Promotion of Learning in India during Muhammadan Rule (by Muhammadans) c13: Retrospect

Promotion of Learning in India during Muhammadan Rule (by Muhammadans) c13

Language: English

Retrospect

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WE have now surveyed the progress of education under the Paṭhān rulers of India. It is now clear that their contributions to that cause should be sufficient to weaken the popular opinion which associates the Paṭhān Dynasty exclusively with battle and bloodshed through which it rose to power, and not with any of the triumphs of peace by which the newly-conquered territories were being consolidated. The Paṭhān Dynasty, as we have seen, can count among its members a few rulers who have contributed a good deal towards this work of consolidation,—towards the diffusion of education in the country. In the forefront of this band of workers, stands the great Fīrūz Tughlaq, whose educational zeal and enterprise constitute a record, of which the best monarch of any nation in the world might justly be proud. The reign of 'Alāuddīn again marks a period of literary and educational efflorescence which bespeaks the activities of the preceding rulers strengthened by those of the people—the chiefs, the nobility and the gentry. The encouragement of

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THE PRE-MUGHAL PERIOD

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literary men and literature, which gives a strong stimulus to literary and educational progress, was with a few Paṭhān rulers and princes an important item of their life’s programme. The most prominent of those were Balban and his worthy son Muḥammad, Naṣīruddīn, and Muḥammad Tughlaq. While summing up the educational works of the Paṭhān Dynasty, we should not omit to take note of the educational work done by some of the small independent kingdoms. The name of Fīrūz Bahmanī, whose encouragement of literary men and education has secured for him a high place among the benefactors of Musalmān education, was a name to conjure with in the literary world of his day, and his practice of sending ships annually to different countries in search of learned men was an institution that stands out as quite a unique feature of his reign. The Bahmanī Dynasty, indeed, did not possess a second such ruler but could boast of a few others who also distinguished themselves by their services to the cause of learning. The dynasty of Gulkandah has been glorified by King Quṭb Shāh, who gave a great impetus to education by the foundation of colleges and public seminaries, and by his patronage of learned men. The other principalities such as Khāndīsh, Jaunpūr, etc., were also blessed with their own royal Maecenases who have left behind a good record of their educational and literary enterprise.

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While recounting the achievements of these rulers, we should also remember that private enterprise was also active in the cause of education. There were gentlemen in whom "power" and "goodness" were combined in equal proportions. Maḥmūd Gāwān, the nobleman of Bīdar, was liberal to prodigality, and the best of the colleges founded by him still stands in a mutilated state to testify to the beneficence of the donor. The generosity of some nobles in the reigns of 'Alāuddīn and Sikandar has already been mentioned. Indeed, the cause of education had its friends among the nobility and the gentry, whose patronage was a potent factor in its furtherance.

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We have also seen how Delhi rose to its high position as a seat of learning through so many vicissitudes of fortune, and became both the intellectual and political capital of Muhammadan India. We have also noticed how Fīrūzābād eclipsed Delhi, and after a time was itself eclipsed by other literary centres, and how there were multiplied other centres of learning in the country, such as those at Agra, Jaunpūr, Bīdar, Ḥaidarābād, Badā'ūn, etc.

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Some of these centres of Muhammadan learning, as we learn from the accounts given of them, were in no way inferior to Samarqand or Bukhārā, Baghdād, Cairo or Damascus. The influx of learned men from countries outside India shows the the Athenians, and the Lacedaemonians, and the allies of both, were all of them in a state of great excitement, and many prophecies were being recited by the diviners, and were current even among those who were not at war. Besides this, there was an earthquake in Delos, which is said to have occurred only once before in the history of the Hellenes. It was said to be a portent of what was to come, and everything of this kind was interpreted as a sign of the approaching events.

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The majority of the Hellenes were on the side of the Lacedaemonians; for they were the liberators of Hellas. The Athenians, on the other hand, had ceased to be the liberators of the Hellenes from the Persians, and were now themselves the masters of the greater part of them. The Lacedaemonians were the leaders of the Peloponnesians, and the Athenians were the leaders of the rest of Hellas, or at least of those who were their allies.

