Overview
Previous Year UPSC-CSE Questions By the end you will be able to draft model answers for the following UPSC questions. Each question carries a collapsible framework showing how to approach it in the exam.
- UPSC Prelims 2003 GS-IAssertion (A): Marathas emerged as the strongest native power in India after the decline of the Mughal empire.
- Reason (R): Marathas were the first to have a clear concept of a united Indian nation.
In the context of the assertion (A) and the reason (R) above, choose the correct option:
How to approach this Prelims question
Approach: Judge A and R separately, then ask whether R explains A. A (Marathas the strongest power after the decline) is true; R (Marathas first to conceive a united Indian nation) is a debatable but not-false claim, yet it does not explain WHY they became the strongest power, which was the collapse of the empire.
Trap to watch: R is not the correct explanation of A; the Maratha rise is explained by the Mughal decline (Aurangzeb's Deccan drain), not by a concept of national unity.
Key facts to recall:
- Aurangzeb's long Deccan wars exhausted the empire.
- The Marathas rose as the strongest native power after the decline.
- A and R both true, but R does not explain A.
Answer signal: Both A and R true, but R is NOT the correct explanation of A.
Aurangzeb, the last of the great Mughals, ruled the empire from 1658 to 1707, the longest of the Mughal reigns, and brought it to its greatest territorial extent. An austere and orthodox man, he turned away from the toleration of Akbar: he re-imposed the jizya in 1679, and in 1675 put to death Guru Tegh Bahadur, the ninth Sikh Guru. In the south he annexed the rich Deccan kingdoms of Bijapur (1686) and Golconda (1687), but the long and draining war with the Marathas tied down his armies for a quarter of a century. The empire reached its widest bounds but grew overstretched, and after his death in 1707 the long Mughal decline set in. This part covers the reign, the religious policy, the Deccan, the turn of the empire, and the exam focus.
The Reign of Aurangzeb
The Accession and the Greatest Extent
What is the significance of Aurangzeb's reign: it brought the Mughal empire to its widest bounds and its greatest power, and yet, by the strain of his policies and his wars, began the slow decline that followed.
Aurangzeb came to the throne in 1658. The third son of Shah Jahan, he won the war of succession against his brothers, imprisoned his father, and was crowned, taking the title Alamgir, 'Seizer of the Universe'. He reigned for nearly fifty years, until 1707, the longest reign in Mughal history.
Under him the empire reached its greatest extent. By his Deccan conquests Aurangzeb spread the empire over almost the whole of the subcontinent, from Kabul in the north to deep in the south, the largest of all the Mughal dominions. The map below shows the empire at its widest, and the conquests of the Deccan.
The Religious Policy
The Orthodox Turn and the Jizya
What is the significance of the religious policy: it broke with the broad toleration of Akbar, and is the most debated part of Aurangzeb's reign, doing much to turn the Sikhs, the Rajputs and others against the throne.
Aurangzeb ended the policy of toleration. Unlike Akbar, who had ruled by sulh-i-kul, peace with all, Aurangzeb governed as a strict and orthodox Muslim. In 1679 he re-imposed the jizya, the tax on non-Muslims that Akbar had abolished a century before, and it became a deep grievance among his Hindu subjects.
His severity made lasting enemies. In 1675 the ninth Sikh Guru, Guru Tegh Bahadur, was put to death, an act that turned the Sikhs into firm and lasting foes of the Mughal throne. His quarrel with the Rajput houses, and the long Rajput war that followed, undid the alliance that Akbar had built and weakened a chief support of the empire. The figure below sets out the policy.
The Deccan and the Marathas
Bijapur, Golconda and the Long Maratha War
What is the significance of the Deccan: the conquest of the south crowned the empire's expansion, but the endless war with the Marathas became the drain that, more than anything else, wore out the strength of the Mughals.
Aurangzeb conquered the Deccan kingdoms. He annexed the rich kingdom of Bijapur, of the Adil Shahi sultans, in 1686, and the kingdom of Golconda, of the Qutb Shahis, famous for its diamonds, in 1687, so that the whole of the central Deccan passed under Mughal rule.
But the Maratha war could not be won. Against the Marathas, under Shivaji and after him his son Sambhaji, Aurangzeb waged a long and wearing war that he could never wholly win in the hills of the south. He spent the last twenty-five years of his reign in the Deccan, and the endless campaign drained the treasury and the army; later writers have called it the ulcer that ate away the empire. The figure below sets out his Deccan policy.
The Turn of the Empire
The Overstretch and the Beginning of the Decline
What is the significance of the turn: under Aurangzeb the Mughal tide reached its height and then began to ebb, and the seeds of the decline of the next century were sown in his own reign.
The empire was now overstretched. Wide as it was, the empire had grown too large to be ruled from one centre; its best armies were tied down in the south, and the treasury was emptied by the unending wars. The revolts of the Jats, the Satnamis, the Sikhs and the Rajputs broke out in many parts, and the strain of holding so vast a realm told upon the whole structure of the state.
With his death the decline began. Aurangzeb died in 1707, worn out by his Deccan wars. With him the old strength of the empire passed away; weak emperors and over-mighty nobles followed, and the Marathas rose to become the strongest native power of India. The figure below sets out the turn of the empire.
