NCERT Textbook: Eighteenth Century Political Formations | Old & New NCERTs for IAS Preparation (Must Read) - UPSC PDF Download

 Page 1


94
our pasts – ii
8
EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY
POLITICAL FORMATIONS
I
f you look at Maps 1 and 2 closely, you will see  
something significant happening in the subcontinent 
during the first half of the eighteenth century. Notice 
how the boundaries of the Mughal Empire were 
reshaped by the emergence of a number of independent 
Map 1
State formations in the 
eighteenth century.
Unit 8.indd   94 8/25/2022   12:22:13 PM
Reprint 2024-25
Page 2


94
our pasts – ii
8
EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY
POLITICAL FORMATIONS
I
f you look at Maps 1 and 2 closely, you will see  
something significant happening in the subcontinent 
during the first half of the eighteenth century. Notice 
how the boundaries of the Mughal Empire were 
reshaped by the emergence of a number of independent 
Map 1
State formations in the 
eighteenth century.
Unit 8.indd   94 8/25/2022   12:22:13 PM
Reprint 2024-25
95
eighteenth -century political formations kingdoms. By 1765, 
notice how another 
power, the British, had 
successfully grabbed 
major chunks of territory 
in eastern India. What 
these maps tell us is 
that political conditions 
in eighteenth-century 
India changed quite 
dramatically and within 
a relatively short span 
of time. 
In this chapter, we 
will read about the 
emergence of new 
political groups in the 
subcontinent during  
the first half of the 
eighteenth century – 
roughly from 1707, 
when Aurangzeb died, 
till the third battle of 
Panipat in 1761.
The Crisis of the Empire and  
the Later Mughals
In Chapter 4, you saw how the Mughal Empire reached 
the height of its success and started facing a variety 
of crises towards the closing years of the seventeenth 
century. These were caused by a number of factors. 
Emperor Aurangzeb had depleted the military and 
financial resources of his empire by fighting a long 
war in the Deccan. 
Under his successors, the efficiency of the imperial 
administration broke down. It became increasingly 
difficult for the later Mughal emperors to keep a check 
on their powerful mansabdars. Nobles appointed 
as governors (subadars) often controlled the offices 
?
See Chapter 4, 
Table 1. Which 
group of people 
challenged Mughal 
authority for the 
longest time in 
Aurangzeb’s reign?
Map 2
British territories in 
the mid-eighteenth 
century.
Unit 8.indd   95 17-05-2022   12:40:39
Reprint 2024-25
Page 3


94
our pasts – ii
8
EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY
POLITICAL FORMATIONS
I
f you look at Maps 1 and 2 closely, you will see  
something significant happening in the subcontinent 
during the first half of the eighteenth century. Notice 
how the boundaries of the Mughal Empire were 
reshaped by the emergence of a number of independent 
Map 1
State formations in the 
eighteenth century.
Unit 8.indd   94 8/25/2022   12:22:13 PM
Reprint 2024-25
95
eighteenth -century political formations kingdoms. By 1765, 
notice how another 
power, the British, had 
successfully grabbed 
major chunks of territory 
in eastern India. What 
these maps tell us is 
that political conditions 
in eighteenth-century 
India changed quite 
dramatically and within 
a relatively short span 
of time. 
In this chapter, we 
will read about the 
emergence of new 
political groups in the 
subcontinent during  
the first half of the 
eighteenth century – 
roughly from 1707, 
when Aurangzeb died, 
till the third battle of 
Panipat in 1761.
The Crisis of the Empire and  
the Later Mughals
In Chapter 4, you saw how the Mughal Empire reached 
the height of its success and started facing a variety 
of crises towards the closing years of the seventeenth 
century. These were caused by a number of factors. 
Emperor Aurangzeb had depleted the military and 
financial resources of his empire by fighting a long 
war in the Deccan. 
Under his successors, the efficiency of the imperial 
administration broke down. It became increasingly 
difficult for the later Mughal emperors to keep a check 
on their powerful mansabdars. Nobles appointed 
as governors (subadars) often controlled the offices 
?
See Chapter 4, 
Table 1. Which 
group of people 
challenged Mughal 
authority for the 
longest time in 
Aurangzeb’s reign?
Map 2
British territories in 
the mid-eighteenth 
century.
Unit 8.indd   95 17-05-2022   12:40:39
Reprint 2024-25
96
our pasts – ii
of revenue and military administration (diwani and 
faujdari) as well. This gave them extraordinary political, 
economic and military powers over vast regions of the 
Mughal Empire. As the governors consolidated their 
control over the provinces, the periodic remission of 
revenue to the capital declined.
Peasant and zamindari rebellions in many parts of 
northern and western India added to these problems. 
These revolts were sometimes caused by the pressures 
of mounting taxes. At other times they were attempts 
by powerful chieftains to consolidate their own 
positions. Mughal authority had been challenged by 
rebellious groups in the past as well. But these groups 
were now able to seize the economic resources of the 
region to consolidate their positions. The Mughal 
emperors after Aurangzeb were unable to arrest the 
gradual shifting of political and economic authority 
into the hands of provincial governors, local chieftains 
and other groups. 
Rich harvests and empty coffers 
The following is a contemporary writer’s account of the 
financial bankruptcy of the empire: 
The great lords are helpless and impoverished. Their peasants 
raise two crops a year, but their lords see nothing of either, and 
their agents on the spot are virtual prisoners in the peasants’ 
hands, like a peasant kept in his creditor’s house until he 
can pay his debt. So complete is the collapse of all order and 
administration that though the peasant reaps a harvest of 
gold, his lord does not see so much as a wisp of straw. How 
then can the lord keep the armed force he should? How can 
he pay the soldiers who should go before him when he goes 
out, or the horsemen who should ride behind him?
 
