These rise of new states notes for OPSC/UPSC cover the regional powers that emerged as Mughal authority declined after 1707: Hyderabad, Awadh, Bengal, Carnatic, Mysore, the Jats and the Sikhs. They also cover the wars and treaties through which the East India Company absorbed them. This is a high-yield area for OAS prelims because questions are mostly about founders, dates, treaties and battle sites, and the Odisha link through Bengal and Maratha rule is useful for mains.
Successor States: Rise of New States after the Mughals
The new states fell into three types: successor states (Hyderabad, Awadh, Bengal) carved out by Mughal governors who made their posts hereditary; independent kingdoms (Mysore, Carnatic) built by military commanders or local nawabs; and rebel states (Jats, Sikhs, Marathas) born from peasant and religious resistance. Most still nominally accepted the Mughal emperor as sovereign.
Successor states kept Mughal forms (farmans, titles, the nominal emperor) but ran their own revenue, army and diplomacy. Their rivalry with each other let the Company play one against another.
Hyderabad State
Chin Qilich Khan, titled Nizam-ul-Mulk Asaf Jah I, founded Hyderabad during the reign of Muhammad Shah ‘Rangila’ (1719-48). He defeated Mubariz Khan at Shakar Kheda in 1724 and established the state that year. He died in 1748 and a succession struggle followed, which let the French and English intervene in the Carnatic. In 1798 the Nizam became the first Indian ruler to accept Wellesley’s Subsidiary Alliance.
Carnatic (Arcot) State
Sadatullah Khan, Nawab of Arcot (c. 1710-32), made the Carnatic virtually independent of the Deccan Nizam. After him, a dispute over the Carnatic succession became the cause of the Carnatic Wars.
Carnatic Wars: Anglo-French Rivalry
The Carnatic Wars were fought between the English and French East India Companies. They show how European trading companies became kingmakers in Indian succession disputes.
| War | Period | Key points |
|---|---|---|
| First Carnatic War | 1746-48 | Extension of the Austrian Succession War; French captured Madras; Battle of St Thome (1746) was fought against the Nawab of Carnatic; ended with the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle; Dupleix was the French leader |
| Second Carnatic War | 1749-54 | Muzaffar Jung and Chanda Sahib (French-backed) against Nasir Jung and Anwaruddin; Clive’s capture of Arcot (1751); ended by Treaty of Pondicherry (1754) |
| Third Carnatic War | 1758-63 | Linked to the Seven Years’ War; Count de Lally for the French; Eyre Coote defeated the French at Wandiwash (22 January 1760); Treaty of Paris (1763) left the French only trading posts |
- Dupleix is linked with the first and second wars, Count de Lally with the third.
- Plassey (1757) falls inside the Third Carnatic War period but is a Bengal battle, not a Carnatic one.
Awadh State: Nawabs of Awadh Notes
Saadat Khan (Burhan-ul-Mulk) was appointed governor of Awadh in 1722 and is regarded as the founder of the independent state. Awadh served as a buffer state between the Company’s Bengal possessions and the Marathas and Afghans.
| Nawab | Reign | Notable |
|---|---|---|
| Saadat Khan | 1722-39 | Founder; first Nawab Wazir |
| Safdar Jang | 1739-54 | Second Nawab; also Mughal wazir |
| Shuja-ud-Daula | 1754-75 | Developed Faizabad as capital; fought at Buxar (1764) |
| Asaf-ud-Daula | 1775-97 | Shifted capital from Faizabad to Lucknow; built Bara Imambara (1784) |
Bara Imambara (1784) was built under Asaf-ud-Daula during a famine, as a relief-work project that gave employment to thousands. Awadh was annexed by Dalhousie in 1856 on grounds of misgovernance, and Birjis Qadr, son of the deposed Wajid Ali Shah, was proclaimed Nawab during the 1857 revolt.
IMAGE (Map): Political map of India c. 1750 showing successor states
Labels: Hyderabad, Awadh, Bengal, Carnatic (Arcot), Mysore, Bharatpur (Jat), Punjab (Sikh misls), Maratha territories, Delhi
Caption: Successor and regional states of 18th-century India.
Find it: NCERT Class 12 Themes in Indian History III map, Wikimedia Commons ‘India 1760’
Mysore: Haider Ali, Tipu Sultan and Anglo-Mysore Wars
Haider Ali and Tipu Sultan
Haider Ali rose as a commander under the Wodeyars and became the de facto ruler around 1761. At Dindigul he set up a modern arsenal with French help (1755), and he is called the first South Indian ruler to defeat the British in battle. Tipu Sultan ruled from the capital Srirangapatna.
