Class 7 History Chapter 10
Chapter 10, Eighteenth-Century Political Formations
1. Match the following
Subadar Provincial governor
Faujdar A Mughal military commander
Ijaradar A revenue farmer
Misl A band of Sikh warriors
Chauth Tax levied by the Marathas
Kunbis Maratha peasant warriors
Umara A high noble
2. Fill in the blanks.
(a) Aurangzeb fought a protracted war in the Deccan.
(b) Umara and jagirdars constituted powerful sections of the Mughal administration.
(c) Asaf Jah founded the Hyderabad state in 1724.
(d) The founder of the Awadh state was Burhan-ul-mulk-Sa’adat Khan.
3. State whether true or false.
(a) Nadir Shah invaded Bengal.
(b) Sawai Raja Jai Singh was the ruler of Indore.
(c) Guru Gobind Singh was the tenth Guru of the Sikhs.
(d) Poona became the capital of the Marathas in the eighteenth century.
Answer: (a) False
(b) False
(c) True
(d) True
4. Answer the following questions-
1. What were the offices held by Sa’adat Khan?
Answer: The offices held by Sa’adat Khan were subadari, faujdari and diwani.
2. 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 do away with the jagirdari system because they
wanted to prevent cheating as well as decrease the Mughal influence in their kingdoms. The Nawab of
Awadh reduced the size of jagirs, and appointed his own loyal servants to vacant positions and in
Bengal, Murshid Quli Khan transferred all Mughal jagirdars to Orissa and ordered a major reassessment
of the revenues of Bengal.
3. How were the Sikhs organised in the eighteenth century?
Answer-
Under a number of able leaders in the eighteenth century, the Sikhs organized themselves into
a number of bands called jathas, and later on misls. Their combined forces were known as the
grand army (dal khalsa).
The entire body used to meet at Amritsar at the time of Baisakhi and Diwali to take collective
decisions known as “resolutions of the Guru (gurmatas)” .
A system called rakhi was introduced, offering protection to cultivators on the payment of a tax
of 20 per cent of the produce.
4. Why did the Marathas want to expand beyond the Deccan?
Answer: The Marathas wanted to expand beyond the Deccan in order to decrease the Mughal influence.
Between 1720 and 1761, the Maratha Empire expanded. By the 1720s, they seized Malwa and Gujarat
from the Mughals, and by the 1730s, the Maratha King was recognised as the overlord of the entire
Deccan peninsula.
5. What were the policies adopted by Asaf Jah to strengthen his position?
Answer- Nizam-ul-Mulk Asaf Jah, the founder of the kingdom of Hyderabad, was a strong member of the
Mughal Emperor Farrukhsiyar’s court. To strengthen his position Asaf Jah brought skilled soldiers and
administrators from northern India. He also appointed mansabdars and granted jagirs. Although still a
servant of the Mughal emperor he ruled independently without seeking any direction from Delhi or
facing any interference.
6. Which foreign invaders came in the middle of the economic and political crisis in 1739?
Answer:
In the middle of the economic and political crisis, the ruler of Iran, Nadir Shah, attacked and
plundered the city of Delhi in 1739.
He took away immense amount of wealth.
A series of plundering raids by the Afghan ruler Ahmad Shah Abdali occurred afterwards. He
invaded north India five times between 1748 and 1761.
7. Who were the Peshwas, Deshmukhs and Kunbis?
Answer:
Peshwas were the principal minister who served as successors of Shivaji. They were the Chitpavan
Brahmanas. Deshmukhs were the powerful warrior families and the Kunbis were the peasant
pastoralists who were the backbones of Maratha Army.
8. How was Jat power established?
Answer:
The Jats consolidated their power during the late 17th and 18th century. Under the leadership of
Churaman they acquired control over territories to the west of Delhi. By the 1680’s they dominated the
region between Delhi and Agra. For some time they controlled the city of Agra.
9. What were the causes for the decline of Mughal Empire?
Answer- The causes for the decline of Mughal Empire
Frequent wars and rebellions depleted the resources of Aurangzeb.
Too many fronts to meet the challenge of foreign invasion.
Aurangzeb's policies made Marathas, Sikhs, Rajputs and Jats his enemies.
Many states stopped sending annual tributes and this led to loss of revenue.
Luxurious lifestyle of the Mughals in spite of depleting treasury made them bankrupt.
The later Mughals were too weak to keep the empire united. They became puppets in the hands
of powerful nobles.
Lack of clear succession rules led to bloody wars among the successors.
Explain the terms or names in one or two sentences-
Aurangzeb – He was the last of the Great Mughals spent 25 years of his rule fighting wars in the
Deccan.
Sayyid Brothers – During the reign of Jahandar Shah, two of his nobles, known as Sayyid rothers,
became king makers who played an important part in politics and put people of their choice on
the throne.
Nadir shah – He was the ruler of Persia, invaded India in 1739 during the rule of Muhammad
Shah. He plundered Delhi and took back with him the famous Kohinoor diamond and Peacock
throne besides other valuables.
Ahmad Shah Abdali – In 1748, Ahmad Shah Abdali, his successor, attacked India and repeatedly
invaded India over the next few years. He gave a crushing defeat to the Marathas in 1761 in
the Third Battle of Panipat.
Murshid Quli Khan – The governor of Bengal took advantage of the declining power of the
Mughals. He seized power and became independent of Delhi.
Saadat Khan – In 1722, he was appointed as the governor under Muhammad Shah. Saadat
Khan Burhan-ul-Mulk founded Awadh as an autonomous state.
Chin Quilich Khan - He was the founder of Hyderabad, a powerful noble in the court of Farrukh
Siyar and Muhammad Shah. He was the made the governor of the Deccan and was given the
titles of Nizam ul Mulk and Asaf jah.
Chauth – It was a daily tax or tribute levied on the Indian subcontinent by the Maratha Empire
from the beginning of the 18th century. It was an annual tax nominally levied on sales or
produce at 25 percent.
Sardeshmukhi - It was an additional levy of 10% of the revenue claimed to be Sardeshmukh
(overlord) by Shivaji.
Guerrilla warfare- A type of warfare in which a small group of armed people use military tactics
like raids, ambushes and hit and run military tactics to fight a larger army.
