Chapter 1

Aurangzeb

 When Shah Jahan fell ill, the fight for the throne began.
 Murad and Aurangzeb joined forces to defeat Dara Shikoh
 Shah Jahan told them not to fight but Aurangzeb dismissed his wishes by stating him
insane and took his father prisoner thus gaining the throne

Aurangzeb’s Reforms

Positive Negative
Orthodox Muslim Intolerant towards other religions
Employed Hindu advisors Introduced Jizya
Donated to Hindu temples Destroyed Hindu temples
Took wise and needy measures Banned Suttee
Abolished local taxes Forced Hindus and Sikhs to live according to
the Qur’an
Banned consumption of alcohol
Stopped singing and dancing at court
Determined size of beard
High taxation
Luxurious palace such as Pearl Mosque

Succession

 He tried to divide his empire between this three sons but it didn’t work
 The winner of the throne was murdered within a year
 12 different people claimed to be Emperor at once

Disintegration of Empire

 Nadir Shah from Persia invaded

 Ahmed Shah Durrani from Kabul attacked
 Local leaders challenged his power
 Princes rebelled
 Provincial governors declared independence
 Marathas took over

Reasons for Decline of Mughal Empire

 Administration:
 o Too big to administer
 Military Costs:
o Continuous rebellion
o Fighting wars against invaders
 Succession:
o Huge sums of money wasted in succession dispute
 Declining Military Expertise:
o Complacent
o Discontented groups took advantage of decreasing efficiency of army
 Pleasure Seeking:
o Nobility indulged
o Betrayed Islamic principles
o Fine buildings built
o Symbol of extravagance
 Weak Control:
o Nobility became too powerful
o They couldn’t be controlled at court
o Mansabdari system wasn’t monitored
o Revenue from tax collection declined
 Arrival of British

Enter the British

 In 1600, Queen allowed a group of merchants to set up the EIC

 Since other European countries had a hold on other areas, EIC turned to India
 They first landed in Surat in 1608
 They began trade in 1612 by permission of Shah Jehan

EIC Influence

 Purchased spices, cotton, silks, tea from India

 Indian clothes were far more comfortable and therefore higher in demand
 Had its own huge private army to protect trading posts
 EIC went to war with Aurangzeb in 1686 but were defeated, forced to apologize and
pay a heavy fine

Battle of Plassey

 French encouraged Nawab of Bengal, Siraj-ud-Daulah to attack EIC base at Calcutta

 He captured the city but EIC soon defeated him
  This was easy due to Mir Jafar who betrayed Siraj
 Mir Jafar’s son, Mir Qasim joined with the Nawab of Oudh and Shah Alam II to
overthrow the EIC but were unsuccessful
 EIC took control of revenue collection in many states

Bengal Exploited

 The nobility was given many gifts as bribery

 The civilians suffered from severe famine

British Government Intervenes

 Act of Parliament was passed which required the EIC to provide goods and stop anarchy
 India Act was passed, taking control of all Indian possessions
 Appointed a Governor General-Warren Hastings, and Commander-in-Chief
 Police and legal system were set up
 Local people were not given a spot in civil service
 Ended First Maratha War
 Invaded Mysore and took control
 Nawabs of Oudh were defeated and forced to give up most of their land
 Forced Shah Alam to accept that he was ruling under British Protection
 Marathas were defeated and made to accept British rule

Annexation of Sindh

 British wanted to make sure Russia didn’t take Afghanistan

 British agreed with ruler of Punjab- Ranjit Singh- that Afghanistan should remain
independent
 Singh didn’t help them install a pro-British ruler in Kabul
 Rebellion in Afghanistan led to all Britishers being killed
 Their pride had been hurt so they turned to Sindh
 The Amirs of Sindh had signed a peace treaty with Britain
 Wanted to make sure Singh didn’t take Sindh
 They decided to provoke the Amirs so much that they attack British Residency thus
giving the British a reason to annex Sindh

Annexation of Punjab and KPK

 The successors of Singh attacked the British thus provoking them to attack Punjab
 After a revolt, both provinces fell under them
 Many lands unofficially belonged to them due to treaties
Doctrine of Lapse

 Governor-General Dalhousie extended British control further

 When a ruler died without a natural heir to the throne, the British would annex his
lands
 Very unpopular policy
 Caused much resentment as it was just an excuse to take away land
 For example, Dalhousie took away Nawab of Oudh’s lands by saying he had governed
his people wrong

Why Were The British Able to Conquer India?

 Weakness of India:
o Mughals were already in decline
o They saw the British as possible allies instead of enemies
o Neglection
o Rebellion
o Wars
o India was divided
o No uniting force
 Strength of British:
o Industrial Revolution
o They thought they were superior to Indians
o They provided irrigation, schooling, transport, trade and hospitals
o Indians saw them as a benefit as well

British Rule

 Charter Act gave Indians a bit more place in civil service

 Drain of wealth: shipped all goods to England
 They did not disrespect religion or culture
 English replaced Persian as official language
 Education was to be in English
 Opposition began to grow
 They didn’t like Christian missionaries
 Hated technological ideas
 Declared the killing of females to be murder
 Banned suttee
 Destroyed thuggee
 Invented the railway
 Established schooling
 Brought in Christian missionaries but did not force conversion
 Usually placed puppets in power and ruled indirectly