QUESTION 2
GS1
10 marks
Clarify how mid-eighteenth century India was beset with the spectre of a fragmented polity.
WRITE IN
7 min
150 words
What the examiner wants
Clarify how the decline of Mughal authority by the mid-1700s left India divided among rival powers.
ClarifyAnswer exactly what the question asks.
Demand-wise check
- 1Mughal decline after 1707: wars of succession, jagirdari crisis, weak emperors, court factions≈20 words
- 2Successor states: Hyderabad (Nizam-ul-Mulk, 1724), Bengal (Murshid Quli Khan), Awadh (Saadat Khan); new states: Marathas, Sikh misls, Jats, Rohillas, Mysore≈20 words
- 3External blows: Nadir Shah (1739), Ahmad Shah Abdali, Third Battle of Panipat (1761)≈20 words
- 4Outcome: no paramount power; Europeans exploit rivalry (Carnatic wars, Plassey 1757)≈20 words
- 5Nuance: revisionists see regional vitality, not just chaos≈20 words
Open in about 20 words and close in about 20.
Answer plan
Mughal declineRegional and new statesForeign invasionsEuropean openingNuanceConclusion
Where marks usually go
- Only listing states without showing the fragmentation logic
- Ignoring the 'dark age vs regional vitality' debate
Draw this
- Map of India c. 1750 showing successor and new states
Value addition
- EventNadir Shah's 1739 sack of Delhi took away the Peacock Throne and exposed Mughal weakness.Historical record
- ThinkerMuzaffar Alam argued the 18th century saw regional consolidation, not mere collapse.Muzaffar Alam, The Crisis of Empire in Mughal North India, 1986
Mapped topper copies
Reviewed public-source references related to this PYQ. Same-syllabus references are labelled separately.
- Ajay R Raj · AIR 109 · Page 5 ↗Same syllabus reference
- Akansh Dhull · AIR 3 · Page 23 ↗Same syllabus reference
- Monika Srivastava · AIR 16 · Page 3 ↗Same syllabus reference
- Ajay R Raj · AIR 109 · Page 3 ↗Same syllabus reference
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