Growth of Muslim Population in Medieval India, A.D. 1000–1800 c23.12

c23.12

There were a large number of factors contributing to the high rate of population growth in medieval India. At present Asia's rate of growth is higher than the world rate and that by about one-third.⁴ The same appears to be true for the medieval times. Among the Hindus it was a social obligation to marry and almost a religious duty to have progeny. Muslim religious law sanctioned multi-marriages. Women's level of culture was low and of education almost nil. Their one function and ambition was to produce children. "Family planning" was not known to the medieval world; in India the craze for children, particularly male children was "the more the merrier". It was customary with presents to marry off their children at an early age, sometimes even while they were mere infants. Akbar's orders, fixing the minimum marriageable age for girls at fourteen and for boys at sixteen⁵, speak for themselves.