Mughal Empire

The Mughal ruled Northern India from 1526 – 1857 AD. The Lodis were the last dynasty in
Delhi before the Mughals established their presence. In 1529, at Panipat, a battle was fought
between Babur and Lodhi army. Lodhi Army was defeated. Babur was a king of Kabul. Like his
ancestor Timur, he also wanted to loot India. Being an able general, Babur could easily defeat
the Lodhi soldiers. In the battle of Panipat, Babur was helped by the Rajput prince, Rana Sanga
of Mewar. After winning the battle, Babur not only took his share of the loot, but also established
himself as the ruler. He defeated Rana Sanga and the Afghan generals who helped in his battle
against the Lodhis. Babur was a great scholar. He wrote down whatever he saw. These writing
were called Babur Nama. He was an admirer of Nature’ bounty.

He build many parks inside and outside the palaces. Though he laid the foundations of Mughals
rule in India, he did not live long to see it growing.

After Babar, his son humayun (1530 – 1540 and 1555 – 1556) became the ruler. The Afghan
nobles wanted the Mughals to leave India. Shershah, an Afghan, defeated Humayun in 1540.
Humayun lost his power but gained it in 1555. Unfortunately he died in 1556. After defeating
Humayun, Shershah became the ruler of India. He was an able administor. He introduced a
rational system of Taxation. He introduced many reforms. He constructed the Grans Trunk Road;
he planted trees, built rest houses. He issued the coin known as Rupia, which we call today as
Rupee. He also introduced Postal system. He died in an accident in 1545.

In 1555, Humayun regained the throne.

Akbar was thirteen when he became the ruler. His guardian Bairam Khan, a distinguished
general, became the Regen. When Akbar attained the age, he took over the government. Gwalior,
Ajmer, Malwa and Jaunpur were won over by Akbar. He was very friendly with the Hindus.
Through matrimonial alliances and through appointment of Hindus in high positions, Akbar was
able to command over a large empire.

Akbar divided his empire into fifteen provinces or sabas. Each Saba was sub-divided into a
number of Sarkars and each Sarkar into Parganas. The governors or subadar was for the law and
order of his Saba.
Akbar introduced Mansabdari system by which every officer was given a rank or mansab. The
officers and nobles were paid grants of land revenue known as Jagirs. The state enjoyed income
from two sources land revenue and trade. Sea trade brought the Europeans to India. Though
himself illiterate, Akbar encouraged scholars. Great scholars like Abul Fazi, Faizi, Birbal and
Todar Mal enjoyed Akbar’s love and respect. Persian was the official language that time. Writing
in Hindi made its beginning during Akbar’s time. Akbar was a great patron of music and art.
Tansen, the famous musicain used to entertain the king. New Indo-Persian style of art and
architecture developed. Akbar built magnificent palaces, gardens, learning centres etc. Fatehpur
Sikri is an example of the excellent style of architecture that was famous at that time. Akbar was
liberal in his policy towards non-muslims. In fact he established a religion which was common to
all, contained the common teachings of all religions. Akbar called it Din-i-illahi or divine
monotheism. It was worth mentioning here that the idea of sulh-i-kul or universal peace and
harmony was the message of Din-i-ilahi. His court had the ‘Nine Gems’. One of the ‘Gems’
Abdul Faizi wrote ‘Akbar Nama’. Faizi translated Bhagavad Gita into Persian. Birbal’s wit and
intelligence was well-known.

Akbar’s sincere efforts to bring the Indians together were a landmark in the social life of the
people.