UPSC Relevance and Exam Focus
Where Aurangzeb Fits in the UPSC-CSE Syllabus
This topic belongs to General Studies Paper I: medieval Indian history, and the reign of Aurangzeb, its religious policy and its Deccan wars, is among the most discussed of all medieval subjects, in the Mains above all.
The questions most often test the religious policy (the jizya of 1679, Guru Tegh Bahadur), the Deccan conquests (Bijapur and Golconda), and the decline that began in his reign, with the rise of the Marathas.
Several linked points recur and are worth holding in working memory:
- The reign: Aurangzeb ruled from 1658 to 1707, the longest Mughal reign; his title was Alamgir.
- The jizya: re-imposed in 1679, after Akbar had abolished it a century before.
- Guru Tegh Bahadur: the ninth Sikh Guru, put to death in 1675.
- The Deccan: Bijapur annexed 1686, Golconda annexed 1687; the long war with the Marathas.
- The turn: the greatest extent but overstretched; the decline and the rise of the Marathas followed.
| Event or measure | What to remember |
|---|---|
| Reign of Aurangzeb | 1658 to 1707; the title Alamgir; the longest Mughal reign. |
| The jizya re-imposed | 1679; the tax on non-Muslims, abolished by Akbar, brought back. |
| Guru Tegh Bahadur | The ninth Sikh Guru; put to death in 1675. |
| Bijapur and Golconda | Annexed 1686 and 1687; the Deccan brought under Mughal rule. |
| The Marathas | The long Deccan war; the Marathas rose as the strongest power. |
A 2003 question set out the assertion that the Marathas emerged as the strongest native power after the decline of the Mughal empire, with the reason that they were the first to have a clear concept of a united Indian nation; the answer was that both statements are true, but the reason is not the correct explanation of the assertion.
The Maratha rise was indeed the chief result of the weakening of the empire, much of it the work of Aurangzeb's own long and costly Deccan wars; but the Marathas rose as a regional power, and the claim that they held a clear idea of a united Indian nation goes beyond the truth.
Prelims MCQ practice
Each question below tests one specific concept on the topic. Click to reveal the answer and a full option-wise explanation.
Q1. Aurangzeb, who took the title Alamgir, reigned over the Mughal empire during which one of the following periods?
- 1605 to 1627
- 1628 to 1658
- 1658 to 1707
- 1707 to 1712
Show answer and explanation
Answer: 1658 to 1707
Explanation.
Option (c) is correct. Aurangzeb reigned from 1658 to 1707, the longest of the Mughal reigns; 1605-1627 was Jahangir and 1628-1658 Shah Jahan. Hence option (c).
Q2. Aurangzeb re-imposed the jizya, the tax on non-Muslims that Akbar had abolished, in which one of the following years?
- 1659
- 1679
- 1686
- 1707
Show answer and explanation
Answer: 1679
Explanation.
Option (b) is correct. Aurangzeb re-imposed the jizya in 1679, a century after Akbar had abolished it. Hence option (b).
Q3. The ninth Sikh Guru, who was put to death during the reign of Aurangzeb in 1675, was which one of the following?
- Guru Arjan
- Guru Tegh Bahadur
- Guru Gobind Singh
- Guru Har Rai
Show answer and explanation
Answer: Guru Tegh Bahadur
Explanation.
Option (b) is correct. Guru Tegh Bahadur, the ninth Guru, was executed in 1675 under Aurangzeb; Guru Arjan, the fifth Guru, was executed earlier, in 1606, under Jahangir. Hence option (b).
Q4. The two Deccan kingdoms annexed by Aurangzeb in 1686 and 1687 were which one of the following pairs?
- Ahmadnagar and Berar
- Bijapur and Golconda
- Khandesh and Berar
- Bidar and Bijapur
Show answer and explanation
Answer: Bijapur and Golconda
Explanation.
Option (b) is correct. Aurangzeb annexed Bijapur (the Adil Shahis) in 1686 and Golconda (the Qutb Shahis) in 1687. Hence option (b).
Q5. With reference to the reign of Aurangzeb, consider the following statements:
- The Mughal empire reached its greatest territorial extent under Aurangzeb.
- Aurangzeb re-imposed the jizya, which had been abolished by Jahangir.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- 1 only
- 2 only
- Both 1 and 2
- Neither 1 nor 2
Show answer and explanation
Answer: 1 only
Explanation.
Only statement 1 is correct. The empire did reach its greatest extent under Aurangzeb. The jizya was abolished by Akbar, not Jahangir, and re-imposed by Aurangzeb, so statement 2 is wrong. Hence option (a).
Q6. Aurangzeb spent the last twenty-five years of his reign waging a long and draining war in which one of the following regions?
- Bengal
- The Deccan
- Kashmir
- Gujarat
Show answer and explanation
Answer: The Deccan
Explanation.
Option (b) is correct. Aurangzeb spent his last twenty-five years in the Deccan, in the wearing war against the Marathas, the drain that exhausted the empire. Hence option (b).
Sources and Further Reading
Editorial Disclaimer
This article is for UPSC preparation. The account of Aurangzeb's reign rests on the Persian chronicles of the period and the standard scholarship on the Mughal Empire and its decline.
