Indian Muslims: Who Are They c8.s5: Lesser Losses

Indian Muslims: Who Are They c8.s5

Language: English

Lesser Losses

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While Muslim population rose through conversion, immigration, and polygamy, and possibly high rate of fertility, its losses in wars and famines were lesser than those of the Hindus, and its natural growth was high.

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We have referred at many places to the losses of Muslims in war. But a major portion of Muslim armies consisted of Hindus. Even Mahmud of Gaznis forces had Hindu contingents. During the Sultanate period Muslims, especially foreign Muslims, belonged to the officer cadre and were mostly cavalrymen; Hindus are often mentioned as Paiks or footsoldiers. The Paiks formed the rank and file and probably the bulk of the Muslim armies. There were large armies in India, both in the North and the South, of Bahmani, Vijayanagar, Mughal. The second volume of Abul Fazls *Ain-i-Akbari* gives lists of the large number of Hindu contingents that could be called to duty under Akbar. Naturally it is these who were killed in large numbers in wars being placed, as infantry was then placed, in a vulnerable position.⁵¹ The Hindus thus died not only for defending their kings and kingdoms during the unending process of Muslims territorial expansion; they also died in large numbers for their Muslim masters as soldiers in the latters armies.⁵² Compared with theirs, the loss of the Muslim numbers was small. Muslim population at least was not affected by these wars, because any loss in battles was more than made up by the number of captives, who used to be converted and also by replenishment through immigration.

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Whenever famines occurred Muslim rulers took necessary steps to provide relief to the people. But from the narrative of the chroniclers it is evident that these relief measures were mostly confined to urban areas. And Muslims were mostly concentrated in urban areas. Even in the cities sometimes the mission of mercy was marred by bigotry. Between 1387 and 1395 the Deccan was visited by a severe famine, and Muhammads⁵³ measures for the relief of his subjects displayed a combination of administrative ability, enlightened compassion, and religious bigotry. A thousand bullocks belonging to the transport establishment maintained for the court were placed at the disposal of. those in charge of relief measures, and travelled incessantly to and fro between his dominions and Gujarat and Malwa, which had escaped the visitation bringing thence grain which was sold at low rates in the Deccan, but to Muslims only.⁵⁴ And Muhammad Bahmani was not the only orthodox sultan in medieval India. It may not be proper to generalize, but probably in famines and such like calamities the Muslims suffered less loss than the Hindus.

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¹ Titus, *op. cit.*, p.32.

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Footnotes:

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² Tara chand, *op. cit.*, p.33.

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³ Muhammad Bihamid Khan!, *Tarikh-i-Muhammadi*, British Museum Ms. 440 b, trans. into Hindi by A.A. Rizvi in *Uttar Timur Kalin Bharat*, Pt. II (Aligarh, 1959), p.30.

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⁴ Mohammad Habib, *Some Aspects of the Foundation of the Delhi Sultanate, op. cit.*, p.20

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⁵ Afif, *op. cit.*, pp.268-269. Also Ishwari Prasad, *Qaraunah Turks, op. cit.*, p.331.

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⁶ *Fatuhat-i-Firoz Shahi*, trs. in E and D, III, p.368. Also Hindi trs. Rizvi, *Tughlaq Kalin Bharat*, II, (Aligarh, 1957), p.337.

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⁷ T.W. Arnold, *The Preaching of Islam, op. cit.*, pp.264 ff.

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⁸ Titus, *op. cit.*, Chapter III entitled Peaceful Penetration, pp.36-53. Aziz Ahmad, *Studies in Islamic Culture*, pp.81-84. Mujeeb, *op. cit.*, p.22.

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⁹ K.M. Ashraf Memorial Lecture, *op. cit.*, pp.18-19. Also P.M. Currie, *Cult of Muin-al-din Chishti of Ajmer* (Oxford, Delhi, 1989)

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¹⁰ S.A.A. Rizvi, *Muslim Revivalist Movements in Northern India in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries* (Agra University, 1965), p.18.

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¹¹ Titus, *op. cit.*, p.42.

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¹² *Ibid.*, p.44.

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¹³ Rizvi, *op. cit.*, p.20., P.M. Currie, *The Shrine and Cult of Muin-d-din-Chishti of Ajmer* (OUP, 1989), pp.20-96, esp. pp.29-30.

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¹⁴ Rizvi, *op. cit.*, p.15.

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¹⁵ Ferishtah, I, pp.66-67.

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¹⁶ Mahdi Husain, *Tughlaq Dynasty*, pp.149-50, 160 and also p. 174 and n.2-3 Also see Kirmani, *Siyar-ul-Auliya*, p.228.

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¹⁷ As for instance the efforts of Raju Qattal to convert Nahawan, the Darogha of Ucch. Jamali, *Siyar-ul-Arifin* (Delhi, 1311H), pp.159-60. Also Ferishtah, *op. cit.*, II, pp.417-18. Eaton, *Sufis of Bijapur*, esp. Chapter entitled Sufi Warriors. Also see their militant proselytizing activity in Bengal in Chapter 3.

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¹⁸ Rizvi, *op. cit.*, p.46 citing Sijzi, *Akhbar-ul-Akhiyar*, p.136.

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¹⁹ Titus, *op. cit.*, p.36.

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²⁰ Aziz Ahmad, *op. cit.*, p.82.

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²¹ Ruben Levy, *The Social Structure of Islam* (Cambridge, 1957), p.73.

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²² Compiled from the Census Report of India, 1931, Vol. 18 (United Provinces), Part 2.

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²³ Barani, *op. cit.*, pp.436-37.

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²⁴ Rizvi, *Tughlaq Kalin Bharat*, I, *op. cit.*, p.322. Also Ishwari Prasad, *Qaraunah Turks*, p. 309.