Jahangir succeeded Akbar. He was admirer and followers of many of his father’s qualities.
Because of Akbar’s efforts and far-sightedness, Jehangir could enjoy a peaceful reign. Rulers of
Mewar and Ahmednagar became his allies. It is during this time that Sir Thomas Roe and
Captain Hawkins visited India as an ambassador of the king of England. Jehangir’s queen
Mehrunisa whom he called Nur Jahan was very beautiful, intelligent and educated. She literally
ruled over the kingdom. When Jehangir gave permission to the Britishers to set up factories in
India, he had no idea that the Britishers would became the rulers. The memoirs of Jehangir is
called Tuzuki-i-Jehangir. Ustad Mansur, a famous painter of animals and birds, found a good
portion in Jehangir. He was a lover of nature. He died in 1627. Shah Jehan became a ruler after
the death of Jehangir. Shah Jehan had to deal with many revolts. Tajmahal, the world famous
tomb of his queen Mumtaj mahal and the peacock throne belong to his reign. Diwan-i-Am,
Diwan-i-Khas, the Jama Masjid, the Moti Masjid, the Red Fort etc. are the monuments Shah
Jehan built. The Taj mahal on the banks of the river, Yamuna, a marvel of marbles, precious &
semi-precious stones, gold and silver is one of the seven wonders of the world. It took 20 years
to build the marble marvel.

Shah Jehan in his old age, had to witness the fight for the throne among his four sons. One of the
sons, Aurangazeb defeated his brothers. Imprisoned his father and crowned himself as the king.
In 1666 Shah Jehan died at the age of 74.

Aurangazeb’s reign of nearly fifty years was full of conflicts. He raised the taxes to sustain the
campaigns. By himself an honest man with a simple life style, he was a musalman to the core. So
his rule with the help of the laws of Islam made him very unpopular. The Rajputs, the Sikhs, the
Jats, the Marathas resisted him. As if this is not enough, he had to face trouble with the Portugese
and the English. He destroyed many Hindu temples. He banished all scholars, artists and poets
from his court. Sowhen he died, in March 1707, the empire was collapsing.

Decline:

Yet, after the cultural vibrant and prosperity under Shah Jahan, his third son deposed him and
reigned as Aurangzeb (r. 1658 – 1707). Aurangzeb ruled a vast Mughal Empire covering much
of the Indian subcontinent that stretched from Afghanistan to the Bay of Bengal and from the
Himalayas right down south to the Decan Plateau. Aurangzeb’s wars, though brought many
lands conquered, drained the treasury of the Empire. Then, he turned against the policy of
toleration from his predecessors and succumbed to bigotry and persecution. As a result of his
intolerance, rebellions shattered the Empire and placed further strain to the already exhausted
coffers. By the time of Aurangzeb’s death, the Mughal Empire’s expansion grinned to a halt,
worse, they went into defensive as rebels weakened the Empire.

So much the weakness of the internal affairs of the Empire that they becamevulnerable to a
Persian invasion that led to the sacking of the Mughal capital of Delhi in 1739. The sacking of
Delhi left the Mughal Emperors in a pathetic state of existence as mere princely figures without
power and few lands, controlling only the area surrounding Delhi.
Battle of Plassey, (23 June 1757).
Victory for the British East India Company in the Battle of Plassey was the start of nearly two
centuries of British rule in India. For an event with such momentous consequences, it was a
surprisingly unimpressive military encounter, the defeat of the Nawab of Bengal owing much to
betrayal.
In India, Britain was represented by the British East India Company, a venture that had been
given a royal charter in 1600 to pursue trade in the East Indies that included the right to form its
own army. The French East India Company had a similar remit. From 1746, the rival companies
fought the Carnatic Wars for advantage in India, where they maintained trading posts, and sought
influence over local rulers. In 1755, Siraj ud-Daulah became Nawab of Bengal and adopted a
pro-French policy. He overran British trading posts, including Calcutta where British prisoners
were allegedly left to die in the infamous "black hole of Calcutta." Lieutenant Colonel Robert
Clive was sent from Madras to retake Calcutta and from there began plotting the overthrow of
the nawab. One of the nawab’s discontented followers, Mir Jafar, was bribed secretly with a
promise of the throne if he would back the British. Other Bengali generals were also suborned.
Clive advanced on the Bengali capital, Murshidabad, and was confronted by the nawab’s army at
Plassey (Palashi) by the Bhaghirathi River. The balance of forces seemed to make a British
victory impossible. The nawab’s army numbered 50,000, two-thirds infantry armed at best with
matchlock muskets The French had sent artillerymen to bolster the Bengali cannon to more than
fifty guns. Facing this host, Clive arranged his force of 3,000, composed of European and Sepoy
troops and a much smaller force of artillery.

