Life and Conditions of the People of Hindustan (1200–1550 A.D.) c4.s2.1

c4.s2.1

I shall confine myself to a brief survey of the sources of my study. A detailed examination is neither possible nor even desirable within the limits of this work. I may confess at the outset that I have barely explored a few directions, and I have succeeded in using only a part of the material. A more vigorous search, I am sure, would yield information of greater value and of more comprehensive character. However, a caution may be given here against making an uncritical use of such evidence. When a person wanders away from proper historical books into the illusive realm of imaginative fiction, poetry or folklore, there is every danger of his being seduced by the charms of fancy, which damages the scientific value of the results so obtained. I have taken as much care as possible to avoid this danger, by securing both corroborative and contradictory evidence for a fact before relying upon it. The material for the study of social history is scattered in a variety of books : the chronicles, the works of Amir Khusrau, folklore and fiction, poetry and songs, the works of mystics, Hindu and Muslim, books on practical arts, and compendiums of law and ethics, the accounts of foreign travellers, and some collections of official and private letters.