Aurangzeb's Responsibility Of The Mughal Empire

1. Aurangzeb’s Responsibility. Although the expansion of the Mughal Empire reached its optimum point under Aurangzeb yet it only resembled an inflated balloon. The Mughal Empire had expanded beyond the point of effective control and its castness only tented to weaken the centre. Considering; the undeveloped means of communications in those days, Mughal Empire was faced with a stupendous task far beyond the capacity of Alamgir Aurangzeb himself not to speak of his weak successors.
Whatever his compulsions, Aurangzeb sought to restore the Islamic character of the state which he believed, had been disturbed by Akbar and his successors. His policy of religious bigotism proved counter-productive and provoked a general discontent in the country and the empire was faced with rebellions of the Sikhs, the jats, the Bundelas, the Rajputs and, above all, the Marathas. Aurangzeb was no less stupid than his contemporary, “The ass who lost 3 kingdoms for a mass”, James II of England.
Again like James II, Aurangzeb knew the art of making enemies. The imperialist designs and narrow religious policy of Aurangzeb turned the Rajputs, reliable supporters of the Imperial dynasty, into foes. The wanton destruction of Hindu temples and the re- imposition of jizyah (1679) and other political and social indignities on the Hindus led to the rising of the Satnamis, the Bundelas and the Jats. In Punjab, the Sikhs to the last man rose against the empire paralyzing Imperial administration in the