Unit 8.indd   96 17-05-2022   12:40:40
Reprint 2024-25
Page 4


94
our pasts – ii
8
EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY
POLITICAL FORMATIONS
I
f you look at Maps 1 and 2 closely, you will see  
something significant happening in the subcontinent 
during the first half of the eighteenth century. Notice 
how the boundaries of the Mughal Empire were 
reshaped by the emergence of a number of independent 
Map 1
State formations in the 
eighteenth century.
Unit 8.indd   94 8/25/2022   12:22:13 PM
Reprint 2024-25
95
eighteenth -century political formations kingdoms. By 1765, 
notice how another 
power, the British, had 
successfully grabbed 
major chunks of territory 
in eastern India. What 
these maps tell us is 
that political conditions 
in eighteenth-century 
India changed quite 
dramatically and within 
a relatively short span 
of time. 
In this chapter, we 
will read about the 
emergence of new 
political groups in the 
subcontinent during  
the first half of the 
eighteenth century – 
roughly from 1707, 
when Aurangzeb died, 
till the third battle of 
Panipat in 1761.
The Crisis of the Empire and  
the Later Mughals
In Chapter 4, you saw how the Mughal Empire reached 
the height of its success and started facing a variety 
of crises towards the closing years of the seventeenth 
century. These were caused by a number of factors. 
Emperor Aurangzeb had depleted the military and 
financial resources of his empire by fighting a long 
war in the Deccan. 
Under his successors, the efficiency of the imperial 
administration broke down. It became increasingly 
difficult for the later Mughal emperors to keep a check 
on their powerful mansabdars. Nobles appointed 
as governors (subadars) often controlled the offices 
?
See Chapter 4, 
Table 1. Which 
group of people 
challenged Mughal 
authority for the 
longest time in 
Aurangzeb’s reign?
Map 2
British territories in 
the mid-eighteenth 
century.
Unit 8.indd   95 17-05-2022   12:40:39
Reprint 2024-25
96
our pasts – ii
of revenue and military administration (diwani and 
faujdari) as well. This gave them extraordinary political, 
economic and military powers over vast regions of the 
Mughal Empire. As the governors consolidated their 
control over the provinces, the periodic remission of 
revenue to the capital declined.
Peasant and zamindari rebellions in many parts of 
northern and western India added to these problems. 
These revolts were sometimes caused by the pressures 
of mounting taxes. At other times they were attempts 
by powerful chieftains to consolidate their own 
positions. Mughal authority had been challenged by 
rebellious groups in the past as well. But these groups 
were now able to seize the economic resources of the 
region to consolidate their positions. The Mughal 
emperors after Aurangzeb were unable to arrest the 
gradual shifting of political and economic authority 
into the hands of provincial governors, local chieftains 
and other groups. 
Rich harvests and empty coffers 
The following is a contemporary writer’s account of the 
financial bankruptcy of the empire: 
The great lords are helpless and impoverished. Their peasants 
raise two crops a year, but their lords see nothing of either, and 
their agents on the spot are virtual prisoners in the peasants’ 
hands, like a peasant kept in his creditor’s house until he 
can pay his debt. So complete is the collapse of all order and 
administration that though the peasant reaps a harvest of 
gold, his lord does not see so much as a wisp of straw. How 
then can the lord keep the armed force he should? How can 
he pay the soldiers who should go before him when he goes 
out, or the horsemen who should ride behind him?
 
