Indian Muslims: Who Are They c5.s6.12

c5.s6.12

In short, there was a constant and bitter struggle of wit and influence for power going on between the foreign Turks and Indian Muslims - Indian Muslims both high and low. Although the claim of nobility of birth by purchased slaves makes little sense, the Turks felt that they belonged to blue blood and as founders of Muslim rule in India, they deserved special consideration. It was their right to keep to themselves all high offices, for they possessed merit and were superior to the *julahas*. The Indian Muslims knew that the Turks were good fighters, but for administrative work the indigenous Muslims were better suited if not indispensable. Muhammad bin Qasim and Mahmud Ghaznavi used to employ Hindus in administration and army. But with the permanent establishment of Muslim rule in India and the growth of Muslim population, the policy of the early sultans was to keep the Hindus excluded from offices and appoint only Muslims. Consequently, many ambitious Hindus converted to Islam to obtain offices. They were originally Brahmans or Kshatriyas or of other high classes and perhaps belonged originally to *raja*, *zamindar* or warrior families. Such converts had good chances of entering official positions because isolation from original homes and communities made them all the more reliable servants. They had intelligence and experience on account of their being sons of the soil. They carried with them their caste pride. In short, the Indian Muslim officers did not feel inferior to the Turks. While the poor sections of the neo-Muslims could bear any humiliation at the hands of the Turks, the higher class Indian Muslims hit back.