Assignment #01

Q1: Explain why the Mughal Empire declined following the death of Aurangzeb? [7]
Aurangzeb’s successors were insufficient. They proved to be lazy, corrupt and luxury – loving
and left the estate affairs to their courtiers and minister who were usually selfish. These weak
successors became victim to an extravagant lifestyle as a result of which they failed to run
and defend the huge empire effectively. State resources were spent on personal comfort and
so, the empire suffered from financial inefficiencies. One of the later Mughal was
Muhammed Shah who, because of his colorful lifestyle, was titled as ‘Rangeela’. He could not
defend his empire against the Persian invader Nadir Shah Durrani.

There was no law of succession due to which the princes often fought for the throne on the
death of the emperor. These wars of succession led to division of the army with various
lobbies supporting various princes. Succession was usually decided by the ability of the
individual princes and the support and strength they could get from the courtiers and the
army. This infighting incurred huge loss to the state exchequer that should have been spent
on the public welfare schemes and consolidating the empire. Aurangzeb had divided the
empire among his three sons, but they too, ended up fighting with each other.

Invasions by the Persians, Afghans and the Europeans further accelerated the process of
decline. Nadir Shah Durrani sacked many cities in 1739, and Ahmed Shah Abdali repeatedly
attacked India from 1748 onwards. Gradually, fighting wars became expensive and the
military was stretched and suffered from inefficiency and skills. It became hard to defend a
vast empire with orthodox and outdated weapons and fighting tactics. The British, who had
been developing their army, fully exploited these weaknesses of a very rich Mughal Empire
that they overran with their advanced weapons, warfare and clever strategies.
Q2: Were the policies of Aurangzeb the main reason for the decline of the Mughal Empire?
Explain your answer
Aurangzeb’s religious and military policies contributed significantly to the decline of
the Mughal rule. He was known for his prejudiced and intolerant polices .He adopted
strict measures against the non-Muslims. He imposed the discriminatory Islamic tax
Jizya on the non-Muslims that had earlier been abolished by Akbar, though he tried to
defend himself by waving some other taxes. He also demolished a number of Hindu
temples and adopted a harsh attitude towards the Sikhs. Being a staunch Sunni ruler,
he banned many activities such as drinking, gambling and dance that had been the part
of the Indian culture and society. He also tried to ban the Hindu custom of Suttee,
burning widow alive on the cremation of her husband. He spent 25 years fighting
against the Marathas in the Deccan wars but returned unsuccessful. In order to meet
huge expenses of these military campaigns, he imposed heavy taxes and the money
collected by taxes was spent on luxurious buildings, a traditional of the Mughal ruler.
All this made Aurangzeb very unpopular, and his successors find it quite difficult to rule
the empire.

However, there were many other reasons for the decline of the mighty Mughal rule.
Weak successors of Aurangzeb fell victim to extravagant and luxurious lifestyles and paid
little attention to the defense and consolidation the Empire. They become morally
corrupt and comfort- loving, and could not overcome the difficulties faced by various
parts of the huge Empire. This complacence is the usual result of continued success of
major Empires, and the Mughals were no exception to this. Negligence of the weak later
Mughals to the state of affairs also contributed to the fall of the Mughal Empire.

The Mughal did not have a definite law of succession. On the death of an Emperor, the
Princes got engaged in conspiracies, intrigues and making loyal groups that always lead
to regicidal war of succession. Success of a candidate often dependent on the support he
could get from the military and ministers. Thus, state resources were wasted on mutual
fights instead of public welfare and defense of the Empire.

Finally, the last nail in the coffin of the Mughal rule was perhaps driven by the British,
who began to dominate the political horizon of India, 1750 onwards. The tottering
Mughal Empire was no match to the British supremacy in warfare. The British very
skillfully established themselves in India and eventually replace the Mughals by annexing
all important states between 1757 and 1856. They started their victories journey from
north-eastern India and moving southwards , they turned to the northwestern territories
of Sindh, Punjab and Kashmir .They also successfully applied their famous strategy of
‘divide and rule’ to occupy the Indian subcontinent.

To conclude we can say that Aurangzeb’s policies were the decisive factor in the decline
of the Mughal rule. Instead of winning the support of the local non-Muslim majority, he
locked horns with them as as a result of which the Empire incurred huge economic losses
that contributed significantly to the process of decline. Moreover, these policies divided
Indian subcontinent.