MEDIEVAL

INDIA
A History Textbook for Class XI
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Table of contents
Chapter 1 India and the World .............................................................................................. 3
Chapter 2 Northern India Age of the Three Empires (800–1000) ............................10
Chapter 3 The Chola Empire (from Ninth to the Twelth Century) ........................18
Chapter 4 Economic and Social Life, Education and Religious Beliefs (800-
1200) ............................................................................................................................................... 23
Chapter 5 The Age of Conflict (Circa 1000-1200) ........................................................ 35
Chapter 6 The Delhi Sultanat—I (Circa 1200–1400) The Mameluk Sultans ....44
Chapter 7 The Delhi Sultanat—II (Circa 1200-1400) The Khaljis And The
Tughlaqs .........................................................................................................................................51
Chapter 8 Government, and Economic and Social Life under the Delhi Sultanat
.......................................................................................................................................................... 62
Chapter 9 The Age of Vijayanagara and the Bahmanids, and the Coming of the
Portuguese (Circa 1350–1565) ................................................................................................ 71
Chapter 10 Struggle for Empire in North India—I (Circa 1400–1525) ..................81
Chapter 11 Cultural Development in India (1300–1500) ..............................................91
Chapter 12 Struggle for Empire in North India—II Mughals and Afghans (1525–
1555).............................................................................................................................................. 102
Chapter 13 Consolidation of the Mughal Empire Age of Akbar............................. 113
Chapter 14 The Deccan and South India (Up to 1656) ............................................. 129
Chapter 15 India in the First Half of the Seventeenth Century..............................137
Chapter 16 Economic and Social Life under the Mughals ........................................ 151
Chapter 17 Cultural and Religious Developments....................................................... 162
Chapter 18 Climax and Disintegration of the Mughal Empire—I......................... 169
Chapter 19 Climax and Disintegration of the Mughal Empire—II ....................... 181
Chapter 20 Assessment and Review ................................................................................ 197
 Chapter 1
India and the World
Many Important changes took place tain a high level of prosperity. A notable
in Europe and Asia after the eighth cen- feature of the period was the growth of
tury. These changes not only altered the science and technology, growth of
relationship between Europe and Asia, towns and the establishment of univer-
but also a far reaching effect on the sities in a number of cities, such as Pad-
thinking and pattern of living of the ua and Milan in Italy. The universities
people. These developments had an in- played an important part in the growth
direct effect on India as well, since India of new learning and new ideas which
had a large trade with the old Roman were gradually to lead to the Renais-
Empire. sance and the rise of a new Europe.

Europe
In Europe, the mighty Roman empire Growth of Feudalism
had broken into two by the third quar- A new type of society and new sys-
ter of the sixth century. The western tem of government rose in Western Eu-
part with its capital at Rome had been rope, following the breakup of the Ro-
overwhelmed by the Slav and Germanic man empire. The new order that gradu-
tribesmen coming from the side of Rus- ally emerged is called feudalism. This is
sia and Germany. The eastern part of the derived from the Latin word feudum
old Roman empire had its capital at By- which is translated into English as fief. In
zantium or Constantinopole. This em- this society the most powerful elements
pire which was called the Byzantine were the chiefs who, with their military
empire included most of eastern Europe following, dominated large tracts of land
as well as modern Turkey, Syria and and also played an important part in
North Africa, including Egypt. It also government. The king was just like one
acted as a bridge between the Greco- of the more powerful feudal chiefs, hi
Roman civilization and the Arab world. course of time the monarchy became
It disappeared finally in the middle of stronger and an attempt was made to
the fifteenth century when Constantin- limit the power of the chiefs. One meth-
opole fell to the Turks. od of doing so was that the king swore
For several centuries after the col- the chiefs to an oath of loyalty to him as
lapse of the Roman empire in the West, his vassal and in, return, recognised the
the cities virtually disappeared in West- tract of land dominated by the Chiefs as
ern Europe and foreign and inland trade their fiefs. The chief, in turn, could ap-
received a severe setback. This period in point sub-chiefs as vassals and allot a
Western Europe is called the Dark Age tract out of their fief to them. The king
by the historians. However, from the could, in theory, resume the fief of a dis-
tenth century onwards trade and with loyal vassal, but, in practice, this was
it, the city life began to revive. Between rarely done. Thus, in the feudal system,
the twelfth and the fourteenth century government was dominated by a landed
Western Europe was again able to at- aristocracy. The aristocracy was heredi-
 Medieval India 4
tary and tried its best not to admit out- local landed elements (samantas) exer-
siders to its fold. But it was never a cised many of the powers of the feudal
completely closed aristocracy. lords and the peasantry was in a de-
This was the feudal system in its pendent position to them, in other
broadest outline. There are many simi- words, what mattered was not whether
larities between this system and the the peasantry was formally free, but the
system of government and society manner and the extent in which it could
evolved by the Turks in Central Asia exercise its freedom. In many countries
and by the Rajputs in India. As the sys- of Western Europe, the manor system
tem developed, it assumed various forms and the system of labour dues by the
in different countries due to differences peasants disappeared after the 14th cen-
in conditions and traditions. In Europe, tury.
the feudal system is associated with two The second feature associated with
other features. First is the system of serf- the feudal system in Europe is the sys-
dom. A serf was a peasant who worked tem of military organisation. The most
on the land but could not change his typical symbol of the feudal system was
profession, or migrate to any other area the armoured knight on horseback. Ac-
or marry without the permission of his tually, the system of cavalry warfare can
lord or master. Associated with this was roughly be traced back in Europe only to
the system of the manor. The manor was the eighth century. In the Roman times,
the house or castle where the lord lived. the chief wings of the army were the
In many of the European countries, large heavy and light infantry, armed with
tracts of land were by the lords of these long spears and short swords. Horses
manors. A part of the land was cultivat- were used to draw chariots in which the
ed by the lord directly with the help of officers rode. It is generally believed that
serfs who had to divide their time be- the mode of warfare changed with the
tween cultivating their own fields and arrival of the Arabs. The Arabs had a
the fields of their master. Since the land large supply of horses and their swift
belonged theoretically, to the lord, the movements and mounted archers made
serf had to pay him other dues in cash the infantry useless. The problems of
and kind. The lord of the manor also had developing and maintaining the organi-
the responsibility of maintaining law sation needed for the new mode of war-
and order, dispensing justice, etc. Since fare helped in the growth of feudalism in
there was a great deal of lawlessness in Europe. No king could hope to maintain
those days, even free peasants were out of his own resources the large body
sometimes prepared to accept the vas- of cavalry needed and to provide them
salage of the lord of the manor in return with armour and equipment. Hence, the
for protection. army was decentralised, assigning to the
Some historians think that the sys- fief-holders the responsibility of main-
tem of serfdom and the manor system taining a fixed force of cavalry and in-
are vital parts of feudalism and that it is fantry for the service of the king.
wrong to speak of feudalism for societies Cavalry warfare became the princi-
in which these two do not exist. In In- pal mode of warfare on account of two
dia, for instance, there was no serfdom inventions which, though much older,
and no manor system as such. But the began to be used oil a large scale during
 Medieval India 5
this period. The first was the iron- and influence. With the help of grants of
stirrup. The iron stirrup made it possi- land from the princes and feudal chiefs
ble for a heavily armoured person to ride and donations from rich merchants,
on a horse without falling off. It also many monastic orders and monasteries
made possible a cavalry charge with were set up. Some of these orders, such
lances held tightly to the body, without as that of the Franciscans served the
the rider being thrown off by the shock needy and the poor. Many monasteries
of the Impact. The earlier device was gave medical help, or shelter to the trav-
either a wooden stirrup or a piece of ellers. They also served as centres for
rope which only provided a toe-hold. education and learning. In this way, the
Thus, it was not difficult for infantry to Catholic Church played an important
face the charge of heavy cavalry. The role in the cultural life of Europe.
second invention was a new type of har- However, some of the monasteries
ness which enabled a horse to draw which became exceedingly wealthy be-
twice the amount of load it pulled earli- gan to behave like feudal lords. This led
er. It is believed that both these inven- to internal discord and conflict with the
tions came to Europe from the East, pos- rulers who resented the worldly power
sibly from East Asia and that they of the Church and of the Popes. We
spread in India from the 10th century shall study in a subsequent chapter how
onwards. the conflict between the Church and the
Thus, many factors, political, eco- state in Europe had an effect outside
nomic and military, were responsible for Europe as well.
the growth of feudalism in Europe. Even
when strong governments emerged after The Arab World
the 11th century the traditions had be- The rise of Islam was instrumental in
come too strong for the king to easily uniting the warring Arab tribes into a
reduce the power of the feudal chiefs. powerful empire. The Arab empire
Apart from the system of feudalism, founded by early Caliphs embraced,
the pattern of life in Europe during what apart from Arabia, Syria, Iraq, Iran,
is called the medieval period was also Egypt, North Africa and Spain. Follow-
shaped by the Christian Church. We ing internal differences and civil wars
have already referred to the role of the among the Arab tribes, the Abbasids
Greek Orthodox Church in the Byzan- came to power as Caliphs at Baghdad in
tine empire and in Russia. In the ab- the middle of the eighth century. The
sence of a powerful empire in the West, Abbasids claimed to belong to the same
the Catholic Church took on some of the tribe to which the Prophet Muhammad
functions of the government as well. The belonged and were for that reason con-
Pope, who was the head of the Catholic sidered holy. For about 150 years the
Church, became not only a religious Abbasid empire was one of the most
head, but one who exercised a great deal powerful and flourishing empire. At its
of political and moral authority as well. height it included all the important cen-
For the medieval age in Europe, as in tres of civilisation in the area, viz parts
West Asia and India, was an age of reli- of North Africa, Egypt, Syria, Iran and
gion and those who spoke on behalf of Iraq. The Abbasids controlled not only,
religion exercised a great deal of power some of die most productive countries of
 Medieval India 6
West Asia and North Africa but also ample set by the Caliphs was followed
commanded the important trade routes by individual nobles. In a short space of
linking the Mediterranean world with time, almost all the important scientific
India and China. The safety and security works of the various countries had be-
which the Abbasids provided to these come available in Arabic. We know a
trade routes was an important factor for good deal about the impact of Greek
the wealth and prosperity of the people science and philosophy on the Arabs,
in the area and of the splendour and largely due to the work done in recent
magnificence of the Abbasid court. The years by a devoted band of European
Arabs were keen merchants and quickly scholars. We are also beginning to have
emerged as the most enterprising and a better idea of the impact of Chinese
wealthy merchants and seafarers in the science and philosophy on the Arab
world during the period. Numerous cit- world. Many Chinese inventions such as
ies, with magnificent buildings, both the compass, paper, printing, gun pow-
private and public, arose. The standard der and even the humble wheel barrow
of living and the cultural environment of travelled from China to Europe via the
the Arab towns could hardly be paral- Arabs during this period. The famous
leled in any country in the world during Venetian traveller, Marco Polo, travelled
the period. The most famous Caliphs of to China in order to know more about it
this period were al-Mamun and Harun- and to breach the Arab monopoly of
al-Rashid. The splendour of their court Europe‘s trade with China
and their palaces and of their patronage Unfortunately, we have only a lim-
to men of science and learning, became ited knowledge of India‘s economic and
subjects of numerous stories and leg- cultural relations with the Arab world
ends. during the period, and India‘s scientific
During the early period, the Arabs contribution to it. The decimal system
displayed a remarkable capacity of as- which is the basis of modern mathemat-
similating the scientific knowledge and ics and which had developed in India in
administrative skills of the ancient civi- the fifth century, travelled to the Arab
lisations they had overrun. They had no world. During the ninth century it was
hesitation in employing non- Muslims, popularized in the region by the Arab
such as Christians and Jews and also mathematician al-Khwarizmi. It was
non-Arabs, particularly the Iranians introduced to Europe in the twelfth cen-
many of whom were Zoroastrians and tury by a monk, Abelard, and became
even Buddhists, for running the admin- known as the system of Arab numerals!
istration. Although the Abbasid Caliphs Many Indian works dealing with as-
were orthodox Muslims they opened tronomy and mathematics were also
wide the gate of learning from all quar- translated into Arabic. The famous work
ters as long as it did not challenge the on astronomy, Surya Siddhanta, which
fundamental tenets of Islam. The Caliph had been revised and reformed by Ary-
al-Mamun set up a House of Wisdom abhatta was one of these. Works of
(bait-ul-hikmat) at Baghdad for trans- Charak and Sushruta dealing with med-
lating into Arabic the learning from var- icine were also translated. Indian trad-
ious civilisations — Greek, Byzantine, ers and merchants continued to visit the
Egyptian, Iranian and Indian. The ex- marts of Iraq and Iran, and Indian physi-
 Medieval India 7
cians and master-craftsmen were re- India began to slow down during the
ceived at the caliph‘s court at Baghdad. period.
A number of Sanskrit literary works, Arab science declined after the four-
such as Kalila wa Dimma (Panchatantra) teenth century partly due to political
were also translated into Arabic and and economic developments affecting
formed the basis of Aesop’s Fables in the the area but even more on account of
West. A more detailed study of the im- growing orthodoxy which stifled free
pact of Indian sciences and philosophy thought
on the Arab world and of the Arab sci-
ences on India is now being made. Africa
By the beginning of the tenth centu- The Arabs also brought Africa more
ry, the Arabs had reached the stage actively into the Indian Ocean and Mid-
when they could make their own con- dle Eastern trade. Arab migrations and
tribution to the various sciences. The mercantile activity along the east coast
growth of geometry, algebra, geography, of Africa increased enormously, extend-
astronomy, optics, chemistry, medicine, ing up to Malindi, Zanzibar, etc. The
etc in the Arab world during this period Arab trade included large scale export of
made it the leader in the field of science. slaves to West Asia and North Africa, as
Some of the best stocked libraries in the also gold, ivory etc. In Africa, there was
world and the leading scientific labora- a powerful kingdom of long standing,
tories were established in the Arab Ethiopia, which had many towns. The
world during the period. However, it is Ethiopians were engaged in the Indian
necessary to remember that many of Ocean trade across Aden to India. Many
these achievements were the result of of the Ethiopians, called Habshis, were
work done by people outside Arabia, in Christians. They were closely allied to
Khorasan, Egypt, Spain, etc. The Arab the Byzantine empire in the Indian
science was truly international. It has Ocean. The economic trade position of
been called Arab science because Arabic Ethiopia weakened with the decline of
was the language of literature and the Byzantine empire following the rise
thought in the entire area and people of the Ottomans in the fourteenth cen-
from various countries could move freely tury.
and work or settle down anywhere they
liked. The remarkable degree of intellec- East and Southeast Asia
tual and personal freedom enjoyed by China‘s society and culture had at-
scientists and scholars as well as the tained a climax in the eighth and ninth
patronage extended to them, was an centuries under Tang rule. The Tang
important factor in the remarkable rulers extended their over lordship over
growth of Arab science and civilisation. large parts of Sinkiang in Central Asia,
Such freedom was not available in Eu- including Kashgar. This helped in giving
rope at that time due to the rigid atti- a fillip to the overland trade across what
tude of the Christian Church. Perhaps, is called the ‗Silk Road‘. Not only silk,
conditions in India were similar, for but fine quality porcelain and works in
hardly any of the Arab sciences could jade — a semi-precious stone -— were
filter into India and growth of science in exported to West Asia, Europe and In-
dia across this road. Foreign traders
 Medieval India 8
were welcome in China. Many of The Sailendra dynasty which arose
them— Arabs, Persians and Indians — in the seventh century, and constituted
came to South China across the seas and the Sri Vijaya empire, flourished till the
settled down in Canton. tenth century. At its height, the empire
The T‘ang Empire declined in the included Sumatra, Java, the Malaya pen-
middle of the ninth century and was insula, parts of Siam (modern Thailand)
replaced in the tenth century by another and even the Philippines. Since the early
dynasty, the Sung, which ruled over centuries of the Christian era and even
China for about one hundred years. Its before, India had close trade and cultur-
growing weakness gave an opportunity al contacts with the countries of the
to the Mongols to conquer China in the area.
thirteenth century. The Mongols Many Chinese and Indian scholars
wrought great death and destruction in visited Palembang, the capital of the
China. But due to their highly disci- empire, which was located in Sumatra,
plined and mobile cavalry forces, the and which had been a Sanskrit and
Mongol rulers were able to unify North Buddhist centre of study even earlier.
and South China under one control for The rulers built magnificent temples
the first time. For some time, they also during the period, the most famous of
brought under their sway Tonkin them being the temple of Borobodur in
(North Vietnam and Annam (South Vi- east Java dedicated to the Buddha. Indi-
etnam) In the North, they overran Ko- an epics, such as the Ramayana and the
rea. Thus, the Mongols established one Mahabharata are displayed in the panels
of the largest empires in East Asia. of the temple. These epics continued to
The Venetian traveller, Marco Polo, provide the themes for literature, folk-
who spent some time at the court of art, puppet-plays, etc.
Kublai Khan, the most famous of the The Kambuja empire extended over
Mongol rulers of China, has left a pic- Cambodia and Annam (south Vietnam)
turesque account of his court. Marco and replaced the Hinduized kingdom of
Polo returned- to Italy by sea, visiting Funan which had dominated the area
Malabar in India on the way. Thus, al- earlier. The Kambuja empire flourished
ready different parts of the world were till the fifteenth century and attained a
coming closer together and their com- high level of cultural development and
mercial and cultural contacts were in- prosperity. Its most magnificent
creasing. achievement may be considered the
The countries of Southeast Asia had group of temples near Ankor Thom in
to meet the expansionist urges of some Cambodia, the largest is the temple of
of the Chinese rulers, China having de- AnkorWat. It has three kilometres of
veloped a strong navy by this time. But covered passages containing beautiful
during most of the time, the Southeast statues of Hindu gods, goddesses and
Asian states remained independent. The nymphs (apsaras), and skillfully execut-
two most powerful kingdoms which ed panels containing scenes from the
flourished in the region during the peri- Ramayana and the Mahabharata. This en-
od were the Sailendra and Kambuja em- tire group of buildings had been com-
pires. pletely forgotten by the outside world
and been largely taken over by the jun-
 Medieval India 9
gle, till it was discovered by a French- outside world. Though deeply influ-
man in 1860It is interesting to note that enced by Indian civilization and culture,
the most vigorous period of temple they were able to attain a distinctive
building activity was the period from culture of their own of a very high order.
the tenth to the twelfth century, which Arab traders who had been trading with
was also the most magnificent period of south India and with the countries of
temple building activity in India. Many Southeast Asia earlier, became even
Indian traders went to south China, more active after the establishment of
after travelling overland from the port of the Abbasid empire. But the Arabs did
Takkala in the Malaya peninsula to the not displace the Indian traders and
South China Sea. Many brahmans, and preachers. In the early phase, they did
later Buddhist monks settled in coun- not make any special effort to convert
tries of Southeast Asia and in south the people of the area to Islam. Thus, a
China. Buddhism travelled from China remarkable degree of religious freedom
to Korea and Japan. While Buddhism and tolerance, and the commingling of
declined in India, in course of time, it various cultures marked these countries,
continued to flourish in Southeast Asia. a characteristic they have retained even
In fact, it assimilated the Hindu gods today. The conversion of Indonesia and
into the Buddhist fold, and even took Malaya to Islam took place gradually,
over the Hindu temples—a movement after Islam had consolidated its position
opposite to what was happening in In- in India. Elsewhere, Buddhism contin-
dia at that time. ued to flourish. Commercial and cultural
Thus, India had close commercial contacts between India and these coun-
and cultural contacts both with the tries were snapped only with the estab-
West, Southeast Asia, China, as also lishment of the Dutch rule in Indonesia,
Madagascar and countries on the east the English rule in India, Burma and
coast of Africa. The various kingdoms in Malaya, and later, the French rule in
Southeast Asia acted as a kind of a Indo-China.
bridge for commercial and cultural con-
tacts between India and China, and the
 Chapter 2
Northern India
Age of the Three Empires (800–1000)
A number of powerful empires Pratihara clashed with the Rashtrakutas
arouse in north India and the Deccan also.
between AD 750 and 1000. These were The Pala empire was founded by
the Pala empire, which dominated east- Gopala, probably in 750 when he was
ern India till the middle of the ninth elected king by the notable men of the
century; the Pratihara empire, which area to end the anarchy prevailing there.
dominated western India and the upper He was succeeded in 770 by his son
Gangetic valley till the middle of the Dharmapala who ruled till
tenth century, and the Rashtrakuta em- 810Dharmapala was defeated by the
pire, which dominated the Deccan and Rashtrakuta ruler, Dhruva who had ear-
also controlled territories in north and lier defeated the Pratihara ruler. But
south India at various times. Each of after these signal victories Dhruva re-
these empires, although they fought turned to the Deccan, leaving the field
among themselves, provided stable con- free to Dharmapala who occupied Ka-
ditions of life over large areas, extended nauj and held a grand darbar there
agriculture, built ponds and canals, and which was attended by vassal rulers
gave patronage to arts and letters, in- from Punjab, eastern Rajasthan, etc. But
cluding temples. Of the three, the Rash- Dharmapala could not consolidate his
trakuta empire lasted the longest. It was control over Kanauj. The Pratihara pow-
not only the most powerful empire of er revived under Nagabhatta II, Dhar-
the time, but also acted as a bridge be- mapala fell back, but was defeated near
tween north and south India in econom- Mongyr. Bihar and modern east UP re-
ic as well as in cultural matters. mained a bone of contention between
the Palas and the Pratiharas though Bi-
The Struggle For Domination har, in addition to Bengal, remained un-
In North India: The Palas der the control of the Palas for most of
Following the reign of Harsha, Ka- the time.
nauj was considered the symbol of the Failure in the north compelled the
sovereignty of north India — a position Pala rulers to turn their energies in other
which Delhi was to acquire later. Con- directions. Devapala, the son of Dhar-
trol of Kanauj also implied control of the mapala, who succeeded to the throne in
upper Gangetic valley and it is rich re- 810 and ruled for 40 years, extended his
sources in trade and agriculture. In addi- control over Pragjyotishpur (Assam)
tion, the Palas and the Pratihara clashed and parts of Orissa. Probably a part of
with each other for the control of the modern Nepal was also brought under
area extending from Banaras to south Pala suzerainty.
Bihar which again had rich resources Thus, for about a hundred years,
and well developed traditions. The from the middle of the 8th to the middle
of 9th century the Pala rulers dominated
 Medieval India 11
eastern India. For some time, their con- The Palas had close trade contacts
trol extended up to Varanasi. Their and cultural links with South-East Asia.
power is attested to by an Arab mer- The trade with Southeast Asia was very
chant, Sulaiman, who visited India in profitable and added greatly to the
the middle of the ninth century and prosperity of the Pala empire and led to
wrote an account of it. He calls the Pala the incursion of gold and silver from
kingdom Ruhma (or Dharma, short for these countries into Bengal. The power-
Dharmapala) and says that the Pala ruler ful Sailendra dynasty, which was Bud-
was at war with his neighbours, the dhist in faith and which ruled over Ma-
Pratiharas and the Rashtrakutas, but his laya, Java, Sumatra and the neighbour-
troops were more numerous than his ing islands, sent many embassies to the
adversaries. He tells us that it was eu- Pala court and sought permission to
tomary for the Pala king to be accompa- build a monastery at Nalanda, and also
nied by a force of 50000 elephants and requested the Pala ruler, Devapala, to
that 10 to 15 thousand men in his army endow five villages for its upkeep. The
were employed in ‗fulling and washing request was granted and bears testimo-
clothes‘. The strength of his army can ny to the close relations between the
thus be imagined. two empires.
Information about the Palas is also
provided to us by Tibetan chronicles, The Pratiharas
although these were written down in The Pratiharas are also called Gurja-
the seventeenth century. According to ra-Pratihars, probably because they
these, the Pala rulers were great patrons originated from Gurjaratra or south
of Buddhist learning and religion. The western Rajasthan. They were, at first,
Nalanda University which had been probably local officials but were able to
famous all over the eastern world was carve out a series of principalities in
revived by Dharmapala and 200 villages central and eastern Rajasthan. They
were set apart for meeting its expenses. gained prominence on account of their
He also founded the Vikramasila Uni- resistance to Arab incursions from
versity which became second only to Sindh into Rajasthan. However, the Ar-
Nalanda in fame. It was located on the abs were decisively defeated by the Cha-
top of a hill, on the banks of the Gang a lukya rulers of Gujarat in 738 and ceased
in Magadha amidst pleasant surround- to be a real danger.
ings. The Palas built many viharas in The efforts of the early Pratihara
which a large number of Buddhist rulers to extend their control over the
monks lived. upper Ganga valley and Malwa were
The Pala rulers also had close cultur- defeated by the Rashtrakuta rulers
al relations with Tibet. The noted Bud- Dhruva and Gopal III. In 790 and again
dhist scholars, Santarakshita and in 806–07, the Rashtrakutas defeated
Dipankara (called Atisa), were invited the Pratiharas, and then withdrew to
to Tibet, and they introduced a new the Deccan, leaving the field free for the
form of Buddhism there. As a result, Palas. Perhaps the main interest of the
many Tibetan Buddhists flocked to the Rashtrakutas was the domination of
universities of Nalanda and Vikramsila Malwa and Gujarat.
for study.
 Medieval India 12
The real founder of the Pratihara and extended it over Magadha and
empire and the greatest ruler of the dyn- north Bengal. His inscriptions have also
asty was Bhoja. He rebuilt the empire, been found in Kathiawar, East Punjab
and by about AD 836 he had recovered and Awadh. Mahendrapala fought a
Kanauj which remained the capital of battle with the king of Kashmir but had
the Pratihara empire for almost a centu- to yield to him some of the territories in
ry. Bhoja tried to extend his sway in the the Punjab won by Bhoja.
east, but he was defeated and checkmat- The Pratiharas, thus, dominated
ed by the Pala ruler, Devapala. He then north India for over a hundred years,
turned towards central India and the from the first quarter of the ninth to the
Deccan and Gujarat. This led to a revival middle of the tenth century. Al-Masudi,
of the struggle with the Rashtrakutas. In a native of Baghdad, who visited Gujarat
a sanguinary battle on the bank of the in 915-16, testifies to the great power
Narmada, Bhoja was able to retain his and prestige of the Pratihara rulers and
control over considerable parts of Mal- the vastness of their empire. He calls the
wa, and some parts of Gujarat. But he Gurjara-Pratihara kingdom al-Juzr (a
could progress no further in the Deccan. corrupt form of Gurjara) and the king
Hence, he turned his attention to the Baura, probably a mispronunciation of
north again. According to an inscription, Adivdraha, the title used for Bhoja, alt-
his territories extended to the western hough Bhoja had died by that time. Al-
side of the river Sutlej. Arab travellers Masudi says that the empire of Juzr had
tell us that the Pratihara rulers had the 1,800,000 villages, cities and rural areas
best cavalry in India. Import of horses and was about 2000 km in length and
from Central Asia and Arabia was an 2000 km in breadth. The king‘s army
important item of India‘s trade at that had four divisions, each consisting of
time. Following the death of Devapala 700000 to 900000 men. ―With the army
and the weakening of the Pala empire, of the north he fights against the ruler of
Bhoja also extended his empire in the Multan and other Muslims who align
east. themselves with him‖. The army of the
The name of Bhoja is famous in leg- south fought against the Rashtrakutas
ends. Perhaps, the adventures of Bhoja and of the east against the Palas. Fie had
in the early part of his life, his gradual only 2000 elephants trained for war, but
recon quest of his lost empire and his the best cavalry of any king in the coun-
final recovery of Kanauj struck the imag- try.
ination of his contemporaries. Bhoja was The Pratiharas were patrons of
a devotee of Vishnu and adopted the learning and literature. The great San-
title of ‗Adivaraha‘ which has been skrit poet and dramatist, Rajashekhar,
found inscribed in some of his coins. He lived at the court of Mahipala, a grand-
is sometimes called Mihir Bhoja to dis- son of Bhojai. The Pratihara also embel-
tinguish him from Bhoja Paramara of lished Kanauj with many fine buildings
Ujjjain who ruled a little later. and temples.
Bhoja probably died in about 885. He During the eighth and ninth centu-
was succeeded by his son Mahendrapala ries, many Indian scholars went with
I. Mahendrapala, who ruled till about embassies to the court of the Caliph at
908-9 maintained the empire of Bhoja Baghdad. These scholars introduced
 Medieval India 13
Indian sciences, especially mathematics, fought constantly against the eastern
algebra and medicine to the Arab world. Chalukyas of Vengi (in modern Andhra
We do not know the names of the Indi- Pradesh) and in the south against the
an kings who sent these embassies. The Pallavas of Kanchi and the Pandyas of
Pratiharas were well-known for their Madurai.
hostility to the Arab rulers of Sindh. Probably the greatest Rashtrakuta
Despite this, it seems that the movement rulers were Govinda III (793–814) and
of scholars and goods between India and Amoghavarsha (814–878). After a suc-
West Asia continued even during this cessful expedition against Nagabhatta of
period. Kanauj and the annexation of Malwa,
Between 915 and 918, the Rashtraku- Govinda III turned to the south and
ta king, Indra III, again attacked Kanauj, made expeditions against the Kerala,
and devastated the city. This weakened Pandya and the Chola kings, the Palla-
the Pratihara empire, and Gujarat prob- vas and the Ganga (of Karnataka). The
ably passed into the hands of the Rash- king of Lanka and his minister were
trakutas. The loss of Gujarat, which was captured and brought over as prisoners
the hub of the overseas trade and the to Halapur. Two statues of the lord of
main outlet for north Indian goods to Lanka were carried to Manyakhet, and
West Asian countries, was another installed like pillars of victory in front of
blow to the Pratiharas. Another Rash- a Siva temple.
trakuta ruler, Krishna III, invaded north Amoghavarsha ruled for 64 years but
India in about 963 and defeated the by temperament he preferred the pur-
Pratihara ruler. This was followed by suit of religion and literature to war. He
the rapid dissolution of the Pratihara was himself an author and is credited
empire. with writing the first Kannada book on
poetics. He was a great builder, and is
The Rashtrakutas said to have built the capital city Man-
While the Palas and the Pratiharas yakhet so as to excel the city of Indra.
were ruling over north India, the Deccan There were many rebellions in the
was being ruled by the Rashtrakutas, a far flung Rashtrakuta empire under
remarkable dynasty which produced a Amoghavarsha. His grandson, Indra III,
long line of warriors and able adminis- (915–927) re-established the empire.
trators. The kingdom was founded by After the defeat of Mahipala and the
Dantidurga who set up his capital at sack of Kanauj in 915, Indra III was the
Manyakhet or Malkhed near modem most powerful ruler of the times.
Sholapur. The Rashtrakutas soon domi- Krishna III (934–963) was the last in
nated the entire area of northern Maha- a line of brilliant rulers. He was engaged
rashtra. They also engaged with the in a struggle against the Paramaras of
Pratiharas for the overlordship of Guja- Malwa and the eastern Chalukyas of
rat and Malwa as we have seen above. Vengi. He also launched a campaign
Although their raids did not result in the against the Chola ruler of Tanjore, who
extension of the Rashtrakuta empire to had supplanted the Pallavas of Kanchi.
the Ganga valley, they brought rich Krishna III defeated the Chola king,
plunder, and added to the fame of the Parantaka I (AD 949), and annexed the
Rashtrakutas. The Rashtrakutas also northern part of the Chola empire. He
 Medieval India 14
then pressed down to Rameshwaram armed forces. The king also dispensed
and set up a pillar of victory there and justice. Vassal rulers and autonomous
built a temple. After his death, all his chiefs often limited the area of the direct
opponents united against his successor. administration of the king, although the
The Rashtrakuta capital, Malkhed, was kings adopted high sounding titles such
sacked and burnt in 972. This marked as Maharajadiraj param-bhattaraka etc.,
the end of the Rashtrakuta empire. and claimed to be chakravartin, or su-
The Rashtrakuta rule in the Deccan preme, of all Indian rulers.
thus lasted for almost two hundred The king‘s position was generally he-
years, till the end of the tenth century. reditary. Thinkers of the time empha-
The Rashtrakuta rulers were tolerant in sised absolute loyalty and obedience to
their religious views and patronised not the king because of the insecurity of the
only Saivism and Vaishnavism but Jain- times. Wars were frequent between
ism as well. The famous rock-cut temple kings and between kings and their vas-
of Siva at Ellora was built by one of the sals. While kings strove to maintain law
Rashtrakuta kings, Krishna I, in the and order within their kingdoms, their
ninth century. His successor, Amo- arms rarely extended far enough. Vassal
ghavarsha, is said to have been a Jain but rulers and autonomous chiefs often lim-
be also patronised other faiths. The ited the area under direct administra-
Rashtrakutas allowed Muslim traders to tion. A contemporary writer,
settle, and permitted Islam to be Medhatithi, thinks that it was the right
preached, in their dominions. This toler- of an individual to bear arms, in order to
ant policy helped to promote foreign defend himself against thieves and as-
trade which enriched the Rashtrakutas. sassins. He also thinks that it was right
The Rashtrakuta kings were great to oppose an unjust king. Thus, the ex-
patrons of arts and letters. In their treme view of royal rights and privileges,
courts, we find not only Sanskrit schol- put forward mainly in the Puranas, was
ars, but also poets and others who wrote not accepted by all the thinkers.
in Prakrit and in the apabhramsha, the so- The rules about succession were not
called corrupt languages which were the rigidly fixed. The eldest son often suc-
fore-runners of the various modern Indi- ceeded, but there are many instances
an languages. The great apabharamsha when the eldest son had to fight his
poet, Svayambhu, and his son probably younger brothers, and sometimes lost to
lived at the Rashtrakuta court. them. Sometimes, rulers designated the
eldest son or another favourite son as
Political Ideas and Organisa- their Yuvaraj or successor. In that case,
tion the Yuvaraj stayed at the capital and
The system of administration in the- helped in the task of administration.
se empires was based on the ideas and Younger sons were sometimes appoint-
practices of the Gupta empire, Harsha‘s ed provincial governors.
kingdom in the north, and the Cha- Kings were generally advised by a
lukyas in the Deccan. As before, the number of ministers. The ministers were
monarch was the centre of all affairs. He chosen by the king, generally from lead-
was the head of the administration as ing families. Their position was often
well as the commander-in-chief of the hereditary. Thus, in the case of the Pala
 Medieval India 15
kings, we hear that a brahmana family gation of loyalty, paying a fixed tribute
supplied four successive chief ministers and supplying the quota of troops to the
to Dharmapala and his successors. From overlord. Sometimes, a son of a vassal
epigraphic and literary records, it ap- chief was required to stay in attendance
pears that in almost every kingdom, of the overlord to guard against rebel-
there was a minister of correspondence lion. The vassal chiefs were required to
which included foreign affairs, a revenue attend the darbar of the overlord on spe-
minister, treasurer, chief of the armed cial occassions, and sometimes they
forces (senapati), chief justice, and purohi- were required to marry one of their
ta. All the ministers, except the purohita, daughters to the overlord or to one of his
were expected to lead military cam- sons. But the vassal chiefs always as-
paigns as well when called upon to do pired to be independent and wars be-
so. We also hear of officials of the royal tween them and the overlord were fre-
household (antahpur). Since the king was quent. Thus, the Rashtrakutas had to
the fountain head of all power, some of fight constantly against the vassal chiefs
the officers of household became very of Vengi (Andhra) and Karanataka; the
powerful. Pratiharas had to fight against the Par-
The armed forces were very im- amaras of Malwa and the Chandellas of
portant for the maintenance and expan- Bundelkhand.
sion of the empire. Armed forces includ- The directly administered territories
ed well-organised infantry and cavalry, in the Pala and Pratihara empires were
war chariots and large number of war- divided into bhukti (provinces), and man-
elephants. Large numbers of horses were dala or visaya (districts). The governor of
imported both by Rashtrakuta and a province was called uparika and the
Pratihara kings by sea from Arabia and head of a district, visayapati. The uparika
West Asia, and over land from Khurasan was expected to collect land revenue
(east Persia), and Central Asia. Some of and maintain law and order with the
the kings, especially the Rashtrakutas, help of the army. The visayapati was ex-
had a large number of forts. They were pected to do the same within his juris-
garrisoned by special troops, and had diction. During the period, there was an
their own independent commanders. increase of smaller chieftains, called sa-
The infantry consisted of regular and mantas or bhogapatis, who dominated over
irregular troops, and of levies provided
a number of villages. The visayapatis and
by the vassal chiefs. The regular troops
these smaller chiefs tended to merge
were often hereditary and sometimes
with each other, and later on the word
drawn from different regions all over
samanta began to be used indiscriminate-
India. The Pala kings, and perhaps the
ly for both of them.
Rashtrakutas, had their own navies, but
In the Rashtrakuta kingdom, the di-
we do not know much about their
rectly administered areas were divided
strength and organisation.
The empires consisted of area ad- into rashtra (provinces), visaya and bhuk-
ministered directly and areas ruled over ti. The head of rashtra was called rash-
by the vassal chiefs. The latter were au- trapati, and he performed the same func-
tonomous as far as their internal affairs tions as the uparika did in the Pala and
were concerned, and had a general obli- Pratihara empires. The visaya was like a
 Medieval India 16
modern district, and the bhukti was a An important feature of the period
smaller unit to it. In the Pala and Prati- was the rise in the Deccan of hereditary
hara empires, the unit below the visaya revenue officers called nad gavundas or
was called pattala. The precise role of desa gramakutas. They appear to have dis-
these smaller units is not known. It charged the same functions as the
seems that their main purpose was the deshmukhs and deshpandes of later
realization of land revenue and some times in Maharashtra. This develop-
attention to law and order. Apparently ment, along with the pettry chieftain-
all the officials were paid by giving them ships in north India which we have just
grants of rent-free land. This tended to mentioned, had an important bearing on
blur the distinction between local offi- society and politics. As the power of
cials and the hereditary chiefs and these hereditary elements grew, the vil-
smaller vassals. Similarly, the rashtrapati lage committees became weaker. The
or governor sometimes enjoyed the sta- central ruler also found it difficult to
tus and title of a vassal king. assert his authority over them and to
Below these territorial divisions was control them. This is what we mean
the village. The village was the basic when we say that the government was
unit of administration. The village ad- becoming ‗feudalised‘.
ministration was carried on by the vil- Another point to bear in mind is the
lage headman and the village accountant relationship of state and religion during
whose posts were generally hereditary. the time. Many of the rulers of that time
They were paid by grants of rent-free were devout followers of Siva or Vishnu,
lands. or they followed the teachings of Bud-
The head man was often helped in dhism or Jainism. They made handsome
his duties by the village elders called donations to the Brahmans, or the Bud-
grama mahajana or grama mahattara. In the dhist viharas or the Jain temples. But,
Rashtrakuta kingdom, particularly in generally, they gave patronage to all the
Karnataka, we are told that there were faiths, and did not persecute anyone for
village committees to manage local his or her religious beliefs. Muslims
schools, tanks, temples and roads. They were also welcomed and allowed to
could also receive money or property in preach their faith by the Rashtrakuta
trust, and manage them. These sub- kings. Normally, a king was not ex-
committees worked in close cooperation pected to interfere with the customs, or
with the headman and received a per- with the code of conduct prescribed by
centage of the revenue collection. Simple the law books called the Dharmashastras.
disputes were also decided by these But he did have the general duty of pro-
committees. Towns had similar commit- tecting Brahmans and maintaining the
tees, to which the heads of trade guilds division of society into four states or
were also associated. Law and order in varnas. The purohita was expected to
the towns and in areas in their immedi- guide the king in this matter. But it
ate vicinity was the responsibility of the should not be thought that the purohita
koshta pala or kotwal—a figure made fa- interfered with state affairs or dominat-
miliar through many stories. ed the king. Medhatithi, the foremost
expounder of Dharmashastra in this peri-
 Medieval India 17
od, says that the king‘s authority was priests, or by the sacred law expounded
derived both from the Dharmashastras, by them. Religion was, however im-
including the Vedas, and from Ar- portant for legitimizing and strengthen-
thashastra or the science of polity. His ing the position of the rulers. Many of
public duty or rajadharma was to be the rulers therefore built grand temples,
often at their capitals, and gave hand-
based on the Arthshastra, that is, on prin-
some land-grants for the maintenance of
ciples of politics. This really meant that
politics and religion were, in essence, the temples and to the Brahmans.
kept apart, religion being essentially a
personal duty of the king. Thus, the
kings were not dominated by the
 Medieval India 18

Chapter 3
The Chola Empire
(from Ninth to the Twelth Century)
The Chola empire which arose in the were partly motivated by his desire to
ninth century brought under its concrol bring the trade with the Southeast Asian
a large part of the peninsula. The Cholas countries under his control. The Coro-
developed a powerful navy which ena- mandel coast and Malabar were the cen-
bled them to conquer Sri Lanka and the tres for India‘s trade with the countries
Maldives. Its impact was felt even by the of Southeast Asia. One of his naval ex-
countries of Southeast Asia. The Chola ploits was the conquest of the Maldives.
empire may be said to mark a climax in Rajaraja, annexed the northwestern
south Indian history. parts of the Ganga kingdom in Karna-
taka, and overran Vengi. Rajendra car-
The Rise of The Chola Empire ried forward the annexationist policy of
The founder of the Chola empire was Rajaraja by completely overrunning the
Vijayalaya, who was at first a feudatory Pandya and Chera countries and includ-
of the Pallavas. He captured Tanjore in ing them in his empire. The conquest of
AD 850. And by the end of the ninth cen- Sri Lanka was also completed, with the
tury, the Cholas had defeated both the crown and royal insignia of the king and
Pallavas of Kanchi (Tondaimandalam) the queen of Sri Lanka being captured in
and weakened the Pandyas, bringing the a battle. Sri Lanka was not able to free
southern Tamil country under their con- herself from the Chola control for an-
trol. But the Cholas were hard put to other 50 years.
defend their position against the Rash- Rajaraja and Rajendra I marked their
trakutas. As we have noted in a previous victories by erecting a number of Siva
chapter, Krishna III defeated the Chola and Vishnu temples at various places.
king, and annexed the northern part of The most famous of these was the Bri-
the Chola empire. This was a serious hadishwara temple at Tanjore which
set-back to the Cholas, but they rapidly was completed in 1010. The Chola rulers
recovered, particularly after the death of adopted the practice of having inscrip-
Krishna III in 965 and the downfall of tions written on the walls of these tem-
the Rashtrakuta empire. ples, giving a historical narrative of their
victories.
Age of Rajaraja and Rajendra I One of the most remarkable exploits
The greatest Chola rulers were Raja- in the reign of Rajendra I was the march
raja (985–1014) and his son Rajendra I across Kalinga to Bengal in which the
(1014–1044). Rajaraja destroyed the Chola armies crossed the river Ganga,
Chera navy at Trivandrum, and attacked and defeated two local kings. This ex-
Quilon. He then conquered Madurai and pedition, which was led by a Chola gen-
captured the Pandyan king. He also in- eral, took place in 1022 and followed in
vaded Sri Lanka and annexed its north- reverse the same route which the great
ern part to his empire. These moves conqueror Samudragupta had followed.
 Medieval India 19
To commemorate this occasion, Rajen- eros horns, ivory, etc. Tribute was the
dra I assumed the title of Gangaikon- word used by the Chinese for all articles
dachola (‗the Chola who conquered the brought for trade.
Ganga‘). He built a new capital near the The Chola rulers fought constantly
mouth of the Kaveri river and called it with the Chalukyas who had succeeded
Gangaikondacholapuram (‗the city of the Rashtrakutas. These are called the
the Chola who conquered the Ganga‘). later Chalukyas and their capital was at
Kalyani. The Cholas and the later Cha-
An even more remarkable exploit in lukyas clashed for the overlordship
the time of Rajendra I were the naval ofVengi (Rayalaseema), the Tunga-
expeditions against the revived Sri Vija- bhadra doab, and the Ganga ruled coun-
ya empire. The Sri Vijaya empire, which try in northwest Karnataka. Neither
had been revived in the 10th century, side was able to gain a decisive victory
extended over the Malay peninsula, Su- in this contest and ultimately it ex-
matra, Java and the neighbouring is- hausted both the kingdoms. It also ap-
lands, and controlled the overseas trade pears that the wars were becoming
route to China. The rulers of the Sailen- harsher during this time. The Chola rul-
dra dynasty of the Sri Vijaya kingdom ers sacked and plundered Chalukyan
were Buddhists and had cordial rela- cities including Kalyani, and massacred
tions with the Cholas. The Sailendra the people, including Brahmans and
ruler had built a Buddhist monastery at children. They adopted a similar policy
Nagapatnam and, at his instance, Rajen- in the Pandya country, settling military
dra I had endowed a village for its up- colonies to overawe the population.
keep. The cause of the breach between They destroyed Anuradhapura, the an-
the two apparently was the Chola ea- cient capital of the rulers of Sri Lanka,
gerness to remove obstacles to Indian and treated their king and queen harsh-
traders, and to expand trade with Chi- ly. These are blots in the history of the
na. The expeditions led to the conquest Chola empire. However, once they had
of Kadaram or Kedah and a number of conquered a country, the Cholas tried to
other places in the Malay peninsula and set up a sound system of administration
Sumatra. The Chola navy was the in it. One of the remarkable features of
strongest in the area, and for some time the Chola administration was their en-
the Bay of Bengal was converted into a couragement to local self- government in
‗Chola lake‘. the villages all over their empire.
The Chola rulers also sent a number The Chola empire continued to
of embassies to China. These were part- flourish during the twelfth century, but
ly diplomatic and partly commercial. it declined during the early part of the
Chola embassies reached China in 1016 thirteenth century. The later Chalukyan
and 1033A Chola embassy of 70 mer- empire in the Maharashtra area had also
chants reached China in 1077 and, ac- come to an end during the twelfth cen-
cording to a Chinese account, received tury. The place of the Cholas was taken
―81, 800 strings of copper-cash that is, by the Pandyas and the Hoysalas in the
more than four lakhs of rupees in return south, and the later Chalukyas were
for the articles of tribute comprising replaced by the Yadavas and the Kakati-
―glassware, camphor, brocades, rhinoc- yas. All these states extended patronage
 Medieval India 20
to arts and architecture. Unfortunately, inces. Sometimes, princes of the royal
they weakened themselves by continual- family were appointed governors of
ly fighting against each other, sacking provinces. Officials were generally paid
the towns and not even sparing the by giving them assignments of revenue-
temples. Ultimately, they were de- bearing lands.
stroyed by the sultans of Delhi at the The Chola rulers built a network of
beginning of the fourteenth century. royal roads which were useful for trade
as well as for the movement of the army.
Chola Government—Local Self Trade and commerce flourished in the
Government Chola empire, and there were some gi-
The king was the most important gantic trade guilds which traded with
person in the Chola administration. All Java and Sumatra.
authority rested in his hands, but he had The Cholas also paid attention to ir-
a council of ministers to advise him. The rigation. The river Kaveri and other riv-
Cholas maintained a large army. The ers were used for the purpose. Many
Venetian traveller, Marco Polo, who tanks for irrigation were built. Some of
visited Kerala in the thirteenth century, the Chola rulers carried out an elaborate
says that all the soldiers who were bod- survey of land in order to fix the gov-
yguards burnt themselves in the funeral ernment‘s share of the land revenue. We
pyre of the monarch when he died—a do not know what precisely the gov-
statement which may well be an exag- ernment‘s share was.
geration. The Cholas also had a strong In addition to land tax, the Chola
navy, as we have seen, which dominated rulers drew their income from tolls on
the Malabar and Coromandel coast and, trade, taxes on professions, and also
for some time, the entire Bay of Bengal. from the plunder of the neighbouring
The Chola state included area of cen- territories. The Chola rulers were
tral control, and loosely administered wealthy, and could afford to build a
areas under different types of local con- number of towns and magnificent mon-
trol. The state was interpersed with hill uments, including temples.
people and tribals. The basic unit of We have already referred to local
administration was the nadu which con- self-government in the villages in some
sisted of a number of villages having areas in the Rashtrakuta empire. We
close kinship ties and other close associ- know more about village government in
the Chola empire from a number of in-
ations. The number of nadus increased as
scriptions. We hear of two assemblies,
fresh lands were brought under cultiva-
tion by means of irrigation works such called the ur, and the sabha or mahasabha.
as ponds, wells, etc., and by converting The ur was a general assembly of the
hill or tribal people into agriculturists. village. However, we know more about
Grants to Brahmans and temples in- the working of the mahasabha. This was a
creased, both of which helped in ex- gathering of the adult men in the Brah-
panding cultivation. man villages which were called agra-
In the Chola kingdom, nadus were harams. These were villages with Brah-
grouped into valanadus. The Chola state man settlements in which most of the
was divided into four mandalams or prov- land was rent-free. These villages en-
joyed a large measure of autonomy. The
 Medieval India 21
affairs of the village were managed by an The number of storeys varied from five
executive committee to which educated to seven, and they had a typical style
persons owning property were elected which came to be called the vimana. A
either by drawing lots or by rotation. pillared hall called mandap, with elabo-
These members had to retire every three rately carved pillars and a flat roof, was
years. There were other committees for generally placed in front of the sanctum.
helping in the assessment and collection It acted as an audience hall and was a
of land revenue, for maintenance of law place for various other activities such as
and order, justice, etc. One of the im- ceremonial dances which were per-
portant committees was the tank com- formed by the devadasis—the women
mittee which looked after the distribu- dedicated to the service of the gods.
tion of water to the fields. The mahasabha Sometimes, a passage ran around the
could distribute new lands, and exercise sanctum so that the devotees could go
ownership rights over them. It could round it. Images of many other gods
also raise loans for the village and levy could be put in this passage. This entire
taxes. structure was enclosed in a courtyard
The self-government enjoyed by the- surrounded by high walls, which were
se Chola villages was a very fine system. pierced by lofty gates called gopurams. In
To some extent this system worked in course of time, the vimanas rose higher
the other villages as well. However, the and higher, the number of courtyards
growth of feudalism which is discussed were increased to two or three, and the
in an earlier chapter, restricted their gopurams also became more and more
autonomy.
elaborate. Thus the temple became a
miniature city or a palace, with living-
Cultural Life rooms for priests and many others being
The Chola rule saw the further provided in it. The temples generally
growth and climax of the bhakti move- enjoyed revenue-free grants of lands for
ment which we have discussed separate- their expenses. They also received
ly. The movement was closely linked to grants and rich donations from the
temples. The extent and resources of the wealthy merchants. Some of the temples
Chola empire enabled the rulers to build became so rich that they entered busi-
great capitals, such as Tanjore, Gangai- ness, lent money, and took part in busi-
kondacholapuram, Kanchi, etc. The rul- ness enterprises. They also spent money
ers maintained large households and on improving cultivation, digging tanks,
large palaces with banquet halls, spa- wells, etc., and providing irrigation
cious gardens and terraces. channels.
Temple architecture in the south at- An early example of the Dravida
tained its climax under the Cholas. The style of temple architecture is the eighth
style of architecture which came into century temple of Kailasanath at Kan-
vogue during this period is called Dravi- chipuram. One of the finest and most
da, because it was confined largely to elaborate examples of the style is, how-
south India. The main feature of this ever, provided by the Brihadiswara tem-
style was the building of many storeys ple at Tanjore built by Rajaraja I. This is
above the garbhagriha (the innermost also called the Rajaraja temple. The
chamber where the chief deity resides).
 Medieval India 22
temple at Gangaikondacholapuram, upon as the fifth Veda. The age of Kam-
though in a dilapidated condition, is ban who is placed in the second half of
another fine example of temple architec- the eleventh and the early part of the
ture under the Cholas. twelfth century is regarded as a golden
After the fall of the Cholas, temple age in Tamil literature. Kamban‘s Rama-
building activity continued under the yana is considered a classic in Tamil lit-
Chalukyas of Kalyani and the Hoysalas. erature. Kamban is believed to have
The district of Dharwar and the Hoysala lived at the court of a Chola king. Many
capital, Halebid, had a large number of others too took their themes from the
temples. The most magnificent of these Ramayana and Mahabharata, thus bring-
is the Hoysalesvara temple. It is the best ing these classics nearer to the people.
example of what is called the Chalukyan Though younger than Tamil, Kanna-
style. Apart from the images of gods and da also became a literary language dur-
their attendants, both men and women ing this period. The Rashtrakuta, the
(yaksha and yakshini), the temples contain Chalukya and the Hoysala rulers pat-
finely sculptured panels which show a ronized Kannada as well as Telugu. The
busy panorama of life, including dance, Rashtrakuta king, Amoghavarsha, wrote
music and scenes of war and love. a book on poetics in Kannada. Many
The art of sculpture attained a high Jain scholars also contributed to the
standard in south India during this peri- growth of Kannada. Pampa, Ponna and
od. One example of this was the giant Ranna are regarded as the three gems of
statue of Gomateswara at Sravana Bel- Kannada poetry. Although they were
gola. Another aspect was image-making under the influence of Jainism, they also
which reached its zenith in the dancing wrote on themes taken from the Rama-
figure of the Siva, called Nataraja. The yana and Mahabharata. Nanniah, who
Nataraja figures of this period, particu- lived at the court of a Chalukyan king
larly those in bronze, are considered began the Telugu version of the Maha-
masterpieces.
bharata.
The rulers of the various dynasties
We can, thus, see that the period
also patronized arts and letters during
from the eighth to the twelfth century
this period. While Sanskrit as well local
was not only remarkable for the growth
languages flourished. A number of popu-
of regional kingdoms and regional inte-
lar saints called Nayanmars and Alvars
gration, but was also a period of cultural
who were devotees of Siva and Vishnu
growth, and the development of trade
respectively, flourished in the Tamil
and commerce and agriculture in south
kingdoms between the sixth and the
India. Merchants and artisans increased
ninth centuries. They composed their their strength with the development of
works in Tamil. The writings of the Sai- foreign trade under the Cholas.
vite saints, which were collected into
eleven volumes under the name Tirumu-
rai in the early part of the twelfth centu-
ry, are considered sacred and are looked
 Medieval India 23

