The Cambridge History of India, Vol. IV: The Mughul Period v4.c13.3

v4.c13.3

By force of arms the Mughuls had imposed themselves on northern India, but they had been so occupied in fighting that they had hardly begun to rule, and India was still only an outlying portion of the realm, Kābul being the proper capital and centre. Their generals were still soldiers and not administrators, and, as Bābur had said on his first conquest of Kābul, the scheme of government was still *saifī* (by the sword) not *qalamī* (by the pen). To strengthen his position Bābur had invited members of the families of Tīmūr and Chingīz freely to join him. Not a few with royal blood in their veins were possible claimants to the throne recently vacated.¹ In the occupied area were many turbulent elements excited by the century of chaos which had followed Tīmūr’s invasion, and among these, especially towards the east, were many Afghāns belonging to the last dynasty which had ruled. Bābur had met and defeated the Rājputs, but had not subdued them, and they, more than the other sections of Indians in the north, had a strong national instinct. South-west of Rājputāna lay Gujarāt, where Bahādur Shāh was reviving and extending the kingdom of his predecessors.²