Twilight of the Sultanate c14.s7.2

c14.s7.2

Sikandar Lodī had succeeded in re-establishing the authority of the Sultanate on quite a firm basis. He was thus in a position to deal with the Hindus in a stern manner, and he did so. Even as a youth he had expressed a desire to put an end to the Hindu bathing festival at Kurukshetra (Thanesar).¹⁶¹ Such a prince could not have made a tolerant king, and many incidents are related pointing to his uncompromising attitude. But they are mere incidents and they do not point to a definite and persistent policy of persecution. An instance is the oft-quoted case of Bodhan or Naudhan Brahman. Bodhan lived at Kaner, near Lakhnor in Sambhal. He had declared that "Islam was true, but his own religion was also true."¹⁶² Considering his views the Brahman seems to have been a disciple of Kabīr or Ramānand.¹⁶³ When the assertion of Bodhan became public there were protests from the 'Ulama. The Sultan summoned Qazi Piyārā and Shaikh Badr from Lakhnor and many other doctors from "all directions" to deliberate on Bodhan's claim. The discussions must have been exceedingly interesting, but the details are not known to us. All the learned men, however, gave the stereotyped verdict that the Brahman should either embrace Islam or die. Bodhan chose death.¹⁶⁴