Deccan Policy of Later Mughals

Deccan is an area of great significance and an integral part of India. During Mughal period, the region of Deccan played a significant place as number of new forces continuously emerged in this region. Hence, Mughal had to formulate a proper Deccan policy which brought number of gain and serious losses to Mughal empire.

Babur established Mughal empire in c. 1526 after defeating Ibrahim Lodhi at the Battle of Panipat. After that number of changes were brought by Mughals in state system in India. Babur lived for short-period of time after establishing empire and Humayun was struggled for empire for so many years and finally conquered Sur empire in c. 1555 but he died very next year and hence, both Babur and Humayun got little time for brought changes in state system. It was Akbar who consolidated the empire and brought number of changes in state system and he was the first to formulate a proper policy and his successors follows his footsteps.

Also Read : Deccan Policy of Early Mughals

Religious Policy of Emperor Akbar

Religious Policy of Mughals after Akbar

Deccan policy of Jahangir

Jahangir, son of Emperor Akbar, continued the policy of his father but he got little success in extending the Mughal territories to Deccan. The main reason of this was Malik Amber who was appointed as prime minister of Ahmednagar, who repeatedly challenged the authority of Mughals when they tried to extend in Deccan. Malik amber considered as one of ablest administrators in the history of India.

He started Guerilla warfare against Mughals. Under the leadership of Malik Amber, Ahmednagar continuously declared independence from Mughals and hence, Mughals had to keep fighting against him. But in c. 1621, Ahmednagar was finally subjugated and made a part of Mughal Empire and after that it remained part of empire.

Deccan Policy of Shah Jahan

Shah Jahan followed the policy of direct annexation of Deccan states. He served as Governor of Deccan for a long time and hence, he was aware of the Geo-politics of the Deccan. He first annexed the state of Ahmednagar in c. 1636. After that Bijapur and Golconda were made to accept the Mughal suzerainty. Thus, after that region remained peaceful for remaining period and Mughals to get continued benefits from Deccan economically and strategically as well. 

Deccan Policy of Aurangzeb

During the reign of Aurangzeb, Marathas emerged as major power in Deccan and under the leadership of Shivaji they emerged as dominant power in Deccan. Aurangzeb failed to understand the strategic significance of Marathas and committed number if serious mistakes like capturing Shivaji when he came to Agra. He annexed Bijapur in c. 1689 and Golconda in c. 1687 as he believed that both these states were providing assistant to Shivaji.

In c. 1689, Sambhaji was captured by Aurangzeb and executed by him. This was the climax of the success of Mughal in Deccan. The decision of execution of Sambhaji proved to be a blunder it turned the challenge fatal one which exhausted Aurangzeb.

Decani Ulcer and Aurangzeb

Ulcer refers to wound that turns fatal due to negligence and mishandling. Here it used for situation arises before Mughal during the reign of Aurangzeb. It was the actions of Aurangzeb which made the situation worse because challenge of Mughals was not very serious till Sambhaji was alive but the execution of Sambhaji triggered revolts against Mughals.

The execution of Sambhaji resulted in the emergence of sense of nationalism among Marathas and hence, they started fighting against Mughals for Swaraj (self-ruled nation). Marathas were well trained in Guerilla warfare and Mughals were invincible in face-to-face battle and hence, Marathas avoided face-to-face battle and adopted Guerilla warfare to fight against Mughals. Thus, Aurangzeb had to fight against Marathas for his remaining ruling period (till c. 1707).

Impact of Deccan Ulcer or Aurangzeb’s Deccan Policy on Mughal Empire

Due to inappropriate policy of Aurangzeb, Mughal empire had to face number of serious impacts which eventually resulted in downfall of empire. The challenge of Marathas turned to be costly for Mughals as in fighting against Mughals, loss of men and materials was uncountable. It increases financial burden of empire. The loss of prestige was the biggest loss of Mughals. The myth of invincibility of Mughal was shattered by Marathas.

Other parts of empire also started to rose in rebel and many revolts like Jats, Satnamis etc. were seen during this period. The administration system of Mughals become ineffective with time because Aurangzeb remained busy for almost two decades in Deccan. He appointed large number of Mansabdars to counter Maratha’s challenge but they didn’t get Jagirs on time which resulted in Jagirdari crisis. The Jagirdari crisis also played a significant role in the decline of Mughals.