India on the Eve of British Conquest

The first half of the 18th century saw the collapse of an empire that had been the envy of the world for nearly two centuries. The Mughal Empire, at its peak under Akbar and Aurangzeb, had unified a vast subcontinent under a single administrative framework. But by 1707 — the year Aurangzeb died — the foundations were already cracking. What followed was not a sudden fall but a prolonged disintegration: weak emperors on the throne, nobles fighting for power, regional governors asserting independence, and foreign invaders exposing the empire's hollowness.

Understanding India on the eve of British conquest means understanding why a civilisation that was economically rich, culturally vibrant and politically sophisticated could not mount a unified defence against a trading company from a small island nation.

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Bahadur Shah I (1709–March 1712)

Prince Muazzam, the eldest son of Aurangzeb, became emperor at age 63 after a two-year war of succession, killing his brothers Muhammad Azam and Kam Bakhsh. He took the title Bahadur Shah (later called Bahadur Shah I). The historian Khafi Khan derisively called him Shah-i-Bekhabar ('unaware king').

His policy was conciliatory: released Shahu (Maratha prince) from captivity, confirmed Rajput chiefs in their states. But he took military action against the Sikh leader Banda Bahadur, who had attacked Muslims in Punjab. Bahadur Shah I died in February 1712. Sidney Owen's assessment: he was the last emperor of whom anything favourable can be said — after him came only rapid dissolution.

Jahandar Shah (March 1712–February 1713)

Jahandar Shah became emperor with the backing of the powerful noble Zulfikar Khan, who was appointed prime minister. Zulfikar Khan introduced the izara system (revenue farming) to improve imperial finances. Jahandar Shah abolished Jaziya (poll tax on non-Muslims). He was overthrown and killed by Farrukhsiyar.

Farrukhsiyar (1713–1719)

Farrukhsiyar killed Jahandar Shah with help of the Sayyid Brothers — Abdulla Khan and Hussain Ali — who came to be called the 'King Makers'. He followed a policy of religious tolerance, abolishing Jaziya and the pilgrimage tax. In 1717, he issued the famous farmans to the British East India Company — the 'Magna Carta of the Company'. In 1719, the Sayyid Brothers, aided by Peshwa Balaji Vishwanath, dethroned Farrukhsiyar — he was blinded and killed. This was the first time in Mughal history that an emperor was killed by his own nobles.

Rafi-ud-Darajat (February 28 to June 4, 1719)

He ruled for the shortest period among all Mughal emperors — barely 97 days.

Rafi-ud-Daula / Shah Jahan II (June 6 to September 17, 1719)

Placed on the throne by the Sayyid Brothers. He was an opium addict and ruled for a few months before dying.

Muhammad Shah (1719–48) — 'Rangeela'

Raushan Akhtar, chosen by the Sayyid Brothers, became emperor and acquired the title 'Rangeela' due to his luxurious, pleasure-loving lifestyle. Despite a 29-year reign, no imperial revival took place.

With help from Nizam-ul-Mulk, Muhammad Shah killed the Sayyid Brothers. In 1724, Nizam-ul-Mulk became the wazir and founded the independent state of Hyderabad — a critical moment in Mughal disintegration. In 1737, Baji Rao I raided Delhi with a mere 500 horsemen — a humiliation that revealed the empire's helplessness. In 1739, Nadir Shah defeated the Mughals at the Battle of Karnal and imprisoned Muhammad Shah.

Ahmad Shah (1748–54)

An incompetent ruler who left governance in the hands of Udham Bai (the 'Queen Mother'), titled Qibla-i-Alam, who ruled through her paramour Javid Khan — described as a notorious eunuch of poor intellect.

Alamgir II (1754–1758)

A grandson of Jahandar Shah. Ahmad Shah Abdali reached Delhi in January 1757 during his reign. The Battle of Plassey was fought in June 1757 during his reign — though Alamgir II had no role in it.

Shahjehan III (1758–59)

A brief, largely nominal reign.

