Page 57 - Journeys Through Society-7
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8. New Political Formations
in the Eighteenth Century
Get Ready
Can you recognise this fearless warrior in the given picture? Write a brief note about him.
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The most powerful empire of medieval India, i.e., the
Mughal Empire, which came into being in the early
sixteenth century and had achieved great excellence
in all aspects of politcy and culture, was on a decline.
The forces of disintegration had set in during the reign
of Aurangzeb. Aurangzeb’s Deccan policy had a
disastrous effect on the Mughal treasury.
After Aurangzeb’s death, the empire declined rapidly
and some of its territories broke away to form
independent kingdoms.
Let us look at the factors that initiated the decline of
the Mughals and the eventual disintegration of the
empire.
Decline of the Mughal Empire
The Mughal Empire ruled over a large part of India for India under Aurangzeb’s rule
nearly three centuries. But a drastic decline in its
power and prestige came about by the first half of the Reasons for Decline of the Mughals
eighteenth century. Not only did the political • Aurangzeb was unable to hold together diverse
boundaries of the empire shrink, the decline also saw sections of the population and involve them in the
the collapse of the administrative structure that had process of governance. His policy of annexation
been assiduously built by rulers like Akbar and Shah also proved futile, besides depleting the military
Jahan. and financial resources of the empire.
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