Chapter 4
Economic and Social Life,
Education and Religious Beliefs
(800-1200)
Although we have not yet studied ing parts of Eastern Europe and West
political developments in north India Asia and second the Sassanid empire
from 1000 to 1200, the entire period from based on Iran, had risen following the
800 to 1200 may be regarded as one for collapse of the Roman Empire. India had
the purpose of studying economic and extensive trade relations with both of
social life, and religious beliefs. Econom- these. Even more important was the
ic and social life, ideas and beliefs growth during this period in India‘s
change much more slowly than political trade and commerce with countries of
life. That is why many of the earlier fea- Southeast Asia — called Suwarna bhu-
tures which existed before the ninth mi or land of gold and with China. Ben-
century continued during this period gal, South India, as well as Malwa and
also. At the same time, there were a Gujarat were the main beneficiaries of
number of new factors which made the this. Thus, silver currency continued in
period different from the earlier one. Bengal and gold was plentiful in South
Generally speaking, new elements as India. The growth of the towns of An-
well as elements of continuity are found hilwara and Champaner in Gujarat may
in every historical period, but the extent be traced back to this period.
and direction of change varies. The undoubted decline of long dis-
tance trade within the country during
Trade and Commerce this period has to be sought more in
In Northern India, this period is of- internal conditions. There was the rise
ten considered a period of stagnation of many states and the growth of what
and even of decline. This is seen in the has been called ‗localism‘. In these states
steady decline of towns and the absence there was a marked growth of local self-
of gold and silver coins between the 7th sufficiency which grew in conjunction
and 10th centuries. with small towns. Within these states
The decline of foreign trade and ab- in many areas there was a growth of
sence of gold and silver coins is some- agriculture. Brahmans seem to have
times traced to the collapse in the west played an important role in this. Thus,
of the Roman empire with which India in many states in order to strengthen
had a flourishing and profitable trade. and legitimise their own positions, the
However, recent studies show that the rulers invited brahmans and gave them
impact of the collapse of the Roman grants of revenue-free lands to settle
empire on India‘s foreign trade was not down. In some areas, such as Bengal,
as much as was believed at one time. Sindh and the Tamil lands, these brah-
Two powerful empires, Byzantine em- man families extended and improved
pire based on Constantinople compris- cultivation and, at their instance and
 Medieval India 24
encouragement, many nomadic or semi- guilds, the most famous of them being
nomadic tribes also settled down to ag- the Manigraman and the Nanadesi
riculture. which had been active since early times.
Decline in trade and commerce is al- Many of the Indian traders settled down
so reflected In the thinking of the peri- in these countries and some of them
od. In some of the Dharmashastras even took wives from the local popula-
which were written during this period, a tion. The priests followed the traders
ban is put on travel beyond the areas and, in this way, both Buddhist and
where the munja grass does not grow or Hindu religious ideas were introduced
where the black gazelle does not roam, in the area. The Buddhist temple of
that is, outside India. Travel across the Borobudur in Java and the brahmanical
salt seas was also considered polluting. temple of Angkorvat in Cambodia testi-
of course, not everybody took these bans fy to the spread of both these religions
seriously. We have accounts of Indian there. Some of the ruling families of the
merchants, philosophers, medical men area were semi-Hinduised and they wel-
and craftsmen visiting Baghdad and oth- comed trade and cultural relations with
er Muslim towns in West Asia during India. In this way, Indian culture min-
this Beliefs period. Perhaps, the ban was gled with the local culture to establish
meant for brahmanas only or was meant new literary and cultural forms. Some
to discourage too many Indians going to observers think that the material pros-
the areas dominated by Islam, in the perity of the South-East Asian countries,
West and Buddhism in the East for fear the growth of civilisation and of large
of their bringing back heretical religious states was based on the introduction of
ideas which may be embarrassing and the Indian technique of irrigated rice-
unacceptable to the brahmanas and to cultivation.
the ruling groups. The chief Indian port for sailing to
The ban on sea-travel did not inter- Java, Sumatra, etc was Tamralipti (Tam-
fere with the growth of India‘s overseas luk) now in Bengal. In most of the sto-
trade with the countries of South-East ries of the period, merchants start for
Asia and China. A brisk trade between Suvarnadvipa (modern Indonesia) of
south India and the countries of South- Kataha. (Kedah in Malaya) from
East Asia had started from the sixth Tamralipti, A fourteenth-century'writer
century onwards. The growing geo- in Java speaks of people from Jambudvi-
graphical knowledge about the coun- pa (India) Karnataka (south India) and
tries of the area is reflected in the litera- Gaud (Bengal) coming unceasingly in
ture of that time. The peculiar features large numbers in large ships. Gujarat
of the languages of the area, their dress- traders also took part in this trade.
es, etc are mentioned in the books of the China had long been a main focus of
period such as Harisena‘s Brihatkatha- trade in the Indian Ocean. The Chinese
kosh. There are many stories about the consumed enormous quantities of spices
adventures of the Indian merchants in which were imported from South-East
the magical waters of the area, stories Asia and India. They also imported ivory
which became the basis of the well- the best of which came from Africa and
known story of Sindbad the Sailor. The glassware which came from West Asia.
Indian merchants were organised in To these were added medicinal herbs,
 Medieval India 25
lac, incense and all types of rare things. it of introducing cotton into Japan to
Generally products from Africa and two Indians who were carried over to
West Asia did not go beyond the Mala- the country by the black currents.
bar in South India. Nor did Chinese Indian rulers, particularly the Pala
ships go beyond the Moluccas in South- and Sena rulers of Bengal and, the Palla-
East Asia. Thus, both India and South- va and Chola rulers of south India, tried
East Asia were important staging cen- to encourage this trade by sending a
tres for trade between China and the series of embassies to the Chinese em-
countries of West Asia and Africa. Indi- perors. The Qhdla ruler, Rajendra I, sent
an traders — especially the Tamil and a naval expedition against Malaya and
Kalinga (from modern Orissa and Ben- neighbouring countries to overcome
gal) — played an active role in this their interference in the trade with Chi-
trade, along with Persians and later the na. The embassy sent to China by Ra-
Arabs. Much of the trade to China was jendra I travelled in an Indian ship.
carried in Indian ships, the teak-wood of There is evidence to show that there
Malabar, Bengal and Burma providing were many shipyards in south India,
the base of a strong tradition of ship Orissa and Bengal engaged in the con-
building. The weather conditions were struction of ships. Such shipyards were
also such that it was not possible for a also located on the west coast including
ship to sail straight from the Middle- Gujarat. Thus, growth of India‘s foreign
East to China. The ships would have to trade in the area was based on a strong
wait for a long period in ports in be- naval tradition, including ship building
tween for favourable winds which blow and a strong navy and the skill and en-
from the west, to the east before the terprise of its traders. The Chinese trade
monsoon and from east to west after the was very favourable to the countries
monsoon Indian and South-East- Asian engaged in it, so much so that in the
ports were preferred by the merchants thirteenth century, the Chinese govern-
for the purpose. The main sea-port for ment tried to restrict the export of gold
foreign trade in China during this period and silver from China. Indian ships
was Canton, or Kanfu as the Arab trav- gradually gave way to the Arabs and the
ellers called it. Buddhist scholars went Chinese whose ships were bigger and
from India to China by the sea-route. faster. We are told that the Chinese
The Chinese chroniclers tell us that the ships were several storeys high and car-
number of Indian monks in the Chinese ried 600 passengers apart from 400 sol-
court towards the close of the tenth and diers. An important factor in the growth
the beginning of the eleventh century of the Chinese ships was the use of a
was the highest in Chinese history. A Mariner‘s compass — an invention
Chinese account of slightly earlier peri- which later travelled from China to the
od tells us that the Canton river was full West.
of ships from India, Persia and Arabia. It While India‘s trade with the western
says that in Canton itself there were areas declined, trade with South-East
three brahmana temples in which Indian Asia and China grew steadily. The lead
brahmanas resided. The presence of In- in this trade was taken by south India,
dians in the Chinese Sea is testified to Bengal and Gujarat. This was an im-
by Japanese records which give the cred-
 Medieval India 26
portant factor in the wealth and pros- ries of these rulers, again various officers
perity of those areas. looked upon their assignments as hered-
itary fiefs. In course of time, even various
Society government offices began to be consid-
A number of important changes took ered hereditary. We have in an earlier
place in Indian society during this peri- chapter seen a case in Bengal where
od. One of these was the growing power members of a family held the office of
of a class of people who are variously mahamantri for four generations. Simi-
called samanta, ranak, rautta (rajput) larly, most offices began to be consid-
etc by the contemporary writers. Their ered the monopoly of a few families. The
origins were very different. Some were hereditary chiefs gradually began to as-
government officers who were increas- sume many of the functions of the gov-
ingly paid not in cash but by assigning ernment. They hot only assessed and
to- them revenue-bearing villages. Oth- collected land revenue, but also acquired
ers were defeated rajas and their sup- more and more administrative powers,
porters, who continued to enjoy, the such as the right, of awarding punish-
revenue of limited areas. Still others ments and exacting fines on their own,
were local hereditary chiefs or military which earlier were generally considered
adventurers who had carved out a royal privileges. They assumed the right
sphere of authority with the help of to sublet their lands to their followers
armed supporters. Still others were trib- without the prior permission of the rul-
al or clan leaders. The actual position of er, thus increasing the number of people
these sections varied. Some of them who drew sustenance from land without
were only village chiefs, some of them working on it themselves. This type of
dominated a tract-comprising a number society may be called a feudal society.
of villages, while a few dominated an The common feature of a feudal society
entire region. They constantly contend- is that the dominant position in society
ed against each other and tried to en- is held by those who draw their suste-
hance their sphere of authority and priv- nance from land without working on it.
ileges. The growth of such a society in India
The revenue assignments (called bhoga had far-reaching effects. It weakened the
or fief) granted by a ruler to his officers position of the ruler and made him more
and supporters were temporary in theo- dependent on the feudal chiefs, many of
ry and were liable to be resumed when- whom maintained their own military
ever the ruler wanted. However, in prac- forces which could be used to defy the
tice, this was rarely done, except in the ruler. The internal weaknesses of the
case of outright rebellion or disloyalty. Indian states became crucial in their
According to current notions, it was a contest with the Turks later on. The
sin to deprive even a defeated ruler of his small states discouraged trade and en-
lands. couraged an economy in which villages
As a result, the kingdoms of this period or groups of villages tended to become
included large areas dominated by de- largely self-sufficient. The domination of
feated and subordinate rulers who were the chiefs also weakened village self-
constantly on the lookout for reasserting government. But the feudal order did
their independence. Within the territo- not have disadvantages only. In an age of
 Medieval India 27
disorder and violence, the stronger lowish with the saffron rubbed on his
chiefs provided safety of life and proper- body. His shoes have ornamental de-
ty to the peasants and others without signs. His clothes are yellow with saf-
which daily life could not have func- fron and have a gold border. Whenever
tioned. Some of the chiefs also took in- he comes out in public, he is accompa-
terest in the extension and improvement nied by a number of attendants, includ-
of cultivation ing a person with a casket of betel-nuts
and five or six armed men.
Condition of The People Big merchants also aped the ways of
There was no decline in the high the king and sometimes their living was
standard of Indian handicrafts such as quite royal of a millionaire (kotisvara) in
textiles, work on gold and silver, metal- the Chalukyan empire, we are told that
lurgy, etc during the period. Indian agri- huge banners with ringing-bells were
culture also continued to be in a flour- hoisted over his house and that he
ishing condition. Many of the Arab trav- owned a large number of horses and
ellers testify to the fertility of the soil elephants. The main building was ap-
and the skill of the Indian peasant. proached by a staircase of crystal and
All the literary works of the period had a temple of crystal floor and walls
tell us that the ministers, officials and which were adorned by religious paint-
landed chiefs lived in great ostentation. ings containing an image in crystal.
and splendour. They aped the ways Vastupala and Tejahpala who were min-
of the king in having fine houses which isters in Gujarat are reputed to have
sometimes were three to five storeys been the richest merchants of their
high. They used costly foreign apparel times.
such as imported woollen clothes and From the above we cannot, however,
Chinese silk and costly jewels and or- assume that there was prosperity all
naments made of gold and silver to round. While foodstuffs were cheap,
adorn their bodies. They maintained a there were many poor people in the cit-
large number of women in their house- ies who could not get enough to eat. The
holds and had a train of domestic serv- author of the Rajatarangini (written in
ants to look after them. Whenever they Kashmir in the twelfth century) has
moved out, a large number of attendants them in mind when he says that where-
accompanied them. They assumed high- as the courtiers ate fried meat and drank
sounding titles, such as mahasamantad- cooled wine perfumed With flowers, the
hipati and had their own distinctive ordinary people had to be content with
symbols, such as banners, decorated rice and utpala-saka (a wild vegetable of
umbrellas and the yak-tail to whisk bitter taste). There are many stories of
away flies. A contemporary work de- the hard lot of poor men and women,
scribes the dress and bearing of the some of whom took to a life of robbery
young son of a royal official which may and plunder. As for the villages where
be taken to represent the class of petty the large bulk of the population lived,
landed chiefs and state officers. He we have to get information about the life
wears finger-rings and earrings of a dis- of the peasants from literary works,
tinctive style and has a thin golden grants of land, inscriptions, etc. The
thread around his neck. His body is yel- commentators on Dharmashastras tell
 Medieval India 28
us that the rate of the revenue demand religious disabilities of the sudras. Ac-
from the peasant was one-sixth of the cording to a writer, Parasara, eating a
produce as before. However, from some sudra‘s food, association with a sudra,
of the grants we learn of a large number sitting on the same seat with a sudra
of additional cesses, such as grazing tax, and taking lessons from a sudra are acts
tax on ponds, etc. The peasants had to which drag down even the noblest per-
pay these taxes over and above the land son. We even find a discussion whether
revenue. In addition, some of the grants the shadow of an untouchable was pol-
gave the grantees the right to levy fixed luting or not. It is difficult to say how far
or unfixed, proper or improper, taxes on the ideas of the smriti writers were
the peasants. The peasants also had to practised in daily life. But there is no
render forced labour (visti). In some doubt that the disabilities from which
cases, as in central India and Orissa, we the lower castes suffered increased dur-
find some villages being given to the ing the period. Marriages between dif-
donees along with artisans, herdsmen ferent castes were frowned upon. In the
and cultivators who were tied to the soil case of the union of a high caste man
like serfs in medieval Europe. In literary with a woman of a lower caste, the caste
works we hear of chiefs realising money of the offspring was to be determined by
on every opportunity that offered itself. the caste of the mother, but by the caste
We are told of a Rajput chief that he of the father if he belonged to a caste
made money even from sparrows, dead lower than the mother‘s. Contemporary
birds, pig dung and the shrouds of dead writers mention a large number of castes
bodies. Another writer tells us of a vil- such as potters, weavers, gold-smiths,
lage which was depopulated due to the musicians, barbers, rope-makers, leath-
actions of a chief (samant). er-Workers, fishermen, hunters of birds,
To this may be added the frequent etc. Some of these were guilds of work-
recurrence of famines and wars. In the ers which now began to be classified as
wars, destruction of water reservoirs, castes (jati). It is significant that the
burning of villages, seizure by force of ail smriti writers of the period regard hand-
the cattle or the grains stored in grana- icrafts as low occupations. Thus, most of
ries in the markets and destruction of the workers as well as tribals such as
cities were normal features, so much so the bhilas were classified as untoucha-
that they are considered legitimate by bles.
the writers of the-period.
Thus, the growth of the society in- Rise of The Rajputs
creased the burdens on the common We also meet during this period a
man. new caste called Rajputs. There is a
great deal of controversy among scholars
The Caste System about the origin of the Rajputs. Many of
The caste system which had been es- the Rajput clans trace their genealogy to
tablished much earlier formed the basis the solar and lunar families of kshatriyas
of the society. The smriti writers of the which are mentioned in the Mahabhara-
period exalt the privileges of the brah- ta. Some others trace their ancestry back
manas and even surpass the previous to a sacrificial fire said to have been held
writers in emphasising the social and at Mt. Abu by the sage Vasistha. We
 Medieval India 29
cannot depend upon these traditions and goddesses. Thus, society and reli-
because some of them, such as the leg- gion became more and more complex.
end of the sacrificial fire at Mt. Abu
From Which some of the Rajput clans Condition of Women
such as the Pratihara, Parmara, Chau- As in the earlier period, women were
hana and Solanki, is mentioned for the generally considered to be mentally infe-
first time in the later bardic traditions. rior. Their duty was to obey their hus-
We can deduce from traditions only bands blindly. A writer illustrates the
that different Rajput clans have different wife‘s duty of personal service towards
origins. Some scholars, both foreign and her husband by saying that she shall
Indian think that a number of these shampoo his feet-and render him such
clans descended from Scythians and other services as befits a servant. But he
Hunas who settled in India after Harsha, adds the condition that the husband
while a number of others belong to in- should follow the righteous path and
digenous tribes. At various times, brah- should be free from hatred as well as
mana and vaishya families ruled in the jealousy towards the wife. The Matsya
country in addition to the kshatriyas. It Purana authorises the husband to beat
seems that, in course of time, all ruling his erring wife (though not on the head
families belonging to various castes be- or the breasts) with rope or a split bam-
gan to be termed rajaputra or rajput, i. e. boo. Women continued to be denied the
royal and given the status of kshatriyas. right to study the Vedas. Furthermore,
It will be seen that caste (jati) is not the marriageable age for girls was low-
as rigid as has sometimes been believed: ered, thereby destroying their opportu-
individuals and groups can rise in the nities for higher education. The omis-
varna scale and they can also fall. Some- sion of all reference to women teachers
times, it was found difficult to classify in the dictionaries written during the
new castes in the varna scale. An in- period shows the poor state of higher
stance of this is the kayastha caste, education among women. However,
which begins to be mentioned more from some of the dramatic works of the
prominently from this period. It seems period, we find that the court ladies and
that originally people from different even the queen‘s maids-in-waiting were
castes, including brahmanas and sudras, capable of composing excellent Sanskrit
who worked in the royal establish- and Prakrit verses. Various stories point
ments, were called kayastha. In course to the skill of princesses in the fine arts,
of time, they emerged as a distinct caste. especially in painting and music. Daugh-
Hinduism was expanding rapidly during ters of high officials, courtesans and
the period. It not only absorbed large concubines were also supposed to be
numbers of Buddhists and Jains within highly skilled in various arts, including
its fold, but many indigenous tribes and poetry.
foreigners were also Hinduised. These As for marriage, the smriti writers
new sections formed new castes and say that girls were to be given away by
sub-castes and often continued their their parents, between the ages of six
own customs, rituals of marriage cere- and eight or between their eight year
monies and even their own tribal gods and attaining puberty. Remarriage was
allowed under certain conditions when
 Medieval India 30
the husband had deserted (i. e. was not used the jacket and women the bodice
heard of) or died, or adopted the life of a (choli. From sculptures it appears that
recluse, or was impotent or had become long coats, trousers and shoes were
an outcaste. worn by upper class men in north India.
In general, women were distrusted. According to Rajatarangini, Harsha in-
They were to be kept in seclusion and troduced into Kashmir a general dress
their life was regulated by the male rela- befitting a king. This included the long
tions — father, brother, husband and coat because we are told that a former
son. However, within the home they chief minister having worn a short coat
were honoured. If a husband abandoned incurred the king‘s displeasure. Woollen
even a guilty wife, she was to be given blankets were used in winter. While
maintenance. With the growth of prop- cotton was the material most commonly
erty rights in land, the property rights of used, the upper classes also used silk
women also increased. In order to pre- cloth and fine muslin. The Arab travel-
serve the property of a family, women lers testify to the fondness of men and
were given the right to inherit the prop- women for wearing ornaments. Both
erty of their male relations. With some men and women wore gold bracelets
reservations, a widow was entitled to and earrings, sometimes of costly stones.
the entire estate of her husband if he A Chinese writer, Chau Ju Kua, says
died sonless. Daughters also had the that in Gujarat both men and women
right to succeed to the properties of a have double earrings and wear close
widow. Thus, the growth of feudal soci- fitting clothes, with hoods on their
ety strengthened the concept of private heads, as well as red-coloured shoes on
property. their feet. Another famous traveller,
The practice of sati was made obliga- Marco Polo, tells us that in Malabar men
tory by some writers, but condemned by and women wore only a loin-cloth, the
others. According to an Arab writer, king being no exception and that the
Sulaiman, wives of kings sometimes profession of the tailor was unknown.
burnt themselves on the funeral pyre of Loincloth was also the dress of men and
their husbands, but it was for them to women in Quilon. But though their
exercise their option in the matter. It clothes were scanty, the kings of south-
appears that with the growth of the ern India were fond of jewellery. Ac-
practice of large number of women be- cording to Chau Ju Kua, the king of
ing maintained by the chiefs and with Malabar was dressed in cotton loin-
the resultant disputes about property, cloth and was bare-footed like his sub-
there was a tendency for the rite of sati jects, but when going out on an elephant
to spread. in procession he wore a golden hat or-
namented with pearls and gems, as well
Pattern of Living: Dress, Food, as golden armlets and anklets. Marco
Amusement Polo says, ―What this king wears be-
There were no significant changes in tween gold and gems and pearls is
the style of dress of men and women worth more than a city‘s ransom‖.
during the period, the dhoti and the sari As far food is concerned, while vege-
remaining the normal dress for men and tarianism appeared to have been rule in
women. In addition, in north India, men many areas and sections of the popula-
 Medieval India 31
tion, the leading smriti writer of the for their livelihood. Reading and writing
times describes at great length the occa- was confined to a small section, mostly
sions on which the eating of meat was Brahmans and some sections of the up-
lawful. From this it appears that the per classes, specially Kayasthas.
peacock, the horse, the wild ass, the Sometimes temples made arrange-
wild cock and the wild pig were regard- ments for education at a higher level as
ed lawful food. well. The main subjects studied were
Arab writers compliment the Indi- the various branches of the Vedas and
ans about the absence of the use of in- grammar. Logic and philosophy were
toxicants among them. However, this also studied. The study of politics which
appears to be an idealised picture. Ill included political morality was popular
literary works of the period we have among the nobility. A notable contribu-
many references to wine-drinking. Wine tion to this branch of study was Kaman-
was drunk on ceremonial occasions, daka‘s Nitisara.
including marriages and feasts and out- The responsibility for giving educa-
ings which were very popular among tion for a craft or profession was gener-
some classes of citizens. Even women in ally left to the guilds, or to individual
the king‘s train indulged freely in wine. families. For instance, we have a detailed
While some smriti writers forbid wine- description of the careful manner in
drinking to the three upper castes, some which a mercnant trained his son for his
others forbid it only to the brahmanas, profession.
the kshatriyas and the vaishyas being Education of a more formal kind,
permitted to indulge in it with some with greater emphasis on secular sub-
exceptions. jects, continued to be provided at some
The literature of the time shows that of the Buddhist viharas (monasteries).
the people of the towns were fun- lov- Nalanda in Bihar was the most famous
ing. Apart from fairs and festivals, ex- of these. Other such centres of learning
cursions to gardens, swimming parties, included Vikramsila, and Uddandapur
etc. were widely popular. Fights among which also were in Bihar. All these drew
various types of animals, such as arms, students from distant places, including
cocks, etc as well as wrestling bouts Tibet. In these centres, education for
were popular among the masses. The most of the residents was free. For meet-
upper classes continued to be fond of ing the expenses, lavish grants of money
dicing, hunting and a kind of Indian and land were given to these educational
polo which was regarded as a royal pas- centres by the rulers. Thus, Nalanda had
time.. a grant of 200 villages.
Kashmir was another important cen-
Education, Science and Reli- tre of education. Many Saiva sects and
gious Learning centres of learning flourished in Kash-
The system of education which had mir during the period. A number of im-
been gradually developed in the earlier portant maths were set up in south India,
period continued during this period for example, at Madurai and Sringeri.
without much change. There was no The various centres of education provid-
idea of mass education at that time. ed a great impetus to discussions, reli-
People learnt what they felt was needed gion and philosophy being the main
 Medieval India 32
topics. The numerous maths and other by nature niggardly in communicating
centres of education in various parts of that which they know, and they take the
India enabled ideas to flow freely and greatest possible care to withhold it
quickly from one part of the country to from men of another caste among their
another. The manner in which ideas own people, still much more, of course,
could be transmitted throughout the from any foreigners. According to their
country was important in upholding belief, no other created beings besides
and strengthening the cultural unity of them have any knowledge of science
India. whatsoever/
The growth of science in the country
slowed down during the period so that Religious Movements and Be-
in course of time, it was no longer re- liefs
garded as a leading country in the field The period is marked by a revival
of science. Thus, surgery declined be- and expansion of Hinduism, and a con-
cause the dissection of dead bodies was tinued decline of Buddhism and Jainism.
regarded as fit only for people of low Not only were the tenets of Buddhism
castes. In fact, surgery became the pro- and Jainism challenged at the intellectu-
fession of barbers. Astronomy was grad- al level, but on occasions, the Buddhist
ually pushed into the background by and Jain monks were persecuted. In
astrology. However, some advance was some instances, their temples were also
made in the field of mathematics. TheLi- taken over. Thus, the temple of Puri was
lawati of Bhaskar II which was written once a Buddhist temple. The temple
during this period, remained a standard near the Qutub Minar had once been a
text for a longtime. Some advance was Jain temple, then converted into a Vish-
made in the field of medicine by the use nu temple. However, they were not part
of minerals, especially mercury. of a misplaced religious philosophy of
There were many reasons for the temple- destruction, as in the case of the
stagnation of Indian science during the early Arab and Turkish invaders later
period. Experience suggests that the on.
growth of science is closely connected During this period, Buddhism was
with the growth of society as a whole. gradually confined to eastern India. The
As we have seen, during the period soci- Pala rulers were patrons of Buddhism.
ety was becoming increasingly rigid and The decline of the Pala power after the
narrow in character. There had been a tenth century was a blow to Buddhism
setback in urban life and communica- in the area. But even more serious were
tions, with growing religious orthodoxy. the internal developments in Buddhism
Another reason was the tendency for i.e many corrupt practices invade
the Indians to isolate themselves from Budhism.
the main currents of scientific thought Jainism continued to be popular,
outside India. Although a great admirer particularly among the trading commu-
of Indian science and learning, al-Biruni nities. The Chalukyan rulers of Gujarat
noted the insular attitude of the learned patronized Jainism. It was during this
people of the country, viz., the Brah- time that some of the most magnificent
mans. He says: ‗They are haughty, fool- Jain temples, such as the Dilwara temple
ish, vain, self-conceited, stolid. They are at Mt. Abu, were built. The Paramara
 Medieval India 33
rulers of Malwa also built many huge the growth of bhakti movement in south
images of Jain saints and of Mahavira India. The bhakti movement was led by
who began to be worshipped as a god. In a series of popular saints called Na-
south India, Jainism attained its high yanmars and Alvars. These saints reject-
water-mark during the ninth and tenth ed austerities. They looked upon reli-
centuries. The Ganga rulers of Karna- gion not as a matter of cold, formal wor-
taka were great patrons of Jainism. Dur- ship but as a living bond based on love
ing this period, many Jain basadis (tem- between the god and the worshipper.
ples) and mahastambhas (pillars) were set The chief objects of their worship were
up in different parts. The colossal image Siva and Vishnu. They spoke and wrote
at Sravana Belgola was set up during in Tamil, the language which everyone
this time. The Jain doctrine of the four could understand. These saints went
gifts (learning, food, medicine and shel- from place to place carrying their mes-
ter) helped to make Jainism popular sage of love and devotion. Some of them
among the people. In course of time, the belonged to the lower classes. There was
growing rigidity of Jainism and the loss also a woman saint, Andal. Almost all of
of royal patronage led to the decline of them disregarded the inequalities of
Jainism. caste, though they did not try to oppose
The revival and expansion of Hindu- the caste system as such. The lower
ism took many forms. Siva and Vishnu castes had been excluded from Vedic
became the chief gods and magnificent scholarship and Vedic worship. The
temples were built to proclaim their path of bhakti advocated by these saints
supremacy. In the process, many local was open to all, irrespective of caste.
gods and goddesses, including the gods The bhakti movement not only won
and goddesses of tribals who had been to the fold of Hinduism many adherents
Hinduized, became subordinate or their of Buddhism and Jainism, they also won
consorts. In eastern India, the con- over many tribals. A series of acharyas,
sorts—Tara the consort of Buddha, led by Nathamuni, collected and sys-
Durga and Kali the consort of Siva be- tematised the teachings of the Alvars
came themselves the chief objects of and declared them equivalent to the
worship. Nevertheless, the rise of the Vedas. These early saints and their writ-
worship of Siva and Vishnu signified the ings began to be worshipped in the
growth of a process of cultural synthe- temples, and a whole set of rituals and
sis. Thus, in an era of disintegration, ceremonies were elaborated. Many of
religion played a positive part. But the these are followed to this day.
religious revival also increased the pow- Many of the tribals from hilly areas
er and arrogance of the Brahmans. This became settled agriculturists in river
resulted in a series of popular move- valleys. These were the areas often held
ments which targeted the Brahmans, by Brahmans who introduced new agri-
and emphasized the element of human cultural techniques, or by temples
equality and freedom. where tribal gods were assimilated as
One such movement was tantrism in supporters of Vishnu or Shiv. Expanded
North India in which anyone irrespec- agriculture, and the new temple rituals
tive of caste, could be enrolled. But far strengthened the position of the ruler
more important and broad based was and local states such as the Chola state.
 Medieval India 34
The temples also strengthened the posi- arose due to ignorance, maya being a part
tion of the Brahmans who supervised of it. The way to salvation was devotion
the temples, and received rich grants of to God, strengthened by the knowledge
land from the rulers. Thus, the Bhakti that God and the created beings were
movement had far reaching economic one and the same. This philosophy is
and social consequences as well. called vedanta. Thus, Sankara upheld the
Another popular movement which Vedas as the fountainhead of true
arose during the twelfth century was knowledge.
the Lingayat or Vir Saiva movement. Its The path of knowledge put forward
founders were Basava and his nephew, by Sankara could be followed by only a
Channabasava, who lived at the court of few. Sankara did not reject the path of
the Kalachuri kings of Karnataka. They bhakti by which the devotee merged
established their faith after bitter dis- with God. But for this, the heart had to
putes with the Jains. The Lingayats are be cleaned through jnana or knowledge.
worshippers of Siva. They strongly op- It could not, thus, influence the masses.
posed the caste system, and rejected The acharyas from Nathamuni onwards
fasts, feasts, pilgrimages and sacrifices. were all orthodox Brahmans, and had
In the social sphere, they opposed child argued that the path of bhakti was open
marriage and allowed remarriage of only to the three upper castes, and that
widows. for the purpose, dutifully following ritu-
Thus, both in south and north India, als prescribed by Brahmans, and the
the revival and expansion of Hinduism study of the scriptures was necessary.
took two forms—a renewed emphasis In the eleventh century, another fa-
on the Vedas and Vedic worship, on the mous acharya, Ramanuja, tried to assimi-
one hand, accompanied by a powerful late bhakti to the tradition of the Vedas.
literary and intellectual movement, and,
He argued that in order to attain salva-
on the other, a popular movement based
tion, grace of God was more important
on tantra in north India, and on bhakti
than knowledge about Him. Ramanuja
in south India. Both tantra and bhakti
emphasized that the path of prapatti or
disregarded caste inequalities and were
total reliance on, or surrender to God
open to all.
was open to all, including the Shudras
At the intellectual level, the most se-
and the Dalits. Thus, Ramanuja tried to
rious challenge to Buddhism and Jainism
build a bridge between the popular
was posed by Sankara who reformulated
movement based on bhakti, and the up-
the Hindu philosophy. Sankara was
per caste movement based on the Vedas.
born in Kerala, probably in the ninth
The tradition established by Rama-
century. Persecuted by the Jains, it is
nuja was followed by a number of think-
said that he undertook thereafter a tri-
ers such as Madhvacharya (tenth centu-
umphant visit to north India where he
ry), and in north India by Ramananda,
worsted his opponents in debate.
Vallabhacharya and others. In this way,
Sankara‘s philosophy is called
bhakti in its popular form became ac-
advaitavada or the doctrine on non-
ceptable to all sections of Hindu society
dualism. According to Sankara, God and by the early sixteenth century.
the created world are one: the differ-
ences were apparent but not real, and
 Medieval India 35

Chapter 5
The Age of Conflict
(Circa 1000-1200)
The period from 1000 to 1200 saw scent from Kanishka. These kingdoms,
rapid changes both in West and Central backed by a mixed population of local
Asia, and in north India. It were these tribes, Hunas, Turks, exiled Iranians and
developments which led to the incur- Indians (such as Bhati Rajputs) offered
sion of the Turks into northern India stiff resistance to the Arab effort to en-
leading to their rule towards the end of ter the area for tribute, plunder and
the period. slaves. Consequently, there was contin-
By the end of the ninth century, the uous skirmishing on both sides of the
Abbasid caliphate was in decline. Its border.
place was taken by a series of states
ruled by Islamized Turks. The Turks The Ghaznavids
carved out separate spheres of authority. Towards the end of the ninth centu-
These new rulers assumed the title of ry, Trans-Oxiana, Khorasan and parts of
‗amir‘ at first, and of‗sultan‘ later on. The Iran were being ruled by the Samanids
Turkish tribesmen brought with them who were Iranians by descent. The Sa-
the habit of ruthless plunder. Their main manids had to battle continually with
mode of warfare consisted of rapid ad- the non-Muslim Turkish tribesmen on
vance and retreat, lightning raids. They their northern and eastern frontiers. It
could do this because of the excellent was during this struggle that a new type
quality of their horses. of soldiers, the ghazi, was born. The
Meanwhile, the break-up of the Gur- battle against the Turks, most of whom
jara-Pratihara empire led to a phase of worshipped the forces of nature and
political uncertainty in north India, and were heathens in the eyes of the Mus-
a new phase of struggle for domination. lims, was a struggle for religion as well
As a result, little attention was paid to as for the safety of the state, Hence, the
the emergence of aggressive, expansion- ghazi was as much a missionary as a
ist Turkish states on the northwestern fighter. He acted as a loose auxiliary of
border of India and in West Asia. the regular armies and made up for his
Kabul, Qandahar, and its neighbour- pay by plunder. It was the resourceful-
ing area to the south called Zabul or ness of the ghazi and his willingness to
Zamindawar, were considered parts of undergo great privations for the sake of
al-Hind or India till the end of the ninth the cause which enabled these infant
century. There were many Buddhist and Muslim states to hold their own against
Hindu shrines in the area, the most im- the heathen Turks. In course of time,
portant being the 53.5 m colossal statue many heathen Turks became Muslims,
of Buddha at Bamiyan, with caves for but the struggle against renewed incur-
residence of a thousand monks. The area sions of the non- Muslim Turkish tribes
upto the river Oxus was ruled by many continued. The Islamised Turkish tribes
dynasties, some of them claiming de- were to emerge as the greatest defenders
 Medieval India 36
and crusaders of Islam. But the love of Anandpala. According to some later
plunder went Side by side with the de- accounts, Jayapala had entered a funeral
fence of Islam. pyre following his defeat because he felt
Among the Samanid governors was a he had disgraced himself.
Turkish slave, Alaptigin, who, in course Later in a decisive battle near the In-
of time, established an independent dus in 1009, Anandpala was defeated
kingdom with its capital at Ghazni. The and Mahmud devastated his new capi-
Samanid kingdom soon ended and the tal, Nandana and overran his fort called
Ghaznavids took over the task of de- Nagarkot. Anandpal was allowed for
fending the Islamic lands from the Cen- some time to rule from Lahore as a feu-
tral Asian tribesmen. datory. But in 1015, Mahmud advanced
It was in this context that Mahmud upto Lahore, plundered it, and ousted
ascended the throne (998— 1030) at Anandpal. Soon, Ghazanvid territories
Ghazni. Mahmud Ghazni is considered extended upto the river Jhelum.
a hero of Islam by medieval Muslim his- Thus, the struggle against the Shahis
torians because of his stout defence was a prolonged one, and the Shahis put
against the Central Asian Turkish tribal up stout resistance. In this struggle, the
invaders. Thus, the Turks became not Shahis were supported only by the Mus-
only Islamized but Persianized. It was lim ruler of Multan. It is noteworthy
this culture that they were to bring with that apparently none of the Rajput rul-
them to India two centuries later. ers came to the aid of the Shahis. Thus,
While Mahmud played an important the Shahis fought virtually alone.
role in the defence of the Islamic states By 1015, Mahmud was poised for an
against the Turkish tribes and in the attack on the Indo-Gangetic valley. Dur-
Iranian cultural renaissance, in India his ing the next half a dozen years, Mahmud
memory is only that of a plunderer and a launched a series of expeditions into the
destroyer of temples. Mahmud is said to Indo-Gangetic plains. These raids were
have made seventeen raids into India. aimed at plundering the rich temples
The initial raids were directed against and the towns. The plundering of this
the Hindushahi rulers who at the time wealth also enabled him to continue his
held Peshawar and the Punjab. The struggle against his enemies in Central
Hindushahi ruler, Jayapala (in alliance Asia. Mahmud also posed as a great but
with the displaced Samanid governor of shikan or ‗destroyer of the images‘ for the
Ghazni, the Bhatti ruler of the area glory of Islam. From the Punjab,
around Multan, and the amir of Multan) Mahmud raided Thanesar the old capi-
had invaded Ghazni. But he had to suffer tal of Harsha. His most daring raids,
a defeat and the coalition built by him however, were against Kanauj in 1018
collapsed. and against Somnath in Gujarat in 1025.
In a furious battle near Peshawar in He was able to do all this with impunity
1001, Jayapala was again defeated. due to the fact that no strong state ex-
Mahmud advanced to the Shahi capital, isted in north India at that time. No at-
and thoroughly ravaged it. Peace was tempt was made by Mahmud to annex
made by ceding the territory west of the any of these states.
Indus to Mahmud. Soon after, Jayapala Although the Ghaznavids continued
died and was succeeded by his son, to make plundering raids into the Gan-
 Medieval India 37
getic valley and Rajputana, they were no Ajmer (Ajayameru), and made it his cap-
longer in a position to pose a serious ital. He built a Sanskrit College at Aj-
military danger to India. Simultaneous- mer, and the Anasager lake there. Like
ly, a number of new states arose in north the Gahadvars, the Chauhans, too, of-
India which could counter the fered stout resistance to the Ghazanavid
Ghaznavid raids. raids. Vigraharaj captured Delhi (Dhilli-
ka) from the Tomars in 1151, but allowed
The Rajput States them to rule it as feudatories. Vigraharaj
The rise of a new section called the also came into conflict with the Para-
Rajputs and the controversy about their mars of Malwa where the most famous
origins have already been mentioned. ruler, known in legend, was Bhoja. Both
With the break-up of the Pratihara em- Vigraharaj and Bhoja were patrons of
pire, a number of Rajput states came poets and scholars. Vigraharaj himself
into existence in north India. The most wrote a Sanskrit drama. Bhoja had to
important of these were the Gahada- fight his neighbours to the north as well
valas of Kanauj, the Paramaras of Mal- to the south. He is credited with writing
wa, and the Chauhans of Ajmer. There books on philosophy, poetics, yoga and
were other smaller dynasties in different medicine.
parts of the country, such as the Kala- The most famous among the Chau-
churis in the area around modern Jabal- han rulers was Prithviraj III who as-
pur, the Chandellas in Bundelkhand, the cended the throne at the young age of
Chalukyas of Gujarat, the Tomars of eleven in or about 1177, but took the
Delhi, etc Bengal remained under the reins of administration in his hands
control of the Palas and, later, under the when he was sixteen. He immediately
Senas. The Gahadavalas of Kanauj grad- embarked on a vigorous polity of expan-
ually squeezed the Palas out of Bihar. sion, and brought many of the smaller
At its height, the Gahadvar kingdom Rajput states under his sway. However,
extended from Mongyr in Bihar to Delhi. he was not successful in his struggle
The greatest ruler in the dynasty was against the Chalukyan ruler of Gujarat.
Govind Chandra who ruled in the first This forced him to move towards the
half of the twelfth century. He made Ganga valley. He led an expedition in
Kanauj his capital, with Banaras remain- Bundelkhand against its capital Ma-
ing a second capital. The Gahadvars are hoba. It was in this struggle that the
reputed to be the biggest defenders famous warriors, Alha and Udal, lost
against the continued Ghaznavid raids their lives. The Chandel ruler of Mahoba
into the doab. Govind Chandra was suc- is said to have been supported in this
ceeded by Jai Chandra who had to con- struggle by Jai Chandra of Kanauj. The
tend with the rising power of the Chau- Gahadvars had also contested the at-
hans. tempt of the Chauhans to control Delhi
The Chauhans who had served un- and the Punjab. It was these rivalries
der the rulers of Gujarat established which made it impossible for the Rajput
their capital at Nadol towards the end of rulers to join hands to oust the
the tenth century. The greatest ruler in Ghaznavids from the Punjab.
the dynasty was, perhaps, Vigraharaj
who captured Chittor, and established
 Medieval India 38
The basis of Rajput society was the The period after the eighth century,
clan. Every clan traced its descent from a and particularly between the tenth and
common ancestor, real or imaginary. The twelfth centuries, may be regarded as
clans generally dominated a compact marking a climax in temple building
territory. The chief would allot land in activity in north India. Some of the most
the villages to his sub-chiefs who, in magnificent temples that we have today
turn, would allot it to individual Rajput can be traced back to this period. The
warriors for the maintenance of their style of temple construction which came
family and the horses. Attachment to into prominence was called the nagara.
land, family and honour (maan) was a Though found almost all over India, the
characteristic of the Rajputs. Each Raj- main centres of constructions in this
put state was supposed to be ruled over style were in north India and the Dec-
by the rana or rawat in conjunction with can. Its main characteristic feature was
his chiefs who were generally his blood the tall curved spiral roof over the
brothers. garbhagriha or the deity room (deul). An
The Rajput organisation of society anteroom (mandapa) was added to the
had both advantages and disadvantages. sanctum sanctorum and sometimes the
One advantage was the sense of broth- temple was enclosed by high walls
erhood and egalitarianism which pre- which had lofty gates. The most repre-
vailed among the Rajputs. But the same sentative temples of this type are the
trait made it difficult to maintain disci- group of temples at Khajuraho in Madh-
pline among them. Feuds which contin- ya Pradesh and at Bhubaneshwar in
ued for several generations were another Orissa. The Parsvanatha temple, the
weakness of the Rajputs. But their basic Visvanatha temple and the Kandarya
weakness was their tendency to form Mahadeo temple at Khajuraho illustrate
exclusive groups, each claiming superi- this style in its richest and most finished
ority over the others. form. The rich and elaborate carvings on
Most of the Rajput rulers of the time the walls of the temples show that the
were champions of Hinduism, though art of sculpture had attained its height.
some of them also patronized Jainism. Most of these temples were built by the
They gave rich donations and grants of Chandellas who ruled the area from the
land to Brahmans and temples. The Raj- beginning of the ninth to the end of the
put rulers stood forth as protectors of thirteenth century.
the privileges of the Brahmans and of the In Orissa, the most magnificent ex-
caste system. Thus, the system of charg- amples of temple architecture of the
ing a lower rate of land revenue for time are the Lingaraja temple (eleventh
Brahmans continued in some Rajput century) and the Sun temple of Konark
states till their merger in the Indian Un- (thirteenth century). The famous Jaga-
ion. In return for these and other con- natha temple at Puri also belongs to this
cessions, the Brahmans were prepared period. Some of the temples, such as the
to recognise the Rajputs as descendants temple of Somnath, became extremely
of the old lunar and solar families of the wealthy. They ruled over many villages,
kshatriyas which were believed to have and took part in business activities.
become extinct. The Rajput rulers also patronized
arts and letters. Many books and plays
 Medieval India 39
were written in Sanskrit during the pe- traders sprang up in some of the towns
riod under their partonage. Vastupala, in north India. In the wake of these
the famous minister of the Chalukyan came a number of Muslim religious
ruler Bhima in Gujarat, was a writer and preachers called the Sufis to Punjab. The
a patron of scholars and the builder of Sufis preached the gospel of love, faith
the beautiful Jain temple at Mt. Abu. and dedication to the one God. They
Ujjain and Dhara, the capitals of the directed their preachings mainly to-
Paramara rulers, were famous centres wards the Muslim settlers but they in-
for Sanskrit learning. Many works were fluenced some Hindus also. Thus, a pro-
written in Apabhramsha and Prakrit cess of interaction between Islam and
which represented the languages of the Hindu religion and society was started.
region. The Jain scholars made signifi- Lahore became a centre of Arabic and
cant contributions in this direction, the Persian languages and literature. Hindu
most famous among them being Hema- generals, such as Tilak, a barber by
chandra who wrote both in Sanskrit and caste, commanded the Ghaznavid ar-
Apabhramsha. With the revival of mies in which Hindu (Jat) soldiers also
Brahmanism, Sanskrit supplanted Apa- were recruited.
bhramsha and Prakrit among the upper In the meantime Ghurid empire
classes. However, literature in these based in Ghur in northwest Afghanistan
languages, which were nearer to the rose to prominence. The Ghurids had
spoken languages, continued to be pro- started as vassals of Ghazni, but had
duced. The modern north Indian lan- soon thrown off their yoke. In 1173, Sha-
guages, such as Hindi, Bengali and Ma- habuddin, Muhammad (1173–1206) (also
rathi began to emerge out of these popu- known as Muizzuddin Muhammad bin
lar languages during this period. Sam) ascended the throne at Ghazni. By
1190, Muizzuddin Muhammad had con-
The Turkish Conquest of North quered Peshawar, Lahore and Sialkot,
India and was poised for a thrust towards
After the Ghaznavid conquest of the Delhi and the Gangetic doab.
Punjab, two distinct patterns of rela- Meanwhile, events had not been
tions between the Muslims and the standing still in north India. The Chau-
Hindus were at work. One was the lure han power had been steadily growing.
for plunder which resulted in raids into The Chauhan rulers had defeated and
the Gangetic valley and Rajputana by killed a large number of Turks who had
the successors of Mahmud. The rulers of tried to invade Rajasthan, most proba-
the Rajput states put up a spirited re- bly from the Punjab side. They had also
sistance against these raids and won captured Delhi (called Dhillika) from
victories against the Turks on a number the Tomars around the middle of the
of occasions. At the second level, Mus- century. The expansion of theChauhan
lim traders were allowed even wel- power towards the Punjab brought
comed in the country since they helped them into conflict with the Ghaznavid
in strengthening and augmenting India‘s rulers of the area.
trade with the Central and West Asian
countries, and thus increasing the in-
come of the state. Colonies of Muslim
 Medieval India 40
The Battle of Tarain was in 1ove with him, is not accepted by
Thus, a battle between these two many historians. The story was written
ambitious rulers, Muizzuddin Muham- much later as a romance by the poet,
mad and Prithviraj was inevitable. The Chand Bardai, and includes many im-
conflict started with rival claims for probable events. As we have seen, there
Tabarhinda. In the battle which was had been an old outstanding rivalry be-
fought at Tarain in 1191, the Ghurid forc- tween the two states. Hence, it is not
es were completely routed, Muizzuddin surprising that Jaichandra stayed away.
Muhammad‘s life being saved by a Prithviraj is said to have fielded a
young Khalji horseman. Prithviraj now force of 3,00,000 including a large body
pushed on to Tabarhinda and conquered of cavalry and 300 elephants. The
it after a twelve- month siege. Little at- strength of the forces on both sides may
tempt was made by Prithviraj to oust have been exaggerated. The numerical
the Ghurids from the Punjab. Perhaps, strength of the Indian forces was proba-
he felt that this was another of recurrent bly greater, but the Turkish army was
Turkish raids, and that the Ghurid ruler better organised and led. The battle was
would be content to rule over the Pun- mainly a battle between cavalry. The
jab. This gave Muizzuddin Muhammad superior organisation skill and speed of
time to regroup his forces and make movements of the Turkish cavalry and
another bid for India the following year. their mounted archers and heavy cavalry
He rejected the proposal said to be made ultimately decided the issue. A large
by Prithviraj to leave Punjab under the number of Indian soldiers lost their
possession of the Ghurid ruler. lives. Prithviraj escaped, but was cap-
The second battle of Tarain in 1192 is tured near Saraswati (Sirsa). The Turk-
regarded as one of the turning points in ish armies captured the fortresses of
Indian history. Muizzuddin Muhammad Hansi, Saraswati and Samana. Then they
had made careful preparations for the attacked and captured Ajmer. Prithviraj
contest. It is said that he marched with was allowed to rule over Ajmer for some
1,20,000 men, including a force of heavy time, for we have coins of this period
cavalry, fully equipped with steel coats giving the date and the legend ‗Prithvira-
and armour; and 10,000 mounted arch- jadeva‘ on one side and the words ‗Sri
ers. It is not correct to think that Prith- Muhammad Sam‘ on the other.
viraj was negligent of the affairs of the Soon after, Prithviraj was executed
state, and awoke to the situation when on a charge of ‗conspiracy‘, and Prith-
it was too late. It is true that at that time viraj‘s son succeeded him. Delhi also was
Skanda, the general of the last victorious restored to its Tomar ruler. But this pol-
campaign, was engaged elsewhere. As icy was reversed soon after. The ruler of
soon as Prithviraj realised the nature of Delhi was ousted and Delhi was made a
the Ghurid threat, he appealed to all the base for further Turkish advance into
rajas of northern India for help. We are the Ganga valley. Following a rebellion,
told many rajas sent contingents to help a Muslim army recaptured Ajmer and
him, but Jaichandra, the ruler of Kanauj, installed a Turkish general there. Prith-
stayed away. The legend that this was viraj‘s son moved to Ranthambor and
because Prithviraj had abducted founded a new powerful Chauhan king-
Jaichandra‘s daughter, Sanyogita, who dom there. Thus, the Delhi area and
 Medieval India 41
eastern Rajasthan passed under the appointed in charge of some of the areas
Turkish rule. beyond Banaras. He had taken ad-
vantage of this to make frequent raids
Turkish Conquest of The Gan- into Bihar, which was at the time in the
ga Valley nature of a no-man‘s land. During these
raids, he had attacked and destroyed
Bihar and Bengal some of the famous Buddhist monaster-
Between 1192 and 1206, Turkish rule ies of Bihar, Nalanda and Vikramasila,
was extended over the Ganga-Jamuna which had no protector left. He had also
doab and its neighbouring area. Bihar accumulated much wealth and gathered
and Bengal were also overrun. In order many followers around him. During his
to establish themselves in the doab, the raids, he also collected information
Turks had first to defeat the powerful about the routes to Bengal. Bengal was a
Gahadavala kingdom of Kanauj which rich prize because its internal resources
was ruled by Jaichandra. A hotly con- and flourishing foreign trade had given
tested battle between Muizzuddin and it the reputation of being fabulously
Jaichandra was fought at Chandawar rich.
near Kanauj. We are told that Jaichan- Making careful preparations, Bakh-
dra had almost carried the day when he tiyar Khalji marched with an army to-
was killed by an arrow, and his army wards Nadia, a pilgrim centre where the
was totally defeated. Sena ruler, Lakshmana Sena, had built a
Thus, the battles of Tarain and palace. Bakhtiyar Khalji made a sudden
Chandawar laid the foundations of the attack on the palace, and created a great
Turkish rule in north India. The task of confusion. The Sena ruler Lakshmana
consolidating the conquest thus won Sena had slipped away by a back door.
proved, however, to be an onerous task Bakhtiyar then marched and occupied
which occupied the Turks for almost the Sena capital, Lakhnauti, without any
fifty years. We shall study this in a sub- opposition. Lakshmana Sena moved to
sequent chapter. Sonargaon in south Bengal where he and
Muizuddin lived till 1206. During his successors continued to rule.
this period, he occupied the powerful Although Bakhtiyar Khalji was for-
forts of Bayana and Gwaliyar to guard mally appointed the governor of Bengal
the southern flank of Delhi. A little later, by Muizzuddin, he ruled over it as a
Aibak conquered Kalinjar, Mahoba and virtually independent ruler. But he was
Khajuraho from the Chandel rulers of not to enjoy this position for long. He
the area. With a base in the doab the foolishly undertook an expedition into
Turks launched a series of raids in the the Brahmaputra valley in Assam. The
neighbouring areas. Aibak defeated Turkish armies suffered a total defeat
Bhima III, the ruler of Gujarat, and An- from the Magh rulrs of Assam. Bakhtiyar
hilwara and a number of other towns Khalji was able to come back with a few
were ravaged and plundered. followers with the help of some moun-
The Turks, however, were more suc- tain tribes. But his health and spirits
cessful in the east. A Khalji, officer, were broken. He was mortally sick and
Bakhtiyar Khalji, whose uncle had confined to the bed when one of his own
fought at the battle of Tarain, had been amirs stabbed him to death.
 Medieval India 42
While Aibak and the Turkish and Muizzuddin‘s successes in north India.
Khalji chief were trying to expand and Considering that the conditions facing
consolidate the Turkish gains in north the two were very different, no useful
India, Muizzuddin and his brother were comparison can be made between the
trying to expand the Ghurid empire into two. The political and military motives
Central Asia. The imperialistic ambi- of the two in India were also different in
tions of the Ghurids brought them into important respects.
headlong conflict with the powerful Neither was really concerned with
Khwarizmi empire. In 1203, Muizzuddin Islam. Once a ruler submitted, he was
suffered a disastrous defeat at the hands allowed to rule over his territories un-
of the Khwarizmi ruler. This defeat less, for some other reasons, it was nec-
came as a blessing in disguise to the essary to annex his kingdom in part or
Turks, for they had to big goodbye to in whole. Hindu officers and soldiers
their Central Asian ambitions and to were used by Mahmud as well as by
concentrate their energies exclusively on Muizzuddin. But neither scrupled to use
India. This paved the way for the emer- the slogan of Islam for their purposes,
gence after some time of a Turkish state and to justify their plunder of Indian
based exclusively in India. In the imme- cities and temples in the name of reli-
diate context, however, the defeat of gion.
Muizzuddin emboldened many of his
opponents in India to rebel. The Kho- Causes of The Defeat of The
khars, a warlike tribe in western Punjab, Rajputs
rose and cut off the communications The defeat of the leading states of
between Lahore and Ghazni. Muiz- north India within a short space of
zuddin led his last campaign into India about 15 years by the Turkish armies
in 1206 in order to deal with the Kho- also needs some explanation. Recent
khar rebellion. He resorted to large-scale research shows that the Turks did not
slaughter of the Khokhars and cowed have any superior weapons at their dis-
them down. On his way back to Ghazni, posal as compared to the Indians. The
he was killed by a Muslim fanatic be- iron-stirrup which had changed the
longing to a rival sect. mode of warfare in Europe, as we have
Muizzuddin Muhammad bin Sam noted earlier, had spread in India from
has often been compared to Mahmud of the 8th century onwards. The Turkish
Ghazni. As a warrior, Mahmud Ghazni bows could shoot arrows to a longer
was more successful than Muizzuddin, distance, but the Indian bows were
having never suffered a defeat in India or supposed to be more accurate and more
in Central Asia. He also ruled over a deadly, the arrowheads being generally
larger empire outside India. But it has to dipped in poison. In hand to hand com-
be kept in mind that Muizzuddin had to bat the Indians swords were considered
contend with larger and better organ- to be best in the world. The Indians also
ised states in India than Mahmud. had the advantage of elephants. Perhaps
Though less successful in Central Asia, the Turks had horses which were swift-
his political achievements in India were er and more sturdy than the horses im-
greater. But it was Mahmud's conquest ported into India.
of the Punjab which paved the way for
 Medieval India 43
The weakness of the Indians were standing army. Many of the Turkish
social and organizational. The growth of officers were slaves, who had been
feudalism, i.e., rise of the local landed trained for warfare, and grew in the Sul-
elements and chiefs had weakened the tan‘s service, and on whom the Sultan
administrative structure and military could place total trust.
organisation of the Indian states. The In terms of personal bravery, the
rulers had to depend more on the vari- Rajputs were in no way inferior to the
ous chiefs who rarely acted in coordina- Turks. Also, caste did not prevent non-
tion, and quickly dispersed to their areas Rajputs, or the kuvarna (lower castes)
after battle. On the other hand, the trib- from taking part in the battles so that
al structure of the Turks, and the Rajput armies were larger in numbers to
growth of the iqta and khalisa systems, those fielded by the Turks.
enabled the Turks to maintain large Finally, the Rajput defeat at the
standing armies which could be kept in hands of Muizzuddin Muhammad
the field for a long time. Also, the Indi- should be seen in the context of the past
ans were not accustomed to move as an few centuries. From the end of the tenth
organized body of horsemen which century, the Turks had started invading
could cover long distances and fight and India. The Rajputs did put up spirited
manoeuvre. Nor, does it seem, the Raj- and prolonged resistance, and defeated
puts had large bodies of mounted arch- the Turkish armies a number of times.
ers, or heavily armed cavalary. But the Rajputs lacked what might be
The social and organizational struc- called ‗strategic vision‘. Once the outer
ture of the Turks also gave them many bastions of India— Kabul and Lahore,
advantages. The iqta system which grew had fallen to the Turks, no concerted
slowly in West Asia, implied that a attempt was made by the Rajputs to
Turkish chief was allotted a piece of recover them. Thus, little effort was
land as iqta from which he could collect made to push the Ghaznavids out of the
the land revenues and taxes due to the Punjab. The gaze of the Rajputs re-
state. In return, he had to maintain a mained fixed on India, and they paid
body of troops for the service of the rul- little attention to developments outside,
er. The grant was not hereditary, and specially to Central Asia which had of-
was held at the pleasure of the sultan ten played a key-role in shaping the his-
who could transfer him to any place. tory of India.
The sultan drew revenues directly from
pieces of land which were called khalisa.
This enabled him to maintain a large
 Medieval India 44

Chapter 6
The Delhi Sultanat—I
(Circa 1200–1400)
The Mameluk Sultans
Some of the factors which enabled
the Turks to extend their conquest from Iltutmish (1210–36)
the Punjab and Multan into the Ganga In 1210, Aibak died of injuries re-
valley and even to overrun Bihar and ceived in a fall from his horse while play-
parts of Bengal have been mentioned in ing chaugan (polo). He was succeeded by
the previous chapter. For almost one Iltutmish who was the son-in-law of
hundred years after that, the Delhi sul- Aibak.
tanat, as the state ruled over by these Iltutmish must be regarded as the
invaders was called, was hard pressed to real consolidator of the Turkish con-
maintain itself in the face of foreign in- quests in north India. During the early
vasions, internal conflicts among the years of his reign, Iltutmish‘s attention
Turkish leaders and the attempts of the was concentrated on the northwest.
dispossessed and subordinate Rajput While the Mongols were busy else-
rulers and chiefs to regain their inde- where, Iltutmish also ousted Qubacha
pendence and, if possible, to oust the from Multan and Uchch. The frontiers
Turks. The Turkish rulers were success- of the Delhi Sultanat, thus, reached up
ful in overcoming these difficulties, and to the Indus once again.
by the end of the century, were in a posi- Secure in the west, Iltutmish was
tion to extend their rule over Malwa and able to turn his attention elsewhere. In
Gujarat, and to penetrate into the Dec- Bengal and Bihar, a person called Iwaz
can and south India. The effects of the who had taken the title of Sultan Ghiya-
establishment of the Turkish rule in suddin had assumed independence.
northern India, thus began to be felt While he made raids on the territories of
within a hundred years all over India, his neighbours, the Sena rulers of East
and resulted in farreaching changes in Bengal, and the Hindu rulers of Orissa
society, administration and cultural life. and Kamrup (Assam) continued their
sway. In 1226–27, Iwaz was defeated
Struggle For The Establishment and killed in a battle with Iltutmish‘s
of A Strong Monarchy son near Lakhnauti. Bengal and Bihar
Muizzuddin (Muhammad of Ghur) passed under the suzerainty of Delhi
was succeeded by Qutbuddin Aibak, a once again. But they were a difficult
Turkish slave in 1206; he had played an charge, and repeatedly challenged the
important part in the expansion of the authority of Delhi.
Turkish Sultanat in India after the battle At about the same time, Iltutmish
of Tarain. took steps to recover Gwaliyar and Ba-
yana. Ajmer and Nagor remained under
his control. He sent expeditions against
 Medieval India 45
Ranthambhor and Jalor to reassert his non-Turk to high office led to opposi-
suzerainty. He also attacked Nagda, the tion. The Turkish nobles accused her of
capital of Mewar (about 22 km from violating feminine modesty, and of being
Udaipur), but had to beat a retreat at too friendly to an Abyssinian noble, Ya-
the arrival of the Gujarat armies, which qut Khan. Yaqut Khan had been ap-
had come to aid the Rana. As a revenge, pointed Superintendent of the Royal
Iltutmish despatched an expedition Stable which implied closeness to the
against the Chalukyas of Gujarat, but it sovereign. Rebellions broke out at La-
was repulsed with losses. hore and Sirhind. Razia personally led
an expedition against Lahore, and com-
Raziya (1236–39) pelled the governor to submit. On the
Iltutmish considered none of his sur- way to Sirhind, an internal rebellion
viving sons to be worthy of the throne broke out in which Yaqut Khan was
and hence finally decided to nominate killed, and Raziya imprisoned at
his daughter, Raziya, to the throne. In Tabarhinda. However, Raziya won over
order to assert her claim, Raziya had to her captor, Altunia, and after marrying
contend against her brothers as well as him made a renewed attempt on Delhi.
against powerful Turkish nobles, and Raziya fought valiantly, but was defeat-
could rule only for three years. Though ed and killed in a forest by bandits while
brief, her rule had a number of interest- she was in flight.
ing features. It marked the beginning of
a struggle for power between the mon- Era of Balran (1246–87)
archy and the Turkish chiefs, sometimes The struggle between the monarchy
called ‗the forty‘ or the chahalgani. Iltut- and the Turkish chiefs continued, till
mish had shown great deference to these one of the Turkish chiefs, Ulugh Khan,
Turkish chiefs. After his death, these known in history by his later title of
chiefs, drunk with power and arrogance, Balban ascended the throne in 1265.
wanted to install on the throne a puppet During the earlier period, Balban held
whom they could control. They soon the position of naib or deputy to Nasir-
discovered that though a woman, Razi- uddin Mahmud, a younger son of Iltut-
ya was not prepared to play their game. mish, whom Balban had helped in secur-
She discarded the female apparel and ing the throne in 1246. Balban further
started holding court with her face un- strengthened his position by marrying
veiled. She even hunted, and led the ar- one of his daughters to the young sultan.
my in war. lltutmish‘s wazir, Nizam-ul- The growing authority of Balban alien-
Mulk Junaidi, who had opposed her ated many of the Turkish chiefs, since
elevation to the throne, and backed and Nasiruddin Mahmud was young and
supported a rebellion of nobles against inexperienced. They, therefore, hatched
her, was defeated and was forced to flee. a conspiracy (1253) and ousted Balban
She sent an expedition against from his position. Balban was replaced
Ranthambhor to control the Rajputs, by Imaduddin Raihan who was an Indi-
and successfully established law and an Muslim. Although the Turkish chiefs
order in the length and breadth of her wanted that all power and authority
kingdom. But her attempt to create a should remain in their hands, they con-
party of nobles loyal to her and to raise a sented to the appointment of Raihan
 Medieval India 46
because they could not agree among not even with members of his own fami-
themselves which one of them should ly. Balban was determined to finally
succeed to Balban‘s post. Balban agreed break the power of the chahalgani, i.e.,
to step aside, but carefully continued to the Turkish nobles. He did not hesitate
build his own group. Within one and a even to poison his cousin, Sher Khan, to
half years of his dismissal, he managed achieve this objective. At the same time,
to win over some of his opponents. Bal- in order to win the confidence of the
ban now made preparations for a mili- public, he administered justice with
tary show-down. It seems that he had extreme impartiality. To keep himself
also established some contacts with the well informed, Balban appointed spies
Mongols who had overrun a large part of in every department. He also organized a
the Punjab. Sultan Mahmud bowed to strong centralised army, both to deal
the superior strength of Balban‘s group with internal disturbances, and to repel
and dismissed Raihan. After some time, the Mongols who had entrenched them-
Raihan was defeated and killed. Balban selves in the Punjab and posed a serious
got rid of many of his other rivals by danger to the Delhi Sultanat. For the
means fair or foul. He even went so far purpose, he reorganized the military
as to assume the royal insignia, the department (diwan-i-arz).
chhatr. But he did not assume the throne The law and order situation in the
himself, probably due to the sentiments area around Delhi and in the doab had
of the Turkish chiefs. In 1265, Sultan deteriorated. In the Ganga—Jamuna
Mahmud died. Some historians are of doab and Awadh, the roads were infest-
the opinion that Balban poisoned the ed with robbers and dacoits, so much so
young king, and also did away with his that communication with the eastern
sons, in order to clear his way to the areas had become difficult. Some of the
throne. Balban‘s methods were often Rajput zamindars had set up forts in the
harsh and undesirable. But there is no area, and defied the government. Near
doubt that with his accession to the Delhi, the Mewatis had become so bold
throne there began an era of strong, cen- as to plunder people upto the outskirts
tralised government. of the city. To deal with these elements,
Balban tried to strengthen his claim Balban adopted a policy of ‗blood and
to the throne by declaring that he was iron‘. The Meos (Mewatis) were ruth-
the descendant of the legendary Iranian lessly hunted down and killed, the for-
king Afrasiyab. In order to prove his ests around Delhi cut down, and many
claim to noble blood, Balban stood forth military out-posts (thanas) established
as the champion of the Turkish nobility. there. In the doab and in Katehar (mod-
He refused to entertain for important ern Rohilkhand) Balban ordered forests
government posts anyone who did not to be cleared, rebellious villagers de-
belong to a noble family. This virtually stroyed and the men, women and chil-
meant the exclusion of Indian Muslims dren enslaved. Colonies of Afghan sol-
from all positions of power and authori- diers were settled there to safeguard the
ty. roads, and to deal with the Rajput za-
While claiming to act as a champion mindars whenever they raised a disturb-
of the Turkish nobility, Balban was not ance against the government.
prepared to share power with anyone,
 Medieval India 47
To emphasize that the nobles were had been able to penetrate into India
not his equals, he insisted on the cere- and establish an empire there. The con-
mony of sijada and paibos (prostration figuration of these mountains was such
and kissing the monarch‘s feet). These that in order to prevent an invader from
and many other ceremonies which he reaching the fertile valleys of the Punjab
copied were Iranian in origin and were and Sind it was necessary to control the
considered un-Islamic. However, little area extending from Kabul to Ghazni
objection could be raised because at the and Qandahar. The control of this area
time when most Muslim states of Cen- flanked by the Hindukush was im-
tral and West Asia had disappeared in portant, for it was the main route for the
the face of the Mongol onslaught, Balban arrival of reinforcements from Central
and the Sultanat of Delhi stood out al- Asia.
most alone as the champions of ‗Islam‘. Due to the fluid situation in West
Although Balban had a strong army, he Asia, the Delhi Sultanat was not able to
did not lead any distant expeditions attain these frontiers, posing a persis-
except the one to Bengal, or to expand tent danger to India.
the empire for fear of Mongol attack on With the rise of the Khwarizmi em-
Delhi. But he exercised his army by ar- pire, the control of the Ghurids over
ranging elaborate hunting expeditions. Kabul, Qandahar and Ghazni had been
Balban died in 1286. He was un- lost. Boundary of the Khwarizmi empire
doubtedly one of the main architects of had reached the river Indus. Next, an
the Sultanat of Delhi, particularly of its even bigger danger was the arrival of
form of government and institutions. By Changez Khan, the Mongol leader, who
assertingthe power of the monarchy, prided in calling himself ‗the scourge of
Balban strengthened the Delhi Sultanat. God‘. The Mongols attacked the
But even he could not fully defend Khwarizmi empire in 1218. Meanwhile,
northern India against the inroads of the the Mongol onslaught had serious re-
Mongols. Moreover, by largely exclud- percussions on the Sultanat of Delhi.
ing non-Turks from positions of power However, Iltutmish, who was ruling at
and authority and by trying to base the Delhi at the time, tried to appease the
government on a very narrow group, he Mongols by politely refusing a request
made many people dissatisfied. This led from Jalaluddin the defeated Khwarizmi
to fresh disturbances and troubles after ruler for asylum. Jalaluddin remained,
his death. for some time, in the area between La-
hore and the river Sutlej. This resulted
The Mongols and The Problem in a series of Mongol attacks. The river
of The Northwest Frontier Indus ceased to be India‘s western
On account of its natural bounda- boundary.
ries, India has been safeguarded during Balban adopted a policy of both force
most of its history from external inva- and diplomacy against Mangols. He re-
sions. It was only in the northwest that paired the forts of Tabarhinda, Sunam
India was vulnerable. As we have seen, it and Samana, and posted a strong force
was through the mountain passes of this in order to prevent the Mongols from
area that the Turks, like the earlier in- crossing the river Beas. Balban tacitly
vaders such as the Huns, Scythians, etc., agreed to leave the major portion of the
 Medieval India 48
Punjab under the Mongol control. The Delhi had to face a serious danger from
Mongols, on their part, did not make the northwest. Although the Mongols
any attack on Delhi. The frontier, how- were gradually able to bring almost the
ever, remained undefined and Balban entire Punjab as well as Kashmir under
had to conduct almost annual expedi- their control, and to threaten Delhi, due
tions against the Mongols in order to to the firmness and vigour of the Turk-
keep them in check. ish rulers, and their diplomacy, this
The Mongol attempt to pass beyond threat was averted, and later the Punjab
the Punjab and to attack Delhi itself was was recovered. However, the serious
due to a change in Central Asian poli- threat posed to the Sultanat of Delhi by
tics. The ruler of Trans-Oxiana, Dawa the Mongols had a powerful effect on all
Khan, being unable to prevail against the internal problems of the Sultanat.
Mangol Il-Khan of Iran made an attempt
to conquer India. From 1297, he mount- Internal Rebellions and The
ed a series of campaigns against the forts Struggle For The Territorial
defending Delhi. Alauddin Khalji, who
was ruling over Delhi, decided to face
Consolidation of The Delhi Sul-
the Mongols outside Delhi. After some tanat
time, the Mongols withdrew without During the rule of the Ilbari Turks
risking a full-scale battle. In 1303, the (sometimes called the Mameluk or Slave
Mongols appeared again with a force of rulers), the Sultans of Delhi had to face
1,20,000. Alauddin Khalji, who was not only internal dissensions and foreign
campaigning in Rajputana against Chit- invasions, but internal rebellions as
tor, rushed back and fortified himself at well. Some of these rebellions were led
his new capital, Siri, near Delhi. The two by ambitious Muslim chiefs who want-
armies camped facing each other for two ed to become independent; others were
months. Finally, the Mongols retreated led by Rajput rajas and zamindars who
again, without having achieved any- were eager to expel the Turkish invaders
thing. It was a stern warning to the sul- from their territories or to exploit the
tans of Delhi. Alauddin Khalji now took difficulties of the Turkish rulers and to
serious steps to raise a large, efficient aggrandize themselves at the expense of
army, and repaired the fortresses near their weaker neighbours. Thus, these
the Beas. He was, thus, able to repel rajas and zamindars not only fought
with great slaughter the Mongol inva- against the Turks, but against each oth-
sions which took place in the following er as well. The nature and objectives of
years. In 1306, Dawa Khan, the Mongol the various internal rebellions differed.
ruler of Trans-Oxiana, died and his Hence, it is not correct to lump them
death was followed by confusion and a together as ‗Hindu resistance‘.
civil war. Taking advantage of the con- It is not necessary to list all the re-
fusion among the Mongols, the rulers of bellions against the sultans of Delhi. The
Delhi were able to recover Lahore and, eastern region of India which included
in course of time, extended their control Bengal and Bihar strove continuously to
up to the river Indus. throw off the yoke of Delhi. It has been
It will, thus, be seen that during the noted in an earlier chapter how the
entire thirteenth century, the Sultanat of Khalji chief, Muhammad bin Bakhtiyar
 Medieval India 49
Khalji, succeeded in expelling the Sena However, Delhi could not keep con-
king, Lakshmana Sena, from Lakhnauti. trol over Bengal for long. After Balban‘s
After some confusion, a person called death, his son, Bughra Khan, who had
Iwaz who took the title of Ghiyasuddin been appointed the governor of Bengal,
Sultan began to function as an inde- preferred to rule over that part rather
pendent ruler there. Taking advantage of than stake his life for the throne of Del-
Iltutmish‘s preoccupations in the hi. He, therefore, assumed independence
northwest, he extended his authority and set up a dynasty which ruled over
over Bihar and exacted tribute from the Bengal for the next forty years.
ruler of Jajnagar (Orissa), Tirhut (north Thus, Bengal and Bihar remained
Bengal), Bang (east Bengal) and Kamrup outside the control of Delhi during the
(Assam). greater part of the thirteenth century.
When Iltutmish was free from his The bulk of the Punjab, too had passed
preoccupations, in 1225 he marched under the control of the Mongols. The
against Iwaz. Iwaz submitted at first, Turkish rule was not fully secure even in
then asserted his independence once the Ganga doab. The Katehariya Rajputs
Iltutmish had turned his back. A son of who had their capital at Ahichchatra
Iltutmish who was the governor of across the Ganga were a force to be
Awadh defeated and killed Iwaz in a reckoned with. They frequently raided
battle. However, affairs continued to be the district of Badaun. Finally, after his
confused till Iltutmish led a second ex- accession, Balban led a large force which
pedition in 1230. resorted to large-scale massacre and
After the death of Iltutmish, the gov- wholesale plunder. The district was
ernors of Bengal sometimes asserted almost depopulated, jungles were
their independence and sometimes cleared and roads built. Barani records
submitted to Delhi according to their that from that date the iqtas of Baran,
convenience. During this period, Bihar Amroha, Sambhal and Katehar (in mod-
generally remained under the control of ern west U.P.) were rendered safe and
Lakhnauti. The governors who acted as permanently freed from any trouble.
independent rulers tried, though with- The southern and western frontier of
out much success, to bring, the areas the Delhi Sultanat was also not fully
between Awadh and Bihar under their secure. The problem here was two-fold.
control. Under Aibak, the Turks had captured
With the emergence of a strong ruler the chain of forts–Tijara (Alwar), Baya-
in the person of Balban, Delhi was eager na, Gwaliyar, Kalinjar, etc. They had
to reassert its control over Bihar and overrun parts of eastern Rajasthan ex-
Bengal. A formal allegiance to Delhi was tending up to Ranthambhor, Nagaur,
not enough any longer. Tughril, who had Ajmer, and Nadol near Jalor. Most of
submitted to Balban and then asserted these areas had at one time belonged to
his independence, was hunted down by the Chauhan empire and were still being
Balban (1280). Savage punishment was ruled by Chauhan families. Aibak‘s op-
given by Balban to Tughril‘s family erations against them were, thus, a part
members and followers. This campaign of the campaign against the Chauhan
which lasted three years was the only empire. However, in the subsequent
distant campaign undertaken by Balban. period, far from advancing into Malwa
 Medieval India 50
and Gujarat, the Turks were hard put to Many Rajput rulers threw off Turkish
defend their gains in eastern Rajasthan suzerainty. The fort of Gwaliyar was
and even to maintain their hold on the also recovered by them. The Bhatti Raj-
redoubts defending Delhi and the Gan- puts, who were entrenched in the area
getic region. of Mewat, isolated Bayana and extended
Taking advantage of Iltutmish‘s pre- their depredations up to the outskirts of
occupations with the northwest, the Delhi.
Rajput rajas had recovered Kalinjar, Balban‘s attempt to conquer
Gwaliyar and Bayana Many other prin- Ranthambhor and to recover Gwaliyar
cipalities, including Ranthambhor and failed. However, he subdued Mewat
Jalor, repudiated Turkish suzerainty. ruthlessly so that Delhi remained secure
From 1226, Iltutmish commenced opera- from Mewati inroads for almost one
tions to recover his control over these hundred years. Ajmer and Nagaur con-
areas. He first invested Ranthambhor tinued to remain under the firm control
and compelled the ruler to accept Turk- of the Delhi Sultanat. Balban, thus, con-
ish suzerainty. He also captured Jalor solidated the Turkish rule in eastern
which was on the route to Gujarat. The Rajasthan, despite his other preoccupa-
efforts of Iltutmish to extend his control tions. The continuous fighting among
over Gujarat and Malwa, however, the Rajput rulers also aided the Turks,
failed. The Chalukyas of Gujarat re- and made impossible any effective com-
pulsed an attack by Iltutmish. The Par- bination of the Rajputs against them.
amaras of Malwa were also too strong The establishment of a strong mon-
for the Turks. Iltutmish, however, made archy, the repelling of the Mongol in-
a raid into Malwa and plundered Ujjain vaders, and the consolidation of the ter-
and Raisina. One of his general also ritory of the Delhi Sultanat in the Ganga
raided Bundi. In the east, Iltutmish re- doab and control over eastern Rajasthan
covered Bayana and Gwaliyar, but was paved the way for the next step in the
unable to make much headway against history of the Delhi Sultanat, viz., its
the Rajputs of Baghelkhand. expansion into western India and the
The Turkish control over eastern Deccan.
Rajputana was again shaken in the con-
fusion following Iltutmish‘s death.
 Medieval India 51

