Eighteenth-Century Political Formations
How the post-1707 crisis of the Mughal Empire reshaped India into a patchwork of new regional powers — successor provinces, Rajput watan states, and the rebel Marathas, Sikhs and Jats — down to the Third Battle of Panipat (1761).
A perennial favourite for the decline-of-the-Mughals and rise-of-regional-powers theme. Prelims loves the precise hooks — chauth vs sardeshmukhi, founders and capitals of the new states, the 1739 and 1748–61 invasions, the 1761 Panipat date, and Sikh institutions like misl and dal khalsa. For Mains GS-I it feeds the 'eighteenth century: dark age or reconfiguration?' debate and questions on the causes of Mughal decline and the emergence of regional polities.
Understand the chapter
The Crisis of the Empire and the Later Mughals
After Aurangzeb's death in 1707 the Mughal administrative machinery weakened sharply. Aurangzeb had drained military and financial resources in his long Deccan wars, and his successors could no longer control powerful mansabdars. Provincial governors (subadars) seized both revenue (diwani) and military (faujdari) powers, stopped remitting revenue to Delhi, while peasant and zamindari revolts spread across north and west India. Two foreign invasions and the Irani–Turani factional struggle reduced the emperors to puppets.
- Subadars combined diwani + faujdari → near-independent regional power; central revenue collapsed.
- Nadir Shah of Iran sacked Delhi (1739) and carried off the Peacock Throne.
- Ahmad Shah Abdali (Afghan) raided north India five times, 1748–1761.
- Later Mughals: Farrukh Siyar & Alamgir II assassinated; Ahmad Shah & Shah Alam II blinded by nobles.
Three Types of Eighteenth-Century States
The new political order is best read through three broad groups of states. The first were old Mughal provinces — Awadh, Bengal and Hyderabad — whose governors turned virtually independent yet kept formal allegiance to the emperor. The second were watan jagirs, the hereditary homelands of many Rajput houses. The third were the 'rebel' states of the Marathas, Sikhs and Jats, who won independence after long armed struggle.
- Successor states: Awadh, Bengal, Hyderabad — strong governors, used ijaradari (revenue farming).
- Watan-jagir states: Rajput principalities (Amber, Jodhpur) extending their control.
- Rebel/independent states: Marathas, Sikhs, Jats — independence seized by war.
The Rajputs — Autonomy within the Watan Jagir
Rajput houses of Amber and Jodhpur had long served the Mughals and enjoyed autonomy in their watan jagirs. In the early 18th century they used court factionalism to claim the rich subadaris of Gujarat and Malwa and annexed neighbouring imperial lands. Ajit Singh of Jodhpur governed Gujarat and Sawai Jai Singh of Amber governed Malwa (offices renewed by Jahandar Shah in 1713); Jai Singh founded Jaipur and gained Agra's subadari in 1722. Maratha campaigns into Rajasthan from the 1740s checked their further expansion.
- Watan jagir = hereditary homeland enjoyed in return for Mughal service.
- Nagaur annexed to Jodhpur; Amber seized parts of Bundi.
- Mewar (Rana Pratap, throne 1572) was the lone Rajput state that defied Mughal suzerainty.
- Sawai Jai Singh built Jaipur and five Jantar Mantar observatories: Delhi, Jaipur, Ujjain, Mathura, Varanasi.
The Sikhs — From Khalsa to Sovereign Rule
Guru Gobind Singh organised the Sikhs militarily and instituted the Khalsa in 1699. After his death in 1708 the Khalsa revolted under Banda Bahadur, struck coins in the names of Guru Nanak and Guru Gobind Singh, and ruled between the Sutlej and Jamuna until Banda was captured (1715) and executed (1716). Through the 18th century the Sikhs organised into jathas and then misls, whose combined army was the dal khalsa, taking collective gurmatas at Amritsar and funding themselves through the rakhi tax.
- Khalsa (1699) carried the belief 'raj karega khalsa' (the Khalsa shall rule).
- Jathas → misls → dal khalsa (grand army); gurmatas decided at Baisakhi/Diwali in Amritsar.
- Rakhi: protection to cultivators for a tax of 20% of produce.
- Sovereign coin struck again in 1765; Ranjit Singh reunited the misls, capital at Lahore (1799).