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²⁵ *Masalik-ul-Absar*, E and D, III, p.580.

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²⁶ Barani, pp, 558-59. Afif, pp.448-49, 512.

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²⁷ Afif, p.449.

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²⁸ Al Masudi, *op. cit.*, p.19.

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Al Idrisi, *op. cit.*, p.88. Qazwini, *op. cit.*, p.96.

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²⁹ Barani, pp.273-74.

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Afif, p.263. Also Lal, *Twilight of the Sultanate*, pp.271.

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³⁰ Ahmad Abbas says that in the royal workshops of Muhammad bin Tughlaq 200, 000 robes of honour were prepared every year for presentation to the nobles alone. In the Sultans manufactory there were 400 silk-weavers and 500 manufacturers of golden tissues, besides others. Masalik, *op. cit.*, p.578.

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³¹ Minhaj, *op. cit.*, p.83.

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Bosworth, *The Ghaznavids*, p.166 S.H. Hodivala, *Studies in Indo-Muslim History* (Bombay, 1939), pp.139-40, 146.

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³² *Tabqat-i-Nasiri*, trs. in E and D, II, p.315.

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³³ *Ibid.*, p.332.

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³⁴ Ferishtah, I, p.69.

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³⁵ Barbosa, *op. cit.*, I, p.74 tells how the Moplahs inter-married with low-caste natives.

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³⁶ Such was not the case only with the Muslims. All foreigners who married low-caste persons in this country were counted among low-castes. The case of the early Portuguese in India is an instance in point.

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After capturing Goa, (it became the policy of the Dominican head of the Church, and Albuquerque) at Cochin and Goa of encouraging and subsidizing marriages between native women and the Portuguese. Since most of the marriages contracted were between common Portuguese and low-caste natives it had the effect of lowering all Christians in the eyes of the higher castes

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D.F. Lach, *Asia in the Making of Europe*, I, pp.230-34.

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Also cf. Manucci, *op. cit.*, III, p.323 for the seventeenth century.

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³⁷ D.C.E. Hall, *op. cit.*, pp.176-85.

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³⁸ Arnold, cited in Titus, p.39.

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³⁹ Hasan Nizami, the author of *Taj-ul-Maasir* (Crown of Victories) who had come to India during the reign of Qutbuddin Aibak graphically describes in his inimitable poetical style the dangers of the journey to Hindustan. He set out from Ghazni for Delhi which to him was the country of mercy and the altar of wealth (but there were) the heat of the fiery blast the wild beasts the boughs of the jungle were so closely interlaced A tiger was seen in every forest. In every ravine and plain poisonous serpents were met with. It came into his thoughts, will the boat of his life ever reach the shores of safety? The crow-like-Hindus had intercepted the roads You may say they were demons in human from. E and D, II, p.208.

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⁴⁰ For example Lal, *Twilight of the Sultanate*, p.126 for references from original sources.

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⁴¹ Hughes, T.P., *Dictionary of Islam*, pp. 313-314.

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⁴² Ram Swarup, *Understanding Islam through Hadis* (New Delhi, 1983), p.57.

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⁴³ *Ibid.*, p.57 n.

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⁴⁴ Lal, K.S., *The Mughal Harem* (New Delhi, 1988), pp.160-175.

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⁴⁵ Cited in Hughes; *Dictionary of Islam*, p.314.

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⁴⁶ M. Mujeeb, *The Indian Muslims*, p.207.

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⁴⁷ The Sultans (Bahram Shah, son of Iltutmish) sister had been married to Kazi Nasiruddin, but being widowed, the deputy took her to wife. Sultan Nasiruddins widowed mother was married to Katlagh Khan, Minhaj, E and D, II, pp.338, 354 respectively.

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⁴⁸ Davis, *op. cit.*, p.193.

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⁴⁹ H. W. Hazard, *Atlas of Islamic History* (Princeton,1954), p.5.

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⁵⁰ Kirk needs to be quoted at length:

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1. Islamic countries uniformly have high birth rates.

2. These are supported by distinctive Islamic attitudes and practices in family life rather than by political or religious doctrine.

3. The normal diffusion of birth control to and within Muslim countries on the European pattern has been inhibited by the cultural discontinuity between Muslim peoples and their neighbours.

4. The continuing high birth rates in Muslim countries, matched with increasing progress in reducing deaths, now lead to rapid population growth and its especially high visibility as a handicap to economic and social progress.

Dudley Kirk Factors Affecting Moslem Natality in Olivia Schieffelin (Ed.) *Muslim Attitudes Towards Family Planning*, Demographic Division, The Population Council, Inc. (New York, 1967), p.79.

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⁵¹ al-Qalqashindi, describing the battle array of Muhammad bin Tughlaq clearly brings this point home. He says, according to Sirajuddin-al-Hindi the Sultan stands in the centre (of the army) the archers stand before and behind him In front of him are the elephants. In front of the elephants march the slaves in light dress wearing shields and weapons. They hold the ropes of the elephants while the horsemen are to their right and left *so that not one of them can run away* (Italics mine). *Subh-ul-Asha*, p.76.

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⁵² An interesting incident during the Battle of Haldighati bears out this statement. Akbar sent Raja Man Sing and Asaf Khan against Rana Pratap of Mewar in 1576. There were Rajput soldiers on both sides; those under Rana Pratap were fighting the ones under Raja Man Singh. At one stage in

Cites (3)

Tārīkh-i Firishta — Muḥammad Qāsim Hindū Shāh Firishta 1606, Persian
Tārīkh-i Fīrūzshāhī — Shams-i Sirāj ʿAfīf, Persian
Ṭabaqāt-i Nāṣirī — Minhāj al-Dīn Jūzjānī, Persian