History and culture

of Pakistan
IGCSE – 0448

Gul Bashra Askar

Reasons for the decline of the Mughal empire
on basis of Aurangzeb’s policies
1. Religious policies.
➢ Aurangzeb was religiously intolerant.
➢ He re-introduced jizya tax on the non-Muslims
who were in majority and felt that the tax was
another burden imposed
➢ He destroyed Hindu temples.
➢ He abolished alcohol, dancing, singing and
festivals like Nauroz.
➢ He banned Hindu traditions like suttee.
2. Economic policies
➢ Lenient tax policies
➢ More money from treasury was spent on the
empire.
➢ Weak economy led to a weaker empire.
➢ Aurangzeb spent a lot of money on the Pearl
Mosque which was built for his private prayers
(extravagance).
3. Warfare
➢ 25 years’ war with the Marathas
➢ Aurangzeb was absent from his own court which
made the nobles corrupt behind his back.
➢ Successors were not trained.
➢ Wastage of skilled soldiers and generals
➢ Wastage of money
➢ Bloodshed
Reasons for the decline of Mughal empire:
1. In the Mughal empire there was no proper law of
succession due to which after a king died, the
sons would wage wars against their own brothers
to be the next emperor. This led to disunity,
bloodshed, loss of experienced soldiers and
generals, loss of money and resources which
weakened the empire economically.
2. The emperors became fonder of luxury and
pleasure. Extravagance grew larger in the empire,
such as sending large sums of money on useless
architecture like Taj Mahal and Pearl Mosque. The
emperors after Aurangzeb were weak, corrupt and
luxury loving. This led to bankruptcy in the empire.
3. Weak successors like Farrukhsiyar worked on the
commands of others.
4. Due to the vastness of the empire, the emperor
did not get the news of rebellions timely.
Unit 1: Decline of the
Mughal empire
5. The vastness of the empire was also the reason
for lack of transportation of resources and
communication.
6. Mughals had an immense decline in military, as
they had lack of proper equipment, training and
were highly divided as they belonged to diverse
ethnic groups. Modern warfare techniques were
neglected.
7. Invasions from outsiders like the Europeans
(Portuguese, French, British and Dutch), Persians
(Nadir Shah) and Afghans (Ahmed Shah Durrani)
resulted in the empire growing weaker. Some of
these invaders destroyed the infrastructure of the
empire and took a lot of jewels and booty.
Strengths of the British:
1. Developed military and better means of
communication.
2. Successful use of their strategy “divide and
rule”.
3. Strong belief of victory and prosperity.
4. Rich sense of superiority.
5. Brought benefits to India
Nadir Shah:
➢ Persian ruler
➢ Ransacked Delhi
➢ Took huge amounts of gold and jewels
Ahmed Shah Abdali
➢ Afghan general
➢ Attacked Kabul, Peshawar and Lahore
➢ Added Kashmir and Multan to his empire.
➢ Defeated the Marathas in the third battle
of Panipat.
Shivaji
➢ Monarch of the Marathas
➢ Innovated guerrilla tactics
➢ Revived old Hindu traditions
➢ Challenge for Aurangzeb for 25 years
➢ Established his empire in the deccan
region of India
Shah Waliullah:
➢ Real name: Qutubudin
➢ Born in 1703 in the reign of Aurangzeb
➢ Father’s name: Shah Abdul Rahim
Shah Abdul Rahim:
➢ Religious advisor to Aurangzeb.
➢ Founder of Madrassa Rahimya.
➢ Islamic scholar.
➢ Compiled a book on Aurangzeb known as (Fatwa-e-
Alamgiri)
➢ Shah Abdul Rahim was also a leading scholar on
traditional sciences.
Madrassa Rahimya:
➢ Islamic institute in Delhi
➢ Developed curriculum
➢ Better teaching methodologies
➢ Translation of Quran happened here
➢ Future religious reformers got their education from
here
Beliefs:
➢ First Muslim thinker to state the decline of the Mughal
empire.
➢ Muslims were disunited
➢ Wanted Muslims to concentrate on the fundamentals
of Islam.
➢ He believed that un-Islamic principles were not
acceptable in any aspect of society
Contributions: (along with success and failure)
1. First Muslim thinker to state the decline of the
Mughal empire hundreds of years before. He thought
about the problems that the Muslims were facing.
The empire was in decline, Muslims were disunited
and were vulnerable to attacks on their religion.
(success)
2. ShahWalliullah was the first to translate the Quran
into Persian. Few Muslims spoke Arabic and the
translation enabled the Muslims to understand and
have access to the teachings of the Quran in a
language that they could easily understand,
although he was criticized by the Ulema as they
believed that the Holy language cannot be changed,
and Muslims who were illiterate could still not be
aware of their religion. (success and failure)
3. His teachings were for whole of India despite the vast
Unit 3: Revivers of Islam
division and sectarian division. He presented
himself as the role model. However, he failed
to motivate the people (success and failure)
4. Shah Wall Ullah wrote 51 books (23 in
Arabic and 28 in Persian). His books
include Hujjat ul Allah al Baligha and
Izalat Akhfa. Muslims were illiterate and
could not read. (failure)