Tipu’s reforms: encouragement of sericulture, new coinage, weights, measures and calendar, an organised standing army, rocket artillery, and embassies to foreign courts such as France, Turkey and Muscat. He planted a ‘Tree of Liberty’ at Srirangapatna and is linked with a Jacobin Club. The military manual Fath-ul-Mujahidin was written at his instruction.
The Four Anglo-Mysore Wars
| War | Period | Outcome / Treaty |
|---|---|---|
| First | 1767-69 | Haider Ali against the English; Treaty of Madras (1769) |
| Second | 1780-84 | Tipu’s victory at Pollilur (1780); Eyre Coote defeated Haider at Porto Novo (1781); Treaty of Mangalore (1784) |
| Third | 1790-92 | Cornwallis against Tipu; Treaty of Srirangapatna (1792) ceded Baramahal, Dindigul and Malabar, plus half his territory and a large indemnity |
| Fourth | 1798-99 | Wellesley; Tipu killed at Srirangapatna (1799) |
- Treaty of Madras (1769) belongs to the first war; Treaty of Mangalore (1784) to the second; Srirangapatna (1792) to the third. Mixing these is the standard matching-question trap.
- Tipu signed the 1792 treaty with the English; Haider Ali died in 1782.
IMAGE (Timeline): Anglo-Mysore wars on one timeline
Labels: 1767-69 First War and Madras; 1780-84 Second War, Pollilur, Porto Novo, Mangalore; 1790-92 Third War, Srirangapatna; 1798-99 Fourth War, death of Tipu
Caption: Four wars, three treaties and the fall of Mysore.
Find it: Draw from the table above; Spectrum/NCERT timelines on Mysore
Jat State of Bharatpur
The Jat rising began under Gokul and Churaman against Mughal revenue demands. Badan Singh consolidated the Bharatpur kingdom in the early 18th century and Suraj Mal made it powerful; he is remembered as the ‘Plato of the Jat tribe’ and the ‘Jat Ulysses’.
Sikh Gurus and the Rise of the Sikh Empire
Ten Sikh Gurus Notes
| Guru | Key fact |
|---|---|
| Guru Nanak | Founder of Sikhism; born at Talwandi (Nankana Sahib) |
| Guru Angad | Successor of Nanak; introduced Gurmukhi script |
| Guru Amar Das | Contemporary of Akbar |
| Guru Ram Das | Founded Amritsar |
| Guru Arjan Dev | Compiled the Adi Granth (1604); first Guru martyred (1606) |
| Guru Hargobind | Sixth Guru; became Guru at eleven; built Akal Takht; called himself ‘Sacha Badshah’ |
| Guru Tegh Bahadur | Executed in 1675 on Aurangzeb’s orders |
| Guru Gobind Singh | Tenth Guru; born at Patna (1666); founded the Khalsa in 1699; Bachittar Natak and Chandi di Vaar are attributed to him |
Banda Singh Bahadur and the Misls
After Guru Gobind Singh’s death, Banda Singh Bahadur established the first Sikh state. Sikh power later organised into twelve misls (confederacies) such as Ahluwalia, Sukerchakia, Kanheya and Ramgarhia. Dungarpuria is not a Sikh misl.
Maharaja Ranjit Singh
Ranjit Singh belonged to the Sukerchakia misl. He received the title of Raja from Zaman Shah, made Lahore his political capital and Amritsar his religious capital, and received the Kohinoor from Shah Shuja (1813). His successor was Kharak Singh, and the last Sikh ruler was Duleep Singh, who died in Paris in 1893.
Anglo-Sikh Wars
| War | Period | Details |
|---|---|---|
| First Anglo-Sikh War | 1845-46 | Governor-General Hardinge; ended by the Treaty of Lahore (1846) |
| Second Anglo-Sikh War | 1848-49 | Under Dalhousie; battles of Ramnagar, Chillianwala and Gujrat; Punjab annexed in 1849 |
Chronology questions on the Second Anglo-Sikh War follow the order Ramnagar, Chillianwala, Gujrat, annexation of Punjab. Only two Anglo-Sikh wars were fought, so ‘third’ or ‘fourth’ war options are wrong.
Bengal Nawabs, Plassey and Buxar
Murshid Quli Khan to Siraj-ud-Daulah
Murshid Quli Khan founded the autonomous Bengal state, shifting the capital to Murshidabad. Alivardi Khan seized power in 1740 and agreed to pay chauth to the Marathas. He was succeeded by his grandson Siraj-ud-Daulah (1756). The Treaty of Alinagar (1757) was signed by Siraj with the British.
