History of the Qaraunah Turks in India c8.51

c8.51

The scheme failed disastrously, and resulted in considerable suffering to the population. The change of capitals is not an unusual thing in history. Fatehpur Sikri and Chittor are conspicuous examples of it. The Maratha capital changed frequently in the 17th century, and Rajgarh, Mahāvalesvara, Jinji, Kolapur, and Satara were all declared in turn capitals of the Maratha kingdom.²⁴ But the manner in which Muhammad effected the transfer was most impolitic. Elphinstone who is remarkably judicious admits that the design was by no means unreasonable in itself, if it had been begun without precipitancy and conducted with steadiness.²⁵ That Daulatabad was safer than Dihli in the 14th century may be admitted, but it is questionable whether the Sultan would have profited by the change. Firishta rightly expresses his disapproval of the measure by saying that the Sultan disregarded two of his formidable enemies, the rulers of Iran and Turan.²⁶ Then, Devagiri was situated at a long distance from the outlying provinces of the empire like Bengal and the Punjab, and in case the Mughals invaded Dihli, when the Sultan's forces were locked up in the Deccan owing to the revolt of the native population, they would have easily captured it and seized a large portion of Hindustan. This was a contingency which the Sultan did not foresee. There was no precedent to guide him, and the whole thing became a strange innovation, so the people thought, to harass and annoy them. Though Barani's statement that the 'grave-yards of Musalmans arose all around Devagiri' is a gross exaggeration, there is no doubt that the Musalmans of Dihli abhorred the idea of living permanently in the land of the infidels.