Some of the Reasons for the Decline of the Muslim Rule in the Subcontinent

Here are given few of the apparent reasons which were crucial in devastating the glory of Muslim Rule in the Subcontinent, which initially led to the Britishers to take over and then the Muslims of the Subcontinent to go down the dark alleys.
The decline of the Muslims in the Subcontinent was unavoidable because of some major inevitable circumstances which led to the downfall of the Muslim Rule. The Muslims became loose and negligent in all aspects of life. Because of these multifaceted reasons, the Muslims were easily dominated by the Britishers. We can view the decline of Muslim Rule as follows: Political Causes There were many major political reasons for the Muslims downfall. Some of them are: Weak government The Muslims had grown much weaker in their political conduct. There was a great dispute between the Mughal Emperor and his sons for the ascension to the throne. They were more involved in gaining land-rule than to look upon their ways critically. Bahadur Shah Zafar was exiled by the Britishers out in the Rangoon because of disunity within his subordinates and their disloyalty. The weak administrative policies gave way to the Britishers to consolidate their hegemony over the land. Loss of faith by the people The people of the subcontinent lost their faith in the rule of the Muslims because of the conduct of the Muslim Rulers. They cared for their own personal comfort than to look into the matters concerning the common man. The rule became unjust when the problems of the people were taken eye-off from. This created a kind of resentment within the people against the Muslim Rule.

Disunity and disloyalty bringing Britishers strong hold The resentment of the people led them to be angry against the Muslim Rule and this caused them in return to be neglectful of their duties and responsibilities. They became enemies against each other and were disintegrated. The Britishers seized upon this high chance of disunity among the

people and played successfully upon their policy of divide and rule. So, from the ruling class, the Muslims were trembled down to the ruled class. They were oppressed and quelled by the Britishers who were more into the promotion of any other group than the Muslims. Hindus gaining Britishers Loyalty This situation was taken advantageously by the Hindus who were already against the Muslims from the centuries old enmity. They were put on front and given priority over the Muslims simply because they played good pawns of the British. They were given many high government posts and positions. Social Causes Lack of Education Since the Muslims were more into pleasure seeking than understanding the world and its ways, they suffered a great set back as a result. They knew Persian only and were afraid to learn English or any European language because they considered it a kind of threat against their moral values and religion. The Britishers made English a compulsory official language of the Subcontinent and the Muslims were drawn further backwards because they were not coping up with the current circumstances. The Hindus were better off because they wanted to enjoy respectable status in the eyes of the British and learnt their ways and intellect through acquiring modern education.

Lack of military equipments The Muslims were far behind in the new modern technology of weaponry and they lagged in the military equipments required to fight against the Britishers who had all the modern means to defeat the Muslims. As a result, the decline of the Muslim rule was inevitable and took place very easily as the Britishers had wanted. Lack of unity The Muslims were already divided into many religious sects and spheres and this was even further exploited by the Britishers. The Muslims were almost numbed when they saw such a huge and highly organized system of the Britishers. They found themselves in small units and disintegrated. Economical Causes Not participating in the trade

The Britishers were much successful against their rivals with the establishment of East India Company through which they consolidated and confirmed their rule over the subcontinent. The Muslims were more into luxuries than earning their bread and butter through some proper work. The Hindus were successful in trade and their economic condition boomed prosperously as compared to the Muslims who found themselves in poverty.

Poverty due to lack of work The poverty among the Muslims grew enthrallingly high because they were not willing to work at smaller wages or at small posts. They demanded high amount which was not possible to be met with affirmation. The Hindus on the other hand, were working at all the smaller posts and even at the higher ones on the basis of their supremacy they had in education as compared to the Muslim masses. Lacking skills to earn a higher status The Muslims were against the modern education and because the Muslim Rulers were oblivious of the development the Western world had acquired, the Muslim people suffered harshly. They lacked skills to make use of them and to make a better lot of their plight. The Muslims because of their sensuous pleasure seeking and negligence in their political situation had to lose an upper hand and became subjugated to the Britishers who were cunning and knew how to establish their rule through penetrating deeply and spoiling the Muslims by keeping them unaware of their strengths. The Muslim Rule was lost because of the irresponsibility and insincerity of the Muslim leaders, who caused people to lose their faith in their abilities and to lose all hopes of success. The Muslim Rule under such situations had to come to a deplorable end.

Q.1. What are the causes of the Downfall of Muslim Society? Causes of Decline of Muslim Society By the opening of the eighteenth century when Europe was ruled by Strong monarchies and the European merchant communities were well on the read to prosperity the Muslim powers everywhere showed a rapid decline. The empire of the Muslims began to weaken rapidly after the death of the great Emperor Alamgir-I in 1707. The causes of the decline and disintegration of the empire is generally regarded as the weakness of the successors of Alamgir-I but really the loss of feeling of solidarity among the Muslims was one of the principal causes of Muslims decadence. The unity of faith gave a unity of feeling to the Muslims. It was this sense of

belonging to the same faith that enabled this numerically small minority to rule the teeming millions of the non-Muslim population. Various historians have arrived at the following main causes of the disintegration of the Muslim Society in Indo-Pakistan.

1. Weak Successors of Aurangzeb The successors of Auranzeb were incapable, worthless and unsuited to the job of Kingship. Most of them were devoted to merry making and neglected the affairs of the state. They left their work to their Wazirs who eventually became all powerful.