Chapter 7
The Delhi Sultanat—II
(Circa 1200-1400)
The Khaljis And The Tughlaqs
After the death of Balban in 1286, been the warden of the marches in the
there was again confusion in Delhi for northwest and had fought many suc-
some time. Balban‘s chosen successor, cessful engagements against the Mon-
Prince Mahmud, had died earlier in a gols, overthrew the incompetent succes-
battle with the Mongols. A second son, sors of Balban in 1290. The Khalji rebel-
Bughra Khan, preferred to rule over lion was welcomed by the non-Turkish
Bengal and Bihar although he was invit- sections in the nobility. The Khaljis
ed by the nobles at Delhi to assume the were of a mixed Turkish—Afghan
throne. Hence, a grandson of Balban was origin, did not exclude the Turks from
installed in Delhi. But he was too young high offices, but the rise of the Khaljis to
and inexperienced to cope with the sit- power ended the Turkish monopoly of
uation. There had been a good deal of high offices.
resentment and opposition at the at- Jalaluddin Khalji ruled only for a
tempt of the Turkish nobles to monopo- brief period of six years. He tried to mit-
lize high offices. Many non-Turks, such igate some of the harsh aspects of Bal-
as the Khaljis, had come to India at the ban‘s rule. He also tried to gain the
time of the Ghurid invasion. They had goodwill of the nobility by a policy of
never received sufficient recognition in tolerance and avoiding harsh punish-
Delhi, and had to move to Bengal and ments. The Delhi Sultanat faced numer-
Bihar for an opportunity for advance- ous internal and external foes due to this
ment. In course of time, many Indian policy. Jalaluddin‘s policy was reversed
Muslims had been admitted to the no- by Alauddin who awarded drastic pun-
bility. They also were dissatisfied at ishments to all those who dared to op-
being denied high officers, as may be pose him.
inferred from the manner in which Alauddin Khalji (1296-1316) came to
Imaduddin Raihan was put up against the throne by treacherously murdering
Balban. Balban‘s own example of setting his uncle and father-in-law, Jalaluddin
aside the sons of Nasiruddin Mahmud Khalji. As the governor of Awadh,
had demonstrated that a successful gen- Alauddin had accumulated a vast treas-
eral could ascend the throne by ousting ure by invading Deogir in the Deccan.
the scions of an established dynasty, After murdering his uncle, Alauddin
provided he had sufficient support in won over most of the nobles and sol-
the nobility and the army. diers to his side by a lavish use of gold.
To overawe his opponents, Alauddin
The Khaljis (1290-1320) Khalji adopted methods of utmost sever-
For these reasons, a group of Khalji ity and ruthlessness. Alauddin framed a
nobles led by Jalaluddin Khalji, who had series of regulations to prevent the no-
 Medieval India 52
bles from conspiring against him. They Khalji. After the death of Firuz, the Del-
were forbidden to hold banquets or fes- hi Sultanat disintegrated and north In-
tivities, or to form marriage alliances dia was divided into a series of small
without the permission of the sultan. To states. Although the Tughlaqs contin-
discourage festive parties, he banned the ued to rule till 1412, the invasion of Delhi
use of wines and intoxicants. He also by Timur in 1398 may be said to mark
instituted a spy service to inform the the end of the Tughlaq empire.
sultan of all that the nobles said and did. We shall first examine the remarka-
By these harsh methods, Alauddin ble expansion of the Delhi Sultanat from
Khalji cowed down the nobles, and the time of Alauddin Khalji, then the
made them completely subservient to various internal reforms in the Sultanat
the crown. No further rebellions took during the period, and the factors which
place during his lifetime. But, in the long led to the disintegration of the Sultanat.
run, his methods proved harmful to the
dynasty. The old nobility was destroyed, Expansion of The Delhi Sultan-
and the new nobility was taught to ac- at
cept anyone who could ascend the We have seen how eastern Raja-
throne of Delhi. This became apparent sthan, including Ajmer and some of its
after Alauddin Khalji‘s death in 1316. His neighbouring territories, had come un-
favourite, Malik Kafur, raised a minor der the control of the Delhi Sultanat,
son of Alauddin to the throne and im- though from the time of Balban,
prisoned or blinded his other sons, Ranthambhor, which was the most
without encountering any opposition powerful Rajput state, had gone out of
from the nobles. Soon after this, Kafur its control. Jalaluddin had undertaken
was killed by the palace guards, and a an invasion of Ranthambhor but found
Hindu convert, Khusrau, ascended the the task too difficult for him. Thus,
throne. However, in 1320, a group of southern and western Rajasthan had
officers led by Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq remained outside the control of the Sul-
raised the banner of revolt. They broke tanat. With the rise to power of Alaud-
out into open rebellion, and in a hard din Khalji, a new situation developed.
fought battle outside the capital, Within a space of twenty-five years, the
Khusrau was defeated and killed. armies of the Delhi Sultanat not only
brought Gujarat and Malwa under their
The Tughlaqs (1320—1412) control and subdued most of the princes
Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq established a in Rajasthan, they also overran the Dec-
new dynasty which ruled till 1412. The can and south India upto Madurai. In
Tughlaqs provided three competent due course, an attempt was made to
rulers: Ghiyasuddin, his son Muhammad bring this vast area under the direct ad-
bin Tughlaq (1324—51), and his nephew ministrative control of Delhi. The new
Firuz Shah Tughlaq (1351—88). The phase of expansion was initiated by
first two of these sultans ruled over an Alauddin Khalji and was continued un-
empire which comprised almost the der his successors, the climax being
entire country. The empire of Firuz was reached during the reign of Muhammad
smaller but even then it was almost as bin Tughlaq.
large as that ruled over by Alauddin
 Medieval India 53
We have already seen how the Delhi Early in 1299, an army under two of
Sultanat was gradually geared up for Alauddin Khalji‘s noted generals
this renewed phase of expansion. At this marched against Gujarat by way of Ra-
time, Malwa, Gujarat and Deogir were jasthan. On their way, they raided and
being ruled by Rajput dynasties, most of captured Jaisalmer also. The Gujarat
which had come into existence towards ruler, Rai Karan, was taken by surprise,
the end of the twelfth and the beginning and fled without offering a fight. The
of the thirteenth century. Despite the chief cities of Gujarat, including Anhil-
establishment of the Turkish rule in the wara where many beautiful buildings
Ganga valley, these dynasties had hardly and temples had been built over genera-
changed their old ways. Moreover, each tions, were sacked. The famous temple
one of them was contending for mastery of Somnath which had been rebuilt in
over the entire region. So much so, when the twelfth century was also plundered
under Iltutmish the Turks attacked Gu- and sacked. An enormous booty was
jarat, the rulers of both Malwa and Deo- collected. Nor were the wealthy Muslim
gir attacked it from the south. In the merchants of Cambay spared. It was
Maratha region the rulers of Deogir here that Malik Kafur, who later led the
were constantly at war with Warangal invasions of south India, was captured.
in the Telengana region, and with the He was presented to Alauddin, and soon
Hoysalas in the Karnataka area. The rose in his estimation.
Hoysalas, in turn, were at war with their Gujarat now passed under the con-
neighbours, the Pandyas in Mabar trol of Delhi. With the help of Rama-
(Tamil area). These rivalries not only chandra, the ruler of Deogir, the ousted
made the conquest of Malwa and Guja- ruler Rai Karan, managed to hold on to a
rat easier, but tended to draw an invader portion of south Gujarat. As we shall
further and further into the south. see, this provided an additional cause of
The Turkish rulers had strong rea- war between Delhi and the Yadavas of
sons for coveting Malwa and Gujarat. Deogir.
Not only were these areas fertile and
populous, they controlled the western Rajasthan
sea-ports and the trade routes connect- After the conquest of Gujarat,
ing them with the Ganga valley. The Alauddin turned his attention to the
overseas trade from Gujarat ports consolidation of his rule over Rajasthan.
brought in a lot of gold and silver which The first to invite his attention was
had been accumulated by the rulers of Ranthambhor which was being ruled by
the area. Another reason for the sultans the Chauhan successors of Prithviraj. Its
of Delhi to establish their rule over Gu- ruler, Hamirdeva, had embarked on a
jarat was that it could secure them a series of war-like expeditions against his
better control over the supply of horses neighbours. He is credited with having
to their armies. The import of Arabi, won victories against Raja Bhoj of Dhar,
Iraqi and Turki horses to India from the and the Rana of Mewar. Two of the
western sca-ports had been an im- Mongol Nobles who rebelled against
portant item of trade since the eighth Alauddin over war booty fled for refuge
century. to Ranthambhor. Alauddin sent messag-
es to Hamirdeva to kill or expel the
 Medieval India 54
Mongol nobles. But Hamir Deva denied. Alauddin also overran Jalor which
Ranthambhor was reputed to be the lay on the route to Gujarat. Almost all
strongest fort in Rajasthan and had ear- the other major states in Rajasthan were
lier defied Jalaluddin Khalji. Alauddin forced to submit. However, it seems that
marched against Ranthambhor. The Alauddin did not try to establish direct
famous poet, Amir Khusrau, who went administration over the Rajput states.
along with Alauddin, has given a graphic The Rajput rulers were allowed to rule
description of the fort and its invest- but had to pay regular tribute, and to
ment. After three months of close siege, obey the orders of the sultan. Muslim
the fearful jauhar ceremony took place: garrisons were posted in some of the
the women mounted the funeral pyre, important towns, such as Ajmer, Na-
and all the men came out to fight to the gaur, etc. Thus, Rajasthan was thor-
last. This is the first description we have oughly subdued.
of the jauhar in Persian. All the Mongols,
too, died fighting with the Rajputs. This Deccan and South India
event took place in 1301. Even before completing the subjuga-
Alauddin, next, turned his attention tion of Rajasthan, Alauddin had con-
towards Chittor which, after quered Malwa which, says Amir
Ranthambhor, was the most powerful Khusrau, was so extensive that even
state in Rajasthan. It was, therefore, wise geographers were unable to delimit
necessary for Alauddin to subdue it. its frontiers. Unlike Rajasthan, Malwa
Apart from this, its ruler Ratan Singh was brought under direct administra-
had annoyed him by refusing permission tion, and a governor was appointed to
to his armies to march to Gujarat look after it.
through Mewar territories. Chittor also In 1306—07, Alauddin planned two
dominated the route from Ajmer to campaigns. The first was against Rai
Malwa. There is a popular legend that Karan who after his expulsion from Gu-
Alauddin attacked Chittor because he jarat, had been holding Baglana on the
coveted Padmini, the beautiful queen of border of Malwa. Rai Karan fought
Ratan Singh (as per Hindi poet Malik bravely, but he could not resist for long.
Muhammad Jaisi). The second expedition was aimed
Alauddin closely invested Chittor. against Rai Ramachandra, the ruler of
After a valiant resistance by the besieged Deogir, who had been in alliance with
for several months, Alauddin stormed Rai Karan. Rai Ramachandra who sur-
the fort (1303). The Rajputs performed rendered to Malik Kafur (Alauddin‘s
jauhar and most of the warriors died slave) was honourably treated and car-
fighting. Padmini, and the other queens, ried to Delhi where, after some time, he
also sacrificed their lives. But it seems was restored to his dominions with the
that Ratan Singh was captured alive and title of Rai Rayan. The alliance with Rai
kept a prisoner for some time. Chittor Ramachandra was to prove to be of
was assigned to Alauddin‘s minor son, great value to Alauddin in his further
Khizr Khan, and a Muslim garrison was aggrandisement in the Deccan.
posted in the fort. After some time, its Between 1309 and 1311, Malik Kafur
charge was handed over to a cousin of led two campaigns in south India—the
Ratan Singh. first against Warangal in the Telengana
 Medieval India 55
area and the other against Dwar Sam- The last Hindu principality in the area,
udra (modern Karnataka), Mabar and Kampili in south Karnataka, was an-
Madurai (Tamil Nadu). These expedi- nexed in 1328. A cousin of Muhammad
tions greatly raised Kafur in public es- bin Tughlaq, who had rebelled, had been
timation, and Alauddin appointed him given shelter there, thus providing a
malik-naib or vice-regent of the empire. convenient excuse for attacking it.
Politically, however, the effects of these The sudden expansion of the Delhi
campaigns were limited. Kafur was able Sultanat to the far south and to the east,
to force the rulers of Warangal and including Orissa, created tremendous
Dwar Samudra to sue for peace, to sur- administrative and financial problems
render all their treasures and elephants, which had to be faced by Muhammad
and to promise an annual tribute. Kafur bin Tughlaq. We shall now turn to a
had plundered as much as he could in- study of the manner in which he tried to
cluding a number of wealthy temples, cope with these problems, and the
such as those at Chidambaram. But he strains which it imposed on the Sultanat
had to return to Delhi without being itself.
able to defeat the Tamil armies.
After the death of Alauddin, Mubar- Internal Reforms and Experi-
ak Shah succeeded the throne. He sub- ments
dued Deogir again, and installed a Mus- By the time Alauddin Khalji came to
lim governor there. He also raided Wa- the throne, the position of the Delhi Sul-
rangal, and compelled the ruler to cede tanat was fairly well consolidated in the
one of his districts, and pay an annual central portion of the empire, i.e., the
tribute of forty gold bricks. Khusrau portion comprising the upper Ganga
Khan, a slave of the sultan, made a plun- valley and eastern Rajasthan. This em-
dering raid into Mabar and sacked the boldened the sultans to undertake a
rich city of Masulipatnam. No conquests series of internal reforms and experi-
were made in the area. ments, aimed at improving the admin-
Following the accession of Ghiya- istration, strengthening the army, gear-
suddin Tughlaq in 1320, a sustained and ing up the machinery of land revenue
vigorous forward policy was embarked administration, taking steps to expand
upon. The sultan‘s son, Muhammad bin and improve cultivation and providing
Tughlaq, was posted to Deogir for the for the welfare of the citizens in the rap-
purpose. On the excuse that the ruler of idly expanding towns. Not all the
Warangal had not paid the stipulated measures were successful, but they
tribute, Muhammad bin Tughlaq be- mark important new departures. Some
sieged Warangal again. This was fol- of the experiments failed on account of
lowed by the conquest of Mabar which lack of experience, some because they
was also annexed. Muhammad bin Tu- were not well conceived, or on account
ghlaq then raided Orissa, and returned of opposition of vested interests. They
to Delhi with rich plunder. Next year, he do, however, show that the Turkish
subdued Bengal which had been inde- state had now acquired a measure of
pendent since the death of Balban. stability, and that it was no longer con-
Thus, by 1324, the territories of the cerned merely with warfare and law and
Delhi Sultanat reached up to Madurai. order.
 Medieval India 56
Market Control and Agrarian sold only to the state. The prices of cat-
Policy of Alauddin tle as well as of slaves were strictly regu-
For contemporaries, Alauddin‘s lated. This shows that slavery was ac-
measures to control the markets was cepted in medieval India as a normal
one of the great wonders of the world. feature. We are told that large sums of
Alauddin sought to fix the cost of al- money were advanced to the Multani
most all commodities. Market was un- traders for bringing fine quality cloth to
der the control of a high officer called Delhi from various parts of the country.
shahna who maintained a register of the As a result, Delhi became the biggest
merchants, and strictly controlled the market for fine cloth, the price of which
shopkeepers and the prices. Further, In was fixed and traders from all places
flocked to Delhi in order to buy it and
order to ensure a regular supply of cheap
foodgrains, he declared that the land sell it at a higher price elsewhere.
revenue in the doab region, that is, the Realization of land revenue in cash
area extending from Meerut near the enabled Alauddin to pay his soldiers in
cash. He was the first sultan in the Sul-
Yamuna to the border of Kara near Al-
lahabad would be paid directly to the tanat to do so.
state, i.e., the villages in the area would
not be assigned in iqta to anyone. By Agrarian Reforms
raising the state demand, and generally Apart from the control of the mar-
obliging the peasants to pay it in cash, ket, Alauddin took important steps in
the peasants were forced to sell their the field of land revenue administration.
He was the first monarch in the Sultanat
foodgrains at a low price to banjaras who
who insisted that in the doab, land rev-
were to carry them to the towns, and to
enue would be assessed on the basis of
sell them at prices fixed by the state. To
measuring the land under cultivation.
ensure that there was no hoarding, all
This implied that the rich and the pow-
the banjaras were registered, and their
erful in the villages who had more land
agents and their family were held collec- could not pass on their burden to the
tively responsible for any violations. As a poor. Alauddin wanted that the land-
further check, the state itself set up
lords of the area—called khuts and
warehouses and stocked them with
foodgrains which were released when- muqaddams, should pay the same taxes as
the others. Thus, they had to pay taxes
ever there was a famine or a threat of a
shortfall in supply. Alauddin kept him- on milch cattle and houses like the oth-
self constantly informed of everything ers, and forgo other illegal cesses which
and very harsh punishment was given if they were in the habit of realizing.
any shopkeeper charged a higher price, Barani writes as if all the measures
or tried to cheat by using false weights mentioned above were directed solely
and measures. against the Hindus (mostly merchants).
Price of horses was also controlled as But these can hardly be considered as
required to maintain large army. The socialistic measures. They were basically
position of the supply of horses had im- designed to meet an emergency situa-
proved as a result of the conquest of tion, viz., the danger posed by the Mon-
Gujarat. Good quality horses could be gols. Perhaps, it would have been better
for Alauddin to have controlled only the
 Medieval India 57
price of essential commodities, such as better. For this purpose, he ordered
food-grains, etc. But price of almost all many of the officers and their followers
commodities were controlled. These led and leading men, including many Sufi
to vexatious laws which were sought to saints, to shift to Deogir which was re-
be violated and led to drastic punish- named Daulatabad. Liberal grants were
ments and resentment. Alauddin‘s agrar- also provided to them, and arrange-
ian policy was certainly harsh and must ments made for their stay at Daulatabad.
have affected the ordinary cultivators However, there was a good deal of dis-
also. But it was not so burdensome as to content. After a couple of years, Mu-
drive them into rebellion, or flight. hammad Tughlaq decided to abandon
The market regulations of Alauddin Daulatabad, largely because he soon
came to an end with his death, but it did found that just as he could not control
achieve a number of gains. We are told the south from Delhi, he could not con-
by Barani that the regulations enabled trol north India from Daulatabad.
Alauddin to raise a large and efficient Another step which Muhammad
cavalry which enabled him to defeat the Tughlaq took at this time was the intro-
subsequent Mongol onslaughts, with duction of the ‗token currency‘. Since
great slaughter, and to drive them be- money is merely a medium of exchange,
yond the Indus. The land revenue re- all countries in the world today have
forms of Alauddin marked an important token currencies—generally paper cur-
step towards closer relationship with rency, so that they do not have to de-
the rural areas. Some of his measures pend upon the supply of gold and silver.
were continued by his successors, and Muhammad Tughlaq decided to intro-
later provided a basis for the agrarian duce a bronze coin which was to have
reforms of Sher Shah and Akbar. the same value as the silver tanka. The
idea of a token currency was a new one
Muhammad Tughlaq’s Exper- in India, and it was difficult to induce
iments the traders as well as the common man
Next to Alauddin Khalji, Muham- to accept it. Muhammad Tughlaq might
mad binTughlaq (1324—51) is best re- still have been successful if the govern-
membered as a ruler who undertook a ment had been able to prevent people
number of bold experiments, and from forging the new coins. The gov-
showed a keen interest in agriculture. ernment was not able to do so, and soon
In some ways, Muhammad bin Tu- the new coins began to be greatly deval-
ghlaq was one of the most remarkable ued in the markets. Finally Muhammad
rulers of his age. But most of this exper- Tughlaq decided to withdraw the token
iments failed, and he has been dubbed currency. He promised to exchange sil-
an ‗ill starred idealist‘. ver pieces for bronze coins. In this way
The most controversial step which many people exchanged the new coins.
Muhammad Tughlaq undertook soon But the forged coins which could be
after his accession was the so-called found out from tests were not ex-
transfer of the capital from Delhi to De- changed. These coins were heaped up
ogir. It appears that the sultan wanted outside the fort and, Barani says, they
to make Deogir a second capital so that remained lying there for many years.
he might be able to control south India
 Medieval India 58
After coming back from Deogir, the fixed arbitrarily, not on the basis of ac-
sultan recruited a large army in order to tual produce. Prices were also fixed arti-
occupy Ghazni and Afghanistan. Barani ficially for converting the produce into
says that his object was to occupy money. A severe famine which ravaged
Khurasan and Iraq. After a year, and the area for half a dozen years made the
following the failure of the experiment situation worse.
of establishing a token currency, and Later, Muhammad Tughlaq launched
improvement of relations with the a scheme to extend and improve cultiva-
Mongols, the army was disbanded. tion in the doab. He set up a separate
The effects of the Khurasan project department called diwan-i-amir-i-kohi.
should not be exaggerated, or confused The area was divided into development
with the Qarachil expedition. This ex- blocs headed by an official whose job
pedition was launched in the Kumaon was to extend cultivation by giving
hills in the Himalayas. After some suc- loans to the cultivators. The scheme
cess, the armies went too far into the failed largely because the men chosen for
inhospitable region of the Himalayas, the purpose proved to be inexperienced
and suffered a disaster. We are told that and dishonest, and misappropriated the
from an army of 10,000, only 10 persons money for their own use. The large sums
returned. However, it seems that the hill of money advanced for the project could
rajas accepted the overlordship of Delhi. not be recovered. Fortunately for all
Subsequently Muhammad Tughlaq un- concerned, Muhammad Tughlaq had
dertook an expedition in the Kangra died in the meantime, and Firuz wrote
hills also. Thus, the hill regions were off the loans. But the policy advocated
fully secured. by Muhammad Tughlaq for extending
and improving cultivation was not lost.
Agrarian Reforms and Nobility It was taken up by Firuz, and even more
Muhammad Tughlaq undertook a vigorously later on by Akbar.
number of measures to improve agricul- Another problem which Muhammad
ture. Most of these were tried out in the Tughlaq had to face was the problem of
doab region. Muhammad Tughlaq did the nobility. With the downfall of the
not believe in Alauddin Khalji‘s policy of Chahalgani Turks, and the rise of the
trying to reduce the khuts and muqaddams Khaljis, the nobility was drawn from
(headmen in the villages) to the position Muslims belonging to different races,
of ordinary cultivators. But he did want including Indian converts. Muhammad
an adequate share of the land revenue Tughlaq went a step further. He enter-
for the state. The measures he advocated tained people who did not belong to
had a longterm impact, but they failed noble families, but belonged to castes
disastrously during his reign. such as barbers, cooks, weavers, wine-
Right at the beginning of Muham- makers, etc. Thus, the nobility of Mu-
mad Tughlaq‘s reign, there was a serious hammad Tughlaq consisted of many
peasant rebellion in the Gangetic doab. divergent sections. No sense of cohesion
Historians are of the opinion that the could develop among them, nor any
trouble started due to over-assessment. sense of loyalty towards the sultan.
Although the share of state remained Thus, the reign of Muhammad bin Tu-
half as in the time of Alauddin, it was ghlaq, while marking the zenith of the
 Medieval India 59
Delhi Sultanat, also saw the beginning of the Bahmani empire. We shall trace the
the process of its disintegration. achievements of these two remarkable
empires in a subsequent chapter. Bengal
Iii. Decline and Disintegration also became independent. With a great
of The Delhi Sultanat: effort, Muhammad Tughlaq was able to
quell the rebellions in Awadh, Gujarat
Firuz and His Successors and Sind. While still in Sind, Muham-
During the latter half of Muhammad
mad Tughlaq died, and was succeeded
Tughlaq‘s reign, there were repeated
by his cousin, Firuz Tughlaq.
rebellions in different parts of the em-
Muhammad Tughlaq‘s policies had
pire. Rebellions by ambitious nobles,
created deep discontent among the no-
particularly in the outlying areas, were
bles as well as in the army. He had also
not a new feature. In most cases, the
clashed with Muslim theologians and
sultans had been able to suppress them
the sufi saints who were very influential.
with the help of the central army and a
After his accession, Firuz Tughlaq
band of loyal nobles. Muhammad Tu-
was faced with the problem of prevent-
ghlaq‘s difficulties were several. The
ing the imminent break-up of the Delhi
rebellions took place one after another
Sultanat. He adopted a policy of trying
in different parts of the empire—in Ben-
to appease the nobles, the army and the
gal, in Mabar (Tamil Nadu), in Waran-
theologians, and of asserting his authori-
gal, in Kampili (Karnataka), in West
ty over only such areas which could be
Bengal, in Awadh, and in Gujarat and
easily administrated from the centre. He,
Sindh. Muhammad Tughlaq did not
therefore, made no attempt to re-assert
trust any one, at least not sufficiently.
his authority over south India and the
So, he dashed from one part of the coun-
Deccan. He led two campaigns into
try to the other to suppress the rebel-
Bengal, but was unsuccessful in both.
lions and wore out his armies. The rebel-
Bengal was, thus, lost to the Sultanat.
lions in south India were the most seri-
Firuz led a campaign against the ruler of
ous. At first, rebellions in these areas
Jajnagar (Orissa). He desecrated the
were organised by the local governors.
temples there and gathered a rich plun-
The sultan hurried to south India. After
der, but made no attempt to annex Oris-
some time, plague broke out in the army.
sa. He also led a campaign against Kan-
We are told that two-thirds of the army
gra in the Punjab hills. His longest cam-
perished in this plague. This was a blow
paigns were to deal with rebellions in
from which Muhammad Tughlaq could
Gujarat and Thatta. Although the rebel-
never recover. Soon after the return of
lions were crushed, the army suffered
the sultan from south India, there was
great hardship due to losing its way in
another rebellion there, led by two
the Rann of Kutch.
brothers, Harihara and Bukka. They set
He reversed harsh policies to ap-
up a principality which gradually ex-
pease nobles. He made nobility hered-
panded. This was the Vijayanagara em-
titary, including his iqta. Firuz abolished
pire which soon embraced the entire
the practice of torturing nobles and
south. Further north, in the Deccan,
some foreign nobles set up a principality their officials if any balance was found
against them at the time of auditing the
near Daulatabad which expanded into
accounts of their iqta. However, in the
 Medieval India 60
long run, the policy of making offices ing the time of Firuz that jizyah became a
and iqta hereditary was bound to be separate tax. Earlier, it was a part of
harmful. It reduced the chance of com- land revenue. Firuz refused to exempt
petent men being recruited into the ser- the Brahmans from the payment of jizyah
vice outside a small circle, and made the since this was not provided for in the
sultan dependent on a narrow oligarchy. sharia. Only women, children, the disa-
Firuz extended the principle of he- bled and the indigent who had no means
redity to the army as well. The soldiers of livelihood were exempt from it.
were not to be paid in cash, but by as- Worse, he publicly burnt a Brahman for
signments on the land revenue of villag- preaching to the people, including Mus-
es. The entire military administration lims, on the ground that it was against
became lax, and soldiers were allowed the sharia. On the same ground, he even
to pass useless horses at the muster by ordered that the beautiful wall paintings
bribing the clerks. In a mistaken view of in his palace be erased. However, he
generosity, the sultan himself once gave patronized music, and despite his or-
money to a soldier to bribe the clerk of thodoxy, was fond of wine.
the muster. These narrow views of Firuz Tu-
Firuz tried to win over the theologi- ghlaq were certainly harmful. At the
ans by proclaiming that he was a true same time, Firuz Tughlaq was the first
Muslim king, and that the state under ruler who took steps to have Hindu reli-
him was a truly Islamic state. Actually, gious works translated from Sanskrit
right from the time of iltutmish‘s acces- into Persian, so that there may be a bet-
sion to the throne, there was a tussle ter understanding of Hindu ideas and
between the orthodox theologians and practices. Many books on music, medi-
the sultans regarding the nature of the cine and mathematics were also trans-
state, and the policy to be adopted by lated from Sanskrit into Persian during
the state towards the non-Muslims. As his reign.
has been stated earlier, from the time of Firuz was keenly interested in the
Iltutmish, and especially under Alaud- economic improvement of the country.
din and Muhammad Tughlaq, the Turk- He set up a large department of public
ish rulers did not allow the theologians works which looked after his building
to dictate the policy of the state. They programme. Firuz repaired and dug a
waged jihad against the Hindu rulers, number of canals. These and other ca-
whenever it was convenient for them to nals were meant for irrigation purposes,
do so. In order to keep the theologians and also for providing water to some of
satisfied, a number of them were ap- the new towns which Firuz built. These
pointed to high offices. The judiciary towns, Hissar-Firuzah or Hissar (in
and the educational system, of course, modern Haryana) and Firuzabad (in
remained in the hands of the theologi- modern Uttar Pradesh) exist even today.
ans. Another step which Firuz took was
He tried to ban practices which the both economic and political in nature.
orthodox theologians considered un- He ordered his officials that whenever
Islamic. He persecuted a number of they attacked a place, they should select
Muslim sects which were considered handsome and well-born young boys
heretical by the theologians. It was dur- and send them to the sultan as slaves. In
 Medieval India 61
this way, Firuz gradually gathered about sacked and plundered the various towns
1,80,000 slaves. Some of these he trained on the way to Delhi.
for carrying on various handicrafts, and The responsibility for the disintegra-
posted them in the royal workshops tion of the Delhi Sultanat cannot be as-
(karkhanas) all over the empire. From cribed to any one ruler. We have seen
others he formed a corps of soldiers who that there were some persistent prob-
would be directly dependent on the sul- lems during the medieval times, such as
tan and hence, he hoped, would be com- the relations between the monarch and
pletely loyal to him the nobles, the conflict with local rulers
When Firuz died in 1388, Sultan and zamindars, the pull of regional and
Muhammad, son of Firuz, was able to geographical factors, etc. Disintegration
stabilize his position. However, neither of the political fabric was, thus, just be-
he nor his successor, Nasiruddin neath the surface and any weakness in
Mahmud, who ruled from 1394 to 1412, the central administration set off a chain
could control the ambitious nobles and of events leading to political disintegra-
the intransigent rajas. Perhaps, the ma- tion. Firuz was able to contain the chain
jor reason for this were the reforms of reactions which had set in due to the
Firuz which had made the nobility too over-extension of the empire under
strong and the army inefficient. The Ghiyasuddin and Muhammad Tughlaq.
governors of provinces became inde- He instituted a series of reforms aimed
pendent, and gradually the sultan of at appeasing the nobles and the soldiers
Delhi was confined virtually to a small which, however, weakened the central
area surrounding Delhi. machinery of administration as we have
The weakness of the Delhi Sultanat seen.
was made even worse by Timur‘s inva- The period from 1200 to 1400 saw
sion of Delhi (1398), Timur, who was a many new features in Indian life, viz.,
Turk but could claim a blood relation- the system of government, changes in
ship with Changez. The raid into India the life and condition of the people, and
was a plundering raid, and its motive the development of art and architecture.
was to seize the wealth accumulated by These will be the subject of another
the sultans of Delhi over the last 200 chapter:
years. With the collapse of the Delhi
Sultanat, there was no one to meet this
incursion. Timur‘s army mercilessly
 Medieval India 62

Chapter 8
Government, and Economic
and Social Life under the Delhi Sultanat
The state set up by the Turks to- opinion generally adhered to the idea of
wards the end of the twelfth century in legitimacy, there was no safeguard
northern India gradually developed into against the usurpation of the throne by a
a powerful and highly centralized state successful military leader, as happened
which, for some time, controlled almost more than once in the Delhi Sultanat.
the entire country extending as far Thus, military strength was the main
south as Madurai. The Delhi Sultanat factor in succession to the throne. How-
disintegrated towards the beginning of ever, public opinion could not be ig-
the fifteenth century, and a series of in- nored. For fear of public opinion, the
dependent states were set up in differ- Khaljis could not dare to enter Delhi for
ent parts of the country. However, the a long time after deposing the successors
administrative system of the Sultanat of Balban, but built a new town called
had a powerful effect on many of them, Siri.
and also influenced the Mughal system
of administration which developed in Central Administration
the sixteenth century. The sultan was assisted by a number
of ministers who were chosen by him
The Sultan and remained in office at his pleasure.
Although many of the Turkish sul- The key figure in administration was the
tans in India declared themselves ‗lieu- wazir. In the earlier period, the wazir
tenant of the faithful‘, i.e., of the Abbasid were primarily military leaders. In the
caliph at Baghdad, and included his fourteenth century, the wazir began to be
name in the khutba in the Friday prayers. considered more an expert in revenue
The sultan‘s office was the most im- affairs, and presided over a large de-
portant in the Sultanat and supreme partment dealing both with income and
political, military, and even legal author- expenditure. A separate Auditor General
ity, was vested in him. He was also re- for scrutinizing expenditure, and an
sponsible for the maintenance of law Accountant General for inspecting in-
and justice. To discharge this function, come worked under the wazir. Khan-i-
he appointed judges but the sultan acted Jahan, a converted Tailang Brahman
as a court of appeal from the judges. who was deputy to the previous wazir,
No clear law of succession developed was chosen by Firuz Tughlaq as his wa-
among Muslim rulers. The Islamic theo- zir.
ry adhered to the idea of the election of
The most important department of
the ruler, but accepted in practice the
state, next to the wazir’s was the diwan-i-
succession of any son of a successful
ruler. The idea of primogeniture was arz or the military department. The head
fully acceptable neither to the Muslims of this department was called the ariz-i-
nor to the Hindus. While the Muslim mamalik. The ariz was not the command-
 Medieval India 63
er-in-chief of the army, since the sultan the cities. Criminal law was based on
himself commanded all the armed forces. regulations framed for the purpose by
The special responsibility of the ariz’s the rulers.
department was to recruit, equip and The diwan-i-insha dealt with state
pay the army. Alauddin insisted upon a correspondence. All the correspondence,
regular muster of the armed forces. He formal or confidential, between the ruler
also introduced the branding system and the sovereigns of other states, and
(dagh) of the horses so that the soldiers with his subordinate officials was dealt
may not bring horses of poor quality to with by this department.
the muster. A descriptive roll of each There were a number of other de-
soldier was also maintained. The army partments in addition to these. The rul-
was posted in different parts of the ers posted intelligence agents called
country, a strong contingent remaining barids in different parts of the empire to
with the ruler in the capital. Alauddin keep them informed of what was going
was also the first sultan who paid his on. The ruler‘s household was another
soldiers fully in cash. Earlier, the Turk- important department of state. It looked
ish soldiers had been assigned a number after the personal comforts of the sultan
of villages in the doab for the payment of and the requirements of the large num-
their salaries. These soldiers had begun bers of women in the royal household. It
to look upon these assignments as he- also looked after a large number of kar-
reditary, and were not prepared to give khanas or departments in which goods
up their posts though many of them had and articles needed by the king and the
become too old and feeble to serve. royal household were stored. Firuz Tu-
Alauddin abolished these holdings by a ghlaq had set up a separate department
stroke of the pen. He paid army in cash. of slaves, many of whom were employed
The efficiency of Alauddin‘s army was in these royal ‗workshops‘. The officer in
the main factor in his ability to contain charge of all these activities was called
the Mongol invasions while at the same wakil-i-dar. Firuz also set up a separate
time conquering the Deccan. department of public works which built
There were two other important de- canals and many of his public buildings.
partments of state: the diwan-i-risalat and
the diwan-i-insha. The former dealt with Local Administration
religious matters, pious foundations and When the Turks conquered the
stipends to deserving scholars and men country, they divided it into a number of
of piety. It was presided over by the tracts called iqtas which were parcelled
chief sadr, who was generally a leading out among the leading Turkish nobles.
qazi. He was generally also the chief qazi. The holders of these offices were called
The chief qazi was the head of the de- muqtis or walis. It were these tracts which
partment of justice. The qazis dispensed later became provinces or subas. We are
civil iaw based on the Muslim law (sha- told that under Muhammad Tughlaq
ria). The Hindus were governed by their there were twenty-four provinces. At
own personal laws which were dis- first, the muqtis were almost independ-
pensed by panchayats in the villages, and ent; they were expected to maintain law
by the leaders of the various castes in and order in their tracts, and collect the
 Medieval India 64
land revenue due to the government. Economic and Social Life
Out of the money they collected they Ibn Battutah, a resident of Tangier in
were expected to meet the salaries due North Africa, visited India in the four-
to the soldiers and keep the balance. As teenth century and lived at the court of
the central government became stronger Muhammad Tughlaq for eight years. He
and gained experience, it began to con- travelled widely all over India and has
trol the muqtis more closely. It began to left a very interesting account of the
try to ascertain the actual income, and products of the country, including
to fix the salaries of the soldiers and the fruits, flowers, herbs, etc., the condition
muqti in cash. The muqti was now re- of the roads, and the life of the people.
quired to remit to the centre the balance We have some other accounts also. The
of the income after meeting the expendi- foodgrains and other crops, the fruits,
ture. The auditing of the accounts, and the flowers mentioned by these
which took place after a couple of years travellers are familiar to us. Rice and
was often accompanied by harshness, sugarcane were produced in the east and
including torture and imprisonment of south, and wheat, oil-seeds, etc., in the
the muqti. These were relaxed by Firuz north. Ibn Battutah says that the soil
Tughlaq towards the end of the Sultan- was so fertile that it could produce two
at. crops every year, rice being sown three
Below the provinces were the shiqs times a year. Sesame, indigo and cotton
and below them the pargana. We are told were also grown. They formed the basis
that the villagers were grouped into of many village industries, such as oil
units of 100 to 84 (traditionally called pressing, making of jaggery, weaving,
chaurasi). This must have been the basis and dyeing of cloth, etc.
of the parganas. The pargana was headed
by the amil. The most important persons Peasants and Rural Gentry
in the village were the khut (landowners) As before, peasants formed the
overwhelming majority of the popula-
and muqaddam or headman. We also hear
tion. The peasant continued to work
of the village accountant or patwari. hard and to eke out bare subsistence.
In the initial stage, hardly any There were recurring famines and wars
change was made in the working of the in different parts of the country, and
administration at the local level. Land these added to the hardships of the
revenue continued to be collected in the peasant.
same manner, more or less by the same All the peasants did not live at the
set of people. This must have been a level of subsistence. Apart from the vil-
major factor in the Turks establishing lage artisans and share-croppers, there
their authority in the countryside quick- was a more prosperous section of people
ly. The changes we have mentioned be- who were owner cultivators of their
gan from the time of Alauddin Khalji at lands. They were considered the original
the beginning of the fourteenth century, settlers of the village, and dominated the
and they led to conflicts, including peas- village panchayat. The village headmen
ant rebellions.
(muqaddams) and smaller landlords
(khuts) enjoyed a higher standard of life.
 Medieval India 65
They continued to enjoy a standard of work including furniture, stone-cutting,
life higher than that of the ordinary etc., for which India was famous. Some
peasants. of the new crafts introduced by the
A section which enjoyed a high Turks included the manufacturer of pa-
standard of life were the Hindu rais or per. The art of manufacturing paper had
autonomous rajas, many of whom con- been discovered by the Chinese in the
tinued to hold their previous estates. second century. It was known in the
There are a number of references to the Arab world in the eighth century, and
visits of the Hindu rais to the court of travelled to Europe only during the four-
Balban. There is little doubt that these teenth century.
Hindu rais continued to be powerful The production of textiles was also
even in the area under the direct control improved by the introduction of the
of the sultans of Delhi. spinning-wheel. Cotton could be
cleaned faster and better by wider use of
Trade, Industry and The Mer- the cotton carder‘s bow (dhunia). But
there is little doubt that most important
chants
was the skill of the Indian craftsmen.
With the consolidation of the Delhi
Indian textiles had already established
Sultanat and the improvement of com-
their position in the trade to countries
munications, and the establishment of a
on the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf
sound currency system based on the
During this period, fine Indian textiles
silver tanka and the copper dirham, there
were introduced to China as well where
was a definite growth of trade in the
it was valued more than silk. India im-
country. This was marked by the ported from West Asia high grade tex-
growth of towns and town life. Ibn Bat- tiles (satin, etc.) glassware and, of
tutah calls Delhi the largest city in the course, horses. From China it imported
eastern part of the Islamic world. He
raw silk and porcelain. Ivory was im-
says that Daulatabad (Deogir) equalled ported from Africa and spices from
Delhi in size—an index of the growth of Southeast Asia, in return for Indian tex-
trade between the north and the south.
tiles. Since India had a favourable trade
The other important cities of the times
balance, gold and silver came to India
were Lahore and Multan in the north-
from these countries.
west, Kara and Lakhnauti in the east,
India‘s foreign trade both overland
and Anhilwara (Patan) and Cambay and overseas was truly an international
(Khambayat) in the west. All these cit- enterprise. Although the Arabs were the
ies indicate flourishing urban economy.
dominant partners in the India Ocean
Bengal and the towns in Gujarat were
trade, they had by no means ousted the
famous for their fine quality fabrics. Indian traders, viz., the Tamils, Kalingas
Cambay in Gujarat was famous for tex- and Gujaratis, both Hindu and Muslim.
tiles and for gold and silver work. So-
The coastal trade and trade between the
nargaon in Bengal was famous for raw
coastal ports and north India was in the
silk and fine cotton cloth (called muslin hands of Marwaris and Gujaratis, many
later on). There were many other handi-
of whom were Jains. The Muslim Bohra
crafts as well, such as leather work,
merchants also participated in this
metal work, carpet weaving, wood-
trade. The overland trade with Central
 Medieval India 66
and West Asia was in the hands of Mul- enabled the Turks to erect magnificent
tanis, who were mostly Hindus but in- buildings based on the arch and the
cluded Muslims, who were Khurasanis, dome. Not all these crafts were new, but
Afghans, Iranians, etc. Many of these their expansion and improvement, and
merchants had settled down in Delhi. agricultural growth were two of the
The Gujarati and Marwari merchants most important factors which made the
were extremely wealthy and some of second half of the fourteenth century a
them, particularly the Jains, spent large period of growth and relative affluence.
sums for the construction of temples.
In those days, travel was always The Sultan and The Nobles
risky due to robbers and dacoits and The Sultan and his chief nobles en-
various marauding tribes. However, the joyed a standard of living which was
royal roads were kept in good shape and comparable to the highest standard in
there were many sarais on the way for the world at that time. Like the Hindu
the comfort and safety of the travellers. rulers, almost every sultan in India built
In addition to the royal road from Pesh- his own, palace. Balban had a dazzling
awar to Sonargaon, Muhammad Tu- court which was designed to impress
ghlaq built a road to Daulatabad. There and strike a sense of awe in the hearts of
were arrangements for the post being the visitors. Alauddin Khalji and his
carried quickly from one part of the successors followed the same tradition.
country to another. This was done by The royal karkhanas which we have
relays of horses or even more efficiently referred to earlier catered to all the
and quickly by runners. needs of the sultan. They manufactured
Economic life was quickened in the costly articles made of silk, gold and
period by the improvement of commu- silver ware, etc. They were also stores of
nications and the growth of trade, both choice and rare goods. Most of the arti-
overland and by sea. The Turks intro- cles of royal use were worked in gold
duced or popularized a number of new and silver, embroidery and jewels. The
crafts and techniques. We have already stores also catered to the women in the
referred to the use of the iron stirrup, haram.
and a large-scale use of armour, both for Almost every sultan had a haram con-
the horse and the rider for heavy and taining queens and a large number of
light cavalry preferred by the new rulers. slaves from various countries. A large
This led to the growth of the metallurgi- number of servants and slaves, men and
cal industry, and metal crafts. women, were employed to safeguard
An even more important develop- them, and to look after their comforts.
ment was the improvement of the rahat All the women relations of the sultan,
(miscalled the Persian wheel) so that including his mother, aunts, etc., also
water could be lifted from a deeper level lived in the haram. Separate accommoda-
for irrigation. The other crafts included tion had to be provided to each of them.
paper-making, glass-making, the spin-
ning wheel and an improved loom for
weaving.
Mention may also be made of the in-
troduction of a superior mortar which
 Medieval India 67
Town Life: Slaves, Artisans and Greek and Indian slaves were valued
Others and were sought after. A small number
We have already referred to the re- of slaves were also imported from Africa,
vival of towns and town life under the mainly Abyssinia. Skilled slaves were
valued and some of them rose to high
Sultanat. The Turkish ruling class was
offices as in the case of the slaves of
essentially an urban ruling class with a
Qutbuddin Aibak. Firuz Tughlaq also
taste for town life. Many of the towns
grew around military garrisons as pro- prized slaves and collected about
viders of food, goods and services to 1,80,000 of them. Many of them mere
them. In due course, many of them employed in handicrafts, while others
emerged as cultural centres as well. formed the sultan‘s personal bodyguard.
The medieval towns had a miscella- The largest number of slaves were, how-
neous population, including many no- ever, used for personal service.
bles and a large class of clerks for run- Medieval society was a society of
ning government offices, shopkeepers, great inequalities. This was reflected in
artisans, beggars, etc. The posts of clerks the Muslim society even more than in
and lower government officials had, ob- the Hindu, the latter being predomi-
viously, to be given to the people who nantly rural where inequalities were less
marked. In towns, the Muslim nobility
could read and write. Since the work of
teaching was largely in the hands of the led a life of great ostentation. Some of
the wealthy merchants, Hindu and Mus-
Muslim theologians (ulama), the ulama
lim, also led lives of ostentation. The
and the lower officials tended to think
great mass of people, in towns as well as
and behave alike. Most of the historians
in the countryside, lived a simple life,
were drawn from this section, and their
and often had to face many hardships. It
writings reflect the opinions and preju-
was, however, not a life without joy, as
dices of this section. Beggars, who gen-
numerous festivals, fairs, etc., relieved,
erally wore arms like the ordinary citi-
to some extent, the monotony of their
zens, formed a large mass and could
lives.
sometimes create a problem of law and
order.
Another large section in the town Caste, Social Manners and Cus-
consisted of slaves and domestic serv- toms
ants. Slavery had existed in India as well There were hardly any changes in
as in West Asia and Europe for a long the structure of the Hindu society dur-
time. The position of different types of ing the period. The smriti writers of the
slaves—one born in the household, one time continued to assign a high place to
purchased, one acquired and one inher- the Brahmans, while strongly denounc-
ited is discussed in the Hindu shastras. ing the unworthy members of the order.
Slavery had been adopted by the Arabs The smriti texts continue to empha-
and, later, by the Turks also. The most size that punishing the wicked and
usual method of acquiring a slave was cherishing the good was the duty of the
capture in war. Slave markets for men Kshatriya and that the right to wield
and women existed in West Asia as well weapons for the purpose of protecting
as in India. The Turkish, Caucasian, the people likewise belonged to him
alone. The duties and occupations of
 Medieval India 68
Shudras were more or less repeated. T portant factor for the growth of purdah
the highest duty of the shudra was the was social—it became a symbol of the
service of the other castes, he was al- higher classes in society and all those
lowed to engage in all occupations, ex- who wanted to be considered respecta-
cept to deal in liquor and meat. The ban ble tried to copy it. Also religious justifi-
on the study and recitation of the Vedas cation was found for it. Whatever the
by shudras was repeated, but not on reason, it affected women adversely, and
hearing the recitation of the Puranas. made them even more dependent on
The severest restrictions were placed on men.
mingling with the Chandalas and other During the Sultanat period; the Mus-
‗outcastes‘. lim society remained divided into ethnic
There was little change in the posi- and racial groups. We have already no-
tion of women in the Hindu society. The ticed the deep economic disparities
old rules enjoining early marriage for within it. The Turks, Iranians, Afghans
girls, and the wife‘s obligation of service and Indian Muslims rarely married each
and devotion to the husband continued. other. In fact, these sections developed
Annulment of the marriage was allowed some of the caste exclusiveness of the
in special circumstances, such as deser- Hindus. Converts from lower sections of
tion, loathsome disease, etc. Widow the Hindus were also discriminated
remarriage was among the practices against.
prohibited in the Kali Age. But this ap- The Hindu and Muslim upper clas-
parently applied to the three upper ses did not have much social intercourse
castes only. Regarding the practice of between them during this period, partly
sati, some writers approve it emphati- due to the superiority complex of the
cally, while others allow it with some latter, and partly due to the religious
conditions. Ibn Battutah mentions sati restrictions on the part of the Hindus of
in his accounts. According to him, per- inter-marriage and interdining with
mission from the sultan had to be taken them. The Hindu upper castes applied
for the performance of sati. to the Muslims the restrictions they
During this period, the practice of applied to the shudras. But it should be
keeping women in seclusion and asking borne in mind that caste restrictions did
them to veil their faces in the presence not close social intercourse between the
of outsiders, that is, the practice of pur- Muslims and the upper caste Hindus
dah became widespread among the up- and the shudras. At various times, Hin-
per class women. It was also in vogue in du soldiers were enrolled in Muslim
ancient Iran, Greece, etc. The Arabs and armies. Most of the nobles had Hindus
the Turks adopted this custom and as their personal managers. The local
brought it to India with them. Due to machinery of administration remained
their example, it became widespread in almost entirely in the hand of the Hin-
India, particularly in north India. The dus. Thus, occasions for mutual inter-
growth of purdah has been attributed to course were manifold. Conflict of inter-
the fear of the Hindu women being cap- ests as well as differences in social and
tured by the invaders. In an age of vio- cultural ideas, practices and beliefs did,
lence, women were liable to be treated however, create tensions, and slowed
as prizes of war. Perhaps, the most im- down the processes of mutual under-
 Medieval India 69
standing and cultural assimilation. The- However, the sultans did not allow the
se will be dealt with in a subsequent Muslim divines to dictate the policy of
chapter. the state.
The sultans had to supplement the
Nature of The State Muslim law by framing their own regu-
The Turkish state in India was mili- lations (zawabit). Alauddin Khalji told
taristic and aristocratic. The Turkish the leading qazi of the city that he did
nobles, tried, at first, to monopolize the not know what was lawful or unlawful
high offices of state, denying a share to but framed laws according to the needs
the Tajiks, Afghans and other non- of the state. This is why the historian
Turkish immigrants. The nobility ac- Barani refused to consider the state in
quired a broader base only under the India as truly Islamic, but one based on
Tughlaqs. However, a noble birth still worldly or secular considerations (ja-
remained a very important qualification handari).
for high office. The vast majority of the Tax called jizyah was paid by Hindu
Muslims as well as the Hindus had, subjects. Historically, the jizya tax has
therefore, little opportunity for occupy- been paid as a fee for protection provid-
ing high offices of state. The Hindus ed by the Muslim ruler to non-Muslims,
dominated trade and constituted the
for the exemption from military service
rural aristocracy, and the lower adminis-
for non-Muslims. It paid on a graduated
trative wing without whose cooperation scale according to means. Women, chil-
the state could not function. A kind of dren and the indigent, who had insuffi-
tacit sharing of power between the rural
cient means, were exempted from it. The
Hindu aristocracy and the city-based
Brahmans also remained exempt. At
administrators was, thus, a factor of
first, jizyah was collected along with
capital importance for the Delhi Sultan-
land revenue. In fact it was difficult to
at, though there were frequent fights
between these two sections. Often given distinguish jizyah from land revenue
a religious colour, the basic causes for since all the cultivators were Hindus.
the struggle between them were secular, Later, Firuz while abolishing many ille-
such as fight for power and land, or ra- gal cesses, made jizyah a separate tax. He
ther, for the share of the surplus pro- levied it on the Brahman also. However
duced by land since land was not gener- Jizyah by itself could not be a means to
ally sold in those times. The Muslims force the Hindus to convert to Islam.
also fought among themselves for the Thus, while claiming to be Islamic,
attainment of these objectives. the state was militaristic and aristocrat-
In a formal sense, the state was Is- ic in character, being dominated by a
lamic. The Sultans were keen to empha- narrow clique of military leaders, head-
size the Muslim character of the state, ed by and under the control of the sul-
and to follow the Holy Law (sharia) as tan.
far as possible. This also meant not al-
lowing any open violation of the Islamic Religious Freedom Under The
law. They appointed Muslim divines to Sultanat
profitable offices of state and granted In the early phase of the conquest
revenue-free lands to many of them. many cities were sacked, temples being
 Medieval India 70
a special target partly to justify the con- also says chat attempt to use force had no
quest and partly to seize the fabulous effect on the Hindus.1
treasures they were supposed to con- Conversions to Islam were due to hopes
tain. During this period, a number of of political gain or economic advantage, or to
improve one‘s social position. Sometimes
Hindu temples were converted into when an important ruler or a tribal chief
mosques. The most notable example of converted, his example was followed by his
this is the Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque subject. In some areas, such as west Punjab,
near the Qutab Minar in Delhi. Former- the valley of Kashmir, east Bengal, etc.,
ly, it had been a Vishnu temple. This where tribal peoples were induced to be-
was done in a number of other places, come cultivators, they changed their earlier
such as Ajmer. But as soon as the Turks beliefs, and accepted the faith of the ruling
were settled, they started building their elements i.e. Islam. In the towns, many arti-
sans, following the new crafts introduced by
own mosques. Their policy towards
the Turks, or depending on the patronage of
temples and places of worship of the the ruling class, such as weavers, ironwork-
Hindus, Jains, etc., rested on the Muslim ers, paper-makers etc., converted to Islam.
law (sharia) which forbade new places of The Sufi saints too played a role, though they
worship being built ‗in opposition to were generally unconcerned with conver-
Islam‘. sions, and welcomed both the Hindus and
In times of peace, however, within the Muslims to their discourses. The saintly
the Turkish territories and in those are- character of some of the Sufi saints created a
receptive climate for Islam. There is no evi-
as where the rajas had submitted to the
dence, however, that large numbers of per-
Muslim rule, the Hindus practised their sons belonging to the lower castes embraced
religion, even openly and ostentatiously. Islam due to the discrimination against them
Despite the pressure of a section of the in the Hindu society or due to the influence
orthodox theologians, and the narrow of the Sufi saints. Conversions were, thus,
approach of some of the sultans and due to personal, political and, in some cases,
their supporters, this policy of ‗tolera- regional factors (as in the Punjab, east Ben-
tion within limits‘ was maintained dur- gal, etc.).
ing the Sultanat, though with occasional Following the Mongol invasion of West
lapses. Asia, many persons belonging to prominent
Muslim families fled to India. There was also
Sometimes, prisoners of war were con-
a steady influx of the Afghans into India.
verted, or criminals exempted from punish-
ment if they accepted Islam. Firuz executed a Many of them enrolled themselves in the
Brahman on a charge of abusing the Prophet Turkish armies or were engaged in trade. A
of Islam. On the whole, conversions to Islam further influx of the Afghans took place in
were not effected with the strength of the the fifteenth century under the Lodi rule.
Despite this, the number of Muslims in India
sword. The Muslim rulers had realised that
remained comparatively small. The nature of
the Hindu faith was too strong to be de-
stroyed by force. Shaikh Nizamuddin Auliya, the Hindu–Muslim relations and the cultural
the famous Sufi saint of Delhi, observed, attitudes of the two, which will be examined
‗Some Hindus know that Islam is a true reli- in a subsequent chapter, were conditioned
by this situation.
gion but they do not embrace Islam‘. Barani
 Medieval India 71

Chapter 9
The Age of Vijayanagara and
the Bahmanids, and the Coming
of the Portuguese (Circa 1350–1565)
The Vijayanagara and Bahmani feudatories of the Kakatiyas of Waran-
kingdoms dominated India south of the gal and later became ministers in the
Vindhyas, for more than 200 years. They kingdom of Kampili in modern Karna-
not only built magnificent capitals and taka. When Kampili was overrun by
cities, and beautified them with many Muhammad Tughlaq for giving refuge to
splendid buildings and promoted arts a Muslim rebel, the two brothers were
and letters, but also provided for law imprisoned, converted to Islam, and
and order and the development of com- appointed to deal with the rebellions
merce and handicrafts. Thus, while the there. After a short time, Harihara and
forces of disintegration gradually tri- Bukka forsook their new master and
umphed in north India, south India and their new faith. At the instance of their
the Deccan had a long spell of stable guru, Vidyaranya, they were re-admitted
governments. This ended with the disin- to Hinduism and established their capi-
tegration of the Bahmani empire to- tal at Vijayanagar. Some modern schol-
wards the end of the fifteenth century, ars do not accept the tradition of their
and of the Vijayanagara empire more conversion to Islam, but consider them
than fifty years later, after its defeat in to be among the nayaks of Karnataka
1565 in the battle of Bannihatti. Mean- who had rebelled against Turkish rule.
while, the Indian scene was trans- The date of Harihara‘s coronation is
formed, first with the arrival of the Por- placed at 1336. At first, the young king
tuguese in southern India and their at- had to contend both with the Hoysala
tempt to dominate the Indian seas, and ruler of Mysore and the sultan of Madu-
second, with the advent of the Mughals rai. The sultan of Madurai was ambi-
in north India. The coming of the tious. He had defeated the Hoysala ruler,
Mughals paved the way for another spell and executed him in a barbarous man-
of integration in north India. The com- ner. The dissolution of the Hoysala
ing of the Portuguese marked the long kingdom enabled Harihara and Bukka to
era of confrontation between the land- expand their tiny principality. By 1346,
based Asian powers and the European the whole of the Hoysala kingdom had
powers which dominated the seas. passed into the hands of the Vijayanaga-
ra rulers. In this struggle, Harihara and
The Vijayanagara and The Bukka were aided by their brothers and
Bahmani Kingdom by their relations who took up the ad-
The Vijayanagara kingdom was ministration of the areas conquered by
founded by Harihara and Bukka who their efforts. The Vijayanagara kingdom
belonged to a family of five brothers. was, thus, a kind of a cooperative com-
According to a legend, they had been the monwealth at first. Bukka succeeded his
 Medieval India 72
brother to the throne of Vijayanagara in country, the main contention was for
1356, and ruled till 1377. the control of the Konkan and the areas
The rising power of the Vijayanagara which gave access to it. The Konkan
empire brought it into clash with many was a narrow strip of land between the
powers both in the south and to the Western Ghats and the sea. It was ex-
north. In the south, its main rivals were tremely fertile, and included within it
the sultans of Madurai. The struggle the port of Goa which was an important
between Vijayanagara and the sultans of outlet for the products of the region, as
Madurai lasted for about four decades. well as for the import of horses from
By 1377, the Sultanat of Madurai had Iran and Iraq. As has been noted earlier,
been wiped out. The Vijayanagara em- good quality horses were not bred in
pire then comprised the whole of south India. The import of horses from Goa
India upto Rameshwaram, including the was, thus, of great importance to the
Tamil country as well as that of the southern states.
Cheras (Kerala). To the north, however, Military conflicts between the Vija-
Vijayanagara faced a powerful enemy in yanagara and the Bahmani kingdom
the shape of the Bahmani kingdom. The were almost a regular feature and lasted
Bahmani kingdom had come into exist- as long as these kingdoms continued. In
ence in 1347. Its founder was Alauddin 1367, when Bukka I assaulted the for-
Hasan, an Afghan adventurer. He had tress of Mudkal in the disputed Tunga-
risen in the service of a Brahman, named bhadra doab, he slaughtered the entire
Gangu, and is, therefore, known as Ha- garrison, except one man. As a result
san Gangu. After his coronation, he as- Bahmani kingdom and Vijayanagara
sumed the title of Alauddin Hasan Bah- entered into a long drawn war. The war
man Shah. dragged on for several months. Finally,
The interests of the Vijayanagara both the side were exhausted, and de-
rulers and the Bahmani sultans clashed cided to conclude a treaty. This treaty
in three separate and distinct areas: in restored the old position whereby the
the Tungabhadra doab, in the Krishna— doab was shared between the two.
Godavari delta, and in the Marathwada Having strengthened its position in
country. The Tungabhadra doab was the south India by eliminating the Sultanat
region between the rivers Krishna and of Madurai, the Vijayanagara empire
Tungabhadra and consisted of 30,000 embarked upon a policy of expansion
square miles. On account of its wealth towards the eastern sea coast under
and economic resources, it had been the Harihara II (1377–1404). There were a
bone of contention between the western series of Hindu principalities in the re-
Chalukyas and the Cholas in the earlier gion, the most notable being the Reddis
period, and between the Yadavas and on the upper reaches of the delta, and
the Hoysalas later on. The struggle for the rulers of Warangal in the lower
the mastery of the Krishna—Godavari reaches of the Krishna–Godavari delta.
basin which was very fertile and which, The rulers of Orissa to the north, as well
with its numerous ports, controlled the as the Bahmani sultans were also inter-
foreign trade of the region was often ested in this area. However, the Bahmani
linked up with the struggle for the sultan fixed Golconda as the boundary
Tungabhadra doab. In the Maratha of his kingdom and promised that nei-
 Medieval India 73
ther he nor his successors would en- 350,000 pardaos. He also built a dam on
croach against Warangal any further. the river Haridra for irrigation purposes.
The alliance of the Bahmani kingdom After some confusion, Deva Raya II
and Warangal lasted for over 50 years, (1425–1446), who is considered the
and was a major factor in the inability of greatest ruler of the dynasty, ascended
Vijayanagara to overrun the Tunga- the throne at Vijayanagara. In order to
bhadra doab. In meantime, Harihara II strengthen his army, he reorganized his
was able to maintain his position in the army, incorporating in it many features
face of the Bahmani–Warangal combine. of the armies of the Delhi Sultanat. He,
His greatest success was in wresting therefore, enlisted 2000 Muslim caval-
Belgaum and Goa in the west from the rymen, gave them jagirs, and commended
Bahmani kingdom. He also sent an ex- all his Hindu soldiers and officers to
pedition to north Sri Lanka. learn the art of archery from them.
After a period of confusion, Harihara However, the collection of a large caval-
II was succeeded by Deva Raya I (1404– ry force and standing army made the
1422). Early in his reign, there was a Vijayanagara empire a more centralized
renewed fight for the Tungabhadra do- polity than any of the earlier Hindu
ab. He was defeated by the Bahmani kingdoms in the south, even though it
ruler Firuz Shah, and he had to pay huge must have put a strain on the resources
indemnity. He also agreed to marry his of the state since most of the good
daughter to the sultan, ceding to him in mounts had to be imported, and the
dowry Bankapur in the doab in order to Arabs, who controlled the trade,
obviate all future dispute. However, this charged high prices for them.
marriage could not bring any peace. The With his new army, Deva Raya II
question of the Krishna–Godavari basin crossed the Tungabhadra river in 1443
led to a renewed conflict between Vijay and tried to recover Mudkal, Bankapur,
inagara, the Bahmani kingdom and Oris- etc., which were south of the Krishna
sa. Following a confusion in the Reddi river and had been lost to the Bahmani
kingdom, Deva Raya entered into an sultans earlier. Three hard battles were
alliance with Warangal for partitioning fought, but in the end the two sides had
the kingdom between them. Warangal‘s to agree to the existing frontiers.
defection from the side of the Bahmani Nuniz, a Portuguese writer of the
kingdom changed the balance of power sixteenth century, tells us that the kings
in the Deccan. Deva Raya was able to of Quilon, Sri Lanka, Pulicat, Pegu and
inflict a shattering defeat on Firuz Shah Tenasserim (in Burma and Malaya) paid
Bahmani and annexed the entire Reddi tribute to Deva Raya II. It is doubtful
territory up to the mouth of the Krishna whether the Vijayanagara rulers were
river. powerful enough on the sea to extract
Deva Raya I constructed a dam regular tribute from Pegu and
across the Tungabhadra so that he could Tenasserim. This could not have been
bring the canals into the city to relieve attained without a strong navy.
the shortage of water. It irrigated the Under a series of capable rulers, Vi-
neighbouring fields also, for we are told jayanagara emerged as the most power-
that the canals increased his revenues by ful and wealthy state in the south during
the first half of the fifteenth century.
 Medieval India 74
The Italian traveller Nicolo Conti who Bahmani encouraged the pursuit of as-
visited Vijayanagara in 1420 had left us a tronomy and built an observatory near
graphic account of it. The Persian travel- Daulatabad. He paid much attention to
ler Abdur Razzaq, who had travelled the principal ports of his kingdom,
widely in and outside India, visited Vi- Chaul and Dabhol.
jayanagara in the reign of Deva Raya II. Firuz Shah Bahmani‘s marriage with
He gives a glowing account of the coun- a daughter of Deva Raya I and his sub-
try. Abdur Razzaq considers Vijaya- sequent battles against Vijayanagara
nagara to be one of the most splendid have been mentioned already. The
cities anywhere in the world which he struggle for the domination of the
had seen or heard of. Krishna—Godavari basin, however,
continued. In 1419, the Bahmani king-
The Bahmani Kingdom—Its dom received a setback when Firuz
Expansion and Disintegration Shah Bahmani was defeated by Deva
The history of the rise of the Bahma- Raya I. Thi defeat weakened the posi-
ni kingdom and its conflict with the tion of Firuz. He was compelled to abdi-
Vijayanagara empire till the death of cate in favour of his brother, Ahmad
Deva Raya II (1446) has already been Shah I, who is called a saint (wali) on
traced. The most remarkable figure in account of his association with the fa-
the Bahmani kingdom during the period mous sufi saint, Gesu Daraz. He could
was Firuz Shah Bahmani (1397–1422). not forget that in the last two battles in
He was well-acquainted with the reli- which the Bahmani sultan had been de-
gious sciences and was particularly fond feated, the ruler of Warangal had sided
of the natural sciences such as botany, with Vijayanagara. In order to wreak
geometry, logic, etc. He was a good cal- vengeance, he invaded Warangal, de-
ligraphist and a poet and often com- feated and killed the ruler in a battle,
posed extempore verses. According to and annexed most of its territories. In
Ferishta, he was well versed not only in order to consolidate his rule over the
Persian, Arabic and Turkish, but also in newly acquired territories, he shifted the
Telugu, Kannada and Marathi. He had a capital from Gulbarga to Bidar. After
large number of wives in his haram. this, he turned his attention towards
Firuz Shah Bahmani was determined Malwa, Gondwana and the Konkan.
to make the Deccan the cultural centre
of India. The decline of the Delhi Sultan- Mahmud Gawan
at helped him, for many learned people The loss of Warangal to the Bahmani
migrated from Delhi to the Deccan. The kingdom changed the balance of power
most remarkable step taken by Firuz in south India. The Bahmani kingdom
Shah Bahmani was the induction of gradually expanded, and reached its
Hindus in the administration on a large height of power and territorial limits
scale. It is said that from his time the during the prime ministership of
Deccani Brahmans became dominant in Mahmud Gawan. The early life of
the administration, particularly in the Mahmud Gawan is obscure. He was an
revenue administration. The Deccani Iranian by birth and was at first a trader.
Hindus also provided a balance against He was introduced to the sultan and
the influx of foreigners. Firuz Shah soon became a favourite, and was grant-
 Medieval India 75
ed the title of Malik-ut-Tujjar. Soon, he India after 1450, their armies reaching as
became prime minister or Peshwa. For far south as Madurai and the territories
almost 20 years, Mahmud Gawan domi- of Orissa extended upto the river Krish-
nated the affairs of the state. He extend- na. Their activities further weakened the
ed the Bahmani kingdom by making Vijayanagara empire which was passing
further annexations in the east. A deep through a phase of internal discord fol-
raid in the Vijayanagara territories up to lowing the death of Deva Raya II.
Kanchi demonstrated the strength of the Mahmud Gawan carried out many
Bahmani army. Mahmud Gawan‘s major internal reforms also. He divided the
military contribution, however, was the kingdom into eight provinces or tarafs.
over-running of the western coastal are- Each taraf was governed by a tarafdar.
as, including Dabhol and Goa. The loss The salaries and obligations of each no-
of these ports was a heavy blow to Vija- ble were fixed. The salary could be paid
yanagara. Control of Goa and Dabhol led in cash or by assigning a jagir. Those who
to further expansion of the Bahmani were paid by means of a jagir were al-
overseas trade with Iran, Iraq, etc. In- lowed expenses for the collection of
ternal trade and manufacture also grew. land revenue. In every province, a tract
Mahmud Gawan also tried to settle of land (khalisa) was set apart for the
the northern frontiers of the kingdom. expenses of the sultan. Efforts were
Since the time of Ahmad Shah I, the made to measure the land and to fix the
kingdom of Malwa (ruled by the Khalji amount to be paid by the cultivator to
rulers) had been contending for the the state.
mastery of Gondwana, Berar and the One of the most difficult problem
Konkan. In this struggle, the Bahmani which faced the Bahmani kingdom was
sultans had sought and secured the help strife among the nobles. The nobles
of the rulers of Gujarat. After a good deal were divided into the long-established
of conflict, it had been agreed that Kher- Deccanis and the new-comers who were
la in Gondwana would go to Malwa, foreigners (afaqis, also called gharibs). As
and Berar to the Bahmani sultan.
a newcomer, Mahmud Gawan was hard
It would, thus, be seen that the pat- put to win the confidence of the Decca-
tern of struggle in the south did not al- nis. Though he adopted a broad policy of
low divisions along religious lines: polit- conciliation, the party strife could not
ical and strategic considerations and be stopped. His opponents managed to
control over trade and commerce being
poison the ears of the young sultan who
more important causes of the conflict.
had him executed in 1482. Mahmud
Secondly, the struggle between the vari-
Gawan was over 70 years old at the
ous states in north India and in south
time. The party strife now became even
India did not proceed completely in iso-
more intense. The various governors
lation from each other. In the west,
became independent. Soon, the Bahmani
Malwa and Gujarat were drawn into the kingdom was divided into five principal-
affairs of the Deccan; in the east, Orissa
ities: Golconda, Bijapur, Ahmadnagar,
was involved in a struggle with Bengal
Berar and Bidar. Of these, the kingdoms
and also cast covetous eyes on the com- of Ahmadnagar, Bijapur and Golconda
mercially rich Coromandel coast. The
played a leading role in the Deccan poli-
Orissa rulers made deep raids into south
 Medieval India 76
tics till their absorption in the Mughal coastal areas in order to gain economic
empire during the seventeenth century. and political concessions. They had even
The Bahmani kingdom acted as a offered to buy the neutrality of the Raya
cultural bridge between the north and by promising him assistance in recover-
the south. The culture which developed ing Goa from Bijapur and giving him a
as a result had its own specific features monopoly in the supply of horses.
which were distinct from north India. In a series of battles lasting seven
These cultural traditions were contin- years, Krishna Deva first compelled the
ued by the successor states and also in- ruler of Orissa to restore to Vijayanagara
fluenced the development of Mughal all the territories up to the river Krishna.
culture during the period. Having thus strengthened himself,
Krishna Deva renewed the old struggle
Climax of The Vijayanagara for the control of the Tungabhadra doab.
Empire and its Disintegration This led to a hostile alliance between his
As mentioned earlier, there was con- two main opponents, Bijapur and Oris-
fusion in the Vijayanagara empire after sa. Krishna Deva made grand prepara-
the death of Deva Raya II (1446). Since tions for the conflict. He opened the
the rule of primogeniture was not estab- hostilities by overrunning Raichur and
lished in Vijayanagara, there were a se- Mudkal. In the battle which followed,
ries of civil wars among the various con- the Bijapur ruler was completely defeat-
tenders to the throne. Many feudatories ed (1520). He was pushed across the
assumed independence in the process. river Krishna, barely escaping with his
After some time, the throne was usurped life. In the west, the Vijayanagara armies
by the king‘s minister, Saluva. The earli- reached Belgaum, occupied and sacked
er dynasty, thus, came to an end. Saluva Bijapur for a number of days and de-
restored internal law and order, and stroyed Gulbarga before a truce was
founded a new dynasty. This dynasty made.
too soon came to an end. Ultimately, a Thus, under Krishna Deva, Vijaya-
new dynasty (called the Tuluva dynas- nagara emerged as the strongest
ty) was founded by Krishna Deva. .military power in the south. However,
Krishna Deva Raya (1509–30) was the in their eagerness to renew the old
greatest figure of this dynasty. Some feuds, the southern powers largely ig-
historians consider him to be the great- nored the danger posed to them and to
est of all the Vijayanagara rulers. Krish- their commerce by the rise of the Portu-
na Deva had not only to re-establish guese. Unlike the Cholas and some of
internal law and order, he had also to the early Vijayanagara rulers, Krishna
deal with the old rivals ofVijayanagara, Deva seems to have paid scant attention
viz., the successor states of the Bahmani to the development of a navy.
kingdom and the state of Orissa which Krishna Deva was also a great build-
had usurped many Vijayanagara territo- er. He built a new town near Vijaya-
ries. In addition, he had to contend with nagara and dug an enormous tank which
the Portuguese whose power was slowly was also used for irrigation purposes. He
growing. They were using their control was a gifted scholar of Telugu and San-
over the seas to browbeat the smaller skrit. Of his many works, only one in
vassal states ofVijayanagara in the Telugu on polity and a drama in San-
 Medieval India 77
skrit are available today. His reign dus were slain during the battle. Vijaya-
marked a new era in Telugu literature nagara was thoroughly looted and left in
when imitation of Sanskrit works gave ruins.
place to independent works. He extend- The battle of Bannihatti is generally
ed his patronage to Telugu, Kannada considered to mark the end of the great
and Tamil poets alike. Foreign travellers age of Vijayanagara. Although the king-
like Barbosa, Paes and Nuniz speak of dom lingered on for almost one hundred
his efficient administration and the more years, its territories decreased con-
prosperity of the empire under his sway. tinually and the raya no longer counted
The Vijayanagara rulers are consid- in the political affairs of south India.
ered great protectors of Hinduism. Un-
der their patronage a large number of State and Economy Under Vi-
temples, schools and maths were built. In jayanagara
this period, temples became very elabo- In the Vijayanagara kingdom the
rate in structure and organization; even king was advised by a council of minis-
old temples were amplified by the addi- ters which consisted of the great nobles
tion of pillared halls, pavilions and other of the kingdom. The kingdom was di-
subordinate structures. vided into rajyas or mandalam (provinces)
After the death of Krishna Deva below which were nadu (district), sthala
(1530), there was a struggle for succes-
(sub-district) and grama (village).
sion among his relations since his sons
The Chola traditions of village self-
were all minors. Ultimately, in 1543,
government were considerably weak-
Sadashiva Raya ascended the throne and
ened under Vijayanagara rule. The
reigned till 1567. But the real power lay
growth of hereditary nayakships tended
in the hands of a triumvirate in which
to curb their freedom and initiative. The
the leading person was Rama Raja. Ra-
governors of the provinces were royal
ma Raja was able to play off the various
princes at first. Later, persons belonging
Muslim powers against one another. He
to vassal ruling families and nobles were
entered into a commercial treaty with
also appointed as governors. The pro-
the Portuguese whereby the supply of
vincial governors had a large measure of
horses to the Bijapur ruler was stopped.
autonomy. They held their own courts,
In a series of wars he completely defeat-
appointed their own officers, and main-
ed the Bijapur ruler, and also inflicted
tained their own armies. They were al-
humiliating defeats on Golconda and
lowed to issue their own coins, though
Ahmadnagar. It seems that Rama Raja
of small denominations only. There was
had no larger purpose than to maintain a
no regular term for a provincial gover-
balance of power favourable to Vijaya-
nor, his term depending on his ability
nagara between these three powers. At
and his strength. The governor had the
length, they combined to inflict a crush-
right to impose new taxes or remit old
ing defeat on Vijayanagara at Bannihatti,
ones. Each governor paid a fixed contri-
near Talikota, in 1565. This is also called
bution in men and money to the central
the battle of Talikota or the battle of
government. It had been estimated that
Rakshasa-Tangadi. Rama Raja was sur-
while the income of the kingdom was
rounded, taken prisoner and immediate-
ly executed. It is said that 1,00,000 Hin-
 Medieval India 78
12,000,000 parados, the central govern- sense that many historians consider the
ment got only half the amount. period of Vijayanagara rule to be a peri-
In the large centrally controlled area, od of transition from the old to the new
the king granted amaram or territory economy.
with a fixed revenue to military chiefs.
These chiefs, who were called palaiyagar The Advent of The Portuguese
(palegar) or nayaks, had to maintain a Let us first examine the factors
fixed number of foot, soldiers, horses which brought the Portuguese to India.
and elephants for the service of the state. Very broadly, the Portuguese came to
The nayaks or palegars also had to pay a India at a time when European economy
sum of money to the central exchequer. was growing rapidly. Since Roman
Many of the nayaks, such as those of Tan- times, there had been a steady demand
jore and Madurai, became independent for oriental goods. With economic re-
after battle of bannihatti and subse- vival, this demand increased, especially
quent disintegration of Vijayanagar the demand for pepper and spices which
Kingdom. were needed to make meat palatable.
We have very little idea about the Pepper was brought to the Levant,
share of the produce the peasants were Egypt and the Black Sea ports overland
and partly by sea from India and South-
required to pay. According to an inscrip-
east Asia. With the rise of the power of
tion, the rates of taxes were as follows:
the Ottoman Turks from the early part
One-third of the produce of kuruvai (a
of the 15th century, all these areas came
type of rice) during winter
under the control of the Turks. Thus,
One-fourth of sesame, ragi, horsegram.
they captured Constantinople in 1453,
One-sixth of millet and other crops cul-
and Syria and Egypt later. The Turks
tivated on dry land. Thus, the rate varied
were not opposed to trade, but the vir-
according to the type of crops, soil,
tual monopoly over pepper established
method of irrigation, etc.
by them was bound to work against the
In addition to the land tax, there
Europeans. The banner of struggle
were various other taxes, such as prop-
against the Turkish danger was, there-
erty tax, tax on sale of produce, profes-
fore, taken up by the powers in the
sion taxes, military contribution (in
western part of the Mediterranean,
times of distress), tax on marriage, etc.
Spain and Portugal. They were aided
Urban life grew under the Vijaya-
with money and men by the North Eu-
nagara empire and trade flourished.
ropeans and by ships and technical
Towns grew, many of them around tem-
knowledge by the Genoese. It was not
ples. The temples were very large and
the Portuguese alone, but all these ele-
needed supply of food stuffs and com-
ments which started the search for a
modities for distribution of prasadam to direct sea route to India, and hence
the pilgrims, service of the god, the started the era of naval discoveries, in-
priests, etc. The temples were rich and cluding the ‗discovery‘ of America by
also took active part in trade, both in- Christopher Columbus.
ternal and overseas. There was consid- From 1418, Prince Henry sent two or
erable growth of towns and urbaniza- three ships every year to explore the
tion under Vijayanagara rule. It is in this western coast of Africa, and to search
 Medieval India 79
out a sea-route to India. His objects extend their operations towards the
were two fold: first, to oust the Arabs as Persian Gulf and the Red Sea.
well as his European rivals, the Vene- Shortly afterwards, Albuquerque
tians, from the rich eastern trade, and succeeded as the governor of the Portu-
second, to counterpoise the growing guese possession in the east. He advo-
power of the Turks and Arabs by con- cated and embarked upon a policy of
verting the ‗heathens‘ of Africa and Asia dominating the entire oriental com-
to Christianity. Both objectives were merce by setting up forts at various stra-
steadily pursued. tegic places in Asia and Africa. This was
In 1488, Bartholomew Diaz rounded to be supplemented by a strong navy.
the Cape of Good Hope and laid the Albuquerque initiated his new poli-
basis of direct trade links between Eu- cy by capturing Goa from Bijapur in
rope and India. Such long sea-voyages 1510. The island of Goa was an excellent
were made possible by a number of re- natural harbour and fort and was strate-
markable inventions, notably the mari- gically located. Goa was, thus, suited to
ner‘s compass and the astrolabe for fix- be the principal centre of Portuguese
ing the height of heavenly bodies for commercial and political activity in the
purposes of navigation. east. From their base at Goa, the Portu-
Vasco da Gama landed at Calicut in guese further strengthened their posi-
1498, with Gujarati pilots on board. The tion by establishing forts at Colombo in
strong colony of the Arab merchants Sri Lanka, at Achin in Sumatra, and at
settled there was hostile, but the Zamo- the Malacca port which controlled the
rin welcomed the Portuguese and al- exit and entry to the narrow gulf be-
lowed them to take pepper, drugs, etc., tween the Malay peninsula and Suma-
on board. In Portugal, the goods brought tra.
by Gama were computed at sixty times The success of the Portuguese was, ho w-
the cost of the entire expedition. Despite ever, more apparent than real. From the be-
this, direct trade between India and Eu- ginning they had to face a number of chal-
lenges, both external and internal. The ex-
rope grew slowly. One reason for this
ternal challenge was the one posed by the
was the monopoly exercised by the Por- Turks who were sometimes joined by the
tuguese government, excluding not only Arabs and some Indian powers.
rival nations in Europe and Asia, but In view of the growing Portuguese threat
also private Portuguese traders. to the Gujarat trade and coastal areas, the
Alarmed at the growing power of the sultan of Gujarat sent an embassy to the
Portuguese, the sultan of Egypt fitted a Ottoman ruler. In return, the Ottoman ruler
fleet and sent it towards India. The fleet expressed a desire to combat the Portuguese,
was joined by a contingent of ships be- who had disturbed the shores of Arabia.
longing to the ruler of Gujarat. After an Before the Gujarat–Turkish alliance could be
consolidated, a bigger threat to Gujarat ap-
initial victory in which the son of the peared from the side of the Mughals. Hu-
Portuguese governor, Don Almaida, was mayun attacked Gujarat. In order to meet
killed, this combined fleet was routed by this threat, Bahadur Shah granted the island
the Portuguese in 1509. This made the of Bassein to the Portuguese. A defensive-
Portuguese navy supreme in the Indian offensive alliance against the Mughals was
Ocean, and enabled the Portuguese to also concluded, and the Portuguese were
allowed to build a fort at Diu. Thus were the
 Medieval India 80
Portuguese able to establish their foothold in However, the Portuguese were hardly
Gujarat. able to change the established pattern of
Bahadur Shah soon repented his conces- Asian trade networks. The Gujarati and Arab
sions to the Portuguese. Following the ex- traders continued to dominate some of the
pulsion of the Mughals from Gujarat, he once most lucrative Asian trade. The Portuguese
again appealed to the Ottoman sultan for were not even able to monopolize the pepper
help, and tried to limit the Portuguese en- and spice trade to Europe, except for a cou-
croachments at Diu. ple of decades at the outset. Nor were the
Although the Ottoman sultans claimed Portuguese able to develop Goa as the domi-
to be champions of Islam and hence oppo- nant centre of the Asian trade.
nents of the Portuguese, they did not, in The Portuguese, however, opened up In-
practice, seriously contest the position of the dia‘s trade with Japan from which copper
Portuguese in the Persian Gulf or beyond. and silver were obtained. They also opened
This despite the fact that the Turks had up India‘s trade with the Philipplines.
broadly kept pace with the growth of artil- The Portuguese could not act as a bridge
lery and, to a lesser extent, with the naval for transmitting to India the science and
sciences in the west. The Turkish navy dom- technology which had grown in Europe since
inated the eastern Mediterranean and even the Renaissance. This was partly because the
made raids beyond Gibraltar. Portuguese were themselves not as deeply
The Turks made their biggest naval affected by the Renaissance as Italy and
demonstration against the Portuguese in North Europe.
Indian waters in 1536. After a siege of two The defeat of Vijayanagara at Banihatti in
months, the Turkish fleet retired without 1565 emboldened the Deccani states to make
any success. The Turkish threat to the Por- a concerted effort to dislodge the Portuguese
tuguese persisted for another two decades. A from the Deccan coast. So long as Vijaya-
final Ottoman expedition was sent under Ali nagara had threatened Bijapur in the south,
Rais in 1554. The failure of these expeditions peace with the Portuguese was essential
resulted in a final change in the Turkish atti- since they controlled the horse-trade and
tude. In 1566, the Portuguese and the Otto- hostilities with them would have meant a
mans came to an agreement to share the diversion of the trade in favour of Vijaya-
spice and the Indian trade and not to clash in nagara. In 1570, Ali Adil Shah, the sultan of
the Arab seas. Bijapur, entered into an agreement with the
sultar of Ahmadnagar. The Zamorin of Cali-
Portuguese Impact On The Indian cut was also drawn into the alliance. The
Trade, Society and Politics allies decided to attack the Portuguese posi-
tions in their own dominions. Adil Shah
From the beginning, the Portuguese tried
personally led the attack against Goa, while
to monopolize certain goods, and tax the
Nizam Shah besieged Chaul. But, once again,
others. Thus, trade in pepper, arms and am-
the Portuguese defence, backed up by their
munition, and war horses was declared a
navy, proved to be too strong. Thus, the Por-
royal monopoly. No nation, not even Portu-
tuguese remained masters of the Indian seas
guese private traders, were allowed to en-
and of the Deccan coast.
gage in the trade of these goods. Ships en-
gaged in the trade of other commodities had
to take a permit from the Portuguese offi-
cials.
 Medieval India 81

