The mighty Mughal empire which had ruled over a large part of the subcontinent was teetering at the verge of collapse. The weakness of the empire was exposed when Nadir Shah imprisoned the Mughal Emperor and looted Delhi in 1739. The weak successors and demoralization of the Mughal army also paved the way for it. The vastness of the empire became unwieldy. Various factors contributed to the downfall and extinction of the Mughal Empire. Some of them are:-
The Nature and Policies of Aurangzeb
Aurangzeb was partially responsible for the downfall of the Mughal Empire. The suspicious nature of Aurangzeb which did not permit either any of his sons or nobles to become capable; his religious bigotry which lost him the loyalty of the majority of his subjects; and, at last, an ambition that carried him into fatal struggles with his own kindred, these were the causes of the decay and ultimate ruin of a body which defended India against her foreign invaders almost as long as it was capable to do so.
The Incapability of the Later Mughals:
The successors of Aurangzeb proved incapable and degenerate. That sealed the fate of the Empire. After Aurangzeb, no Mughal emperor rightly deserved to be an emperor. Most of them were addicted to wine and women.
The Corruption of the Nobility:
The Mughal nobility followed in the footsteps of their licentious emperors. There was total absence of capable nobles during the rule of the Later Mughals. Most of the nobles were incapable and if anyone of them was capable, he was not loyal to the Empire and carved out independent kingdom for himself. That led to the break-up and degeneration of the Empire.
Military Weakness:
The organisation of the Mughal army along feudal lines, the practice of taking wives, concubines and slave-girls on the battle –field and the failure of the Emperors to improve armaments and fighting tactics weakened and demoralized the Mughal army. It no more remained an effective fighting force.
Economic Bankruptcy:
The reign of Shah Jahan marked the beginning of the deterioration of the economy of the Empire. The revolts, the wars in the Deccan and neglect of the administration of the North during the reign of Aurangzeb, put additional burden on the resources of the Empire.
The Wars of Succession:
In absence of a fixed rule of succession, the death of every emperor led to a war of succession among the living sons of the Emperor. It resulted in loss of life and property, destruction of the administrative fabric of the Empire and loss of prestige of the Empire and the Emperor.
Group Rivalry at the Court:
The weakness of the Later Mughals led to treachery, treason and group politics at the Mughal court. The nobles divided themselves particularly in two rival groups viz. one group consisting of foreign Muslims and the other that of Indian Muslims.
The Attacks of the Marathas in the North:
Peshwa Baji Rao pursued the policy of conquering territories in the North. Gradually, the Marathas occupied large territories in the North and became the strongest power in India. But the Marathas did not replace Mughals and did not assume the responsibility of an Imperial power.
Attacks by Nadir Shah and Ahmad Shah Abdali:
When Mughal Empire had already weakened because of internal decay, it had to face the attach of Nadir Shah and repeated invasions of Ahmad Shah Abdali. These attacks drained the Mughal Empire of its wealth and gave a final blow to the military power of the Mughals.
Intellectual Bankruptcy:
The Mughals did not develop a proper system of education. It started affecting adversely the then society in every field of life from the beginning of the 18th century. The society failed to produce good administrators, politicians, thinkers, teachers etc.
Absence of Navy:
The Mughal rulers never attempted to build up a navy to safeguard the sea-cost of their Empire. Of course, the Mughals had not to fight against the European powers and therefore, absence of navy was not directly responsible for the downfall of the Mughal Empire.