Why this chapter matters for UPSC: The 18th century is the critical period between Mughal dominance and British colonialism — directly tested in GS1. The emergence of the Maratha Confederacy, the three Anglo-Maratha Wars, the Nizam of Hyderabad, the Nawabs of Bengal and Awadh (whose weakness invited British conquest), and the Afghan invasions are all key topics.

PART 1 — Quick Reference Tables

Major Regional Powers After Aurangzeb (Post-1707)

Power Region Founder Relationship with Mughals
Marathas Deccan → pan-India Shivaji (1627–1680); Peshwas later Started as rebel chiefs; eventually controlled much of India; collected chauth from Mughals
Nizam of Hyderabad Hyderabad, Deccan Asaf Jah I (Nizam-ul-Mulk), 1724 Ex-Mughal governor who became independent while nominally loyal
Nawab of Bengal Bengal, Bihar, Odisha Murshid Quli Khan, 1717 Most wealthy province; Siraj-ud-Daulah's defeat at Plassey (1757) → British takeover
Nawab of Awadh UP (Awadh/Oudh) Saadat Khan Burhan-ul-Mulk, 1722 Retained formal Mughal ties; culture (Lucknow tehzeeb), Wajid Ali Shah
Sikh Misls Punjab Banda Singh Bahadur, then 12 misls Fought Mughals and Afghans; unified under Ranjit Singh (1801)
Jats Agra, Mathura region Churaman, Badan Singh Peasant rebellion against Mughals; controlled Agra region; Bharatpur state
Mysore Karnataka Hyder Ali (18th century) Independent; Tipu Sultan resisted British

Key Invasions of 18th Century India

Invasion Invader Year Impact
Persian invasion Nadir Shah 1739 Sacked Delhi; took Peacock Throne + Koh-i-Noor; killed ~30,000 in Delhi; humiliated Mughals
Afghan invasions Ahmad Shah Abdali (Durrani) 1748–1767 (8 invasions) Third Battle of Panipat (1761): Marathas defeated; Punjab taken; Abdali drained remaining Mughal wealth
Third Battle of Panipat Ahmad Shah Abdali vs Marathas 1761 Maratha power crushed; 28,000+ killed including Vishwas Rao and Bhau; setback for Maratha expansion

PART 2 — Detailed Notes

Why the Mughal Empire Declined

UPSC Connect

UPSC GS1 — Mughal Decline (structural + individual causes):

Structural causes:

  1. Jagirdari crisis: The Mughal system required enough jagirs (land revenue assignments) to pay all mansabdars. Population of mansabdars grew; available jagirs didn't → nobles fought each other for resources, weakening central authority
  2. Deccan wars drain: Aurangzeb's 26-year Deccan campaign (1681–1707) exhausted the treasury without decisive victory
  3. Succession wars: No clear succession rule → each emperor's death triggered violent civil war among princes; killed talent, destroyed loyalty networks
  4. Overextension: Empire too large to govern effectively with pre-modern communication/transport
  5. Revenue decline: Long wars, peasant revolts, agricultural disruption → revenue fell; military couldn't be paid

Individual causes (important for UPSC):

  • Aurangzeb's religious policies alienated Rajputs, Marathas, Sikhs — reduced support base
  • Weak successors after 1707 — 8 emperors in 50 years, several installed and deposed by nobles
  • Sayyid Brothers (kingmakers, 1713–1720): Two Sayyid nobles controlled Delhi; installed and removed emperors — showed how hollow Mughal power had become

External shocks:

  • Nadir Shah's invasion (1739): Took the Peacock Throne and Koh-i-Noor diamond; Delhi massacre; took enormous wealth back to Persia
  • Ahmad Shah Abdali's repeated invasions (1748–1767): Punjab repeatedly attacked; Marathas (the only force capable of resisting) were decisively defeated at Panipat (1761)

The Maratha Confederacy

UPSC Connect

UPSC GS1 — Marathas:

Shivaji (1627–1680): Founded the Maratha kingdom in the Deccan.

  • Guerrilla warfare from hill forts against Mughal and Bijapur forces
  • Chhatrapati: King-title; coronation at Raigad fort (1674)
  • Revenue system: Chauth (1/4 of revenue from territories he raided/protected) and Sardeshmukhi (1/10 additional levy as hereditary right)
  • Navy: Built a fleet on the western coast — one of the few Indian rulers with a significant navy
  • Capital: Raigad; Sinhagad, Purandar, Pratapgad — key Maratha forts

Peshwa period (after Shivaji's line weakened):

  • Peshwas (Prime Ministers from Brahmin Chitpavan community) became the real power; based at Pune
  • Peshwa Bajirao I (1720–1740): Greatest Peshwa; expanded empire to Malwa, Gujarat, Bundelkhand; undefeated in battle; transformed the Marathas from a regional power to a pan-Indian presence
  • Maratha Confederacy: Loose confederation of chiefs — Bhonsles (Nagpur), Holkars (Indore), Scindias/Shinde (Gwalior), Gaekwads (Baroda), Peshwas (Pune)

Maratha expansion and three Panipat battles:

  • 1st Panipat (1526): Babur vs Ibrahim Lodi → Mughal empire founded
  • 2nd Panipat (1556): Akbar vs Hemu → Mughal empire consolidated
  • 3rd Battle of Panipat (1761): Ahmad Shah Abdali vs Maratha forces under Vishwas Rao and Bhau (Peshwa's son and cousin) → Maratha defeat; ~28,000 soldiers killed; political setback but Marathas recovered

Three Anglo-Maratha Wars:

War Years Result
First 1775–1782 Treaty of Salbai; status quo
Second 1803–1805 British gained Delhi, Agra; Scindias and Bhonsles ceded territory
Third 1817–1818 Peshwaship abolished; Maratha Confederacy ended; British supremacy established

The Nawabs of Bengal

Explainer

Bengal — how British rule began:

Bengal was the wealthiest Mughal province — rich from Bengal's textile trade (muslin, silk), the Ganges river system, and Bengal's trade with Southeast Asia and Europe.

