12.1 Factors-for-decline-of-the-Mughal-Empire

Factors for Decline of the Mughal Empire [1]

2020-04-26 19:32 :30

Empire Centric Approaches for Decline

  • William Irvine and Jadunath Sarkar : decline of character of Emperors, nobles
  • Sarkar called A religious fanatic and successors as mere shadow's of predecessors

Jagirdari Crisis

  • It had both adm and social basis. Its success depended on the ability of the holder to exact sufficient resources from it and maintianing a sufficient quota for service.
  • Nobles should have had a vested interest in collecting revenue, his ability to work with the faujdar and compel zamindars and sometimes owner cultivators on a caste basis to pay.
  • Many zamindars were converted into paying kharaj (land revenue) collecting agents who had a fixed share in the exaction called a Nankar.
  • Due to the rapid expansion of no of mansabdars their salaries also increased -> mismatch b/w available resources and demands of salaries. Which was met by reducing salaries and no of troops and horses mansabdar that was required to maintain.
  • A trial to expand this to Deccan where the situation was entirely different was the real crisi of the Jagirdari system.

**Satish Chandra's** 'Parties and Politics at Mughal Court' focused on Mansabdari Jagirdari. Availability of revenues to assigned and ability of Mughals to collect both suffered

**Athar Ali's** 'The Mughal Nobility under Aurangzeb' absorption of Deccanis and Marathas into nobility led to paucity of Jagirs to be assigned, nobles also vied for better Jagirs leading to degradation of political machinery

**S Nurul Hasan** - bulk of revenue demand transferred to cultivators failed to carry the burden leading to agrarian crisis.
- Zamindars loyalty shifted constantly due to changing emperors → to law order crisis
- To contain them a system independent of the Zamindar was required which was not  developed

Re-examination of J Crisis

**MN Pearson** : Mughal rule indirect, local ties norms governed people's lives and the nobles were bound through loyalty/patronage to the crown
-   no impersonalised bureaucracy, bureaucracy expanding depended on mil conquests and assigning of more jagirs, when Jagir areas declined distress was caused
  
**JF Richards** : Jagirdari was administrative and managerial in nature, a/c to him crisis was caused by Aurangzeb keeping large parts of fertile occupied Deccan for himself and not be bejagiri
  
**Satish Chandra 1982** : J crisis was due to non-functionality of Jagirdari, need understanding of medieval Indian society :
-   Tripolar relationship b/w peasant, zamindars and mansabdars/jagirdars
-   Revenue collected difference between hasil and jama became glare towards the end of Shah Jahan reign
-   Rapid dev of economy both agri and trade was required to invest money back into economy
-   Rich peasants mortgaged the land of the poor people reducing them to level of share croppers
 
 **Leonard** : shifting loyalties of the indigenous banking class towards regional rulers leading to political crisis

Agrarian Crisis

Irfan Habib's 'Agrarian System of Mughal India

  • Revenue system inherently flawed, kept at the highest possible rate for maintaining greatest military strength
  • Jagirdars frequently transferred - lack of farsightedness, loyalty to an area
  • No surplus left with peasantry to advance agri tech
  • dissent, revolts, migration

Region Centric Approach for Decline

M Alam : conflict b/w communities could not mobilise beyond narrow bounds, flawed political integration,

  • zamindars madad I mash owners jagirdars colluded to resist transfers encroachment,
  • Awadh Punjab had economic growth led to rise of these classes - emergence of indep regional units
  • Chetan Singh - #todo

More Reasons for Decline [2]

  • Religious policies alienated Hindus
  • Mil campaign against Bijapur, Golconda, Marathas
  • Mughal admn
  • Recurrent wars of succession - weakened mil,
  • JN Sarkar - crisis was of weak emperors countered by Percival spear
  • No later conquests shrank resources, created crisis b/w emperor and aristocracy
  • Incorporation of nobles from deccan, golconda, bijapur created rift - Jagirdari crisis 445 nobles controlled 61% jagirs
**JF Richards** : problem artificial made by A by incorporating new captured lands as khalisa

**Irfan Habib** jagirdars oppressed peasant, no loyalty due to frequent transfers
  • Price rise, personal insecurity
  • Recurring peasant revolt for political assertion and communitarian identities
  • Zamindars turned against the state, loyalty shifted, defied authority
  • Local power groups emerged
**CA Baily** portfolio capital - reconciliation and adjustment, system was prepared to accommodate fitna/sedition

**F Perlin** mulitplicity of system of governance and tech led to growth of Khanzadas as locally powerful centres

PYQs

Factors for the decline of the Mughal Empire

  1. In which respects did the policies of Aurangzeb contribute to the disintegration of the Mughal Empire? [1979, 60m]
  1. Explain with illustrative detail the part played by the following factors in the disintegration of the Mughal Empire: [1981, 60m]
    (a) Aurangzeb's alleged departure from the policies of his predecessors, [1981, 20m]
    (b) Inherent defects of the Mansab and Jagir system. [1981, 20m]
    (c) Growth of new political forces in the provinces. [1981, 20m]
  1. "The expansion of Mughal Empire in Deccan brought about its decline." Discuss. [1988,
    60m]
  1. Do you think that the agrarian crisis of the 17th century led to the disintegration of the
    Mughal empire? Discuss. [2016, 20 Marks]
  1. "The Afghan invasions in the Eighteenth Century not only signified the military irrelevance of the Mughal Empire but also hastened its decline". Explain. [2018, 15 Marks]
  1. How would you like to characterize the eighteenth century in Indian history? [2005, 60m]
  1. What are the distinguishing components of the debate on "The Eighteenth Century"?
    [2008, 60m]

  1. < https://egyankosh.ac.in/bitstream/123456789/20287/1/Unit-35.pdf> #important↩︎

  2. Sekhar Bandyopadhyay↩︎