Lecture 4; Downfall of

Muslim Rule in India

and Colonization by
British
Pakistan affairs
Aiman Nazeer
Downfall of Muslim rule in India

• Downfall of Mughal empire

• Arrival and rule of British in India
• War of Independence 1857
Downfall of Mughal
Empire

• Downfall of Mughal empire started right after

the death of Aurangzeb in 1707AD
• Some factors and events that led to the
downfall of Mughal empire are as follows
• Aurangzeb’s rule 1658AD-1707AD
• Rise of Maratha Empire 1680AD
• Invasion of Persian 1738-1739
• Lack of worthy and competent rulers after
Aurangzeb
• Arrival of British 1614
• War of Independence 1857
Downfall of Mughal
Empire in India
• Aurangzeb’s rule agitated non-
Muslims:
• Aurangzeb’s strict religious policies
• Non-Muslims were disgruntled
• He banned the Persian festival
named Nauroz
• He appointed Muhtasibs
• He imposed heavy Jizya on non-
Muslims
• He crushed temples of Hindus
• His policies created disunity among
people of diverse ethnicity
Downfall of Mughal rule in
India; Maratha Empire

• Revolts after the death of Aurangzeb 1707:

• Rise of Maratha/Mughal-Maratha war /
Deccan war 1680AD-1707AD
• Disgruntled by the policies of Aurangzeb,
Maratha revolted against Mughal empire
under the leadership of Shivaji Mahraja
• In 1674 they took over Deccan peninsula
• Third battle of Panipat between Ahmed Shah
Abdali and Maratha 1761AD
• Jats of Delhi, Mathura and Agra also taking
advantage of chaos raised their heads
• In 1669 Jats launched their first revolt against
Mughal empire
Downfall of Mughal Empire in India;
Invasion of India by Nadir Shah
• Invasion by Nadir Shah 1738AD-1739AD:
• The Shah of Afsharid Dynasty invaded
India
• To settle scores with Mughal empire
Nadir Shah launched attack after the
death of Aurangzeb
• Battle of Karnal 1738-1739AD
• He massacred Delhi and killed 30,000
citizens
• He looted wealth of Mughal empire
and did irretrievable damage to
Mughal Empire
Downfall of Mughal empire
• Incompetent rulers after Aurangzeb:
• After Aurangzeb Mughal rulers fell in dissipation
• They were incompetent
• Aurangzeb was succeeded by Muhammad Azam Shah who was defeated by his brother Bahadur
Shah I
• They were indulged in luxuries and started fighting with each other over the throne
• Meanwhile British took the advantage of chaotic situation and slowly penetrated in almost entire
India
• Demoralization of army:
• Along with rulers, army also grew weary
• Army did not perform well and there was no leader to motivate them
Downfall of Muslim rule in India/
British took over the throne

• Arrival of British in India in 1583:

