The Cambridge History of India, Vol. III: Turks and Afghans v3.c20.114

v3.c20.114

It must not be supposed that this description applies uniformly to the whole of the territory over which the Muslims pretended to dominion. Extensive tracts often remained under the rule of Hindu rajas or landowners who were permitted to retain their authority on promising to pay tribute or taxes, which they paid when the central authorities was strong and withheld when it was weak. Both the extent and the boundaries of fiefs held by Muslim officers were uncertain and a strong or ruthless fief-holder would extinguish all vestiges of Hindu authority in his fief, and even beyond its borders, while another, weak or accommodating, might deal with lesser Hindu proprietors as the central government dealt with the rajas and great landholders. The history of northern India exhibits, until the middle of the sixteenth century, many instances of the extent to which Hindus regained their power under a weak government, as well as of their sufferings under despots strong enough to indulge their bigotry without restraint.