55 After Aurangzeb -3
एक दुखी परिवार – 55
Farrukh Siyar (1713-1719):
Farrukh Siyar came to power with the help of Sayyid brothers, Abdullah Khan and Hussain Ali Khan Barha – the kingmakers.
They were given the office of the wazir and mirbakshi respectively. The two brothers soon acquired dominant control over the affairs of the state.
Farrukh was himself incapable of ruling and was easily influenced by the others. The Sayyid brothers were convinced that if the real authority were in their hands , the empire would be safeguarded from perishing. It was during the reign of Farrukh that Banda Bahadur the Sikh chief was captured and killed.
However the struggle for power between the emperor and the Sayyid brothers increased and the efforts of the emperor to overthrow the brothers failed repeatedly.
Finally it was Farrukh , who was deposed and killed in 1719.
Muhammad Shah (1719-48):
As successors Sayyid the brothers quickly raised two young princes, Rafi-ud-Darajat and Rafi-ud- Daula (Shah Jahan II) who died within months.
Finally Roshan Akhtar, the son of Jahan Shah was placed on the throne under the title of Muhammad Shah.
The Sayyid brothers followed a policy of religious tolerance. That was obviously to buttress Hindu sentiments.
They abolished the jizyah as well as the pilgrimage tax at many places. In order to maintain harmony, they advocated a policy of associating Hindu chiefs and nobles with Muslim nobles.
In their struggle against Farrukh Siyar, the Sayyid brothers sided with the Rajput’s and the Marathas.
Ajit Singh of Marwar and Jai Singh of Amber were won over by giving them high positions in the administration.
Alliance was made with Churaman Jat and later placated Shahu by granting him Shivaji’s swarajya and the right to collect the chauth and sardeshmukhi in six provinces of the Deccan. In return Shahu promised them help in the Deccan with fifteen thousand soldiers.
The efforts made by the Sayyid brothers did not yield great results because they were constantly faced with rival factions and conspiracies in the court.
The financial position of the empire was also dwindling as the rebellious elements refused to pay the land tax.
This led to increased indiscipline amongst the soldiers.
The hostile nobles united themselves under the leadership of Nizam-ul-Mulk of the Deccan.
Further the murder of Farrukh Siyar created a wave of terror and repulsion against the Sayyid brothers who were looked down upon as traitors.
They were branded as anti-Islamic for their tolerant policies. The anti-Sayyid nobles were strongly backed by Muhammad Shah who wanted to free himself from the hold of the brothers.
In 1720, Hussain Ali was killed by the rebellious nobles and Abdullah Khan died in 1722 after he was defeated at Agra.
This ended the rule of the Sayyid brothers in the Mughal Empire.
After the fall of the Sayyid brothers Muhammad Shah had a long reign (1719-48) to save the empire.
The Mughal rule was still held in high esteem by the people. The Mughal army especially the artillery was still the most important and dependable force; administration in northern India had deteriorated but not collapsed entirely.
The Maratha sardars were still confined to the south and the Rajput’s were loyal to the Mughals.
But Muhammad Shah was not a good ruler. His first Wazir after the fall of the Sayyid brothers was Muhammad Amin Khan. After his death Nizam-ul-Mulk was appointed the wazir in 1722. But instead of supporting Nizam, the emperor suspected his own ministers. The attempts to reform the administration proved futile and disgusted with the inability and fickle mindedness of the emperor the Nizam chose to pursue his own ambitions.
He gave up his office in 1724 and proceeded to the south and founded the state of Hyderabad.
He was the most pleasure-loving ruler of loose morals and is therefore called Muhammad Shah ‘Rangila’. After the fall of Sayyid brothers he fell into the clutches of a dancing girl Koki Jiu and the eunuch Hafiz Khidmatgar Khan.
The already declining Mughal Empire received another fatal blow when the Persian monarch, Nadir Shah invaded India in 1738-39.
Nadir Shah was attracted to India by her fabulous wealth for which she was famous. The bankrupt Persian Empire found an easy prey in the weak Mughal rule with loose defences on the north-west frontier and used this as a golden opportunity.
The disunity amongst the nobles too proved an added advantage for the invaders. The two armies met at Karnal in 1739 and the Mughals suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of Nadir Shah. Emperor Muhammad Shah was taken prisoner and Nadir Shah marched on to Delhi.
He plundered the royal treasury at his own pleasure and carried back the immense wealth from India.
He carried away with him the famous Koh-i-Noor diamond and the jewel studded Peacock throne of Shahjahan.
Nadir Shah’s invasion inflicted a heavy damage on the Mughal Empire and its dwindling image suffered a severe blow.
The invasion affected the imperial finances and the economic life of the people adversely. Ahmad Shah Abdali, the successor of Nadir Shah invaded the kingdom for the first time during Muhammad Shah’s reign in 1748.
Ahmad Shah Abdali was defeated at Manpur by Ahmad Shah, the Mughal heir-apparent and Mir Mannu, the son of the deceased wazir Qamruddin.
Cont. .)
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