Fall of the Mughal Empire v1.c15.s12.16

v1.c15.s12.16

This final withdrawal of Safdar Jang from the capital completed the process by which the ablest and most experienced of the elder peers, who could possibly have reformed the administration if properly supported by the Emperor, gave up the task in despair and retired to some distant province where they could at least achieve something really great and good, though in a smaller sphere. The practical independence of these provincial governors and their scornful unconcern with the affairs of Delhi in Bengal Oudh and the Deccan, coupled with the Maratha seizure of Gujrat and Malwa and the Afghan annexation of the Panjab, contracted the Empire of India into a small area round Delhi and a few districts of the modern U. P., where small men only fought and intrigued for small personal ends.