Explain critically the Deccan Policy of Aurangzeb. To what extent can it be held responsible for the downfall of the Mughal Empire.
Aurangzeb ascended the throne of Mughal Empire in 1658 and ruled till 1707 A.D. He was an ambitious and imperialistic emperor who wanted to extend his empire by capturing the kingdoms of Deccan. After his accession to the throne he remained preoccupied with the political problems of northern Indian so he could not pay attention to the problems of Deccan. After consolidating his empire in the north he directed his attention towards the Deccan. There were two important states in the Deccan which were Bijapur and Golkunda. Aurangzeb followed the policy of conquering these two states :
Causes of Deccan Expedition : Aurangzeb led Deccan expedition for following reasons :
i) The rulers of the Deccan states were Shia where as Aurangzeb was a Sunni ruler. He did not like the non-Sunni and non-Muslims. He was not ready to tolerate the Shia rulers of Deccan.
ii) The Deccan states were very rich. They had huge wealth and their treasury was filled with gold, silver and precious stones. Aurangzeb decided to crush their power and plunder the weath of Deccan.
iii) The Deccan states were always a serious problem for the integration of Mughal power. The Shia rulers of Deccan gave military assistance to Shivaji against the Mughals. So Aurangzeb decided to supress the Deccan states.
iv) The Shia states of the Deccan paid homage to the Shah of Persia as he was the follower of Shia sect. Thus Aurangzeb felt humiliated and decided to crush the Deccan rulers.
Policy towards Bijapur: Bijapur was ruled by Ali Adil Shah who had strengthened his kingdom against the Mughals. Aurangzeb sent Raja Jai Singh against Bijapur but the forces of Bijapur adopted guerrilla tactics and repulsed the Mughal forces. But Raja Jai Singh continued his expedition against Bijapur but Bijapur concluded a treaty with Golkunda against the Mughals. Consequently, Raja Jai Singh failed to achieve any success and passed away in 1666 A.D In the meantime Bijapur's King Ali Adil Shah passed away in 1672 and his infant child Sikandar Adil Shah succeeded to the throne. In this situation the Mughal Viceroy Bahadur Khan invaded Bijapur in 1676 A.D. but failed in his attempt. Consequently, Aurangzeb became annoyed and invaded Bijapur in 1685 and kept the fort of Bijapur under siege for about one and half year. Lastly, the Bijapur forces surrendered in 1686 A.D. and Bijapur was annexed to Mughal Empire and Sikandar Adil Shah was granted a Mansab and pension of rupees one lakh annually.
Policy towards Golkunda :
i) Golkunda was another important state of Deccan. It was ruled by Shia ruler Abul Hasan who had captured the throne after the death of Abdulla Qutb Khan.
ii) During the invasion of Bijapur, the ruler of Golkunda had helped Bijapur against the Mughals.
iii) Aurangzeb did not like the cordial relations between Maratha ruler Sambhaji and the Shia ruler of Golkunda.
iv) The Prime Minister of Golkunda was Madonna Pandit who assumed maximum power. Aurangzeb could not tolerate the dominancy of Hindu in Golkunda.
v) The treasury of Golkunda was very huge and Aurangzeb wanted to occupy the whole treasury. So he invaded Golkunda in 1678 A.D.
Aurangzeb invaded Golkunda :
Aurangzeb encircled Golkunda in 1678 A.D. and the siege lasted for about eight months. Aurangzeb felt that it was not possible to conquer the fort easily so he bribed the gatekeeper Abdullah Bani who opened the gate of the fort at night. Consequently, the Mughal forces entered into the fort and slained the soldiers and captured the treasurer house. Sultan Abul Hassan, tried to flee but he was captured and imprisoned in the fort of Daulatabad. Aurangzeb annexed Golkunda to the Mughal Empire.
Policy towards the Marathas: Aurangzeb wanted to conquer Maratha kingdom and for this purpose he had to wage war for about 20 years but he realised that the Marathas were very capable people who caused the disintegration of Mughal Empire. The Marathas openly attacked the Mughal lines of communication and supplies. Besides, the Maratha rulers were coffecting various kinds of taxes from the people of Mughal territory. Besides, Bijapur and Golkunda were also supporting the Marathas against the Mughal rule. After the death of Shivaji, his son Sambhaji became the king. The Mughal forces attempted to suppress the Maratha kingdom but failed in their attempt. Lastly, the Mughals were bound to establish cordial relations with the Maratha kingdom.
Deccan ulcer ruined Aurangzeb : The attempt of Aurangzeb in conquering the Deccan states ended in failure because he set-up his authority there but failed to provide efficient system of administration. The Deccan expedition hollowed Aurangzeb from within. The Deccan policy of Aurangzeb proved 1 be a complete failure. He had exhausted his valuable resources and time in suppressing the Deccan problems but he failed in achieving any fruitful results. That is why some historians have commented that just as Napoleon was ruined by his Spanish campaign similarly Aurangzeb was ruined by his Deccan campaign. According to V.A.Smith the Deccan had not only proved a graveyard for his body but also for his empire.
Consequences of Deccan Policy : The Deccan Policy of Aurangzeb proved to be a complete failure. Its consequences are as follows:
i) The Deccan policy of Aurangzeb not only exhausted the resources of Mughal Empire but also caused irreparable losses of Mughal forces and able commanders.
ii) The battles fought in Deccan caused the destruction of agriculture and food grain. Trade and commerce was devastated and the country was crippled from economic standpoint.
iii) The Mughal army suffered losses in men and materials. They were badly defeated by the forces of Bijapur and Golkunda. Many important military officials were killed in Deccan campaign.
iv) Since Aurangzeb was thoroughly involved in wars in Deccan for about 25 years, it had broken the backbone of administrative structure of Mughal empire.
All these factors contributed to the downfall of Mughal Empire.