Shah Alam II (1759–1806)

His reign witnessed two decisive events: the Third Battle of Panipat (1761) and the Battle of Buxar (1764). Under the Treaty of Allahabad (August 1765), Shah Alam II came under East India Company protection at Allahabad and issued a farman granting the Company the Diwani (revenue rights) of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa in perpetuity — a watershed in British imperial expansion. In 1772, the Marathas took him to Delhi; in 1803, after the defeat of Daulat Rao Scindia, he again accepted British protection. Henceforth, Mughal emperors became pensioners of the English.

Akbar II (1806–37)

He gave the title of Raja to Rammohan Roy. In 1835, coins bearing names of Mughal emperors were discontinued — a symbolic erasure.

Bahadur Shah II / Bahadur Shah Zafar (1837–1857)

The last Mughal emperor. The Revolt of 1857 attempted to declare him Emperor of India. He was captured by the British and exiled to Rangoon where he died in 1862. The Mughal Empire formally ended on November 1, 1858 with Queen Victoria's proclamation.

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The north-western borders — always the traditional invasion corridor into India — had been neglected by later Mughals. Two foreign invaders delivered mortal blows.

Nadir Shah's Invasion (1738–39)

Nadir Shah, the Persian emperor, invaded India in 1738–39. He conquered Lahore and decisively defeated the Mughal army at the Battle of Karnal (February 13, 1739). Muhammad Shah was captured. Delhi was looted and devastated — seventy crore rupees were extracted from the treasury and nobles' safes, along with the Peacock Throne and the Kohinoor diamond. Nadir Shah annexed Mughal territory west of the Indus including Kabul. India was now wide open to further north-western attacks.

As Jon Wilson (India Conquered) observed: Nadir Shah's 57 days as de facto ruler of Delhi created aftershocks that transformed India's politics — breaking existing centres of authority and laying the ground for the East India Company to conquer territory in India for the first time.

Ahmad Shah Abdali's Invasions (1748–1767)

Ahmad Shah Abdali (also called Ahmad Shah Durrani) was elected Nadir Shah's successor after the latter's death in 1747. He invaded India multiple times between 1748 and 1767:

• Mughals bought peace in 1751–52 by ceding Punjab to him
• In 1757, Abdali captured Delhi, left an Afghan caretaker, recognised Alamgir II as emperor, and appointed Rohilla chief Najib-ud-Daula as Mir Bakhshi — his 'supreme agent' in India
• In 1758, Maratha chief Raghunath Rao expelled Najib-ud-Daula from Delhi and captured Punjab
• In 1759, Abdali returned to avenge the Marathas
• In 1761, Abdali defeated the Marathas in the Third Battle of Panipat — ending Maratha dreams of an all-India empire
• His last invasion came in 1767

Why So Many Battles at Panipat?

Panipat (present-day Haryana, on the banks of Yamuna, between Ganga and Indus plains) was repeatedly chosen as a battlefield because of: strategic location on the route from Khyber Pass to Delhi; flat terrain ideal for cavalry; proximity to Delhi for easy supply logistics; location on the Grand Trunk Road (built by Sher Shah Suri, 1540–45); short monsoon season; and skilled local artisans who could replenish war materials.

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Historians debate the primary causes. Two broad schools exist:

• Empire-centric (Mughal-centric): Decline was rooted in the internal structure and functioning of the empire itself
• Region-centric: Decline resulted from turmoil in different parts of the empire

The truth encompasses both. Key causes:

1. Weak Successors and Personal Despotism

Mughal governance was personal despotism — entirely dependent on the character of the ruler. The later emperors were incapable, weak and licentious. Unlike Akbar or Aurangzeb, they neglected state administration entirely.

2. Absence of Law of Succession

With no principle of primogeniture, every succession triggered a war of brothers — draining resources, killing talented princes, and fostering court factionalism over patriotism.

3. Aurangzeb's Religious Policy

Aurangzeb reversed Akbar's inclusive policy by reimposing Jaziya (poll tax on non-Muslims) and discriminating by religion. This alienated the Rajputs — previously the most loyal supporters of the Mughal throne — and pushed them into opposition. The Sikhs, Jats and Marathas also rose in revolt against Mughal authority.

4. Aurangzeb's Deccan Policy

Aurangzeb spent the last 26 years of his life fighting an exhausting and ultimately futile war in the Deccan. This kept him away from the capital for decades, drained imperial treasury, and allowed the Marathas to develop their strength while Mughal power eroded elsewhere.

