Reasons for the Decline of Mughal Empire

Some historians blamed that Aurangzeb was the seed of the Mughal Decline, but still the
Empire was maintainable, after all it was very successive empire. Even after Aurangzeb, the
Empire continued another 150 years.
A)  The Nature of the Empire
o  Administrative: Huge Empire, was very difficult to administrate. Emperor was unable to
know exactly what was happening to the other side of the Empire.
o  Succession: Huge sums were also wasted when succession had disputes. Shah Jehan
was not dead yet, however, fights for Empire started between sons. Aurangzeb tried to
avoid that by dividing empire. Still disputes continued to erode the Empire
o  Military Costs: The costs of putting down rebellions such as Nadir Shah was enormous.
B)   The Consequences of Success
o Decline Military Expertise: An ‘Over Confident’ army with no longer the Expertise can be
easily beaten. Consider Battles with Marathas in Deccan
o Pleasure Seeking: Mughals turned pleasure seeking as they were very wealthy. Nobles
had the finest clothes and food. Finest Building were becoming symbol of Extravagance.
o Weak Control: The Huge the empire the hard it is to control. There’s no doubt that
Mughal Empire was vast/huge.
C)  The Arrival of British
Mughal Empire was in serious decline from 18th  century. And from the region of Jehangir
EIC wanted to take advantage of wealth gained by trade in India. EIC was Private Trading
Company, but behind it was the most powerful country. It was the first to go through
Industrial Revolutions. EIC, were able to afford army Mughals cannot defeat. So, decline
and the strength of British meant fall of mightiest Mughal Empire.
Enter the British
East India Company:
O The East India Trading Company was a Company set up by British Merchants to trade
with India in 1600.
o 1612, its first port was set up at Surat.
o The East India Company gained power and created a private army.
o It made a major role in establishing British Reign in the subcontinent.
o The East India Company was finished through India Act 1858 after War of Independence.
o The British was interested in the Indian Wealth of Spices and Mineral Resources.
o The British wanted to use and take control over the major trade routes to control World
Trade and they all passed through the subcontinent.
o The British wanted to eliminate all other countries from competitions.
o The British wanted to trade for its economic growth.
Why the British took over on EIC?
o The company became bankrupt.
o It lost its monopoly. Other companies wanted to share the Indian trading monopoly.
o British government achieved its purpose of capturing the subcontinent by blaming EIC of
War of Independence.
o India Act 1858 abolished the company and the British government took over the
company’s assets.
British gains control
Battle of Plassey: The French encouraged the Nawab of Bengal to attack the EIC base at
Calcutta. Furthermore the Fortification of British post on Calcutta was also against
agreement with the Nawab of Bengal and so Siraj-ud-Daulah marched over Calcutta and
seized Fort William and locked the British residents in a small room. 23 out of 65 people
died and so Battle of Plessey began. Robert Clive succeeded in defeating Siraj-ud-Daullah
by bribing one of his key men Mir Jafar. Jafar was made the new Nawab of Bengal as
reward and Bengal came under EIC’s rule. Robert Clive was given Kashmir as reward.
Battle of Buxar: 1764, Mir Qasim (Son of Mir Jafar) joined forces with the Nawab of Oudh,
and the Mughal emperor Shah Alam II in order to drive the British out of Bengal. The British
fought under Hector Munro and won a decisive battle, after which their influence gradually
increased and
the EIC forces eventually took over the revenue collection of Bihar and Orissa. Their
influence was further extended into Oudh and this victory helped the British in extending its
control moreover in India as it paved a clear way for the British to make further inroads into
the Indian possessions.
Annexation of Sindh- a shameful British act?
1839, Assault on Afghanistan: The British were threatened about Russia seeking to
expand its territory. In 1939, British invaded Afghanistan and installed its own puppet ruler,
however the British army could not face the difficult terrain of Afghanistan as well as the
locals and soon within Two years the Afghan’s rebelled and massacred the British force.
Out of 4000 soldiers, only one doctor from Kabul survived and reported the incident.
1843, The Annexation of Sindh: The British pride was hurt by the invasion in Afghanistan
and decided to attack on Sindh under Sir Charles Napier to restore their Pride and Prestige
among Muslims and to capture the important Route through Bolan pass. Also they wanted
to make sure it is not the target of Sikhs expansion. Even in Britain many people
condemned Napier’s action for they had broken a friendship treaty with the Amirs of Sindh
in 1809. Sir Charles Napier provoked Amirs of Sindh to attack British. Now they had a
reason to make it the base of annexation.
Annexation of Punjab and NWFP
The British now turned to Punjab threatened by the increasing power of Ranjit Singh and
now to capture the trade route over Indus River and Khyber Pass. The Sikhs were worried
also and so they attacked on British controlled India in 1845, First Sikh War. Their main
army was destroyed. Finally in 1848-9 Second Sikh War, the Sikh army was destroyed and
so the British took over Punjab. The NWFP also came under British rule with Capture of
Punjab.
Who was Ahmad Shah Durrani? 4 Level 1: One mark for each relevant point, two marks for a developed
statement 1–4 e.g. • Known also as Ahmad Shah Abdali, an Afghan leader, a military genius who had
excellent tactical skills. • He beat the Marathas at the battle of Panipat in 1761, which ended the
ambitions of the Marathas. • Durrani was unable to make the most of his victory; as his followers
mutinied he gave up his idea of an Indian empire and returned to Kabul.