Chapter 10
Struggle for Empire in North India—I
(Circa 1400–1525)
The growing weakness of the Delhi nate the entire north India. Thus, the
Sultanat, and the attack of Timur on struggle for the domination of Malwa
Delhi in 1398, followed by the flight of was the cockpit for the struggle for the
the Tughlaq king from his capital, em- mastery of north India. It was this
boldened a number of provincial gover- heightened rivalry which perhaps
nors and autonomous rulers to declare prompted Rana Sanga to invite Babur in
their independence. Apart from the Dec- the hope that the destruction of the
can states, Bengal in the east, and Sindh power of the Lodis would leave Mewar
and Multan in the west were among the as the strongest power in the field.
first to break away from Delhi. Soon, the
governors of Gujarat, Malwa and Jaun- Eastern India—Bengal, Assam
pur (in eastern Uttar Pradesh) also de- and Orissa
clared themselves independent. With As we have seen above, Bengal had
the expulsion of the Muslim governor frequently become independent of the
from Ajmer, the various states of Rajpu- control of Delhi due to its distance, cli-
tana asserted their independence. mate, and the fact that much of its
Gradually, a definite pattern of bal- communication depended upon water-
ance of power emerged between the ways with which the Turkish rulers
states belonging to the various regions. were unfamiliar. Due to the preoccupa-
In the west, Gujarat, Malwa and Mewar tion of Muhammad Tughlaq with rebel-
balanced and checked the growth of lions in various quarters, Bengal again
each other‘s power. Bengal was checked broke away from Delhi in 1338. Four
by the Gajapati rulers of Orissa, as well year later, one of the nobles, Ilyas Khan,
as by Jaunpur. The rise of the power of captured Lakhnauti and Sonargaon, and
the Lodis in Delhi from about the middle ascended the throne under the title Sul-
of the fifteenth century resulted in a tan Shamsuddin Ilyas Khan. He extend-
long drawn-out tussle between them ed his dominions in the west, from
and the rulers of Jaunpur for the mastery Tirhut to Champaran and Gorakhpur,
of the Ganga-Yamuna valley. The situa- and finally up to Banaras. This forced
tion began to change with the absorp- Firuz Tughlaq to undertake a campaign
tion of Jaunpur by the Lodis towards the against him. Marching through Cham-
end of the fifteenth century. Following paran and Gorakhpur, the territories
this victory, the Lodis began to expand newly acquired by Ilyas, Firuz Tughlaq
their power in eastern Rajasthan and occupied the Bengali capital Pandua,
Malwa. Malwa started disintegrating at and forced Ilyas to seek shelter in the
this time due to internal factors, thereby strong fort of Ekdala. After a siege of
sharpening the rivalry between Gujarat, two months, Firuz tempted Ilyas out of
Mewar and the Lodis. It appeared that the fort by feigning flight. The Bengali
the victor in this contest would domi- forces were defeated, but Ilyas once
 Medieval India 82
again retreated into Ekdala. Finally, a their own, distinct from the style which
treaty of friendship was concluded by had developed in Delhi. The materials
which the river Kosi in Bihar was fixed used were both stone and brick. The
as the boundary between the two king- sultans also patronised the Bengali lan-
doms. Though Ilyas exchanged regular guage. The celebrated poet Maladhar
gifts with Firuz, he was in no way sub- Basu, compiler of Sri-Krishna-Vijaya, was
ordinate to him. Friendly relations with patronised by the sultans and was
Delhi enabled Ilyas to extend his control granted the title of Gunaraja Khan. His
over the kingdom of Kamrup (in modern son was honoured with the title of Sat-
Assam). yaraja Khan. But the most significant
Firuz Tughlaq invaded Bengal a se- period for the growth of the Bengali lan-
cond time when Ilyas died and his son, guage was the rule of Alauddin Hussain
Sikandar, succeeded to the throne. Si- (1493–1519). Some of the famous Bengali
kandar followed the tactics of his father, writers of the time flourished under his
and retreated to Ekdala. Firuz failed, rule.
once again, to capture it, and had to beat A brilliant period began under the
a retreat. After this, Bengal was left enlightened rule of Alauddin Hussain.
alone for about 200 years and was not The sultan restored law and order, and
invaded again till after the Mughals had adopted a liberal policy by offering high
established their power at Delhi. It was offices to the Hindus. Thus, his wazir
overrun by Sher Shah in 1538. During was a talented Hindu. The sultan is also
this period, a number of dynasties flour- said to have shown great respect to the
ished in Bengal. famous Vaishnavite saint, Chaitanya.
The most famous sultan in the dyn- Since the time of Muhammad bin
asty of Ilyas Shah was Ghiyasuddin Bakhtiyar Khalji, the Muslim rulers of
Azam Shah (1389-1409). He was known Bengal had tried to bring the Brahmapu-
for his love of justice. Azam Shah had tra valley in modern Assam under their
close relations with the famous learned control, but had to suffer a series of dis-
men of his times, including the famous astrous defeats in this region which was
Persian poet, Hafiz of Shiraz. He re- little known to them. The independent
established friendly relations with the sultans of Bengal tried to follow in the
Chinese. The revival of contact with footsteps of their predecessors. There
China helped in the growth of the over- were two warring kingdoms in north
seas trade of Bengal. The Chittagong Bengal and Assam at that time. Kamata
port became a flourishing port for trade (called Kamrup by the writers of the
with China, and for the re-export of time) was in the west, and the Ahom
Chinese goods to other parts of the kingdom was in the east. The Ahoms, a
world. Mongoloid tribe from north Burma, had
During this period, there was a brief succeeded in establishing a powerful
spell of Hindu rule under Raja Ganesh. kingdom in the thirteenth century, and
However, his sons preferred to rule as had become Hinduized in course of
Muslims. time. The name Assam is derived from
The sultans of Bengal adorned their them.
capitals, Pandua and Gaur, with magnif- Ilyas Shah invaded Kamta and, it
icent buildings. These had a style of seems, penetrated up to Gauhati. How-
 Medieval India 83
ever, he could not hold the area, and the allow the governor of Bengal to pene-
river Karatoya was accepted as the trate into Orissa. It were the rulers of
northeast boundary of Bengal. The rul- the Ganga dynasty who built the famous
ers of Kamta were gradually able to re- Puri temple, and the Sun temple
cover many of the areas on the eastern (Konark). It was only after 1338 that the
bank of the Karatoya. They also fought independent ruler of Bengal, Ilyas Shah,
against the Ahoms. By alienating both raided Jajnagar (Orissa). It is said that
their neighbours they sealed their doom. overcoming all opposition, he advanced
An attack by Alauddin Hussain Shah up to the Chilka Lake and returned with
which was supported by the Ahoms led a rich booty, including a number of ele-
to the destruction of the city of Kamta- phants. A couple of years later, in 1360,
pur (in modern Cooch Bihar), and the while returning from his Bengal cam-
annexation of the kingdom to Bengal. paign, Firuz Tughlaq also raided Orissa.
The sultan appointed one of his sons as He occupied the capital city, massacred
governor of the area. A colony of Af- a large number of people, and desecrated
ghans was planted in the area. A subse- the Jagannatha temple of Puri. These
quent attack on the Ahom kingdom, two raids destroyed the prestige of the
probably by Nusrat Shah, the son of Ganga dynasty. In due course, a new
Alauddin Hussain, was unsuccessful. dynasty, called the Gajapati dynasty,
The eastern Brahmaputra valley was at came to the fore. The Gajapati rule
this time under Suhungmung who is marks a brilliant phase in Orissa history.
considered the greatest of the Ahom The rulers were great builders and war-
rulers. He changed his name to Svarga riors. The Gajapati rulers were mainly
Narayana. This was an index of the rap- instrumental in extending their rule in
id Hinduization of the Ahoms. He not the south towards Karnataka. As we
only repulsed the Muslim attack, but have seen, this brought them into con-
also extended his kingdom in all direc- flict with Vijayanagara, the Reddis and
tions. The Vaishnavite reformer, Shan- the Bahmani sultans. Perhaps, one rea-
karadeva, belonged to his time and son why the Gajapati rulers preferred
played an important role in the spread of aggrandizement in the south was their
Vaishnavism in the area. feeling that the sultans of Bengal were
The sultans of Bengal also tried to too strong to be easily dislodged from
bring Chittagong and a part of Arakan the Bengal-Orissa border. But the Orissa
under their control. Sultan Hussain rulers could not hold on to their south-
Shah not only wrested Chittagong from ern conquests for any length of time, due
the Arakan king, but also conquered to the power and capabilities of the Vi-
Tipperah from its ruler. jayanagara and Bahmani rulers.
The rulers of Bengal had also to con- Some of the sultans of Bengal, in-
tend with Orissa. During the period of cluding Alauddin Hussain Shah, made
the Sultanat rule over Bengal, the Ganga raids into Orissa which extended up to
rulers of Orissa had aided Radha (south Puri and Cuttack. Intermittent fighting
Bengal), and even made an attempt at also went on the frontier. However, the
the conquest of Lakhnauti. These at- rulers of Bengal were not able to dis-
tacks had been repulsed but the rulers of lodge the Orissan rulers from their fron-
Orissa were powerful enough not to tiers, or to gain any territory beyond the
 Medieval India 84
river Saraswati. That the Orissan rulers He then attacked Sidhpur, the fa-
were able to engage successfully in bat- mous Hindu pilgrim centre, and levelled
tles at the same time in such far-flung to the ground many of the beautiful
areas as Bengal and Karnataka testifies temples there. He imposed jizyah on the
to their strength and prowess. Hindus in Gujarat which had not been
imposed on them earlier. While Ahmad
Western India—Gujarat, Mal- Shah acted as a bigot in ordering the
wa and Mewar destruction of Hindu temples, he did
On account of the excellence of its not hesitate to induct Hindus in his
handicrafts and its flourishing seaports, government. Manik Chand and
as well as the richness of its soil, Gujarat Motichand, belonging to the Bania or
was one of the richest provinces of the trader community, were ministers under
Delhi Sultanat. Under Firuz Tughlaq, him.
Gujarat had a benign governor. He was From the beginning, the kingdoms of
succeeded by Zafar Khan. After Timur‘s Gujarat and Malwa were bitter rivals
invasion of Delhi, both Gujarat and and were generally found in opposite
Malwa became independent in all but camps on almost every occasion. This
name. bitter rivalry weakened the two king-
The real founder of the kingdom of doms, and made it impossible for them
Gujarat was, however, Ahmad Shah I to play a larger role in the politics of
(1411–43), the grandson of Muzaffar north India.
Shah. During his long reign, he brought
the nobility under control, settled the Mahmud Begarha
administration, and expanded and con- The successors of Ahmad Shah con-
solidated the kingdom. He shifted the tinued his policy of expansion and con-
capital from Patan to the new city of solidation. The most famous sultan of
Ahmedabad, the foundation of which he Gujarat was Mahmud Begarha. Mahmud
laid in 1413. He was a great builder, and Begarha ruled over Gujarat for more
beautified the town with many magnifi- than 50 years (from 1459 to 1511). He
cent palaces and bazars, mosques and was called Begarha because he captured
madarsas. He drew on the rich architec- two of the most powerful forts (garhs),
tural traditions of the Jains of Gujarat to Girnar in Saurashtra (now called Juna-
devise a style of building which was garh), and Champaner in south Gujarat.1
markedly different from Delhi. Some of The ruler of Girnar had paid tribute reg-
its features are: slender turrets, exquisite ularly, but Mahmud Begarha decided to
stone-carving, and highly ornate brack- annex his kingdom as part of his policy
ets. The Jama Masjid in Ahmedabad and of bringing Saurashtra under full con-
the Tin Darwaza are fine examples of trol. Saurashtra was a rich and prosper-
the style of architecture during his time. ous region and had many fertile tracts
Ahmad Shah tried to extend his con- and flourishing ports. The sultan found-
trol over the Rajput states in the ed at the foot of the hill a new town
Saurashtra region. In Saurashtra, he de- called Mustafabad. He built many lofty
feated and captured the strong fort of buildings there and asked all his nobles
Girnar, but restored it to the raja on his to do the same. Thus, it became the se-
promise to pay tribute. cond capital of Gujarat.
 Medieval India 85
Later in his reign, Mahmud sacked As long as Malwa continued to be
Dwarka, on the ground it harboured strong, it acted as a barrier to the ambi-
pirates who preyed on the pilgrim traffic tions of Gujarat, Mewar, the Bahmanis
to Mecca. The campaign was however, and the Lodi sultans of Delhi. The geo-
also used to raze the famous Hindu political situation in northern India was
temples there. such that if any of the powerful state of
The fort of Champaner was strategi- the region could extend its control over
cally located for the sultan's plans of Malwa, it would be well on its way to
bringing Khandesh and Malwa under make a bid for the domination of the
his control. The ruler, though a feudato- entire north India.
ry of Gujarat, had close relations with During the fifteenth century, the
the sultan of Malwa. Champaner fell in kingdom of Malwa remained at the
1454 after the raja and his followers de- height of its glory. The capital was shift-
feated. Mahmud constructed a new ed from Dhar to Mandu, a place which
town called Muhammadabad near was highly defensible and which had a
Champaner. great deal of natural beauty. Here the
Mahmud Begarha also had to deal rulers of Malwa constructed a large
with the Portuguese who were interfer- number of buildings, the ruins of which
ing with Gujarat‘s trade with the coun- are still impressive. Unlike the Gujarat
tries of West Asia. He joined hands with style of architecture, the Mandu archi-
the ruler of Egypt to check the Portu- tecture was massive and was made to
guese naval power, but he was not suc- look even more so by using a very lofty
cessful. plinth for the buildings. The large-scale
During the long and peaceful reign of use of coloured and glazed tiles provided
Mahmud Begarha, trade and commerce variety to the buildings. The best known
prospered. He constructed many cara- among them are Jama Masjid, the Hin-
van-sarais and inns for the comfort of dola Mahal and the Jahaz Mahal.
the travellers. The merchants were hap- From the beginning, the kingdom of
py because roads were safe for traffic. Malwa was torn by internal dissensions.
Under Mahmud Begarha the Gujarat The struggle for succession between
kingdom reached its maximum limit, different contenders to the throne was
and emerged as one of the most power- accompanied by fighting between dif-
ful and well-administered states in the ferent groups of nobles for power and
country. Later on, it was powerful profit. The neighbouring states of Guja-
enough to pose a serious challenge to rat and Mewar were always ready to
the Mughal ruler, Humayun. take advantage of this factionalism for
their own purposes.
Malwa One of the early rulers of Malwa,
The state of Malwa was situated on Hushang Shah, adopted a broad policy
the high plateau between the rivers of religious toleration. Many Rajputs
Narmada and Tapti. It commanded the were encouraged to settle in Malwa.
trunk routes between Gujarat and From the inscription of the Lalitpur
northern India, as also between north temple which was built during this pe-
and south India. riod, it appears that no restrictions were
placed on the construction of temples.
 Medieval India 86
Hushang Shah extended his patronage gaur. Ajmer which had been the seat of
to the Jains who were the principal mer- power of the Muslim governors changed
chants and bankers of the area. Thus, hands several times, and was a bone of
Nardeva Soni, a successful merchant, contention among the rising Rajput
was the treasurer of Hushang Shah, and states. The mastery of eastern Rajputana
was one of his advisers. was also in dispute, the ruler of Delhi
However, all the rulers of Malwa being deeply interested in this area.
were not equally tolerant. Mahmud The early history of the state of Me-
Khalji (1436—69), who is considered war is obscure. The virtual founder of
the most powerful of the Malwa rulers, Mewar is supposed to be Bapa Rawal of
destroyed many temples during his the Guihlot clan. During the last quarter
struggle with Rana Kumbha of Mewar, of the fourteenth century and the first
and with the neighbouring Hindu rajas. quarter of the fifteenth century, Rao
This was reprehensible, and a setback Lakha and Mokal made Mewar the most
from the policy of broad toleration powerful state in Rajasthan. The ruler
which had gradually developed under who raised it to the status of a power to
the Delhi Sultanat. However, it was not be reckoned with was Rana Kumbha
part of any policy of general destruction (1433—68). After cautiously consolidat-
of Hindu temples. ing his position by defeating his internal
Mahmud Khalji was a restless and rivals, Kumbha renewed efforts for the
ambitious monarch. He fought with conquest of Bundi, Kotah and
almost all his neighbours—the ruler of Daungarpur on the Gujarat border. Ko-
Gujarat, the rajas of Gondwana and tah had earlier been paying allegiance to
Orissa, the Bahmani sultans, and even Malwa and Dungarpur to Gujarat. This
the sultan of Delhi. However, his ener- brought him into direct conflict with
gies were principally devoted to over- both these kingdoms.
running south Rajputana and trying to The conflict with Gujarat and Mal-
subdue Mewar. wa occupied Kumbha throughout his
reign. During most of the time, the Rana
Mewar also had to contend with the Rathors of
The rise of Mewar during the fif- Marwar. Marwar was under Mewar
teenth century was an important factor occupation, but soon it became inde-
in the political life of north India. We pendent after a successful struggle
have seen how, after being ousted from waged under the leadership of Rao Jo-
Ajmer, the Chauhans had shifted to dha.
Ranthambhor, and set up a powerful Although sorely pressed from all
state. With the conquest of sides, Rana Kumbha was largely able to
Ranthambhor by Alauddin Khalji, the maintain his position in Mewar.
power of the Chauhans in Rajputana Kumbhalgarh was besieged a couple of
had finally come to an end. From its ru- times by Gujarat forces, while Mahmud
ins a number of new states arose. The Khalji was able to raid as far inland as
state of Marwar with its capital at Ajmer and install his own governor
Jodhpur (founded 1465) was one of the- there. The rana was able to repulse these
se. Another state of consequence in the attacks and retain possession of most of
area was the Muslim principality of Na- his conquests, with the exception of
 Medieval India 87
some of the outlying areas such as Ibrahim Lodi, invaded Mewar, but suf-
Ranthambhor. Rana Kumbha‘s fered a sharp reverse at the hands of Ra-
achievement in facing two such power- na Sanga at Khatoli. Ibrahim Lodi with-
ful states against all odds was no small drew in order to consolidate his internal
achievement. position. Meanwhile, Babur was knock-
Kumbha was a patron of learned ing at the gates of India.
men, and was himself a learned man. He Thus, by 1525, the political situation
composed a number of books, some of in north India was changing rapidly, and
which can still be read. The ruins of his a decisive conflict for supremacy in
palace and the Victory Tower (Kirti north India seemed to be inevitable.
Stambha) which he built at Chittor show
that he was an enthusiastic builder as Northwest and North India—
well. He dug several lakes and reservoirs The Sharqis,
for irrigation purposes. Some of the The Lodi Sultans and Kashmir
temples built during his period show As we have seen, after the invasion of
that the art of stone-cutting, sculpture, Timur, Sultan Mahmud Tughlaq fled
etc., were still at a high level. from Delhi and took shelter first in Gu-
Kumbha was murdered by his son, jarat and then in Malwa. By the time he
Uda, in order to gain the throne. Though decided to return, the prestige of the
Uda was soon ousted, he left a bitter throne of Delhi had been shattered; in
trail. After a long fratricidal conflict the neighbourhood of Delhi itself ambi-
with his brothers, Rana Sanga, a grand- tious nobles and zamindars asserted
son of Kumbha, ascended the gaddi of their independence.
Mewar in 1508. The most important Amongst the first to assert inde-
development between the death of pendence in the Ganga valley was Malik
Kumbha and the rise of Sanga was the Sarwar, a prominent noble of the time of
rapid internal disintegration of Malwa. Firuz Tughlaq. Malik Sarwar had been
The ruler, Mahmud II, had fallen out the wazir for some time, and then had
with Medini Rai, the powerful Rajput been nominated to the eastern areas
leader of eastern Malwa who had helped
with the title Malik-us-Sharq (Lord of the
him to gain the throne. The Malwa ruler
East). His successors came to be called
appealed for help to Gujarat, while Me-
the Sharqis after his title. The Sharqi
dini Rai repaired to the court of Rana
sultans fixed their capital at Jaunpur (in
Sanga for help. In a battle in 1517, the
eastern Uttar Pradesh).
Rana defeated Mahmud II and carried
The Sharqi sultans were great pa-
him a prisoner to Chittor. It is claimed trons of learning and culture. Poets and
that he released him after six months,
men of letters, scholars and saints as-
keeping one of his sons as a hostage.
sembled at Jaunpur and shed lustre on
Eastern Malwa, including Chanderi,
it. In course of time, Jaunpur came to be
passed under the overlordship of Rana
known as the ‗Shiraz of the East‘. Malik
Sanga.
Muhammad Jaisi, the author of the well
known Hindi work Padmavat, lived at
The developments in Malwa alarmed
Jaunpur.
the Lodi rulers of Delhi who were keenly
watching the situation. The Lodi ruler,
 Medieval India 88
The Sharqi Sultanat lasted for less Sikandar Lodi is regarded as an or-
than a century. The Sharqi rulers were thodox, even a bigoted king. He sternly
eager to conquer Delhi but they were forbade the Muslims from following
not successful in doing so. With the practices which were against the sharia
establishment of the Lodis in Delhi to- (Islamic law). He re-imposed the jizyah
wards the middle of the fifteenth centu- on the Hindus. He also demolished a few
ry, the Sharqi rulers were gradually put well known Hindu temples during his
on the defensive. They lost most of the campaigns, such as the temple at Nagar-
areas in western Uttar Pradesh and ex- kot.
hausted themselves in a series of bitter Sikandar Lodi gave magnificent
but futile assaults on Delhi. At length, in grants to scholars, philosophers, and
1484, Bahlul Lodi, the ruler of Delhi, men of letters so that cultured people of
occupied Jaunpur and annexed the all climes and countries, including Ara-
Sharqi kingdom. bia and Iran, flocked to his court. Due to
After the Timurid invasion, a new the sultan‘s efforts, a number of Sanskrit
dynasty, called the Saiyid dynasty, arose works were translated into Persian. He
in Delhi. However it soon ended and was also interested in music and had a
Bahlul Lodi formally crowned himself number of rare Sanskrit works on music
(1451). Thus ended the Saiyid dynasty. translated into Persian. During his time,
As distinct from the earlier Delhi rulers a large number of Hindus took to learn-
who were Turks, the Lodis were Af- ing Persian and were recruited to vari-
ghans. ous administrative posts. Thus, the pro-
The most important Lodi sultan was cess of cultural rapprochement between
Sikandar Lodi (1489–1517). A contempo- the Hindus and the Muslims continued
rary of Mahmud Begarha of Gujarat and apace during his reign.
of Rana Sanga of Mewar, Sikandar Lodi
geared the kingdom of Delhi for the Kashmir
coming struggle for power with these An account of north India in the fif-
states. He tried to subdue the Afghan teenth century would be incomplete
sardars. All those who held jagirs had to without mentioning the Kingdom of
submit accounts regularly. Drastic pun- Kashmir. During the period, Kashmir
ishments were given to those who em- was known to be a centre of Saivism.
bezzled money or were corrupt. Sikan- However, the situation changed with
dar Lodi had only limited success in his the ending of Hindu rule around the
efforts to control the nobles. middle of the fourteenth century. The
Sikandar Lodi was able to establish devastating attack on Kashmir in 1320
efficient administration in his kingdom. by the Mongol leader, Dalucha, was a
He took keen interest in agriculture. He prelude to it. It is said that Dalucha or-
abolished the octroi duty on grains, and dered a wholesale massacre.
established a new measurement of the One hundred years after the Mongol
yard, called the gazz-i-Sikandari, which invasion, Zainul Abidin, considered the
continued to prevail till the Mughal greatest of the Muslim monarchs of
times. The rent rolls prepared in his time Kashmir, ascended the throne. Kashmir
formed the basis of the rent rolls of Sher society had profoundly changed during
Shah later on. this period. There had been a continu-
 Medieval India 89
ous incursion of Muslim saints and refu- in his government. Thus, Sriya Bhatt
gees from Central Asia into Kashmir, the was minister of justice and was ap-
Baramulla route providing an easy ac- pointed court physician. His first two
cess. Another development was the rise queens were Hindus, being the daugh-
of a series of remarkable Sufi saints ters of the Raja of Jammu. They were the
called Rishis, who combined some fea- mothers of all his four sons. He married
tures of Hinduism and Islam. Partly by a third wife after the death of his first
the preaching of the saints and partly by two wives.
force, the lower class population had The sultan was himself a learned
been converted to Islam. To complete man, and composed poetry. He was well
the process, a vehement persecution of versed in Persian, Kashmiri, Sanskrit
the Brahmans began in the reign of Si- and Tibetan languages. He gave patron-
kandar Shah (1389-1413). The sultan age to Sanskrit and Persian scholars and,
ordered that all Brahmans and learned at his instance, many Sanskrit works
Hindus should become Muslims or leave such as the Mahabharata and Kalhuna‘s
the valley. Their temples were to be de- history of Kashmir, Rajatarangini, were
stroyed and the idols of gold and silver translated into Persian and brought up-
were to be melted down in order to be to-date. He was fond of music, and hear-
used for currency. It is said that these ing of this, the Raja of Gwalior sent him
orders were issued at the instance of the two rare Sanskrit works on music.
king‘s minister, Suha Bhatt, who had The sultan also looked after the eco-
converted to Islam, and was bent on nomic development of Kashmir. He sent
harassing his former co-religionists. two persons to Samarqand to learn the
This situation changed with the ac- arts of paper-making and book-binding.
cession of Zainul Abidin (1420–70) who He fostered many crafts in Kashmir,
had all these orders cancelled. He concil- such as stone-cutting and polishing,
iated and brought back to Kashmir all bottle-making, gold-beating, etc. He also
the non-Muslims who had fled. Those encouraged the art of shawl-making, for
who wanted to revert to Hinduism, or which Kashmir is so famous. Musket-
had pretended to be Muslims in order to making and the art of manufacturing
save their lives, were given freedom to fireworks had also developed in Kash-
do as they pleased. He even restored the mir. The sultan developed agriculture by
libraries and the land grants which the making large numbers of dams, canals
Hindus had enjoyed. The temples were and bridges. He was an enthusiastic
also restored. More than one hundred builder, his greatest engineering
years later, Abul Fazl noted that Kash- achievement being Zaina Lanka—the
mir had one hundred and fifty majestic artificial island in the Woolur Lake on
temples. It is likely that most of them which he built his palace and a mosque.
had been restored under Zainul Abidin. Zainul Abidin is still called Bud Shah
Zainul Abidin continued the policy (the Great Sultan) by the Kashmiris.
of broad toleration in other spheres as Though not a great warrior, he defeated
well. He abolished jizyah and cow the Mongol invasion of Ladakh, con-
slaughter, and to respect the wishes of quered the Baltistan area (called Tibbat-
the Hindus, withdrew the ban on sati. i-buzarg) and kept control over Jammu,
The Hindus occupied many high offices
 Medieval India 90
Rajauri, etc. He, thus, unified the Kash- kingdoms, local styles of architecture
miri kingdom. were developed, often using local tradi-
The fame of Zainul Abidin had tions. Local languages were also patron-
spread far and wide. He was in touch ised. While some of the rulers did carry
with the leading rulers in the other parts out a large scale destruction of temples,
of India, as also the leading rulers of and tried to present themselves as or-
Asia. thodox Muslim kings, overall in these
A quick survey of the developments kingdoms the forces of mutual accom-
during the fifteenth century shows that modation and cultural integration re-
regional balance of power could give mained active, some of the rulers antici-
neither peace nor stability. The regional pating Akbar in a number of fields.
kingdoms had, however, many cultural
contributions to their credit. In these
 Medieval India 91

Chapter 11
Cultural Development in India (1300–
1500)
The establishment of the Delhi Sul- converted some temples and other exist-
tanat towards the beginning of the thir- ing buildings into mosques. Examples of
teenth century may be said to mark a this are the Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque
new phase in the cultural development near the Qutab Minar in Delhi, and the
of the country. When the Turks came to building at Ajmer called Arhai Din ka
India, they not only had a well-defined Jhonpra. The former had been a temple,
faith in Islam to which they were deeply the latter had been a monastery. The
attached, they also had definite ideas of style of decoration used on these arches
government, art, architecture, etc. The is very interesting: no human or animal
interaction of the Turks with the Indi- figures were used since it was consid-
ans who held strong religious beliefs and ered to be un-Islamic to do so. Instead,
had well-developed ideas of art, archi- they used scrolls of flowers and verses of
tecture and literature resulted, in the the Quran which were intertwined in a
long run, in the development of a new very artistic manner. Soon, the Turks
enriched culture. But the process was a started constructing their own build-
long one, of destruction followed or ac- ings. For this purpose they mostly used
companied by periods of construction. the indigenous craftsmen, such as stone-
Mutual misunderstanding and strife is cutters, masons, etc., who were famous
always present when the two sides have for their skills. Later, some master archi-
strongly-held views. More significant, tects came to India from West Asia. In
however, were the efforts at mutual un- their buildings, the Turks used the arch
derstanding which ultimately led to a and the dome on a wide scale. Neither
process of assimilation in many fields, the arch nor the dome was a Turkish or
such as art and architecture, music, lit- Muslim invention. The Arabs borrowed
erature, and even in the fields of customs them from Rome through the Byzantine
and ceremonies, rituals and religious empire, developed them and made them
beliefs, science and technology. Howev- their own.
er, the elements of confrontation and The use of the arch and the dome
conflict remained strongly entrenched in had a number of advantages. The dome
both the communities. The process of provided a pleasing skyline. The arch
assimilation and convergence, therefore, and the dome dispensed with the need
had many ups and downs, and varied for a large number of pillars to support
from region to region, from field to field the roof, and enabled the construction of
and from period to period. large halls with a clear view. Such places
of assembly were useful in mosques as
Architecture well as in palaces. However, the arch
One of the first requirements of the and the dome needed a strong cement,
new rulers was houses to live in, and to otherwise the stones could not be held
have places of worship. They at first in place. The Turks used fine quality
 Medieval India 92
light mortar in their buildings. Thus, Din Bakhtiyar Kaki, the venerated saint
new architectural forms and mortar of a of Delhi, since it was not called at the
superior kind became widespread in time as Qutab Minar but the Quwwat-
north India, with the arrival of the ul-Islam mosque. Although traditions of
Turks. building towers are to be found both in
The arch and the dome were known India and West Asia, the Qutab Minar is
to the Indians earlier, but they were not unique in many ways. It derives its effect
used on a large scale. Moreover, the cor- mainly from the skilful manner in which
rect scientific method of constructing the balconies have been projected yet
the arch was rarely employed. The archi- linked with the main tower, the use of
tectural device generally used by the red and white sandstone and marble in
Indians consisted of putting one stone panels and in the top stages, and the
over another, narrowing the gap till it ribbed effect.
could be covered by a coping-stone or by The Khalji period saw a lot of build-
putting a beam over a slab of stones. The ing activity. Alauddin built his capital at
Turkish rulers used both the dome and Siri, a few kilometres away from the site
arch method as well as the slab and around the Qutab. He added an entrance
beam method in their buildings. door to the Qutab. This door, which is
In the sphere of decoration, the called the Alai Darwaza, has arches of
Turks eschewed representation of hu- very pleasing proportions. It also con-
man and animal figures in their build- tains a dome which, for the first time,
ings. Instead, they used geometrical and was built on correct scientific lines.
floral designs, combining them with There was great building activity in
panels of inscriptions containing verses the Tughlaq period which marked the
from the Quran. Thus, the Arabic script climax of the Delhi Sultanat as well as
itself became a work of art. The combi- the beginning of its decline. Ghiyasud-
nation of these decorative devices was din and Muhammad Tughlaq built the
called arabesque. They also freely bor- huge palace-fortress complex called
rowed Hindu motifs such as the bell Tughlaqabad. By blocking the passage of
motif the bel motif, swastika, lotus, etc. the Yamuna, a huge artificial lake was
Thus, like the Indians, the Turks were created around it. The tomb of Ghiya-
intensely fond of decoration. The skill of suddin marks a new trend in architec-
the Indian stone-cutters was fully used ture. To have a good skyline, the build-
for the purpose. The Turks also added ing was put upon a high platform. Its
colour to their buildings by using red beauty was heightened by a marble
sandstone. Yellow sandstone, or marble dome.
was used in these buildings for decora- A striking feature of the Tughlaq ar-
tion and to show off the colour of red chitecture was the sloping walls. This is
sandstone. called ‗batter‘and gives the effect of
The most magnificent building con- strength and solidity to the building. A
structed by the Turks in the thirteenth second feature of the Tughlaq architec-
century was the Qutab Minar. It was ture was the deliberate attempt to com-
begun by Aibak, and completed by Il- bine the principles of the arch, and the
tutmish. It is wrong to think that it was lintel and beam in their buildings. This
dedicated to the Sufi saint, Qutab-ud- is found in a marked manner in the
 Medieval India 93
buildings of Firuz Tughlaq. The Hauz Deccan, etc. During the fourteenth and
Khas was a pleasure resort and had a fifteenth centuries, the style of architec-
huge lake around it. It also had a Madar- ture evolved in Delhi under the Tu-
sa. The same is to be found in some ghlaqs was carried forward and modi-
buildings of Firuz Shah‘s new fort fied in the various regional kingdoms.
which is now called the Kotla. The Tu- Thus, there was an outburst of
ghlaqs did not generally use the costly building activity, marked by the growth
red sandstone in their buildings but the of many styles of architecture in differ-
cheaper and more easily available grey- ent parts of the country.
stone. Since it was not easy to carve this
type of stone, the Tughlaq buildings Religious Ideas and Beliefs
have a minimum of decoration. But the Islam was not a stranger in India
decorative device found in all the build- when the Turks established their empire
ings of Firuz is the lotus. in north India. Islam had been estab-
Many grand mosques were also built lished in Sindh from the eighth century,
in this period. What is worth noting is and the Punjab from the tenth century,
that, by this time, an independent style Arab travellers had settled in Kerala
of architecture had emerged in India, between the eighth and tenth centuries.
combining many of the new devices During this period, Arab travellers and
brought by the Turks with the indige- Sufi saints travelled in different parts of
nous forms. The Lodis developed this India. Al-biruni‘s book Kitab-ul-Hind and
tradition further. Both the arch, and the other writings had familiarized the
lintel and beam are used in their build- learned sections in West Asia about
ings. Balconies, kiosks and eaves of the Hindu ideas and beliefs. The influence of
Rajasthani-Gujarati style are also used. Buddhism and Vedantic ideas on Islamic
Another device used by the Lodis was thinking has been a subject of consider-
placing their buildings, especially able debate among scholars. Remnants
tombs, on a high platform, thus giving of Buddhist monasteries, stupas and
the building a feeling of size as well as a images of the Buddha found in Afghani-
better skyline. Some of the tombs were stan and parts of Central Asia, particu-
placed in the midst of gardens. The Lodi larly along old trade routes, show the
Garden in Delhi is a fine example of this. extent of Buddhist influence in these
Some of the tombs were of an octagonal areas at one time. While it is difficult to
shape. Many of these features were determine the precise extent of the in-
adopted by the Mughals later on, and fluence of Indian philosophic ideas, it is
their culmination is to be found in the hardly disputable that both Greek and
Taj Mahal built by Shah Jahan. Indian ideas, in different proportions,
By the time of the break up of the made a definite contribution to the de-
Delhi Sultanat, individual styles of ar- velopment of Islamic philosophy in its
chitecture had also developed in the formative phase. These ideas provided
various kingdoms in different parts of the background to the rise of the Sufi
India. Many of these, again, were power- movement which, after its establish-
fully influenced by the local traditions of ment in India after the twelfth century,
architecture. This, as we have seen, hap- influenced both the Muslims and the
pened in Bengal, Gujarat, Malwa, the Hindus and, thus, provided a common
 Medieval India 94
platform for the two. However, scholars end of the Buddha as a saintly man had
believe that while various rituals and passed into the Islamic legend. Yogis
practices, including yogic practices, continued to visit West Asia even after
were freely drawn upon from Hinduism the advent of Islam and the yogic book,
by the early Sufis and assimilated into Amrit-kund, had been translated into Per-
their system, their basic ideological sian from Sanskrit. Thus, Hindu and
structure remained Islamic. Buddhist practices and rituals seem to -
have been absorbed and assimilated by
The Sufi Movement the Sufis even before they came to India.
Mystics, who are called Sufis, had Whether, Buddhist philosophic ideas
risen in Islam at a very early stage. Most and Vedantist ideas had, in a significant
of them were persons of deep devotion manner, influenced Sufism is a matter of
who were disgusted by the vulgar dis- controversy. The origin of ideas is diffi-
play of wealth and degeneration of mor- cult to trace. The Sufi saints and many
als following the establishment of the modern thinkers trace the Sufi ideas to
Islamic empire. Hence, these saints the Quran. What is important to note
wanted to have nothing to do with the here is that, irrespective of origin, there
state—a tradition which continued later were many similarities in the ideas of
on. Some of the early Sufis, such as the the Sufis and the Hindu yogis and mys-
woman mystic Rabia (d. eighth century) tics about the nature of God, and His
and Mansur bin Hallaj (d. tenth centu- relationship with the soul, and the ma-
ry), laid great emphasis on love as the terial world. This provided a basis for
bond between God and the individual mutual toleration and understanding.
soul. But their pantheistic approach led The Sufi orders are broadly divided
them into conflict with the orthodox into two: Ba-shara, that is, those which
elements who had Mansur executed for followed the Islamic Law (shara) and be-
heresy. Despite this setback, mystic ide- shara, that is, those which were not
as continued to spread among the Mus- bound by it. Both types of orders pre-
lim masses. vailed in India, the latter being followed
Around this time, the Sufis were or- more by wandering saints. Although
ganized in 12 orders orsilsilahs. A silsilah these saints did not establish an order,
was generally led by a prominent mystic some of them became figures of popular
who lived in a khanqah or hospice along veneration, often for the Muslims and
with his disciples. The link between the Hindus alike.
teacher or pir and his disciples or murids
was a vital part of the Sufi system. Every The Chishti and Suharwardi
pir nominated a successor or wali to car- Silsilahs
ry on his work. Of the ba-shara movements, only two
The monastic organisation of the Su- acquired significant influence and fol-
fis, and some of their practices such as lowing in north India during the thir-
penance, fasting and holding the breath teenth and fourteenth centuries. These
are sometimes traced to the Buddhist
were the Chishti and Suharwardi silsi-
and Hindu yogic influence. Buddhism
lahs. The Chishti order was established
was widely prevalent in Central Asia
before the advent of Islam, and the leg- in India by Khwaja Muinuddin Chishti
 Medieval India 95
who came to India around 1192. After shunned the company of rulers and no-
staying for some time in Lahore and bles. Nevertheless, both helped the rul-
Delhi he finally shifted to Ajmer which ers in their own way by creating a cli-
was an important political centre and mate of opinion in which people belong-
already had a sizable Muslim popula- ing to different sects and religions could
tion. Among the disciples of Shaikh live in peace and harmony. While Mecca
Muinuddin (d. 1235) were Bakhtiyar remained the holy of holies, the rise of
Kaki and his disciple Farid-ud-Din. Fa- popular saints provided a useful point of
rid-ud-Din confined his activities to veneration and devotion to the mass of
Hansi and Ajodhan (in modern Haryana Muslims within the country.
and the Punjab, respectively). His out-
look was so broad and humane that The Bhakti Movement
some of his verses are later found quoted The Bhakti movement which
in the Adi-Granth of the Sikhs. stressed mystical union of the individual
The most famous of the Chishti with God had been at work in India
saints, however, were Nizamuddin long before the arrival of the Turks. Alt-
Auliya and Nasiruddin Chiragh-i-Delhi. hough the seeds of Bhakti can be found
These early Sufis mingled freely with in the Vedas, it was not emphasized
people of the lower classes, including during the early period. The idea of the
the Hindus. They led a simple, austere adoration of a personal God seems to
life, and conversed with people in have developed with the growing popu-
Hindawi, their local dialect. These Sufi larity of Buddhism. During the early
saints made themselves popular by centuries of the Christian era, under
adopting musical recitations called sama, Mahayana Buddhism, the Buddha began
to create a mood of nearness to God. to be worshipped in his ‗gracious‘ (ava-
Moreover, they often chose Hindi verses lokita) form. The worship of Vishnu de-
for the purpose, since they could make a veloped more or less at the same time.
greater impact on their listeners. Ni- When many of the holy books, such as
zamuddin Auliya adopted yogic breath- the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, were
ing exercises, so much so that the yogis re-written during the Gupta times,
called him a sidh or ‗perfect‘. Bhakti was accepted, along with jnana
The Suharwardi order entered India and karma, as one of the recognized
at about the same time as the Chishtis, roads to salvation.
but its activities were confined largely However, the development of popu-
to the Punjab and Multan. The most lar Bhakti took place in south India be-
well-known saints of the order were tween the seventh and the twelfth cen-
Shaikh Shihabuddin Suharwardi and tury. As has been noticed earlier, the
Hamid-ud-Din Nagori. Unlike the Saiva nayanars and the Vaishnavite alvars
Chishtis, the Suharwardi saints did not disregarded the austerities preached by
believe in leading a life of poverty. They the Jains and the Buddhists and
accepted the service of the state, and preached personal devotion to God as a
some of them held important posts in means of salvation. They disregarded the
the ecclesiastical department. The rigidities of the caste system and carried
Chishtis, on the other hand, preferred to their message of love and personal devo-
keep aloof from state politics and
 Medieval India 96
tion to God to various parts of south during the fifteenth and sixteenth cen-
India by using the local languages. turies.
Although there were many points of Among those who were most critical
contact between south and north India, of the existing social order and made a
the transmission of the ideas of the strong plea for Hindu-Muslim unity, the
Bhakti saints from south to north India names of Kabir and Nanak stand out.
was a slow and long drawn-out process. There is a good deal of uncertainty
Oddly enough, the very reasons which about the dates and early life of Kabir.
made the nayanars and alvars popular in Legend has it that he was the son of a
the south limited their appeal outside Brahman widow who abandoned him
the area, yiz., the fact that they preached after his birth and that he was brought
and composed in the local languages. up in the house of a Muslim weaver.
Sanskrit was still the vehicle of thought Kabir, who is generally placed in the
in the country. The ideas of Bhakti were fifteenth century, emphasised the unity
carried to the north by scholars as well of God. He strongly denounced idol-
as by saints. Among these, mention may worship, pilgrimages, bathing in holy
be made of the Maharashtrian saint, rivers or taking part in formal worship,
Namadeva, who flourished in the first including namaz. Nor did he consider it
part of the fourteenth century, and Ra- necessary to abandon the life of a house-
mananda who is placed in the second holder for the sake of a saintly life.
half of the fourteenth and the first quar- Though familiar with yogic practices, he
ter of the fifteenth century. Ramananda, considered neither asceticism nor book
who was a follower of Ramanuja, was knowledge important for true
born at Prayag (Allahabad) and lived knowledge. He rejected those features of
there and at Banaras. He substituted the Hinduism and Islam which were against
worship of Rama in place of Vishnu. this spirit and which were of no im-
What is more, he taught his doctrine of portance for the real spiritual welfare of
Bhakti to all the four varnas. He enrolled the individual.‘ Kabir strongly de-
disciples from all castes, including the nounced the caste system, especially the
low castes. Thus among his disciples practice of untouchability, and empha-
was Ravidas, who was a cobbler by sized the fundamental unity of man. He
caste; Kabir, who was a weaver; Sena, was opposed to all kinds of discrimina-
who was a barber; and Sadhana, who tion between human beings, whether on
was a butcher. Namadeva was equally the basis of castes, or religion, race,
broad-minded in enrolling his disciples. family or wealth. His sympathies were
These coincided with the Islamic decidedly with the poor with whom he
ideas of equality and brotherhood which identified himself. However, he was not
had been preached by the Sufi saints. a social reformer, his emphasis being
People were no longer satisfied with a reform of the individual under the guid-
religion which only emphasized cere- ance of a true guru or teacher.
monies and forms. They wanted a reli- Guru Nanak, from whose teaching
gion which could satisfy both their rea- the Sikh religion was derived, was born
son and emotions. It was due to these in a Khatri family in the village of Tal-
factors that the Bhakti movement be- wandi (now called Nankana) on the
came a popular movement in north India bank of the river Ravi in 1469. Although
 Medieval India 97
married early and trained in Persian to faith which was redefined to meet the
take his father‘s profession of account- new challenge. The struggle between
ancy, Nanak showed a mystic contem- these two broad trends, one liberal and
plative bent of mind, and preferred the non-sectarian, the other orthodox and
company of saints and sadhus. Some- traditional, was at the heart of the intel-
time later, he had a mystic vision and lectual and religious controversies dur-
forsook the world. He composed hymns ing the sixteenth, seventeenth and
and sang them to the accompaniment of eighteenth centuries. It is this continu-
the rabab, a stringed instrument played ing struggle which shows that the im-
by his faithful attendant, Mardana. It is pact of the ideas and concepts put for-
said that Nanak undertook wide tours ward by Kabir, Nanak and others of the
all over India and, even beyond it, to Sri same way of thinking was by no means
Lanka in the south and Mecca and Me- insignificant.
dina in the West. He attracted a large
number of people towards him and his The Vaishnavite Movement
name and fame had spread far and wide Apart from the non-sectarian move-
before his death in 1538. ment led by Kabir and Nanak, the Bhak-
Like Kabir, Nanak laid emphasis on ti movement in north India developed
the one God, by repeating whose name around the worship of Rama and Krish-
and dwelling on it with love and devo- na, two of the incarnations of the god
tion one could get salvation without Vishnu. The childhood escapades of the
distinction of caste, creed or sect. How- boy Krishna and his dalliance with the
ever, Nanak laid great emphasis on the milk-maids of Gokul, especially with
purity of character and conduct as the Radha, became the themes of a remark-
first condition of approaching God, and able series of saint-poets. They used the
the need of a guru for guidance. Like love between Radha and Krishna in an
Kabir, he strongly denounced idol- allegorical manner to depict the rela-
worship, pilgrimages and other formal tionship of love, in its various aspects,
observances of the various faiths. He between the individual soul and the
advocated a middle path in which spir- supreme soul. Like the early Sufis,
itual life could be combined with the Chaitanya popularised musical gather-
duties of the householder. ing or kirtan as a special form of mystic
Nanak had no intention of founding experience in which the outside world
a new religion. In course of time, the disappeared by dwelling on God‘s name.
ideas of Nanak gave birth to a new According to Chaitanya, worship con-
creed, Sikhism, while the followers of sisted of love and devotion and song and
Kabir shrank into a sect, the Kabir dance which produced a state of ecstasy
Panthis. The importance of the mission of in which the presence of God could be
Kabir and Nanak should, however, be realised. Such a worship could be car-
assessed from a broader point of view. ried out by all, irrespective of caste or
They created a climate of opinion which creed.
continued to work through the succeed- The writings of Narsinha Mehta in
ing centuries. Gujarat, of Meera in Rajasthan, of Sur-
At the same time orthodox elements das in western Uttar Pradesh and of
mustered behind the defence of the old Chaitanya in Bengal and Orissa reached
 Medieval India 98
extraordinary heights of lyrical fervour tive breach in the caste system. Howev-
and of love which transcended all er, they softened its rigour and built a
boundaries, including those of caste and platform for unity which could be ap-
creed. These saints were prepared to prehended by wider sections.
welcome into their fold everyone, irre- During the fifteenth century, the
spective of caste or creed. This is seen monistic ideas of the great Arab philos-
most clearly in the life of Chaitanya. opher, Ibn-i-Arabi, became popular
Born and schooled in Nadia which was among broad sections in India. Arabi
the centre of Vedantic rationalism, had been vehemently denounced by the
Chaitanya‘s tenor of life was changed orthodox elements, and his followers
when he visited Gaya at the age of twen- persecuted. Thus, in his opinion, the
ty-two and was initiated into the Krish- different religions were identical. Arabi‘s
na cult by a recluse. He became a god- doctrine of Unity of Being is known as
intoxicated devotee who incessantly Tauhid-i-Wajudi (unity of being). This
uttered the name of Krishna. Chaitanya doctrine kept gaining popularity in In-
is said to have travelled all over India, dia and became the main basis of the
including Vrindavan, where he revived Sufi thought before the time of Akbar.
the Krishna cult. But most of his time Contact with yogis and Hindu saints
was spent at Gaya. He exerted an ex- went a long way in popularising the
traordinary influence, particularly in the concept of pantheism. The Indian Sufis
eastern parts of India, and attracted a started taking more interest in Sanskrit
wide following, including some Muslims and Hindi and a few of them, including
and people from the low castes. He did Malik Muhammad Jaisi, composed their
not reject the scriptures or idol-worship, works in Hindi. The Bhakti songs of the
though he cannot be classified as a tradi- Vaishnavite saints written in Hindi and
tionalist. other languages touched the hearts of
All the saint-poets mentioned above the Sufis more than Persian poetry did.
remained within the broad framework The use of Hindi songs became so popu-
of Hinduism. Their philosophic beliefs lar that an eminent Sufi, Abdul Wahid
were a brand of Vedantic monism which Bilgrami, wrote a treatise Haqaiq-i-Hindi
emphasized the fundamental unity of in which he tried to explain such words
God and the created world. The Vedan- as ‗Krishna', ‗Murli‘, ‗Gopis‘, ‗Radha‘,
tist philosophy had been propounded by ‗Yamuna‘, etc., in Sufi mystic terms.
a number of thinkers, but the one who Thus, during the fifteenth and the
probably influenced the saint-poets the early part of the sixteenth century, the
most was Vallabha, a Tailang Brahman, Bhakti and the Sufi saints had worked
who lived in the last part of the fifteenth out in a remarkable manner a common
and the early part of the sixteenth cen- platform on which people belonging to
tury. various sects and creeds could meet and
The approach of these saint-poets understand each other.
was broadly humanistic. They empha- This was the essential background
sized the broadest human sentiments— to the ideas of Akbar and his concept of
the sentiments of love and beauty in all tauhid or unity of all religions.
their forms. Like the other non- sectari-
ans, they were not able to make an effec-
 Medieval India 99
Literature and Fine Arts skrit. Possibly, the only exception was
the translation of the love story of Yusuf
Sanskrit Literature and Zulaikha written by the famous
Sanskrit continued to be a vehicle for Persian poet, Jami and translation of
higher thought and a medium for litera- works on the astrolabe, used in naviga-
ture during the period under review. tion and astrology.
Following the great Sankara, works in
the field of philosophy by Ramanuja, Arabic and Persian Literature
Madhava, Vallabha, etc., continued to be Although the greatest amount of lit-
written in Sanskrit. The speed with erature and scientific works produced
which their ideas were widely dissemi- by the Muslims was in Arabic which
nated and discussed in different parts of was the language of the Prophet. How-
the country showed the important role ever, the Turks who came to India were
which Sanskrit continued to play during deeply influenced by the Persian lan-
the period. There was a network of spe- guage which had become the literary
cialised schools and academies in differ- and administrative language of Central
ent parts of the country, including areas Asia from the tenth century onwards. In
under Muslim domination. In fact, many India, the use of Arabic remained largely
of them took advantage of the introduc- confined to a narrow circle of Islamic
tion of paper to reproduce and dissemi- scholars and philosophers, most of the
nate older texts. Thus, some of the old- original literature on the subject being
est available texts of the Ramayana and written in Arabic. In course of time, di-
the Mahabharata written on paper belong gests of the Islamic law were prepared
to the period between the eleventh and in Persian with the help of Indian schol-
twelfth century. ars. The most well-known of these were
Besides philosophy, works in the prepared in the reign of Firuz Tughlaq.
field of kavya (poetical narrative), drama, But Arabic digests continued to be pre-
pared, the most famous of these being
fiction, medicine, astronomy, music, etc.,
continued to be written in Sanskrit. A the Fatawa-i-Alamgiri, or the Digest of
large number of commentaries and di- Laws prepared by a group of jurists in
the reign of Aurangzeb.
gests on the Hindu law (Dharmashastras)
With the arrival of the Turks in In-
were prepared between the twelfth and
dia during the tenth century, a new lan-
the sixteenth century. The great
guage, Persian, was introduced in the
Mitakshara of Vijnaneshwar, which
country. There was a resurgence of the
forms one of the two principal Hindu Persian language in Iran and Central
schools of law, cannot be placed earlier
Asia from the tenth century onwards
than the twelfth century. Another fa-
and some of the greatest poets of the
mous commentator was Chandeshwar
Persian language, such as Firdausi and
of Bihar who lived in the fourteenth cen-
Sadi, lived and composed their works
tury. The Jains, too, contributed to the between the tenth and fourteenth cen-
growth of Sanskrit. Hemachandra Suri turies. From the beginning, the Turks
was the most eminent of these. Little
adopted Persian as the language of liter-
attempt was made to translate Islamic
ature and administration in the country.
works or Persian literature into San- Thus, Lahore emerged as the first centre
 Medieval India 100
for the cultivation of the Persian lan- the Parrot), written in the time of Mu-
guage. However, the most notable Per- hammad Tughlaq, proved very popular
sian writer of the period was Amir and was translated from Persian into
Khusrau. Born in 1252 at Patiali (near Turkish and into many European lan-
Badayun in western Uttar Pradesh), guages as well. He also translated the
Amir Khusrau took pride in being an old Indian treatise on sexology, the Kok
Indian. Shastra, into Persian. Later, in the time of
Khusrau wrote a large number of po- Firuz Shah, Sanskrit books on medicine
etical works, including historical ro- and music were translated into Persian.
mances. He experimented with all the Sultan Zain-ul-Abidin of Kashmir had
poetical forms and created a new style of the famous historical work Rajatarangini
Persian which came to be called the and the Mahabharata translated into Per-
sabaq-i- hindi or the style of India. sian. At his instance, Sanskrit works on
Khusrau has praised the Indian lan- medicine and music were also translated
guages, including Hindi (which he calls into Persian. Recent research shows that
Hindavi). Some of his scattered Hindi some works on mathematics, astonomy
verses are found, though the Hindi and medicine were translated into San-
work, Khaliq Bari, often attributed to skrit during the period.
Khusrau, was in all probability the work
of a later poet of the same name. He was Regional Languages
also an accomplished musician and took During this period, literary works of
part in religious musical gatherings (sa- high quality were produced in many of
ma) organised by the famous Sufi saint, the regional languages as well. Many of
Nizamuddin Auliya. Khusrau, it is said, these languages, such as Hindi, Bengali
gave up his life the day after he learnt of and Marathi, trace their origin back to
the death of his pir, Nizamuddin Auliya the eighth century or so. Some others,
(1325). He was buried in the same com- such as Tamil, were much older. The rise
pound. to maturity of many of these languages
Apart from poetry, a strong school of and their use as means for literary works
history writing in Persian developed in may be considered a striking feature of
India during the period. The most fa- the medieval period. There were many
mous historians of this period were reasons for this. Perhaps, with the loss
Ziauddin Barani, Afif and Isami. of prestige by the Brahmans, Sanskrit
Thus, Sanskrit and Persian, in the also lost some of its prestige. The use of
main, functioned as link languages in the common language by the Bhakti
the country in politics, religion and phi- saints was, undoubtedly, an important
losophy, as well as being means of liter- factor in the rise of these languages. Lat-
ary productions. At first, there was little er, when, the Delhi Sultanat broke up,
interchange between the two. Zia local languages, in addition to Persian,
Nakhshabi (d. 1350) was the first to continued to be used for administrative
translate into Persian Sanskrit stories purpose in many of the regional king-
which were related by a parrot to a doms. Thus, literature in Telugu devel-
woman whose husband had gone on a oped in south India under the patronage
journey. This book Tuti Nama (Book of of the Vijayanagara rulers. Marathi was
one of the administrative languages in
 Medieval India 101
the Bahmani kingdom, and later, at the after namaz. The Indian classical wrok
court of Bijapur. In course of time, when Ragadarpan was translated into Persian
these languages had reached a certain during this reign. Musical gatherings
stage of development, some of the Mus- spread from the abodes of the Sufis to
lim kings gave them patronage for liter- the palaces of the nobles. Sultan Husain
ary purposes also. Sharqi, the ruler of Jaunpur, was a great
patron of music.The Sufi saint, Pir Bo-
Fine Arts dhan, is supposed to have been the se-
When the Turks came to India, they cond great musician of the age. Another
inherited the rich Arab tradition of mu- regional kingdom where music was
sic which had been further developed in highly cultivated was the kingdom of
Iran and Central Asia. They brought Gwaliyar. Raja Man Singh of Gwaliyar
with them a number of new musical was a great music lover. The work Man
instruments, such as the rabab and saran- Kautuhal in which all the new musical
gi, and new musical modes and regula- modes introduced by the Muslims were
tions. Systematic contact between the included was prepared under his aegis.
two began in India under the Sultanat. We do not know at what time the musi-
We have already referred to Amir cal modes in north India began to differ
Khusrau. Khusrau, who was given the from those in the south. But there is
title of nayak or master of both the theo- little doubt that the differentiation was
ry and practice of music, introduced largely due to the incorporation of Per-
many Perso-Arabic airs (ragas), such as so-Arabic modes, airs and scales. A dis-
aiman, ghora, sanam, etc. He is credited tinctive style of music, influenced in
with having invented the sitar, though considerable measure by Persian music,
we have no evidence of it. The tabla developed in the kingdom of Kashmir.
which is also attributed to him seems, After the conquest of Jaunpur, Si-
however, to have developed during the kandar Lodi followed its tradition of
late seventeenth or early eighteenth cen- patronising music on a lavish scale—a
tury. tradition which was adopted by the
The process of integration in the Mughal rulers later on.
field of music continued under Firuz
who used to listen to music every Friday
 Medieval India 102

