The Sultanate of Delhi, 711–1526 A.D. c10.5

c10.5

How fallacious the theory is, can be seen from the fact that the Arabs, who were the first among the Islamic races to conquer an Indian province, Sindh, were the conquerors of many countries of Asia, Africa and Europe which included Egypt and other countries of North Africa and Portugal, Spain and the southern half of France—countries situated in the colder regions far north of Arabia, the inhabitants of which were as much, if not more, eaters of meat and accustomed to warfare. It is also worthy of note that the Arabs completely vanquished the most ferocious races of Central Asia, such as the Mongols, Uzbeks and the Turks—the ancestors of heaven-born generals like Changiz Khan and Timur—races that were reckoned for centuries the best fighters in the whole of Asia and far superior to the Arabs in military qualities, horsemanship and ferocity. It was these Turks who after their conversion to Islam succeeded in conquering the Hindu kingdoms of Kabul and Zabul in Afghanistan and the kingdom of the Panjab which the Arabs had failed to subdue. A section of these very Turks, known as the Ottoman Turks, conquered in the fifteenth century the Eastern Roman Empire with its capital Constantinople and all the countries of the Balkan peninsula in Eastern Europe and threatened Vienna, the capital of Austria. These Eastern people dominated south-eastern Europe for over two hundred years, and inspite of more than three centuries' best efforts on the part of some of the powerful European nations, they could not be driven out of Europe. And today the descendants of the world conquerors of the 7th and 8th centuries A.D. are at the mercy of a less virile race, a handful of Jews of the tiny Israel, surrounded though it is by the very people who carried the message of prophet Muhammad to three continents of the world. In this country the short-sized Marathas, who were despised in northern India in the time of Shah Jahan and Aurangzeb (17th century), became an object of terror to the proud, tall and well-built Mughals and ferocious Pathans so much so that Muslim chroniclers of the 18th and 19th centuries, like Ghulam Ali, Murtaza Husain and others not only paid tribute to Maratha daring but also openly avowed that ten Maratha soldiers were more than a match for twenty Pathan stalwarts. Examples can be multiplied, but these are enough to demolish the theory of race superiority and the belief that military talent is measured in terms of size and bulk. Moreover, the Indian soldier has been superb through the ages. In the World War I and II he fought in many theatres in Asia, Africa and Europe and not only covered himself with glory but elicited unstinted praise from European commanders and statesmen who saw his exploits. His ancestors of the medieval age, who were free and fought for a national cause, could not have been inferior.