(a) "Instead of bringing credit, the Ibadat Khana brought growing discredit to Akbar." Comment. (20 marks) (b) How did the…

(a) Ibadat Khana: Credit versus Discredit

Established in 1575 at Fatehpur Sikri, the Ibadat Khana initially sought to resolve theological questions within Sunni Islam. However, the bitter squabbling among the ulema compelled Akbar to expand debates to Christians, Jains, Zoroastrians, and Hindus. While modern historiography views this intellectual openness as the foundation for Sulh-i-Kul (universal peace), in contemporary terms it brought Akbar growing discredit. The orthodox Sunni establishment interpreted these debates, the Mahzar of 1579, and the later Din-i-Ilahi (1582) as state apostasy and an assault on Islamic orthodoxy. Contemporary chroniclers like Abdul Qadir Badauni articulated deep conservative hostility, which fed the Bengal–Bihar unrest of 1580–81 and Mirza Hakim’s invasion of 1581, for which the rebels sought religious sanction. It is telling that Akbar himself read the khutba from the pulpit of the Fatehpur Sikri mosque in 1579 and that the Mahzar of the same year made him the final arbiter among conflicting interpretations — a political victory over the ulema — and that the so-called “Din-i-Ilahi” (better, Tauhid-i-Ilahi) had almost no followers beyond a few courtiers such as Birbal; the debates became irregular after 1582. The statement is therefore only partly true. Among orthodox elites the Ibadat Khana brought discredit and unrest, but it also brought lasting credit: it led Akbar towards sulh-i-kul, the translation bureau (the Mahabharata as Razmnama), contact with Jain teachers such as Hiravijaya Suri and with Jesuits, and a composite nobility that underpinned the empire's stability.

(b) Maratha Guerrilla Warfare and Asymmetric Success

The Marathas neutralized the numerical and technological superiority of imperial forces by deploying Ganimi Kawa (guerrilla tactics). Operating within the rugged Sahyadri terrain and anchored by formidable hill forts like Raigad and Sinhagad, Maratha forces systematically avoided pitched, open-field battles. Instead, they relied on highly mobile light cavalry (bargirs and siledars), rapid hit-and-run strikes, night ambushes and the severing of extended Mughal supply lines, backed by superior local intelligence and by the fort administration built up under Shivaji; the fiscal machinery of chauth (one-fourth of revenue) and sardeshmukhi (an extra tenth) financed and sustained this army. This doctrine produced celebrated successes against far larger armies, such as the destruction of Afzal Khan’s Bijapuri force (1659) the surprise raid on Shaista Khan at Pune (1663) and the raids on Surat (1664, 1670). After Shivaji and Sambhaji, commanders such as Santaji Ghorpade and Dhanaji Jadhav under Rajaram and Tarabai carried the war across the Deccan. During Aurangzeb’s prolonged Deccan campaigns (1681–1707), this decentralised guerrilla resistance exhausted imperial treasuries, demoralised Mughal troops, and ultimately broke the empire's military momentum. Its limits appeared in the open plains of the north, where the Marathas fought a set-piece battle and lost at Panipat (1761).

(c) Asaf Jahi Dynasty and Hyderabad's Statehood

The Asaf Jahi dynasty orchestrated the political transformation of the Deccan from a Mughal administrative province into an autonomous regional entity. In 1724, Nizam-ul-Mulk (Mir Qamar-ud-din) defeated the imperial governor at the Battle of Shakar Kheda, establishing de facto independence and hereditary rule while maintaining symbolic Mughal suzerainty (coins continued to be struck in the Mughal emperor’s name). The dynasty provided institutional stability by retaining Mughal mansabdari, jagirdari and revenue structures, and by dividing the state between the sarf-e-khas (crown domain) and the diwani lands, with the great Paigah nobles as its aristocratic pillar. To survive Maratha expansion (Baji Rao I had defeated the Nizam at Palkhed in 1728), European rivalries and the Mysore threat, Hyderabad under Nizam Ali Khan became the first state to enter Lord Wellesley’s Subsidiary Alliance in 1798 and 1800. This realignment, preceded by the cession of the Northern Circars (1766–68) and followed by the cession of Berar (1853), transformed Hyderabad into the premier protected princely state under a British Resident. Salar Jung I (diwan 1853–83) modernised revenue, justice and administration, and Mir Osman Ali Khan (1911–48) founded Osmania University (1918), the first to teach in Urdu. After 1947 the Nizam's bid to stay independent, the Razakar violence and the Telangana peasant struggle ended with Operation Polo (September 1948) and integration into India.