Chapter 12
Struggle for Empire in North India—II
Mughals and Afghans (1525–1555)
the Shiite sect among the Muslims and
Central Asia and Babur persecuted those who were not pre-
Important changes took place in pared to accept the Shiite tenets. The
Central and West Asia during the fif- Uzbeks, on the other hand, were Sunnis.
teenth century. After the disintegration Thus, political conflict between these
of the Mongol empire in the fourteenth two elements was embittered by sec-
century, Timur united Iran and Turan tarian strife. Further to the west of Iran,
under one rule once again. Timur‘s em- the power of the Ottoman Turks was
pire extended from the lower Volga to growing. They wanted to dominate
the river Indus and included Asia Minor eastern Europe as well as Iraq and Iran.
(modern Turkey) Iran, Trans- Oxiana, Thus the scene was set for the con-
Afghanistan and a part of the Punjab. flict of three mighty empires in Asia dur-
Timur died in 1405but his grandson, ing the sixteenth century In 1494, at the
Shahrukh Mirza (d. 1448) was able to young age of twelve, Babur succeeded to
keep intact a large part of his empire. He Farghana, a small state in Trans-Oxiana.
gave patronage to arts and letters and in Babur made a bid to conquer Samarqand
his time, Samarqand and Herat became from his uncle. Shaibani defeated Babur
the cultural centres of West Asia. The and conquered Samarqand. This forced
ruler of Samarqand had great prestige in Babur to move towards Kabul which he
the entire Islamic world. conquered in 1504. For the next fourteen
The power of the Timurids declined years, Babur kept biding his time for the
rapidly during the second half of the re-conquest of his homeland.
fifteenth century, largely owing to the These developments finally forced
Timurid tradition of partitioning the Babur to look towards India.
empire. The various Timurid principali-
ties which arose always fought and Conquest of India
wrangled among themselves. This pro- The political situation in northwest
vided an opportunity to t\Vo new ele- India was suitable for Babur‘s entry into
ments to come to the forefront. From the India. Sikandar Lodi had died in 1517,
north, a Turko-Mongol tribe, the Uz- and Ibrahim Lodi had succeeded him.
beks, thrust into Trans-Oxiana. The Ibrahim‘s efforts to create a strong, cen-
Uzbeks had become Muslims, but were tralised empire had alarmed the Afghan
looked down upon by the Timurids who chiefs as well as the Rajputs. One of the
considered them to be uncultured bar- most powerful of the Afghan chiefs was
barians. Further to the west, a new dyn- Daulat Khan Lodi, the governor of the
asty, the Safavid dynasty, began to dom- Punjab, who was almost an independent
inate Iran. The Safavids were descended ruler. Daulat Khan attempted to concili-
from an order of saints who traced their ate Ibrahim Lodi by sending his son to
ancestry to the Prophet. They supported his court to pay homage. At the same
 Medieval India 103
time, he wanted to strengthen his posi- mitted and was pardoned. Thus, within
tion by annexing the frontier tracts of three weeks of crossing the Indus, Babur
Bhira, etc. became the master of the Punjab.
In 1518—19, Babur conquered the
powerful fort of Bhira. He then sent let- The Battele of Panipat (20 April
ters and verbal messages to Daulat Khan 1526)
and Ibrahim Lodi, asking for the cession A conflict with Ibrahim Lodi, the
of the areas which had belonged to the ruler of Delhi, was inevitable, and Babur
Turks. But Daulat Khan detained Ba- prepared for it by marching towards
bur‘s envoy at Lahore, neither granting Delhi. Ibrahim Lodi met Babur at Pani-
him audience nor allowing him to go to pat with a force estimated at 100,000
Ibrahim Lodi. When Babur returned to men and 1000 elephants. Babur had
Kabul, Daulat Khan occupied Bhira, and crossed the Indus with a force of 12,000,
expelled Babur‘s agents posted there. but this had been swelled by his army in
In 1520—21, Babur once again India, and the large number of Hindu-
crossed the Indus, and easily captured stani nobles and soldiers who joined
Bhira and Sialkot, the twin gateways to Babur in the Punjab. Even then, Babur‘s
Hindustan. Lahore also capitulated to army was numerically inferior. Babur
him. He might have proceeded further had also secured the services of two Ot-
but for the news of a revolt at Qandhar. toman master-gunners, Ustad Ali and
He retraced his steps, and after a siege of Mustafa. The use of gunpowder had
a year and a half recaptured Qandhar. been gradually developing in India. Ba-
Thus reassured, Bahur was once again bur says that he used it for the first time
able to turn his attention towards India. in his attacks on the fortress of Bhira.
It was about this time that Babur re- Apparently, gunpowder was known in
ceived an embassy from Daulat Khan India but its use for artillery became
Lodi, led by his son, Dilawar Khan. They common in north India with the advent
invited Babur to India, and suggested of Babur.
that he should displace Ibrahim Lodi Despite the early setbacks, Ibrahim
since he was a tyrant and enjoyed no Lodi‘s army fought valiantly. The battle
support from his nobles. It is probable raged for two or three hours. Ibrahim
that a messenger from Rana Sanga ar- Lodi fought to the last, with a group of
rived at the same time, inviting Babur to 5000—6000 people around him. It is
invade India. These embassies convinced estimated that besides him, more than
Babur that the time was ripe for his 15,000 of his men were killed in the bat-
conquest of the whole of the Punjab if tle.
not of India itself. The battle of Panipat is regarded as
In 1525, while Babur was at Pesha- one of the decisive battles of Indian his-
war, he received the news that Daulat tory. It broke the back of Lodi power,
Khan Lodi had changed sides again. He and brought under Babur‘s control the
had collected an army of 30,000— entire area upto Delhi and Agra. The
40,000 men, ousted Babur‘s men from treasures stored up by Ibrahim Lodi at
Sialkot and was marching to Lahore. At Agra relieved Babur from his financial
Babur‘s approach, the army of Daulat difficulties. The rich territory up to
Khan melted away. Daulat Khan sub- Jaunpur also lay open to Babur. Howev-
 Medieval India 104
er, Babur had to wage two hard-fought the hope of regaining the throne of Delhi
battles, one against Rana Sanga of Me- in case Sanga won. Ilasan Khan Mewati,
war, and the other against the eastern the ruler of Mewat, also cast in his lot
Afghans, before he could consolidate his with Sanga. Almost all the Rajput rulers
hold on this area. Viewed from this an- of note sent contingents to serve under
gle, the tattle of Panipat was not as deci- Rana Sanga.
sive in the political field as has been The reputation of Rana Sanga, and
made out. Its real importance lies in the his early success against some of the
fact that it opened a new phase in the outlying Mughal posts such as Bayana,
struggle for domination in north India. demoralised Babur‘s soldiers. To rally
The difficulties of Babur after his vic- them, Babur solemnly declared the war
tory at Panipat were manifold. Many of against Sanga to be a jihad. On the eve of
his begs were not prepared for a long the battle, he emptied all the wine jars
campaign in India. With the onset of the and broke the wine flasks to demon-
hot weather, their misgivings had in- strate what a staunch Muslim he was.
creased. Babur knew that the resources He also banned the sale and purchase of
in India alone would enable him to wine throughout his dominions and
found a strong empire and satisfy his abolished customs taxes for Muslims.
begs. He thus took a firm stand, pro- Having carefully selected a site, Ba-
claiming his intention to stay on in In- bur entrenched himself at Khanwa
dia, and granting leave to a number of about 40 km from Agra. The battle of
his begs who wanted to go back to Ka- Khanwa (1527) was fiercely contested.
bul. This immediately cleared the air. Babur‘s forces were undoubtedly inferi-
But it also invited the hostility of Rana or in number but dominated. Sanga‘s
Sanga who began his preparations for a forces were defeated after a great
showdown with Babur. slaughter. Rana Sanga escaped and
wanted to renew the conflict with Ba-
The Battle of Khanwa bur. But he was poisoned by his own
The growing conflict between Rana nobles who considered such a course to
Sanga and Ibrahim Lodi for the domina- be dangerous and suicidal. Thus died
tion of eastern Rajasthan and Malwa has one of the most valiant warriors pro-
already been mentioned. The establish- duced by Rajasthan. With Sanga‘s
ment of an empire in the Indo-Gangetic death, the dream of a united Rajasthan
valley by Babur was a threat to Rana extending up to Agra received a serious
Sanga. Sanga set afoot preparations to setback.
expel Babur or, at any rate, to confine The battle of Khanwa secured Ba-
him to the Punjab. bur‘s position in the Delhi-Agra region.
Babur accuses Rana Sanga of breach Babur strengthened his position further
of agreement. He says that Sanga had by conquering the chain of forts—
invited him to India, and promised to Gwaliyar, Dholpur, etc., east of Agra. He
join him against Ibrahim Lodi, but made also annexed large parts of Alwar from
no move while he (Babur) conquered Hasan Khan Mewati. He then led a
Delhi and Agra. Many Afghans, includ- campaign against Medini Rai of Chan-
ing Mahmud Lodi, a younger brother of deri in Malwa. Chanderi was captured
Ibrahim Lodi, rallied to Rana Sanga, in after the Rajput defenders had died
 Medieval India 105
fighting to the last man and their wom- ly afterwards, Babur died near Lahore
en performed jauhar. Babur had to cut while on his way to Kabul.
short his plan of further campaigns in
the area on hearing of the growing activ- Significance of Babur’s Advent
ities of the Afghans in eastern Uttar Into India
Pradesh. Babur‘s advent into India was signif-
icant from many points of view. For the
The Afghans first time since the downfall of the
Although the Afghans had been de- Kushan empire, Kabul and Qandhar
feated, they had not been reconciled to became integral parts of an empire com-
the Mughal rule. Eastern Uttar Pradesh prising north India. Since these areas
was still under the domination of the had always acted as staging places for an
Afghan chiefs who had tendered their invasion of India, by dominating them
allegiance to Babur but were prepared to Babur and his successors were able to
throw it off at any time. The Afghan give to India security from external in-
sardars were being backed by Nusrat vasions for almost 200 years. Economi-
Shah, the ruler of Bengal, who had mar- cally also, the control of Kabul and
ried a daughter of Ibrahim Lodi. Earlier, Qandhar strengthened India's foreign
the Afghans had ousted the Mughal offi- trade since these two towns were the
cials in eastern Uttar Pradesh and starting points for caravans meant for
reached up to Kanauj. But their greatest China in the east, and the Mediterrane-
weakness was the lack of a popular an seaports in the west. Thus, India
leader. After some time, Mahmud Lodi, a could take a greater share in the great
brother of Ibrahim Lodi, who had fought trans-Asian trade.
against Babur at Khanwa, reached Bihar. In north India, Babur smashed the
The Afghans hailed him as their ruler, power of the Lodis and the Rajput con-
and mustered strong under him. federacy led by Rana Sanga. Thereby, he
This was a threat which Babur could destroyed the balance of power in the
not ignore. Hence, at the beginning of area. This was a long step towards the
1529, he left Agra for the east. Crossing establishment of an all-India empire.
the Ganga near Banaras, he faced the Babur introduced a new mode of
combined forces of the Afghans and warfare in India. Although gunpowder
Nusrat Shah of Bengal at the crossing of was known in India earlier, Babur
the river Ghagra. Although Babur showed what a skilled combination of
crossed the river, and compelled the artillery and cavalry could achieve. His
Bengal and the Afghan armies to retreat, victories led to rapid popularisation of
he could not win a decisive victory. Be- gunpowder and artillery in India. Since
ing ill, and anxious about the situation artillery was expensive, it favoured
in Central Asia, Babur decided to patch those rulers who had large resources at
up an agreement with the Afghans. He their command. Hence the era of small
put forward a vague claim for suzerainty kingdoms ended.
over Bihar, but left most of it in the By his new military methods as well
hands of the Afghan chiefs. He also as by his personal conduct, Babur re-
patched up a treaty with Nusrat Shah of established the prestige of the Crown
Bengal. Pie then returned to Agra. Short- which had been eroded since the death
 Medieval India 106
of Firuz Tughlaq. Babur had the prestige Humayun’s Conquest of Guja-
of being a descendant of two of the most rat and Histussle With Sher
famous warriors of Asia, Changez and
Timur. None of his nobles, could, there- Shah
fore, claim a status of equality with him, Humayun succeeded Babur in De-
or aspire to his throne. cember 1530 at the young age of 23. He
An orthodox Sunni, Babur was not had to grapple with a number of prob-
bigoted or led by the religious divines. lems left behind by Babur. The admin-
At a time when there was a bitter sec- istration had not yet been consolidated,
tarian feud between the Shias and the and the finances were precarious. The
Sunnis in Iran and Turan, his court was Afghans had not been subdued, and
free from theological and sectarian con- were nursing the hope of expelling the
flicts. He declared the battle against Mughals from India. Finally, there was
the Timurid legacy of partitioning the
Sanga a jihad and assumed the title of
empire among all the brothers. Babur
ghazi after the victory, but the reasons
had counselled Humayun to deal kindly
were clearly political. Though his reign
with his brothers, but had not favoured
was a period of war, only a few instanc-
the partitioning of the infant Mughal
es can be found of destruction of tem-
empire, which would have been disas-
ples.
trous.
Babur was deeply learned in Persian
When Humayun ascended the
and Arabic, and is regarded as one of the
throne at Agra, the empire included Ka-
two most famous writers in the Turkish
bul and Qandhar. Kabul and Qandhar
language which was his mother tongue.
were under the charge of Humayun‘s
As a prose writer, he had no equal, and
younger brother, Kamran. However,
his famous memoirs, the Tuzuk-i-Baburi,
Kamran was not satisfied with these
is considered one of the classics of world poverty-stricken areas. He marched on
literature. His other works include a Lahore and Multan, and occupied them.
masnavi and the Turkish translation of a Humayun, who was busy elsewhere, and
well-known Sufi work. He was in touch did not want to start a civil war, had
with the famous poets and artists of the little option but to agree. Kamran ac-
time and describes their works in his cepted the suzerainty of Humayun, and
memoirs. He was a keen naturalist, and promised to help him whenever neces-
has described the flora and fauna of In- sary. Kamran‘s action created the appre-
dia in considerable detail. He laid out a hension that the other brothers of Hu-
number of formal gardens with running mayun might also follow the same path
water thereby establishing a tradition of whenever an opportunity arose. Howev-
building gardens. er, by formally granting the Punjab and
Babur introduced a new concept of Multan to Kamran, Humayun had the
the state which was to be based on the immediate advantage that he was free to
strength and prestige of the Crown, ab- devote his attention to the eastern parts
sence of religious and sectarian bigotry, without having to bother about his
and the careful fostering of culture and western frontier.
the fine arts. He thus provided a prece- Apart from these, Humayun had to
dent and a direction for his successors. deal with the rapid growth of the power
 Medieval India 107
of the Afghans in the east, and the grow- with a force of 40,000. Humayun easily
ing power and sweep of Bahadur Shah, defeated the challenge posed by Tatar
the ruler of Gujarat. At the outset, Hu- Khan. The Afghan forces melted away at
mayun was inclined to consider the Af- the approach of the Mughals, and Tatar
ghan danger to be the more serious of Khan was defeated and killed. Deter-
the two. In 1532, at a place called Da- mined to end the threat from Bahadur
drah, he defeated the Afghan forces Shah‘s side once for all, Humayun now
which had conquered Bihar and overrun invaded Malwa.
Jaunpur in eastern Uttar Pradesh. After In the struggle which followed, Hu-
this success, Humayun besieged Chu- mayun showed considerable military
nar. This powerful fort commanded the skill, and remarkable personal valour.
land and the river route between Agra Bahadur Shah did not dare face the
and the east, and was known as the Mughals. He abandoned Chittor fled to
gateway of eastern India. It had recently Ahmedabad and finally to Kathiawar.
come in the possession of an Afghan Thus, the rich provinces of Malwa and
sardar, Sher Khan, who had become the Gujarat, as well as the large treasures
most powerful of the Afghan sardars. hoarded by the Gujarat rulers at Mandu
After the siege of Chunar had gone and Champaner, fell into the hands of
on for four months, Sher Khan persuad- Humayun.
ed Humayun to allow him to retain pos- However both Gujarat and Malwa
session of the fort. In return, he prom- were lost as quickly as they had been
ised to be loyal to the Mughals, and sent gained. The Gujarat campaign was not a
one of his sons to Humayun as a hostage. complete failure. While it did not add to
Humayun accepted the offer because he the Mughal territories, it destroyed for-
was anxious to return to Agra. The rapid ever the threat posed to the Mughals by
increase in the power of Bahadur Shah Bahadur Shah: Humayun was now in a
of Gujarat, and his activities in the areas position to concentrate all his resources
bordering Agra, had alarmed him. He in the struggle against Sher Khan and
was not prepared to continue the siege the Afghans. Soon after, Bahadur Shah
of Chunar under the command of a no- drowned in a scuffle with the Portu-
ble since that would have meant divid- guese on board one of their ships. This
ing his forces. ended whatever danger remained from
Bahadur Shah, who was of almost the side of Gujarat.
the same age as Humayun, was an able
and ambitious ruler. Ascending the Sher Khan
throne in 1526, he first overran and con- During Humayun‘s Malwa campaign
quered Malwa. He then turned to Raja- (February 1535 to February 1537), Sher
sthan and besieged Chittor. Bahadur Khan had further strengthened his posi-
Shah offered a still greater challenge to tion. He had made himself the unques-
Humayun. He had made his court the tioned master of Bihar. The Afghans
refuge of all those who feared or hated from far and near had rallied round him.
the Mughals. He again invested Chittor Though he continued to profess loyalty
and, simultaneously, supplied arms and to the Mughals, he systematically
men to Tatar Khan, a cousin of Ibrahim planned to expel the Mughals from In-
Lodi. Tatar Khan was to invade Agra dia. Shortly after Humayun‘s return to
 Medieval India 108
Agra, he had used this army to defeat the ghans, Humayun managed to get his
Bengal king, and compel him to pay an army back to Chausa near Buxar, with-
indemnity of 13,00,000 dinars (gold out any serious loss. Meanwhile,
coins). Kamran had advanced from Lahore to
Next, Humayun marched against Agra to quell Hindal‘s rebellion. Though
Sher Khan and besieged Chunar fort not disloyal, Kamran made no attempt
strategically located on line of commu- to send reinforcements to Humayun
nications. Despite the best efforts by the which might have swung the military
master-gunner, Rumi Khan, it took six balance in favour of the Mughals.
months for Humayun to capture it. Despite these setbacks, Humayun
Meanwhile, Sher Khan captured by was still confident of success against
treachery the powerful fort of Rohtas. Sher Khan. Misled by an offer of peace
He then invaded Bengal for a second from Sher Khan, Humayun crossed to
time, and captured Gaur, its capital. the eastern bank of the Karmnasa river,
Thus, Sher Khan completely outma- giving full scope to the Afghan horsemen
noeuvred Humayun. After his victory encamped there to attack. Humayun
over Gaur, Sher Khan made an offer to showed not only bad political sense, but
Humayun that he would surrender Bihar bad generalship as well. He chose his
and pay an annual tribute of ten lakhs of ground badly, and allowed himself to be
dinars if he was allowed to retain Bengal. taken unawares. Humayun barely es-
But Humayun was not prepared to leave caped with his life from the battle field,
Bengal to Sher Khan. Bengal was the swimming across the river with the help
land of gold, rich in manufactures, and a of a water-carrier. Immense booty fell in
centre for foreign trade. Humayun Sher Khan‘s hands. About 7000 Mughal
marched into Bengal. Sher Khan had left soldiers and many prominent nobles
Bengal and was in south Bihar. He let were killed.
Humayun advance into Bengal without After the defeat at Chausa (March
opposition so that he might disrupt 1539), again the army hastily assembled
Humayun‘s communications and bottle by Humayun at Agra was no march
him up in Bengal. Arriving at Gaur, Hu- against Sher Khan. However, the battle
mayun quickly took steps to establish of Kanauj (May 1540) was bitterly con-
law and order. But this did not solve any tested. Both the younger brothers of
of his problems. His situation was made Humayun, Askari and Hindal, fought
worse by the attempt of his younger valiantly but to no avail. The battle of
brother, Hindal, to assume the Crown Kanauj decided the issue between Sher
himself at Agra. Due to this and Sher Khan and the Mughals. Humayun, now,
Khan‘s activities, Humayun was totally became a prince without a kingdom,
cut off from all news and supplies from Kabul and Qandhar remaining under
Agra. Kamran. He wandered about in Sindh
After a stay of three to four months and its neighbouring regions for the
at Gaur, Humayun started back for next two and a half years. Worse, his
Agra, leaving a small garrison behind. own brothers turned against him, and
Despite the rumblings of discontent in tried to have him killed or imprisoned.
the nobility, the rainy season, and the Ultimately, Humayun took shelter at the
constant harrying attacks of the Af- court of the Iranian king, and with his
 Medieval India 109
help recaptured Qandhar and Kabul in Sher Shah and The Sur Empire
1545. (1540–55)
It is clear that the major cause of Sher Shah ascended the throne of
Humayun‘s failure against Sher Khan Delhi at the age of 54 or so. His original
was his inability to understand the na-
name was Farid and his father was a
ture of the Afghan power. Due to the
small jagirdar at Jaunpur. Farid acquired
existence of large numbers of Afghan
sound administrative experience by
tribes scattered over north India, the
looking after the affairs of his father‘s
Afghans could always reunite under a
jagir. Following the defeat and death of
capable leader and pose a challenge.
Without winning over the local rulers Ibrahim Lodi and the confusion in Af-
and zamindars to their side, the ghan affairs, he emerged as one of the
Mughals were bound to remain numeri- most important Afghan sardar. The title
cally inferior. In the beginning, Hu- of Sher Khan was given to him by his
mayun was, on the whole, loyally served patron for killing a tiger (sher) or, for
by his brothers. Real differences among services rendered. Soon, Sher Khan
them arose only after Sher Khan‘s victo- emerged as the right-hand of the ruler of
ries. Some historians have unduly exag- Bihar, and its master in all but name.
gerated the early differences of Hu- This was before the death of Babur. The
mayun with his brothers, and his alleged rise of Sher Khan to prominence was,
faults of character. Though not as vigor- thus, not a sudden one.
ous as Babur, Humayun showed himself As a ruler, Sher Shah ruled the
to be a competent general and politician, mightiest empire which had come into
till his ill-conceived Bengal campaign. In existence in north India since the time
both the battles with Sher Khan, the of Muhammad bin Tughlaq. His empire
latter showed himself to be a superior extended from Bengal to the Indus, ex-
general. cluding Kashmir. In the west, he con-
Humayun‘s life was a romantic one. quered Malwa, and almost the entire
He went from riches to rags, and again Rajasthan. Maldeo, the ruler of Marwar
from rags to riches. In 1555, following who had ascended the gaddi in 1532 at-
the breakup of the Sur empire, he was temptted to create a large centralised
able to recover Delhi. But he did not live state in Rajasthan by conquering Bhatis
long to enjoy the fruits of the victory. He of Jaisalmer, Ajmer and Bikaner. Maldeo
died from a fall from the first floor of the was regarded as a threat by the ruler of
library building in his fort at Delhi. His Delhi and Agra. It was believed that
favourite wife built a magnificent mau- Maldeo had an army of 50,000. Howev-
soleum for him near the fort. This build- er, there is no evidence that Maldeo cov-
ing marks a new phase in the style of eted Delhi or Agra. Now, as before, the
architecture in north India, its most bone of contention between the two
remarkable feature being the magnifi- was the domination of the strategically
cent dome of marble. important eastern Rajasthan.
The Rajput and Afghan forces
clashed at Samel (1544) between Ajmer
and Jodhpur. The battle of Samel sealed
the fate of Rajasthan. Sher Shah now
 Medieval India 110
besieged and conquered Ajmer and road from Agra to Jodhpur and Chittor,
Jodhpur, forcing Maldeo to take shelter evidently linking up with the road to the
in the fort of Siwana where he died soon Gujarat seaports. He built a third road
afterwards. Sher Shah then turned to- from Lahore to Multan. Multan was at
wards Mewar. The rana was in no posi- that time the staging point for caravans
tion to resist, and sent the keys of Chit- going to West and Central Asia. For the
tor to Sher Shah who set up his outposts convenience of travellers, Sher Shah
up to Mount Abu. Thus, in a brief period built a sarai at a distance of every two
of ten months, Sher Shah overran almost kos (about eight km) on these roads. The
the entire Rajasthan. His last campaign sarai was a fortified lodging or inn
was against Kalinjar, a strong fort that where travellers could pass the night
was the key to Bundelkhand. During the and also keep their goods in safe custo-
siege, a gun burst and severely injured dy. We are told that Sher Shah built
Sher Shah. He died (1545) after he heard 1700 sarais in all. Some of these are still
that the fort had been captured. existing. His roads and sarais have been
Sher Shah was succeeded by his se- called ‗the arteries of the empire‘. They
cond son, Islam Shah. However, his helped in quickening trade and com-
death at a young age led to a civil war merce in the country. Many of the sarais
among his successors. This provided developed into market-towns (qasbas) to
Humayun the opportunity he had been which peasants flocked to sell their pro-
seeking for recovering his empire in In- duce. The sarais were also used as stages
dia. In two hotly contested battles in for the news service or dak-chowki. The
1555, he defeated the Afghans, and re- organisation of these dak-chowkis has
covered Delhi and Agra. been described in an earlier chapter. By
means of these, Sher Shah kept himself
Contribution of Sher Shah informed of the developments in his vast
The Sur empire may be considered in empire.
many ways as a continuation and culmi- Sher Shah also introduced other re-
nation of the Delhi Sultanat, the advent forms to promote the growth of trade
of Babur and Humayun being in the na- and commerce. In his entire empire, cus-
ture of an interregnum. Amongst the toms duty for goods were paid only at
foremost contributions of Sher Shah was two places: goods produced in Bengal or
his re-establishment of law and order imported from outside paid customs
across the length and breadth of his em- duty at the border of Bengal and Bihar at
pire. He dealt sternly with robbers and Sikrigali, and goods coming from West
dacoits, and with zamindars who re- and Central Asia paid customs duty at
fused to pay land revenue or disobeyed the Indus. No one was allowed to levy
the orders of the government. customs at roads, ferries or towns any-
Sher Shah paid great attention to the where else. Duty was paid a second time
fostering of trade and commerce and the at the time of sale of goods.
improvement of communications in his Sher Shah directed his governors and
kingdom. Sher Shah restored the old amils to treat merchants and travellers
imperial road called the Grand Trunk well in every way, and not to harm them
Road, from the river Indus in the west to at all. Sher Shah made the local village
Sonargaon in Bengal. He also built a
 Medieval India 111
headmen (muqaddams) and zamindars areas. In some areas such as Bengal, real
responsible for any loss that a merchant power remained in the hands of tribal
suffered on the roads. If the goods were chiefs and the governor exercised only a
stolen, the muqaddams and the zamindars loose control over them.
had to produce them, or point out the Sher Shah apparently continued the
haunts of the thieves or highway rob- central machinery of administration
bers, failing which they had to undergo which had been developed during the
the punishment meant for thieves and Sultanat period. Sher Shah‘s excessive
robbers. centralisation of authority in his hands
The currency reforms of Sher Shah was a source of weakness, and its harm-
also helped in the growth of commerce ful effects became apparent when a mas-
and handicrafts. He struck fine coins of terful sovereign like him ceased to sit on
gold, silver and copper of uniform the throne.
standard in place of the earlier debased Sher Shah paid special attention to
coins of mixed metal. His silver rupee the land revenue system, the army, and
was so well executed that it remained a justice. Having administered his father‘s
standard coin for centuries after him. jagir for a number of years, and then as
His attempt to fix standard weights and the virtual ruler of Bihar, Sher Shah
measures all over the empire were also knew the working of the land revenue
helpful for trade and commerce. system at all levels. With the help of a
Sher Shah did not make many capable team of administrators, he toned
changes in the administrative divisions up the entire system. The produce of
prevailing since the Sultanat period. A land was no longer to be based on guess
number of villages comprised a pargana. work, or by dividing the crops in the
The pargana was under the charge of the fields or on the threshing floor. Sher
shiqdar, who looked after law and order Shah insisted on measurement of the
sown land. A crop rate (called ray) was
and general administration, and the mun-
drawn up, laying down the state‘s share
sif or amil who looked after the collec-
of the different types of crops. This
tion of land revenue. Accounts were
could then be converted into cash on the
maintained both in Persian and the local
basis of the prevailing market rates in
languages (Hindavi). Above the pargana different areas. The share of the state
was the shiq or sarkar under the charge of was one-third of the produce. The lands
the shiqdar-i-shqdaran or faujdar and a were divided into good, bad and mid-
munsif-i-munsifan. It seems that only the dling. Their average produce was com-
designations of these officers were new puted, and one-third of it became the
since both pargana and sarkar were units share of the state. The peasants were
of administration in the earlier period given the option of paying in cash or
also. kind, though the state preferred cash.
A number of sarkars were sometimes The areas sown, the type of crops
grouped into provinces, but we do not cultivated, and the amount each peasant
know how many of such provinces ex- had to pay was written down on a paper
isted and the pattern of provincial ad- called patta and each peasant was in-
ministration. It seems that the provin- formed of it. No one was allowed to
cial governors were all-powerful in some charge from the peasants anything extra.
 Medieval India 112
In order to guard against famine and Sher Shah also built a new city on
other natural calamities, a cess at the the bank of the Yamuna near Delhi. The
rate of two and a half seers per bigha was only survivor of this is the Old Fort (Pu-
also levied. rana Qila) and the fine mosque within it.
Sher Shah set up a strong army in Sher Shah also patronized the learned
order to administer his vast empire. He men. Some of the finest works in Hindi,
dispensed with tribal levies under tribal such as the Pudmauat of Malik Muham-
chiefs, and recruited soldiers directly, mad Jaisi, were completed during his
after verifying their character. Every reign.
soldier had his descriptive roll (chehra) Sher Shah was not a bigot in the reli-
recorded, and his horse branded with gious sphere, as is evident from his so-
the imperial sign so that horses of inferi- cial and economic policy. Neither Islam
or quality may not be substituted. Sher Shah nor he depended on the ulama,
Shah seems to have borrowed this sys- though they respected them a great deal.
tem, known as the dagh (branding) sys- Religious slogans were sometimes used
tem, from the military reforms of Alaud- to justify political actions. The treacher-
din Khalji. ous murder of Puran Mai and his associ-
Sher Shah placed considerable em- ates after he had vacated the fort of
phasis on justice. Qazis were appointed Raisen in Malwa on the basis of a bind-
at different places for justice but, as be- ing oath is one such example. Sher Shah
fore, the village panchayats and zamin- did not, however, initiate any new liber-
dars also dealt with civil and criminal al policies. Jizyah continued to be col-
cases at the local level. A big step for- lected from the Hindus, while his nobili-
ward in the dispensation of justice was, ty was drawn almost exclusively from
however, taken by Sher Shah‘s son and the Afghans. Thus, the state under the
successor, Islam Shah. Islam Shah codi- Surs remained an Afghan institution
fied the laws, thus doing away with the based on race and tribe. A fundamental
necessity of depending on a special set change came about only with the emer-
of people who could interpret the Islam- gence of Akbar.
ic law.
 Medieval India 113

Chapter 13
Consolidation of the
Mughal Empire Age of Akbar
When Humayun was retreating from 50,000 cavalry, 500 elephants and a
Bikaner, he was gallantly offered shelter strong artillery, he marched upon Delhi.
and help by the rana of Amarkot. It was In a well-contested battle, Hemu de-
at Amarkot, in 1542, that Akbar, the feated the Mughals near Delhi and oc-
greatest of the Mughal rulers, was born. cupied the city. However, Bairam Khan
When Humayun died, Akbar was at took energetic steps to meet the situa-
Kalanaur in the Punjab, commanding tion. His bold stand put heart into his
operations against the Afghan rebels army, and it marched on Delhi before
there. He was crowned at Kalanaur in Hemu could have time to consolidate his
1556 at the young age of thirteen years position. The battle between the
and four months. Mughals and the Afghan forces led by
Akbar succeeded to a difficult posi- Hemu, took place once again at Panipat
tion. The Afghans were still strong be- (5 November 1556). Although Hemu‘s
yond Agra, and were regrouping their artillery had been captured earlier by a
forces under the leadership of Hemu for Mughal detachment, the tide of battle
a final showdown. Kabul had been at- was in favour of Hemu when an arrow
tacked and besieged. Sikandar Sur, the hit him in the eye and he fainted. The
defeated Afghan ruler, was loitering in leaderless Afghan army was defeated,
the Siwalik Hills. However, Bairam Hemu was captured and executed.
Khan, the tutor of the prince and a loyal Thus, Akbar had virtually to reconquer
and favourite officer of Humayun, rose his empire.
to the occasion. He became the wakil of
the kingdom, with the title of Khan-i- Early Expansion of The Empire
Khanan, and rallied the Mughal forces. (1560-76)
The threat from the side of Hemu was Bairam Khan remained at the helm of
considered the most serious. The area affairs of the empire for almost four
from Chunar to the border of Bengal years. During the period, he kept the
was under the domination of Adil Shah, nobility fully under control. Meanwhile,
a nephew of Sher Shah. Hemu, who had Akbar was approaching the age of, ma-
started life as a superintendent of the turity. Bairam Khan was forced to sub-
markets under Islam Shah, had rapidly mit to Akbar. Akbar received him cordi-
risen under Adil Shah. He had not lost a ally and gave him the option of serving
single one of the twenty-two battles in at the court or anywhere outside it, or
which he had fought. Adil Shah had ap- retiring to Mecca. Bairam Khan chose to
pointed him the wazir with the title of go to Mecca. However, on his way, he
Vikramajit, and entrusted him with the was assassinated at Patan near Ahmed-
task of expelling the Mughals. Hemu abad by an Afghan who bore him a per-
captured Agra, and with an army of sonal grudge; Bairam‘s wife and a young
child were brought to Akbar at Agra.
 Medieval India 114
Akbar married Bairam Khan‘s widow to Malwa. Baz Bahadur had to flee, and
who was his cousin and brought up the for some time he took shelter with the
child as his own son. This child later rana of Mewar. After wandering about
became famous as Abdur Rahim Khan-i- from one area to another, he finally re-
Khanan and held some of the most im- paired to Akbar‘s court and was enrolled
portant offices and commands in the as a Mughal mansabdar1 The extensive
empire. country of Malwa thus came under
Akbar‘s confrontation with Bairam Mughal rule.
Khan and the treatment accorded to his At about the same time, Mughal
family subsequently show some typical arms overran the kingdom of Garh-
traits of Akbar‘s character. He was unre- Katanga. The kingdom of Garh-Katanga
lenting once he had made up his mind included the Narmada valley and the
about a course of action, but was pre- northern portions of present Madhya
pared to go out of his way in being gen- Pradesh. It had been welded together by
erous to an opponent who had submit- Aman Das who flourished in the second
ted to him. half of the fifteenth century. Aman Das
During Bairam Khan‘s regency, the had helped Bahadur Shah of Gujarat in
territories of the Mughal empire had the conquest of Raisen and had received
been expanded rapidly. Apart from Aj- from him the title of Sangram Shah.
mer, an important conquest during this The kingdom of Garh-Katanga in-
period was that of Malwa. Malwa was cluded a number of Gond and Rajput
being ruled, at that time, by a young principalities. It was the most powerful
prince, Baz Bahadur. His accomplish- kingdom set up by the Gonds. Sangram
ments included a mastery of music and Shah had further strengthened his posi-
poetry. Stories about the romance of Baz tion by marrying his son to a princess of
Bahadur and Rupmati, who was famous the famous Chandel rulers of Mahoba.
for her beauty as well as for music and This princess, who is famous as Durga-
poetry are well known. During his time, vati, became a widow soon afterwards.
Mandu had become a celebrated centre But she installed her minor son on the
for music. The army, however, had been throne and ruled the country with great
neglected by Baz Bahadur. The expedi- vigour and courage. She fought many
tion against Malwa was led by Adham successful battles against her neigh-
Khan, son of Akbar‘s foster-mother, bours, including Baz Bahadur of Malwa.
Maham Anaga. Baz Bahadur was badly These border conflicts apparently con-
defeated (1561) and the Mughals took tinued even after Malwa had been con-
valuable spoils, including Rupmati. quered by the Mughals. Meanwhile, the
However, she preferred to commit sui- cupidity of Asaf Khan, the Mughal gov-
cide to being dragged to Adham Khan‘s ernor of Allahabad, was roused by the
haram. Due to the senseless cruelties of stories of the fabulous wealth and the
Adham Khan and his successor, there beauty of the rani. Asaf Khan advanced
was a reaction against the Mughals with 10,000 cavalry from the side of
which enabled Baz Bahadur to recover Bundelkhand. Some of the semi-
Malwa. independent rulers of Garha found it a
After dealing with Bairam Khan‘s re- convenient moment to throw off the
bellion Akbar sent another expedition Gond yoke. The rani was thus left with a
 Medieval India 115
small force. Though wounded, she extracting as much vengeance as possi-
fought on gallantly. Finding that the ble. In honour of the gallant Jaimal and
battle was lost and that she was in dan- Patta, Akbar ordered that two stone
ger of being captured, she stabbed her- statues of these warriors, seated on ele-
self to death. Asaf Khan then stormed phants, be erected outside the chief gate
the capital, Chauragarh, near modern of the fort at Agra.
Jabalpur. The fall of Chittor was followed by
When Akbar had dealt with the re- the conquest of Ranthambhor reputed
bellion of the Uzbek nobles he forced to be the most powerful fortress in Raja-
Asaf Khan to disgorge his illegal gains. sthan. Jodhpur had been conquered ear-
He restored the kingdom of Garh- lier. As a result of these victories, most
Katanga to Chandra Shah, the younger of the Rajput rajas, including those of
son of Sangram Shah, after, taking ten Bikaner and Jaisalmer, submitted to
forts to round off the kingdom of Mal- Akbar. Only Mewar continued to resist.
wa. Gujarat had been in a sorry state of
affairs since the death of Bahadur Shah.
Rajasthan and Gujarat The fertility of its soil, its highly devel-
During the next ten years, Akbar oped crafts, and its importance as the
brought the major part of Rajasthan centre of the import-export trade with
under his control and also conquered the outside world had made it a prize
Gujarat and Bengal. A major step in his worth fighting for. In 1572, Akbar ad-
campaign against the Rajput states was vanced on Ahmedabad via Ajmer. Ah-
the siege of Chittor. This redoubtable medabad surrendered without a fight.
fortress, which had faced a number of Akbar then turned his attention to the
sieges in its history, was considered a Mirzas who held Broach, Baroda and
key to central Rajasthan. It commanded Surat. At Cambay, Akbar saw the sea for
the shortest route from Agra to Gujarat. the first time, and rode on it in a boat. A
Above all, it was a symbol of the Rajput group of Portuguese merchants also
spirit of resistance. Akbar realised that came and met him for the first time. The
without conquering Chittor, he could Portuguese dominated the Indian seas
not induce the other Rajput rulers to by this time, and had ambition of estab-
accept his suzerainty. Chittor fell (1568) lishing an empire in India. Akbar‘s con-
after a gallant siege of six months. At the quest of Gujarat frustrated these de-
advice of his nobles, Rana Udai Singh signs.
had retired to the hills, leaving the fa- After this, Akbar turned his atten-
mous warriors, Jaimal and Patta, in tion to Bengal. The Afghans had contin-
charge of the fort. Many peasants from ued to dominate Bengal and Bihar. They
the surrounding area had also taken had also overrun Orissa and killed its
shelter within the fort, and actively aid- ruler. However, in order not to give of-
ed the defenders. When the Mughals fence to the Mughals, the Afghan ruler
stormed the fort, these peasants and had not formally declared himself king,
many of the Rajput warriors amounting but read the khuba in Akbar‘s name. In-
to 30,000 were massacred—the first and ternal fights among the Afghans, and the
the last time Akbar indulged in such a declaration of independence by the new
carnage. The Rajput warriors died after ruler, Daud Khan, gave Akbar the excuse
 Medieval India 116
he was seeking. Akbar first captured al court, and were higher than those in
Patna, thus securing Mughal communi- the countryside. The peasants, therefore,
cations in Bihar. He then returned to had to part with a larger share of their
Agra, leaving Khan-i-Khanan Munaim produce.
Khan, an experienced officer, in charge At first, Akbar reverted to a system
of the campaign. The Mughal armies of annual assessment. The qanungos, who
invaded Bengal and, after hard cam- were hereditary holders of land as well
paigning, Daud was forced to sue for as local officials conversant with local
peace. He rose in rebellion soon after- conditions, were ordered to report on
wards. Though the Mughal position in the actual produce, state of cultivation,
Bengal and Bihar was still weak, the local prices, etc. But in many areas the
Mughal armies were better organised qanungos were dishonest and concealed
and led. In a stiff battle in Bihar in 1576, the real produce. Annual assessments
Daud Khan was defeated and executed also resulted in great difficulty for the
on the spot. peasants and for the state. After return-
Thus ended the last Afghan kingdom ing from Gujarat (1573), Akbar paid per-
in northern India. It also brought to an sonal attention to the land revenue sys-
end the first phase of Akbar‘s expansion tem. Officials called karoris were ap-
of the empire. pointed all over north India. They were
responsible for the collection of a crore
Administration of dams (Rs 2,50,000), and also checked
During the decade following the the facts and figures supplied by the
conquest of Gujarat, Akbar found time qanungos. On the basis of the information
to look at the administrative problems provided by them regarding the actual
of the empire. The system of administra- produce, local prices, productivity, etc.,
tion elaborated by Sher Shah had fallen in 1580, Akbar instituted a new system
into confusion after the death of Islam called the dahsala. Under this system, the
Shah. Akbar, therefore, had to start
average produce of different crops as
afresh.
well as the average prices prevailing over
One of the most important problems
the last ten (dah) years were calculated.
facing Akbar was the system of land
One-third of the average produce was
revenue administration. Sher Shah had
the state share. The state demand was,
instituted a system by which the culti-
however, stated in cash. This was done
vated area was measured and a crop rate
by converting the state share into money
(ray) was drawn up, fixing the dues of
on the basis of a schedule of average
the peasant crop-wise on the basis of
prices over the past ten years. Thus, the
the productivity of land. This schedule
produce of a bigha of land under share
was converted every year into a central
schedule of prices. Akbar adopted Sher was given in maunds. But on the basis of
Shah‘s system. But it was soon found average prices, the state demand was
that the fixing of a central schedule of fixed in rupees per bigha.
prices often led to considerable delays, Later, a further improvement was
and resulted in great hardships to the made. Not only were local prices taken
peasantry since the prices fixed were into account, parganas having the same
generally those prevailing at the imperi- type of productivity were grouped into
 Medieval India 117
separate assessment circles. Thus, the A third system which was widely
peasant was required to pay on the basis used in Akbar‘s time was nasaq. It was a
of local productivity as well as local rough calculation of the amount payable
prices. by the peasant on the basis of what he
There were a number of advantages had been paying in the past. Hence,
of this system. As soon as the area sown some modern historians think that it
by the peasant had been measured by was merely a system of computing the
means of the bamboos linked with iron peasant‘s past dues, not a different sys-
rings, the peasants as well as the state tem of assessment. Others think that it
knew what the dues were. The peasant meant rough appraisement both on the
was given remission in the land revenue basis of the inspection of the crops and
if crops failed on account of drought, past experience, and thereby fixing the
floods, etc. The system of measurement amount to be paid by the village as a
and the assessment based upon it is whole. It is also called kankut, or estima-
called the zabti system. Akbar intro- tion.
duced this system in the area from La- In fixing the land revenue, continuity
hore to Allahabad, and in Malwa and of cultivation was taken into account.
Gujarat. The dahsala system was a fur- Land which remained under cultivation
ther development of the zabti system. almost every year was called polaj. When
A number of other systems of as- it remained uncultivated it was called
sessment were also followed under Ak- parati (fallow). Parati land paid at the
bar. The most common and, perhaps, the full (polaj) rate when it was cultivated.
oldest was called batai or ghalla-bakhshi. Land which had been fallow for two to
In this system, the produce was divided three years was called chachar, and banjar
between the peasants and the state in if longer than that. These were assessed
fixed proportion. The crop was divided at concessional rates, the revenue de-
after it had been thrashed, or when it mand gradually rising till the full or polaj
had been cut and tied in stacks, or while rate was paid in the fifth or the eighth
it was standing in the field. This system year. In this way, the state helped in
was considered a very fair one, but it bringing virgin and uncultivated waste-
needed an army of honest officials to be land under cultivation. Land was classi-
present at the time of the ripening or the fied further into good, middling and bad.
reaping of the crops. One-third of the average produce was
The peasants were allowed to choose the state demand, but it varied accord-
between zabti and batai under certain ing to the productivity of the land, the
conditions. Thus, such a choice was giv- method of assessment, etc.
en when the crops had been ruined. Un- Akbar was deeply interested in the
der batai, the peasants were given the improvement and extension of cultiva-
choice of paying in cash or in kind, tion. He asked the amil to act like a fa-
though the state preferred cash. In case ther to the peasants. He was to advance
of crops such as cotton, indigo, oil seeds, money by way of loans (taccavi) to the
sugarcane, etc., the state demand was peasants for seeds, implements, animals,
Invariably in cash. Hence, these were etc., in times of need, and to recover
called cash crops. them in easy instalments. He was to try
 Medieval India 118
and induce the peasants to plough as many sawars as his zat rank was placed
much land as possible and to sow supe- in the first category of that rank; if he
rior quality crops. maintained half or more, then in the
The dahsala was not a ten-year set- second category and if he maintained
tlement. Nor was it a permanent one, less than half then in the third category.
the state retaining the right to modify it. Thus, there were three categories in
However, with some changes, Akbar‘s every rank (mansab.)
settlement remained the basis of the Great care was taken to ensure that
land revenue system of the Mughal em- the sawars recruited by the nobles were
pire till the end of the seventeenth cen- experienced and well-mounted. For this
tury. The zabti system is associated with purpose, a descriptive roll (chehra) of the
Raja Todar Mal, and is sometimes called soldier was maintained, and his horse
Todar Mal‘s bandobast. Todar Mal was a was branded with the imperial marks.
brilliant revenue officer who had first This was called the dagh system. Every
served under Sher Shah. But he was only noble had to bring his contingent for
one of a team of brilliant revenue offi- periodic inspection before persons ap-
cials who came to the forefront under pointed by the emperor for the purpose.
Akbar. The dahsala system was the result Provision was made that the contin-
of their combined labours. gents of the nobles should be mixed
ones, that is drawn from all the group—
Mansabdari System and The Mughal, Pathan, Hindustani and Rajput.
Army Thus, Akbar tried to weaken the forces
Akbar would not have been able to of tribalism and parochialism. Only the
expand his empire and maintain his hold Mughal and Rajput nobles were allowed
over it without a strong army. For this to have contingents exclusively of
purpose, it was necessary for him to Mughals or Rajputs, but in course of
organise the nobility as well as his army. time, mixed contingents became the
Akbar realised both these objectives by general rule.
means of the mansabdari system. Under Apart from cavalrymen, bowmen,
this system, every officer was assigned a musketeers (bandukchi), sappers and
rank (mansab). The lowest rank was 10, miners were also recruited in the con-
and the highest was 5000 for the nobles. tingents. The salaries varied, the average
Princes of the blood received higher salary of a sawar was Rs 20 per month.
mansabs. The mansab system under Ak- Iranis and Turanis received a higher
bar developed gradually. At first there salary than Rajputs and Hindustanis
was only one rank (mansab). From the (Indian Muslims). An infantryman re-
fortieth year (1594—95), the ranks were ceived about Rs 3 per month. The salary
due to the soldiers was added to the
divided into two—zat and sawar. The
salary of the mansabdar, who was paid by
word zat means personal. It fixed the
personal status of a person, and also the assigning to him a jagir. Sometimes, the
salary due to him. The sawar rank indi- mansabdars were paid in cash. It is wrong
to think that Akbar did not like the jagir
cated the number of cavalrymen (sawars)
system and tried to do away with it, but
a person was required to maintain. A
failed as it was too deeply entrenched. A
person who was required to maintain as
 Medieval India 119
jagir did not confer any hereditai rights Organization of Government
on the holder, or disturb any of the ex- Hardly any changes were made by
isting rights in the area. It only meant Akbar in the organisation of local gov-
that the land revenue due to the state ernment. The pargana and the sarkar con-
was to be paid to the jagirdar. tinued as before. The chief officers of the
Persons holding ranks below 500 zat sarkar were the faujdar and the amalguzar,
were called mansabdars, those from 500 the former being in charge of law and
to below 2500 were called amirs, and order, and the latter responsible for the
those holding ranks of 2500 and above assessment and collection of the land
were called amir-i-umda or umda-i-azam. revenue. The territories of the empire
However, the word mansabdar is some- were divided into jagir, khalisa and inam.
times used for all the three categories. Income from khalisa villages went direct-
Apart from status, this classification had ly to the royal exchequer. The inam lands
a significance: an amir or an amir-i-umda were those which were allotted to
could have another amir or mansabdar learned and religious men. Jagirs were
serve under him, but a mansabdar could allotted to nobles and members of the
not do so. royal family including the queens. The
In addition of meeting his personal amalguzar was required to exercise a
expenses, the mansabdar had to maintain general supervision over all types of
out of his salary a stipulated quota of holdings so that the imperial rules and
horses, elephants, beasts of burden regulations for the assessment and col-
(camels and mules) and carts. Later, lection of land revenue were followed
these were maintained centrally, but the uniformly. Only autonomous rajas were
mansabdar had to pay for them out of his left free to continue their traditional
salary.For meeting these expenses, the land revenue system in their territories.
Mughal mansabdars were paid hand- Even there, Akbar encouraged them to
somely. Roughly, a quarter of these sala- follow the imperial system.
ries were spent on meeting the cost of Akbar paid great attention to the or-
the transport corps. Even then, the ganisation of the central and provincial
Mughal mansabdars formed the highest governments. His system of central gov-
paid service in the world. ernment was based on the structure of
We do not know whether Akbar ev- government which had evolved under
er had any plans of building a navy. The the Delhi Sultanat, but the functions of
lack of a strong navy remained a key the various departments were carefully
weakness of the Mughal empire. If Ak- reorganised, and meticulous rules and
bar had the time, he might have paid regulations were laid down for the con-
attention to it. He did build an efficient duct of affairs. Thus, he gave a new
flotilla of war boats which he used in his shape to the system and breathed new
eastern campaigns. Some of the boats life into it.
were over 30 metres long and displaced The Central Asian and Timurid tra-
over 350 tons. dition was of having an all- powerful
wazir under whom various heads of de-
partments functioned. He was the prin-
cipal link between the ruler and the ad-
 Medieval India 120
ministration. In course of time, a sepa- tion, it was sent to the diwan for confir-
rate department, the military depart- mation and for assigning a jagir to the
ment, had come into being. The judici- appointee. The same procedure was
ary had always been separate. Thus, in followed in case of promotions.
practice, the concept of an all-powerful The mir bakhshi was also the head of
wazir had been given up. However, in his the intelligence and information agen-
capacity as wakil, Bairam Khan had exer- cies of the empire. Intelligence officers
cised the powers of an all-powerful wa- (barids) and news reporters (waqia-navis)
zir. were posted to all parts of the empire.
Akbar reorganised the central ma- Their reports were presented to the em-
chinery of administration on the basis of peror at the court through the mir bakh-
the division of power between various shi. It will thus be seen that the diwan
departments, and of checks and balanc- and the mir bakhshi were almost on par,
es. While the post of wakil was not abol- and supported and checked each other.
ished, it was stripped of all power and The third important officer was the
became largely decorative. The post was mir saman. He was in charge of the impe-
given to important nobles from time to rial household, including the supply of
time, but they played little part in ad- all the provisions and articles for the use
ministration. The head of the revenue of the inmates of the haram or the female
department continued to be the wazir. apartments. Many of these articles were
Under Akbar, generally the wazir did manufactured under supervision in royal
not hold a high mansab. Many nobles workshops called karkhanas. Only nobles
held mansabs which were higher than who enjoyed the complete confidence of
his. Thus, he was no longer the principal the emperor were appointed to this of-
adviser to the ruler, but one who was an fice. The maintenance of etiquette at the
expert in revenue affairs. To emphasize court, the control of the royal body-
this point Akbar generally used the title guard, etc., were all under the overall
of diwan or diwan-i-ala in preference to supervision of this officer.
the word wazir. Sometimes, several per- The fourth important department
sons were asked to discharge the duties was the judicial department headed by
of diwan jointly. The diwan was responsi- the chief qazi. This post was sometimes
ble for all income and expenditure, and combined with that of the chief sadr
held control over khalisa, jagir and inam who was responsible for all charitable
lands. and religious endowments. Thus, it was
The head of the military department a post which carried considerable power
was called the mir bakhshi. It was the mir and patronage. It fell into bad odour due
bakhshi and not the diwan who was con- to the corruption and venality of Akbar‘s
sidered the head of the nobility. There- chief qazi, Abdun Nabi.
fore, only the leading grandees were After instituting a careful scrutiny of
appointed to this post. Recommenda- the grants held by various persons, Ak-
tions for appointment to mansabs or for bar separated the inam lands from the
promotions etc., were made to the em- jagir and khalisa lands, and divided the
peror through the mir bakhshi. Once the empire into six circles for purposes of
emperor had accepted a recommenda- grant of inam lands and their administra-
 Medieval India 121
tion. Two features of the inam grants are Relations With The Rajputs
noteworthy. First, Akbar made it a de- Akbar‘s relations with the Rajputs
liberate part of his policy to grant inam have to be seen against the wider back-
lands to all persons, irrespective of their ground of Mughal policy towards the
religious faith and beliefs. Sanads of grant powerful rajas and zamindars of the
to various Hindu maths made by Akbar country. When Humayun came back to
are still preserved. Second, Akbar made India, he embarked upon a deliberate
it a rule that half of the inam land should policy of trying to win over these ele-
consist of cultivable wasteland. Thus, ments. In course of time, Akbar expand-
the inam holders were encouraged to ed and elaborated this policy.
extend cultivation. Bhara Mal, the ruler of Amber, had
In order to make himself accessible come to Akbar‘s court at Agra immedi-
to the people as well as to the ministers, ately after his accession. Bhara Mal ce-
Akbar carefully divided his time. The mented the alliance by marrying his
day started with the emperor‘s appear- younger daughter, Harkha Bai, to Akbar.
ance at the jharoka of the palace. Large Akbar followed a liberal policy towards
number of people assembled daily to hindu wives. He gave complete religious
have a glimpse of the ruler, and to pre- freedom to his Hindu wives, and gave an
sent petitions to him, if necessary. These honoured place to their parents and
petitions were attended to immediately, relations in the nobility. Bhara Mal was
or in the open darbar (diwan-i-am) which made a high grandee. His son, Bhagwant
Das, rose to the rank of 5000 and his
followed, and lasted till midday. The
grandson, Man Singh, to the rank of
emperor then retired to his apartments
7000. But Akbar did not insist upon
for meals and rest.
matrimonial relations as a precondition.
Separate time was allotted to the
No matrimonial relations were entered
ministers. For confidential consulta-
into with the Hadas of Ranthambhor,
tions, the ministers were generally
yet they remained high in Akbar‘s fa-
called to a chamber which was situated
vour. Rao Surjan Hada was placed in
near Akbar‘s bathing apartment (ghusal
charge of Garh-Katanga, and rose to the
khana). In course of time, this private rank of 2000. Similarly no matrimonial
consultation chamber came to be called relations were entered into with the
ghusal khana. rulers of Sirohi and Banswara when they
Akbar divided the empire into submitted to Akbar later on.
twelve subas in 1580. These were Bengal, Akbar‘s Rajput policy was combined
Bihar, Allahabad, Awadh, Agra, Delhi, with a policy of broad religious tolera-
Lahore, Multan, Kabul, Ajmer, Malwa tion. In 1564, he abolished the jizyah
and Gujarat. A governor (subedar), a di- which was sometimes used by the ulama
wan, a bakhshi, a sadr, a qazi, and a waqia- to humiliate non-Muslims and was often
navis were appointed to each of the prov- considered a symbol of Muslim domina-
inces. Thus, orderly government based tion and superiority. He had earlier
on the principle of checks and balances abolished the pilgrim tax, and the prac-
was extended to the provinces. tice of forcible conversion of prisoners of
war.
 Medieval India 122
Following the conquest of Chittor, bar had arrived in person rallied them.
most of the leading Rajput rulers had With fresh Mughal reinforcements, the
accepted Akbar‘s suzerainty and paid tide of battle began to turn against the
personal homage to him. The rulers of Rajputs. Seeing this, the rana escaped.
Jaisalmer and Bikaner had also entered The Mughal forces were too tired to
into matrimonial relations with Akbar. pursue him but, after some time, they
The only state which had steadfastly advanced through the pass and occupied
refused to accept Mughal suzerainty Gogunda, a strong point which had been
was Mewar. evacuated by the rana earlier.
Although Chittor and the plain area This was the last time the rana en-
around it had come under Mughal dom- gaged in a pitched battle with the
ination, Udaipur ahd the hilly area Mughals. Henceforth he resorted to
which formed the larger part of Mewar methods of guerilla warfare. The defeat
had remained under the control of the at Haldighati did not weaken Rana
rana. In 1572, Rana Pratap succeeded Pratap‘s resolve to fight on for inde-
Rana Udai Singh to the gaddi. A series of pendence. However, the cause for which
embassies were sent by Akbar to Rana he stood had already been lost; most of
Pratap to persuade him to accept Mugh- the Rajput states had accepted Mughal
al suzerainty and to do personal hom- suzerainty. By his policy of inducting
age. But no final agreement could be the Rajput rajas into Mughal service and
reached as the proud rana was not pre- treating them on par with the Mughal
pared to accept Akbar‘s demand for ten- grandees, according broad religious tol-
dering personal homage. Also, it seems eration to his subjects, and his courte-
that the Mughals wanted to keep hold ous behaviour to his former opponents,
of Chittor which was not acceptable to Akbar succeeded in cementing his alli-
the rana. ance with the Rajput rulers. Therefore,
Early in 1576, Akbar moved to Ajmer, Rana Pratap‘s refusal to bow before the
and deputed Raja Man Singh with a Mughals had little effect on most of the
force of 5000 to lead a campaign against other Rajput states which realised that
the rana. A furious battle between the in the existing situation, it was impossi-
two sides was waged at Haldighati be- ble for small states to stand out for long
low a narrow defile leading to in favour of complete independence.
Kumbhalgarh, which was then the ra- Moreover, by allowing a large measure
na‘s capital. Apart from select Rajput of autonomy to the Rajput rajas, Akbar
forces, the rana‘s van consisted of the established an empire which those Raj-
Afghan contingent led by Hakim Khan put rajas did not consider harmful to
Sur. Thus the battle of Haldighati was their best interests.
not a struggle between the Hindus and Rana Pratap‘s defiance of the mighty
the Muslims, or between the Indians Mughal empire, almost alone and unaid-
and the foreigners. A small force of the ed by the other Rajput states, consti-
Bhils whom the rana had befriended was tutes a glorious saga of Rajput valour
also present. The rana‘s forces are put at and the spirit of sacrifice for cherished
3000. The onslaught by the Rajputs and principles. Rana Pratap‘s method of spo-
the Afghans threw the Mughal forces radic warfare was later elaborated fur-
into disarray. But the rumours that Ak-
 Medieval India 123
ther by Malik Ambar, the Deccani gen- his position, Udai Singh married his
eral, and by Shivaji. daughter, Jagat Gosain or Jodha Bai as
In 1585, Akbar moved to Lahore to she came to be called, to Akbar‘s eldest
watch the situation in the north-west son Salim. Unlike the dola form of earlier
which arose from a internal crisis. He marriages, the bridegroom‘s party went
remained there for the next 12 years. No to the raja‘s house in barat, and a number
Mughal expedition was sent against of Hindu practices were followed. This
Rana Pratap after 1585. Taking ad- happened when Akbar was residing at
vantage of the situation, Rana Pratap Lahore.
recovered many of his territories, includ- Akbar also had close personal rela-
ing Kumbhalgarh and the areas near tions with the rulers of Bikaner and
Chittor. But he could not recover Chit- Bundi who served in various campaigns
tor itself. During this period, he built a with distinction. In 1593, when the son-
new capital, Chavand, near modern in-law of Rai Singh of Bikaner died due
Dungarpur. He died in 1597 at the young to a fall from his palki Akbar went per-
age of 51, due to an internal injury in- sonally to the raja‘s house to console
curred by him while trying to draw a him, and dissuaded his daughter from
stiff bow. performing sati, as her children were
Apart from Mewar, Akbar had to young.
face opposition in Marwar as well. Fol- The Rajput policy of Akbar proved
lowing the death of Maldeo (1562), there beneficial to the Mughal state as well as
was a dispute for succession between to the Rajputs. The alliance secured to
his sons. The younger son of Maldeo, the Mughal empire the services of the
Chandrasen, who was the son of the bravest warriors in India. The steadfast
favourite queen of Maldeo, succeeded to loyalty of the Rajputs became an im-
the gaddi. Due to the pressure of the portant factor in the consolidation and
Mughals, he had to give parts of his expansion of the empire. The alliance
country in patta to his elder brothers. ensured peace in Rajasthan, and enabled
But Chandrasen did not like this ar- the Rajputs to serve in far-flung parts of
rangement and after some time, rose in the empire without worrying about the
rebellion. Akbar now took Marwar un- safety of their homelands. By being en-
der direct Mughal administration. Pos- rolled into the imperial service, im-
sibly, one reason for this was his desire portant positions in the empire were
to safeguard the Mughal supply route to open to the Rajput rajas. Thus,
Gujarat which passed through Jodhpur. Bhagwant Das of Amber was appointed
After its conquest, Akbar appointed Rai joint governor of Lahore, while his son,
Singh Bikaneri to look after Jodhpur. Man Singh was appointed the governor
Chandrasen resisted valiantly and of Bihar and Bengal. Other Rajput rajas
waged a guerilla warfare. But after some were placed in charge of strategic prov-
time he had to seek refuge in Mewar. inces, such as Agra, Ajmer and Gujarat,
Even there he was hunted from place to at various times. As high grandees of the
place by the Mughals. He died in 1581. A empire, they were granted jagirs in addi-
couple of years later, Akbar conferred tion to their hereditary kingdoms, thus
Jodhpur upon Udai Singh, the elder augmenting their resources.
brother of Chandrasen. To strengthen
 Medieval India 124
Akbar‘s Rajput policy was continued territories of Mewar, including Chittor,
by his successors, Jahangir and Shah were restored. But in view of the strate-
Jahan. Jahangir, whose mother was a gic importance of Chittor, it was stipu-
Rajput princess, had himself married a lated that its fortifications would not be
Kacchawaha princess as well as a Jodh- repaired.
pur princess. Princesses of the houses of Thus, Jahangir completed the task
Jaisalmer and Bikaner were also married begun by Akbar, and further strength-
to him. Jahangir gave positions of hon- ened the alliance with the Rajputs.
our to the rulers of all these houses.
The main achievement of Jahangir, Rebellions and Further Expan-
however, was the settlement of the out- sion of The Mughal Empire
standing dispute with Mewar. Rana The new system of administration
Pratap had been succeeded by his son, introduced by Akbar, as described
Amar Singh. Akbar had sent a series of above, implied tightening of the admin-
expeditions against Amar Singh in order istrative machinery, greater control over
to force him to accept his conditions. the nobles, and more attention to the
Jahangir himself was sent against him interests of the people. It was, therefore,
twice, but could achieve little. After his not to the liking of many nobles. Senti-
accession in 1605, Jahangir took up the ments of regional independence were
matter energetically. Three successive still strong, particularly in areas such as
campaigns were launched, but they Gujarat, Bengal and Bihar, all of which
could not break the rana‘s will. In 1613, had a long tradition of forming separate
Jahangir himself reached Ajmer to direct kingdoms. In Rajasthan, Rana Pratap‘s
the campaign. Prince Khurram (later struggle for freedom was continuing
Shah Jahan) was deputed with a large apace. In this situation, Akbar had to
army to invade the mountainous parts of deal with a series of rebellions. Gujarat
Mewar. The heavy pressure of the remained in a state of unrest for two
Mughal army, the depopulation of the years due to a bid for freedom by a rep-
country, and ruination of agriculture, at resentative of the old ruling dynasty.
last produced their effect. Some sardars The most serious rebellion during the
defected to the Mughals, many others period was in Bengal and Bihar which
pressed the rana for peace. The rana‘s extended to Jaunpur. The main cause of
son, Karan Singh, who was deputed to the rebellion was the strict enforcement
proceed to Jahangir‘s court was gra- of the dagh system or branding of the
ciously received. Jahangir got up from horses of the jagirdars, and strict ac-
the throne, embraced him in darbar and counting of their income. Akbar‘s half-
loaded him with gifts. To save the rana‘s brother, Mirza Hakim, the ruler of Ka-
prestige, Jahangir did not insist upon bul, also abetted the rebellion and held
the rana paying personal homage to him, out the hope of invading the Punjab at a
or entering the royal service. Prince suitable time in order to help. A large
Karan was accorded the rank of 5000, number of Afghans in the eastern parts
which had been earlier accorded to the were sullen at the loss of the Afghan
rulers of Jodhpur, Bikaner and Amber. power and were ever ready to join a re-
He was to serve the Mughal emperor bellion.
with a contingent of 1500 sawars. All the
 Medieval India 125
The rebellion kept the empire dis- to think of the further expansion of his
tracted for almost two years (1580—81), empire. He was drawn to the Deccan in
and Akbar was faced with a very diffi- which he had long been interested. But
cult and delicate situation. Due to the before he could do anything, the situa-
mishandling of the situation by local tion in the northwest claimed his atten-
officials, Bengal and almost the whole of tion again. Abdullah Khan Uzbek, the
Bihar passed into the hands of the rebels hereditary enemy of the Mughals, had
who proclaimed Mirza Hakim as their been gradually gathering strength in
ruler. They even got a religious divine to Central Asia. In 1584, he overran Ba-
issue a fatwa, calling on the faithful to dakhshan which had been ruled by the
take the field against Akbar. Timurids. Kabul appeared to be next on
Akbar did not lose his nerve. He the list. Both Mirza Hakim and the Ti-
despatched a force under Todar Mal murid princes ousted from Badakhashan
against Bihar and Bengal, and another now appealed to Akbar for help. But
under Raja Man Singh to check the ex- before he could act, Mirza Hakim died
pected attack by Mirza Hakim. Todar due to excessive drinking, leaving Kabul
Mal proceeded with great vigour and in a state of disturbance.
tact, and brought the situation in the Akbar now ordered Man Singh to
east under control before Mirza Hakim‘s march to Kabul, and himself moved to
invasion took place. Mirza Hakim ad- Attok on the river Indus. In order to
vanced on Lahore with 15,000 horses, block all roads to the Uzbeks, he sent
but could not take the city due to the expeditions against Kashmir (1586), and
stout defence by Raja Man Singh and against Baluchistan. The whole of
Bhagwant Das. His hopes that large Kashmir, including Ladakh and Bal-
number of nobles in the Punjab would tistan (called Tibet Khurd and Tibet
rebel and join him were also belied. Buzurg), came under Mughal domina-
Meanwhile, Akbar marched on Lahore tion, and a daughter of the chief of Bal-
with a well-disciplined force of 50,000 tistan was married to young Salim. Ex-
horses. Mirza Hakim had no option but peditions were also sent to clear the
to beat a hasty retreat. Khyber Pass which had been blocked by
Akbar crowned his success by rebellious tribesmen. In an expedition
marching to Kabul (1581). Since Mirza against them, Raja Birbal, the favourite
Hakim refused to accept Akbar‘s suze- of Akbar, lost his life. But the Afghan
rainty, or to come to pay personal alle- tribesmen were gradually forced to
giance to him, and the Indian nobles and submit.
soldiers were becoming restive, Akbar The consolidation of the northwest,
handed over Kabul to his sister, before and fixing a scientific frontier of the
returning to India. The handing over of a empire were two of the major contribu-
kingdom to a woman was symbolic of tions of Akbar. His conquest of Sindh
Akbar‘s broad-mindedness and liberal- (1590) also opened the trade down the
ism. river Indus for Punjab. Akbar stayed at
Akbar‘s triumph over his opponents Lahore till 1598 when the death of Ab-
was not only a personal success, but also dullah Uzbek finally removed the threat
showed that the new system was begin- from the side of the Uzbeks.
ning to strike roots. Akbar was now free
 Medieval India 126
After settling the affairs of the these were Rajput rajas, many of whom
northwest, Akbar turned his attention entered into matrimonial relations with
towards the affairs of eastern and west- Akbar, and with whom he had estab-
ern India and the Deccan. Orissa, which lished a personal relationship, mansabs
was at the time under the domination of were given to others also on the basis of
Afghan chiefs, was conquered by Raja their competence. Among the latter, the
Man Singh who was the Mughal gover- ablest and the most well- known were
nor of Bengal. Man Singh also conquered Todar Mal, an expert in revenue affairs,
Cooch-Bihar and parts of east Bengal, who rose to the post of diwan, and Birbal,
including Dacca. Mirza Aziz Koka, the who was a personal favourite of the em-
foster-brother of Akbar, conquered Ka- peror. There were others, such as Rai
thiawar in the west. Khan-i-Khanan Patr Das, entitled as Rai Bikramajit.
Munim Khan was deputed to the Dec- Akbar‘s attitude towards his Hindu
can along with prince Murad. The de- subjects is closely linked with his views
velopments in the Deccan would be of how a sovereign should behave to-
dealt with in a separate chapter. Suffice wards his subjects. These views which
it to say here that by the turn of the cen- have been carefully explained by Akbar‘s
tury, Mughal control had been extended biographer, Abul Fazl, were an amalgam
up to Ahmadnagar, bringing the of Timurid, Persian and Indian ideas of
Mughals into direct contact with the sovereignty. Akbar followed the policy
Marathas for the first time. of sulh-kul or peace to all.
Thus, the political integration of Initially Akbar was an orthodox
north India had been achieved by the Muslim. But by the time Akbar reached
turn of the century, and the Mughals adulthood he became liberal & tolerant.
had started the penetration of the Dec- He had already abolished the jizyah and
can. But what was even more important, pilgrim tax, as we have seen. He gath-
the cultural and emotional integration of ered at the court a band of talented peo-
the people within this vast empire had ple with liberal ideas. The most noted
developed apace. among these were Abul Fazl and his
brother Faizi who, along with their fa-
Towards Integration: State, Re- ther, who was a noted scholar, had been
ligion and Social Reforms persecuted by the mullahs for having
One of the first actions which Akbar sympathy with Mahdawi ideas. Another
took, after he had taken power in his was a brahmana, Mahesh Das, who was
own hands, was to abolish the poll tax given the title of Raja Birbal and was a
or jizyah which the non-Muslims were constant companion of Akbar.
required to pay in a Muslim state. At the In 1575Akbar built a hall called Iba-
same time, Akbar abolished the pilgrim dat Khana or the Hall of Prayer at his
tax on bathing at holy places such as new capitil, Fatehpur Sikri. To this he
Prayag, Banaras, etc. He also abolished called selected theologians, mystics and
the practice of forcibly converting pris- those of his courtiers and nobles who
oners of war to Islam. were known for their scholarship and
The liberal principles of the empire intellectual attainments. Akbar dis-
were strengthened by bringing able
Hindus into the nobility. While most of
 Medieval India 127
cussed religious and spiritual topics guese sent Aquaviva and Monserrate
with them. who remained at Akbar‘s court for al-
At this stage, Akbar opened the Iba- most three years and have left a valuable
dat Khana to people of all religions— account. But their hope of converting
Christians, Zoroastrians, Hindus, Jains, Akbar to Christianity never had any
even atheists. This broadened the dis- basis. Akbar came into touch with the
cussions, and debates began even on Jains also and, at his instance, the lead-
issues on which all Muslims were ing Jain saint of Kathiawar, Hira Vijaya
agreed, such as whether the Quran was Suri, spent a couple of years at Akbar‘s
the last revealed book and Muhammad court.
its prophet, resurrection, nature of God, Badayuni asserts that Akbar gradual-
etc. This horrified the theologians, and ly turned away from Islam and set up a
all kinds of rumours began to circulate new religion which was compounded of
about Akbar‘s desire to forsake Islam. As many existing religions — Hinduism,
a modern historian of repute, R.E Tripa- Christianity, Zoroastrianism, etc. The
thi says, ‗The patience and open- word used by Abul Fazl and Badayuni
mindedness of Akbar was construed in a for the so-called new path was tauhid-i-
variety of way by persons of different llahi which literally means ―Divine Mon-
faiths. Instead of bringing credit, the otheism‖. The word din or faith was not
Ibadat Khana brought growing discred- applied to it till 80 years later. The tau-
it. hid-i-llahi was really an order of the Su-
At this stage, Akbar opened the Iba- fistic type. Under tauhid-i-Ilahi a large
dat Khana to people of all religions — number of persons joined as disciples or
Christians, Zoroastrians, Hindus, Jains,
murids of the Emperor. In enrolling
even atheists. This broadened the dis-
murids, Akbar evidently had some polit-
cussions and debates began even on is-
ical purpose also. He wanted a band of
sues on which all Muslims were agreed, nobles who would be personally loyal to
such as whether the Quran was the last him and support him in his concept of a
revealed book and Muhammad its state based on sulh-i-kul, equal toleration
prophet, resurrection, nature of God.
of and respect to all sections, irrespec-
To further strengthen his position in
tive of their religious beliefs. Orthodox
dealing with the mullahs, Akbar also is- elements, such as Badayuni, neither
sued a Declaration or mahzar which as- sympathised with nor supported such a
serted that if there were conflicting state.
views to interpret the Quran, that is mu- Akbar tried to emphasise the con-
jtahids, Akbar, by virtue of being a most cept of sulh-kul or peace and harmony
just and wise king was entitled to among religions in other ways as well.
choose anyone of the interpretations, He set up a big translation department
which would be of ―benefit to the nation for translating works in Sanskrit, Ara-
and all should be bound by it. bic, Greek, etcinto Persian. Thus, the
Akbar invited Purushottam and Devi Singhasan Battisi, the Atharva Veda and the
to expound the doctrines of Hinduism Bible were taken up first for translation.
and Maharji Rana to explain the doc- These were followed by the Mahabharata,
trines of Zoroastrianism! The Portu-
the Gita and the Ramayana. Many others,
 Medieval India 128
including the Panchatantra and works of
geography, were also translated. The
Quran was also translated, perhaps for
the first time.
Akbar also introduced a number of
social and educational reforms. He
stopped sati, the burning of a widow,
unless she herself, of her own free will,
persistently desired it. Widows of ten-
der age who had not shared the bed
with their husbands were not to be
burnt at all. Widow remarriage was also
legalised. Akbar was against, anyone
having more than one wife unless the
first wife was barren. The age of mar-
riage was raised to 14 for girls and 16 for
boys. The sale of wines and spirits was
restricted. Not all these steps were,
however, successful.
Akbar also revised the educational
syllabus, laying more emphasis on moral
education and mathematics and on
secular subjects such as agriculture,
geometry, astronomy, rules of govern-
ment, logic, history, etc. He also gave
patronage to artists, poets, painters and
musicians so much so, that his court
became famous for the galaxy of famous
people there or the navaratna.
Thus, under Akbar, the state became
essentially secular, liberal and enlight-
ened in social matters and a promoter of
cultural integration.
 Medieval India 129

