History of the Qaraunah Turks in India c6.20.3

c6.20.3

It does not seem probable that both father and son should have secured ‘Ala-al-Din’s favour so quickly after their arrival from Khorasan, and then, neither Barani nor Ibn Batūtah, nor any other writer says that Tughluq also brought his son with him. The office of Dādbaḳ was a highly responsible one, and ‘Ala-al-Din would not have entrusted it to Juna, if he had been a newcomer. It appears that Ghazi Malik or Ghazi Beg Tughluq, for he is so variously styled by Muslim historian, had been in India for some years and had given proof of his abilities. Hajji-ad-Dabīr, relying upon a certain history of which he does not give the name, writes that the three brothers Sipahsalar Rajab, Abu Bakr and Ghazi came from Khorasan in the reign of Sultan ‘Ala-al-Din Khilji. Ghazi was the eldest, and by virtue of his abilities rapidly rose in the Sultan’s favour and finally became governor of Dipalpur.¹⁷ He gives neither the date of this work nor the name of its author, though after some discussion regarding internal evidence furnished by the work itself he concludes that the author was neither an ‘Arab nor a Persian. Hajji-ad-Dabīr is supported by Ibn Batūtah and ‘Afif. How are we to reconcile the discrepancy between these authorities and Firishta and the author of the Khulāsat-ut-Tawarīkh?