What was the immediate reason for Ahmad Shah Abdali to invade India and fight the Third Battle of Panipat?

The correct answer is A.

Explanation:

A) He wanted to avenge the expulsion by Marathas of his viceroy Timur Shah from Lahore. This is the immediate and primary reason. After his previous invasion in 1757, Ahmad Shah Abdali had appointed his son Timur Shah as the governor of Punjab. In 1758, the Marathas, under Raghunathrao, marched into Punjab, expelled Timur Shah and his general Jahan Khan from Lahore, and established their control. This direct challenge to Abdali's authority and the humiliation of his son's expulsion was the immediate provocation for Abdali to launch a full-scale invasion to reclaim Punjab and confront the Marathas, leading to the Third Battle of Panipat.

B) The frustrated governor of Jullundhar Adina Beg Khan invited him to invade Punjab. Adina Beg Khan did invite Abdali to invade Punjab earlier (in 1756-57) when he was unhappy with the Mughal administration. However, by 1758, Adina Beg Khan had actually invited the Marathas to expel Abdali's forces from Punjab. He died in 1758. Therefore, he was not the one inviting Abdali immediately before the Third Battle of Panipat.

C) He wanted to punish Mughal administration for non-payment of the revenues of the Chahar Mahal (Gujarat, Aurangabad, Sialkot and Pasrur). While non-payment of revenues was a recurring issue and a general cause of friction, it was not the immediate trigger for the 1761 invasion and the Third Battle of Panipat. The direct challenge to his authority in Punjab by the Marathas was a more pressing and immediate cause. Also, the Chahar Mahal were Sialkot, Pasrur, Gujrat, and Aurangabad (all in Punjab), not the larger regions of Gujarat and Aurangabad in western/Deccan India.

D) He wanted to annex all the fertile plains of Punjab up to the borders of Delhi to his kingdom. This describes a long-term strategic objective or ambition of Abdali. While he certainly desired to control Punjab, this was a broader goal rather than the specific, immediate reason that compelled him to launch the campaign that culminated in the Third Battle of Panipat. The immediate trigger was the Maratha occupation of Punjab and the expulsion of his son.