Chapter 14
The Deccan and South India
(Up to 1656)
in the Deccan affairs. Ahmadnagar took
We have mentioned in an earlier advantage of the situation to annex Be-
chapter that following the break up of rar. In fact, Ahmadnagar and Bijapur
the Bahmani kingdom, three powerful came to an agreement whereby Bijapur
states, Ahmadnagar, Bijapur and Gol- was left free to expand its dominions in
conda emerged on the scene, and that the south at the expense of Vijayanaga-
they combined to crush Vijayanagara at ra, while Ahmadnagar overran Berar.
the battle of Bannihatti, near Talikota, in Golconda, too, was interested in extend-
1565. After the victory, the Deccani ing its territories at the cost of Vijaya-
states resumed their old ways. Both nagara which was divided into small
Ahmadnagar and Bijapur claimed Shola- nayakhoods. All the Deccani states
pur which was a rich and fertile tract. were, thus, expansionists.
Neither wars nor marriage alliances be- Another feature of the situation was
tween the two could resolve the issue. the growing importance of the Marathas
Both the states had the ambition of con- in the affairs of the Deccan. As we have
quering Bidar. Ahmadnagar also wanted seen, the Maratha troops had always
to annex Berar in the north. In fact, as been employed as loose auxiliaries or
the descendants of the old Bahmani rul- bargirs (usually called bargis) in the Bah-
ers, the Nizam Shahis claimed a superi- mani kingdom. The revenue affairs at
or, if not a hegemonistic position in the the local level were in the hands of the
Deccan. Their territorial claims were Deccani Brahmans. Some of the old Ma-
contested not only by Bijapur, but also ratha families which rose in the service
by the rulers of Gujarat who had their of the Bahmani rulers and held mansabs
eyes on the rich Konkan area, in addi- and jagirs from them were the More,
tion to Berar. The Gujarat rulers actively Nimbalkar, Ghatge, etc. Most of them
aided Berar against Ahmadnagar, and were powerful zamindars, or deshmukhs
even engaged in war against Ahmadna- as they were called in the Deccan. How-
gar in order that the existing balance of ever, unlike the Rajputs, none of them
power in the Deccan was not upset. Bi- was an independent ruler, or ruled over
japur and Golconda clashed over the a large kingdom. Secondly, they were
possession of Naldurg. not the leaders of clans on whose back-
The Mughal conquest of Gujarat in ing and support they could depend.
1572 created a new situation. The con- Hence, many of the Maratha sardars
quest of Gujarat could have been a prel- appear to be military adventurers who
ude to the Mughal conquest of the Dec- were prepared to shift their loyalty ac-
can. But Akbar was busy elsewhere and cording to the prevailing wind. Never-
did not want, at that stage, to interfere theless, the Marathas formed the back-
 Medieval India 130
bone of the landed aristocracy of the an insurmountable barrier. Travellers,
Deccan and had a position similar to the merchandise, pilgrims and wandering
one held by the Rajputs in large parts of saints had always passed between the
north India. During the middle of the north and the south, making the two
sixteenth century, the rulers of the Dec- culturally one, though each had its own
can states embarked upon a definite distinctive cultural features. The con-
policy of winning over the Marathas to quest of the Deccan by the Tughlaqs and
their side. The Maratha chiefs were ac- the improved communications between
corded service and positions in all the the north and the south had let to a
three leading states of the Deccan. Ibra- strengthening of the commercial and
him Adil Shah of Bijapur who ascended cultural relations between the two.
the throne in 1535 was the leading advo- However, for twelve years, between 1586
cate of this policy. It is said that he en- and 1598, Akbar lived at Lahore, watch-
tertained 30,000 Maratha auxiliaries ing the northwestern situation. In the
(bargis) in his army, and showed great interval, affairs in the Deccan deteriorat-
favour to the Marathas in the revenue ed.
system. He is supposed to have intro- The Deccan was a seething cauldron
duced Marathi in revenue accounts at all of politics. War between the various
levels. Apart from increasing his favours Deccani states was a frequent occur-
to old families, a few other families such rence. The death of a ruler often led to
as the Bhonsales who had the family factional fights among the nobles, with
name of Ghorpade, the Dafles (or each party trying to act as king-maker.
Chavans), etc., also rose to prominence In this, hostility between the Deccanis
in Bijapur as a result of this policy. Ma- and the newcomers (afaqis or gharibs)
harashtrian Brahmans were regularly found free play. Among the Deccanis,
used for diplomatic negotiations as well. too, the Habshis (Abyssinians or Afri-
Thus the title of Peshwa was accorded cans) and Afghans formed separate
to a Brahman, Kankoji Narsi, by the rul- groups. These groups and factions had
ers of Ahmadnagar. Marathas played an little contact with the life and culture of
important role in the states of Ahmad- the people of the region. The process of
nagar and Golconda as well. the assimilation of the Marathas into the
It will thus be seen that the policy of military and political system of the Dec-
allying with local landed classes which cani states which had started earlier did
were military-minded had been initiated not make much headway. The rulers and
by the Deccani rulers even before such a the nobles, therefore, commanded little
policy was implemented by the Mughals loyalty from the people.
under Akbar. Akbar was also apprehensive of the
growing power of the Portuguese. The
Mughal Advance Towards The Portuguese had been interfering in pil-
Deccan grim traffic to Mecca, not sparing even
It was logical to expect a Mughal the royal ladies. In their territories, they
advance towards the Deccan after the carried out proselytizing activities
consolidation of the empire in north which Akbar disliked. They were con-
India. Although the Vindhyas divided stantly trying to expand their positions
the north and the south, they were not on the mainland, and had even tried to
 Medieval India 131
lay their hand on Surat which was saved strongest claim was that of Bahadur, son
by the timely arrival of a Mughal com- of the deceased ruler. Ibrahim Adil Shah
mander. Akbar apparently felt that the II, the ruler of Bijapur, was inclined to
coordination and pooling of the re- support Bahadur‘s claim. Chand Bibi
sources of the Deccani states under also supported Bahadur, her nephew. It
Mughal supervision would check, if not was against this background that the
eliminate, the Portuguese danger. leaders of the rival party, the Deccanis,
These were some of the factors invited the Mughals to intervene. The
which impelled Akbar to involve himself struggle which now began was really a
in the Deccani affairs. struggle between Bijapur and the
Mughals for the domination of Ahmadna-
Conquest of Berar, Ahmadna- gar state.
gar and Khandesh The Mughal invasion was led by
Akbar claimed suzerainty over the prince Murad, who was the governor of
entire country. He was, therefore, keen Gujarat, and by Abdur Rahim Khan-i-
that like the Rajputs, the rulers of the Khanan. The ruler of Khandesh was
Deccani states should acknowledge his asked to cooperate. After a close siege of
suzerainty. Embassies sent by him earli- four months in which Chand Bibi played
er suggesting that the Deccani states a valiant role, the two sides came to an
recognise his over-lordship and be agreement. They agreed to cede Berar to
friends with him, did not, however, pro- the Mughals in return for their recogni-
duce any positive results. It was obvious tion of the claim of Bahadur. Mughal
that the Deccani states would not ac- suzerainty was also recognised. This
cept Mughal suzerainty till the Mughals was in 1596.
were in a position to exert military pres- The Mughal annexation of Berar in
sure on them. neighbourhood of the Deccani states
In 1591, Akbar launched a diplomatic alrmed them. Hence, they sided with
offensive. He sent embassies to all the Ahmadnagar and created obstacles in
Deccani states ‗inviting‘ them to accept the Mughals taking possession of Berar.
Mughal suzerainty. As might have been Soon, a combined force of Bijapur, Gol-
expected, none of the states accepted conda and Ahmadnagar led by a Bijapur
this demand, the only exception being commander invaded Berar. In a hard-
Khandesh which was too near and ex- fought battle in 1597, the Mughals de-
posed to the Mughals to resist. Burhan feated a Deccani force. The Bijapuri and
Nizam Shah, the ruler of Ahmadnagar, Golconda forces now withdrew, leaving
was rude to the Mughal envoy; the oth- Chand Bibi alone to face the situation.
ers only made promises of friendship. It This resulted in a second Mughal siege
seemed that Akbar was on the verge of of Ahmadnagar. In the absence of any
making a definite move in the Deccan. help from any quarter, Chand Bibi
The necessary opportunity was provid- opened negotiations with the Mughals.
ed to him when factional fighting broke She was, however, accused of treachery
out among the Nizam Shahi nobles fol- by a hostile faction and murdered. The
lowing the death of Burhan in 1595. Mughals now assaulted and captured
There were four candidates for the Ahmadnagar. The boyking, Bahadur,
throne, backed by different parties. The was sent to the fortress of Gwaliyar.
 Medieval India 132
Balaghat, too, was added to the empire ment with Bijapur. He had, therefore,
and a Mughal garrison was stationed at sent messages of assurances to Ibrahim
Ahmadnagar. This was in 1600. Adil Shah II who offered to marry his
The fall of Ahmadnagar fort and city, daughter to prince Daniyal. But soon
and the capture of Bahadur Nizam Shah after the marriage (1602), the prince
did not solve Akbar‘s problems in the died of excessive drinking. Thus the
Deccan. There was now no Nizam Shahi situation in the Deccan remained nebu-
prince or noble with sufficient standing lous, and had to be tackled afresh by
to negotiate with. The situation became Akbar‘s successor, Jahangir.
further confused due to constant wran-
gling among the Mughal commanders. Rise of Malik Ambar and Frus-
To study the situation on the spot, Ak- tration of Mughalattempt At
bar advanced into Malwa and then into
Khandesh. Akbar was also keen to se-
Consolidation
After the fall of Ahmadnagar and
cure the fort of Asirgarh in Khandesh
capture of Bahadur Nizam Shah by the
which was reputed to be the strongest
Mughals, the state of Ahmadnagar
fort in the Deccan. After a tight siege
would have disintegrated but it would
fort was conquered by Mughals.
not happened so due to the rise of a re-
Khandesh was incorporated to the
markable man, Malik Ambar. Malik
Mughal empire.
Ambar was an Abyssinian, born in Ethi-
Meanwhile, prince Daniyal, the
opia. After the fall of Ahmadnagar, Ma-
youngest son of Akbar, who had been
lik Ambar found a Nizam Shahi prince
placed in command of Mughal armies in
and with the tacit support of the ruler of
the Deccan, concluded a peace with
Bijapur, set him up as Murtaza Nizam
Murtaza Nizam Shah II who after the
Shah II, with himself as the Peshwa.
fall of Ahmadnagar had been proclaimed
Malik Ambar gathered around him a
ruler, by a group of Nizam Shahi nobles.
According to the agreement, Ahmadna- large band of Maratha troopers or bargis.
gar, Balaghat and parts of Telengana The Marathas were adept in rapid
were surrendered to the Mughals, and movements, and in plundering and cut-
the remaining portions of the kingdom ting off the supplies of the enemy
confirmed to Murtaza Nizam Shah on troops. Although this guerilla mode of
condition of loyalty, and the promise warfare was traditional with the Mara-
that he would never rebel. This was in thas in the Deccan, the Mughals were
1601. After the capture of Asirgarh, Ak- not used to it .With the help of the Ma-
bar returned to the north to deal with rathas, Ambar made it difficult for the
the rebellion of his son, Salim. Mughals to consolidate their position in
Although the conquest of Khandesh, Berar, Ahmadnagar and Balaghat.
Berar and Balaghat, and Mughal control The Mughal commander in the Dec-
over the fort of Ahmadnagar were sub- can at the time was Abdur Rahim Khan-
stantial achievements, the Mughals had i-Khanan. He inflicted a crushing defeat
yet to consolidate their position in the on Ambar in 1601. However, after the
Deccan. Akbar was conscious that no death of Akbar, Ambar again unleashed
lasting solution to the Deccan problem a fierce campaign to expel the Mughals
could be arrived at without an agree- from Berar, Balaghat and Ahmadnagar.
 Medieval India 133
In this enterprise he was helped by Ib- a severe defeat at the hands of the
rahim Adil Shah, the ruler of Bijapur. Mughals. Ambar had to restore all the
Fortified with the support of Bijapur, Mughal territories.
and with the active aid of the Marathas, This second defeat, coming so soon
Ambar soon forced Khan-i-Khanan to after the first, finally shattered the unit-
retreat to Burhanpur. Thus, by 1610, all ed front of the Deccani states against the
the gains in the Deccan made by Akbar Mughals. The old rivalries among the
were lost. Although Jahangir sent prince Deccani states now came to the surface
Parvez to the Deccan with a large army, and led them to mutual struggle again.
but even Ahmadnagar was lost, and Par- The chief significance of the rise of
vez had to conclude a disgraceful peace Ambar, however, is that it represented a
with Ambar. clear recognition of the importance of
The affairs of Malik Ambar contin- the Marathas in Deccani affairs. The
ued to prosper and the Mughals were success of the Marathas under the lead-
not able to re-assert themselves as long ership of Malik Ambar gave them confi-
as he had the solid support of the Mara- dence which enabled them to play an
thas and other elements in the Deccan. independent role later on. Malik Ambar
But in course of time, Malik Ambar be- tried to improve the administration of
came arrogant and alienated his allies. the Nizam Shahi state by introducing
The Khan-i-Khanan, who had again Todar Mal‘s system of land revenue. He
been posted as the Mughal viceroy of abolished the old system of giving land
the Deccan, took advantage of the situa- on contract (ijara) which was ruinous
tion and won over to his side a number for the peasants, and adopted the zabti
of Habshi and Maratha nobles, such as system.
Jagdev Rai, Babaji Kate, Udaji Ram, etc. After 1622, when the Deccan was in
Jahangir himself was well aware of the turmoil due to the rebellion of prince
value of the Marathas. With the help of Khurram against Jahangir, Malik Ambar
the Maratha sardars, Khan-i-Khanan was able to recover once again many of
inflicted a crushing defeat on the com- the old territories which had been ceded
bined forces of Ahmadnagar, Bijapur and to the Mughals. Jahangir‘s attempt at
Golconda in 1616. The Mughals occupied the consolidating the Mughal position in
new Nizam Shahi capital, Khirki. This de- the Deccan was, thus, frustrated. How-
feat shook the Deccani alliance against ever, the long-range benefits to Ahmad-
the Mughals. However, Ambar contin- nagar for reopening the dispute with the
ued his resistance. Mughals may be considered doubtful. It
To carry forward Khan-i-Khanan‘s led to the situation in which Shah Jahan
victory, Jahangir sent a grand army un- decided that he had no alternative but to
der his son, prince Khurram (later Shah extinguish Ahmadnagar as an independ-
Jahan). Faced with this threat, Ambar ent state. Malik Ambar breathed his last
had no option but to submit. Despite in 1626 at the ripe age of 80. But the bit-
these reverses, Ambar continued to lead ter fruits of his legacy had to be reaped
the Deccani struggle against the by his successors.
Mughals and there was no peace in the
Deccan. However, two years later, the
combined Deccani forces again suffered
 Medieval India 134
Extinction of Ahmadnagar, and name of the Mughal emperor. As a re-
Acceptance of Mughal Suze- ward, Fath Khan was taken in Mughal
service, and the jagir around Poona pre-
rainty By Bijapur and Golcon- viously allotted to Shahji was trans-
da ferred to him. As a result, Shahji defect-
Shah Jahan ascended the throne in ed from the Mughal side. These events
1628. Shah Jahan‘s first concern as a rul- took place in 1632.
er was to recover the territories in the It will thus be seen that the Mughals
Deccan which had been lost to the Ni- and Bijapur were, in reality, engaged in a
zam Shahi ruler. Shah Jahan was of the contest for dividing between themselves
opinion that there could be no peace for the prostrate body of Ahmadnagar. The
the Mughals in the Deccan as long as Adil Shah (Bijapur) sent a large army for
Ahmadnagar would continue as an in- the surrender of Daulatabad and for
dependent state. This was a major de- provisioning its garrison there. Shahji
parture from the policy which had been also was enrolled in Bijapur‘s service to
followed by Akbar and Jahangir. How- harass the Mughals and cut off their
ever, Shah Jahan was not keen to extend supplies. But the combined operations
Mughal territories in the Deccan beyond of the Bijapuri forces and Shahji were of
what was absolutely necessary. no avail. Mahabat Khan closely invested
In 1629, Shah Jahan deputed large Daulatabad,and forced the garrison to
armies against Ahmadnagar. Under re- surrender (1633). The Nizam Shah was
lentless pressure, large parts of the Ah- sent to prison in Gwaliyar. This marked
madnagar state were brought under the end of the Nizam Shahi dynasty.
Mughal occupation. The Nizam Shah However, even this did not solve the
now sent a piteous appeal to the Adil problems facing the Mughals. Following
Shah of Bijapur to help. At the same the example of Malik Ambar, Shahji
time the Mughals had refused to hand found a Nizam Shahi prince, and raised
over to the Adil Shah the areas allotted him as a ruler. The Adil Shah sent a force
to him under the agreement. As a result, of seven to eight thousand horsemen to
the Adil Shah made a somersault and aid Shahji, and induced many of the Ni-
decided to help the Nizam Shah who zam Shahi nobles to surrender their
agreed to return Sholapur to him. This forts to Shahji. Many disbanded Nizam
turn in the political situation compelled Shahi soldiers joined Shahji whose force
the Mughals to retreat. However, the swelled to 20,000 horses. With these he
internal situation in Ahmadnagar now harassed the Mughals and took control
turned in favour of the Mughals. Fath of large portions of the Ahmadnagar
Khan, the son of Malik Ambar, had re- state.
cently been appointed Peshwa by the Shah Jahan now decided to give per-
Nizam Shah in the hope that he would sonal attention to the problems of the
be able to induce Shah Jahan to make Deccan. He realised that the crux of the
peace. Instead, Fath Khan opened secret situation was the attitude of Bijapur.
negotiations with Shah Jahan and, at his He, therefore, deputed a large army to
instance, murdered the Nizam Shah and invade Bijapur, and also sent feelers to
put a puppet on the throne. He also read the Adil Shah, offering to revive the ear-
the khutbaa, and struck the sikka in the lier accord of dividing the territory of
 Medieval India 135
Ahmadnagar between Bijapur and the prosperity. However, rapid expansion
Mughals. weakened whatever internal cohesion
The policy of the stick and the car- these states had. Ambitious nobles such
rot, and the advance of Shah Jahan to as Shahji, and his son Shivaji, in Bijapur,
the Deccan brought about another and Mir Jumla the leading noble in Gol-
change in Bijapur politics. The leaders of conda, started carving out spheres of
the anti-Mughal group including Murari influence for themselves. The Mughals,
Pandit were displaced and killed, and a too, found that the balance of power in
new treaty or ahdnama was entered into the Deccan had been upset and demand-
with Shah Jahan. According to this trea- ed a price for their benevolent neutrality
ty, the Adil Shah agreed to recognise during the expansionist phase of these
Mughal suzerainty and not to interfere states. These developments came to a
in the affairs of Golconda which was head in 1656 following the death of Mu-
brought under Mughal protection. Any hammad Adil Shah, and the arrival of
quarrel between Bijapur and Golconda Aurangzeb as the Mughal viceroy of the
was, in the future, to be referred to the Deccan. These developments would be
Mughal emperor for his arbitration. The dealt with in a subsequent chapter.
Adil Shah agreed to cooperate with the
Mughals in reducing Shahji to submis- Cultural Contribution of The
sion and, if he agreed to join Bijapuri Deccan States
service, to depute him in the south, The Deccani states had a number of
away from the Mughal frontier. Shah cultural contributions to their credit. Ali
Jahan completed the settlement of the Adil Shah (d. 1580) loved to hold discus-
Deccan by entering into a treaty with sions with Hindu and Muslim saints
Golconda as well. and was called a Sufi. He invited Catho-
The treaties of 1636 with Bijapur and lic missionaries to his court, even before
Golconda were statesmanlike. In effect, Akbar had done so. He had an excellent
they enabled Shah Jahan to realise the library to which he appointed the well-
ultimate objectives of Akbar. The suze- known Sanskrit scholar, Waman Pandit.
rainty of the Mughal emperor was now Patronage of Sanskrit and Marathi was
accepted over the length and breadth of continued by his successors.
the country. Peace with the Mughals The successor of Ali Adil Shah, Ibra-
enabled the Deccani states to expand him Adil Shah II (1580–1627), ascended
their territories towards the south. the throne at the age of nine. He was
In the decade following the treaties very solicitous to the poor, and had the
of 1636, Bijapur and Golconda overran title of ‘abla baba’, or ‗Friend of the Poor‘
the rich and fertile Karnataka area from He was deeply interested in music, and
the river Krishna to Tanjore and beyond. composed a book called Kitab-i-Nauras in
This area was ruled over by a number of which songs were set to various musical
petty pricipalities. A series of campaigns
modes or ragas. Due to his broad ap-
were conducted by Bijapur and Golcon-
da against these states. Thus, in a short proach he came to be called ‘Jagat Guru’.
He accorded patronage to all, including
span of time, the territories of these two
Hindu saints and temples. This included
states were more than doubled and they
grants to Pandharpur, the centre of the
reached the climax of their power and
 Medieval India 136
worship of Vithoba, which became the it stood at the centre of the new city of
centre of the Bhakti movement in Maha- Hyderabad founded by Muhammad Quli
rashtra. The broad, tolerant policy fol- Qutb Shah. It has four lofty arches, fac-
lowed by Ibrahim Adil Shah II was con- ing the four directions. Its chief beauty
tinued under his successors. is the four minarets which are four-
Golconda was the intellectual resort storeyed and are 48 metre high. The
of literary men. Sultan Muhammad Quli double screen of arches has fine carv-
Qutb Shah, a contemporary of Akbar, ings.
was very fond of literature and architec- The rulers of Bijapur consistently
ture. The sultan was not only a great maintained a high standard and an im-
patron of art and literature but was a peccable taste in architecture. The most
poet of no mean order. He wrote in famous Bijapuri buildings of the period
Dakhini Urdu, Persian and Telugu and are the Ibrahim Rauza and the Gol
has left an extensive diwan or collection. Gumbaz. The former was a mausoleum
He was the first to introduce a secular for Ibrahim Adil Shah and shows the
note in poetry. Apart from the praise of style at its best. The Gol Gumbaz which
God and the Prophet, he wrote about was built in 1660 has the largest single
nature, love, and the social life of his day. dome ever constructed. All its propor-
The growth of Urdu in its Dakhini form tions are harmonious, the large dome
was a significant development during being balanced by tall, tapering minarets
the period. In addition to Persian, these at the corner. It is said that a whisper at
writers drew on Hindi and Telugu for one side of the huge main room can be
forms, idioms and themes as well as vo- heard clearly at the other end. Painting
cabulary. Urdu was patronized at the also flourished in the Deccan, and
Bijapuri court also. The poet laureate reached a high state during the reign of
Nusrati who flourished during the mid- Ibrahim Adil Shah (1580–1627).
dle of the seventeenth century wrote a It will thus be seen that the Deccani
romantic tale about Prince Manohar, states were able to overcome the phase
ruler of Kanak Nagar, and Madhu Mala- of sectarian violence during the six-
ti. From the Deccan, Urdu came to north teenth century, and maintain fine stand-
India in the eighteenth century. ards of communal harmony, and also
In the field of architecture, Muham- contributed in the fields of music, litera-
mad Quli Qutb Shah constructed many ture, architecture and painting.
buildings, the most famous of which is
the Char Minar. Completed in 1591–92,
 Medieval India 137

Chapter 15
India in the First Half
of the Seventeenth Century
excessive drinking. However, shortly
Political and Administrative after Jahangir‘s succession, his eldest
Developments In India son, Khusrau, broke out into rebellion.
The first half of the seventeenth cen- Tussle between father and son for the
tury in India was, on the whole, an era of throne was not unusual in those time.
progress and growth. During the period, Jahangir himself had rebelled against his
the Mughal empire was ruled by two father, and kept the empire disturbed
capable rulers, Jahangir (1605–27), and for some time. However, Khusrau‘s re-
Shah Jahan (1628–1658). In southern bellion proved to be short-lived. Jahang-
India, too, as we have seen, the states of ir defeated him at a battle near Lahore
Bijapur and Golconda were able to pro- and soon afterwards he was captured
vide conditions of internal peace and and imprisoned.
cultural growth. The Mughal rulers con- We have already seen how Jahangir
solidated the administrative system brought to an end the conflict with
which had developed under Akbar. They Mewar which had continued for four
maintained the alliance with the Raj- decades, and the struggle in the Deccan
puts, and tried to further broaden the with Malik Ambar who was not pre-
political base of the empire by allying pared to accept the settlement made by
with powerful sections such as the Af- Akbar. There was conflict in the east,
ghans and the Marathas. Trade conces- too. Although Akbar had broken the
sions given to various European trading back of the power of the Afghans in this
companies were also aimed at promot- region. Afghan chiefs were still powerful
ing India‘s foreign trade. But a number in various parts of east Bengal. They had
of negative features came to the surface the support of many Hindu rajas of the
during the period. The growing prosper- region, such as the rajas of Jessore,
ity of the ruling classes did not filter Kamrup (western Assam), Cachar, etc.
down to peasants and workers whose Towards the end of his reign, Akbar had
lives remained hard and miserable. The recalled Raja Man Singh, the governor of
Mughal ruling class remained oblivious Bengal, to the court, and during his ab-
of the growth of science and technology sence the Afghan chief, Usman Khan,
in the West. The problem of succession and others found an opportunity to raise
to the throne created instability, thus a rebellion. Jahangir sent back Man
posing a threat to the political system as Singh for some time but the situation
well as to economic and cultural continued to worsen. In 1608, Jahangir
growth. posted to Bengal, Islam Khan, the grand-
Jahangir, the eldest son of Akbar, son of Shaikh Salim Chishti, the famous
succeeded to the throne without any Sufi saint who was the patron saint of
difficulty, his younger brothers having the Mughals. Though young in years,
died during the life-time of Akbar due to Islam Khan handled the situation with
 Medieval India 138
great energy and foresight. He won over fied Bengal. Jahangir was still fairly
many of the zamindars including the young (51), and a long era of peace
Raja of Jessore to his side, and fixed his seemed to be ahead. But the situation
headquarters at Dacca, which was stra- was changed radically by two develop-
tegically located, to deal with the rebels. ments—the Persian conquest of
To keep the area under full control, soon Qandhar which was a blow to Mughal
the provincial capital was transferred prestige, and the growing failure of Ja-
from Rajmahal to Dacca which began to hangir‘s health which unleashed the
develop rapidly. Islam Khan first di- latent struggle for succession among the
rected his efforts to the conquest of So- princes, and led to jockeying for power
nargaon which was under the control of by the nobles. These developments
Musa Khan and his confederates who pitch-forked Nur Jahan into the political
were called the Barah (twelve) Bhuiyan. arena.
After three years of campaigning, So-
nargaon was captured. Soon afterwards, Nur Jahan
Musa Khan surrendered and he was sent The story of Nur Jahan‘s life, her first
to the court as a prisoner. Usman Khan‘s marriage with an Iranian, Sher Afghan
turn came next, and he was defeated in a and his death in a clash with the Mughal
fierce battle. The back of the Afghan governor of Bengal, Nur Jahan‘s stay in
resistance was now broken and the oth- Agra with an elderly relation of Jahangir
er rebels soon surrendered. The princi- and her marriage with Jahangir four
palities of Jessore and Kamrup were years later (1611) are too well known.
annexed. Thus Mughal power was firm- Some modern historians are of the opin-
ly entrenched in east Bengal. ion that along with her father and
Like Akbar, Jahangir realised that brother and in alliance with Khurram,
conquest would be lasting on the basis Nur Jahan formed a group or ―junta"
not of force but of securing the goodwill which ―managed‖ Jahangir so that with-
of the people. He, therefore, treated the out its backing and support no one
defeated Afghan chiefs and their follow- could advance in his career and that this
ers with consideration and sympathy. led to the division of the court into two
After some time, many of the princes factions — the Nur Jahan "junta‖ and its
and zamindars of Bengal detained at the opponents. It is further argued that Nur
court were released and allowed to re- Jahan‘s political ambitions ultimately
turn to Bengal. Even Musa Khan was resulted in a breach between her and
released and his estates restored. Thus Shah Jahan and that this, drove Shah
after a long spell, peace and prosperity Jahan into rebellion against his father in
returned to Bengal. To cap the process, 1622 since he felt that Jahangir was
more Afghans now began to be inducted completely under Nur Jahan‘s influence.
into the Mughal nobility. The leading However, some other historians do not
Afghan noble under Jahangir was Khan- agree with this view.
i-Jahan Lodi who rendered distin- Some modern historians are of the
guished service in the Deccan. opinion that along with her father and
By 1622, Jahangir had brought Malik brother and in alliance with Khurram,
Ambar to heel, patched up the long Nur Jahan formed a group or ―junta"
drawn out tussle with Mewar, and paci- which ―managed‖ Jahangir so that with-
 Medieval India 139
out its backing and support no one Shah Jahan’s Rebellion
could advance in his career and that this The immediate cause of the rebellion
led to the division of the court into two was Shah Jahan‘s refusal to proceed to
factions — the Nur Jahan "junta‖ and its Qandhar which had been besieged by
opponents. It is further argued that Nur the Persians. Shah Jahan refused which
Jahan‘s political ambitions ultimately enraged Jahangir. Convinced that the
resulted in a breach between her and prince was meditating rebellion, he
Shah Jahan and that this, drove Shah wrote harsh letters, and took punitive
Jahan into rebellion against his father in steps which only made the situation
1622since he felt that Jahangir was com- worse, and resulted in an open breach.
pletely under Nur Jahan‘s influence. From Mandu, where he was stationed,
However, some other historians do not Shah Jahan made a sudden dash on Agra
agree with this view. They point out in order to capture the treasures lodged
that till 1622 when Jahangr‘s health there. Shah Jahan had the full backing of
broke down, all the important political the Deccan army and all the nobles
decisions were taken by Jahangir him- posted there. Gujarat and Malwa had
self as is clear from his autobiography. declared for him, and he had the support
The precise political role of Nur Jahan of his father-in-law, Asaf Khan, and a
during this period is not clear. She dom- number of important nobles at the
inated the royal household and set new court. However, in the battle near Delhi,
fashions based on Persian traditions. On Shah Jahan was defeated by the forces
account of her position, Persian art and led by Mahabat Khan. Shah Jahan was
culture acquired great prestige at the hounded out of the Mughal territories
court. Nur Jahan was the constant com- and compelled to take shelter with his
panion of Jahangir and even joined him erstwhile enemies, the Deccani rulers.
in his hunting expeditions since she was However, he crossed the Deccan into
a good rider and a sure shot. As such, Orissa, took the governor by surprise,
she could influence Jahangir and many and soon Bengal and Bihar were under
people approached her to intercede with his control. Mahabat Khan was again
tire king on their behalf. But Jahangir pressed into service. He took energetic
was not dependent on the ―junta‖ or on steps, and compelled Shah Jahan to re-
Nur Janan, as is also borne out by the treat in to the Deccan again. This time,
fact that nobles who were riot favourites he made an alliance with Malik Ambar
of the ―junta‖ continued to get their who was once again at war with the
normal promotions. The rise of Shah Mughals. However, soon Shah Jahan
Jahan was due to his personal qualities wrote abject letters of apology to Ja-
and achievements: rather than the back- hangir. Jahangir also felt that it was time
ing of Nur Jahan. Shah Jahan had his to pardon and conciliate his ablest and
own ambitions of which Jahangir was most energetic son. As part of the
not unaware. In any case, in those times, agreement, two of Shah Jahan‘s sons,
no ruler could afford to allow a noble or Dara and Aurangzeb, were sent to the
a prince to become too powerful lest he court as hostages, and a tract in the
challenge his authority. This was the Deccan was assigned for Shah Jahan‘s
basic reason for the conflict between expenses. This was in 1626.
Jahangir and Shah Jahan.
 Medieval India 140
Mahabat Khan The Foreign Policy of the
Mahabat Khan who had played a Mughals
leading role in dealing with Shah Jahan‘s We have seen how following the
rebellion, had been feeling disgruntled breakup of the Timurid empire in the
because certain elements at the court second half of the fifteenth century,
were eager to clip his wings following three powerful empires- — the Uzbek,
the end of the prince‘s rebellion. Sum- the Safavid and the Ottoman — estab-
moned to the court to render accounts, lished themselves in Trans-Oxiana
Mahabat Khan came with a trusted (Central Asia) Iran and Turkey. The
body of Rajputs and seized the emperor Uzbeks were the natural enemies of the
at an opportune moment when the royal Mughals, having been responsible for
camp was crossing the river Jhelum on the expulsion of Babur and the other
its way to Kabul. Nur Jahan surrendered Timurid princes from Samarqand and
herself to Mahabat Khan in order to be the adjoining area, including Khorasan.
close to Jahangir. Within six months, At the same time, the Uzbeks clashed
taking advantage of the mistakes com- with the rising power of the Safavids
mitted by Mahabat Khan, who was a who claimed Khorasan. The Khorasa-
soldier but not a diplomat, Nur Jahan nian plateau linked Iran with Central
was able to wean away most of the no- Asia and the trade routes to China and
bles from Mahabat Khan‘s side. Realis- India passed across it. It was natural for
ing his precarious position, Mahabat the Safavids and the Mughals to ally
Khan abandoned Jahangir and fled from against the Uzbek danger especially as
the court. Some time later, he joined there were no frontier disputes between
Shah Jahan in the Deccan where he was them with the exception of Qandhar.
biding his time. The Uzbeks tried to exploit the sectari-
However, Nur Jahan‘s triumph was an differences with the Safavid rulers of
shortlived, for in less than a year‘s time, Iran who had ruthlessly persecuted the
Jahangir breathed his last, not far from Sunnis. Both the Uzbek and the Mughal
Lahore (1627). The wily and shrewd rulers were Sunnis. But the Mughals
Asaf Khan who had been appointed were too broadminded to be swayed by
wakil by Jahangir, and who had been sectarian differences. Annoyed at the
carefully preparing the ground for the alliance of the Mughals with a Shia
succession of his son-in-law, Shah Ja- power. Iran, the Uzbeks occasionally
han, now came into the open. Supported stirred up the fanatic Afghan and Balu-
by the diwan, the chief nobles and the chi tribesmen living in the north-west
army, he made Nur Jahan a virtual pris- frontier tracts between Peshawar and
oner, and sent urgent summons to Shah Kabul against the Mughals.
Jahan. Shah Jahan reached Agra and was The most powerful empire in West
enthroned amidst great rejoicing. For Asia at the time was that of the Otto-
Nur Jahan, after attaining the throne, man Turks. The Ottoman or the Us-
Shah Jahan fixed a settlement upon her. manii Turks, so called after the name of
She lived a retired life till her death 18 their first ruler, Usman (d. 1326) had
years later, and was buried at Lahore. overrun Asia Minor and eastern Europe
and also conquered Syria, Egypt and
Arabia by 1529. They had received the
 Medieval India 141
title ―Sultan of Rum‖ from the shadowy Akbar and the Uzbeks
Caliph living at Cairo. Later, they also In 1510 following the defeat of the
assumed the title of Padshah-i-Islam. Uzbek chief, Shaibani Khan, by the Sa-
The rise of a Shiite power in Iran favid, Babur had briefly regained Simar-
made the Ottoman Sultans conscious of qand. Although Babur had to save the
the danger to their eastern flank and city after the Uzbeks had inflicted a
that the rise of the Safavids would en- sharp defeat on the Persians, the help
courage Shiism in their own territories. extended to him by the Persian monarch
In 1514the Turkish sultan defeated the established a tradition of friendship be-
Shah of Iran in a famous battle. The Ot- tween the Mughals and the Safavids.
tomans clashed with Iran for the control Later, Humayun too, received help from
of Baghdad and also for the areas in the Safavid monarch, Shah Tahmasp,
north Iran, around Erivan. They gradual- when he had sought refuge at his court
ly extended their control on the coastal after being ousted from India by Sher
areas around Arabia and made a bid to Shah.
oust the Portuguese from the Persian The territorial power of the Uzbeks
Gulf and the Indian waters. grew rapidly in the seventies under Ab-
The Ottoman threat from the west dullah Khan Uzbek. In 1572-73 Abdullah
made the Persians keen to befriend the Khan Uzbek seized Balkh which, along
Mughals, particularly when they had to with Badakhshan, Had served as a kind
face an aggressive Uzbek power in the of buffer- between the Mughals and the
east. The Mughals refused to be drawn Uzbeks. In 1577Abdullah Khan sent an
in a tripartite Ottoman, Mughal, Uzbek embassy to Akbar, proposing to parti-
alliance against the Persians as it would tion Iran. After the death of Shah Tah-
have upset the Asian balance of power masp (1576) Iran was passing through a
and left them alone to face the might of phase of anarchy and disorder. Abdullah
the Uzbeks. Alliance with Iran was also Uzbek urged that Akbar ―should lead an
helpful in promoting trade with Central expedition from India to Iran in order
Asia, If the Mughals had a stronger navy, that they may, with united efforts, re-
they might, perhaps, Have sought a lease Iraq, Khorasan and Fars from the
closer alliance with Turkey which was innovators (Shias) ‖Akbar was not
also a naval power and was engaged in a moved by this appeal to sectarian nar-
struggle against the navies of the Euro- rowness. A strong Iran was essential to
pean powers ill the Mediterranean. As it keep the restless Uzbeks in their place.
was, the Mughals were chary of a closer At the same time, Akbar had no desire to
relationship with Turkey since they get embroiled with the Uzbeks, unless
were not prepared- to countenance the they directly threatened Kabul or the
claim to superiority made by the Turk- Indian possessions. This was the key to
ish sultan as successor to the Abbasid Akbar‘s foreign policy. Abdullah Uzbek
Caliph. These were some of the factors also approached the Ottoman sultan and
which shaped the foreign policy of the proposed a tripartite alliance of Sunni
Mughals. powers against Iran. As if in reply to
this, Akbar sent a return embassy to
Abdullah Uzbek in which it was point-
ed out that differences in law and reli-
 Medieval India 142
gion could not be regarded as sufficient chief. Hence, one of his agents, Hakim
ground for conquest. Regarding difficul- Human, was sent to Abdullah Khan Uz-
ties faced by pilgrims to Mecca, he bek with a tester and a verbal message.
pointed out that with the conquest of It seems that an agreement was made
Gujarat, a new route had been opened. defining the Hindukush as the boundary
Akbar‘s growing interest in Central between the two. It implied the
Asian affairs was reflected in his giving Mughals giving up their interest in Ba-
refuge at his court to the Timurid dakhphan and Balkh which had been
prince, Mirza Sulaiman, who had been ruled by Timurid princes till 1585But it
ousted from Badakhshan by his grand- also implied the Uzbeks not claiming
son. Abul Fazl says that the Khyber Pass Kabul and Qandhar. Though njeither
was made fit for wheeled traffic and that party gave up its claims formally the
due to fear of the Mughals, the gates of agreementgave the Mughals a defensible
Balkh were usually kept closed. In order frontier on the Hindukush, Akbar com-
to forestall invasion of Badakhshan, Ab- pleted his objective of establishing a
dullah Uzbek fomented trouble among scientific defensible frontier by acquir-
the tribesmen of the north-west frontier ing Qandhar in 1595In addition to this,
through his agent, Jalal, who was a reli- from 1586 Akbar stayed at Lahore in
gious fanatic. The situation became so order to watch the situation. He left for
serious that Akbar had to move to At- Agra only after the death of Abdullah
tock. It was during these operations that Khan Uzbek in 1598After the death of
Akbar lost one of his best friends, Raja Abdullah, the Uzbeks broke up into
Birbal in a battle in the Khyber pass. warring principalities and ceased to be a
In 1585Abdullah Uzbeksuddenly threat to the Mughals for a considerable
conquered Badakhshan. Both Mirza time.
Sulaiman and his grandson sought ref-
uge at Akbar‘s court and were given Relations with Iran and the
suitable mansabs. Meanwhile, with the Question of Qandhar
death of his half-brother, Mirza Hakim The dread of Uzbek power was the
(1585) Akbar annexed Kabul to his do- most potent factor which brought the
minions. Thus, the Mughal and the Uz- Safavids and the Mughals together, de-
bek frontiers ran side by side. spite the Uzbek attempt to raise anti-
Abdullah Khan Uzbek now. sent an- Shia sentiments against Iran and the
other embassy which Akbar received Mughal dislike of the intolerant policies
while he was at Attock on the river In- adopted by the Safavid rulers. The only
dus. Akbar‘s continued presence so near trouble spot between the two was
the frontier had made Abdullah Uzbek Qandhar the possession of which was
uneasy. After considerable manoeuv- claimed by both on strategic and eco-
rings and despite a Mughal threat to nomic grounds, as well as for considera-
come jto the aid of Iran, the Uzbeks suc- tions of sentiment and prestige.
ceeded, in capturing from Iran most of Qandhar had been a part of the Timurid
the areas they had coveted in Khorasan empire and had been ruled over by Ba-
. bur‘s cousins, the rulers of Herat, till
In this situation, it appeared best to they were ousted by the Uzbeks in 1507.
Akbar to come to terms with the Uzbek
 Medieval India 143
Strategically, Qandhar was vital for threatening Khorasan once again. No
the defence of Kabul. The fort of serious objection to the Mughal con-
Qandhar was considered to be one of the quest of Qandhar was raised by the Per-
strongest forts in the region and was sians in view of this situation. However,
well provided with water. Situated at when Humayun sought shelter at the
the junction of roads leading to Kabul court of Shah Tahmasp, the Iranian
and Herat, Qandhar dominated the monarch agreed to help him provided he
whole southern Afghanistan and occu- transferred Qandhar to Iran after its
pied a position of immense strategic conquest from his half-brother, Kamran.
importance. A modern British commen- Humayun had little choice but to agree.
tator has observed, ―. The Kabul- But after its conquest Humayun found
Ghazni- Qandhar line represented a excuses to keep it under his control. In
strategic and logical frontier; beyond fact, Qandhar was his base of operations
Kabul and Khyber, there was no natural against Kamran in Kabul.
line of defence. Moreover, the possession Shah Tahmasp captured Qandhar
of Qandhar made it easier to control the taking advantage of the confusion fol-
Afghan and Baluch tribes‖. lowing Humayun‘s death. Akbar made
After the conquest of Sindh and Ba- no effort to regain it till the. Uzbeks
luchistan by Akbar, the strategic and under Abdullah Uzbek posed a renewed
economic importance of Qandhar for the threat to Iran and to the Mughals. The
Mughals increased. Qandhar was a rich Mughal conquest of Qandhar (1595)
and fertile province and was the hub of was not a part of an agreement between
the movement of men and goods be- Akbar and the Uzbeks to partition the
tween India and Central Asia. The trade Persian empire as some modern histori-
from Central Asia to Multan via ans have argued. It was more to estab-
Qandhar and thence down the river In- lish a viable defensive line in the north-
dus to the sea steadily gained in im- west against possible Uzbek invasion,
portance, because the roads across Iran since Khorasan had passed under Uzbek
were frequently disturbed due to wars control by that time and Qandhar was
and internal commotions. Akbar wanted cut off from Persia.
to promote trade on this route and Relations between Iran and the
pointed out to Abdullah-Uzbek that it Mughals continued to be cordial, de-
was an alternative route for pilgrims and spite the Mughal conquest of Qandhar.
the goods traffic to Mecca. Taking, all Shah Abbas I (ruled 1588- 1629) who
these factors into account, it would ap- was perhaps the greatest of the Safavid
pear that Qandhar was not as important rulers, was keen to maintain good rela-
to the Persians as to the Mughals. For tions with Jahangir. There was a regular
Iran, Qandhar was ―more of an outpost, exchange of embassies and costly gifts,
an important one no doubt, rather than including rarities, between the two.
a vital bastion in a defence system". Shah Abbas also established close dip-
In the early phase, however, the dis- lomatic and commercial relations with
pute over Qandhar was not allowed to the Deceani.
affect good relations between the two India in the First Half of the Seven-
countries Qandhar came under Babur‘s teenth Century states but this was not
control in 1522 when the Uzbeks were objected to by Jahangir. Neither side felt
 Medieval India 144
threatened nor there is an imaginary both Bokhara and Balkh had come under
portrait by a court artist showing Ja- the control of Nazr Muhammad. Nazr
hangir and Shah Abbas embracing each Muhammad and his son, Abdul Aziz,
other, with a globe of the world beneath were ambitious and had launched a se-
their feet. Culturally, too, the two coun- ries of attacks with the help of Afghan
tries came even closer to each other dur- tribesmen for gaining control of Kabul
ing the period with the active help of and Ghazni. However, soon Abdul Aziz
Nur Jahan. But the alliance proved to be headed a rebellion against his father and
more useful to Shah Abbas than to Ja- only Balkh remained under the control
hangir, for it led the latter to neglect of Nazr Muhammad who appealed to
cultivating friendship with the Uzbek Shah Jahan for help. Secure from the
chiefs, as he felt secure in the friendship side of the Persians. Shah Jahan accept-
of his ―brother" Shall Abbas. In 1620Shall ed the appeal with alacrity. Hemoved
Abbas sent a polite request for the resto- from Lahore to Kabul and deputed a
ration of Qandhar and made prepara- large army under prince Murad to help
tions for attacking it. Jahangir was tak- Nazr Muhammad. The army which con-
en by surprise, for he was diplomatically sisted of 50000 horses and 10000 foot-
isolated and militarily unprepared for it. men including musketeers, rocketeers
Hasty preparations for the relief of and gunners and a contingent of Raj-
Qandhar were undertaken, but prince puts, left Kabul in the middle of
Shah Jahan put forward impossible de- 1646Shah Jahan had carefully instructed
mands before he would march. As a re- prince Murad to treat Nazr Muhammad,
sult, Qandhar passed into the hands of with great consideration and to restore
the Persians (1622) Although Shah Ab- Balkh to him if he behaved with modes-
bas tried to erase the bitterness over the ty and submission. Further, if Nazr Mu-
loss of Qandhar by sending a lavish em- hammad expressed a desire to regain
bassy to Jahangir and offered facile ex- Samarqand and Bokhara, the prince was
planations which were accepted by Ja- to do every tiling to help him. Obviously,
hangir formally, the cordiality which Shah Jahan wanted a. friendly ruler at
had marked the Mughal relations with Bokhara who looked to the Mughals for
Iran came to an end. help and support. But Murad‘s impetu-
After the death of Shah Abbas (1629) osity ruined the planHe marched on
there were disturbances in Iran. Taking Balkh without waiting for instructions
advantage of this and after being free of from Nazr Muhammad, ordered his men
Deccan affairs, Shah Jahan induced Ali to enter the fort of Balkh in which Nazr
Mardan Khan, the Persian governor of Muhammad was residing and curtly
Qandhar, to defect to the side of the asked him to wait on him personally.
Mughals (1638) Shah Jahan's Balkh Uncertain of the prince‘s intentions,
Campaign. Nazr Muhammad fled. The Mughals
But the conquest of Qandhar was were forced to occupy Balkh and hold it
only the means to an end. Shah Johan in the face of a sullen and hostile popu-
was more concerned with the serious lation. Nor was an alternative to Nazr
danger of recurrent Uzbek attacks on Muhammad easily available. Abdul Aziz,
Kabul and their intrigues with the Ba- son of Nazr Muhammad, raised the Uz-
luch and Afghan tribes. At the time, bek tribes against the Mughals in Trans-
 Medieval India 145
Oxiana and mustered an army of 120000 foregoing account, it should be clear
men across the river Oxus. Meanwhile, that Shah Jahan was not attempting to
prince Murad, who had been pining for fix the Mughal frontier on the so- called
home, was replaced by prince Aurang- ―scientific line‖ the Amu Darya (the Ox-
zeb. The Mughals made no effort to de- us). The Amu Darya, as we have seen,
fend the Oxus, since it was easily forda- was hardly a defensible line. Nor was
ble. Instead, they placed pickets at stra- Shah Jahan motivated by the desire to
tegic places and kept the main force conquer Samarqand and Farghana, the
together so that it could march easily to Mughal ―homelands‖ though the Mugh-
any threatened point. The Mughals were al emperors frequently talked about it.
well positioned. Abdul Aziz crossed the Shah Jahan‘s objective, it seems, was to
Oxus, but soon found himself face to secure a friendly, ruler in Balkh and Ba-
face with a large Mughal army. In a run- dakhshan, the areas which bordered
ning battle; the Mughals routed the Uz- Kabul and which had been ruled over by
beks outside the gates of Balkh (1647). Timurid princes till 1585. This, he be-
The victory of the Mughals at Balkh lieved, would also help in controlling
paved the way for negotiations with the the disaffection of the Afghan tribes
Uzbeks. The Uzbek supporters of Abdul living around Ghazni and in the Khyber
Aziz melted away and he now made Pass. The, campaign was a success in the
overtures to the Mughals. Nazr Mu- military sense — the Mughals con-
hammad-who had taken refuge in Persia quered Balkh and defeated Uzbek at-
also, approached the Mughals for the tempts to oust them. This was the first
restoration of his empire. After careful significant victory of Indian arms in the
consideration, Shah Jahan decided in region and Shah Jahan had reason to
favour of Nazr Muhammad. But Nazr celebrate it. However, it was beyond the
Muhammad was first asked to make an strength of the Mughals to maintain
apology and humble submission to their influence at Balkh for any length of
prince Aurangzeb. This was a mistake time. Politically also, it was difficult to
since the proud Uzbek ruler was unlike- do so in the face of sullen Persian hostil-
ly to demean himself in this way, partic- ity and an unfriendly local population.
ularly when he knew that it was Impos- All In all, while the Balkh campaign
sible for the Mughals to hold on to raised the prestige of Mughal arms for a
Balkh for any length of time. After wait- time, it gained them little political ad-
ing vainly for Nazr Muhammad to ap- vantage. Perhaps, it would have been
pear personally, the Mughals left Balkh more advantageous to the Mughals and
in October 1647 since winter was fast would have saved considerable expendi-
approaching and there were no supplies ture of men and money, if Shah Jahan
in Balkh. The retreat nearly turned into had firmly adhered to the Kabul-
a rout with hostile bands of Uzbeks Ghazni-Qandhar line so laboriously
hovering around. Though the Mughals established by Akbar. Anyhow, Nazr
suffered grievous losses, the firmness of Muhammad remained friendly to the
Aurangzeb prevented a disaster. Mughals as long as he was alive and
The Balkh campaign of Shah Jahan there was a constant exchange of envoys
has led to considerable controversy between the two.
among modern historians. From the
 Medieval India 146
Mughal-Persian Reiatioas — loss of Qandhar as the failure of the re-
the Last Phase peated Mughal efforts which affected
The setback in Balkh led to a revival the Mughal prestige. But even this
of Uzbek hostility in the Kabul region should not be unduly exaggerated for
the Mughal empire remained at the
and Afghan tribal unrest in the Khyber-
height of its power and prestige during
Ghazni area and emboldened the Per-
Aurangzeb‘s reign. Even the proud Ot-
sians to attack and conquer Qandhar
(1649). This was a big blow to Shah Ja- toman sultan sent an embassy to Au-
han‘s pride and he launched three major rangzeb in 1680 to seek his support Au-
campaigns, one by one, under princes of rangzeb decided not to continue the
blood to try and recover Qandhar. The futile contest over Qandhar and quietly
first attack was launched by Aurangzeb, resumed diplomatic relations with Iran.
the hero of Balkh, with an army of However, in 1688Shah Abbas II, the rul-
50000. Though the Mughals defeated er of Iran, insulted the Mughal envoy,
the Persians outside the fort, they could made disparaging remarks against Au-
not conquer it in the face of determined rangzeb and even threatened an inva-
Persian opposition. sion. The causes of this are not clear. It
A second attempt led by Aurangzeb seems that Shah Abbas II was of an un-
stable character. There was a flurry of
three years later also failed. The most
grandiloquent effort was made the fol- Mughal activity in the Punjab and Ka-
lowing year (1653) under Dara, the fa- bul. But before any action could take
vourite son of Shah Jahari. Dara had place, Shah Abbas II died. His succes-
made many boastful claims, but he was sors were nonentities and Persian dan-
unable to starve the fort into surrender ger to the Indian frontier disappeared
with the help of his large army and an till a new ruler, Nadir Shah, came to
power more than fifty years later.
attempt at capturing it with the help of
It will thus be seen that on the
two of the biggest guns in the empire
whole, the Mughals succeeded in main-
which had been towed to Qandhar was
taining a scientific frontier in the north-
also of no avail.
west, based on the Hindukush, on the
The failure of the Mughals at
one side and the Kabul-Ghazni line, on
Qandhar did not reflect the weakness of
the other, with Qandhar as its outer
Mughal artillery, as has been asserted by
bastion. Thus, their basic foreign policy
some historians. It rather showed the
inherent strength of Qandhar fort if held was based on the defence of India. The
by a determined commander and the defence of this frontier-line was further
ineffectiveness of medieval artillery buttressed by diplomatic means. Friend-
ship with Persia was its keynote, despite
against strong forts. (. This was also the
Mughal experience in the Deccan) It temporary setbacks over the question of
may, however, be argued that Shah Ja- Qandhar. The oft- proclaimed desire of
han‘s attachment to Qandhar was more recovering the Mughal homelands was
really used as a diplomatic ploy, for it
sentimental than realistic. With the
was never seriously pursued. The mili-
growing enfeeble merit of both the Uz-
beks and the Safavids, Qandhar no long- tary and diplomatic means adopted by
the Mughals were remarkably successful
er had the same strategic importance as
it had earlier. It was not so much the
 Medieval India 147
in giving India security from foreign Indians, Afghans and Rajputs. This was
invasions for a long time. to break the spirit of tribal or ethnic
Secondly, the Mughals insisted on exclusiveness. However, in special cir-
relations of equality with leading Asian. cumstances, a Mughal or a Rajput
nations of the time, both with the mansabdar was allowed to have a con-
Safavids, who claimed a special position tingent drawn exclusively from Mughals
by virtue of their relationship with the or Rajputs.
Prophet and with the Ottoman sultans A number of other modifications
who had assumed the title of Padshah- i- were also carried out during the period.
Islam and claimed to be the successors There was a tendency to reduce zat sala-
of the Caliph of Baghdad. ries. The average salary paid to a sawar
Thirdly, the Mughals used their for- was reduced by Jahangir, as we have
eign policy to promote India‘s commer- noted above. Jahangir also introduced a
cial interests. Kabul and Qandhar were system whereby selected nobles could
the twin gateways of India‘s trade with be allowed to maintain a large quota of
Central Asia. The economic importance troopers, without raising their zat rank.
of this trade for the Mughal empire has This was the du-aspah sih-aspah system
yet to be fully assessed. (literally, trooper with 2 or 3 horses)
which implied that a mansabdar holding
Growth of Administration: tills rank had to maintain and was paid
Mansabdari System and the for double the quota of troopers indicat-
ed by his sawar rank. Thus, a mansabdar
Mughal Army holding a zat rank of 3000and 3000
The administrative machinery and
sawars du-aspah sih-aspah would be
revenue system developed by Akbar
required to maintain 6000 troopers.
were maintained under Jahangir and
Normally, no mansabdar was given a
Shah Jahan with minor modifications.
sawar rank which was higher than his
Important changes were, however, ef-
zat rank.
fected in the functioning of the
A further modification, which comes
mansabdari system.
to our notice during Shah Jahan's reign,
Under Akbar, for the maintenance of
was aimed at drastically reducing the
his contingent, the mansabdar was paid
number of sawars a noble was required
at the average rate of Rs 240 per annum
to maintain. Thus, a noble was expected
per sawar. Later, in the time of Jahangir
to maintain a quota of only one-third of
it was reduced to Rs 200 per annum.
his sawar rank and in some circum-
Individual sawars were paid according
stances, one-fourth. Thus, a noble who
to their nationality — a Mughal got
had the rank of 3000 zat, 3000 sawar,
more than an Indian Muslim or a Rajput
would maintain not more than 1000
— and the quality of their mount. The
troopers. But thiswould be doubled, this
mansabdar was allowed to retain 5% of
would maintain 2000 troopers, if his
the total salary bill of the sawars in or-
rank was 3000 sawar du-aspah sih-
der to meet various contingent expens-
aspah.
es. The Mughals favoured mixed contin-
Although the salaries of the
gents, with men drawn in fixed propor-
mansabdars were stated in rupees, they
tions from Irani and Turani Mughals,
were generally not paid in cash, but by
 Medieval India 148
assigning them a jagir. Mansabdars pre- only 1800 horses, if for 5 months, only
ferred a jagir because cash payments 1000 horses. It was rare for anyone to get
were likely to be delayed and sometimes allowances for less than 5 months or for
entailed a lot of harassment. Also, con- more than 10 months.
trol over land was a mark of social pres- The month-scale had little to do
tige. By devising a careful scale of grada- with decline in the income of tile jagir.
tions and laying down meticulous rules For the month-scale was applied not
of business, the Mughals bureaucratised only to jagirs, but also to those who
the nobility. But they could not take were paid in cash. During Shah Jahan‘s
away their feudal attachment to land. reign, the area under cultivation in-
This, as we shall see, was one of the di- creased. Production of cash crops also
lemmas facing the Mughal nobility. increased. The jamadami, that is, the
For purposes of assigning jagirs, the income of the jagir, also increased. But
revenue department had to maintain a the increase kept pace broadly with the
register indicating the assessed income price rise during the period. It may be
(jama) of various areas. The account, noted that most of the Marathas who
however, was not indicated in rupees were inducted Into the Mughal service,
but in dams which was calculated at the were assigned mansabs on a 5 monthly
rate of 40 dams to a rupee. This docu- basis or even less. In this way, while
ment was called the jama-dami or as- they were given a high rank in the hier-
sessed income based on dams. archy the actual number of horses and
As the number of mansabdars kept effective sawars was much less than was
growing and the financial resources of indicated by their rank. The availability
the state were strained on account of a of remounts was, as we have seen, vital
number of reasons, even the above modi- for an efficient cavalry force. The drastic
fications were not found adequate. Dras- reduction of remounts during Shah Ja-
tic cuts in salaries all round would have han‘s reign must, therefore, have ad-
created disaffection among the nobles versely affected the efficiency of the
which the rulers could ill afford. Hence, Mughal cavalry as a whole.
the quota of troopers and horses a noble The mansabdari system of the
had to maintain out of his sawar rank Mughals was a complex system. Its effi-
was further reduced by a new scaling cient functioning depended upon a
device. The salaries of the mansabdars number of factors, including the proper
were put on a month scale — 10 months, functioning of the dagh (branding) sys-
8 months, 6 months or even less than tem and of the jagirdari system. If the
that — and their obligations for the dagh system worked badly, the state
maintenance of a quota of sawars were would be cheated. If the juma-datni was
brought down accordingly. Thus, a inflated, or the jagirdar was not able to
mansabdar who had a rank of 3000 zat, get the salary due to him, he would be
3000 sawar and maintained 1000 sawars disaffected or tie would not maintain his
tinder the rule of one-third mentioned due contingent. On balance the
above, would normally have had to mansabdari system worked properly
maintain 2200 horses under the rule under Shah Jahan on account of his me-
introduced by Akbar. But if he was put ticulous attention to administration and
on a 10 months scale, he would maintain selection of men including the appoint-
 Medieval India 149
ment of highly competent persons as served on foot in the citadel and the pal-
wazirs. Careful attention to the choice ace.
of right persons for the service, strict The footmen (piyadgan) formed a
discipline and a definite system of pro- numerous but miscellaneous body.
motion and rewards made the Mughal Many of them consisted of matchlock-
nobility a loyal and, on the whole, a bearers (banduachi) and received sala-
highly dependable body which was able ries ranging between three and seven
to discharge the due duties of admin- rupees a month. This was the infantry
istration and to defend and expand the proper. But the foot soldiers also includ-
empire. ed porters, servants, news runners,
swordsmen, wrestlers and slaves. The
The Mughal Army slaves, though not as numerous as dur-
The cavalry, as we have noted, was ing the Sultanat period, were clothed
the principal arm of the Mughal army and fed by the emperor or by a prince.
and the mansabdars provided the over- Sometimes a slave could become a gen-
whelming proportion of it. In addition tleman trooper. But generally, foot sol-
to the mansabdars, thd Mughal emper- diers had a low status. The Mughal em-
ors used to entertain individual troop- perors had a large stable of war ele-
ers, called ahadis. The ahadis have been phants and also a well- organised park
called gentlemen troopers and received of artillery. The artillery consisted of
much higher salaries than other troop- two sections — heavy guns which were
ers. They were a highly trusted corps, used for defending or assaulting forts;
being recruited. these were often clumsy and difficult to
India in the First Half of the Seven- move. The second was the light artillery
teenth Century directly by the emperors which was highly mobile and moved
and having their own muster-master. An with the emperor whenever he wanted.
ahadi mustered up to five horses, though The Mughals were solicitous of improv-
sometimes two of them shared a horse. ing their artillery and, at first many Ot-
The duties of ahadis were of a miscella- tomans and Portuguese were employed
neous character. Most clerks of the im- in the artillery department. By the time
perial offices, the painters of the court, of Aurangzeb, Mughal artillery had im-
the foremen in the royal karkhanas be- proved considerably and foreigners
longed to this corps. Many were ap- found employment in the artillery de-
pointed as adjutants and carriers of im- partment with difficulty.
perial orders. In Shah Jahan‘s reign, they The big guns were sometimes ex-
numbered 7000 and were often sent into travagantly large in size but, as a mod-
the fighting line, where they were well ern writer says, ―These huge guns made
distributed over the different parts of more noise than they did harm; they
the army. Many of them worked as could not be fired many times in a day
skilled musketeers (barqa-andaz) and and were very liable to burst and de-
bowmen(tir-andaz). stroy the men in charge. However, the
In addition to the ahadis, the emper- Frenchman, Bernier, who accompanied
ors maintained a corps of royal body- Shah Jahan to Lahore and Kashmir,
guards (walashahis) and armed palace found the light artillery, called ―artillery
guards. They were cavalrymen but of the stirrup‖ to be extremely well ap-
 Medieval India 150
pointed. He says: ―It consisted of fifty bled a rabble. The development of the
small field pieces, all of brass; each piece infantry had taken a different road in
mounted on a well- made and hand- Europe. With the development of the
somely painted carriage, containing two flint-gun, the infantry became a formi-
ammunition boxes and drawn by two dable fighting force during the seven-
fine horses, with a third horse in reserve teenth century and could even outclass
Artillery or swivel guns were also the cavalry, as the Indian powers were
mounted on elephants and camels. to realise to their cost during the eight-
It is difficult to estimate the strength eenth century. The success of the
of the Mughal army. It consisted, under Mughals against the Uzbeks who could
Shah Jahan, of about 200000 cavalry, match themselves with the Persians at
excluding the men working in the dis- the time of the Balkh campaigns sug-
tricts and with faujdars. It rose to gests that the Mughal army was not
240000 under Aurangzeb. The infantry inferior to the Central Asian and Persian
under Shah Jahan excluding the non- armies in an open contest. Its major
fighting people, was placed at 40000 weakness was in the naval sphere, par-
and may have been maintained at a simi- ticularly in the field of sea-warfare.
lar figure under Aurangzeb. Though somewhat deficient in the field
How efficient was the Mughal army of artillery, by the time of Aurangzeb, it
as compared to the neighbouring West had apparently caught up with the
and Central Asian states and the Euro- Asian powers-though not with the Eu-
pean states of the time? It is difficult to ropean sea-going powers. But the army
answer this question, though a number as a whole, particularly the cavalry, was
of European-travellers, such as Bernier, closely linked with the jagirdari system
have, made adverse remarks about the which, in turn, was based on the feudal
efficiency of the Mughal army. A careful system of land relations prevalent in the
analysis shows that his remarks were country. In the ultimate resort, the
really directed towards the Mughal in- strength and efficiency of one depended
fantry, which had no drill or discipline, on the other.
was ill-organised and ill- led and resem-
 Medieval India 151

