i) The Mughal Emperor Jahangir looked upon the Sikh communiry as a potential threat and he ordered the execution of Guru Arjan in 1606. The Sikh movement began to get politicised in the 17th century, a development that culminated in the institution of the Khalsa by Guru Gobind Singh in 1699. The community of the Sikhs, called the Khalsa panth, became a political entity.
ii) He emphasised the worship of one God.
iii) He laid stress on the importance of right belief and worship, honest living and helping others.

Nizam-ul-Mulk Asaf Jah was the founder of Hyderabad state.
Asaf Jah was one of the most powerful members at the court of the Mughal Emperor Farrukh Siyar. He was first given the governorship of Awadh and later the Deccan. He brought skilled soldiers and efficient administrators from northern India. He appointed mansabdars and granted them Jagirs. There was turmoil in the Deccan due to the fierce competition amongst the nobility. Asaf Jah took the advantage of this situation and gathered power in his hands. Gradually he became the actual ruler of that region.

In 1722, Burhan-ul-Mulk Sa'adat Khan was appointed as Subadar of Awadh. Later he founded the state 'Awadh'. It was one of the most important states to emerge out of the break-up of the weak Mughal Empire.
Awadh was a prosperous region. It controlled the main trade route between North India and Bengal. Burhan-ul-Mulk held the combined offices of subadari, diwani and faujdari. He controlled completely the political, financial and military affairs of Awadh.

Under Murshid Quli Khan, Bengal gradually broke away from Mughal control. First he was appointed as the naib, deputy to the governor of the province. Although, never a formal Subadar, Murshid Quli Khan very quickly seized all the power.
Soon, he began to command the revenue administration of the state. In order to reduce the Mughal influence in Bengal he transferred all the Mughal Jagirdars to Orissa and ordered a major re-assessment of the revenues of Bengal.

i) The people of Awadh relied solely on the local bankers and mahajans for loans. It sold the right to collect tax to the highest bidders.
ii) These revenue farmers known as ijaradars agreed to pay the state a fixed sum of money. Local bankers guaranteed the payment of this contracted amount to the state.
iii) In turn, the revenue farmers were given considerable freedom in the assessment and collection of taxes. Thus, the position of moneylenders and bankers became influential which was not in the past.

i) During the 17th century the Sikhs paid attention into the state-building in the Punjab state. Several battles were fought by Guru Gobind Singh against the Rajput and Mughal rulers, both before and after the institution of the Khalsa in 1699. After his death, 1708, the Khalsa revolted against the Mughal authority under Banda Bahadur's leadership. The Sikhs declared their sovereign rule by striking coins in the name of Guru Nanak and Guru Gobind Singh and established their own administration between the Sutlej and the Jamuna. Under a number of able leaders in the 18th century, the Sikhs organised themselves into a number of bands called Jathas and later on misls. Their combined forces were known as the grand army (Dal Khalsa).
ii) A system called rakhi was introduced. By the late 18th century, the Sikh territories extended from the Indus to the Jamuna. Maharaja Ranjit Singh reunited the different Sikh groups.