Question

Rise of independent regional powers in india

Answer 1

Power abhors a vacuum and it shifts from one person to another depending on whom people think to be the most powerful.

The so-called “Regional Powers” by which you probably mean - the Sikhs under Ranjit Singh et all, the Marathas under Baji Rao I et all and Mysore Kingdom under Hyder Ali and Son etc were no small powers. Each of them was equal or greater than one or more European states of that era in terms of size, GDP and population. Also, it wasn’t that they had suddenly erupted out of nothing. The Sikhs had been persecuted since the beginning of their religion by the various Delhi based dynasties- the Mughals are famous as the last dynasty but they were not the only ones.

The Mughals ruled strongly for 200 years and overall for 350 years (the last 100 odd years as virtual prisoners in Delhi) but before them the Lodhi Dynasty ruled Delhi for some 70 odd years before them the Sayyids had ruled and before them the Tughlaks and before them the Khiljis and before them the Slave Dynasty (later called Qutub Dynasty by some). So, for nearly 400 years before the Mughals came to power various dynasties were competing. Further, Rajputana was almost always neutral or enemy with the ruling houses of Delhi and in a perpetual Frenemy mode (Friend or Enemy depending on ruler).

The Deccan states were too far away from Delhi to have accepted their rule as were the North-Eastern states and Southern states. The Afghan provinces usually rebelled at intervals of 100 years or so in all these rules. Most of the newer dynasties occupying Delhi first conquered Kabul, made it their base and then marched on Delhi with their “backs secured”.

Answer 2

Explanation:

The collapse of central authorityled to the declaration of independence by the Subahdars of several provinces. But all these states wereprimarily regional political entities interested in promoting their own growth.They had no political or national outlook. Some of these states like Bengal,Hyderabad and Awadh–became for all practical purposes independent owning anominal allegiance to the Mughal Emperor. The Sikhs and the Jats madesuccessful bids for political power. The Marathas profited more than any otherpeople of India with the fall of the Mughal Empire. They established a mightyempire extending from the Punjab to Mysore.