Unit 8.indd   96 17-05-2022   12:40:40
Reprint 2024-25
97
eighteenth -century political formations In the midst of this economic and political crisis, the 
ruler of Iran, Nadir Shah, sacked and plundered the 
city of Delhi in 1739 and took away immense amounts 
of wealth. This invasion was followed by a series of 
plundering raids by the Afghan ruler Ahmad Shah 
Abdali, who invaded north India five times between 
1748 and 1761.
Nadir Shah attacks Delhi
The devastation of Delhi after Nadir Shah’s invasion was 
described by contemporary observers. One described 
the wealth looted from the Mughal treasury as follows: 
sixty lakhs of rupees and some thousand gold coins, nearly one 
crore worth of gold-ware, nearly fifty crores worth of jewels, 
most of them unrivalled in the world, and the above included 
the Peacock throne.
 Another account described the invasion’s impact 
upon Delhi: 
(those) … who had been masters were now in dire straits; 
and those who had been revered couldn’t even (get water 
to) quench their thirst. The recluses were pulled out of their 
corners. The wealthy were turned into beggars. Those who 
once set the style in clothes now went naked; and those 
who owned property were now homeless … The New City 
(Shahjahanabad) was turned into rubble. (Nadir Shah) then 
attacked the Old quarters of the city and destroyed a whole 
world that existed there …
Fig. 1
A 1779 portrait of Nadir 
Shah.
Already under severe pressure from all sides, the 
empire was further weakened by competition amongst 
different groups of nobles. They were divided into 
two major groups or factions, the Iranis and Turanis 
(nobles of Turkish descent). For a long time, the later 
Mughal emperors were puppets in the hands of either 
Unit 8.indd   97 17-05-2022   12:40:40
Reprint 2024-25
Page 5


94
our pasts – ii
8
EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY
POLITICAL FORMATIONS
I
f you look at Maps 1 and 2 closely, you will see  
something significant happening in the subcontinent 
during the first half of the eighteenth century. Notice 
how the boundaries of the Mughal Empire were 
reshaped by the emergence of a number of independent 
Map 1
State formations in the 
eighteenth century.
Unit 8.indd   94 8/25/2022   12:22:13 PM
Reprint 2024-25
95
eighteenth -century political formations kingdoms. By 1765, 
notice how another 
power, the British, had 
successfully grabbed 
major chunks of territory 
in eastern India. What 
these maps tell us is 
that political conditions 
in eighteenth-century 
India changed quite 
dramatically and within 
a relatively short span 
of time. 
In this chapter, we 
will read about the 
emergence of new 
political groups in the 
subcontinent during  
the first half of the 
eighteenth century – 
roughly from 1707, 
when Aurangzeb died, 
till the third battle of 
Panipat in 1761.
The Crisis of the Empire and  
the Later Mughals
In Chapter 4, you saw how the Mughal Empire reached 
the height of its success and started facing a variety 
of crises towards the closing years of the seventeenth 
century. These were caused by a number of factors. 
Emperor Aurangzeb had depleted the military and 
financial resources of his empire by fighting a long 
war in the Deccan. 
Under his successors, the efficiency of the imperial 
administration broke down. It became increasingly 
difficult for the later Mughal emperors to keep a check 
on their powerful mansabdars. Nobles appointed 
as governors (subadars) often controlled the offices 
?
See Chapter 4, 
Table 1. Which 
group of people 
challenged Mughal 
authority for the 
longest time in 
Aurangzeb’s reign?
Map 2
British territories in 
the mid-eighteenth 
century.
Unit 8.indd   95 17-05-2022   12:40:39
Reprint 2024-25
96
our pasts – ii
of revenue and military administration (diwani and 
faujdari) as well. This gave them extraordinary political, 
economic and military powers over vast regions of the 
Mughal Empire. As the governors consolidated their 
control over the provinces, the periodic remission of 
revenue to the capital declined.
Peasant and zamindari rebellions in many parts of 
northern and western India added to these problems. 
These revolts were sometimes caused by the pressures 
of mounting taxes. At other times they were attempts 
by powerful chieftains to consolidate their own 
positions. Mughal authority had been challenged by 
rebellious groups in the past as well. But these groups 
were now able to seize the economic resources of the 
region to consolidate their positions. The Mughal 
emperors after Aurangzeb were unable to arrest the 
gradual shifting of political and economic authority 
into the hands of provincial governors, local chieftains 
and other groups. 
Rich harvests and empty coffers 
The following is a contemporary writer’s account of the 
financial bankruptcy of the empire: 
The great lords are helpless and impoverished. Their peasants 
raise two crops a year, but their lords see nothing of either, and 
their agents on the spot are virtual prisoners in the peasants’ 
hands, like a peasant kept in his creditor’s house until he 
can pay his debt. So complete is the collapse of all order and 
administration that though the peasant reaps a harvest of 
gold, his lord does not see so much as a wisp of straw. How 
then can the lord keep the armed force he should? How can 
he pay the soldiers who should go before him when he goes 
out, or the horsemen who should ride behind him?
 