The Marathas — Expansion Beyond the Deccan
Founded by Chhatrapati Shivaji (1630–1680) with the support of deshmukhs and kunbi peasant-soldiers, the Maratha state became the most expansive 18th-century power. After Shivaji, real authority passed to the Chitpavan Brahmana Peshwas based at Poona, who built a mobile army that bypassed Mughal forts and raided deep into imperial territory. Between 1720 and 1761 they seized Malwa and Gujarat, became overlords of the Deccan with rights to chauth and sardeshmukhi, and extracted tribute from Rajasthan to Bengal to the Tamil country — but isolation led to defeat at the Third Battle of Panipat (1761).
- Chauth = 25% of land revenue; sardeshmukhi = 9–10% to the head collector.
- Power devolved to sardars: Sindhia (Gwalior), Holkar (Indore), Gaekwad (Baroda), Bhonsle (Nagpur).
- Trade and towns revived: Ujjain under Sindhia, Indore under Holkar, Chanderi silk routed to Poona.
- Hostility of other rulers left the Marathas unsupported at Panipat, 1761.
The Jats — Agrarian Power between Delhi and Agra
The Jats, prosperous agriculturists, consolidated power under Churaman and dominated the Delhi–Agra belt by the 1680s, even becoming virtual custodians of Agra. Under Suraj Mal the kingdom of Bharatpur (1756–1763) grew into a strong state covering eastern Rajasthan, southern Haryana, western UP and Delhi. Their wealth funded forts and palaces, and at Dig they built an elaborate garden-palace blending Amber and Agra (Shah Jahan-era) styles.
- Churaman → dominance of the Delhi–Agra region; Panipat and Ballabhgarh as trade centres.
- Suraj Mal: the Bharatpur state and the strong Lohagarh fort.
- Dig garden-palace with the distinctive 'Bangla dome'.
Key terms
- Subadari
- Office/governorship of a Mughal province (subadar); in the 18th century subadars became near-independent rulers.
- Diwani & Faujdari
- Control of revenue administration (diwani) and military/policing (faujdari); their concentration in subadars' hands hollowed out Mughal central control.
- Watan jagir
- The hereditary homeland a Rajput chief retained while serving the Mughals, giving him considerable autonomy.
- Ijaradari
- A revenue-farming system in which the right to collect tax was contracted to ijaradars for a fixed sum, used by new states such as Awadh.
- Chauth
- A levy of 25% of land revenue, collected in the Deccan by the Marathas.
- Sardeshmukhi
- An additional 9–10% of land revenue claimed by the Maratha head revenue collector in the Deccan.
- Misl
- A band/unit of organised Sikh warriors; the misls together formed the Sikh confederacy.
- Dal Khalsa
- The combined 'grand army' formed by the Sikh misls.
- Rakhi
- A Sikh protection system giving cultivators security in return for a tax of 20% of produce.
- Peshwa
- The principal minister of the Marathas; drawn from a Chitpavan Brahmana family, the real power after Shivaji, based at Poona.
Must-know facts exam-ready
- Chapter span: 1707 (death of Aurangzeb) to 1761 (Third Battle of Panipat).
- Nadir Shah of Iran sacked Delhi in 1739 and carried away the Peacock Throne.
- Ahmad Shah Abdali (Afghan) invaded north India five times between 1748 and 1761.
- Mughal nobles split into Irani and Turani (Turkish-descent) factions; emperors became puppets.
- Assassinated: Farrukh Siyar (1713–1719) and Alamgir II (1754–1759); Blinded: Ahmad Shah (1748–1754) and Shah Alam II (1759–1816).
- Old Mughal provinces that turned autonomous: Awadh, Bengal, Hyderabad.
- Khalsa instituted by Guru Gobind Singh in 1699; he died in 1708; Banda Bahadur captured 1715, executed 1716.
- Sikh organisation: jathas → misls → dal khalsa; decisions = gurmatas at Amritsar; rakhi = 20% of produce; sovereign coin again 1765; Ranjit Singh's capital Lahore (1799).
- Marathas founded by Shivaji (1630–1680); the Peshwas were Chitpavan Brahmanas; capital Poona.
- Maratha levies: chauth = 25% and sardeshmukhi = 9–10% of land revenue.
- Maratha sardars and seats: Sindhia–Gwalior, Holkar–Indore, Gaekwad–Baroda, Bhonsle–Nagpur.
- Jats: Churaman, then Suraj Mal's Bharatpur (1756–1763) with the Lohagarh fort and the Dig palace.
