History of the Qaraunah Turks in India c11.7

c11.7

the first place among such malcontents. Little regard was paid to public weal and the energies of the local administration were consumed in levying grinding exactions upon the people. When there was a strong ruler at Dihli, he asserted his authority and undertook punitive expeditions to chastise the rebellious governors, which resulted in much suffering to the population. The rapidity with which the governors were changed goes to illustrate the half-organised character of the Muslim polity in the Deccan. The Muhammadan government was in the nature of a military occupation, and its continuance was conditioned by its ability to maintain itself in a hostile land, where the people clung to their old habits and beliefs with an uncompromising tenacity.