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The Lacedaemonians were the most powerful of the Hellenes, and their allies were the most numerous. The Athenians were the most powerful at sea, and their allies were the most numerous. The Lacedaemonians were the most powerful on land, and their allies were the most numerous. The Athenians were the most powerful at sea, and their allies were the most numerous. The Lacedaemonians were the most powerful on land, and their allies were the most numerous. The Athenians were the most powerful at sea, and their allies were the most numerous.

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The Lacedaemonians were the most powerful on land, and their allies were the most numerous. The Athenians were the most powerful at sea, and their allies were the most numerous. The Lacedaemonians were the most powerful on land, and their allies were the most numerous. The Athenians were the most powerful at sea, and their allies were the most numerous. The Lacedaemonians were the most powerful on land, and their allies were the most numerous. The Athenians were the most powerful at sea, and their allies were the most numerous.

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[From Martin's *Miniature Painting and Painters of Persia, India and Turkey* (Bernard Quaritch).]

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THE PRE-MUGHAL PERIOD

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superior literary life which India afforded them in those days.

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While speaking of the schools and colleges as centres of instruction, we should not allow our attention to be engrossed by them and them alone. We should take note of the unobtrusive but useful educational works done by the unconventional *domestic system of teaching*. It made the house of a learned man a centre of instruction, which sometimes supplied the students with both board and lodging. Thus to quote a single instance, we find the author of the *Tārīkh-i-Ṭāhirī* studying in the house of his preceptor Maulānā Isḥāq, and perusing Sa’dī, Jāmī, Khāqānī and Anwarī.¹ Such educational centres, small but numerous, not only provided a field for post-collegiate studies, but were also in many cases the only means by which instruction in some subjects was imparted. The schools and colleges did not generally provide for such a training; it was for this reason that we find a learner of music or painting, for instance, taking his lessons from his chosen *ustād* in the latter's house. The technical education was diffused by the system of apprenticeship. We notice, in the provision made by Fīrūz Tughlaq for the technical education of the slaves he brought up, that they were placed under master-craftsmen in their shops or manufactories, to learn the different arts.

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¹ Elliot vol. i, p. 253.

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the Athenians, who were already in the city, were not aware of the plot, but when they saw the Plataeans fighting, they did not wish to attack them, as they were friends, but when they saw that they were being attacked and killed in the city, they were at a loss what to do. They decided to run to the citadel, and some of them escaped there, while others were killed in the streets as they were caught by the Thebans. The women and slaves were screaming and wailing in the houses, and the Thebans, who were in the city, were throwing stones at them, as the confusion was great. In the meantime, the rest of the Thebans, who were outside, hearing the shouting, rushed into the city to help their comrades.

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The Plataeans, seeing that they were being attacked by the Thebans, and that the Thebans were already in the city, were in great fear. They opened the gates of the city, and let the Athenians, who were in the citadel, come out, and they also let the rest of the Plataeans, who were in the houses, come out. They then attacked the Thebans, and as they were fighting in the dark, and in the narrow streets, the Thebans were at a disadvantage. The Plataeans, who knew the city well, were able to attack them from the houses, and from the roofs, and they were able to kill many of them. The Thebans, seeing that they were being defeated, tried to escape, but the gates were closed, and they were trapped. Some of them climbed over the walls, and others were killed as they tried to escape.

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The Plataeans, having defeated the Thebans, sent a messenger to Athens to tell them what had happened, and to ask for help. The Athenians, hearing the news, sent a force to Plataea, and they also sent a message to the Thebans, telling them that if they did not release the prisoners, they would kill the Thebans who were in their hands. The Thebans, fearing for their men, agreed to release the prisoners, and the Plataeans, having received their men, released the Thebans. This was the beginning of the war between the Athenians and the Peloponnesians.