5. Jagirdari Crisis

The number of nobles (amirs) and their ranks (mansabs) had increased disproportionately while available jagir lands stagnated. Aurangzeb tried to paper over the crisis by showing inflated income figures from jagirs on record — a shortsighted measure that led nobles to squeeze peasants harder, antagonising both nobility and peasantry.

6. Shifting Allegiance of Zamindars

Zamindars — hereditary local landowners known as rais, rajas, thakurs, khuts or deshmukhs — were critical intermediaries for revenue collection and local administration. As the empire weakened, they shifted their allegiance to local nobles and regional powers, encouraging regional rather than imperial loyalty.

7. Degeneration of the Nobility

The nobility — comprising mansabdars, jagirdars and subahdars — was deeply factionalised along lines of religion, homeland and tribe (Irani, Turani, Afghani, Hindustani, Rajput). In the absence of strong central leadership, factional rivalries consumed imperial energy.

8. Deterioration of the Army

The Mughal army became increasingly inefficient. William Irvine (Army of the Indian Mughals) argued that military inefficiency was the principal — if not the sole — cause of the empire's final collapse: the empire was ready to crumble at the first touch long before any Persian, Afghan or European conqueror appeared.

9. Economic Decline and Administrative Overextension

Endless wars, the luxurious lifestyles of emperors and nobles, reduction in khalisa lands, and stagnation in agriculture all combined to produce a severe fiscal crisis. Scientific and technological stagnation prevented economic revival. The empire had become too vast to be efficiently governed from a weakened centre.

10. External Invasions

The invasions of Nadir Shah (1739) and Ahmad Shah Abdali (1748–67) were the death-blows — exposing the military hollowness of the empire and stripping it of territory and treasure.

11. Rise of European Companies

European trading companies interfered systematically in native politics — the English EIC in particular exploited succession disputes and played regional powers against each other, hastening the empire's disintegration.

Historiographical Perspectives

• Satish Chandra: Roots lie in the medieval Indian economy — stagnation of trade, industry and science; the jagirdari crisis; inability to accommodate the Marathas in the imperial framework
• Irfan Habib: Economic and administrative causes were paramount; religious reaction or national consciousness played little role
• William Irvine: Military inefficiency was the principal cause
• Sidney Owen: Aurangzeb — not the degenerate later emperors — was the one who irretrievably ruined the empire through his religious bigotry
• J.N. Sarkar: Rottenness at the core of Indian society — military and political helplessness; depraved royalty; selfish nobles; pervasive corruption

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The states that emerged from Mughal decline fall into three categories:

Category 1: Successor States

Mughal provinces that broke away while nominally acknowledging Mughal sovereignty.

Hyderabad: Founded by Kilich Khan (Nizam-ul-Mulk) of the Asaf-Jah dynasty. Zulfikar Khan had first conceived the idea of Deccan independence but died in 1713. Kilich Khan defeated and killed Mubariz Khan in the Battle of Shakr-Kheda (1724), assumed control of the Deccan, became viceroy in 1725, and conferred on himself the title Asaf-Jah.

Awadh: Founded by Saadat Khan (Burhan-ul-Mulk), a Shia who had conspired against the Sayyid Brothers. Driven from court, he established an independent principality. He committed suicide under pressure from Nadir Shah's extortion demands. He was succeeded by Safdar Jang.

Bengal: Founded by Murshid Quli Khan — a capable ruler who made Bengal prosperous. Succeeded in 1727 by Shuja-ud-din. His successor Sarfaraz Khan was killed in 1740 by Alivardi Khan (deputy governor of Bihar) at Gheria, who made himself independent by paying yearly tribute to the Mughals.

Category 2: Independent Kingdoms

States that emerged due to the destabilisation of Mughal control.

Mysore: Located at the junction of Eastern and Western Ghats, ruled by the Wodeyars. Eventually came under the control of Haider Ali, who constantly warred with the British. His son Tipu Sultan continued the resistance.

Rajput States: The Rajputs reasserted independence in the 18th century. Bahadur Shah I had to march against Ajit Singh (1708) who allied with Jai Singh II and Durgadas Rathor. At their peak, Rajputs controlled territory from south of Delhi to the western coast.

