Regional Powers in 18th Century
Regional Powers in 18th Century
As Mughal authority receded, three types of successor state emerged - provinces that became independent under Mughal governors, new states carved out by rebellion, and older kingdoms that reasserted themselves. Together they made eighteenth-century India politically plural and commercially active, which is the context in which the British rose.
Three types: successor states, rebel or new states, and independent older kingdoms
Successor states
| State | Founder | Key features |
|---|---|---|
| Hyderabad | Nizam-ul-Mulk Asaf Jah, 1724 | Mughal governor who became independent in practice while formally acknowledging Delhi; tolerant administration; later allied with the British through subsidiary alliance |
| Bengal | Murshid Quli Khan, then Alivardi Khan | Efficient revenue administration; capital moved to Murshidabad; ended with Siraj-ud-Daula's defeat at Plassey in 1757 |
| Awadh | Saadat Khan Burhan-ul-Mulk, 1722 | Capital at Faizabad, later Lucknow; reduced the power of large zamindars; a centre of Urdu literature and Kathak; annexed in 1856 |
New or rebel states
| State | Leader | Key features |
|---|---|---|
| Marathas | Shivaji, then the Peshwas | The largest Indian power of the century; confederacy of Gaekwad, Holkar, Scindia and Bhonsle |
| Sikhs | From Guru Gobind Singh and Banda Bahadur to Ranjit Singh | Khalsa founded in 1699; misls organised in the eighteenth century; Ranjit Singh unified Punjab in 1799 with Lahore as capital |
| Jats | Churaman and Suraj Mal | Centred on Bharatpur; Suraj Mal built the Lohagarh fort and Deeg palaces |
| Rohillas | Ali Muhammad Khan | Rohilkhand in western Uttar Pradesh |
रणजीत सिंह ने कभी बादशाह या महाराजाधिराज जैसी शाही उपाधि लेकर सिक्के अपने नाम नहीं चलाए - उनके सिक्के नानकशाही कहलाते थे और गुरुओं के नाम पर थे | यह बारीकी परीक्षा में पूछी गई है |
Independent kingdoms
- Mysore under Haidar Ali and Tipu Sultan - modernised army, French-trained infantry, rocket artillery, state trading; four Anglo-Mysore wars ended at Srirangapatna in 1799
- Rajput states of Jaipur, Marwar and Mewar - Sawai Jai Singh II of Jaipur built observatories called Jantar Mantar at five places and founded Jaipur city in 1727
- Kerala under Martanda Varma of Travancore - reorganised the army and defeated the Dutch at Colachel in 1741
- Bhonsles of Nagpur and the smaller Deccan states also functioned as independent centres
Two features unify these states. First, all of them tried to rebuild revenue administration on the Mughal model, using measurement, revenue farming or a mixture of both. Second, all of them eventually faced the East India Company individually rather than collectively, which is why states as strong as Mysore and the Marathas were defeated one at a time.
✗ Eighteenth-century India was uniformly in economic decline | ✓ Many regional states were commercially prosperous; the decline was of central authority, not of all regions
Linkage: this topic connects directly to the British expansion chapter, where each of these states appears again as an opponent of the Company. Tipu's rockets link to Science and Technology, Jai Singh's Jantar Mantar to Art and Culture and to UNESCO listings, and the Sikh misls to the Punjab material in Modern India.
Exam pointer: usually one question, often on Mysore or the Sikhs, and frequently as a statement set. High-yield: who founded which state and when, Tipu's innovations, and Jai Singh's observatories. Traps: describing Hyderabad and Awadh as rebel states - they were successor states under Mughal governors; assuming Ranjit Singh struck coins in his own name; and dating the Khalsa to the eighteenth century rather than 1699.
FAQ
What is the difference between successor states and rebel states?
Successor states such as Hyderabad, Bengal and Awadh were Mughal provinces whose governors became hereditary rulers while formally accepting Mughal sovereignty. Rebel or new states such as the Maratha, Sikh and Jat polities were created in opposition to Mughal authority.
What made Mysore under Tipu Sultan distinctive?
Tipu modernised the army with European-style infantry drill and French officers, developed iron-cased rockets used in the Anglo-Mysore wars, promoted state trading and manufacture, sent embassies abroad, and introduced new coinage and a calendar. Mysore was the most modernising Indian state of the century.
Why did the regional states fail against the British?
They fought separately. The Company could concentrate its resources against one state at a time, use subsidiary alliances to neutralise others, and rely on superior finance, disciplined infantry and control of the sea. No lasting coalition of Indian powers was ever formed against it.
60-second recap
- Three types: successor states, rebel states and independent older kingdoms.
- Hyderabad 1724 by Nizam-ul-Mulk; Bengal under Murshid Quli Khan; Awadh 1722 by Saadat Khan.
- Marathas, Sikhs, Jats and Rohillas are the rebel or new states.
- Ranjit Singh unified Punjab in 1799; Khalsa was founded in 1699.
- Mysore under Haidar Ali and Tipu was the most modernising state; Srirangapatna fell in 1799.
- Sawai Jai Singh II built the Jantar Mantar observatories and founded Jaipur in 1727.
Now convert this into marks - attempt Mughal and Maratha questions from this chapter in the ExamAtlas UPSC Prelims mock test and see which chronologies you can hold under pressure.