Life and Conditions of the People of Hindustan (1200–1550 A.D.) c5.s1.50

c5.s1.50

Again, the necessity of organizing the administration of the country made it incumbent upon the Sultans to acknowledge at least some elementary principles of civilized government, strict adherence to some standards of justice between various classes being one of them. For the collection of taxes and Government dues, it was similarly essential to give security and protection to the vast masses of peasants and craftsmen, even against the members of the ruling classes, which further implied an outward respect for and tolerance of their deep-rooted sentiments. Hindustan, like other agricultural countries, is a land of deep-seated custom and tradition; although the Muslim Sultan and his nobles may smile at the fanciful laws and the ludicrous practices of the Hindus, or even attempt to reform their ways where they appear to be palpably monstrous, they may not ridicule Hindu manners in public, much less supplant them. As a matter of fact, the iconoclastic Muslims soon learned to admire and to assimilate Hinduism and Indian customs to such a degree that the pious Muslim invader Timur made it an excuse for attacking the territory of the Muslim kingdom of Delhi.²