2. Vastness of the Empire During the reign of Aurangzeb the Muslim Empire had become very vast and unwiedly. It became practically impossible for one ruler to control far flung provinces without any effective means of communication and transport.

3. Absence of a Definite Law of Succession There was no definite law of primogeniture. Consequently a war of succession was the only means to decide the successor of an Emperor. According to Erskine, "The sword was the grand arbiter of right and every son was prepared to try his fortune against his brothers." The result was that widespread bloodshed weakened the foundations of the Empire and provided opportunities to other adventures to interfere in the matters of state.

4. Deterioration of Morality of Mughal Emperors With the passage of time the character of the Muslim Emperors deteriorated quickly. Babur, Humayun, Akbar, Jehangir, Shah Jahan and Aurangzeb were all physically very strong. Some of them were reckless drinkers while the others were fond of women. Deterioration of character of the rulers expedited the disintegration of the Mughal Empire.

5. Degeneration of Nobility The character of the Rulers nobility also degenerated with their rulers. Abundance of wealth, leisure and luxury rendered them inefficient and incompetent. This affected the administration of the State.

6. Deterioration of Army Hot climate, abundance of wealth and comforts deteriorated the standards of Mughal army. The soldiers became easy going with the result that by the 18th century they began to avoid the hardships of battlefields. The invasions of Nadir Shah and Ahmed Shah Abdali demolished the army. The soldiers lost their ancestral confidence of victories. The army ceased to be what it had been; a terror for the enemies. The invaders plundered the country at will. Demoralized army could not keep the provinces together.

7. Intellectual Bankruptcy The latter Muslim Rulers and nobility suffered from intellectual bankruptcy because there was no proper system of education in the country. Lack of proper training resulted in the production of rulers who were not competent to face the challenges of their jobs.

8. Mughal Rule Alien, to Indian Soil The Mughals had come from the countries of Central Asia. They brought their own culture and customs to Indo-Pakistan. The demands of their religion clashed with the tenets of Hinduism. Thus, the alien Mughal rule remained different throughout and could not provide homogeneous nature to all the castes, creeds and religious of the Sub-Continent.

9. Corrupt Administration

With the weakening of the hold of the rulers the Muslim administration became corrupt. The ministers, courtiers, nobles and officials accepted bribes. Such a situation weakened the foundations of the Muslim Society.

10. Stoppage of Adventures from Persia, Afghanistan and Turkistan The Muslim leaders with the passage of time became habitual of luxurious living. There was a dearth of good administration and fighters. Previously this vacuum was filled by adventures from neighboring states. The stoppage of their influx resulted in deterioration of military and civil standards.

11. Invasions of Nadir Shah and Ahmed Shah Abdali The invasions of Nadir Shah (1739) and Ahmed Shah Abdali (1754-67) not only exposed the hollowness of the Muslim rulers but also created a stale of anarchy in the country. Such situation proved ideal for the rise of Marathas and Sikhs as new powers.

12. Aurangzeb's Policy in Deccan Aurangzeb spent the last 25 years of his rule in the Deccan. Continuous fighting told upon the efficiency and the morale of the army. The conquest of Bijapur and Golkonda finished the two states which served as a check to the Marathas.

13. Absence of Naval Power The Muslim rulers did not develop their Navy whereas the European nations possessed modern naval fleets. It proved a weak point of the rulers when they had to fight the British and the Portuguese.

14. Plight of the Common People and Peasants

The condition of the common people and Peasants worsened in the 17th and 18th centuries. Bad economic conditions led to discontentment among the classes which resulted in uprisings like the revolts of Satnamis, Jats and Sikhs.

15. Rise of Marathas Second half of the 17th century saw the growth of Maratha nationalism. Later on in the 18th century they were able to extend their influence to Delhi. The emergence of Maralha power contributed to the downfall of Muslim rule.

16. Rise of Sikhs Rise of Sikhs in the 18th century was another factor which contributed to the downfall of the Muslim Society. After the death of Aurangzeb the weak Muslim rulers could not check the emergence of Sikhs as a power in Punjab. During the reign of Jahandar Shah (1712-13) and Farrukhsiyar (1713-19) Banda Bahadur (the Sikh Leader) captured Sirhindi and killed its Governor Wazir Khan. The rise of Sikhs also contributed to the downfall of Muslim Society.

17. Rise of Hindus of Rajputana The religious policy of Aurangzeb was not liberal like his predecessors. Besides he re-imposed Jazia on the Hindus. These acts created certain doubts in the minds of Hindus. Especially the Rajputs of Mewar and Marwar fought a prolonged war against the Muslim. Thus, they were deprived of the services of their centuries old friends.

18. Backwardness in Science and Technology The rulers failed to keep pace with the developments in science and

technology. Thus they could not equip their army with the latest weapons. As a result they could not effectively face the European nations in the battles of Plassey and Buxer which ultimately decided the tale of the country.

19. Advent of English East India Company The advent of Europeans like Portuguese and the English is an event of great significance in the Muslim rule. The Portuguese and the British (The English East India Company) came in the guise of traders but developed factories and forts which ultimately became centre of their subversive activities. Their clever maneuverings and the weaknesses of the Muslim Rulers enabled the British to seize control of the country by 1857.