India in the eighteenth century: the formation of states and social groups

Abstract

In the midst of military conflict and disruption, the eighteenth century witnessed a significant stage in the formation of the social order of modern India. This chapter starts by examining the changes in the imperial hegemony during the eighteenth century, then moves to the petty kingdoms and finally to the magnates of the villages who controlled production. A discussion of the Indian economy and society in the eighteenth century follows. Yet these divisions only constitute a device for organising themes. Developments at all these levels and in all these domains were linked. All powers seeking to establish their rule in eighteenth-century India needed to acquire imperial titles and rights. The spirit and forms of Mughal provincial government changed only slowly. The regional power-holders also inherited the problems of previous Mughal governors. The great non-Muslim warrior states, Marathas Sikhs and Jats, represented something more than simple devolutions of Mughal power to the provinces.