Growth of Muslim Population in Medieval India, A.D. 1000–1800 c10.61

c10.61

It is refreshing to note that a medieval chronicler like Shams Siraj Afif does not only gloat over a rise of population, he seems to have known the principles of demographic rise also. During Firoz's reign major wars were few, but minor campaigns used to be mounted against Hindu Zamindars every now and then. However, minor losses in these campaigns used to be soon made up by the natural growth of population. The statement of Afif that "the inhabitants of Dar-ul-Harb were ruined and destroyed every year, (but) the destruction of the region was (soon) more than made up and the region repopulated..." only confirms the well-recognised principle that recovery from minor demographic setbacks is rather quick.⁵⁸