Who was Lord Wellesley? 4 Level 1: One mark for each relevant point, two marks for a developed
statement 1–4 e.g. • Governor General of India in 1798. • Wellesley persuaded local princes / rulers to
sign subsidiary alliances. • Local rulers were also forbidden to make any other alliances. • In 1799
Wellesley invaded Mysore killing Tipu Sultan and gaining control of his lands. • Wellesley also defeated
the Nawabs of Oudh and took control of their territory.

Why were the British able to conquer India?

o  The weakness of India: There was no uniting force in India. People of different
communities were not even involved in attempts to recover the Mughal Empire. Thus it can
be concluded: “A disintegrated society weakens the nation and ultimately it will lead to
enslave its own citizens to others”
o  The Strengths of British: Industrial Revolution in Britain resulted an advanced
technology in country. Superior Weapons. They saw, India in decline. It was an opportunity
for Trade and imposing British administration. They believed that they would succeed and
they are destined to rule large parts of world.
It can be seen weakness of India and Strengths of British resulted as end of rule of mighty
Mughals.
British Rule
o  1833 Charter Act, said that Indians would have greater say to run their
country/appointment in civil service. However, examinations were in London, so all the
officials employed were from England.
o  Historian remember this rule as ‘Drain of Wealth’. Income of country was used to buy
goods which were sent to England.
o  In start Govt. was less involved religion. However, later in 1829, suttee was banned.
1834, English was replaced with Persian. 1835, English was included in education.

Indian Exploitations: Historians say, 150 years after the ‘Battle of Plassey’. 1000 million
euros have been taken from India Subcontinent to England. This explains that poverty
existed and why famines in 1877, 78, 89, 92 killed 15 million peoples.
Doctrine of Lapse
Lord Dalhousie applied a new policy for the expansion of the British Empire, which was
called ‘Doctrine of Lapse’ in 1852. According to the doctrine the rulers of state were not
allowed to adopt sons. As a result their states were annexed many states like Oudh, Jhansi,
Behar, etc. through this doctrine. These annexations created a sense of insecurity among
the general public. They became suspicious of the British policies
Q: Why did the British government take control of the Affairs of the East India Company in the early
Nineteenth Century? [7]

East India Company was a trading company founded in 1600. It carried profitable
trade and later it grew into military power and had established firmly in India. Between
1757 and 1857 the British expanded their control over the Indian territories in order to
ensure continuation of their trade. India provided raw resources for British
manufactured goods. In fact British industrial development was financed by the profit
obtained from trade with India. *

The British looked after their possessions in the Middle East and the Far East from
their strong hold in India. The Volume and strategic importance of the Sub-continent
meant that it was too valuable to be left in the hands of a trading company. *

In the 19th century Britain became fearful of the Russian expansion In Central Asia. It
worried the British so much that they made moves to secure Afghanistan. Although
they failed to take control of Afghanistan in 1839, But in 1858, After the War of
Independence in 1857, the British assumed full and proper control of Whole of India.
Through a Declaration the control of East India Company was ended in 1858 and India
went under the control of the British Government. *
In short, the huge volume of profitable trade and strategic importance of India and fear of
expansion of the Russian into Central Asia were the reasons why the Britsih Government took
control of the affairs of the East India Company in the early Nineteenth century. *

