FALL OF THE OLD ORDER 377

fallen on evil days. Fratricidal wars of succession, rebellions
by insubordinate governors, enervating luxuries and vices,
and frequent attacks by external enemies like Nadir Shah,
Ahmed Shah Abdali, the Marathas, and the English, all
combined to destroy their ancient uiime. On the other
hand, the English who had successfully outrwalled the
Dutch, the Portuguese, and the French, opened a new
chapter in Indian history when they established themselves
firmly in Bengal after their victories at Plassey (1757) and
Buxar (1764). Indeed, the prophecy attributed to the
Sikh Guru Tegh Bahadur was being fulfilled: when he was
charged by Aurangzeb with peering, into the imperial seraglio
from his prison-cell in Delhi, the prophetic Sikh Guru is
said to have declared: " I was not looking at thy private
apartments, or at thy queens. I was looking in the direc-
tion of the Europeans who are coming from behind the seas
to tear down thy hangings and destroy thy empire.'
Whether this story is true or false, the fall of the Old Ordet
in India was to be brought about by the Europeans.