Timeline
- 1572Rana Pratap ascends the Mewar throne — the lone Rajput state to defy Mughal suzerainty.
- 1699Guru Gobind Singh institutes the Khalsa.
- 1707Aurangzeb dies; the Mughal crisis deepens and regional powers begin to rise.
- 1716Banda Bahadur executed (captured 1715) after early Sikh sovereign rule between Sutlej and Jamuna.
- 1737Marathas raid Delhi, signalling their northward expansion.
- 1739Nadir Shah sacks Delhi and carries off the Peacock Throne.
- 1761Third Battle of Panipat; an isolated Maratha power is defeated.
- 1799Maharaja Ranjit Singh reunites the misls and makes Lahore his capital.
Memory tricks remember it for good
Traps to avoid
- Nadir Shah (Persia/Iran, 1739, took the Peacock Throne) is NOT Ahmad Shah Abdali (Afghan, five raids 1748–1761) — different invaders, different countries.
- 'Nadir Shah invaded Bengal' is FALSE — he sacked Delhi, the Mughal capital, not Bengal.
- Chauth (25%) and sardeshmukhi (9–10%) are routinely swapped — fix the figures and remember chauth was collected in the Deccan by the Marathas.
- Sawai Jai Singh ruled Amber/Jaipur and built the Jantar Mantars — he was NOT the ruler of Indore (Indore belonged to the Holkars).
- Don't merge the later-Mughal fates: two were assassinated (Farrukh Siyar, Alamgir II) and two were blinded (Ahmad Shah, Shah Alam II).
- The Peshwas wielded power AFTER Shivaji; Shivaji (not a Peshwa) founded the Maratha state, and Poona — not the original Deccan forts — was the Peshwa capital.
Exam focus
🧠 Prelims angles
- Define and distinguish chauth (25%) and sardeshmukhi (9–10%), and who levied them.
- Match houses to capitals: Sindhia–Gwalior, Holkar–Indore, Gaekwad–Baroda, Bhonsle–Nagpur, Suraj Mal–Bharatpur.
- Foreign invasions: Nadir Shah (1739, Peacock Throne) vs Ahmad Shah Abdali (five times, 1748–1761); Third Battle of Panipat (1761).
- Sikh terms and chronology: Khalsa (1699), misl, dal khalsa, gurmata, rakhi (20%); Banda Bahadur (1715/1716); Ranjit Singh–Lahore (1799).
- Later Mughals — who was assassinated versus blinded; the Irani–Turani factions.
- Sawai Jai Singh's five Jantar Mantar sites: Delhi, Jaipur, Ujjain, Mathura, Varanasi.
✍️ Mains angles GS-I
- Was 18th-century India a 'Dark Age' of chaos, or an era of regional state reconfiguration?Balance Mughal decline against vibrant regional administration, revenue reform, reviving trade and urban growth (Ujjain, Indore, Poona).
- Analyse the structural and immediate causes of the decline of Mughal central authority after 1707.Link the jagir/mansab and falling revenue-remission crisis to court factionalism (Irani–Turani) and invasions (Nadir Shah, Abdali).
- Compare the successor, watan and rebel states in their origins and methods of consolidation.Contrast governors keeping formal Mughal ties, Rajput watan expansion, and the armed independence of the Marathas, Sikhs and Jats.
Last-minute revision tick as you recall
- 1707 Aurangzeb dies → 1761 Third Panipat: Mughal fall, regional rise.
- Subadars grabbed diwani + faujdari; revenue to Delhi dried up; peasant–zamindar revolts spread.
- Nadir Shah 1739 (Peacock Throne); Abdali five raids, 1748–1761.
- Nobles split Irani vs Turani; two emperors assassinated, two blinded.
- Three state types: Awadh/Bengal/Hyderabad (old provinces), Rajput watan jagirs, Maratha/Sikh/Jat rebels.
- Sikhs: Khalsa 1699 → misls → dal khalsa; rakhi 20%; Ranjit Singh, Lahore 1799.
- Marathas: Shivaji 1630, Chitpavan Peshwas at Poona; chauth 25%, sardeshmukhi 9–10%.
- Maratha sardars: Sindhia-Gwalior, Holkar-Indore, Gaekwad-Baroda, Bhonsle-Nagpur.
- Jats: Churaman → Suraj Mal; Bharatpur (Lohagarh fort), Dig palace.
Distilled from NCERT Class 7 · Our Pasts II for UPSC. Always cross-check facts with the original NCERT.