CHAPTER 10 EIGHTEENTH CENTURY POLITICAL FORMATIONS KEY WORDS a) Subadari : was the highest revenue official in the Mughal Empire. b) Dal khalsa : was the grand army of Sikh jathas, raised by the tenth Guru Gobind Singh, to fight against the Mughals. c) misl : a smaller band of Sikh warriors, within a Sikh jatha. d) Faujdari: was a post of Mughal military administration given to a noble. e) Ijaradari : was a new variation in the jagirdari system. Under it a group of farmers were contracted out to a middle men, for collection of revenue from them. a) Chauth : was 25 per cent of land revenue claimed by the Marathas f) Sardeshmukhi : Nine to ten per cent of the land revenue levied by the Marathas, and paid to the head revenue collector. Q1 Match the following b) Subadar : provincial governor c) Faujdar : a Mughal military commander g) Ijaradar : a revenue farmer d) Misl : a band of Sikh warriors e) Chauth : tax levied by the Marathas f) Kunbis : a Maratha peasant warrior g) Umara: a high noble Q2. Fill in the blanks: a) Aurangzeb fought a protracted war in the Deccan. b) Umara and jagirdars constituted powerful sections of the Mughal revenue system c) Asaf Jah was given charge of the Deccan subadari in Hyderabad 10x10learning.com Page 1
d) The founder of the Awadh nawabi was Burhan-ul-mulk Sa adat Khan. Q3. State whether true or false: a) Nadir Shah invaded Bengal. False b) Sawai Raja Jai Singh was the ruler of Indore. False c) Guru Gobind Singh was the tenth Guru of the Sikhs. True d) Poona became the capital of the Marathas in the eighteenth century. True Q4. What were the offices held by Sa adat Khan? Answer. All the three offices of political, financial and military administration, subadar ( political) diwani,(financial) and faudari (military ) were held by Sa adat Khan in Awadh, from 1722. Q5. Why did the Nawabs of Awadh and Bengal try to do away with the jagirdari system? Answer. The Nawabs of Awadh and Bengal tried to reduce the number of jagirdars and the size of the jagirdari to increase their influence, and to reduce cost of salary paid to the multiple officials. Q6. How were the Sikhs organised in the eighteenth century? Answer. The Sikhs were organised as jathas of warriors, comprising of smaller units called misl. All the jathas together comprised the dal Khalsa, or the grand army. The dal khalsa would meet in Amritsar, on Baisakhi and Diwali to take collective decisions called resolutions of the Guru or gurumat. The Sikh also imposed a tax of 20 per cent of the produce to peasants, in return for protection to cultivators. This was called the rakhi system. Q7. Why did the Marathas want to expand beyond the Deccan? 10x10learning.com Page 2
Answer. The Marathas, under Shivaji, had successfully challenged the Mughals in the Deccan. They had developed a very successful military organisation, that needed more tax resources for its upkeep. Therefore, they wanted to expand beyond Deccan to secure more wealth and political power. For this they avoided the Mughal fortified towns and attacked the weaker areas. After defeating the provincial rulers, they did not annex their kingdoms. Instead they made them pay regular tributes in gold and grains, thereby accepting Marathas, as a sovereign power. Q8. What were the policies adopted by Asaf Jah to strengthen his position? Answer. Asaf Jah was the subadar for the Deccan province of Hyderabad. He concentrated all administrative power in his own hands. To neutralise the competition among the mughal nobles in his court, he brought skilled administrators and soldiers from the northern parts of the empire, and appointed them as jagirdars in the Deccan. Hyderabad was engaged in wars with the Marathas and the Telugu nayakas. He tried to control the rich textile producing areas of the Coromondal coast in the east. Q9. Do you think merchants and bankers today have the kind of influence they had in the eighteenth century? Answer. Yes. The merchants and bankers in the eighteenth century gave loans to traders and peasants at high rates of interest, after keeping their lands as security. Today also, many family based bankers have continued their interest based financing businesses. They have flourished because they are more accessible and their procedure is very simplified. Even after more than six decades after Independence, the local merchants and bankers are the only source of finance in rural areas. This is because the regular banking system is 10x10learning.com Page 3
yet to reach most rural areas, and even where it has reached, their procedures are lengthy, and corrupt practices exist. Source : Pictures downloaded from the internet. Note : For map of full extension of Maratha empire see page 6 Image of painting of Shivaji s court Capital Raigad, Later Sataraand Pune Languages Marathi, Sanskrit [1] Religion Hinduism Government Monarchy Chattrapathi - 1674 1680 Shivaji (first) 10x10learning.com Page 4
- 1808 1818 Pratapsingh (last) Peshwa Maratha coin - 1674 1689 Moropant Pingle (first) - 1795 1818 Baji Rao II (last) Maratha Kingdom, Chatrapati Shivaji. (1674-1680 ) Paisa, Quarter Paisa and Silver Pagoda 10x10learning.com Page 5
Coin of Sikh kingdom Map of Extension of the Mughal Empire from Akbar to Aurangzeb - 1707 10x10learning.com Page 6
Map indicting extension of control of British over Marathas and the last Mughals as in 1806 10x10learning.com Page 7
Maratha Empire after death of Aurangzeb in 1707 10x10learning.com Page 8
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Sikh kingdom on map of India Ranjit Singh Maharaj 10x10learning.com Page 10
Sikh coin Mahasthangarh the oldest archaeological site of Bengla is of 700 BC, is presently in Bangladesh Map of Bengal province and other Deccan kingdoms 10x10learning.com Page 11
Map showing regional kingdom 10x10learning.com Page 12