes on New Political Formation
1. Tick the correct option:
1. c. Guru Gobind Singh 2. b. Saadat Khan 3. c. Nadir Shah
4. c. Hyderabad 5. a. guerrilla warfare
II. True or False:
1. False. Aurangzeb had many successors who were weak.
2. False . Sikh became the Khalsa under Guru Gobind Singh and a state under
Maharaja Ranjit Singh.
3. False . Banda Bahadur fought the Mughals for 8 years.
4. True
QIII. Answer in one sentence:
Q1. What did Awadh, Bengal and Hyderabad have in common?
Ans: Awadh , Benagl and Hyderabad rose as independent states after the Mughal
emperor became weak and the Nawabs should assert their independence.
Q2. How did Jaipur develop under the Rajput?
Ans: The Rajput ruler Sawai Raja Jai Singh founded Jaipur, one of the finest
planned cities of India and the capital of the present-day state of Rajasthan.
Q3. Do you think Bengal had an efficient administration system?
Ans: The nawabs of Bengal took a number of steps for efficient
administration of Bengal in terms of restructuring the administration,
effectively tackling corrupt and inefficient officials, encouraging the
growth of agriculture, trade and industry, and regularising the collection of
revenue.
Q4. What was Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s contribution to the development
of Sikh regional power?
Ans: Seizing Lahore in 1799 CE and Amritsar in 1802 CE, Ranjit Singh
established one of the strongest kingdoms of the period.
Q1V. Answer in brief:
Q1. What were the administrative steps taken by the Nawabs of
Bengal?
Ans: The administrative steps taken by the nawabs of Bengal:
a. restructuring of the administration
b. tackling corrupt and inefficient officials
c. encouraging the growth of agriculture, trade and industry
d. regularising the collection of revenue
Q2. Write a short note on Shivaji.
Ans: Shivaji was born in 1627ce, to an official at the court of Bijapur, Shahji Bhonsle.
He learnt the art of administration and guerrilla warfare under the guardianship of
DadajiKondadeva. Shivaji successfully dealt with the Mughals by bypassing their main
forts and attacking their cities and supply lines.He assumed the title of Chhatrapati
(sovereign king) in 1674 ce in a ceremony at Raigad.
Q3. Examine the land revenue administrations of the Marathas.
Ans: Land revenue was the main source of income for the Maratha
state. The assessment of land was done regularly and land revenue
was fixed after a proper survey. It was contingent on the quality of
land and its yield.
• Two kinds of taxes were levied on the Mughlai lands: chauth and
sardeshmukhi.
• Chauth was one-fourth of the yield of the territory.
• Sardeshmukhi was one-tenth of the yield.
• In the swarajya lands, each farmer paid two-fifths of his produce
to the state as tax, either in cash or kind.
Q4. How did the Mughal nobles become so powerful that they contributed
to the downfall of the Mughal Empire? How did the policies of Aurangzeb
contribute to the decline?
Ans: The Mughal nobles became powerful as the jagirs became
hereditary,which led to corruption and factionalism. The more
powerful subedars such as those of Hyderabad and Bengal were able
to break free from the central control of the Mughal
emperor.Aurangzeb rigid religious policy led to serious revolts by the
Rajputs, the Sikhs, the Jats and the Satnamis. Moreover, he spent the last
years of his reign in the south fighting the Marathas at the cost of the northern
part of his empire.
QV. Answer in detail:
Q1. Write a short note on the reasons for the decline of the Mughal
empire.
Ans: Reasons for the decline of the Mughal Empire:
• Successors of Aurangzeb were all weak and incompetent, and could not manage
the huge empire
• The cost of administering such a vast empire was huge and the weak
successors could not manage it.
• Aurangzeb’s rigid religious policy led to serious revolts by the Rajputs,
the Sikhs, the Jats, the Satnamis and the Marathas.
• The powerful nobles sought to control the administration, and in some
cases also declared themselves independent.
• In 1739, Nadir Shah’s raid of Delhirang the death knellof the Mughal
empire.
Q2. Describe the establishment of Sikh regional power.
Ans: Establishment of the Sikhs as a regional power:
• Guru Gobind Singh (1666–1708 CE), the tenth Sikh Guru
organised the Sikhs into a Khalsa or military brotherhood
and fought against the Mughals and the neighbouring hill
states.
• During the reign of Bahadur Shah I, the Sikhs emerged as a
powerful group under the leadership of Banda Bahadur who
fought the Mughals for eight years.
• After his death, the Sikhs organised themselves into 12 misls or
groups, which were later organised into a single force by
Maharaja Ranjit Singh.
• Seizing Lahore in 1799 CE and Amritsar in 1802 CE, Ranjit Singh
established one of the strongest kingdoms of the period.
Q3. How was the state of Hyderabad established?
Ans: Establishment of the state of Hyderabad:
• Nizam-ul-MulkAsafJah was a powerful Mughal noble in the
court of Farrukhsiyar and Muhammad Shah.
• Initially, he was entrusted with the governorship of Awadh and
later given charge of the Deccan.
• As a Mughal subedar, all financial and military powers were
concentrated in his hands. He was responsible for managing the
executive and judicial departments. The title of Nizam-ul-Mulk
was conferred upon him by Farrukhsiyar.
• With the decline of Mughal authority, Asaf Jah established the
independent state of Hyderabad in 1724 CE.
• He founded the Asaf Jahi dynasty and his successors were known as
the Nizams.
Q4. What do you know about the Maratha land revenue system?
Ans: The Maratha land was divided into two categories:Swarajya
(under Maratha control) and Mughlai (not directly under the control of
the Marathas but under their authority).
• The assessment of land was done regularly and land revenue was
fixed after a proper survey. It was contingent on the quality of
land and its yield.
• Two kinds of taxes were levied on the Mughlai lands: chauth and
sardeshmukhi.
• Chauth was one-fourth of the yield of the territory
• Sardeshmukhi was one-tenth of the yield.
• In the swarajya lands, each farmer paid two-fifths of his produce
to the state as tax, either in cash or kind.
During a famine or a bad harvest, grains and money were
advanced to the farmers, and they could repay the same in easy
instalments.
Q VI. Look at the pictures and answer the questions:
Q1. Whose statue is shown in the photograph?
Ans: Statue of Maharaja Ranjit Singh.
Q2. How did he create one of the strongest kingdoms of the period under
study?
Ans: After the death of Banda Bahadur, the Sikhs organized themselves
into 12 misls or groups, which were later organised into a single force
by Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Seizing Lahore in 1799 CE and Amritsar in 1802
CE, Ranjit Singh established one of the strongest kingdoms of the
period.
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