Synopsis The present volume, The Rise of the British Power covers the period A.D. 1707 to 1857 of Indian history. The period had a 3 major landmarks : (The End of the Muslim Rule; (2) The Rise and fall of the Maratha Domination; and (3) The Growth of the British Power. The Mughal Empire showed which had dazzled the contemporary world showed signs of decay towards the beginning of the 18th century. The Mughal emperors after Auranzeb were weak, unstable and inefficient. A sinister development in the later Mughal politics was the rise of the powerful nobles who played the role of king-makers. The weakening of central political structure created a political vaccum in India. Te ambitious regional chiefs carved out independent principalities for themselves. The revolts of Sikhs, Jats and Rajputs combined with the foreign invasions of nadir shah and Ahmad Shah Abdaliu hastened the downfall of the Mughal Empire. The weakness of the Mughal Empire after A.D. 1707 gave the much needed opportunity to the Marathas. The first half of the 18th century witnesses a considerable expansion of the Maratha power and their idea of a Hindu Empire started taking shape. The early Peshawas like Balaji Vishwnath and Balaji Baji Rao consolidated the maratha position. However, the Third battle of Panipat lowered Maratha prestige in the Indian political world and the Martha dream of an empire extending over all parts of India and set up their own administrative machinery with the overriding aim of exploiting the economic resources of India.