Notes based on British expansion and

Indian resistance between 1750 – 1850

The British were almost completely successful in taking control of lands in the S.C between
1750 and 1856. The British had come to India for trade and to increase and ensure their
trade they found it necessary to have political control of lands in the sub-continent. The first
opportunity came in 1757 when battle of Plassey took place. In this battle the forces of the
East India Company under Robert Clive met the army of Siraj-ud-Doula, the Nawabs of
Bengal. Clive had 800 Europeans and 2200 Indians whereas Siraj-ud-doula in his
entrenched camp at Plassey was said to have about 50,000 men with a train of heavy
artillery. Unfortunately Mir Jafar, met with Clive, and the greater number of the Nawabs
soldiers were bribed to throw away their weapons, surrender prematurely, and even turn
their arms against their own army. Siraj-ud-Doula was defeated. Battle of Plassey marked
the first major military success for British East India Company.
It was followed by battle of Buxar. Mir Kasim the Nawab of Bengal took help from Nawab
Shuja-ud– daulah and the Emperor Shah Alam II. But the English under the General
Major Hector Munro at Buxar defeated the combined army on 22 October, 1764. Mir
Kasim fled and died in 1777. After winning the Battle of Buxar, the British had earned the
right to collect land revenue in Bengal, Bihar and Orissa. This development set the
foundations of British political rule in India. After the victory of
the English in Buxar, Robert Clive was appointed the governor and commander in chief of
the English army in Bengal in 1765. He is claimed as the founder of the British political
dominion in India. Robert Clive also brought reforms in the administration of the company
and the organization of the army.
The British wanted full control of south India to ensure their spice trade. Lord
Wellesley became the Governor General of India in 1798. Tipu Sultan tried to secure an
alliance with the French against the English in India. Wellesley questioned Tipu’s
relationship with the French and attacked Mysore in 1799. The fourth Anglo-Mysore War
was of short duration and decisive and ended with Tipu’s death on May 4, 1799 who was
killed fighting to save his capital.
Besides that Marathas were also defeated and Maratha power destroyed by British in
several wars during 1817- 1818. Holkar’s forces were routed at Mahidpur December 21,
1817 and Baji Rao II, who was trying to consolidate Marathas, finally surrendered in June
1818. British abolished the position of Peshwa and Marathas were limited to the small
kingdom of Satara. This ended the mighty Maratha power.
British wanted to make sure that Afghanistan didn’t fall into Russian hands. British agreed
with Ranjit Singh (ruler of Punjab) that Afghanistan should remain independent. A rebellion
broke out in Afghanistan in 1841 in which British troops were killed. British felt that their
pride had been hurt in Afghanistan and decided to turn in Sindh. Sindh was ruled by
collection of Amirs who had signed a treaty with British in 1809.British General Sir Charles
Napier provoked the Amirs of Sindh so much that they attacked British residency in
1843.Amirs were defeated and Sindh was annexed by British.
Punjab was the next target. Ranjit Singh had signed a perpetual friendship in 1809 but after
his death in 1839, the rival chiefs argued themselves over who should be a king. Army
attacked British possessions south of River Sutlej and provoked the British to invade Punjab
.War began but British remained victorious. Gulab Singh Dogra, a chief who helped the
British and was given Kashmir as a reward. In 1849, after a revolt against British, Punjab,
NWFP were annexed and became part of British Empire on 30 March 1849.Hyderabad,
Deccan, Oudh and the local Nawabs had been forced to sign treaties with EIC; this gave
their external affairs to Britain.
DOCTRINE OF LAPSE:

In 1852, the British annexed several Indian states under doctrine of lapse. In 1852
Governor General Dalhousie extended British control by applying Doctrine of Lapse which
was that when a ruler died without a natural heir, the British would annex his lands. Due to
this Satare, Nagpur and Jhansi came to British hands. Nawab of Oudh died in 1856 and he
had the natural heir but instead of that his land was grabbed by the British.
TIPU SULTAN:

Tipu Sultan (20 November 1750 – 4 May 1799), also known as the Tiger of

Mysore and Tipu Sahib ,was a ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore and a scholar, soldier, and
poet. He was the eldest son of Sultan Hyder Ali of Mysore. Tipu introduced a number of
administrative innovations during his rule, including his coinage, and a new land revenue
system which initiated the growth of Mysore silk industry. Tipu expanded the iron-cased
Mysorean rockets and wrote the military manual Fathul Mujahidin, considered a pioneer in
the use of rocket artillery. He deployed the rockets against advances of British forces and
their allies in their 1792 and 1799. In the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War, the combined forces of
the British East India Company and the Nizam of Hyderabad defeated Tipu, and he was
killed on 4 May 1799 while defending his fort of Srirangapatna.
RANJIT SINGH:

Maharaja Ranjit Singh (13 November 1780 – 27 June 1839) was the founder of the Sikh
Empire, which came to power in the Indian subcontinent in the early half of the 19th century.
The empire, based in the Punjab region, existed from 1799 to 1849. Ranjit Singh was
succeeded by his son, Kharak Singh.
Exam Type Questions

