A History of Agriculture in India v2.c60.s1: No Social Intercourse with Moslem Ruling Class
A History of Agriculture in India v2.c60.s1
- Language
- English
No Social Intercourse with Moslem Ruling Class
v2.c60.s1.1
There was no social intercourse between the Hindus and the Muslims. Vincent Smith observes, 'The process of the Moslem conquest tended to tighten the bonds of caste. The Hindus, unable on the whole to resist the Moslems in the field, defended themselves passively by the increased rigidity of caste association.'² Ibn Battuta states, 'Indian idolators (Brahmans and Hindus) never make friends with Muslims, and never give them to eat or to drink out of their vessels, although at the same time they neither act nor speak offensively to them. We were compelled to have some flesh cooked for us by some of them, and they would bring it in their pots and sit at a distance from us. They would also serve us with rice, which is their principal food, on banana leaves, and then go away.'
v2.c60.s1.2
² Smith, V.A. *The Oxford History of India*, p. 66