India in the 18th Century

1. Aurangzeb's Deccan Campaign ("Deccan Ulcer"): Aurangzeb spent the final $25\text{ years}$ of his life waging ruinous warfare in the Deccan. This drained the imperial treasury, exhausted his army, and left northern India neglected and vulnerable.
   2. Weak & Incompetent Later Mughals: Aurangzeb's successors (Bahadur Shah I, Jahandar Shah, Muhammad Shah) were pleasure-seeking, indecisive rulers who lacked military leadership and became pawns in the hands of scheming nobles.
   3. Factional Feuds in the Nobility: The Mughal nobility fractured into hostile, competing factions (Turanis, Iranis, and Hindustanis) that engaged in palace conspiracies, assassinating emperors and paralyzing governance.
   4. Peasant Revolts & Financial Collapse: Extravagant court expenditure and ruthless agrarian taxation provoked armed rebellions by the Jats, Sikhs, Satnamis, and Marathas, depriving the treasury of essential land revenue.

• Nadir Shah's Invasion (1739):
1. Nadir Shah, the ruthless ruler of Persia, invaded northern India, easily defeating the demoralized Mughal army under Emperor Muhammad Shah at the Battle of Karnal.
2. He marched into Delhi. Following a civilian riot, he ordered the notorious Qatl-e-Aam, ordering a wholesale massacre of over $30,000$ innocent citizens.
• Plundered Treasures:
1. The priceless, jewel-encrusted Peacock Throne (Takht-i-Taus) designed for Shah Jahan.
2. The legendary Koh-i-Noor diamond and the Darya-i-Noor.
3. An estimated $70\text{ crore rupees}$ in gold, silver, jewels, and cash, transported on thousands of horses and elephants.

• (a) Awadh: Saadat Khan Burhan-ul-Mulk (appointed Governor in 1722).
• (b) Hyderabad: Nizam-ul-Mulk Asaf Jah (Chin Qilich Khan, established in 1724).
• (c) Bengal: Murshid Quli Khan (made independent Nawab in 1717).
• (d) Unified Punjab: Maharaja Ranjit Singh (united the 12 Sikh Misls in 1799).

• Causes of Maratha Defeat (January 14, 1761):
1. Diplomatic Isolation: The Marathas had antagonized potential allies (the Rajputs, Jats, and Nawabs of Awadh) through aggressive taxation (Chauth), leaving them to fight alone.
2. Superior Military Strategy of Abdali: Ahmad Shah Abdali had a disciplined cavalry, superior intelligence, and deadly swivel-guns mounted on camels.
3. Starvation: Abdali cut off the Maratha food supply lines in Panipat for months.
• Profound Historical Consequences:
1. Decimated the cream of the Maratha leadership: Sadashivrao Bhau, Vishwasrao, and $100,000$ soldiers perished.
2. Shattered the dream of an all-India Hindu Pad Padshahi.
3. Cleared the Path for British Imperialism: By destroying Maratha power and weakening Indian rulers, it removed the single greatest obstacle to British conquest, allowing the East India Company to conquer India within decades.

• Chauth: A military tax consisting of one-fourth ($25\%$) of the total land revenue paid by non-Maratha neighboring states to the Marathas in return for a guarantee that the Marathas would not raid or plunder their territory.
• Sardeshmukhi: An additional ten percent ($10\%$) tax levied on the gross revenue of neighboring provinces, claimed by the Maratha ruler on the basis of being the hereditary supreme head (Sardeshmukh) of the land.

• Peshwas: Originally Prime Ministers to the Maratha Chhatrapatis; during the reign of Shahu, the office became hereditary and the de facto rulers of the Maratha Empire.
• 1. Balaji Vishwanath (1713–1720): Consolidated Maratha administration, ended civil wars, and secured imperial rights to collect Chauth and Sardeshmukhi across six Deccan provinces.
• 2. Baji Rao I (1720–1740): A military genius who championed northward expansion under the slogan: "Strike at the trunk of the withering tree and the branches will fall." He led fast-moving cavalry campaigns that captured Malwa, Gujarat, and Bundelkhand, making the Marathas the supreme power in India.

• Title "Tiger of Mysore": Conferred for his fearless martial valor, defiance against British colonial expansion, and adoption of the roaring tiger as the royal emblem on his throne and weapons.
• Two Modernizing Achievements:
1. Military Rocketry: Pioneered iron-cased Mysorean war rockets deployed with devastating effect against British armies in the Anglo-Mysore Wars (later studied by William Congreve to create British military rockets).
2. Modern Economic & Industrial Reforms: Established state trading companies, set up silk sericulture, established ordnance factories with French engineers, and sent diplomatic trade missions to France, Turkey, and Iran.

• Maratha Confederacy: A decentralized federal arrangement formed in the 18th century where semi-independent Maratha chieftains controlled distinct geographic territories under the nominal leadership of the Peshwa.
• The Five Constituent Families:
1. The Peshwa: Based at Pune (Administrative Head).
2. The Scindias (Sindhias): Based at Gwalior.
3. The Holkars: Based at Indore.
4. The Gaekwads (Gaikwars): Based at Baroda.
5. The Bhonsles: Based at Nagpur.