Muslim Slave System in Medieval India c16.56

c16.56

In the polygamous Muslim society some men possessed a plurality of women leaving many other men to remain unmarried. This led the latter to entice, abduct and enslave girls wherever possible as well as to make love to beardless boys (*amrads*) and *hijras*. Thus need combined with perversion contributed to the proliferation of *hijras*. This is amply reflected in a brief survey of life in Delhi in *Muraqqa-i-Dihli* (Album of Delhi) written by Dargah Quli Khan who visited the metropolis in 1738-39 and often walked through its streets. Like in the fourteenth, in the eighteenth century also one found in the city of Delhi boys dancing in a world of lecherous sinners soliciting their hearts desire. *Amrads* were as much in demand as courtesans.⁸⁸ During and after the decline of the Mughal empire, *hijras* did not remain confined to cities like Delhi or Agra. They spread far and wide but especially where the scions or governors of the Mughals established independent states like in Avadh or Hyderabad. A good number of *hijras* are found in Lucknow and in Hyderabad, as well as in cities like Bombay where composite culture and a respectable presence of Muslims obtains.