The French artillery opened fire first, followed by the Bengali guns. The British guns returned
fire. Due to the close proximity of the Bengali cavalry to the French guns, Clive’s bombardment
missed the artillery but caused damage to the cavalry, forcing the nawab to pull them back for
protection. When the nawab’s infantry advanced, Clive’s field guns opened fire with grapeshot
along with volleys of infantry musket fire, and the Bengali troops were held back. Mir Jafar, with
around one-third of the Bengali army, failed to join in the fighting, despite pleas from the nawab,
and remained isolated on one flank.

The battle appeared to be heading for a stalemate when it started to rain. Clive had brought
tarpaulins to keep his powder dry, but the Bengalis had no such protection. Thinking that the
British guns were rendered as ineffective as his own by damp powder, the nawab ordered his
cavalry to charge. However, the British guns opened fire and slaughtered many of the cavalry,
killing their commander Mir Madan Khan. The nawab panicked at the loss of this valued general
and ordered his forces to fall back, exposing the French artillery contingent. This was rushed by
the British and captured. With the French cannon taken, the British bombarded the nawab’s
positions without reply and the tide of the battle turned. The nawab fled the battlefield on a
camel, and Mir Jafar was duly installed in power as a British puppet. The victory had cost the
lives of only twenty-two soldiers on the British side, while achieving a major stride toward
British control of Bengal.

Losses: Bengal and French East India Company, 1,500 casualties of 50,000; British East India
Company, fewer than 100 casualties of 3,000.

Battle of Buxar,
Buxur also spelled Baksar (22 October 1764), conflict at Buxar in northeastern India between the
forces of the British East India Company, commanded by Major Hector Munro, and the
combined army of an alliance of Indian states including Bengal Awadh, and the Mughal Empire.
This decisive battle confirmed British power over Bengal and Bihar after their initial success at
the Battle of Plassey in 1757 and marked the end of the attempt to rule Bengal through a
puppet nawab Thenceforth the company took control. The British victory at Buxar resulted in a
large area of the Indian subcontinent coming under British control.
After consolidating gains made at the Battle of Plassey in 1757, the British East India Company
assembled an army consisting mainly of Indian sepoys and Indian cavalry and sought to assert its
control of Bengal against the Mughal Empire. In October 1764, the combined Indian force
confronted the British near the town of Buxar. The British, under the command of Sir Hector
Munro, were divided into three sections. On the left flank, Major Stibbert commanded regular
troops; on the right were the Bengalese troops, commanded by Major Champion. Supporting
these in the center were the Bengal cavalry backed by four companies of sepoys. Champion
advanced first and attacked a small village close to the town. After a series of bloody encounters
the Indian forces were pushed back, allowing Champion to occupy the village. Meanwhile, the
main Indian force advanced to engage Stibbert’s regular troops. However, having secured the
village on the Indian left flank, Champion was able move out and outflank the Indian advance.
Despite their superiority in numbers, the Indians were encircled and took heavy casualties from
British musket volleys. A detachment of Durrani cavalry was unable to turn the battle and the
Indians retreated.
The battle resulted in the 1765 Treaty of Allahabad, in which the Mughal Emperor
surrendered sovereignty of Bengal to the British. Lord Robert Clive, the victor at the Plassey,
became the first governor of Bengal.

Losses: British East India Company, fewer than 1,000 casualties of 8,000; Indian states, 6,000 of
35,000.

