Contemporary polity of the 18th Century and disintegration of the Mughal Empire.
The edifice of the Mughal central structure began to fragment into many small independent, semi- independent and autonomous states in the 18th century with Aurangzeb’s misguided policies and weak later Mughals.
Reasons For the Fragmentation
Fall of the Mughals: Aurangzeb’s misguided policies led to weakening of the Mughal Empire After his death, there were weak rulers and wars of succession. This led to the nobles breaking away and establishing their own kingdoms.
External Challenges: In the absence of internal strength, the Mughals were unable to withstand Persian and Afghan invasions (Nadir Shah in 1739 and Ahmad Shah Abdali in 1748-67) which led to the collapse of their empire.
Emergence of Successor States: Muhammad Shah’s reign witnessed the emergence of the independent states of Awadh, Bengal and Hyderabad, they exercised autonomy and never formally severed their links with the Centre.
Rise of insurgents and rebels: The ongoing conflict between the insurgent states like Mughals, Marathas, and Afghans led to the third Battle of Panipat.
Rise of Independent Kingdoms: Mysore, Kerala, and the Rajput states emerged as a result of the breakdown of Mughal power over the provinces.
Interference of Europeans: European Companies like the Dutch, the English and the French further complicated the political scenario.
In this middle of the eighteenth century, regional instability and political fragmentation were serious challenges on the Indian subcontinent. All these created prime opportunities for the British to take over India and engage in large scale ‘Drain of Wealth’