The Legacy of Muslim Rule in India c10.s3.18

c10.s3.18

There were two major classes of society, the rulers and the ruled, the rich and the poor, the haves and the have-nots. In between these two, there was a middle class. The middle order in medieval India had certain peculiarities which made it different from the middle class of today. It was small in numbers and, therefore, sometimes it escaped notice especially of foreigners. With its small numbers its influence was also limited. Its life-style also made it insignificant. But the middle class remained custodians of public weal even in the medieval period. The middle class people sometimes used to demonstrate and protest, at others beg or purchase, if they did not actually wrest concessions from the ruling classes. The Bhakti Movement in medieval India was a middle class movement with far reaching consequences. It was an age of religious conflict and violence. The Bhakta saints tried to minimise it. Their mission was to save Hindu society from ceaseless Muslim onslaught. How was it to live under a polity hostile to its wellbeing? For an Akbar was a rare phenomenon while Sikandars and Aurangzebs were many. The *Girvan-Vanmanjari* of Dhuniraj¹¹⁹ written in 1702-04 during the reign of Aurangzeb, brings out this problem clearly. The book is written in the form of a catechism between two Brahmanas discussing the correct course of action to be adopted to put a stop to the injustices of Aurangzeb. One of them advocates protest and resistance. The other is of the view that such a course would still more exacerbate the tyranny of the King, but if they cooperated with the regime, they might obtain some relief and minimise the tribulations of the Hindus under the Mughal government. Centuries have rolled by, the country has been partitioned on religious lines, and yet the problem remains as a legacy of Muslim rule in India. How to live with the Muslims who cannot but discriminate between the faithful and the infidels? Through appeasement or confrontation? Not a happy legacy indeed.