Subsidiary Alliance:
Subsidiary Alliance was basically a treaty between the British East India Company and the
Indian princely states, by virtue of which the Indian kingdoms lost their sovereignty to the
English. It also was a major process that led to the building of the British Empire in India. It was
framed by Lord Wellesley, the Governor-General of India from 1798 to 1805. It was actually
used for the first time by the French Governor-General Marquis Dupleix.
Features of the Subsidiary Alliance Treaty
 An Indian ruler entering into Subsidiary Alliance with the British had to dissolve his own
armed forces and accept British forces in his territory.
 He also had to pay for the British army’s maintenance.If he failed to make the payment, a
portion of his territory would be taken away and ceded to the British.
 In return, the British would protect the Indian state against any foreign attack or internal
revolt.
 The British promised non-interference in internal affairs of the Indian state but this was
rarely kept.
 The Indian state could not enter into any alliance with any other foreign power.
 He could also not employ any other foreign nationals other than Englishmen in his service.
And, if he were employing any, on signing of the alliance, he had to terminate them from his
service. The idea was to curb the influence of the French.
 The Indian state could also not enter into any political connection with another Indian state
without British approval.
 The Indian ruler, thus, lost all powers in respect of foreign affairs and the military.
 He virtually lost all his independence and became a British ‘protectorate’.
 A British Resident was also stationed in the Indian Court.

Effects of the Subsidiary Alliance

Effects of the Subsidiary Alliance
 As a result of Indian rulers disbanding their armies, many people were rendered unemployed.
 Many Indian states lost their independence and slowly, most parts of India were coming
under British control.
 The Nizam of Hyderabad was the first to accept the Subsidiary Alliance in 1798.

Order in which Indian States entered into Subsidiary Alliances

Order in which Indian States entered into Subsidiary Alliances
1. Hyderabad (1798)
2. Mysore (1799 – After Tipu Sultan was defeated in the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War)
3. Tanjore (1799)
4. Awadh (1801)
5. Peshwa (Marathas) (1802)
6. Scindia (Marathas) (1803)
7. Gaekwad (Marathas) (1803)

Doctrine of Lapse
he Doctrine of Lapse was an annexation policy followed widely by Lord Dalhousie when he was
India’s Governor-General from 1848 to 1856.
Features of Doctrine of Lapse
 According to this, any princely state under the direct or indirect (as a vassal) control of the
East India Company where the ruler did not have a legal male heir would be annexed by the
company.
 This was not introduced by Lord Dalhousie even though it was he who documented it, and
used it widely to acquire territories for the British.
 As per this, any adopted son of the Indian ruler could not be proclaimed as heir to the
kingdom. The adopted son would only inherit his foster father’s personal property and
estates.
 The adopted son would also not be entitled to any pension that his father had been receiving
or to any of his father’s titles.
 This challenged the Indian ruler’s long-held authority to appoint an heir of their choice.

States annexed by the Doctrine of Lapse

 In 1824, before the time of Dalhousie, the princely state of Kittur was acquired by the East
India Company by this doctrine.
 Other states were also annexed in 1830’s and 1840’s through this doctrine.
 After Dalhousie became the Governor-General, in 1848, Satara was acquired as per this
doctrine.
 Other major states annexed by the British as per the Doctrine of Lapse:
o Jaipur – 1849
o Sambhalpur – 1849
o Udaipur – 1852
o Jhansi – 1853
o Nagpur – 1854
 It was as per this policy that Nana Sahib, the adopted son of the Maratha Peshwa Baji Rao II
was denied his titles and pension.

Effects of Doctrine of Lapse

 Many Indian states lost their sovereignty and became British territories.
 This led to a lot of unrest among the Indian princes.
 A lot of people were unhappy with the ‘illegal’ nature of this doctrine and this was one of the
causes of the Indian Revolt of 1857.
 Nana Sahib and the Rani of Jhansi had grievances against the British because the former’s
pension was stopped by the British after his foster father died, and the Rani’s adopted son
was denied the throne under the doctrine of lapse.
 Dalhousie returned to Britain in 1856. After the Indian Revolt broke out in 1857, his
governance was widely criticised as one of the causes of the rebellion.