History of Mediaeval Hindu India (being a History of India from 600 to 1200 A.D.) v3.c33.s6.17

v3.c33.s6.17

It is, therefore, difficult to conceive how the method of warfare of the Turks was different from that of the Hindus unless we take into account the extreme cruelty with which the Turks treated the vanquished. It is undeniable that of all nations the Hindus in their history behaved with the greatest humanity towards their conquered foes. They never massacred even the fighting population as the Turks under Mahmud did. When we say that Mahmud was not cruel, we compare him with other Mahomedan conquerors, especially the Mogul Zangis or Timur. Compared with the conduct of Hindus when conquering, his method must indeed have struck terror into the hearts of the less cruel people of India. Fighting men were usually massacred and innocent people were enslaved and carried into captivity and towns and villages were often destroyed. Even in European history we find war conducted with far more cruelty both in ancient and modern times. Even the Greeks and the Romans were very cruel in the treatment of conquered foes and massacre and enslavement were the constant concomitants of conquest in war. In this sense Mahmud's method of warfare was novel; but this cannot be treated as one of the causes of the downfall of the Panjab. We are trying to find out why the Hindu armies were defeated; though no doubt the terrible consequences of one defeat might impair the morale of Hindu soldiers in subsequent encounters.