Kerala: Martanda Varma established an independent state with Travancore as capital, extending from Kanyakumari to Cochin. He organised his army along the Western model.

Category 3: New States (Rebels against Mughal Empire)

The Marathas: Under the Peshwas, the Marathas uprooted Mughal authority from Malwa and Gujarat. They claimed the right to inherit the Mughal dominion. Their ambitions were checked at the Third Battle of Panipat (1761) — but they recovered rapidly and offered the most formidable challenge to the British EIC.

The Sikhs: Guru Gobind Singh transformed the Sikhs into a militant sect. After the defeat and death of Banda Bahadur, the Sikhs reorganised into 12 misls (confederacies). Ranjit Singh (son of Mahan Singh of the Sukarchakiya misl) unified them — conquered Lahore in 1799 and Amritsar in 1802. By the Treaty of Amritsar with the British, Ranjit Singh acknowledged British rights over the cis-Sutlej territories. He modernised his army with European help. In 1838, the English forced him to sign the Tripartite Treaty with Shah Shuja and the English Company — allowing British troops passage through Punjab. Ranjit Singh died in 1839; his successors could not hold the state together.

The Jats: Agricultural Jat settlers around Delhi, Mathura and Agra revolted against Aurangzeb's oppressive policies. After initial setbacks, Churaman and Badan Singh set up the Jat state of Bharatpur. Jat power reached its zenith under Suraj Mal, whose state extended from the Ganga in the east to the Chambal in the south, covering the Subahs of Agra, Mathura, Meerut and Aligarh. After Suraj Mal's death in 1763, the state splintered into petty zamindar-controlled areas.

Rohilakhand and Farrukhabad: Products of Afghan migration into India. Ali Muhammad Khan exploited the post-Nadir Shah power vacuum to set up Rohilakhand (Himalayan foothills between Kumaon and the Ganga). The Rohillas faced continuous pressure from Jats, Awadh, Marathas and eventually the British. Mohammad Khan Bangash (an Afghan) set up an independent kingdom around Farrukhabad, east of Delhi.

Nature and Limitations of Regional States

Most regional states continued to acknowledge the Mughal emperor as a symbolic umbrella — even Maratha and Sikh rebel chiefs recognised imperial supremacy formally. The polity was collaborative, relying on zamindars, merchants, local nobles and chieftains. But these states shared critical limitations:

• Failed to build sound financial, administrative and military organisations
• Technologically backward (with partial exception of Mysore)
• Constant warfare with neighbouring states — none could dominate at an all-India level
• Strong enough to challenge Mughal power but incapable of replacing it with a stable all-India polity

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Agriculture

Technically backward but sustained by hard peasant labour. Peasants rarely received adequate reward for their efforts — forced to pay exorbitant amounts to the state, zamindars, jagirdars and revenue-farmers simultaneously. The situation worsened further under British rule.

Trade and Industry

India was largely self-sufficient and a net exporter. Its exports (cotton textiles, raw silk, silk fabrics, hardware, indigo, saltpetre, opium, rice, wheat, sugar, pepper, precious stones) exceeded imports. Trade was balanced by inflow of silver and gold — India was known as a 'sink of precious metals'.

Major textile centres: Dacca, Murshidabad, Patna, Surat, Ahmedabad, Broach, Chanderi, Burhanpur, Jaunpur, Varanasi, Lucknow, Agra, Multan, Lahore, Masulipatnam, Aurangabad, Bangalore, Coimbatore, Madurai; Kashmir for woollen manufactures.

Ship-building flourished in Maharashtra, Andhra and Bengal. The Zamorin of Calicut used Muslim Kunjali Maraikkars for his navy. Shivaji's navy defended the west coast against the Portuguese. According to Bipan Chandra, European companies purchased Indian-made ships for their own use.

Imports came from: Persian Gulf (pearls, raw silk, wool, dates, dried fruits, rose water); Arabia (coffee, gold, drugs, honey); China (tea, sugar, porcelain, silk); Tibet (gold, musk, woollen cloth); Africa (ivory, drugs); Europe (woollen cloth, copper, iron, lead, paper).

J.T. Sunderland's assessment: India was a greater industrial and manufacturing nation than any in Europe or Asia — famous for textiles, jewellery, pottery, metalwork, architecture, shipping and commerce.

