Growth of Muslim Population in Medieval India, A.D. 1000–1800 c12.106

c12.106

At the end it would be proper to give in a brief form the demographic picture of India from the year 1000 to 1800. The population of India, estimated at 200 million at the inception of the eleventh century, declined rapidly because of killings, deportations and dissemination caused by Mahmud of Ghazni's invasions and the activites of his successars. In 1100 it was probably 180 million; it may have been 190 million in 1200. Between 1200 and 1350 conquests of the Delhi Sultans in all parts of the country and the recurring Mongol invasions affected the population adversely, and it may have come down to about 160 million around 1350. Between 1350 and 1400, during Firoz Tughlaq's peaceful reign, some rise was registered, and the numbers probably rose to 170 million by 1400. The numbers again fell appreciably because of wars and famines in almost all parts of India throughout the fifteenth century. In 1500 it was probably 125 million, and at the time of the establishment of the Mughal empire (1525-26) somewhere near 120 million. In the sixteenth century, and especially during Akbar's reign, the population rose again, and about the time of his death it lay probably somewhere around 140 million. During the seventeenth century this upward trend seems to have continued, and the population in 1700 was probably 175 million or even more. But by the year 1800 it seems to have been reduced to 170 million.