Question No.1: How successful was Indian resistance to British attempts to take control of
Lands in the Sub Continent? Explain your answer.                                                           [14]
June 2002 Q.1c
Question No.2: Why did the British government take control of the affairs of the East India
Company in the early 19th century?                                                        [7] June 2004 Q.1b
Question No. 3: Why were the British able to replace the Mughals as the dominant force in
the sub- continent by 1850?                                                             [7]November 2004 Q.1b
Question No. 4: Why was Britain so successful in expanding its control of the sub-continent
between 1750 and 1850?   [7] November 2006 Q.1 b
Question No. 5: Why did the Indian Sub-Continent attract European traders in the late
16th and early 17th centuries?    [7] June 2007, Q.1 b
Question No.6: Indian resistance to British attempts to take control of lands in the S.C was
totally unsuccessful. Do you agree? Give reasons for your
answer.                                                                  [14] June 2008, Q.2 c
Question No.7: why was Britain successful in increasing its control of some parts of the
S.C in the years 1750 to 1850?      [7] June 2009, Q.2
Question No.8: how successful were the British attempts to take control of lands in the S.C
between 1750 and 1856?       [14] November 2010 Q.1 c
Notes based on the reasons for the East
India Company getting attracted to
Subcontinent

The main prospects which attracted Britain was certainly trade and for that the British East
India Company was founded in 1600 with the permission to trade with India. The first British
ship anchored near Surat in 1608. They were also granted permission by the Mughals to
trade in 1612. The British established their headquarters in Bombay in 1674 and at Calcutta
in 1690. Main trading items were cotton and silk textiles, spices, tea, indigo, precious stones
and salt peter.
S.M Burk (famous historian) believed that one of the most important reasons for British
arrival was the spreading of Christianity .Churches and Chapels were established all over
India and Christian missionaries also began with their arrival.
The Portuguese and the Dutch were already in the field. But they turned their attention to
East Indies and didn’t allow EIC to come over there. That also provoked company to come
here in India. The French also came but they were eliminated after their defeat by the
British in 3 battles.
Therefore it was trade and high profit that allowed the EIC to keep on coming India which
was later also known as the Golden Sparrow on account of its natural resources and
wealth. It was found that 10 % of the income of British government was obtained from taxes
on trade with India.
Another reason which provoked Britain to come towards India was the Russian
expansion in Central Asia. It worried the British so much that they also had to make moves
to secure Afghanistan. Although the British first major adventure in Afghanistan in 1839
failed miserably, but in 1858, after the failure of the war of Independence 1857, the British
assumed full and proper control of whole of India.
Exam Type Qs
Question No.1: Why did the East India Company become involved in the India Sub
continent? [7] June 2001 Q.1 b
Question No.2: Explain why the East India Company became involved in the Indian sub-
continent during the 17th century.          [7]June 2005 Q.1 b
Question No.3: Explain why the East India Company got involved in the S.C during the
17th Century?          [7] June 2009, Q.1 b
Question No.4:What was the East India
Company?                                                                                         [4] June 2010, Q.1.a
Question No.3: Why did EIC become involved in the Indian S.C during the 17 th Century?
[7]November 2010 Q.1 b

Q: 'Indian resistance to British Attempts to take control of

lands in the sub-continent in the hundred years before 1850

was totally unsuccessful.' Do you agree? Give Reasons for

your Answers.
The British gradually took control of the sub-continent between 1750 to 1850, there
are many reasons on why they're able to do so.To begin with, the British initially came
to India for Trading, They got Permission from the Mughals to trade in 1612, the Trade
proved very profitable. To ensure continuation and promotion of the trade British found
it necessary to Capture Indian Territories. The First Indian resistance and the first
battle against an Indian ruler occurred in 1757 which is known as Battle of Plassey. In
this battle Nawab Siraj ud daula of Bengal was defeated by the British. As a result
came under British control and the British now collected the revenue and trade goods
in the price at they which wanted it. They thoroughly exploited the wealth of Bengal
and completely plundered it. *

The British wanted full control of the south India to protect their spice trade. The strong
and well organized state of Mysore was a hindrance. Earlier the ruler of Mysore
Haider Ali had given British a tough time in the state and defeated them in several
battles but he too couldn't push them out of India. After his death his son Tipu sultan
was killed and Southern India came under British in 1799. *

he Maratha rose to the power and gave a tough resistance to the British.But the
Marathas got divided into several states and were finally defeated in 1818. Whole of
Deccan came under British control.In 1843 Sindh was annexed by The British when
Amirs of Sindh were defeated after the war on the excuse of unfriendliness. *
Punjab was under Sikh rule and Ranjit Singh was a strong ruler but after his death the Sikh
kingdom scrambled and Punjab was annexed by the British after two Sikh wars in 1849. *
The main reason for the British success was that he British Indian army was superior in
weapons, equipment and training. They did not lack supplies and funds on the other hand the
Indian states were disunited and there was not central power to face then British the Indians
lacked weapons and supplies and funds. There was no common leader and no
planning.Therefore it is correct to say that Indian resistance against the British Between 1750
and 1850 was not successful. *