Education

18th-century Indian education was traditional and could not match rapid Western advances. Knowledge was confined to literature, law, religion, philosophy and logic — with no study of physical sciences, technology or geography. Over-reliance on ancient learning discouraged original thought.

Elementary education was widespread: pathshalas (Hindu) and maktabs (Muslim) taught reading, writing and arithmetic. Higher Hindu education was at chatuspathis or tols (famous centres: Kasi/Varanasi, Tirhut/Mithila, Nadia, Utkala). Higher Muslim education at madrasahs — Persian was the court language; Arabic for Quran and Muslim theology. Azimabad (Patna) was a famous centre for Persian education.

Societal Structure

Society was traditional, hierarchical and fragmented. Despite broad cultural unity, people were divided by caste, religion, region, tribe and language.

Hindu society: Patriarchal family system; caste was central. Beyond the four varnas, numerous sub-castes permanently fixed social rank. Profession was mainly caste-determined though with large-scale exceptions. Caste councils and panchayats enforced norms.

Muslim society: Despite Islam's message of equality, Muslims too were divided by caste, race, tribe and status. Sunni-Shia divisions; Irani, Afghan, Turani and Hindustani Muslim nobles remained separate. Sharif Muslims (nobles, scholars, priests, military) looked down upon ajlaf Muslims (lower-class Muslims) in a manner paralleling Hindu caste hierarchy.

Position of Women

In the patriarchal system (with some exceptions in Kerala), women had little individual agency. Upper-class women were confined at home; lower-class women worked in fields. Exploitative customs — purdah, sati, child marriage, polygamy — persisted. Hindu widow's plight was particularly miserable. The dowry evil was widespread especially in Bengal and Rajputana. Efforts at widow remarriage by Raja Sawai Jai Singh of Amber and Maratha General Prashuram Bhau failed.

Slavery

European travellers reported widespread slavery in 17th-century India. Economic distress, famines and poverty drove some to sell their children. Higher-class Rajputs, Khatris and Kayasthas kept women slaves for domestic work. The status of Indian slaves was relatively better than European — they were treated as hereditary servants rather than chattels; marriages among slaves were permitted; their offspring were considered free. The advent of Europeans intensified the slave trade — European companies purchased slaves from Bengal, Assam and Bihar for American and European markets. Abyssinian slaves were sold at Surat, Madras and Calcutta.

Art, Architecture and Culture

The decline of the Mughals dispersed patronage to regional courts: Hyderabad, Lucknow, Jaipur, Murshidabad, Patna, Kashmir.

• Asaf-ud-Daula built the Bada Imambara at Lucknow in 1784
• Sawai Jai Singh built the pink city of Jaipur and five astronomical observatories (Jantar Mantar) at Delhi, Jaipur, Benares, Mathura and Ujjain; prepared the Zij Muhammad-shahi astronomical tables
• Padmanabhapuram Palace (Kerala) was constructed — famous for architecture and mural paintings
• New painting schools: Rajputana and Kangra schools came to prominence
• Urdu language and poetry flourished: Mir, Sauda, Nazir, and (19th century) Mirza Ghalib
• Malayalam literature flourished under Travancore rulers; Kanchan Nambiar was a noted poet
• Tamil: enriched by sittar poetry; Tayumanavar (1706–44) protested against temple-rule and caste system
• Punjabi: Heer Ranjha (romantic epic) composed by Warris Shah
• Sindhi: Shah Abdul Latif composed Risalo (collection of poems)

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• GS Paper I — Modern History: The decline of the Mughals and the emergence of regional states directly created the political vacuum that the British EIC exploited — this is the essential backdrop to all subsequent British conquest narratives.
• Colonialism and Nationalism: The socio-economic data from this period is central to the nationalist argument that pre-colonial India was prosperous and that colonialism caused economic decline (drain of wealth theory, Dadabhai Naoroji).
• State Formation and Governance: The three categories of regional states (Successor, Independent, New) illustrate different modes of political legitimacy and state-building in the post-imperial vacuum.
• Continuity vs. Change: The jagirdari crisis shows how an agrarian-fiscal crisis precipitated political collapse — relevant to debates on economic determinism in history.
• Interlinks: Mughal decline ↔ Nadir Shah's invasion ↔ Third Battle of Panipat ↔ Maratha collapse ↔ British expansion; Farrukhsiyar's Farmans (1717) ↔ EIC trade privileges ↔ British political consolidation; Regional states ↔ Subsidiary Alliance system (Wellesley) ↔ British paramountcy.
• Women's Question: The social conditions of 18th-century women — sati, purdah, child marriage — form the backdrop to the 19th-century Social Reform Movement (Ram Mohan Roy, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar).

