Growth of Muslim Population in Medieval India, A.D. 1000–1800 c6.s1.44

c6.s1.44

Some wrote on the basis of information lent to them by their father or grandfather or some other old and experienced people who were eye-witnesses. Others had friends in government service and narrated events of campaigns in which they themselves were participants and information so transmitted was collected by these chroniclers.³¹ Such sources could not be unimpeachable and have sometimes landed the writers into errors. But most of the chroniclers of medieval India were official historians who wrote at the behest of the king or nobles or under their patronage. These writers had official records at their disposal. “There were no secrets in Mogul administration” says Vincent Smith,³² and when even foreigners could consult official records,³³ Indian court and private historians certainly did. One wonders if there was any document in Akbar’s archives (in the Imperial Capital, provincial capitals or chief cities) to which Abul Fazl was denied access. Similarly to Ziyauddin Barani was available Kabir-ud-din’s *Fateh Namah* in which every day occurrences of Alauddin Khalji’s reign were recorded. Such examples need not be multiplied. Official records were many; most of these have been lost by now, but they were easily available to medieval historians.