RAS question
Aurangzeb's Deccan campaigns lasted for approximately:
Correct answer: (A) 25 years (1682–1707).
Aurangzeb's Deccan campaigns lasted for approximately 25 years, from 1682 to 1707, during the final phase of his reign.
Explanation
Aurangzeb's Deccan campaigns are best remembered as a long imperial overreach, not a short expedition. Britannica confirms that he spent the last 25 years of his reign in the Deccan and that, after arriving there, he tried to isolate the Marathas from Bijapur and Golconda. When that failed, he annexed Bijapur in 1686 and Golconda in 1687, hoping to defeat the Marathas outright. The campaign still dragged on because Maratha resistance remained stubborn; even after nearly two decades of struggle, Aurangzeb could not completely subdue them before his death in 1707. That is why the approximate duration is 25 years, matching the 1682-1707 span in the question.
Why the other options are wrong
- (B) Five years would cover only a brief slice of the Deccan phase and cannot account for the full 1682-1707 span stated in the question and supported by Britannica's account of Aurangzeb's last 25 years there.
- (C) Ten years is too short because it would end well before Aurangzeb's death in 1707, while the Deccan struggle continued through the final 25 years of his reign.
- (D) Fifteen years still understates the campaign because the Deccan phase ran from roughly 1682 until Aurangzeb's death in 1707, not merely through the late 1690s.
Concept
This tests Mughal imperial expansion and the long-term effects of Aurangzeb's Deccan policy. RAS repeats it because the Deccan campaigns connect chronology with the larger question of Mughal resource strain and Maratha resistance.