Chapter 16
Economic and Social
Life under the Mughals
Fitch, who came to India towards the
Economic and Social Condi- end of the 16th century, says that at Ba-
tions naras ―the people go naked save a little
The Mughals empire reached its ter- cloth bound about their middle De Laet
ritorial zenith by the end of the seven- wrote that the labourers had insufficient
teenth century. During the period it had clothing to keep themselves warm and
to face many political and administra- cozy during winter. However, Fitch
tive problems, some of which we have observed. ―In the winter which is our
already discussed. In the economic and May, the men wear quilted gowns of
social spheres, the period from the ad- cotton and quilted caps‖.
vent of Akbar to the end of the seven- Similar remarks have been made
teenth century may be treated as one about the use of footwear. Nikitin ob-
since there were no fundamental chang- served that the people of the Deccan
es although there were important social went bare-footed. A modern author,
and economic developments which we Moreland, says that he did not find a
shall try to analyse. shoe mentioned anywhere north of the
Narmada river, except Bengal and as-
Standard of Living: Pattern of cribes it to the high cost of leather.
As far as housing and furniture were
Village Life and The Masses concerned, little need be said. The mud
During the period, many European houses in which the villagers lived were
traders and travellers came to India and not different from those at present. They
many of them have left accounts about had hardly any furniture except cots and
the social and economic conditions of bamboo mats and earthen utensils
the country. In general, they have em- which were made by the village potter.
phasised the wealth and prosperity of Copper and bell-metal plates and uten-
India and the ostentatious life-style of sils were expensive and were generally
the ruling classes, on the one hand and not used by the poor.
on the other the grinding poverty of the Regarding food, rice, millets and
ordinary people — the peasants, the pulses (what Pelsaert and De Laet called
artisans and the labourers. Babur was khicheri) formed the staple diet, with
struck by the scanty clothes worn by the fish in Bengal and the coasts and meat in
ordinary people. He observed that the south of the Peninsula. In north In-
―peasants and people of low standing go dia, chapatis made of wheat or coarse
about naked. He then goes on to de- grains, with pulses and green vegetables
scribe the langota or decency cloth worn were common. The ordinary people, it is
by men and the sari worn by women. said, ate their main meal in the evening
His impression has been corroborated and chewed pulse or other parched
by later European travellers. Ralph grain in the day. Ghee and oil were
 Medieval India 152
much cheaper relative to food grains nated the village society, they exploited
then and seem to have been a staple part the other or weaker sections. In turn,
of the poor man‘s food. But salt and sug- they were often exploited by the zamin-
ar were more expensive. dars.
Thus, while people had less clothes Unlike many other countries in Asia
to wear and shoes were too costly, on and Africa, India had a well diversified
balance they ate better. With more graz- economy, with the cultivation of a large
ing land, they could keep more cattle, so variety of crops such as wheat, rice,
that, more milk and milk products must gram, barley, pulses, bajra, etc., as also
have been available. crops which were used for manufacture
The standard of living ultimately de- and could be processed locally. These
pended upon income and wages. It is were cotton, indigo, chay (the red dye),
difficult to determine the income of the sugarcane, oil-seeds, etc. These crops
large mass of the peasants in real terms, paid land revenue at a higher rate, and
for money hardly entered into transac- had to be paid for in cash. Hence, they
tions in the villages. The village artisans are often called cash crops or superior
were paid for their services by means of crops. The peasant not only shifted his
commodities which were fixed by cus- cultivation from one crop to the other
tom. It is difficult to compute the aver- depending on prices, but was also will-
age size of the holding of the peasant. ing to adopt new crops, if he found it
Idle information available to us shows profitable to do so. Thus, during, the
that there was a great deal of inequality seventeenth century, two new crops
in the villages. The peasant who did not were added—tobacco and maize. Silk
have his own ploughs and bullocks often and tusser cultivation became so wide-
tilled the land of the zamindars or the spread in Bengal during the period that
upper castes and could eke out a bare there was no need to import silk from
existence. The landless peasants and China. The adoption of potato and red
labourers often belonged to the class of chillies happened in the eighteenth cen-
people called ―untouchables‖ or karhin. tury. Regarding efficiency of production,
Whenever there was a famine — and it should be noted that the countryside
famines were frequent — it was this was able to feed a growing city popula-
class of peasants and the village artisans tion during the seventeenth century.
who suffered the most. The peasants India also exported food grains, espe-
who owned the land they tilled were, cially rice and sugar to some of the
called khudkas. They paid land revenue neighbouring countries. It was also able
at customary rates. Some of them had to provide the raw materials needed for
many ploughs and bullocks which they the expansion of manufactured goods
let out to their poorer brethren, the ten- during the period, especially the manu-
ants or muzarian who generally paid facture of textiles. The Mughal state
land revenue at a higher rate. provided incentives and loans (taccavi) to
Thus, the village society was highly the peasants for expansion and im-
unequal. The khudkasht who claimed to provement of cultivation. But the ex-
be the original settlers of the village of- pansion and growth would hardly have
ten belonged to a single dominant caste been possible without local efforts, ini-
or castes. These castes not only domi- tiative and investment.
 Medieval India 153
Thus, the Indian cultivator was not The salary of the lowest grade of a
as conservative and resistant to change servant, according to European travel-
as he has often been made out to be. lers was less than two rupees a month.
Although no new agricultural tech- The bulk of the menials and foot soldiers
niques were introduced, Indian agricul- began at less than three rupees a month.
ture was, on balance, efficient and It has been calculated that a man could
played a definite role in the growth of feed his family on two rupees a month.
the manufacturing sector and trade dur- Moreland, who wrote in the early part
ing the period. of the 20th century, observed that dur-
In medieval times, a peasant was not ing the period was little change in the
dispossessed from his land as long as he real wages of workers — they had a
paid the land revenue. He could also sell more balanced diet but clothes, sugar,
his land if he could find a buyer, and if etc were more expensive. Moreland con-
the rest of the community raised no ob- cluded from this that the conditions of
jections. His children inherited his land the Indian people had not worsened
as a matter of right after his death. The under the British rule. But the matter
state dues were heavy, sometimes has to be seen in a wider context While
amounting to nearly half of his produce there was a vast increase in wealth and
so that the ordinary peasant was in no rise in real wages in Europe during the
position to invest anything for the im- period, there was overall stagnation, if
provement of land or extension of culti- not decline, of living standards in India
vation. The pattern of his life was fixed under the British rule. But this is a mat-
partly by the seasons and partly by cus- ter which will be studied in greater de-
tom and tradition in which fairs, pil- tail in the volume on Modern India.
grimages, ceremonies, etc., had their due
place. The condition of the landless and The Ruling Classes: The Nobles
a section of the artisans including the and Zamindars
menials, must have been much harder. The nobility, along with the landed
However, not all peasants lived at this gentry, the zamindars, formed what may
low level. Resident cultivators be called the ruling class in medieval
(khudkasht) had generally larger lands to India. Socially and economically, the
cultivate, and a small section among Mughal nobility formed a privileged
them had large areas of land, and many class. Theoretically, the doors of the
ploughs and oxen for cultivation. They Mughal nobility were open to everyone.
could also let out a part of their lands to In practice, persons belonging to aristo-
the ordinary cultivators (muzarian) on cratic families, whether they were Indi-
profitable terms. These sections and ans or foreigners, had a decided ad-
village zamindars could and did invest vantage. To begin with, the bulk of the
in the expansion and improvement of Mughal nobles were drawn from the
cultivation. homeland of the Mughals—Turan and
As far as the cities were concerned, from its neighbouring areas, Tajikistan,
the largest section consisted of the Khurasan, Iran, etc. Although Babur was
poor—the artisans, the servants and a Turk, the Mughal rulers never fol-
slaves, the soldiers, manual workers, etc. lowed a narrow racist policy. Babur
tried to win the leading Afghan nobles
 Medieval India 154
to his side, but they proved to be restless high by any standards. This, as well as
and untrustworthy and soon defected. the liberal policy of the Mughal emper-
The tussle between the Mughals and the ors in matters of faith, and the stable
Afghans continued in Bihar and Bengal political conditions in India attracted
even under Akbar. But from the time of many talented persons from foreign
Jahangir, more Afghans began to be re- lands to the Mughals court. These im-
cruited in the nobility. Indian Muslims migrants rapidly assimilated themselves
who were called Shaikhzadas or Hindu- into the Indian society and culture,
stani were also given service. while at the same time, retaining some
From the time of Akbar, Hindus also of their special traits. This accounts for
began to be inducted into the nobility the richness and diversity which has
on a regular basis. The largest section been a special feature of Indian culture.
among them consisted of the Rajputs. Under Jahangir and Shah Jahan, the
Both Raja Man Singh and Raja Birbal bulk of the nobles already consisted of
were the personal friends and boon those who had been born in India. Sim-
companions of Akbar, while in the ultaneously, the proportion of Afghans,
spheres of revenue administration, Raja Indian Muslims (Hindustanis), and
Todar Mai had a place of great influence Hindus in the nobility continued to rise.
and honour. The Rajputs who were re- A new section among the Hindus which
cruited to the nobility were either he- entered the nobility during the period
reditary rajas or belonged to aristocratic were the Marathas. Jahangir was the
families related to or allied to the raja. first monarch who realised that the Ma-
Thus, their incorporation into the nobil- rathas were ‗the hub of affairs‘ in the
ity strengthened its aristocratic charac- Deccan, and tried to win them over to
ter. Despite this, the nobility did provide his side. The policy was continued by
an avenue of promotion and distinction Shah Jahan. Aurangzeb also gave service
to persons drawn from the lower section to many Marathas and Deccani Mus-
of society. Thus, many kayasthas and lims. We shall discuss Mughal relations
khatris were employed at various levels with the Marathas in a later section.
in the central and provincial govern- However, it may be noted that while the
ments. A few of them were elevated to Hindus formed roughly 24 per cent of
the position of a noble. We even find the nobility under Shah Jahan, they ac-
some persons of humble origins as counted for about 33 per cent of the no-
mansabdars. bles during the second half of Aurang-
The nobility attained a considerable zeb‘s reign, while their total number
measure of stability under Jahangir and rose by four and half times. Of the Hin-
Shah Jahan. Both these monarchs paid dus nobles, the Marathas formed more
careful attention to the organization of than half during Aurangzeb‘s reign.
the nobility (the mansabdari system). Although the Mughal nobles re-
Rules and regulations were worked out ceived extremely high salaries, their ex-
for the orderly promotions, discipline penses were also very high. Each noble
and the recruitment of competent peo- maintained a large train of servants and
ple into the imperial service. attendants, and a large stable of horses,
The Mughal nobles, as we have seen, elephants, etc., and transport of all
received salaries which were extremely types. Many of them maintained a large
 Medieval India 155
haram of women, which was considered Thus, the Mughal nobility had a
normal for a man of status in those number of unusual features. Though
times. often divided on ethnic lines, it formed a
Although spending, not hoarding composite ruling class representing dif-
was the dominant characteristic of the ferent regions and religions. It also tried
ruling class of the time, the nobility did, to promote a composite culture by ex-
directly or indirectly, contribute to the tending patronage to painters, musi-
development of the economy. This took cians, poets, both of Persian and
several directions. Many nobles bought Hindawi, and to scholars. Though es-
land, or land was gifted to them by the sentially feudal in character, since land
emperor in places where they wanted to was its main source of income, it had
settle down and make it their home. In developed many characteristics of a bu-
these places, they developed orchards, or reaucracy. It was also becoming more
built covered markets (mandis) which commerce and money-minded. Thus, the
could bring them income from rent and Mughal state and ruling class did not
sales. They also lent money on interest act as a barrier to the economic devel-
to traders, or participated in trade, often opment of India.
in the name of traders or in partnership Rapid growth in the number of the
with them. nobility during the seventeenth century,
It is not easy to compute the precise tensions between different groups, indi-
share of the nobility in the commercial viduals and sections, and a crisis in the
undertakings of the period. Sometimes, working of the jagirdari system had an
some nobles, even royal princes, tried to adverse effect on the discipline and
misuse their position to engross the sale proper functioning of the nobility under
and purchase of certain commodities, or Aurangzeb and during the reign of his
to force the artisans and traders to sell successors. Some of these aspects are
their services and commodities cheap. dealt with in greater detail in a subse-
But such instances were not as large as quent chapter.
to seriously affect trade, commerce and
artisanal production. The English factor Zamindars and The Rural Gen-
at Surat remarked in 1614 that ―large and try
small are merchants‖Even members of From the writings of Abul Fazl and
the royal family, including princes, prin- other contemporary authors, it is clear
cesses and royal ladies, took part in that personal ownership of land was
freighting goods on foreign ships and very old in India. The right of ownership
even owned ships for trade. Mir Jumla, d in land depended mainly on heredity.
leading nobleman during the reign of But new rights of ownership in land
Aurangzeb, owned a fleet of ships which were being created all the time. The tra-
carried extensive commerce with Persia, dition was that any one who first
Arabia and countries of South-East Asia. brought land under cultivation was con-
The lure for money from commerce had sidered its owner. There was plenty of
reached such a stage that even the chief cultivable wasteland (banjar) available in
qazi of Aurangzeb had substantial medieval times. In addition to owning
commercial undertakings which'he tried the lands they cultivated, a considerable
to conceal from the emperor. section of the zamindars had the heredi-
 Medieval India 156
tary right of collecting land revenue villages, or extending and improving
from a number of villages. This was cultivation.
called his talluqa or his zamindari. For
collecting the land revenue, the zamin- The Middle Strata
dars received a share of the land revenue There has been a lot of discussion on
which could go up to 25 per cent in whether during the medieval period,
some areas. The zamirtdar was not the India had a middle class or not. The
‗owner‘ of all the lands comprising his Frenchman, Bernier, said that in India
zamindari. The peasants who actually there was no ‗middle state‘, a person was
cultivated the land could not be dispos- either extremely rich, or lived miserably.
sessed as long as they paid the land rev- It is, however, not possible to agree with
enue. Thus, the zamindars and the peas- this statement. If the word ‗middle class‘
ants had their own hereditary rights in means traders and shop keepers, India
land. had a large class of rich traders and mer-
Above the zamindars were the rajas chants, some of them being amongst the
who dominated larger or smaller tracts richest merchants of the world at that
and enjoyed varied degrees of internal time. These merchants also had rights
autonomy. The zamindars, rajas and based on tradition, such as protection of
chiefs had their own armed forces, and life and property. But they did net have
generally lived in forts or garhis which the right to administer any of the towns.
was both a place of refuge and a status If by ‗middle state‘ is meant a section
symbol. The combined forces of these whose standard of living was between
sections, called zamindars in medieval the rich and the poor, such sections
sources, were considerable. The zamin- were large in Mughal India. They in-
dars generally had close connections on cluded the small mansabdars, petty shop-
a caste, clan or tribal basis with the keepers and a small, but important sec-
peasants settled in their zainindaris. They tion of master craftsmen. It also includ-
had considerable local information also ed the class of professionals—hakims,
about the productivity of land. The za- leading musicians and artists, historians,
mindars formed a very numerous and scholars, qazis and theologians, and the
powerful class which was to be found all large class of petty officials or pen-
over the country under different names pushers, who ran the large and growing
such as deshmukh, patil, nayaetc. Thus, it Mughal administrative apparatus.
was not easy for any central authority to While the petty officials were generally
ignore or alienate them. paid in cash, and supplemented their
It would not be correct to look upon income by means of corruption, many of
the zamindars merely as those who the others, especially the scholars, reli-
fought for control over land, and ex- gious divines, etc., were granted small
ploited the cultivators in the area they tracts of land for maintenance. Such
dominated. Many of the zamindars had grants were called madad-i-maash in
close caste and kinship ties with the Mughal terminology, or sasan in Raja-
land-owning cultivating castes in their sthan. In addition to the Mughal emper-
zamindari. These zamindars not only set or, local rulers and zamindars, and even
social standard, they also provided capi- nobles made such grants. Although the-
tal and organization for settling new
 Medieval India 157
se grants were to be renewed by every of foreign goods. It exported fine textiles
ruler, they often became hereditary in and silks (patola) to north India, with
practice. These sections often became Burhanpur and Agra as the two nodal
part of the rural gentry, and a link be- points of trade. It received foodgrains
tween the village and the town. Writers, and silk from Bengal, and also imported
historians and theologians often be- pepper from Malabar. North India im-
longed to the class. The ‗middle strata‘ ported luxury items and also exported
did not form a class: the interests of dif- indigo and foodgrains. Lahore was an-
ferent sections being different. They other centre of handicraft production. It
were also drawn from various religious was also the distribution centre for the
groups and castes. luxury products of Kashmir—shawls,
carpets, etc. The products of the Punjab
Organization of Trade and and Sindh moved down the river Indus.
Commerce It had close trade links with Kabul and
The Indian trading classes were large Qandhar, on the one hand, and with
in numbers, spread out all over the Delhi and Agra on the other.
country, well organized and highly pro- It will thus be seen that India‘s inter-
fessional. Some specialized in long dis- regional trade was not in luxuries alone.
tance, inter-regional trade, and some in The movement of these goods was made
local, retail trade. The former were possible by complex networks linking
called seth, bohra or modi, while the latter wholesalers with merchants down to
was called beoparis or banik. In addition the regional and local levels through
to retailing goods, the baniks had their agents (gumashtas) and commission
own agents, in the villages and town- agents (dalals). Movement of goods was
ships, with whose help they purchased also facilitated by the growth of a finan-
foodgrains and cash crops. There was a cial system which permitted easy
special class of traders, the banjaras, who transmission of money from one part of
specialized in carrying bulk goods. The the country to another. This was done
banjaras used to move over long distanc- through the use of hundis. The hundi was a
es, sometimes with thousands of oxen letter of credit payable after a period of
carrying foodgrains, pulses, ghee, salt, time at a discount. The hundis often in-
etc. The more expensive goods, such as cluded insurance which was charged at
textiles, silks, etc., were laden on camels different rates on the basis of value of
and mules, or in carts. But it was cheap- the goods, destination, means of
er to move bulk goods through the rivers transport (land, river or sea), etc. The
on boats. Boat traffic on waterways, and sarrafs (shroffs) who specialized in chang-
coastal trade along the seashore was ing money, also specialized in dealing
more highly developed than now. Bengal with hundis. In the process, they also
exported sugar and rice as well as deli- acted as private banks: they kept money
cate muslin and silk. The coast of Coro- in deposit from the nobles, and lent it.
mandel had become a centre for textile By means of hundis, they created credit
production, and had a brisk trade with which supplemented the money in cir-
Gujarat, both along the coast and across culation, since the merchant could cash
the Deccan. Gujarat was the entry point
 Medieval India 158
his hundi after he had sold his goods at Trade and commerce expanded in
the point of his destination. India during the seventeenth century
The trading community in India did due to a number of factors. An im-
not belong to one caste or religion. The portant factor was the political integra-
Gujarati merchants included Hindus tion of the country under Mughal rule
and Jains, and Muslims who were most- and establishment of conditions of law
ly Bohras. In Rajasthan, Oswals, Ma- and order over extensive areas. The
heshwaris and Agarwals began to be Mughals paid attention to roads and
called Marwaris. Overland trade to Cen- sarais. Taxes were levied on goods at the
tral Asia was in the hands of Multanis, point of their entry into the empire.
Afghans and Khatris. The Marwaris Road cesses or rahdari was declared ille-
spread out to Maharashtra and Bengal gal, though it continued to be collected
during the eighteenth century. The by some of the local rajas. The Mughals
Chettis on the Coromandel coast and minted silver rupees of high purity from
the Muslim merchants of Malabar, both mints scattered all over the empire. Any
Indian and Arab, formed the most im- trader could carry silver to the royal
portant trading communities of south mint, and have coins in exchange on
India. payment of a batta (discount). The
Despite some harassments, the prop- Mughal rupee became a standard coin in
erty of the merchants was generally safe. India and abroad and thus helped India's
Means of transport were cheap and ade- trade.
quate for their needs. Despite com- Some of the Mughal policies also
plaints by some European travellers, helped in the commercialization of the
safety on the roads was satisfactory, and economy, or the growth of a money
could be covered by insurance. The economy. Salaries to the standing army
means of travel with sarais at the dis- as well as to many of the administrative
tance of 5 kps on the principal highways personnel (but not to the nobles) were
was a good as in Europe at the time. paid in cash. Under the zabti system, the
Nevertheless, trade and the traders con- land revenue was assessed and required
tinued to have a low social status. The to be paid in cash. Even in other cases
influence of the merchants on political like crop-sharing, the share of the state
processes is a matter of controversy. was, generally, sold in the villages with
Merchants in India were not without the help of grain dealers. It has been
influence in political quarters where estimated that about 20 per cent of the
their own interests were concerned. rural produce was marketed, which was
Thus, each community of merchants had a high proportion. The growth of the
its leader or nagarseth who could inter- rural grain markets led to the rise of
cede with the local officials on their be- small townships or qasbas. The demand
half. We do have instances of strikes for all types of luxury goods by the no-
(hartal) by merchants in Ahmedabad and bles led to the expansion of handicraft
elsewhere to stress their points of view. production and to the growth of towns.
We have also noted the involvement of Already during the sixteenth century, a
members of the Mughal royal family, number of major towns had developed
and prominent nobles, such as Mir in the country. During the period, Ah-
Jumla, in trade. madnagar and Burhanpur in the west,
 Medieval India 159
Multan in the northwest, and Patna, dia not only supplied food stuffs, such as
Rajmahal and Dacca in the east grew to sugar, rice, etc., to many countries of
become big towns. Thus, Ahmedabad Southeast and West Asia, but Indian
was as large as London and its suburbs, textiles also played a very important role
and Patna had a population of two in the trade of the region. As an English
lakhs—a large size by the standard of agent observed, ‗From Aden to Achin
those times. These towns were not only from head to foot, everyone was clothed
administrative centres, but developed as in Indian textiles'. It was this which
centres of trade and manufacture. made India the virtual manufactory of
The Mughal ability to collect a high the Asian world (excluding China). The
share of the rural produce, which was only articles which India needed to im-
commuted into money, and its concen- port were certain metals, such as tin and
tration in the hands of the nobility, copper, production of which was insuf-
stimulated the demand for all kinds of ficient (tin was used for making
luxury goods, including building mate- bronze), certain spices for food and me-
rials for residential houses, sarais, baolis, dicinal purposes, war horses and luxury
etc. The growth of arms manufactures— items (such as ivory). The favourable
guns of all types, cannons, armour, etc., balance of trade was met by import of
and of shipping—are two primary ex- gold and silver. As a result of the expan-
amples of the result of direct govern- sion of India‘s foreign trade, the import
ment intervention in the matter. Both of silver and gold into India increased
Akbar and Aurangzeb were deeply in- during the seventeenth century; so much
terested in the manufacture of guns of so that Bernier says that ‗gold and silver,
all types, including mobile guns, and after circulating over every part of the
took steps to improve their production. world, is finally buried in India which is
Indian steel swords were also in demand the sink of gold and silver. India and
outside India. In 1651, Shah Jahan initi- China were more successful in doing so
ated a programme of building sea-going because of the scale of their economies,
vessels, and four to six ships were built and their being largely self-sufficient.
each year for voyages to West Asia. In We have already mentioned the ad-
the following year, six ships were put vent of the Portuguese into India to-
into commission. This was part of a wards the end of the fifteenth century.
ship-building programme of many During the seventeenth century, many
wealthy merchants and nobles. In con- other European traders, specially the
sequence Indian shipyards were soon in Dutch, the English and later the French
a position to produce ships based on came to India for purposes of trade. This
European models, and freight rates to enterprise was a direct result of the
West Asia were reduced. growth of the European economy con-
sequent upon a rapid expansion in the
Foreign Trade and The Euro- fields of agriculture and manufactures.
pean Traders The Portuguese power had begun to
We have already mentioned that decline during the second half of the
there was a number of ports and towns sixteenth century. Despite vehement
from which brisk trade between India Portuguese opposition, the Dutch estab-
and the outer world was carried on. In- lished themselves at Masulipatam, ob-
 Medieval India 160
taining a farman from the ruler of Gol- Diu, but their share in India‘s overseas
conda in 1606. They also established trade declined continuously.
themselves in the Spice Islands (Java Recent research has shown that de-
and Sumatra) so that by 1610 they pre- spite their domination of the seas, the
dominated in the spice trade. The Dutch Europeans were never able to oust the
had originally come to the coast for the Indian traders from the Asian trade. In
sake of the spice trade. But they quickly fact, the share of the European trading
realized that spices could be obtained companies from any part of India—
most easily in exchange for Indian tex- Gujarat, Coromandel or Bengal, re-
tiles. The cloth produced on the Coro- mained a fraction of India‘s foreign
mandel coast was the most acceptable in trade. The reason why the Indian traders
Southeast Asia, and also cheapest to were able to maintain themselves were
carry. Hence, the Dutch spread south several: when it came to textile trade,
from Masulipatam to the Coromandel the Indian traders knew both the do-
coast, obtaining Pulicat from the local mestic and foreign markets better. Also,
ruler and making it a base of their opera- the Indians were willing to work at a
tions. lower profit, of 10 to 15 per cent as
Like the Dutch, the English also had against 40 to 50 per cent which was
come to the east for the spice trade, but considered the minimum by the Dutch
the hostility of the Dutch who had more to meet their overhead costs: costs of
resources and had already established factories, war ships, etc. For these rea-
themselves in the Spice Islands forced sons, and to reduce their cost of opera-
the English to concentrate on India. Af- tions, they started freighting the goods
ter defeating a Portuguese fleet outside of Indian merchants on their ships. The
Surat, they were able, at last, to set up a Indian traders had little objection to this
factory there in 1612. This was con- for it made their own operations safer.
firmed in 1618 by a farman from Jahangir, Apart from sharing in the Asian
obtained with the help of Sir Thomas trade, the English and Dutch searched
Roe. The Dutch followed, and soon they for articles which could be exported
too established a factory at Surat. from India to Europe. At first, ‗the prime
The English quickly realized the im- trade‘, apart from pepper, was indigo
portance of Gujarat as a centre for In- which was used to colour the woollens.
dia's export trade in textiles. They tried The indigo found most suitable was that
to break into India‘s trade with the Red produced at Sarkhej in Gujarat and Ba-
Sea and the Persian Gulf ports. In 1622, yana near Agra. Soon the English devel-
with the help of the Persian forces, they oped the export of Indian textiles, called
captured Ormuz, the Portuguese base at ‗calicoes‘, to Europe. At first, the pro-
the head of the Persian Gulf (See Map B, duce of Gujarat was sufficient for the
Appendix) purpose. As the demand grew, the Eng-
Thus, by the first quarter of the sev- lish sought the cloth produced in Agra
enteenth century, both the Dutch and and its neighbourhood. Even this was
the English were well set in the Indian not enough. Hence the Coromandel was
trade, and Portuguese control of the sea developed as an alternate source of sup-
was broken for ever. The Portuguese ply. By 1640, export of cloth from the
remained at Goa and also at Daman and Coromandel equalled that from Gujarat,
 Medieval India 161
and by 1660 it was three times that from South Russia. The overland trade de-
Gujarat. Masulipatam and Fort St. clined only with the break up of the
George which later developed into Safavid empire, followed by the disinte-
Madras were the chief ports for this gration of the Mughal empire.
trade. The growth of India‘s foreign trade,
The English and dutch explored the influx of gold and silver into the
Lahri Bandar at the mouth of the river country, and the linking of India more
Indus which could draw the produce of closely with the rapidly expanding Eu-
Multan and Lahore by transporting ropean markets had a number of im-
goods down the river Indus. But the portant consequences. While the Indian
trade there remained subsidiary to the economy grew, the influx of silver and
Gujarat trade. More important were gold into the country was even faster. As
their efforts to develop the trade of Ben- a result, during the first half of the sev-
gal and Orissa. However, by 1650, the enteenth century, prices almost dou-
English had set themselves up at Hoogly bled. The effect of this price rise on dif-
and at Balasore in Orissa, exporting ferent sections of society has yet to be
from there raw silk and sugar in addi- worked out in detail. It probably weak-
tion to textiles. Another item which was ened the old, traditional ties in the vil-
developed was the export of salt petre lages, and made the nobility more mon-
which supplemented the European ey-minded, greedy and demanding.
sources for gun powder. It was also used Secondly, the European nations
as a ballast for ships going to Europe. searched for alternatives to the export of
Thus, the English and the Dutch gold and silver to India. One method
companies opened up new markets and was to enter the Asian trade network by
articles of export for India. Although trying to monopolize the spice trade,
India‘s trade with Europe grew rapidly and trying to capture the Indian trade in
during the second half of the seven- textiles. As we have seen, they had only
teenth and the early part of the eight- limited success in these fields. Hence,
eenth century, intra-Asian trade still they tried to acquire empires in India
remained much more lucrative. Thus, it and its neighbourhood so that they
has been estimated, of the spices pro- could pay from the revenues of these
duced, only 14 per cent went to Europe, territories for the goods exported to
the largest part being consumed in India Europe. The Dutch were able to conquer
and China. During the seventeenth cen- Java and Sumatra. But the key was India.
tury, India's textile exports to West Both the English and the French com-
Asia and East Africa also grew. A new peted for the conquest of India, but they
item of trade was, coffee, produced in could not succeed as long as India re-
Yemen (Southern Arabia). mained strong and united, first under
Lahore and Multan were the major Mughal rule and then under able pro-
centres for India‘s overland trade. We vincial governors. They could only suc-
are told that a large colony of traders, ceed when internal and external factors
amounting to 10,000 lived in different weakened even these states.
parts of Iran and from there spread to
Bokhara and Samarqand and also to
 Medieval India 162

Chapter 17
Cultural and Religious Developments
There was an outburst of many- A new impetus to architecture was giv-
sided cultural activity in India under the en by Sher Shah. His famous mausoleum
Mughal rule. The traditions in the field at Sasaram (Bihar) and his mosque in
of architecture, painting, literature and the old fort at Delhi are considered ar-
music created during this period set a chitectural marvels. They form the cli-
norm and deeply influenced the suc- max of the pre-Mughal style of architec-
ceeding generations. In this sense, the ture, and the starting point for the new.
Mughal period can be called a second Akbar was the first Mughal ruler
classical age following the Gupta age in who had the time and means to under-
northern India. In this cultural devel- take construction on a large scale. He
opment, Indian traditions were amal- built a series of forts, the most famous of
gamated with the Turko-Iranian culture which is the fort at Agra. Built in red
brought to the country by the Mughals. sandstone, this massive fort had many
Babur was conscious of this cultural magnificent gates. For their forts, the
heritage. He was critical of many of the Mughals drew on the developed Indian
cultural forms existing in India and was tradition of fort-building, such as the
determined to set proper standards. ones at Gwaliyar, Jodhpur, etc. The cli-
Peoples from different areas of India, as max of fort-building was reached at
well as peoples belonging to different Delhi where Shah Jahan built his famous
faiths and races contributed to this cul- Red Fort.
tural development in various ways. In In 1572, Akbar commenced a palace-
this sense, the culture developed during cum-fort complex at Fatehpur Sikri, 36
the period was tending towards a com- kilometres from Agra, which he com-
posite national culture. pleted in eight years. Built atop a hill,
along with a large artificial lake, it in-
Architecture cluded many buildings in the style of
The Mughals built magnificent forts, Gujarat and Bengal. These included
palaces, gates, public buildings, deep eaves, balconies, and fanciful ki-
mosques, baolis (water tank or well), etc. osks. In the Panch Mahal built for tak-
They also laid out many formal gardens ing the air, all the types of pillars used in
with running water. In fact use of run- various temples were employed to sup-
ning water even in their palaces and port flat roofs. The Gujarat style of ar-
pleasure resorts was a special feature of chitecture is used most widely in the
the Mughals. Babur was very fond of palace built probably for his Rajput wife
gardens and laid out a few in the neigh- or wives. Buildings of a similar type
bourhood of Agra and Lahore. Some of were also built in the fort at Agra,
the Mughal gardens, such as the Nishat though only a few of them have sur-
Bagh in Kashmir, the Shalimar at La- vived. Akbar took a close personal inter-
hore, the Pinjore garden in the Punjab est in the work of construction both at
foothills, etc., have survived to this day. Agra and Fatehpur Sikri. Persian or
Central Asian influence can be seen in
 Medieval India 163
the glazed blue tiles used for decoration Mosque-building also reached its
in the walls or for tiling the roofs. But climax under Shah Jahan, the two most
the most magnificent building was the noteworthy ones being the Moti Masjid
mosque and the gateway to it called the in the Agra fort, built like the Taj entire-
Buland Darwaza (the lofty gate) built to ly in marble, and the other the Jama
commemorate Akbar‘s victory in Guja- Masjid at Delhi built in red sandstone. A
rat. The gate is in the style of what is lofty gate, tall, slender minarets, and a
called a half-dome portal. What was series of domes are a feature of the Jama
done was to slice a dome into half. The Masjid at Delhi.
sliced portion provided the massive Although not many buildings were
outward facade of the gate, while small- put up by Aurangzeb who was econo-
er doors could be made in the rear wall my-minded, the Mughal architectural
where the dome and the floor meet. This traditions based on a combination of
devise, borrowed from Iran, became a Hindu and Turko-Iranian forms and
feature in Mughal buildings later. decorative designs, continued without a
With the consolidation of the em- break into the eighteenth and early
pire, the Mughal architecture reached nineteenth centuries. Thus, Mughal tra-
its climax. Towards the end of Jahangir‘s ditions influenced the palaces and forts
reign began the practice of putting up of many provincial and local kingdoms.
buildings entirely of marble and deco- Even the Harmandir of the Sikhs, called
rating the walls with floral designs made the Golden Temple at Amritsar which
of semi-precious stones. This method of was rebuilt several times during the
decoration, called pietra dura, became period was built on the arch and dome
even more popular under Shah Jahan principle and incorporated many fea-
who used it on a large scale in the Taj tures of the Mughal traditions of archi-
Mahal, justly regarded as a jewel of the tecture.
builder‘s art. The Taj Mahal brought
together in a pleasing manner all the Painting
architectural forms developed by the The Mughals made distinctive con-
Mughals. Humayun‘s tomb built at Del- tribution in the field of painting. They
hi towards the beginning of Akbar‘s introduced new themes depicting the
reign, and which had a massive dome of court, battle scenes and the chase, and
marble, may be considered a precursor added new colours and new forms. They
of the Taj. The double dome was another created a living tradition of painting.
feature of this building. This devise ena- The richness of the style, again, was due
bled a bigger dome to be built with a to the fact that India had an old tradi-
smaller one inside. The chief glory of the tion of painting. The wall-paintings of
Taj is the massive dome and the four Ajanta are an eloquent indication of its
slender minarets linking the platform to vigour. After the eighth century, the
the main building. The decorations are tradition seems to have decayed, but
kept to a minimum, delicate marble palm-leaf manuscripts and illustrated
screens, pietra dura inlay work and ki- Jain texts from the thirteenth century
osks (chhatris) adding to the effect. The onwards show that the tradition had
building gains by being placed in the not died.
midst of a formal garden.
 Medieval India 164
Apart from the Jains, some of the the great name in this field. Portrait
provincial kingdoms, such as Malwa and painting also became fashionable.
Gujarat extended their patronage to While the tradition continued under
painting during the fifteenth century. Shah Jahan, Aurangzeb‘s lack of interest
But a vigorous revival began only under in painting led to a dispersal of the art-
Akbar. While at the court of the shah of ists to different places of the country.
Iran, Humayun had taken into his ser- This helped in the development of paint-
vice two master painters who accompa- ing in the states of Rajasthan and the
nied him to India. Under their leader- Punjab hills. The Mughal tradition of
ship, during the reign of Akbar, a paint- painting was, however, revived during
ing workshop was set up in one of the the eighteenth century under the pat-
imperial establishments (karkhanas). A ronage of the successors of Aurangzeb.
large number of painters, many of them The Rajasthan style of painting
from the lower castes, were drawn from combined the themes and earlier tradi-
different parts of the country. Thus, tions of western India or Jain school of
Daswant and Basawan were two of the painting with Mughal forms and styles.
famous painters of Akbar‘s court. The Thus, in addition to hunting and court
school developed rapidly, and soon be- scenes, it had paintings on mythological
came a celebrated centre of production. themes, such as the dalliance of Krishna
Apart from illustrating Persian books of with Radha, the barah-masa (seasons) or
fables, the painters were soon assigned the ragor (melodies). The Pahari school
the task of illustrating the Persian text continued these traditions.
of the Mahabharata, the historical work
Akbar Nama, and others. Indian themes Language, Literature and Mu-
and Indian scenes and landscapes, thus, sic
came in vogue and helped to free the The important role of Persian and
school from Persian influence. Indian Sanskrit as vehicles of thought and gov-
colours, such as peacock blue, the Indian ernment at the all-India level, and the
red, etc., began to be used. Above all, the development of regional languages,
somewhat flat effect of the Persian style largely as a result of the growth of the
began to be replaced by the roundedness Bhakti Movement, have already been
of the Indian brush, giving the pictures a mentioned. Regional languages also de-
three-dimensional effect. veloped due / to the patronage extended
Mughal painting reached a climax to them by local and regional rulers.
under Jahangir who had a very discrimi- These trends continued during the
nating eye. It was a fashion in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. By
Mughal school for the faces, bodies and the time of Akbar, knowledge of Persian
feet of the people in a single picture to had become so widespread in north In-
be painted by different artists. Jahangir dia that he dispensed with the tradition
claims that he could distinguish the of keeping revenue records in the local
work of each artist in a picture. language (Hindawi) in addition to Per-
Apart from painting hunting, battle sian. However, the tradition of keeping
and court scenes, under Jahangir special revenue records in the local language
progress was made in portrait painting continued in the Deccani states till their
and paintings of animals. Mansur was
 Medieval India 165
extinction in the last quarter of the sev- hammad Jaisi, used the attack of Alaud-
enteenth century. din Khalji on Chittor as an allegory to
Persian prose and poetry reached a expound Sufi ideas on the relations of
climax under Akbar‘s reign. Abul Fazl soul with God, along with Hindu ideas
who was a great scholar and a stylist, as about maya.
well as the leading historian of the age, Medieval Hindi in the Brij form, that
set a style of prose-writing which was is the dialect spoken in the neighbour-
emulated for many generations. The hood of Agra, was also patronised by the
leading poet of the age was his brother, Mughal emperor and Hindu rulers.
Faizi, who also helped in Akbar‘s trans- From the time of Akbar, Hindi poets
lation department. The translation of began to be attached to the Mughal
the Mahabharata was carried out under court. A leading Mughal noble, Abdur
his supervision. Utbi and Naziri were Rahim Khan-i-Khanan, produced a fine
the two other leading Persian poets. blend of Bhakti poetry with Persian ide-
Though born in Persia, they were among as of life and human relations. Thus, the
the many poets and scholars who mi- Persian and the Hindi literary traditions
grated from Iran to India during the pe- began to influence each other. But the
riod and made the Mughal court one of most influential Hindi poet was
the cultural centres of the Islamic world. Tulsidas who venerated Rama as a god
Hindus also contributed to the growth and hero, and he used a dialect of Hindi
of Persian literature. Apart from literary spoken in the eastern parts of Uttar
and historical works a number of fa- Pradesh. Pleading for a modified caste
mous dictionaries of the Persian lan- system based not on birth but on indi-
guage were also compiled during the vidual qualities, Tulsidas was essentially
period. a humanistic poet who upheld family
The number of Sanskrit works pro- ideals and complete devotion to Rama as
duced during the period is quite impres- a way of salvation open to all, irrespec-
sive. At the same time regional lan- tive of caste.
guages acquired stability and maturity In south India, Malayalam started its
and some of the finest lyrical poetry was literary career as a separate language in
produced during this period. The dalli- its own right. Marathi reached its apo-
ance of Krishna with Radha and the gee at the hands of Eknath and Tu-
milkmaids, pranks of the child Krishna karam. Due to the writings of the Sikh
and stories from the Bhagawat Puran fig- gurus, Punjabi received a new life.
ure largely in lyrical poetry in Bengali,
Oriya, Hindi, Rajasthani and Gujarati Music
during this period. Many devotional Another branch of cultural life in
hymns to Rama were also composed, which Hindus and Muslims cooperated
and the Ramayana and the Mahabharata was music. Akbar patronised Tansen of
were translated into the regional lan- Gwaliyar who is credited with compos-
guages, especially if they had not been ing many new melodies (ragas). Jahangir
translated earlier. A few translations and Shah Jahan as well as many Mughal
and adaptations from Persian were also nobles followed this example. There are
made. In Hindi, the Padmavat, the story many stories about the burial of music
written by the Sufi saint, Malik Mu- by the orthodox Aurangzeb. Recent
 Medieval India 166
research shows that Aurangzeb ban- Akbar had been deeply impressed
ished singing from his court, but not with the Sikh gurus and, it is said, visit-
playing of musical instruments. In fact, ed them at Amritsar. However, a clash
Aurangzeb himself was an accomplished began with the imprisonment and death
veena player. Music in all forms contin- of Guru Arjun by Jahangir on a charge of
ued to be patronised by Aurangzeb‘s helping rebel prince, Khusrau, with
queens in the haram and by the princes money and prayers. His successor, Guru
and nobles. That is why the largest Har Govind, was also imprisoned for
number of books on classical Indian some time, but he was soon set free and
music in Persian were written during developed good relations with Jahangir,
Aurangzeb‘s reign. But some of the most and accompanied him in his journey to
important developments in the field of Kashmir just before his death.
music took place later on in the eight- Guru Har Govind came into clash
eenth century during the reign of Mu- with Shah Jahan on a hunting incident.
hammad Shah (1719—48) who was a While the Emperor was hunting near
great patron of music and musicians. Amritsar, one of his favourite hawks
flew into the guru‘s camp, and his re-
Religious Ideas and Beliefs, and fusal to give it up led to a series of clash-
es. However, the matter was hushed up
Problems of Integration
at the intervention of some well-wishers
The Bhakti Movement continued
at the court. A second conflict took
apace during the sixteenth and seven-
place a little later when the guru‘s at-
teenth centuries. Amongst the new
tempt to build a new city on the river
movements was the Sikh movement in
Beas near Jallandhar was objected to. A
the Punjab, and what is called Maha-
third conflict took place when two
rashtra Dharma in Maharashtra. The
horses of ‗surpassing beauty and swift-
Sikh movement had its origin with the
ness‘ being brought to the guru from
preachings of Nanak. But its develop-
Central Asia were seized by the royal
ment is closely linked with the institu-
officials.
tion of Guruship. The first four gurus
All these conflicts were of an ‗incon-
continued the tradition of quiet medita-
sequential nature‘, according to the
tion and scholarship. The fifth guru,
well-known historian, R.R Tripathi who
Arjun Das, completed the compilation of
ascribes them to personal and political
the Sikh scriptures called the Adi-Granth
factors rather than religion. The gurus
or Granth Sahib. To emphasize that the assuming a rich lifestyle and being called
guru combined both spiritual and sachcha padshah or ‗true sovereign‘ by his
worldly leadership in his person, Guru
followers does not seem to have been a
Arjun began to live in an aristocratic cause of concern to the rulers because
style. He erected lofty buildings at Am- some of the Sufi saints led a rich life
ritsar, wore fine clothes, kept fine horses
style, and were given similar titles by
procured from Central Asia and main-
their followers to emphasise their spir-
tained retainers in attendance. He also itual eminence.
started a system of collecting offerings
There was no atmosphere of con-
from the Sikhs at the rate of one-tenth of
frontation between the Sikhs and the
their income to promote the movement.
Mughal rulers during this period. Nor
 Medieval India 167
was there any systematic persecution of longing to the two leading faiths, Hin-
the Hindus. Despite some display of duism or Islam, and thus give up the
orthodoxy by Shah Jahan at the begin- entrenched positions of power and in-
ning of his reign and a few acts of intol- fluence which they had enjoyed for a
erance, such as the demolition of ‗new‘ long time. The sentiments of the ortho-
temples, he was not narrow in his out- dox Hindus were echoed by Raghunan-
look which was further tempered to- dan of Navadwipa (Nadia) in Bengal.
wards the end of his reign by the influ- Considered to be the most influential
ence of his liberal son, Dara. Dara, the writer on the Dharmashastras during the
eldest son of Shah Jahan, was by tem- medieval period, Raghunandan asserted
perament a scholar and a Sufi who loved the privileges of the Brahmans stating
to discourse with religious divines. that none other except the Brahmans
With the help of the Brahmans of Kasi, had the right to read the scriptures or to
he got the Gita translated into Persian. preach. Ram Das of Maharashtra, who
But his most significant work was an was later the spiritual guru of Sivaji, and
anthology of the Vedas in the introduc- who put forward a philosophy of activ-
tion to which Dara declared the Vedas to ism, was equally vehement in assertion
be ‗heavenly books in point of time‘ and of the privileges of the Brahmans.
‗in conformity with the holy Quran‘. Among the Muslims, too, while the
Thus, he underlined the belief that there trend of tauhid continued apace, and was
were no fundamental differences be- supported by many leading Sufi saints, a
tween Hinduism and Islam. small group of the orthodox ulama de-
Another saint, Dadu, born in Gujarat nounced it, as also the liberal policies of
but who seems to have lived mostly in Akbar. The most renowned figure in the
Rajasthan preached a non-sectarian Muslim orthodox and revivalist move-
(nipakji) path. He refused to identify ment of the time was Shaikh Ahmad
himself with either the Hindus or the Sirhindi. A follower of the orthodox
Muslims, or to bother with the revealed Naqshbandi school of Sufis which had
scriptures of the two, asserting the indi- been introduced in India during Akbar‘s
visibility of the Brahma or the Supreme reign, Shaikh Ahmad Sirhindi opposed
Reality. the concept of pantheistic mysticism
The same liberal trend can be seen in (tauhid) or unity of God and the created
the life and works of Tukaram, the su- being, denouncing it as un-Islamic. He
preme exponent of Bhakti in Maharash- also opposed all those practices and
tra at Pandharpur, which had become beliefs which he held were due to the
the centre of the Maharashtra Dharma influence of Hinduism, such as the use
and where worship of Vithoba, a form of of music in religious gatherings (sama),
Vishnu, had become popular. Tukaram, excessive meditation, visiting tombs of
who states that he was born a shudra saints, etc. In order to assert the Islamic
used to do puja to the god with his own character of the state, he demanded re-
hand. imposition of jizyah, a stern attitude to-
It was not be expected that such wards the Hindus, and the minimum
ideas and practices would be easily ac- association of Muslims with them. In
cepted by the orthodox elements be- order to implement this programme, he
 Medieval India 168
started centres and also wrote letters to one hand, and the egalitarian and hu-
the emperor and to many nobles to win manistic aspirations of the mass of the
them over to his side. people on the other.
It will thus be seen that the influ- The prestige and influence of the
ence of the orthodox thinkers and narrow, orthodox elements and their re-
preachers was limited, being necessarily assertion of narrow ideas and beliefs
confined to narrow circles. Their chief was a barrier to the growing process of
hope was that their ideas would receive rapproachement and tolerance among
the support and backing of those who the votaries of the two dominant reli-
held positions of wealth and power in gions, Hinduism and islam, and a hin-
society and the state. On the other hand, drance to the process of cultural integra-
the liberal thinkers made their appeal to tion. The clash between the two trends
the broad masses. came to the surface during Aurangzeb‘s
The recurrent cycles of liberalism reign. However, the broad, liberal reli-
and orthodoxy in Indian history should gious policy of Akbar was revived, and
be seen against the situation which was became the norm during the eighteenth
rooted in the structure of Indian society. century.
One aspect of the struggle was between
entrenched privilege and power on the
 Medieval India 169

Chapter 18
Climax and Disintegration of the
Mughal Empire—I
these rumours were true, or pretended
Problems of Succession to believe them and made preparations
The last years of Shah Jahan‘s reign for the inevitable war of succession.
were clouded by a bitter war of succes- Anxious to avert a conflict between
sion among his sons. There was no clear his sons, which might spell ruin to the
tradition of succession among the Mus- empire and anticipating this speedy end.
lims or the Timurids. The right of nomi- Shah Jahan now decided to nominate
nation by the ruler had been accepted by Dara as his successor (waliahd). He
some of the Muslim political thinkers. raised Dara's mansab from 40,000 to the
But it could not be asserted in India dur- unprecedented rank of 60,000. Dara was
ing the Sultanat period. The Timurid given a chair next to the throne and all
tradition of partitioning had not been the nobles were instructed to obey Dara
successful either and was never applied as their future, sovereign. But these ac-
in India. tions, far front ensuring a smooth suc-
Hindu traditions were also not very cession as Shah Jahan had hoped, con-
clear in the matter of succession. Ac- vinced the other princes of Shalı Jahan's
cording to Tulsidas, a contemporary of partiality to Dára. It thus strengthened
Akbar, a ruler had the right of giving the their resolve of making a bid for the
tika to any one of his sons. But there throne.
were many cases among the Rajputs It is not necessary for us to follow in
where such a nomination had not been detail the events leading to the ultimate
accepted by the other brothers. Thus, triumph of Aurangzeb. There were many
Sanga had to wage a bitter struggle with reasons for Aurangzeb's success. Divid-
his brothers before he could assert his ed counsel and under-estimating of his
claim to the gaddi. opponents by Dara were two of the ma-
Towards the end of 1657, Shah Jahan jor factors responsible for Dara‘s defeat.
was taken ill at Delhi and for Sorrie On hearing of the military preparations
time, his life was despaired of. But he of his sons and their decision to march
rallied and gradually recovered his on the capital, Shah Jahan had sent an
strength under the loving care of Dara. army to the east led by Dara‘s son,
Meanwhile, all kinds of rumours had Sulairnan Shikoh and aided by Mirza
gained currency. It was said that Shah Raja Jai Singh to deal with Shuja who
Jahan had already died and Dara was had crowned himself. Another was sent
concealing the reality to serve his own to Malwa under Raja Jaswant Singh, the
purposes. After some time, Shah Jahan ruler of Jodhpur. On his arrival in Mal-
slowly made his way to Agra. Mean- wa, Jaswant found that he was faced
while, the princes, Shuja in Bengal, Mu- with the combined forces iff Aurangzeb
rad in Gujarat and Aurangzeb in the and Murad. The two princes were intent
Deccan, had either been persuaded that on a conflict and invited Jaswant to
 Medieval India 170
stand aside. Jaswant could have retreat- Thus, Dara failed to win over even the
ed but deeming retreat to be a matter of important Rajput rajas to his side.
dishonour, he decided to stand and The battle of Samugarh (29 May
fight, though the odds were definitely 1658) was basically a battle of good gen-
against him. The victory of Aurangzeb at eralship, the two sides being almost
Dharmat (15 April 1658) emboldened his equally matched in numbers (about
supporters and raised his prestige, while 50,000 to 60,000 on each side). In this
it dispirited Data and his supporters. field, Dara was no match for Aurangzeb.
Meanwhile, Dara made a serious The Hada Rajputs and the Saiyids of
mistake. Over-confident of the strength Barha upon whom Dara largely depend-
of his position, he had assigned for the ed could not make up for the weakness
eastern campaign some of his best of the rest of the hastily recruited army.
troops. Thus, he denuded the capital, Aurangzeb‘s troops were battle hard-
Agra. Led by Sulaiman Shikoh, the army ened and well led.
moved to the east and gave a good ac- After the defeat and flight of Dara,
count of itself. It surprised and defeated Shah Jahan was besieged in the fort of
Shuja near Banaras (February 1658) It Agra. Aurangzeb forced Shah Jahan into
then decided to pursue him into Bihar - surrender by seizing the source of water
as if the issue at Agra had been already supply to the fort. Shah Jahan was con-
decided. After the defeat at Dharmat, fined to the female apartments in the
express letters were sent to these forces fort and strictly supervised though he
to hurry back to Agra. After patching was not ill-treated. There he lived for
uip a hurried treaty (7 May 1658) eight long years, lovingly nursed by his
Sulairnan Shikoh started his march to favourite daughter, Jahanara.
Agra from his camp near Monghyr in According to the terms of Aurang-
eastern Bihar. But it was hardly likely zeb‘s agreement with Murad, the king-
that he could return to Agra in time for dom was to be partitioned between the
the conflict with Aurangzeb. two. But Aurangzeb had no intention of
After Dharmat, Dara made frantic ef- sharing the empire. Hence, he treacher-
forts to seek allies. He sent repeated ously imprisoned Murad and sent him to
letters to Jaswant Singh who had retired the Gwaliyar jail. He was killed two
to Jodhpur. The rana of Udaipur was years later.
also approached. Jaswant Singh moved The battle of Deorai near Ajmer
out tardily to Pushkar near Ajmer. After (March 1659) was the last major battle
raising an army with the money provid- Dara fought against Aurangzeb. Dara
ed by Dara, he waited there for the rana might well have escaped into Iran, but
to join him. But the rana had already he wanted to try his luck again in Af-
been won over by Aurangzeb with a ghanistan. On the way, in the Bolan
promise of a rank of 7000, and the return Pass, a treacherous Afghan chief made
of the parganas seized by Shah Jahan and him a prisoner and handed him over to
Dara from him in 1654 following a dis- his dreaded enemy. A panel of jurists
pute over the re-fortification of Chittor. decreed that Dara could not be suffered
Aurangzeb also held out to the rana a to live ‗out of necessity to protect the
promise of religious freedom and ‗fa- faith and Holy law, and also for reasons
vours equal to those of Rana Sanga‘. of state (and) as a destroyer of the pub-
 Medieval India 171
lic peace‘. This is typical of the manner of social, economic and institutional
in which Aurangzeb used religion as a developments. There is little doubt
cloak for his political motives. about his being orthodox in his beliefs.
The civil war which kept the empire He was not interested in philosophical
distracted for more than two years debates or in mysticism—though he did
showed that neither nomination by the occasionally visit Sufi saints for their
ruler, nor plans of division of the empire blessings, and did not debar his sons
were likely to be accepted by the con- from dabbling in Sufism. While taking
tenders for the throne. Military force his stand on the Hanafi school of Mus-
became the only arbiter for succession lim law which had been traditionally
and the civil wars became steadily more followed in India, Aurangzeb did not
destructive. hesitate in issuing secular decrees, called
zawabit. A compendium of his decrees,
Aurangzeb’s Reign—His Reli- and government rules and regulations
gious Policy had been collected in a work called
Aurangzeb ruled for almost 50 years, Zawabit-i-Alamgiri. Theoretically, the
during his long reign, the Mugal empire zawabits supplemented the sharia. In
reached its territorial climax. At its practice, however, they sometimes mod-
height, it stretched front Kashmir in the ified the sharia, in view of the conditions
north to Jinji in the south and from the obtaining in India which were not pro-
Hindukush in the west to Chittagong in vided for in the sharia.
the east. Auranzeb proved to be hard- Thus, apart from being an orthodox
working ruler and never spared himself Muslim, Aurangzeb was also a ruler. He
or his subordinates in the tasks of gov- could hardly forget the political reality
ernment. His letters show the close at- that the overwhelming population of
tention he paid to all affairs of state. He India was Hindu, and that they were
was strict disciplinarian who did not deeply attached to their faith. Any poli-
spare his own, sons. Unlike his prede- cy which meant the complete alienation
cessors, Aurangzeb did not like ostenta- of the Hindus and of the powerful Hin-
tion; his personal life was marked by du rajas and zamindars was obviously
simplicity. He had the reputation of be- unworkable.
ing an orthodox. In course of time, he In analysing Aurangzeb‘s religious
began to be regarded as, Zinda pir or a ―a policy, we may take note first of what
living saint‖. have been called moral and religious
Historians are, however, deeply di- regulations. At the beginning of his
vided about Aurangzeb‘s achievements reign, he forbade the kalma being in-
as a ruler. According to some, he re- scribed on coins. He discontinued the
versed Akbar‘s policy of religious tolera- festival of Nauroz as it was considered a
tion and thus undermined the loyalty of Zoroastrian practice favoured by the
the Hindus to the empire. Safavid rulers of Iran. Muhtasibs were
A new trend has, however, emerged appointed in all the provinces. These
as shown in the research work on Au- officials were asked to see that people
rangzeb. In these works, efforts have lived their lives in accordance with the
been made to assess Aurangzeb‘s politi-
sharia. Thus, it was the business of these
cal and religious policies in the context
 Medieval India 172
officials to see that wine and intoxicants ple style; clerks were to use porcelain
such as bhang were not consumed in ink-stands instead of silver ones; silk
public places. They were also responsi- clothes were frowned upon, the gold
ble for regulating the houses of ill re- railings in the diwan-i-am were replaced
pute, gambling dens, etc., and for check- by those of lapis lazuli set on gold. Even
ing weights and measures. In other the official department of history-
words, they were responsible for ensur- writing was discontinued as a measure
ing that things forbidden by the sharia of economy.
and the zawabits (secular decrees) were, To promote trade among the Mus-
as far as possible, not flouted openly. In lims who depended almost exclusively
appointing muhtasibs, Aurangzeb empha- on state support, Aurangzeb at first
sised that the state was also responsible largely exempted Muslim traders from
for the moral welfare of the citizens, the payment of cess on import of goods.
especially the Muslims. But these offi- But he soon found that the Muslim trad-
cials were instructed not to interfere in ers were abusing it, even passing off the
the private lives of citizens. goods of Hindu merchants as their own
Later, in the eleventh year of his to cheat the state. So Aurangzeb re-
reign (1669), Aurangzeb took a number imposed the cess on Muslim traders,
of measures which have been called pu- but, kept it at half of what was charged
ritanical. Thus, he forbade singing in the from others. Similarly, he tried to reserve
court and the official musicians were the posts of peshkars and karoris (petty
pensioned off. Instrumental music and revenue officials) for Muslims but soon
naubat (the royal band) were, however, had to modify it in the face of opposition
continued. Singing also continued to be from the nobles and lack of qualified
patronized by the ladies in the haram, Muslims.
and by princes, and individual nobles. It We may now turn our attention to
is of some interest to note, as has been some of the other measures of Aurang-
mentioned before, that the largest num- zeb which may be called discriminatory
ber of Persian works on classical Indian and showed a sense of bigotry towards
music were written in Aurangzeb‘s people professing other religions. The
reign, and that Aurangzeb himself was most important was Aurangzeb‘s atti-
proficient in playing the veena. tude towards temples, and the levying of
Aurangzeb discontinued the practice jizyah.
of jharoka darshan or showing himself to At the outset of his reign, Aurangzeb
the public from the balcony since he reiterated the position of the shara re-
considered it a superstitious practice garding temples, synagogues, churches,
and against Islam. Similarly, he forbade etc., that ‗long standing temple should
the ceremony of weighing the emperor not be demolished but no new temples
against gold and silver and other articles allowed to be built.‘ Further, old places
on his birthdays. Many other regula- of worship could be repaired ‗since
tions of a similar nature, some of a moral buildings cannot last for ever‘. This posi-
character and some to instill a sense of tion is clearly spelt out in a number of
austerity, were issued. The throne room extant farmans he issued to the Brah-
was to be furnished in a cheap and sim- mans of Banaras, Vrindavan, etc. Au-
rangzeb‘s order regarding temples was
 Medieval India 173
not a new one. It reaffirmed the position phere generated by Aurangzeb‘s policy
which had existed during the Sultanat towards Hindu temples was bound to
period and which had been reiterated by create disquiet among large sections of
Shah Jahan early in his reign. However, Hindus.
Aurangzeb, as governor of Gujarat, or- Aurangzeb contemplated revival of
dered a number of temples in Gujarat to the jizyah on a number of occasions but
be destroyed. The famous temple of did not do so for fear of political opposi-
Somnath which he ordered to be de- tion. Ultimately, in 1679, in the twenty-
stroyed earlier in his reign was appar- second year of his reign, he finally re-
ently one of the temples mentioned imposed it. Let us first see what it was
above. not. It was not meant to be an economic
Later, as Aurangzeb encountered po- pressure for forcing the Hindus to con-
litical opposition from a number of vert to Islam for its incidence was
quarters, such as the Marathas, Jats, etc., light—women, children, the disabled
he seems to have adopted a new stance. and the indigent, that is those whose
In case of conflict with local elements, income was less than the means of sub-
he now considered it legitimate to de- sistence were exempted, as were those
stroy even long-standing Hindu temples in government service. Nor, in fact, did
as a measure of punishment and as a any significant section of Hindus change
warning. Further, he began to look upon their religion in earlier times due to this
temples as centres of spreading subver- tax. Secondly, it was not a means of
sive ideas, that is, ideas which were not meeting a difficult financial situation.
acceptable to the orthodox elements. Although the income from jizyah is said
Thus, he took strict action and issued to have been considerable. However, the
orders to the governors of all provinces money from jizyah did not go to the royal
to destroy the temples where such prac- treasury, but was ear-marked for use by
tices took place. As a result of these or- the theological classes. The re-
ders, a number of temples such as the imposition of jizyah was, in fact, both
famous temple of Vishwanath at Bana-
political and ideological in nature. It
ras and the temple of Keshava Rai at
was meant to rally the Muslims for the
Mathura built by Bir Singh Deo Bundela
defence of the state against the Mara-
in the reign of Jahangir were destroyed
thas and the Rajputs who were up in
and mosques erected in their place. It
arms, and possibly against the Muslim
was in this context that many temples states of the Deccan, especially Golcon-
built in Orissa during the last ten to da which was in alliance with the infidel
twelve years were also destroyed.
Marathas. Moreover, jizyah was to be
In his policy toward temples, Au-
collected by honest, God-fearing Mus-
rangzeb may have remained formally
lims, who were especially appointed for
within the framework of the sharia, but
the purpose, and its proceeds were re-
there is little doubt that his stand in the
matter was a setback to the policy of served for the ulama. It was thus a big
broad toleration followed by his prede- bribe for the theologians among whom
cessors. While we do have instances of there was a lot of unemployment. But
the disadvantages out-weighed the pos-
grants to Hindu temples and maths by
sible advantages of the step. It was bit-
Aurangzeb, on the whole, the atmos-
 Medieval India 174
terly resented by the Hindus who con- has shown that the number of Hindus in
sidered it as a mark of discrimination. the nobility during the second half of
Its mode of collection also had some Aurangzeb‘s reign steadily increased, till
negative features. The payee was re- the Hindus including Marathas formed
quired to pay it personally and some- about one-third of the nobility as
times he suffered humiliation at the against one-fourth under Shah Jahan.
hands of the theologians in the process. Thus, Aurangzeb‘s attempt was not
Since in the rural areas jizyah was col- so much to change the nature of the
lected along with the land revenue, well- state, but to re-assert its fundamentally
to-do Hindus in the cities were affected Islamic character. Aurangzeb‘s religious
more by these practices. We, therefore, beliefs cannot be considered the basis of
hear of a number of occasions when his political policies. While as an ortho-
Hindu traders shut their shops and ob- dox Muslim he was desirous of uphold-
served hartal against the measure. Also, ing the strict letter of the law, as a ruler
there was a lot of corruption, and in a he was keen to strengthen and expand
number of instances, the amin or collector the empire. Hence, he did not want to
of jizyah was killed. Finally, he had to lose the support of the Hindus to the
suspend jizyah in 1705 ‗for the duration extent possible. However, his religious
ideas and beliefs on the one hand, and
of the war in the south‘ (for which no
end was in sight). This could hardly his political or public policies on the
influence his negotiations with the Ma- other, clashed with each other on many
occasions so that Aurangzeb was faced
rathas. Gradually jizyah fell into disuse all
with difficult choices. Sometimes this
over the country. It was formally abol-
led him to adopt contradictory policies
ished in 1712 by Aurangzeb‘s successors.
which harmed the empire.
Some modern writers are of the
opinion that Aurangzeb‘s measures were
designed to convert India from a dar-ul-
Political Developments—North
harb, or a land of infidels, into dar-ul- India
Islam, or a land inhabited by Muslims. During the war of succession, many
local zamindars and rajas had withheld
But this has no basis, in fact, a state in
revenue, or started plundering the
which the laws of Islam prevailed and
neighbouring areas including Mughal
where the ruler was a Muslim is dar-ul-
territories and royal highways. After
Islam. In such a state, the Hindus who seating himself on the throne formally,
submitted to the Muslim ruler, and Aurangzeb embarked upon an era of
agreed to pay jizyah were zimmis or pro- strong rule. In some cases, such as the
tected people according to the sharia. northeast and the Deccan, the imperial
Hence, the state in India had been con- frontier was advanced. However, in gen-
sidered a dar-ul-Islam since the advent of eral, Aurangzeb did not embark upon a
the Turks. Although Aurangzeb consid- forward policy. His first attempt imme-
ered it legitimate to encourage conver- diately after his succession was to re-
sion to Islam, evidence of systematic or assert imperial authority and prestige.
large-scale attempts at forced conver- This included recovery of areas which
sion is lacking. Nor were Hindu nobles had been lost during the war of succes-
discriminated against. A recent study sion and to which the Mughals felt they
 Medieval India 175
had legal claim. To begin with, Aurang- them and the Mughals. Thus Guwahati
zeb was more concerned with consoli- came under Mughal control.
dation than conquest and annexation. There was a long-drawn out war be-
Thus, he sent an army to Bikaner to en- tween the Mughals and the Ahoms dur-
force obedience to the Mughal emperor, ing the reign of Aurangzeb. The war
but made no effort to annex it. But in began with the attempt of the Ahom
another case, such as Palamau in Bihar, rulers to expel the Mughals from Gu-
the ruler who was accused of disloyalty wahati and the neighbouring area and
was dispossessed, and the bulk of his thus complete their control over Assam.
state annexed. The rebel Bundela chief, Mir Jumla, who had been appointed the
Champat Rai, who had been an ally of governor of Bengal by Aurangzeb, want-
Aurangzeb at first but had taken to a life ed to make his mark by bringing Cooch
of plunder, was relentlessly hunted Bihar and the entire Assam under
down. But Bundela lands were not an- Mughal rule. He first assaulted Cooch
nexed. Bihar which had repudiated Mughal
suzerainty and annexed the entire king-
Northeast and East India dom to the Mughal empire. He next
We have mentioned in an earlier invaded the Ahom kingdom. Mir Jumla
chapter the rise of the Ahom power in occupied the Ahom capital, Garhgaon,
Assam valley and their conflict with the and held it for six months. Next, he pen-
rulers of Kamata (Kamrup) on the one etrated up to the limit of the Ahom
hand and with the Afghan rulers of Ben- kingdom, finally forcing the Ahom king
gal on the other. The kingdom of Ka- to make a humiliating treaty (1663). The
mata declined by the end of the fifteenth raja had to send his daughter to the
century and was replaced by the king- Mughal haram, pay a larger war indem-
dom of Kuch (Cooch Bihar) which dom- nity and an annual tribute of 20 ele-
inated north Bengal and western Assam, phants. The Mughal boundary was ex-
and which continued the policy of con- tended from the Bar Nadi to the Bharali
flict with the Ahoms. However, internal river.
disputes led to the division of the king- Mir Jumla died soon after his bril-
dom in the early seventeenth century liant victory. However, the advantages
and to the entry of the Mughals in As- of a forward move in Assam were doubt-
sam at the instance of the Kuch ruler. ful since the area was not rich and was
The Mughals defeated the split-away surrounded by warlike tribes such as
kingdom and in 1612 occupied the west- the -Nagas living in the mountains.
ern Assam valley up to the Bar Nadi Soon, Ahom not only recovered the areas
with the help of Kuch armies. The Kuch ceded to the Mughals, but also occupied
ruler became a Mughal vassal. Thus, the Guwahati. Thus, all the gains of Mir
Mughals came into contact with the Jumla were rapidly lost. Finally, the
Ahoms who ruled eastern Assam across Mughals had to give up even Guwahati
the Bar Nadi. After a long war with the and to fix a boundary west of it.
Ahoms who had harboured a prince of The Mughals had more success
the defeated dynasty, a treaty was made elsewhere. Shaista Khan, who succeeded
with them at last in 1638 which fixed Mir Jumla as the governor of Bengal af-
the Bar Nadi as the boundary between ter his setback at the hands of Shivaji,
 Medieval India 176
proved to be a good administrator and The clashes with the Jats had a peasant
an able general. He modified Mir Jumlas agrarian background. The only move-
forward policy. First, he patched up an ment in which religion played a major
agreement with the ruler of Cooch Bi- role was the Sikh movement. Both the
har. Next, he gave his attention to the Jat and the Sikh movements culminated
problem of south Bengal, where the in attempt to set up independent re-
Magh (Arakanese) pirates, had been gional slates.
terrorizing the area up to Dacca from
their headquarters at Chittagong. The Jats and Satnamis
land up to Dacca had become desolate The first section to come into con-
and trade and industry had suffered a flict with the Mughal government were
setback. Shaista Khan built up a navy to the Jats of the Agra-Delhi region living
meet the Arakanese pirates and cap- on both sides of the river Yamuna. The
tured the island of Sondip as a base of Jats were mostly peasant cultivators,
operations against Chittagong. Next, he only a few of them being zamindars.
won the Firingis to his side by induce- With a strong sense of brotherhood and
ments of money and favours. The Ara- justice, the Jats had often come into con-
kan navy near Chittagong was routed flict with the government and taken to
and many of their ships captured. Chit- rebellion, taking advantage of their diffi-
tagong was next assaulted and captured cult terrain. Thus, conflict with the Jats
early in 1666. The destruction of the of the area had taken place during the
Arakanese navy opened the seas to free reigns of Jahangir and Shah Jahan over
commerce. This was no minor factor in collection of land revenue. Since the
the rapid growth of Bengal‘s foreign imperial road to the Deccan and the
trade during the period and the expan- western seaports passed through the Jat
sion of cultivation in east Bengal. area, the Mughal government had taken
a serious view of these rebellions and
Popular Revolts and Move- taken stern measures.
ments For Regional Independ- In 1669, the Jats of the Mathura re-
ence: Jats, Afghans and Sikhs gion broke out in rebellion under the
Within the empire, Aurangzeb had leadership of a local zamindar, Gokla.
to deal with a number of difficult politi- The rebellion spread rapidly among the
cal problems such as the problems of the peasants of the area, and Aurangzeb
decided to march in person from Delhi
Marathas in the Deccan, the Jats and
to quell it. Although the Jat levies had
Rajputs in north India and that of the
swelled to 20,000, they were no match
Afghans and Sikhs in the north-west.
for the organised imperial army. In a stiff
Some of these problems were not new
battle the Jats were defeated. Gokla was
and had to face by Aurangzeb‘s prede-
captured and executed.
cessors. But they assumed a different
character under Aurangzeb the nature of However, the movement was not
completely crushed and discontent con-
these movements also varied. In the case
tinued to simmer. Meanwhile, in 1672,
of Rajputs, it was basically a problem of
succession. In the case of the Marathas- there was another armed conflict be-
tween the peasants and the Mughal
it was question of local independence.
state at Narnaul, not far from Mathura.
 Medieval India 177
This time the conflict was with a reli- ter, and culminated in a state in which
gious body called Satnamis. The Sat- Jat chiefs formed the ruling class.
namis were mostly peasants, artisans
and low caste people, called ‗goldsmiths, The Afghans
carpenters, sweepers, tanners and other Aurangzeb came into conflict with
ignoble beings‘ by a contemporary writ- the Afghans also. Conflict with the har-
er. They did not observe distinctions of dy Afghan tribesmen who lived in the
caste and rank or between Hindus and mountain region between the Punjab
Muslims, and followed a strict code of and Kabul was not new. Akbar had to
conduct. Starting from a clash with a fight against the Afghans and, in the
local official, it soon assumed the char- process, lost the life of his close friend
acter of an open rebellion. Again, the and confidant, Raja Birbal. Conflict with
emperor had to march in person to crush the Afghan tribesmen had taken place
it. It is interesting to note that the local during the reign of Shah Jahan also. The-
Hindu zamindars, many of whom were se conflicts were partly economic and
Rajputs, sided with the Mughals in this partly political and religious. With little
conflict. means of livelihood in the rugged moun-
In 1685, there was a second uprising tains, the Afghans had no option but to
of the Jats under the leadership of Raja- prey on the caravans or to enrol in the
ram. The Jats were better organised this Mughal armies. Their fierce love of free-
time and adopted the methods of guer- dom made service in the Mughal armies
rilla warfare, combining it with plunder. difficult. The Mughals generally kept
Aurangzeb approached Raja Bishan them content by paying them subsidies.
Singh, the Kachhwaha ruler to crush the But growth of population or the rise of
uprising. Bishan Singh was appointed an ambitious leader could lead to a
faujdar of Mathura and the entire area breach of this tacit agreement.
was granted to him in zamindari. Conflict During the reign of Aurangzeb, we
between the Jats and the Rajputs over see a new stirring among the Pathans. In
zamindari rights complicated the issue, 1667, Bhagu, the leader of the Yusufazai
most of the primary zamindars, that is tribe, proclaimed as king a person
the cultivating peasants who owned the named Muhammad Shah who claimed
land being Jats, and the intermediary descent from an ancient royal lineage,
zamindars, that is those who collected and proclaimed himself his wazir. It
the land revenue being Rajputs. The Jats would appear that among the Afghans,
put up stiff resistance, but by 1691, Raja- as among the Jats, the ambition of set-
ram and his successor, Churaman, were ting up a separate state of their own had
compelled to submit. Later, in the eight- begun to stir. A religious revivalist
eenth century, taking advantage of movement called the Raushanai, which
Mughal civil wars and weakness in the emphasised a strict ethical life and devo-
central government, Churaman was able tion to a chosen pir had provided an in-
to carve out a separate Jat principality in tellectual and moral background to the
the area and to oust the Rajput zamin- movement.
dars. Thus, what apparently started as a There was a second Afghan uprising
peasants‘ uprising, changed its charac- in 1672. The leader of the opposition this
time was the Afridi leader, Akmal Khan,
 Medieval India 178
who proclaimed himself king and read Guru received a delegation of Brahmans
khutba and struck in his name. He de- from Kashmir and promised to support
clared war against the Mughals and them. The action of Aurangzeb in break-
summoned all the Afghans to join him. ing even some temples of old standing
The Afghan uprising shows that sen- must have been a new cause of discon-
timents of resistance to the Mughal rule tent and disaffection to which the Guru
and the urge for regional freeedom were gave expression and sacrificed his life.
not confined to sections of Hindus, such Aurangzeb‘s action was unjustified
as Jats, Marathas, etc. Also, the Afghan from any point of view and betrayed a
uprising helped to relax Mughal pres- narrow approach. The beheading of
sure on Shivaji during a crucial period. It Guru Tegh Bahadur forced the Sikhs to
also made difficult, if not impossible, a go back to the Punjab hills. It also led to
forward policy by the Mughals in the the Sikh movement gradually turning
Deccan till 1676 by which time Shivaji into a military brotherhood. A major
had crowned himself and entered into contribution in this sphere was made by
an alliance with Bijapur and Golcondu. Guru Gobind Singh. He showed consid-
erable organisational ability and found-
The Sikhs ed the military brotherhood or the khalsa
Although there had been some in 1699. Before this, Guru Gobind Singh
clashes between the Sikh Guru and the had made his headquarters at Anandpur
Mughals under Shah Jahan, there was in the foothills of the Punjab.
no clash between the Sikhs and Aurang- The Mughal forces assaulted
zeb till 1675. In fact, conscious of the Anandpur but the Sikhs fought bravely
growing importance of the Sikhs, Au- and beat off all assaults. The Mughals
rangzeb had tried to engage the Guru and their allies now invested the fort
and a son of Guru Har Rai had remained closely. When starvation began inside
at the Court. After his succession as the fort, the Guru was forced to open
Guru in 1664 Guru Tegh Bahadur jour- the gate apparently on a promise of safe
neyed to Bihar to support the Sikh cen- conduct by Wazir Khan. But when the
tres there. He then joined Raja Ram forces of the Guru were crossing a swol-
Singh of Amber in the Assam campaign. len stream, Wazir Khan‘s forces sudden-
However, in 1675 Guru Tegh Bahadur ly attacked. Two of the Guru‘s sons
was arrested in Punjab with five of his were captured and on their refusal to
followers, brought to Delhi and behead- embrace Islam, were beheaded at
ed. Sirhind. The Guru lost two of his re-
Various reasons have been put for- maining sons in another battle. After
ward to account for Aurangzeb‘s action. this, the Guru retired to Talwandi and
We are told that Aurangzeb was an- was generally not disturbed.
noyed because the Guru had converted a Although Guru Gobind Singh was
few Muslims to Sikhism. There is also not able to withstand Mughal might, he
the tradition that the Guru was pun- created a tradition for fight against op-
ished because he had raised a protest pression and upholding cherished prin-
against the religious persecution of the ciples. It also showed how an egalitarian
Hindus in Kashmir by the local gover- religious movement could, under certain
nors. There is evidence to show that the circumstances, turn into a political and
 Medieval India 179
militaristic movement and subtly move was brought under Mughal administra-
towards regional independence. tion (khalisa) to ensure law and order
and then handed over to the chosen suc-
Relations With The Rajputs— cessor.
Breach With Marwar and Me- Later, anticipating resistance from
the Rathors, Aurangzeb had allotted
war two parganas in Marwar for the mainte-
We have seen how Jahangir settled
nance of the family and supporters of
in 1613 the long drawn out conflict with
Jaswant Singh. He also assembled a
Mewar. Jahangir continued Akbar's pol-
strong army and marched to Ajmer to
icy of giving favours to the leading Raj-
enforce his orders. Rani Hadi, the chief
put rajas and of entering into matrimo-
queen of Jaswant Singh, who had been
nial relations with them. Shah Jahan
objecting to handing over charge of
maintained the alliance with the Raj-
Jodhpur to the Mughals, since it was the
puts. Shah Jahan himself was the son of
watan (homeland) of the Rathors, had
a Rathor princess. Perhaps, alliance with
no option but to submit.
the Rajputs having been consolidated, it
Thus the Mughals behaved as con-
was felt that matrimonial relations with
querors and treated Marwar as hostile
the leading rajas were no longer neces-
territory. Two sons had been born at
sary. However, Shah Jahan accorded
Lahore to two ranis of Jaswant Singh
high honour to the heads of the two
after his death. Their claim to the gaddi
leading Rajputs houses, Jodhpur and
was strongly canvassed. However, be-
Amber. Raja Jaswant Singh, the ruler of
fore returning to Delhi, Aurangzeb de-
Marwar, was high in Shah Jahan‘s fa-
cided to award the tika of Jodhpur to
vour. Aurangzeb also attached great
Inder Singh, the grandson of Jaswant
value to the alliance with the Rajputs.
Singh‘s elder brother, Amar Singh, in
He tried to secure the active support of
return for a succession fee of thirty-six
the Maharana of Mewar.
lakhs of rupees.
Although Jaswant Singh, the ruler of
According to a contemporary Raja-
Marwar, had fought against Aurangzeb
sthani work, Hakumat-ri-Bahi, Aurang-
at Dharmat and defected from his side
zeb offered a mansab, to Ajit Singh the
during the campaign against Shuja and
posthumous son of Jaswant Singh, when
invited Dara to his dominions. Aurang-
he was presented at the court in Agra
zeb pardoned him and restored him to
and declared that the two parganas in
his previous mansab and he was ap-
Marwar, Sojat and Jaitaran, would con-
pointed to important commands, in-
tinue as his jagir. Thus, Aurangzeb was
cluding the governorship of Gujarat.
virtually contemplating a division of the
Jaswant Singh who had been deput-
state of Marwar between the two
ed to look after the affairs of the Afghans
branches of the family.
in the north-west died towards the end
The Rathor sardars led by Durgadas
of 1678. He had no surviving male issue
rejected this proffered compromise
and hence the question of succession to
which they felt would be against the
the gaddi immediately arose. There was
best interests of the state. Angered at
a longstanding Mughal tradition that in
the rejection of his offer by the sardars,
case of a disputed succession, the state
Aurangzeb marched to Ajmer. The
 Medieval India 180
Rathor resistance was crushed and would be given to him when he came of
Jodhpur occupied. Durgadas fled with age.
Ajit Singh to Mewar where the Rana This agreement and the promise re-
sent him to a secret hide-out. garding Ajit Singh satisfied none of the
It was at this stage that Mewar en- Rajputs. The Mughals kept their control
tered the war on the side of Ajit Singh. on Marwar and desultory warfare con-
Rana Raj Singh, who at one stage had tinued till 1698 when at last, Ajit Singh
supported Aurangzeb, had been gradu- was recognised as the ruler of Marwar.
ally alienated. He had sent a force of But the Mughals refused to relax their
5000 men under one of his leading men hold on the capital, Jodhpur. The Rana
to Jodhpur to back up the claim of Rani of Mewar, too, remained dissatisfied at
Hadi, Apparently, he was deeply op- the surrender of his parganas to the
posed to Mughal interference in the in- Mughals. There was no change in this
ternal affairs of the Rajputs, such as situation till Aurangzeb died in 1707.
questions of succession and the Mughal Aurangzeb‘s policy towards Marwar
military occupation of Marwar and Au- and Mewar was clumsy and blundering
rangzeb's rejection of Ajit Singh‘s and brought no advantage of any kind to
claims. the Mughals. On the other hand, Mugh-
Aurangzeb struck the first blow. In al failure against these states damaged
November 1679 he attacked Mewar. The Mughal military prestige. It is true that
war soon reached a stalemate. At last, the battle in Marwar after 1681 involved
the eldest son of Aurangzeb, prince Ak- only a few troops and were not of much
bar, tried to take advantage of long consequence militarily. But the results
drawn war situation by turning his arms of the Marwar policy of Aurangzeb can-
against his father. In alliance with the not be judged solely by these. The
Rathor chief, Durgadas, he marched on breach with, Marwar and Mewar weak-
Ajmer (January 1681) where Aurangzeb ened the Mughal alliance with the Raj-
was helpless, all his best troops being puts at a crucial time. Above all, it creat-
engaged elsewhere. But prince Akbar ed doubts about the firmness of Mughal
delayed and Aurangzeb was able to stir support to old and trusted allies and the
up dissensions in his camp by false let- ulterior motives of Aurangzeb. While it
ters. Prince Akbar had to flee to Maha- showed the rigid and obstinate nature of
rashtra and Aurangzeb heaved a sigh of Aurangzeb, it did not, however, show a
relief. determination to subvert Hinduism as
The campaign in Mewar now be- has been alleged, because during the
came secondary for Aurangzeb He period after 1679large numbers of Mara-
patched up a treaty with Rana Jagat thas were allowed entry into the nobili-
Singh in the meantime. The new Rana ty.
was forced to surrender some of his par- Aurangzeb‘s conflicts in the north-
ganas in lieu of jizyah and was granted a east and with the Jats, Afghans and Raj-
mansab of 5000 on a promise of loyalty puts put a strain on the empire. Howev-
and of not supporting Ajit Singh, Re- er, the real conflict lay in the Deccan.
garding Ajit Singh, all that Aurangzeb
would promise was that mansab and raj
 Medieval India 181