5. He wrote the recount of the four caliphs
in such a way that Shia Sunni conflict
could be erased. However, he was
unable to do so. (failure)
6. Wrote letters to Muslim chiefs in India to
unite the Muslims against one common
enemy. (failure)
7. Wrote letters to Muslim rulers like
Ahmed Shah Abdali to replace a weaker
Muslim ruler with a stronger one. Ahmed
Shah Abdali came and defeated the
Marathas but did not stay in India and
placed Ahmed Shah on the throne who
was a weak ruler. (success and failure)
8. He failed to motivate soldiers for Jihad.
(failure)
9. Shah Wall Ullah taught in his father’s
madrassa and upgraded the curriculum
Importance
1. First Muslim thinker to attempt the
revival of Islam.
2. His work survived.
3. Took steps to bridge up the differences
among the Muslims
4. Highlighted the importance for Jihad.
Syed Ahmed Shaheed Barelvi:
➢ Born in 1786, in Rae Bareli near Lucknow
in a Syed Family.
➢ Enrolled in Madrassa Rahimya.
➢ Studied under the sons of Shah Walli
Ullah.
➢ Joined the army of Amir Khan, a Pathan
military leader.
➢ Learned military skills.
REASONS FOR JIHAD MOVEMENT:
➢ Ranjit Singh was the Sikh ruler of Punjab,
NWFP and Kashmir and his empire was
expanding.
➢ Ranjit Singh was a tyrannical ruler who
limited the social, religious and
economical rights of the Muslims, such a
banning the azan, releasing pigs at the
time of prayers in Mosques. Muslims were
economically backward and did not have
enough job opportunities.
➢ Hence, to gain religious liberty for the
Muslims, he started the JM.
➢ Although this movement was confined
only to the rule of Ranjit Singh.
➢ Muslims were following many ill practices
and believed in numerous false
superstitions. A lot of innovations were
brought, hence he believed that once the
Non-Muslims will be defeated, Muslims
and Islam will come back to their purity.
➢ British rule was largely expanding, and to
zzzz
stop the invader’s rule and save the
Muslim rule, he started the JM.
Importance of the work/ services of
sasb:
➢ The Jehad movement attempted to
achieve spiritual and religious freedom of
the Muslims.
➢ It was a fore-runner for Pakistan
movement.
➢ Unity of Muslims.
➢ To gain liberty for the Muslims.
Reasons for failure of Jihad movement:
➢ Lack of unity
1. Mujahideen belonged to different
social groups.
2. Traitors like Yar Muhammad Khan in
the army tried to poison SASB and
others revealed information.
3. The tribal chiefs got offended on
paying the tax for the Mujahedeen
which they had never paid before.
Mujahideen Sikh army
Religious students who were The Sikh army had well-trained
not well-trained and did not soldiers.
know how to properly use
weapons.
The Mujahideen had lack of Well-equipment with proper
resources. resources
Financial problems No financial problems
No support Support from French
No proper leader after SASB
Death of Syed Ahmed Shaheed:
Syed Ahmed Shaheed moved his headquarters to Balakot
which he considered to be safe place, however the local
chiefs revealed this information to the Sikh leaders and
they did a surprise attack on them, which is known as the
Battle of Balakot, a victory for the Sikhs but a major defeat
for the Jehad movement. It was in this battle that SASB
died.
Haji Shariatullah
➢ Born in 1781 to a poor family in Faridpur, east Bengal
➢ Witnessed the injustices being done to Muslims by the
rich Hindu Zamindars.
➢ He got his education from a famous scholar of Arabia,
Sheikh Tahir.
Faraizi movement:
➢ Laucnhed by Haji Shariatullah for the Brngali Muslims.
➢ It was launched to revive the importance of Faraiz in
Muslim’s life in order to improve their socio-economic
and religious conditions of the Muslims. This was
launched to restore the pride of the Muslims because
many ill practices had become a part of the Muslim
society.
➢ HSU declared Bengal as Darul-Harb (Land of war)
because Muslims were greatly limited in freedom and
were constantly oppressed by the Hindus and the
British. HSU tried to mobilize the Muslims against the
British and the Hindus.
➢ He wanted to unite the Muslims against the illegal
taxation imposed on them by Hindu landlords. In order
to create awareness among the Muslims on their
rights, HSU launched the FM.
Importance of the Farizi movement:
➢ Sowed the seeds for Pakistan movement.
➢ Gave hope and courage to the oppressed
Bengali Muslims.
➢ Caused spiritual revival among the
Muslims.
➢ Tried to remove the ill practices and Hindu
customs from the Muslim society.
➢ Political awakening among the Muslims.
Dadu Mian:
➢ Real name: Mohsin ud din.
➢ Born in 1819
➢ Son of Haji Shariatullaj
➢ Continued the FM after his father.
➢ Divided Bengal into circles under certain
Caliphs.
➢ Caused Muslims to oppose undue taxes
imposed by British and Hindus
➢ Caused unrest in Bengal
➢ Threatened to wage Jehad.
Titu Mir:
➢ Muslim reformer
➢ Disciple of Syed Ahmed Shaheed
➢ Real name was Syed Mir Nasir/Mir Nasir
Ali
➢ Bengali freedom fighter
➢ Organized a stand against Zamindars
➢ Set up his own rule in Narkelbaria near
Calcutta
➢ British defeated him in a battle in 1831