Clarify how mid-eighteenth century India was beset with the spectre of a fragmented polity.

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Ghissu Editorial · Accepted Answer

Mid-eighteenth century India was a fragmented polity because the Mughal centre survived only as a symbol while successor states, rebel kingdoms, invaders and European companies competed for its legacy. Hyderabad, Awadh and Bengal became hereditary kingdoms, and Nadir Shah's sack of Delhi in 1739 exposed the hollow centre.

**Introduction**

A saying of Shah Alam II's reign (from 1759) mocked that his empire ran only "from Delhi to Palam". Within half a century of Aurangzeb's death in 1707, Mughal authority had dissolved into autonomous provinces, rebel kingdoms and foreign footholds.

**Political Map Broken into Rival States**

FIGURE: map-history-p39-0 | Rise of Regional States in 18th Century

1. **Successor states**: Governors made provinces hereditary, with Nizam-ul-Mulk in Hyderabad after 1724, Saadat Khan in Awadh and Alivardi Khan in Bengal, all nominally loyal to Delhi.
2. **Rebel states**: The Marathas, the Sikh misls, the Jats under Suraj Mal and the Rohillas rose by fighting the Mughals.
3. **Independent kingdoms**: Mysore under Haidar Ali and Travancore under Martanda Varma owed nothing to Delhi.
4. **A divided confederacy**: The Marathas themselves split among the Peshwa, Sindhia, Holkar, Gaekwad and Bhonsle.

**Forces That Deepened the Fragmentation**

1. **Invasions**: Nadir Shah's sack of Delhi (1739) and Ahmad Shah Abdali's raids culminating at Panipat (1761) drained the centre.
2. **Jagirdari crisis**: Satish Chandra traces the collapse to a shortage of jagirs for a swelling nobility, which spread revenue farming and court factions.
3. **European rivalry**: The Carnatic Wars (1746-63) and Plassey (1757) let the English and French exploit succession disputes.
4. **Revisionist caveat**: Muzaffar Alam and C.A. Bayly show that Awadh and Bengal prospered, so the break-up was political, not economic.

**Conclusion**

Mid-eighteenth century India was fragmented because the Mughal centre survived only as a symbol while regional powers, invaders and trading companies competed for its legacy, a vacuum that opened the door to the Company.

Clarify how mid-eighteenth century India was beset with the spectre of a fragmented polity.

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