list any five factors responsible for the decline of the mughul empire's
Answers
2. The nobles took advantage of this situation and they enriched and strengthened themselves.
3. Aurangzeb’s son Muajjan won the first round of succession war and sat on the throne under the name Bahadur Shah. He was very inefficient and after his death a quarrel took place among his four sons.
4. The eldest, Jahandar Shah got the throne but was assassinated in 1713 and his nephew Farruksiyar was made emperor by two very influential brothers – the Sayyids. The Sayyid brother (Sayyid Hussain Ali and Sayyid Abdullah) now were so influential that they could make or unmake everything. Farruksiyar was soon dragged down and killed and now the Sayyids made Muhammad Shah emperor of Delhi.
5. Muhammad Shah was pleasure-loving but he ruled for longer time than did his immediate predecessors. It was he who at last broke the power of the Sayyids. It was, moreover, in his reign that Nadir Shah of Persia invaded India in 1739 A.D.. He carried destruction everywhere. India hardly recovered from this shock. Muhammad shah died in 1748.
(1) Religious Policy of Aurangzeb:
The most important cause of the downfall of the Mughal Empire was the religious policy of Aurangzeb. Aurangzeb alienated the sympathy and support of the Hindus by committing all sorts of atrocities on them. He imposed Jajiya on all the Hindus in the country. Even the Rajputs and Brahmans were not spared. He dismissed the Hindu Officials from state service and allowed only those to continue who were prepared to embrace Islam. An order banning the building of new Hindu Temples in areas directly under Mughal control was promulgated early in his reign.
(2) The Deccan Policy of Aurangzeb:
The Deccan policy of Aurangzeb was also partly responsible for the downfall of the Mughal Empire. Aurangzeb was bent upon crushing the power of the Marathas. He found that the States of Bijapur and Golcunda were a source of help to the Marathas who were employed in those states in large numbers. They occupied important places of trust and authority in civil administration. Maratha soldiers were welcomed in those states. They got not only money but also military training. Aurangzeb felt that if those states were annexed, the source of the strength of the Marathas will be stopped.
(3) Revolts in Provinces of the Empire:
Another cause of the downfall of the Mughal Fmpire was the revolts in various provinces of the Empire. During the Reign of Aurangzeb, no provincial Governor could dare to defy his authority. However, there were many who were secretly hostile to him. They were all trying to build up reserves of power and secure such allies as could help them to realise their ambitions when the aged Emperor passed away. All the sons of Aurangzeb fell into this category among officers Bahadur Khan, Diler Khan and Zulfiqar Khan were all suspected of harbouring such motives. After the death of Aurangzeb, the Empire began to break up and the process of breaking up was rather rapid.
(4) Size of the Mughal Empire Became unwieldy:
In the time of Aurangzeb, the size of the Mughal Empire became unwieldy. It became physically impossible for any man to govern the same from one centre when the means of communication and transport were not developed. A centralised despotic Government was not suited to the needs of the time. The Mughal lines of communication were open to Maratha attacks to such an extent that the Mughal Nobles found it impossible to collect their dues from the Jagirs assigned to them and sometimes made private pacts with the Marathas.
(5) Weak Successors of Aurangzebs:
Another cause of Mughal downfall was the weak successors of Aurangzeb. If they had been intelligent and brilliant, they could have stopped the decline that set in during the Reign of Aurangzeb. Unfortunately, most of them were worthless they were busy in their luxuries and intrigues and did nothing to remedy the evils that had crept into the Mughal Polity. Bahadur Shah I was 63 years of age when he ascended the throne in 1707 and did not possess the energy to perform the onerous duties of the state. He tried to keep the various parties and courtiers satisfied by offering them liberal grants, titles, rewards etc.
Rulers like Jahandar Shah (1712-13), Farrukh Siyar (1713-79), Muhammad Shah (1719-48), Ahmad Shah (1748-54), and Bahadur Shah II (1837-57) were no better. Some of them were mere puppets in the hands of their Wazirs. To quote Edwards and Garret, "The chronicles of the court of Delhi after the Heath of Aurangzeb offer an unbroken tale of plots and counter-plots on the part of powerful nobles, culminating at intervals in open disorder and fighting with the titular Emperor serving as the sport and plaything of contending groups."