Murshid Quli Khan (1717–1727): First independent Nawab; reorganised Bengal revenue; moved capital to Murshidabad; kept formal Mughal loyalty while acting independently.

Siraj-ud-Daulah (1756–1757): Young Nawab who came to power at 23; conflicted with the British East India Company (which had been fortifying Calcutta without permission).

Battle of Plassey (1757):

  • Siraj-ud-Daulah attacked and captured Calcutta's Fort William → "Black Hole of Calcutta" incident
  • British retaliation: Robert Clive led force → Battle of Plassey (June 23, 1757)
  • Betrayal: Mir Jafar (Siraj's general) was bribed by Clive and refused to fight
  • Siraj defeated and killed; Mir Jafar made Nawab as British puppet
  • Significance: Battle of Plassey is the conventional beginning of British political domination of India — though it was won through treachery, not military superiority

Battle of Buxar (1764):

  • Mir Qasim (replaced Mir Jafar) tried to resist British commercial privileges → war
  • British defeated combined forces of Mir Qasim (Bengal), Nawab of Awadh (Shuja-ud-Daula), and Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II
  • Treaty of Allahabad (1765): Mughal Emperor granted the British the Diwani (revenue collection rights) of Bengal, Bihar, Orissa → Foundation of British territorial power in India

The Sikhs — Punjab's Rising Power

Explainer

Sikhs in the 18th century:

After Guru Gobind Singh (10th Guru) established the Khalsa (1699) and was killed (1708), Banda Singh Bahadur led a Sikh rebellion in Punjab — captured Sirhind; executed by Mughals (1716).

Misls (1716–1799): After Banda's execution, 12 Sikh confederacies (misls) controlled different parts of Punjab.

  • Each misl was led by a chief (sardar)
  • Met collectively at Akal Takht, Amritsar (the Golden Temple) during Diwali and Baisakhi
  • Fought against Mughals and repelled two Afghan invasions by Ahmad Shah Abdali

Ranjit Singh (1780–1839):

  • Unified the misls into the Sikh Empire (1801) — the last major Indian empire before the British
  • Lion of Punjab (Sher-e-Punjab); captured Lahore (1799) as his capital
  • Captured the Koh-i-Noor from the Afghans
  • Maintained a modern, disciplined army (with European officers — Generals Allard and Court from France)
  • Extended empire to Kashmir (1819), Peshawar (1818), Ladakh
  • Anglo-Sikh Wars: First (1845–46) and Second (1848–49) → Punjab annexed by British

Legacy: Ranjit Singh's empire is celebrated as one of India's finest examples of a secular, pluralist state — his court included Hindus, Muslims, and Sikhs in high positions.

Exam Strategy

Prelims traps:

  • Battle of Plassey: 1757 (NOT 1756 or 1760); fought on June 23; Robert Clive vs Siraj-ud-Daulah
  • Battle of Buxar: 1764 (NOT Plassey); more decisive militarily; Treaty of Allahabad (1765) gave Diwani
  • Nadir Shah: 1739 (Peacock Throne + Koh-i-Noor taken to Persia); Ahmad Shah Abdali: 3rd Battle of Panipat 1761 (took Koh-i-Noor back to Afghanistan; Ranjit Singh later recovered it)
  • 3rd Battle of Panipat (1761): Marathas vs Afghan (Abdali) — NOT Mughal vs anyone; NOT 1756
  • Peshwa Bajirao I: Greatest Peshwa, never defeated in battle — separate from Bajirao II (last Peshwa, defeated by British 1818)
  • Diwani rights (1765): Given by Mughal Emperor to British after Battle of Buxar — this is the foundation of British revenue extraction from India
  • Ranjit Singh unified Sikh misls: 1799/1801 — much later than Banda Singh Bahadur (1716)

Previous Year Questions

Prelims:

  1. The Battle of Plassey (1757) was won by the British primarily due to:
    (a) Superior British military technology
    (b) French withdrawal from India
    (c) Betrayal by Mir Jafar, Siraj-ud-Daulah's general
    (d) Maratha support for the British

  2. The "Diwani" rights granted to the British East India Company in 1765 under the Treaty of Allahabad gave the Company the right to:
    (a) Collect revenue from Bengal, Bihar, and Orissa
    (b) Administer criminal justice in Bengal
    (c) Raise an army in India
    (d) Trade freely without paying customs duties

  3. The Third Battle of Panipat (1761) was fought between:
    (a) Marathas and the Mughal Empire
    (b) Marathas and Ahmad Shah Abdali (Afghan)
    (c) British and the Marathas
    (d) Sikhs and the Mughals

  4. Which Maratha Peshwa is celebrated for never losing a battle and expanding the Maratha Empire to North India?
    (a) Balaji Vishwanath
    (b) Bajirao I
    (c) Balaji Bajirao (Nanasaheb)
    (d) Madhavrao I

Mains:

  1. The 18th century in India is often described as a period of "political fragmentation" following Mughal decline. But some historians see it as a period of vibrant regional state formation. Critically examine both perspectives. (GS1, 15 marks)