History of the Qaraunah Turks in India c11.247

c11.247

The word Kāngū is a puzzle. Barani, Nizam-al-Din Ahmad, Hājji-ad-Dabīr and Firishta all write Hasan Kāngū, but the India office MS. of the Burhān-i-Ma‘sir and the Asiatic Society of Bengal MS. of the Haft Iqlim have حسن کا گون and حسن کا کوی respectively. Firishta clearly says that Kāngū is Gangū, the name of the Brahman astrologer of Dihli.¹³¹ It is difficult to decide in the present state of our knowledge with precision what Kāngū denotes. Maulvi ‘Abdul Wali suggests that it is a corrupted form of Kai Kāūs which seems a far-fetched suggestion, scarcely worthy of acceptance. The only other histories in which such a name is mentioned are Shams-i-Sirāj ‘Afif’s Tarikh-i-Firūz Shahi and Yahya’s Tarikh-i-Mubarak Shahi. ‘Afif, who has no clear idea of the geography of the Deccan, muddles up things when he says: “When Sultan Muhammad Shah died and Sultan Firuz succeeded, his commands were sent into Ma‘bar, but the people of that country broke out into rebellion and going to Daulatabad, they made Qarbat Hasan Kāngū king of Ma‘bar.’¹³² He goes on to add that the man who was thus elevated to kingly dignity appeared, decked out hand and foot with female ornaments, and made himself notorious by puerile actions.¹³³ Now the question arises who was this Qarbat Hasan Kāngū? He is certainly a different person from Hasan Kāngū, the founder of the Bahmani dynasty. Whoever the person described by ‘Afif, it is clear from this that Kāngū could form part of a Muhammadan name. But in the 15th century Kāngū is mentioned as a Hindu name also. The author of the Tarikh-i-Mubarak Shahi mentions one Sadhāran Kāngū, an infidel, whose sons conspired with some Musalmans to take the life of Mubarak Shah Sayyid.¹³⁴ The material hitherto available throws no light on the problem and for the present we have to rest content with the explanation that Hasan Kāngū is the original name of the founder of the Bahmani Kingdom.