Chapter 19
Climax and Disintegration
of the Mughal Empire—II

The Rise of The Marathas Early Career of Shivaji

We have already seen that the Mara- Shahji had left the Poona jagir to his
thas had important positions in the ad- neglected senior wife, Jija Bai, and his
ministrative and military systems of minor son, Shivaji. Shivaji showed his
Ahmadnagar and Bijapur, and that their mettle when at the young age of 18, he
power and influence in the affairs of overran a number of hill forts near Poo-
government had grown as the Mughals na—Rajgarh, Kondana and Torna in the
advanced towards the Deccan. Both the years 1645—47. With the death of his
Deccani sultans and the Mughals made a guardian, Dadaji Kondadeo in 1647,
bid for their support, and Malik Ambar Shivaji became his own master, and the
used them in his army in large numbers full control of his father‘s jagir passed to
as loose auxiliaries. Although a number him.
of influential Maratha families—the Shivaji began his real career of con-
Mores, the Ghatages, the Nimbalkars, quest in 1656 when he conquered Javli
etc., exercised local authority in some from the Maratha chief, Chandra Rao
areas, the Marathas did not have any More. The Javli kingdom and the accu-
large, well-established states as the Raj- mulated treasure of the Mores were im-
puts had. The credit for setting up such portant, and Shivaji acquired them by
a large state goes to Shahji Bhonsale and means of treachery. The conquest of
his son, Shivaji. As we have seen, for Javli made him the undisputed master of
some time, Shahji acted as the kingmak- the Mavala area, or the highlands, and
er in Ahmadnagar, and defied the freed his path to the Satara area and to
Mughals. However, by the treaty of the coastal strip, the Konkan. Mavali
1636, Shahji yielded the territories he w foot soldiers became a strong part of his
as dominating. He joined the service of army. With their help, he strengthened
Bijapur and turned his energies to Kar- his position by acquiring a further series
nataka. Taking advantage of the unset- of hill forts near Poona.
tled conditions, Shahji tried to set up a The Mughal invasion of Bijapur in
semi-independent principality at Banga- 1657 saved Shivaji from Bijapuri reprisal.
lore, just as Mir Jumla, the leading noble Shivaji first entered into negotiations
of Golconda, tried to carve out such a with Aurangzeb, then changed sides and
principality on the Coromandel coast. A made deep inroads into Mughal areas,
number of other chiefs, such as the Ab- seizing rich booty. When Aurangzeb
yssinian chiefs on the western coast, the came to terms with the new Bijapur
Sidis, behaved in a similar manner. This ruler in preparation for the civil war, he
forms the background to Shivaji‘s at- pardoned Shivaji also. But he distrusted
tempt to carve out a large principality Shivaji, and advised the Bijapur ruler to
around Poona. expel him from the Bijapuri area he had
 Medieval India 182
seized, and if he wanted to employ him, governor of the Deccan, Shaista Khan,
employ him in Karnataka, away from the who was related to Aurangzeb by mar-
Mughal frontiers. riage, to invade Shivaji‘s dominions.
With Aurangzeb away in the north, At first, the war went badly for
Shivaji resumed his career of conquest at Shivaji. Shaista Khan occupied Poona
the expense of Bijapur. He burst into the (1660) and made it his headquarters. He
Konkan, the coastal strip between the then sent detachments to wrest control
Ghats and the sea, and seized its north- of the Konkan from Shivaji. Despite har-
ern part. He also overran a number of assing attacks from Shivaji, and the
other hill forts. Bijapur now decided to bravery of Maratha defenders, the
take stern action. It sent against Shivaji Mughals secured their control on north
a premier Bijapuri noble, Afzal Khan, at Konkan. Driven into a corner, Shivaji
the head of 10,000 troops, with instruc- made a bold stroke. He infiltrated into
tions to capture him by any means pos- the camp of Shaista Khan at Poona, and
sible. Treachery was common in those at night attacked the Khan in his haram
days, and both Afzal Khan and Shivaji (1663), killing his son and one of his
had resorted to treachery on a number of captains, and woundingthe Khan. This
occasions. Shivaji‘s forces were not used daring attack put the Khan into disgrace
to open fighting and shrank from an and Shivaji‘s stock rose once again. In
open contest with this powerful chief. anger, Aurangzeb transferred Shaista
Afzal Khan sent an invitation to Shivaji Khan to Bengal, even refusing to give
for a personal interview, promising to him an interview at the time of transfer
get him pardoned from the Bijapuri as was the custom. Meanwhile, Shivaji
court. Convinced that this was a trap, made another bold move. He attacked
Shivaji went prepared, and murdered Surat, which was the premier Mughal
the Khan (1659) in a cunning but daring port, and looted it to his heart‘s content
manner. Shivaji put his leaderless army (1664), returning home laden with
to rout and captured all his goods and treasure.
equipment including his artillery.
Flushed with victory, the Maratha Treaty of Purandar and Shiva-
troops overran the powerful fort of Pan- ji’s Visit To Agra
hala and poured into south Konkan and After the failure of Shaista Khan, Au-
the Kolhapur districts, making exten- rangzeb deputed Raja Jai Singh of Am-
sive conquests. ber, who was one of the most trusted
Shivaji‘s exploits made him a legend- advisers of Aurangzeb, to deal with
ary figure. His fame grew and he was Shivaji. Full military and administrative
credited with magical powers. People authority was conferred on Jai Singh so
flocked to him from the Maratha areas that he was not in any way dependent
to join his army; and even Afghan mer- on the Mughal viceroy in the Deccan,
cenaries who had been previously in the and dealt directly with the emperor.
service of Bijapur, joined his army. Unlike his predecessors, Jai Singh did
Meanwhile, Aurangzeb was anx- not underestimate the Marathas. He
iously watching the rise of a Maratha made careful diplomatic and military
power so near the Mughal frontiers. preparations. He appealed to all the ri-
Aurangzeb instructed the new Mughal vals and opponents of Shivaji, and even
 Medieval India 183
tried to win over the sultan of Bijapur in visit the emperor at Agra. If Shivaji and
order to isolate Shivaji. Marching to Aurangzeb could be reconciled, Jai
Poona, Jai Singh decided to strike at the Singh thought, Aurangzeb might be
heart of Shivaji‘s territories— Fort Pu- persuaded to give greater resources for a
randar where Shivaji had lodged his renewed invasion of Bijapur. But the
family and his treasure. Jai Singh closely visit proved to be a disaster. Shivaji felt
besieged Purandar (1665), beating off all insulted when he was put in the catego-
Maratha attempts to relieve it. With the ry of mansabdars of 5000—a rank which
fall of the fort in sight, and no relief like- had been granted earlier to his minor
ly from any quarter, Shivaji opened ne- son. Nor did the emperor, whose birth-
gotiations with Jai Singh and finally a day was being celebrated, find time to
agreement reached between the two. speak to Shivaji. Hence, Shivaji walked
off angrily and refused imperial service.
Shivaji asked to be excused from Such an episode had never happened,
personal service. Hence, a mansab of 5000 and a strong group at the court argued
was granted in his place to his minor that exemplary punishment should be
son, Sambhaji. Shivaji promised, howev- meted out to Shivaji in order to maintain
er, to join personally in any Mughal and assert imperial dignity. Since Shivaji
campaign in the Deccan. had come to Agra on Jai Singh‘s assur-
Jai Singh cleverly threw a bone of ance, Aurangzeb wrote to him for ad-
contention between Shivaji and the Bi- vice. Jai Singh strongly argued for a leni-
japuri ruler. But the success of Jai ent treatment for Shivaji. But before any
Singh‘s scheme depended upon Mughal decision could be taken, Shivaji escaped
support to Shivaji in making up from from detention (1666). The manner of
Bijapur territory the amount he had Shivaji‘s escape is too well known to be
yielded to the Mughals. This proved to repeated here.
be the fatal flaw. Aurangzeb had not lost Aurangzeb always blamed himself
his reservations about Shivaji, and was for his carelessness in allowing Shivaji to
doubtful of the wisdom of a joint Mugh- escape. There is little doubt that Shiva-
al-Maratha attack on Bijapur. But Jai ji‘s Agra visit proved to be the turning
Singh had larger ideas. He considered point in Mughal relations with the Ma-
the alliance with Shivaji the starting rathas— although for two years after his
point of the conquest of Bijapur and the return home, Shivaji kept quiet. The
entire Deccan. And once this had been visit proved that, unlike Jai Singh, Au-
done, Shivaji would have no option but rangzeb attached little value to the alli-
to remain an ally of the Mughals since, ance with Shivaji. For him, Shivaji was
as Jai Singh wrote to Aurangzeb, ‗We just a ‗petty bhumia ‘ (land-holder). As
shall hem Shivaji in like the centre of a subsequent developments proved, Au-
circle.‘ rangzeb‘s stubborn reservations about
However, the Mughal-Maratha ex- Shivaji, refusal to recognize his im-
pedition against Bijapur failed. Shivaji portance and attaching a low price to
who had been deputed to capture Fort his friendship were among the biggest
Panhala was also unsuccessful. Seeing political mistakes made by Aurangzeb.
his grandiose scheme collapsing before
his eyes, Jai Singh persuaded Shivaji to
 Medieval India 184
Final Breach With Shivaji— presiding over the function, Gaga Bhat-
Shivaji’s Administration and ta, that Shivaji was a high class kshatri-
ya. Finally, as an independent ruler it
Achievements now became possible for Shivaji to enter
Aurangzeb virtually goaded Shivaji into treaties with the Deccani sultans on
into resuming his career of conquest by a footing of equality and not as a rebel. It
insisting upon a narrow interpretation was also an important step in the fur-
of the treaty of Purandar, although with ther growth of Maratha national senti-
the failure of the expedition against Bi- ment.
japur, the bottom had dropped out of In 1676 Shivaji undertook a bold new
the treaty. Shivaji could not be recon- venture. With the active aid and sup-
ciled to the loss of 23 forts and territory port of the brothers, Madanna and
worth four lakhs huns a year to the Akhanna at Hyderabad, Shivaji under-
Mughals without any compensation took an expedition into the Bijapuri
from Bijapur. He renewed the contest Karnataka. Shivaji was given a grand
with the Mughals, sacking Surat a se- welcome by the Qutb Shah at his capi-
cond time in 1670. During the next four tal, and a formal agreement was arrived
years, he recovered a large number of his at. The Qutb Shah agreed to pay a sub-
forts, including Purandar, from the sidy of one lakh huns (five lakhs of ru-
Mughals and made deep inroads into pees) annually to Shivaji and a Maratha
Mughal territories, especially Berar and ambassador was to live at his court. The
Khandesh. Mughal preoccupation with territory and the booty gained in Karna-
the Afghan uprising in the northwest taka was to be shared. The Qutb Shah
helped Shivaji. He also renewed his con- supplied a contingent of troops and ar-
test with Bijapur, securing Panhala and tillery to aid Shivaji and also provided
Satara by means of bribes, and raiding money for the expenses of his army. The
the Kanara country at leisure. treaty was very favourable to Shivaji and
In 1674, Shivaji crowned himself enabled him to capture Jinji and Vellore
formally at Raigarh. Shivaji had travelled from Bijapuri officials and also to con-
far from being a petty jagirdar at Poona. quer much of the territories held by his
He was by now the most powerful half-brother, Ekoji. Although Shivaji had
among the Maratha chiefs, and by virtue assumed the title of ‘Haindava-
of the extent of his dominions and the Dharmoddhara’ (Protector of the Hindu
size of his army could claim a status faith), he plundered mercilessly the
equal to the effete Deccani sultans. The Hindu population of the area. Returning
formal coronation had, therefore, a
home laden with treasure, Shivaji re-
number of purposes. It placed him on a
fused to share anything with the Qutb
pedestal much higher than any of the
Shah, thus straining his relations with
Maratha chiefs, some of whom had con-
him.
tinued to look upon him as an upstart.
The Karnataka expedition was the
To strengthen his social position fur-
last major expedition of Shivaji. The
ther, Shivaji married into some of the
base at Jinji built up by Shivaji proved to
leading old Maratha families—the
be a haven of refuge for his son, Rajaram,
Mohites, the Shirkes, etc. A formal dec-
during Aurangzeb‘s all-out war on the
laration was also made by the priest Marathas.
 Medieval India 185
Shivaji died in 1680, shortly after his vised, Mavali foot soldiers and gunners
return from the Karanataka expedition. being appointed there. We are told that
Meanwhile, he had laid the foundations three men of equal rank were placed in
of a sound system of administration. charge of each fort to guard against
Shivaji‘s system of administration was treachery.
largely borrowed from the administra- The revenue system seems to have
tive practices of the Deccani states. Alt- been patterned on the system of Malik
hough he designated eight ministers, Ambar. A new revenue assessment was
sometimes called the Ashtapradhan, it completed by Annaji Datto in 1679. It is
was not in the nature of a council of not correct to think that Shivaji abol-
ministers, each minister being directly ished the zamindari (deshmukhi) system, or
responsible to the ruler. The most im- that he did not award jagirs (mokasa) to
portant ministers were the Peshwas his officials. However, Shivaji strictly
who looked after the finances and gen- supervised the mirasdars, that is, those
eral administration, and the sar-i-naubat with hereditary rights in land. Describ-
(senapati) which was a post of honour ing the situation, Sabhasad, who wrote
and was generally given to one of the in the eighteenth century, says that the-
leading Maratha chiefs. The majumdar. se sections paid to the government only
was the accountant, while the wakenavis a small part of their collections. ‗In con-
was responsible for intelligence, posts sequence, the mirasdars grew and
and household affairs. The surunavis or strengthened themselves by building
chitnis helped the king with his corre- bastions, castles and strongholds in the
spondence. The dabir was master of cer- villages, enlisting footmen and musket-
emonies and also helped the king in his eers... This class had become unruly and
dealings with foreign powers. The nya- seized the country.‘ Shivaji destroyed
their bastions and forced them to sub-
yadhish and panditrao were in charge of
mit.
justice and charitable grants.
Shivaji supplemented his income by
More important than the appoint-
levying a contribution on the neighbour-
ment of these officials was Shivaji‘s or-
ing Mughal territories. This contribu-
ganisation of the army and the revenue
tion which came to one-fourth of the
system. Shivaji preferred to give cash
land revenue, began to be called chauthai
salaries to the regular soldiers, though
sometimes the chiefs received revenue (one- fourth) or chauth.
grants (saranjam). Strict discipline was Shivaji not only proved to be an able
maintained in the army, no women or general, a skilful tactician and a shrewd
dancing girls being allowed to accom- diplomat, he also laid the foundation of a
pany the army. The plunder taken by strong state by curbing the power of the
each soldier during campaigns was deshmukhs. The army was an effective
strictly accounted for. The regular army instrument of his policies, rapidity of
(paga) consisting of about 30,000 to movement being the most important
40,000 cavalry, as distinct from the factor. The army depended for its sala-
ries to a considerable extent on the
loose auxiliaries (silahdars), were super-
plunder of the neighbouring areas. But
vised by havaldars who received fixed the state cannot thereby be called just a
salaries. The forts were carefully super-
 Medieval India 186
‗war-state.‘ It was regional in character, tories granted to it in 1636. The ‗justifi-
no doubt, but it definitely had a popular cation‘ for this was that both these
base. To that extent, Shivaji was a popu- states had made extensive conquests in
lar king who represented the assertion Karnataka and that ‗compensation‘ was
of popular will in the area against due to the Mughals on the ground that
Mughal encroachments. the two states were Mughal vassals, and
that their conquests had been made pos-
Aurangzeb and The Deccani sible due to benevolent neutrality on the
States (1658-87) part of the Mughals. In reality the cost
It is possible to trace three phases in of maintaining the Mughal armies in the
the relations of Aurangzeb with the Deccan was high, and the income from
Deccani states. The first phase lasted till the Deccani areas under the control of
1668 during which the main attempt the Mughals was insufficient to meet it.
was to recover from Bijapur the territo- For a long time, the cost was met by
ries belonging to the Ahmadnagar state subsidies from the treasuries of Malwa
surrendered to it by the treaty of 1636; and Gujarat.
the second phase lasted till 1684 during The resumption of a policy of limited
which the major danger in the Deccan advance in the Deccan had far-reaching
was considered to be the Maathas, and implications which, it seems, neither
efforts were made to pressurize Bijapur Shah Jahan nor Aurangzeb adequately
and Golconda into joining hands with appreciated: it destroyed for all times
the Mughals against Shivaji and then confidence in the Mughal treaties and
against his son, Sambhaji. The Mughals promises, and made impossible ‗a union
nibbled at the territories of the Deccani of hearts‘ against the Marathas—a poli-
states and at the same time tried to cy which Aurangzeb pursued with great
bring them under their complete domi- perseverance for a quarter of a century,
nation and control. The last phase began but with little success.
when Aurangzeb despaired of getting
the cooperation of Bijapur and Golconda The First Phase (1658-68)
against the Marathas, and decided that On coming to the throne, Aurangzeb
to destroy the Marathas it was neces- had two problems in the Deccan: the
sary to conquer Bijapur and Golconda problem posed by the rising power of
first. Shivaji, and the problem of persuading
The treaty of 1636, by which Shah Bijapur to part with the territories ced-
Jahan had given one-third of the tc rrito- ed to it by the treaty of 1636. Kalyani
ries of Ahmadnagar state as a bribe for and Bidar had been secured in 1657. Par-
withdrawing support to the Marathas, enda was secured by bribe in 1660. Sho-
and the promise that the Mughals lapur still remained. After his accession,
would ‗never ever‘ conquer Bijapur and Aurangzeb asked Jai Singh to punish
Golconda, had been abandoned by Shah both Shivaji and Adil Shah. This shows
Jahan himself. In 1657—58, Golconda Aurangzeb‘s confidence in the superiori-
and Bijapur were threatened with ex- ty of the Mughal arms and the underes-
tinction. Golconda had to pay a huge timation of his opponents. But Jai Singh
indemnity, and Bijapur had to agree to was an astute politician. He told Au-
the surrender of the Nizam Shahi terri-
 Medieval India 187
rangzeb, ‗It would be unwise to attack (1667). The following year (1668), the
both these fools at the same time.‘ Mughals secured the surrender of Sho-
Jai Singh was the only Mughal poli- lapur by bribery. The first phase was
tician who advocated an all- out forward thus over.
policy in the Deccan during this period.
Jai Singh was of the opinion that the The Second Phase (1668-84)
Maratha problem could not be solved The Mughals virtually marked time
without a forward policy in the Dec- in the Deccan between 1668 and 1676. A
can—a conclusion to which Aurangzeb new factor during the period was the
finally came 20 years later. rise to power of Madanna and Akhanna
While planning his invasion of Bija- in Golconda. These two gifted brothers
pur, Jai Singh had written to Aurangzeb, virtually ruled Golconda from 1672 al-
‗The conquest of Bijapur is the preface to most till the extinction of the state in
the conquest of all Deccan and Karna- 1687. The brothers followed a policy of
taka.‘ But Aurangzeb shrank from this trying to establish a tripartite alliance
bold policy. We can only guess at the between Golconda, Bijapur and Shivaji.
reasons: the ruler of Iran had adopted a This policy was periodically disturbed
threatening attitude in the northwest; by faction fights at the Bijapur court,
the campaign for the conquest of the and by the overweening ambition of
Deccan would be long and arduous and Shivaji. The factions at Bijapur could not
would need the presence of the emperor be depended upon to follow a consistent
himself for large armies could not be left policy. They adopted a pro or anti-
in charge of a noble or an ambitious Mughal stance depending upon their
prince, as Shah Jahan had discovered to immediate interests. Shivaji looted and
his misfortune. Also, as long as Shah alternately supported Bijapur against
Jahan was alive, Aurangzeb could not the Mughals. Although seriously con-
afford to go away on a distant campaign. cerned at the growing Maratha power,
With his limited resources, Jai Aurangzeb, it seems, was keen to limit
Singh‘s Bijapur campaign (1665) was Mughal expansion in the Deccan.
bound to fail. The campaign recreated Hence, repeated efforts were made to
the united front of the Deccani states install and back a party at Bijapur which
against the Mughals, for the Qutb Shah would cooperate with the Mughals
sent a large force to aid Bijapur. The against Shivaji, and which would not be
Deccanis adopted guerilla tactics, luring led by Golconda.
Jai Singh on to Bijapur while devastating In pursuit of this policy, a series of
the countryside so that the Mughals Mughal military interventions were
could get no supplies. Jai Singh found made, the details of which are of little
that he had no means to assault the city interest.
since he had not brought siege guns, and The only result of Mughal diplomat-
to invest the city was impossible. The ic and military efforts was the re-
retreat proved costly, and neither money assertion of the united front of the three
nor any additional territory was gained Deccani powers against the Mughals. A
by Jai Singh by this campaign. This dis- last desperate effort of Diler Khan, the
appointment and the censures of Au- Mughal Viceroy, in 1679—80 to capture
rangzeb hastened Jai Singh‘s death Bijapur also failed, largely because no
 Medieval India 188
Mughal viceroy had the means to con- forces of the Deccani states could not
tend against the united forces of the withstand the full strength of the
Deccani states. A new element which Mughal army, particularly when it was
was brought into play was the match- commanded by the Mughal emperor
lock armed Karnataki foot soldiers. himself However, it took 18 months of
Thirty thousand of them sent by the siege, with Aurangzeb being personally
Berar chief, Prem Naik, were a major present during the final stages, before
factor in withstanding the Mughal siege Bijapur fell (1686). This provides ample
of Bijapur in 1679—80. Shivaji, too, sent justification for the earlier failures of Jai
a large force to relieve Bijapur and raided Singh (1665), and Diler Khan (1679—80)
the Mughal dominions in all directions. against Bijapur.
Thus, Diler Khan could achieve nothing A campaign against Golconda was
except laying Mughal territories open to inevitable following the downfall of Bi-
Maratha raids. Hence, he was recalled japur. The ‗sins‘ of the Qutb Shah were
by Aurangzeb. too many to be pardoned. Fie had given
supreme power to the infidels, Madanna
The Third Phase (1684–87) and Akhanna, and helped Shivaji on
Thus, the Mughals achieved little various occasions. His latest ‗treachery‘
during 1676—80. When Aurangzeb was sending 40,000 men to aid Bijapur,
reached the Deccan in 1681 in pursuit of despite Aurangzeb‘s warnings. Earlier in
his rebel son, prince Akbar at first, he 1685, despite stiff resistance, the
concentrated his forces against Sambha- Mughals had occupied Golconda. The
ji, the son and successor of Shivaji while emperor had agreed to pardon the Qutb
making renewed efforts to detach Bija- Shah in return for a huge subsity, the
pur and Golconda from the side of the ceding of some areas and the ousting of
Marathas. His efforts did not have an Madanna arid Akhanna. The Qutb Shah
outcome different from those of the ear- had agreed. Madanna and Akhanna had
lier ones. The Marathas , were the only been dragged out into the streets and
shield against the Mughals, and the murdered (1686). But even this crime
Deccani states were not prepared to failed to save the Qutb Shah. The
throw it away. Mughals opened the siege of Golconda
Aurangzeb now decided to force the early in 1687 and after more than six
issue. He called upon the Adil Shah as a months of campaigning the fort fell on
vassal to supply provision to the imperi- account of treachery and bribery.
al army, to allow the Mughal armies free Aurangzeb had triumphed but he
passage through his territory, and to soon found that the extinction of Bija-
supply a contingent of 5000 to 6000 pur and Golconda was only the begin-
cavalry for the war against the Mara- ning of his difficulties. The last and the
thas. He also demanded that Sharza most difficult phase of Aurangzeb‘s life
Khan, the leading Bijapuri noble op- began now.
posed to the Mughals, be expelled. An
open rupture was now inevitable. The
Adil Shah appealed for help both to Gol-
conda and Sambhaji, which was
promptly given. Even the combined
 Medieval India 189
Aurangzeb, The Marathas and heir-apparent, Shah Alam, that the task
The Deccan— of ruling over Karnataka should be left
to the vassal rulers of Bijapur and Gol-
The Last Phase (1687-1707) conda. Aurangzeb rejected all these sug-
After the downfall of Bijapur and gestions, and imprisoned Shah Alam for
Golconda, Aurangzeb was able to con- daring to negotiate with the Deccani
centrate all his forces against the Mara- rulers. Convinced that the Maratha
thas. power had been crushed after 1690, Au-
In 1689, Sambhaji was surprised at rangzeb, concentrated on annexing to
his secret hide-out at Sangameshwar by the empire the rich and extensive Kar-
a Mughal force. He was paraded before nataka tract. However, Aurangzeb bit
Aurangzeb and executed as a rebel and off more than he could chew. He unduly
an infidel. This was undoubtedly anoth- extended his lines of communications
er major political mistake on the part of which became vulnerable to Maratha
Aurangzeb. He could have set a seal on attacks. This resulted in his failure to
his conquest of Bijapur and Golconda by provide a sound administration to Bija-
coming to terms with the Marathas. By pur which was the hub of Maratha ac-
executing Sambhaji, he not only threw tivities.
away this chance, but provided the Ma- During the period between 1690 and
rathas a new cause. At the same time, in 1703, Aurangzeb stubbornly refused to
the absence of a single rallying point, the negotiate with the Marathas. Rajaram
Maratha sardars were left free to plun- was besieged at Jinji, but the siege
der the Mughal territories, disappearing proved to be long drawn out. Jinji fell in
at the approach of the Mughal forces, 1698, but the chief prize, Rajaram, es-
and rallying again. Instead of having caped. Mararha resistance grew and the
destroyed the Maratha state, Aurangzeb Mughals suffered a number of serious
made the Maratha opposition all- reverses. The Marathas recaptured many
pervasive in the Deccan. Rajaram, the of their forts and Rajaram was able to
younger brother of Sambhaji, was come back to Satara.
crowned as king, but had to escape Undaunted, Aurangzeb set out to
when the Mughals attacked his capital. win back all the Maratha forts. For five
Rajaram sought shelter at Jinji on the and half years, from 1700 to 1705, Au-
east coast and continued the fight rangzeb dragged his weary and ailing
against the Mughals from there. Thus, body from the siege of one fort to anoth-
Maratha resistance spread from the er. Floods, disease and the Maratha rov-
west to the east coast. ing bands took fearful toll of the Mughal
However, for the moment, Aurang- army. Weariness and disaffection
zeb was at the height of his power, hav- steadily grew among the nobles and in
ing triumphed over all his enemies. the army. Demoralization set in, and
Some of the nobles were of the opinion many jagirdars made secret pacts with
that Aurangzeb should return to north
the Marathas and agreed to pay chauth if
India, leaving to others the task of mop-
ping-up operations against the Mara- the Marathas did not disturb their jagirs.
thas. Earlier, there was an opinion In 1703, Aurangzeb opened negotia-
which, it appears, had the support of the tions with the Marathas. He was pre-
pared to release Shahu, the son of Sam-
 Medieval India 190
bhaji, who had been captured at Satara To what extent was the downfall of
along with his mother. Shahu had been the Mughal empire due to developments
treated well. He had been given the title after the death of Aurangzeb, and to
of raja and the mansab of 7000/7000. On what extent was it due to the mistaken
coming of age he had been married to policies adopted by Aurangzeb? There
two Maratha girls of respectable fami- has been a good deal of discussion on
lies. Aurangzeb was prepared to grant to this point among historians. While not
Shahu, Shivaji‘s swarajya and the right absolving Aurangzeb from all responsi-
ofsardeshmukhi over the Deccan, thus bility, the recent trend has been to view
recognising his special position. Over 70 his reign in the context of the economic,
Maratha sardars actually assembled to social, administrative and intellectual
receive Shahu. But Aurangzeb cancelled situation prevailing in the country, as
the arrangements at the last minute, also the developing international trends
being uncertain about the intentions of before and during his reign.
the Marathas.1 The working of economic and social
By 1706, Aurangzeb was convinced forces in medieval India has yet to be
of the futility of his effort to capture all fully understood. We have seen in an
the Maratha forts. He slowly retreated earlier chapter that trade and commerce
to Aurangabad while an exulting Mara- were expanding in India during the sev-
tha army hovered around and attacked enteenth century and that handicraft
the stragglers. production was keeping pace with the
Thus, when Aurangzeb breathed his growing demand. This, in turn, could
last at Aurangabad in 1707, he left be- only have been made possible if the pro-
hind an empire which was sorely dis- duction of raw materials such as cotton,
tracted, and in which all the various indigo, etc., expanded simultaneously.
internal problems were coming to a The area under zabti, that is, where the
head. system of measurement was followed,
expanded, according to official Mughal
Decline of The Mughal Em- statistics. There is some evidence, in
pire—Responsibility of Au- fact, that the total area under cultivation
expanded. This was due not only to
rangzeb population growth, and to the working
The Mughal empire declined rapidly of the economic forces but, in part, to
after the death of Aurangzeb. The the adiministrative policies pursued by
Mughal court became the scene for fac- the Mughals. Every noble, even a reli-
tion fighting among the nobles, and soon gious grantee was expected to take per-
ambitious provincial governors began to sonal interest in the expansion and im-
behave in an independent manner. The provement of cultivation, and careful
Maratha depredations extended from records of such growth were main-
the Deccan to the heartland of the em- tained. Historians are surprised at the
pire, the Gangetic plains. The weakness detailed records that were maintained
of the empire was proclaimed to the regarding the number of ploughs, bull-
world when Nadir Shah imprisoned the ocks and wells in each village, the in-
Mughal emperor and looted Delhi in crease in their numbers as well the
1739.
 Medieval India 191
number of cultivators and the area un- a reserve labour force, and for perform-
der cultivation. ing various menial jobs for them, such as
Despite this, there is reason to be- skinning the dead animals, making
lieve that trade and manufacture, as well leather ropes, etc. The rural landless and
as agricultural production were not ex- poor (i.e. those who had very small hold-
panding as rapidly as the situation re- ings) had neither the necessary capital
quired. This was due to a number of nor the organisation needed for settling
factors. No new methods of cultivation new villages or breaking uncultivated
were available to counter the trend of lands on their own. The state did, some-
declining production as the soil became times, take the initiative in settling new
exhausted. The land revenue was heavy. lands, but had to depend on the local
From Akbar‘s time, it was more or less zamindars and the village headmen
half of the produce,2 if we include the (muqaddams) in the enterprises. Often,
share due to the zamindars and to the these sections belonged to specific caste
other local elements. The state demand groups and had their own vested inter-
varied from area to area, being less in the ests, as we have noted.
less fertile areas of Rajasthan and Sindh, While agricultural production in-
and more in such fertile areas as the saf- creased slowly, the demands and expec-
fron-producing areas in Kashmir. How- tations of the ruling classes expanded
ever, it was not, generally speaking, so rapidly. Thus, the number of mansab dars
heavy as to drive the peasant away from rose from 2069 at the time of Jahangir‘s
land. In fact, Figures from eastern Raja- accession in 1605, to 8000 in 1637 during
sthan show that new villages were con- Shah Jahan‘s reign, and to 11,456 during
tinuously being founded during the se- the latter half of Aurangzeb‘s reign.
cond half of the seventeenth and the While the number of nobles rose five
early part of the eighteenth century. times, the revenue resources of the em-
(We do not have figures for the earlier pire increased only slowly. During the
period.) The basic reasons for the lim- reigns of Jahangir and Shah Jahan, the
ited expansion, it appears, were social empire hardly expanded. Moreover,
and partly administrative. Since the Shah Jahan inaugurated what may be
population of the country during the called an age of magnificence. The opu-
period is estimated to be about 125 mil- lence of the nobles who already enjoyed
lion, there was plenty of surplus culti- the highest salaries in the world in-
vable land available. However, we hear creased further during the period.
of landless labourers in many villages. Though many nobles took part in trade
The bulk of these people, it seems, can and commerce directly or through mer-
be broadly classified as untouchables or chants acting on their behalf, income
Dalits. The cultivating communities, and from trade and commerce could only
the zamindars who often belonged to supplement their income which contin-
the general (Shudra) and upper castes, ued to be mainly from land. Their prob-
had little desire or incentive for making lems worsened by the fact that the pric-
it possible for the Dalits to settle new es rose during the first half of the 17th
villages and thus acquire proprietary century. Hence, they tried to increase
right in land. They had, in fact, a vested their income from land by squeezing the
interest in keeping them in the village as
 Medieval India 192
peasants and the zamindars as far as quence, many of them were unable to
they could. maintain their stipulated quota of
We know very little about the num- troops. The position in the Deccan was
ber of zamindars and their living stand- particularly bad. Due to the disturbed
ards. Mughal policy towards the zamin- conditions, and the lack of a proper con-
dars was contradictory. While on the tingent on the part of the nobles, we are
one hand, the zamindars were consid- told by a contemporary observer, Bhim
ered the main threat to the internal sta- Sen, they were sometimes unable to re-
bility of the empire, on the other hand, alize even a farthing. According to him,
efforts were made to draw them into the in consequence many of the mansabdars
task of local administration. Many of entered into private agreements with
them—Rajputs, Marathas and others— the Maratha sardars to pay chauth, i.e.
were given mansabs and political offices share a quarter of their income if they
in an effort to broaden the political base did not create disturbances in the jagirs.
of the empire. The zamindars, who as a Another problem was shortage of ja-
class had become more powerful and girs. Following the annexation of Bijapur
influential in the process, were in no and Golconda, the best and most easily
mood to submit to the illegal exactions manageablejagirs had been kept by Au-
of the nobles. Nor was it easy to increase
rangzeb in the khalisa, i.e., direct man-
the exactions on the peasantry still fur-
agement in order to pay for the war.
ther, especially when there was plenty
Jagirs in the newly conquered areas, i.e.
of surplus cultivable land and the za-
mindars, and the village headmen vied the Karnataka yielded little income
with each other to try to attract new since the area was still unsettled. Hence,
cultivators to their lands. The movement there were no takers for jagirs in the ar-
of these migrant peasants called pahis or ea. Even the existing jagirdars, especially
uparis from village to village in search of those holding small jagirs, were harassed
better conditions is a little noticed fea- by the corruption of the clerks and other
ture of medieval rural life. office holders who demanded bribes,
Thus attempts to realize more from and were often transferred to poorer,
the jagirs, often by means not sanctioned less payingjagirs if they failed to pay the
by the state, brought to the surface, all bribes.
the internal contradictions of medieval The crisis of the jagirdari system put
rural society. It led to peasant discon- the nobility under pressure. In order to
tent in some areas, uprisings led by za- grant jagirs to larger and larger numbers,
mindars in some others, and attempts to and also to meet the gap between the
carve out independent local kingdoms in paper income of the jagir and its realiza-
still others. At the administrative level, tion,Shah Jahan had reduced the num-
it led to growing dissatisfaction and ber of horses an sawars a mansabdar was
factionalism in the nobility and to the expected to maintain. This was ex-
growth of what has been called the cri- pressed in the formula that the salary
sis of the jagirdari system. The nobles would be equivalent to six or five
were unable to get from their jagirs the months‘ salary in a year. But the prob-
income indicated on paper. In conse- lem of shortage of jagirs persisted, and
became specially acute during the latter
 Medieval India 193
part of Aurangzeb‘s reign. The conquest ple coming from colder climates. Such
of the Deccan did not solve the problem an argument cannot be accepted by us.
because Aurangzeb was keen to ac- It has also been argued that the
commodate the officials of the former Mughal nobility acted in an anti-
Deccani kingdom, as also the Marathas, national manner, because it was drawn
who were active and influential in the from diverse communities and ethnic
area. and racial groups and hence lacked a
To conserve resources, Aurangzeb national character. A sense of national-
put a virtual ban on new recruitment. ism, as we understand the term today,
This led to acute disappointment to the did not exist in medieval times. But the
sons and sons-in-law of the old nobles concept of loyalty to the salt was effec-
who had been awaiting long for the tive enough to ensure loyalty to the
grant of a mansab andjagir. In the pictur- Mughal dynasty and a broad sense of
esque language of the historian, Khafi patriotism. As we have seen, the nobles
Khan, grant of ajagir became like ―one who came from abroad had few links left
pomegranate among a hundred sick.‖ with the country of their origin and
The nobility was one of the most shared the Indo-Mughal cultural values
important institutions which developed and outlook.
under the Mughals. We have seen how The Mughals had devised a careful
the Mughals were able to attract to their system of checks and balances at various
services some of the most competent levels in the administrative machinery
people irrespective of race or creed, from and tried to balance various ethnic and
various sections within the country, and religious groups in such a way that the
also from outside. The nobility func- ambitions of individual nobles or groups
tioned successfully in a system which of them could be kept under control.
emphasized accessibility and attention Nobles began to assume independent
to grievances, public or personal. It also airs only when the administrative ma-
helped to maintain a fair state of securi- chinery was allowed to decay by the
ty and peace in the country. But this role successors of Aurangzeb, and on ac-
the nobility played as the service to the count of the steady accentuation of the
emperor served their own interests. It is crisis of the jagirdari system. Thus, disin-
wrong to argue, as some historians have tegration was speeded up not because of
done, that the nobility decayed because but as a result of the breakdown of the
the ‗vivifying stream of immigrants from Mughal administrative system. The
Central Asia stopped after the death of Mughal administrative system was
Aurangzeb. By the time Aurangzeb as- highly centralized and needed a compe-
cended the throne, the bulk of the tent monarch to run it. In the absence of
Mughal nobility consisted of those who such monarchs, wazirs tried to fill the
had been born in India. The belief that bill, but they failed. Thus, individual
there was something wrong in the Indi- failures and the breakdown of the sys-
an climate which led to the decline of tem reacted on each other.
character was really a racialist argument It has been argued that by the time
put forward later by the British histori- Aurangzeb came to the throne, the
ans to justify India‘s domination by peo- Mughal army had become outmoded, on
account of neglect of the infantry armed
 Medieval India 194
with flint guns, and a mobile field artil- trust and responsibility. Thus, the Ma-
lery. Such forces might also have ena- rathas could not be integrated into the
bled Aurangzeb to deal more effectively Mughal political system. Here again, a
with Maratha held forts in the Deccan. political settlement with Shivaji, or
But such a development needed larger Sambhaji or Shahu might have made a
resources, and would have been resisted big difference.
by the nobles since decline of the cavalry Aurangzeb has been criticized for
would have influenced their prestige as having failed to unite with the Deccani
well. states against the Marathas, or for hav-
In the political field, Aurangzeb ing conquered them thereby making the
committed a number of serious mis- empire ‗so large that it collapsed under
takes. We have already referred to his its own weight.‘ A unity of hearts be-
inability to understand the true nature tween Aurangzeb and the Deccani
of the Maratha movement, and his dis- states was ‗a psychological impossibil-
regard of Jai Singh‘s advise to befriend ity‘ once the treaty of 1636 was aban-
Shivaji. The execution of Sambhaji was doned, a development which took place
another mistake, for it deprived Aurang- during the reign of Shah Jahan himself.
zeb of a recognised Maratha head to After his accession, Aurangzeb desisted
negotiate with. Apparently, Aurangzeb from pursuing a vigorous forward policy
had no desire to negotiate with the Ma- in the Deccan. In fact, he postponed as
rathas. He was convinced that after the long as possible the decision to conquer
extinction of Bijapur and Golconda, the and annex the Deccani states.
Marathas were at his mercy and that Aurangzeb‘s hand was virtually
they had no option but to accept his forced by the growing Maratha power,
terms—a truncated swarajya (the term the support extended to Shivaji by
used by Maratha writers for the state Madanna and Akhanna from Golconda,
carved out by Shivaji) and promise of and his fear that Bijapur might fall under
loyalty and service to the Mughal em- the domination of Shivaji and the Mara-
peror. When Aurangzeb realised his tha-dominated Golconda. Later, by giv-
mistake and opened negotiations with ing shelter to the rebel prince Akbar,
the Marathas, the demand for chauth and Sambhaji virtually threw a challenge to
sardeshmukhi proved a serious obstacle. Aurangzeb who quickly realised that
Even this had been, by and large, sur- the Marathas could not be dealt with
mounted. In 1703, agreement had been, without first subduing Bijapur and pos-
more or less arrived at, but Aurangzeb sibly Golconda.
could not bring himself to trust Shahu The attempt to extend Mughal ad-
and the Maratha sardars. ministration over Golconda, Bijapur and
Aurangzeb failed to solve the Mara- Karnataka, stretched the Mughal ad-
tha problem and thus left an open sore. ministration to a breaking point. It also
He did give mansabs to many Maratha laid Mughal lines of communications
sardars; in fact, Maratha sardars had open to Maratha attacks, so much so,
more mansabs at the highest levels than that the Mughal nobles in the area found
the Rajputs ever had. Yet, the Maratha it impossible to collect their dues from
sardars were not trusted. Unlike the the jagirs assigned to them and some-
Rajputs, they were never given offices of times made private pacts with the Ma-
 Medieval India 195
rathas, as has been noted above. This, in still retained much of its vigour, and
turn, raised the power and prestige of trade and industry not only continued
the Marathas, led to demoralisation in to flourish, but expanded. The admin-
the nobility, and a setback to the impe- istration at the district level proved
rial prestige. Perhaps, Aurangzeb might amazingly tenacious, and a good deal of
have been better advised to accept the it survived and found its way indirectly
suggestion put forward by his eldest into the British administration.
son, Shah Alam,for a settlement with Politically, despite the military re-
Bijapur and Golconda, annex only a part verses and the mistakes of Aurangzeb,
of their territories, and let them rule the Mughal dynasty still retained a
over Karnataka which was far away and powerful hold on the mind and imagina-
difficult to manage. tion of the people.
The impact of the Deccani and other As far as the Rajputs are concerned,
wars on the Mughal empire and of the we have seen that the breach with
prolonged absence of Aurangzeb from Marwar was not due to an attempt on
northern India, should not be overesti- Aurangzeb‘s part to undermine the Hin-
mated. Despite the mistakes of policy dus by depriving them of a recognized
and some of the personal shortcomings head, but due to a miscalculation on his
of Aurangzeb, such as his excessive sus- part; he wanted to divide the Marwar
piciousness and his narrow and cold state between the two principal claim-
temperament, the Mughal empire was ants, and in the process alienated both,
still a powerful and vigorous military including the ruler of Mewar who con-
and administrative machinery. The sidered Mughal interference in such a
Mughal army might fail against the elu- delicate matter to be a dangerous prece-
sive and highly mobile bands of Mara- dent. The breach with Mewar and the
thas in the mountainous region of the long drawn-out war which followed
Deccan. Maratha forts might be difficult damaged the moral standing of the
to capture and still more difficult to Mughal state. However, the fighting was
retain, but in the plains of northern In- not of much consequence militarily after
dia and the vast plateau extending up to 1681. It may be doubted whether the
the Karnataka, the Mughal artillery was presence of Rathor Rajputs in larger
still master of the field. Thirty or forty numbers in the Deccan between 1681
years after Aurangzeb‘s death, when the and 1706 would have made much differ-
Mughal artillery had declined consider- ence in the outcome of the military con-
ably in strength and efficiency, the Ma- flict with the Marathas. The demands of
rathas could still not face it in the field the Rajputs related to grant of high
of battle. Continuous anarchy, wars and mansabs as before and restoration of their
the depredations of the Marathas may homelands. These demands having been
have depleted the population of the accepted within half a dozen years of
Deccan and brought its trade, industry Aurangzeb‘s death, the Rajputs ceased
and agriculture to a virtual standstill, to be a problem for the Mughals. They
but in northern India which was the played little active role in the subse-
heart of the empire and was of decisive quent disintegration of the empire, nor
economic and political importance in help in arresting the process of decline.
the country, the Mughal administration
 Medieval India 196
Aurangzeb‘s religious policy should and disintegration of the empire in the
be seen in the social, economic and po- 18th century.
litical context. Aurangzeb was orthodox In the ultimate resort, the decline
in his outlook and tried to remain and downfall of the empire was due to
broadly within the framework of the economic, social, political and institu-
Islamic law. But this law had developed tional factors. The neglect of modern
outside India under vastly different cir- science and technology by the Mughal
cumstances, and could hardly be applied ruling class was also an important fac-
rigidly to India. His failure to respect the tor. Akbar‘s measures helped to keep the
susceptibilities of his non-Muslim sub- forces of disintegration in check for
jects on many occasions, his enunciation some time. But it was impossible for him
of a policy which led to the destruction to effect fundamental changes in the
of many temples of old standing, and re- structure of society. By the time Au-
imposition of jizyah as laid down by the rangzeb came to the throne, the socio-
Islamic law did not help him to rally the economic forces of disintegration were
Muslims to his side,or to generate a already strong. Aurangzeb lacked the
greater sense of loyalty towards a state foresight and statesmanship necessary
based on Islamic law. On the other to effect fundamental changes in the
hand, it alienated segments of the Hin- socio-political structure, or to pursue
dus and strengthened the hands of those policies which could, for the time being,
section which were opposed to the reconcile the various competing ele-
Mughal empire for political or other ments.
reasons. By itself, religion was not a Thus, Aurangzeb was both a victim
point at issue. Jizyah was scrapped with- of circumstances, and helped to create
in half a dozen years of Aurangzeb‘s the circumstances of which he became a
death, and restrictions on building new victim.
temples eased. But these, again, had no
effect on the rapidly accelerating decline
 Chapter 20
Assessment and Review
The thousand years from the begin- concerned. Rajputs, Marathas and
ning of the eighth century to the end of Khatris may be mentioned in this con-
the seventeenth century saw important text.
changes in the political, economic and The Bhakti and Sufi saints gradually
cultural life of the country and also, to a brought about a better understanding of
smaller extent, in its social life. the fundamental tenets of Hinduism and
In the field of social life, the caste Islam, underlining the fact that they had
system continued to dominate, despite a great deal of similarity. This resulted
the challenge posed to it by Islam and in a greater spirit of mutual harmony
loss of political power by the Rajput and toleration, although forces advocat-
rulers who were duty bound to protect ing a narrow, intolerant approach con-
dharma which implied, among other tinued to be strongly entrenched and
things, the upholding of the four-fold sometimes influenced state policies. But
division of society (varnashrama-dharma). such occasions were, on the whole, lim-
Although the Nath Panthi Jogis and the ited.
Bhakti saints vehemently criticised the The Bhakti and Sufi saints also
caste system, they could hardly make a brought about important changes in the
dent in it. A tacit agreement was arrived approach to religion, laying greater em-
at in course of time. The criticism of the phasis on true faith than to the formal
caste system by saints did not, with observances. They also contributed to
some notable exceptions, extend to day- the growth of regional languages and
to-day or secular life, while the Brah- literature. But the excessive concern
mans acquiesced in the advocacy of the with religious and spiritual affairs re-
path of devotion as the way for salvation sulted in a setback to the growth of ra-
for all castes, specially for the Shudras. tional sciences, especially to the cultiva-
Many women saints, such as Mira, and tion of science and technology.
others such as Surdas opened the way of On balance, the position of women
bhakti for women also, and their rising worsened. Seclusion of women or pur-
above the task of service and duty to a dah became more widespread, while
husband. However, the Brahmans con- Hindu women were not able to claim
tinued to claim a privileged position for the right of remarriage or a share in their
themselves, including the exclusive right father‘s property which Muslim women
to preach and educate. had. In fact, these rights tended to be
Within the framework of caste, new denied more and more even to Muslim
subgroups arose, due in parts to the ab- women.
sorption of tribal groups into Hinduism, In the political and economic fields,
the growth of new professional groups, the most important development was
and also the local and regional feelings. the political and administrative integra-
At the same time, the varna status of tion of the country brought about by the
castes rose or fell, according to the eco- Turks and later consolidated by the
nomic and political power of the groups Mughals. Although the Turkish and
 Medieval India 198
Mughal system of administration re- A significant contribution of the
mained largely confined to northern Turks was the defence of the country
India, indirectly it affected other parts of from Mongol onslaughts during the thir-
India also. The institution of a well- teenth and fourteenth centuries. Later,
minted currency based on silver, the for 200 years, the Mughals were able to
development of roads and sarais and the secure the northwest frontiers of India
preference for city life had a direct effect from foreign invasions. For this purpose,
on the growth of trade and handicrafts the defence of India was fixed on the
which reached its climax during the Kabul-Ghazni line with the Hindukush
seventeenth century. Under the mountains to the north. The politics of
Mughals, political integration was ac- Central and West Asia were closely fol-
companied by a deliberate effort to cre- lowed and sometimes an active part was
ate a unified ruling class consisting of taken.
Muslims and Hindus. However, the rul- India‘s reputation as a land of spices,
ing class remained strongly aristocratic and its position as the textile manufac-
in character, with only limited opportu- tory of the eastern world including East
nities of career being open to the people Africa, led the European nations to try
of talent from lower classes. It also re- to establish direct trade relations with
mained largely northern in character. India. The richness of the oriental trade
Aurangzeb did try to induct large num- further whetted the appetite of the Eu-
bers of Marathas and Deccani nobles ropean nations and quickened their
into the services. The Deccanis were economic and technological growth.
integrated, but not the Marathas. Per- Since they had hardly any commodities
haps, regional as well as religious and to offer which were in demand in the
social prejudices played a role in this oriental world, except the silver and
because, unlike the Rajputs in north gold procured from Central and South
India, the Maratha sardars were drawn America, the European traders, backed
from social sections which had never by their governments sought an entry
exercised political power, or been a rul- into the internal trade of India and Asia.
ing class. Nor were they considered On a number of occasions, they desired
Kshtriyas‘s. to control Indian territories whose in-
The Mughal nobility was organised come could be used for the purchase of
as a bureaucracy dependent on the mon- Indian goods, just like the Dutch who
arch. However, it derived its income had been able to bring the East Indies
mainly from lands cultivated by peasant (modern Indonesia) under their control.
proprietors. For the collection of land As long as the Mughal empire was
revenue from peasants, the nobility de- strong, the European nations were not
pended partly on its military following successful in this objective. The decline
and partly on the strength of the zamin- of the Mughal empire and important
dars whose rights and privileges were political events in. India during the
defended and maintained by the state in eighteenth century, such as the entry of
return for their support. That is why Nadir Shah and later, the Afghans, as
many historians argue that the state in well as the rapid economic,development
medieval India remained essentially feu- of the European nations enabled them to
dal.
 Medieval India 199
establish their dominations in India as ed due to the pressure of these elements.
also in many other Asian countries. The very skill of the Indian artisans and
While scholars have tried to explain their availability in large number inhib-
the causes of the decline and downfall of ited the efforts to develop and apply
the Mughal empire, the reasons why machine power to productive enterpris-
India, like many other Asian nations, es. The effect of the caste system in
could not develop as rapidly as the Eu- breeding an attitude of insularity and
ropean nations in the economic and sci- conservatism is, however, a matter of
entific fields, needs further detailed discussion.
study and research. The Mughal ruling Thus, India lagged behind the world
classes had no traditions of connection in the field of science and technology
with the sea. While the Mughal rulers and the Mughal ruling class remained
were quick to recognize the importance singularly blind to this development.
of foreign trade, arid for that reason gave Like all ruling classes on their way out,
patronage and support to the European the Mughal ruling class was more con-
trading companies, they had little un- cerned with matters of immediate con-
derstanding of the importance of naval cern, including its creature comforts,
power in the economic development of a than matters which would shape the
nation. future.
India‘s lagging behind in the field of Despite this, the developments in
naval power was a part of its growing various fields in India during the period
backwardness in the field of science and should not be lost sight of. The growth
technology. Even the mechanical clock of political integration was paralleled by
which brought together all the Europe- cultural integration. Indian society was
an inventions in the field of dynamics one of the few societies in the world
was not produced in India during the which was able to develop a more or less
seventeenth century. The superiority of unified culture despite differences in
the Europeans in the field of artillery race, religion and language. This unified
was freely acknowledged. Even where culture was reflected in an outburst of
Indian craftsmen were able to copy Eu- creative activity which makes the seven-
ropean developments—as for example teenth century a second classical age. In
in the field of ship-building—little abil- the south, the traditions of the Cholas
ity to innovate was displayed. Apart were continued by the Vijayanagara
from the attitude of the ruling class to kingdom. The Bahmani kingdom and its
which we have referred, the social struc- successor states also contributed to cul-
ture, historical traditions and the out- tural developments in various fields. The
look of various sections are important in rich cultural developments in the vari-
this context. There was too much em- ous regional kingdoms during the fif-
phasis on past learning, and of showing teenth century were, to some extent,
deference to those who were supposed integrated in the new cultural forms
to be the repositories of this developed by the Mughals. However,
knowledge—the Brahmans and the mul- this integrated culture came under pres-
lahs. Akbar‘s efforts to modernize the sure from the religious dogmatists of the
syllabus by introducing more science two faiths, as well as from the compet-
subjects of secular interest were defeat- ing and conflicting interests of various
 Medieval India 200
sections in the ruling classes. But that it resulted in the domestic market being
survived, on the whole, till the middle of limited. During the seventeenth and
the nineteenth century is no mean trib- eighteenth centuries, there was a
ute to all those saints, scholars and en- growth of the putting out (dadni) sys-
lightened rulers who had helped to tem. This increased production, but
build it. made the artisans more and more de-
The period was also marked by eco- pendent on the merchants, Indian or
nomic development and growth. Trade foreign.
and manufactures expanded and there It was in these circumstances that
was expansion and improvement of cul- the British were able to conquer India
tivation also. However, the growth was and convert it into a colony, supplying
uneven in different areas and during raw materials in place of being the man-
different phases. Apart from the Ganga ufactory of the east as it was earlier.
valley where the Mughals spent a sub-
stantial part of the revenue resources of
the empire, the areas which developed
rapidly during the seventeenth century
were Gujarat, the Coromandel coast and
Bengal. Perhaps, it is no accident that
these have been the areas in the fore-
front of economic development of India
in the modern period, particularly in the
post-independence era.
Would India have continued to pro-
gress economically and even attained an
industrial revolution of its own, if the
Mughal empire had continued? While
trade and manufactures continued to
expand during the eighteenth century,
despite the downfall of the Mughal em-
pire, it remained backward compared to
Europe, not only in the field of science
and technology, but in other fields as
well. Thus, most of the manufactures
remained small in scale, with hardly any
machinery, with the workers using the
simplest tools. In consequence, howso-
ever skilful a craftsman might be, his
productivity and efficiency remained
low. Nor could the artisans develop into
traders and entrepreneurs as in the
West, both because of caste and because
most artisans had little by way of capi-
tal. This was a reflection of the extreme-
ly uneven distribution of money and