Twilight of the Sultanate c17.s9.3

c17.s9.3

His references to bazārs, hot-baths and colleges, leave no doubt in one's mind that in the above passage, Bābur is referring to life in the cities only, and probably in the important cities like Lahore, Delhi and Agra. Undoubtedly it is a downright condemnation of Indian life in the fifteenth-sixteenth century, and had it come from a pen other than that of Bābur's, one could have imputed motives to the author and brushed the statement aside. But Bābur is no ordinary observer, and he could not have made such statements without sufficient reason. And a little thought would explain why he has been so uncharitable in his evaluation of the life in the cities and towns of India.