Eighteen Century Political Formation

Maharaja Ranjit Singh was the first Maharaja of the Sikh Empire and was also known as Sher-e-Punjab. In the late eighteenth century, the Sikh territories were extended from the Indus to the Jamuna but they were divided under different rulers. Maharaja Ranjit Singh reunited all groups and established his capital at Lahore in 1799.

Kunbis were groups of highly mobile, peasant pastoralists. They were the backbone of the Maratha army.

The three prominent states were Awadh, Bengal and Hyderabad. All these states were founded by members of the high Mughal nobility who were governors in the Mughal empire - Sa'adat Khan (Awadh), Murshid Quli Khan (Bengal) and Asaf Jah (Hyderabad.

The Mughal Empire owes its decline and ultimate downfall to combination of factors:

• The successive rulers after Aurangzeb were weak, unworthy and lacked the character, motivation and commitment to rule the empire strongly.
• Absence of a definite law of succession was another important factor.
• Deterioration and demoralization of the army was one of the potent reason.
• The financial position of the Mughals had become deplorable.
• The raids by Nadir Shah, and repeated invasions of Ahmad Shah Abdali, resulted in further weakening of the empire.
• The already weakened empire faced further encroachment by the British and the French. The British and French, who had initially come as traders, took full advantage of the weakening empire and soon became masters of the whole of India.

The states of the eighteenth century can be divided into three overlapping groups:

• States that were old Mughal provinces like Awadh, Bengal and Hyderabad. Although extremely powerful and quite independent, the rulers of these states did not break their formal ties with the Mughal emperor
• States that had enjoyed considerable independence under the Mughals as watan jagirs. These included several Rajput principalities
• The last group included states under the control of Marathas, Sikhs and others like the Jats

The state of Hyderabad was constantly in struggle against the Marathas in the west and with independent Telugu warrior chief known as Nayakas of the Deccan plateau.

Though many of the larger states were established by erstwhile Mughal nobles, they were highly suspicious of some of the administrative systems that they had inherited, in particular the jagirdari system. Secondly, they reduced the number of jagirdars appointed by the Mughals. Rather than relying upon them, all the states contracted with revenue-farmers for the collection of revenue. The third common feature in all these regional states was their emerging relationship with rich bankers and merchants.

Khalsa declared its sovereign rule and minted its own coin in 1765. The legend on the obverse bore the same inscription 'Deg o Tegh o Fateh' issued by Banda Bahadur on his coins.

After the death of Shivaji, the Maratha kingdom was ruled by a family of Chitpavan Brahmanas. They served Shivaji's successors as Peshwa or principle minister and later became the hereditary rulers of the Maratha Empire of central India from 1749 to 1818. During their rein, the Maratha Empire reached its zenith ruling most of the Indian Subcontinent.

Jatha in the Sikh tradition signifies a group of volunteers coming forth to carry out a specific task, be it an armed combat or a peaceful agitation. After the capture and execution of Banda Singh Bahadur, the Sikhs organised themselves into a number of bands called jathas, to fight against the oppressors. Each jatha was grouped around a jathedar or a leader. These jathas were finally reorganized on the Baisakhi of 1748 into 11 misls. The entire fighting force of the Sikhs was named Dal Khalsa.

It is the counsel or resolution adopted by the combined forces of the Sikhs known as dal Khalsa, at an assembly at Amritsar to take collective decisions known as "resolutions of the Guru" in the presence of Guru Granth Sahib. A gurmata may only be passed on a subject that affects the fundamental principles of Sikh religion and is binding upon all Sikhs.

The word rakhi literally means 'protection'. In practice, it was a tribute received by the combined forces of the Sikhs dal Khalsa for the protection provided or guaranteed by them against external aggression to the cultivators paying it. The cultivators had to pay a tax of 20 percent of the produce to the Sikhs of dal Khalsa for their protection.

The Maratha kingdom was another powerful regional kingdom to arise out of a sustained opposition to Mughal rule. They faced the threat of the Mughals. To overcome them, they took the help of powerful warrior families known as deshmukhs. The Kunbis or peasant pastoralists rallied round Shivaji in large number to raise their status in social hierarchy and formed the backbone of the Maratha army. Shivaji used this army to challenge the Mughals in the peninsula.

Under the Peshwas, the Maratha kingdom developed as a very successful military organisation. They built strong forts to face the Mughals. Between 1720 and 1761, the Maratha Empire expanded. It gradually occupied the parts of the Mughal Empire. Malwa and Gujarat were seized from the Mughals by 1720s. By the 1730s, the Maratha kingdom was enjoying complete domination in the entire Deccan.

The steps taken by Murshid Quli Khan to reduce the Mughal influence in Bengal were as follows -

• Transferred all Mughal jagirdars to Orissa
• Ordered a major reassessment of the revenues of Bengal

Burhan-ul-Mulk Sa'adat Khan was appointed as the subadar of Awadh in 1722. Later on he carved out an independent state of Awadh from the Mughal empire. Burhan-ul-Mulk tried to decrease Mughal influence in the Awadh region by:

• Reducing the number of jagirdars appointed by the Mughals.
• Reducing the size of jagirs and appointed his own loyal servants to vacant positions.
• Preventing cheating the accounts of jagirdars were checked.
• Special officers were appointed by the Nawab to reassess the revenues of all the districts.

Nadir shah's invasion had a deep impact on Delhi

• Nadir Shah took away immense amount of wealth. The city of Delhi was ruined.
• Those who had been the masters were now in terrible condition.
• The invasion by Nadir Shah had demonstrated how weak the Mughal government was.
• This invasion was followed by a series of plundering raids by the Afghan ruler Ahmad Shah Abdali.

Guru Gobind Singh had inspired the Khalsa with the faith that their destiny was to rule (raj karega khalsa).

Because of following reason:

• Pressures of mounting taxes.
• Attempts by powerful chieftains to consolidate their own positions.

Marathas developed an effective administration system, which they had inherited from Shivaji.Maratha chiefs were known as Sardars. The land revenue was main source of income. Land revenue though was fixed on survey and assessment but it was feudal in nature. Territories were divided on the basis of revenue. Territories not under their direct control paid Chauth (1/4 revenue). In return they got the protection from attacks by Marathas. The territories who paid Sardeshmukhi (1/10 of land revenue) got protection by other forces.

Emperor Aurangzeb had depleted the military and financial resources of his empire by fighting a long war in the Deccan. It led to crisis in the Mughal Empire in the closing years of 17th century.