• In 1583 Queen Elizabeth I, dispatched the
ship named Tyger to India make trade
relations
• In 1614, British East India company opened
its first office in India
• It was the era of Jahangir 1605AD-1628AD
• Factors that led to the arrival of British in India:
• To exploit opportunities of trade
• To compete with Imperial European powers
• To plunder immense wealth of India
• To colonize and expand their empire
Downfall of Muslim rule in India/
British took over the throne
• British crept into the politics of India
• British enjoyed unique trading policies
• They were granted free trading license
• They continued seeking concessions
from Mughal empire
• They started invasion from Bengal
• They built fort Williams in Calcutta with
the permission of Mughal empire
• Slowly they started gathering
ammunition in fort Williams
Downfall of Muslim rule in India/
British took over the throne
• British took over Bengal
• Black hole tragedy June 20, 1756:
• British enjoyed many favours in Bengal
• They did not pay any tax and they had free trade license
• Nawab of Bengal wanted to end such privileges and
imposed taxes on The British East India company
• He also did not allow the reinforcement of fort Williams
• The gathering of ammunition in fort Williams further
infuriated Nawab
• He attacked Calcutta and imprisoned 146 Europeans in
a dungeon of fort Williams
• John Zephaniah Holwell said that 123 of 146 people
died in due to suffocation and dehydration
• The room was 14 feet wide and 18 feet long
• It was called Black hole by the prisoners
• This incident infuriated Britishers and they vowed to
avenge Nawab for this cruelty
Downfall of Muslim rule in India/ British
took over the throne
• British took over Bengal
• Battle of Plassey 1757:
• After the black hole tragedy, Major Robert Clive and
Admiral Warson were sent to take revenge from
Nawab
• They did not fight at first and started arguments
• They got the free trade license from Nawab
• Then they launched attack on Nawab
• Nawab lost the war owing to the treachery of his
General Mir Jaffar
• Mir Jaffar was made the Nawab of Bengal, but he
was a mere pawn and did not have any authority
• After the battle of Plassey, Bengal was in hands of
Britishers
Downfall of Muslim rule in India/ British took over
the throne
• British took over Bengal:
• War of Biderra 1759:
• War was fought between Mir Jaffar and British
• Mir Jaffar ran away and Dutch and British began to fight
• Dutch lost the war
• Mir Qassim was made the nawab of Bengal
• War of Buxar 1764:
• Mir Qassim and Nawab of Avodh fought against EIC
• They lost the war and British took over the Bengal
• Britishers then threw all the other European nations out of India and took control
of almost half of the India
• They became deeply enmeshed in the politics of India and stopped considering
Mughals as the rulers of India
Decline of Muslim rule/ War of
Independence 1857 (Trek to Pakistan)
• War of Independence 1857 was the final
crunch to Mughal empire
• Indians lost the war and India was
recognized as a colony of British empire
officially
Decline of Muslim rule/ War of
Independence 1857
• Background of war of independence
1857:
• It was the year of eventual collapse of
Mughal Empire
• Locals got tired of Britisher’s intervention
• They revolted
• The war begun from Meerut on May 1st,
1857
• Indians lost the war
• After this India came under the direct rule
of crown
• India became official colony of British
• East India company was abolished
Decline of Muslim rule/ War of
Independence 1857
• Causes of the war:
• Military causes:
• Indian soldiers were subjected to
discrimination
• They were given 7R/month while
English were given 27Rs/month
• Soldiers were not allowed to
practise their religion
• In 1806 Sikh soldiers were ordered
to not wear Safa and Tillak
• There were no chances of
promotion for Indian soldiers
Decline of Muslim rule/
War of Independence
1857
• Causes of the war of independence
• Religious causes:
• Most important cause of revolt
• British called Christian missionaries there
to preach Christianity
• R.D Mangles, the chairman of the board of
directors of the company once stated in
House of Commons in 1857, “Providence
has bestowed upon us the empire of India
so that the banner of Christ should wave
triumphant from one end of India to the
other”
• E Edmond declared in 1855 that, “Since
India had come under one government, it
should also have only one religion”
• Orphans were forcibly converted to
Christianity
Decline of Muslim rule/ War of Independence
1857
• Political causes:
• British used politics also to take over India
• They distorted the image of Muslims and maligned history
• They stopped giving respect to Mughals and inculcated the
sense of inferiority
• A decree was issued by Lord Dalhousie that after the death
of Bahadur Shah Zafar the heir would leave the Red Fort
• Legislative causes:
• There was governor-general of India and his executive
council who performed the dual duty of making the law and
executing it
• No local was in the committee to advise
Decline of Muslim
rule/ War of
Independence 1857

• Accession of states:
• Princely states were
annexed
• Doctrine of Lapse was
introduced by Lord
Dalhousie in 1840
• State of Avadh was
added very
ignominiously in 1856
Decline of Muslim
rule/ War of
Independence 1857

• Cultural causes:
• British did cultural invasion in India
• They banned their rituals and traditions
• They looked at their culture satirically
• Economic causes:
• Doors of high posts were barred for Indians
• English exploited the resources of India
• They local industry was ruined
• When British came to India their share in global GDP was
25%-35%
• By the time of independence, it was only 2%
Decline of Mughal Empire/ War of
Independence 1857
• Immediate cause:
• Enfield Riffle was introduced to India in
1856
• In April 1857, some soldiers at Meerut
rejected to use that
• The company sentenced them to ten year
of imprisonment
• The soldiers out of agitation revolted
• In May more soldiers joined them, and the
war began from Meerut
• After the war Mughal empire was crushed
completely and India became officially
colony of British
 Result of the war of independence 1857
• Locals lost the war
• Causes of the failure of war:
• Change of Plan
• Treachery of Sikh community:
• W Russel said, “If all nations had joined hand
against us, we would have been completely
annihilated despite all our courage and bravery”
• No leadership
• Lack of finances
• No coordination among fighters
• Poor and old equipment
• Company’s control over means of transportation and
communication
• Robert Montgomery said, “India was saved by
the electronic wire”
Impacts of War of
Independence 1857

• Mughals were exiled and killed

• Bahadur Shah Zafar was tried for treason,
imprisoned and exiled to Rangoon, now in
Myanmar
• India came under crown:
• After war Queen gave Proclamation of 1858
and took India under British rule
• East India Company was abolished
• Doctrine of Lapse was abolished
• British Army was established in India
Impacts of War of Independence 1857

• Constitutional and political

development was started
• End of armed struggle and political
struggle started
• Political leaders came to the front
• Fiasco for Muslims
• Educational movements started