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1. Khafi Khan's title for Bahadur Shah I: 'Shah-i-Bekhabar' — NOT a compliment. It means 'unaware/ignorant king.' Candidates sometimes mistake it for an honorific.
2. Izara system vs. Zamindari: Izara (revenue farming) was introduced by Zulfikar Khan under Jahandar Shah — do not confuse it with the Zamindari system or the Permanent Settlement.
3. Who abolished Jaziya?: Both Jahandar Shah (abolished it first) and Farrukhsiyar (re-abolished it after re-imposition) abolished Jaziya — candidates often credit only one. Akbar had earlier abolished it; Aurangzeb had reimposed it.
4. Sayyid Brothers: Known as 'King Makers' (not 'king killers') — they made AND unmade emperors. Their downfall came through Muhammad Shah with help of Nizam-ul-Mulk AND Peshwa Balaji Vishwanath — a Hindu-Muslim alliance against them.
5. Rafi-ud-Darajat vs. Rafi-ud-Daula: Two different emperors in the same year (1719) — Rafi-ud-Darajat ruled shortest (Feb 28–June 4); Rafi-ud-Daula (Shah Jahan II) was his successor (June 6–Sept 17). Both installed and removed by Sayyid Brothers.
6. Battle of Karnal (1739): This was Nadir Shah's battle vs. the Mughals — NOT Ahmad Shah Abdali's. Abdali's battles are separate (1748–1767).
7. Hyderabad's founder: Nizam-ul-Mulk's personal name was Kilich Khan — he adopted the title 'Asaf-Jah' in 1725. 'Nizam-ul-Mulk' is a title, not a name. The dynasty is 'Asaf-Jah'.
8. Bengal's founder: Murshid Quli Khan founded independent Bengal — NOT Alivardi Khan. Alivardi Khan seized power in 1740 by killing Sarfaraz Khan.
9. Awadh's founder: Saadat Khan (Burhan-ul-Mulk) — NOT Safdar Jang. Safdar Jang was his successor.
10. Third Battle of Panipat (1761): Between Marathas and Ahmad Shah Abdali — NOT between Marathas and the Mughals or the British. The Marathas LOST, ending their all-India imperial aspirations.

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• Aurangzeb died: 1707 → war of succession → Bahadur Shah I (1709–12)
• Khafi Khan called Bahadur Shah I: Shah-i-Bekhabar
• Jahandar Shah: helped by Zulfikar Khan; introduced izara system; abolished Jaziya
• Farrukhsiyar: helped by Sayyid Brothers (King Makers); killed by them in 1719 — first emperor killed by nobles; gave EIC Farmans 1717
• Shortest-reigning Mughal: Rafi-ud-Darajat (Feb 28–June 4, 1719)
• Muhammad Shah 'Rangeela': 1719–48; Nizam-ul-Mulk wazir (1724) → founded Hyderabad
• Baji Rao I raided Delhi: 1737 with 500 horsemen
• Nadir Shah: Battle of Karnal Feb 13, 1739; took Peacock Throne + Kohinoor; 70 crore rupees looted
• Ahmad Shah Abdali: invaded 1748–1767; Punjab ceded 1751–52; Third Battle of Panipat 1761 — defeated Marathas
• Three Battles of Panipat: 1526 (Babur vs. Ibrahim Lodi), 1556 (Akbar vs. Hemu), 1761 (Abdali vs. Marathas)
• Battle of Plassey: 1757 (during Alamgir II's reign)
• Battle of Buxar: 1764 (during Shah Alam II's reign)
• Treaty of Allahabad: Aug 1765 → Diwani of Bengal, Bihar, Orissa to EIC
• Last Mughal: Bahadur Shah Zafar (II) → exiled to Rangoon → died