Role of Sikhs in the Decline of the Mughal Empire

For an empire as massive as the Mughal empire, the decline could not have been an abrupt or mundane
affair. There were a number of nails in this colossal coffin, one of which was the constantly nagging and
vicious Sikh militia, which clashed with the greatest empire of the Indian subcontinent a number of
times, bleeding them with a thousand cuts.

The role of Sikhs can be discussed through observing two parallel developments, which had significant
impact on political courses of one another.

1. Evolution of Sikhs from a Bhakti sect to a militarised Khalsa -

2. Evolution of Mughals from Akbari Utopia to Aurangzebian dystopia -