Battle of Plassey (1757)
Plassey was fought on 23 June 1757 between Siraj-ud-Daulah and Robert Clive. Mir Jafar, the commander, betrayed the Nawab. Ghulam Husain’s Siyar-ul-Mutakherin describes the battle.
Battle of Buxar (1764) and Treaty of Allahabad (1765)
At Buxar (1764) the Company defeated the combined forces of Mir Qasim, Shuja-ud-Daula and Shah Alam II. Buxar, more than Plassey, established British political supremacy. Under the Treaties of Allahabad (August 1765), Shah Alam II granted the Diwani of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa to the Company, and Awadh was restored to Shuja-ud-Daula on payment of a war indemnity of Rs 50 lakh. Mohammad Raza Khan was appointed Naib Diwan of Bengal.
- Indemnity under the 1765 treaty was Rs 50 lakh, not Rs 53 lakh.
- Diwani rights were granted by the Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II; the Nawab of Awadh paid the indemnity.
IMAGE (Flowchart): From Plassey to Diwani
Labels: 1757 Plassey, Mir Jafar; 1760 Mir Qasim; 1764 Buxar; 1765 Treaty of Allahabad; Diwani of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa; dual government
Caption: How the Company gained control of Bengal.
Find it: Draw from text; NCERT Class 8 ‘From Trade to Territory’
Rise of New States: Odisha Angle
After 1717 Orissa was part of the Bengal Subah under Murshid Quli Khan. In 1741 Alivardi Khan consolidated control, but repeated Maratha invasions followed, and the agreement of 1751 effectively transferred Orissa to the Bhonsles of Nagpur, with a fixed chauth payment for Bengal and Bihar. The British took Cuttack in 1803 in the Second Anglo-Maratha War, and Orissa was ceded under the Treaty of Deogaon (December 1803). The Diwani grant of 1765 named Orissa, but real control of the region came only in 1803.
For mains, link the decline of Bengal and the Maratha invasions to the loss of Orissa’s autonomy, then to the Company’s annexation in 1803.
Rise of New States MCQ and PYQ Practice
Who founded the independent state of Awadh?
- Saadat Khan
- Yusuf Adil Shah
- Nizam-ul-Mulk
- Alivardi Khan
Show answer
(a) - Saadat Khan was appointed governor of Awadh in 1722. SSC 2008
Who was Birjis Qadr?
- The Nizam of Hyderabad
- The Nawab of Awadh
- The Mughal Emperor
- The Nawab of Bengal
Show answer
(b) - Birjis Qadr was the Awadh claimant proclaimed in 1857. WBCS 2020
Which British general defeated Haider Ali at Porto Novo?
- Sir Hector Munro
- Robert Clive
- General Goddard
- Sir Eyre Coote
Show answer
(d) - Eyre Coote won at Porto Novo in 1781. JKPSC (Pre) 2003
At which place did Tipu Sultan defeat the British in 1780?
- Pollilur
- Hyderabad
- Nizamabad
- Dindigul
Show answer
(a) - Pollilur, during the Second Anglo-Mysore War. UPPSC (Mains) 2009
Which one is correctly matched?
- First Anglo-Mysore War: Haider Ali was defeated
- Second Anglo-Mysore War: Haider Ali defeated the British
- Third Anglo-Mysore War: Tipu defeated the British and did not cede his dominions
- Fourth Anglo-Mysore War: Tipu was defeated and killed during the war
Show answer
(d) - Tipu fell at Srirangapatna in 1799. UPPSC (Mains) 2014
In which year did Guru Gobind Singh found the Khalsa?
- 1599 CE
- 1699 CE
- 1707 CE
- 1789 CE
Show answer
(b) - The Khalsa was founded in 1699. SSC 2011, UPPCS 2002
Who gave the Kohinoor diamond to Ranjit Singh?
- Zaman Shah
- Dost Mohammad
- Sher Ali
- Shah Shuja
Show answer
(d) - Shah Shuja gave it to Ranjit Singh. BPSC (Pre) 1996
The work Siyar-ul-Mutakherin, which describes the Battle of Plassey, was written by
- Salabat Jung
- Qasim Khan
- Ghulam Husain
- Ram Mohan Roy
Show answer
(c) - Ghulam Husain Khan wrote it. CDS 2020
The Battle of Buxar was fought in
- 1762
- 1764
- 1768
- 1772
Show answer
(b) - Buxar was fought in 1764. WBCS 2019