Unit 8.indd   96 17-05-2022   12:40:40
Reprint 2024-25
97
eighteenth -century political formations In the midst of this economic and political crisis, the 
ruler of Iran, Nadir Shah, sacked and plundered the 
city of Delhi in 1739 and took away immense amounts 
of wealth. This invasion was followed by a series of 
plundering raids by the Afghan ruler Ahmad Shah 
Abdali, who invaded north India five times between 
1748 and 1761.
Nadir Shah attacks Delhi
The devastation of Delhi after Nadir Shah’s invasion was 
described by contemporary observers. One described 
the wealth looted from the Mughal treasury as follows: 
sixty lakhs of rupees and some thousand gold coins, nearly one 
crore worth of gold-ware, nearly fifty crores worth of jewels, 
most of them unrivalled in the world, and the above included 
the Peacock throne.
 Another account described the invasion’s impact 
upon Delhi: 
(those) … who had been masters were now in dire straits; 
and those who had been revered couldn’t even (get water 
to) quench their thirst. The recluses were pulled out of their 
corners. The wealthy were turned into beggars. Those who 
once set the style in clothes now went naked; and those 
who owned property were now homeless … The New City 
(Shahjahanabad) was turned into rubble. (Nadir Shah) then 
attacked the Old quarters of the city and destroyed a whole 
world that existed there …
Fig. 1
A 1779 portrait of Nadir 
Shah.
Already under severe pressure from all sides, the 
empire was further weakened by competition amongst 
different groups of nobles. They were divided into 
two major groups or factions, the Iranis and Turanis 
(nobles of Turkish descent). For a long time, the later 
Mughal emperors were puppets in the hands of either 
Unit 8.indd   97 17-05-2022   12:40:40
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98
our pasts – ii
one or the other of these two powerful groups. 
The worst possible humiliation came when two 
Mughal emperors, Farrukh Siyar (1713 –1719) 
and Alamgir II (1754 –1759) were assassinated, 
and two others, Ahmad Shah (1748 –1754) and 
Shah Alam II (1759 –1816) were blinded by  
their nobles.
With the decline in the authority of the 
Mughal emperors, the governors of large 
provinces, subadars, and the great zamindars 
consolidated their authority in different parts 
of the subcontinent, such as Awadh, Bengal  
and Hyderabad. 
The Rajputs 
Many Rajput kings, particularly those belonging to 
Amber and Jodhpur, had served under the Mughals 
with distinction. In exchange, they were permitted to 
enjoy considerable autonomy in their watan jagirs. In 
the eighteenth century, these rulers now attempted to 
extend their control over adjacent regions. Ajit Singh, 
the ruler of Jodhpur, was also involved in the factional 
politics at the Mughal court. 
These influential Rajput families claimed the 
subadari of the rich provinces of Gujarat and Malwa. 
Raja Ajit Singh of Jodhpur held the governorship of 
Gujarat and Sawai Raja Jai Singh of Amber was the 
governor of Malwa. These offices were renewed by  
Emperor Jahandar Shah in 1713. They also tried to 
extend their territories by seizing portions of imperial 
territories neighbouring their watans. Nagaur was 
conquered and annexed to the house of Jodhpur, 
while Amber seized large portions of Bundi. Sawai 
Raja Jai Singh founded his new capital at Jaipur 
and was given the subadari of Agra in 1722. Maratha 
campaigns into Rajasthan from the 1740s put severe 
pressure on these principalities and checked their 
further expansion.
Fig. 2
Farrukh Siyar receiving 
a noble in court.
Many Rajput 
rulers had 
accepted the 
suzerainty of 
the Mughals but 
Mewar was the 
only Rajput state 
which defied 
Mughal authority. 
Rana Pratap 
ascended the 
throne at Mewar 
in 1572, with 
Udaipur and large 
part of Mewar 
under his control. 
A series of envoys 
were sent to the 
Rana to persuade 
him to accept 
Mughal suzerainty,  
but he stood his 
ground.
Unit 8.indd   98 17-05-2022   12:40:41
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