A History of Agriculture in India v2.c59.s2.2

v2.c59.s2.2

India of the eleventh century was a country of fortified cities and towns, and fortified villages (mawas). The caste groups, the Brahmans, the Kshatriyas, and the Vaishyas lived within the city-walls and the fortified villages, while the Shudras and non-caste groups, e.g. weavers, cobblers, oil-men, butchers, dyers, jugglers, basket-makers, sailors, elephant drivers and the hunters of wild animals and birds, all lived outside the city-wall. It was these castes, the under-privileged and despised, who welcomed Islam. As Mohammad Habib observes, ‘Face to face with the social and economic provision of the Shariat and the Hindu Smritis as practical alternatives, the Indian city-worker preferred the Shariat.’³ The Ghorian Turkish officers permitted them to live inside city-walls. They got converted to Islam en masse. They helped to stabilize the new regime and were its main supporters. The cities developed into thriving centres of cottage industries and commerce. By the middle of the thirteenth century there were large number of Moslem workers of Indian origin in every city and town of northern India. Even now there is a large concentration of Moslem workers in the towns of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.