Clarify how mid-eighteenth century India was beset with the spectre of a fragmented polity. (UPSC 2017)

By the mid-eighteenth century, India no longer had a strong imperial centre. Mughal authority had shrunk to a nominal symbol, while power passed to regional chiefs, warriors and governors. The result was a patchwork of competing states rather than a united polity.

• Mughal breakdown: The jagirdari crisis, weak successors and court factionalism ruined central control and revenue flow.
• Rise of autonomous states: Bengal, Awadh and Hyderabad became successor states, while Marathas, Sikhs and Jats built power through armed resistance.
• Independent principalities: Mysore, Travancore and several Rajput states acted on their own interests.
• Constant conflict: Rivalry over land, tribute and trade produced wars, predatory taxation and shifting alliances.
• Foreign intrusion: Nadir Shah and Ahmad Shah Abdali exposed Mughal weakness; European companies exploited the vacuum.

Thus, mid-eighteenth century India was marked by political fragmentation, fiscal decentralisation and military instability, creating conditions for the eventual rise of British power.