Growth of Muslim Population in Medieval India, A.D. 1000–1800 c11.124

c11.124

It is thus evident that Moreland, who must be given credit for the pioneering work he has done in the field of medieval demography, has erred on the low side. The population of India in 1600 was much more than a hundred million. About the towns and cities of India, Moreland's assessment is about correct, and we are in agreement with his statement that "the greatest Indian cities were most probably of the quarter-million to half million standard, and that in any case their inhabitants were not to be counted by the million."⁸⁹ But his estimate on the basis of the strength of the armies, seems to be on low. Taking the Deccan kingdoms and the Vijayanagar empire together, he says, "it is not unreasonable to infer that this part of India could actually put something like a million men in the field."⁹⁰ And since, "France had arranged before the year 1914 to mobilise one out of 31, and Germany one out of 32, so that, if the recruiting organisation of the Deccan and Vijayanagar was as efficient as that of modern France and Germany, their united strength of a million would imply a population of about thirty millions, while the population would be greater if the efficiency was less."⁹¹