Impact of Islam on Indian Culture

 Impact of Islam on Indian Culture

1. Hindu Society: Purda System and Marriage:

The Hindu society was largely influenced by Islam. The ‘Purda System’ became prevalent in Hindu society by following Islamic practices. The Hindu women who were living in seclusion at home now moved outside their houses in the palanquins covered with curtains. In the royal harem of Hindu rulers, Purda system was rigidly enforced. To cite one example, the queen of Prataprudradev went to visit Sri Chaitanya in the Palanuqin covered with curtains.

Further, the age of puberty did not become the criteria for the marriage of a Hindu girl. On the other hand, child marriage was introduced in Hindu society in imitation with the Muslim practice. The condition and position of Hindu women deteriorated considerably in the Hindu society and they became more and more dependent on man.

2. Slavery:

An unhealthy feature of social life that crept into Hindu society due to utter influenced of Islam was slavery. It was very common in Muslim society and more obviously it was a well known practice with the Delhi Sultans and Mughal emperors. Their nobles and emirs also maintained slaves both male and female.

The Hindu leaders and feudal lords adopted this institution of slavery and it exerted great impact on Indian society. Still now in Rajasthan among the royal Rajput families, the custom of offering women slaves in dowry is practiced.

3. Dress and Food:

Another result of the contact with the Muslims was that the Hindus adopted Muhammadan dress, food and etiquette and fashion. The Hindus wore achakan, salwar, pyjams and lungis. Dinners, gambling, wine-drinking etc. of the Muslim nobles were adopted by their Hindu counterparts. Food like Palau, Kabab, Biryani, Kachhember etc. were adopted by the Hindus. The Hindu rulers adopted Muslim etiquette of sitting arrangements for various classes by following the practice of the Delhi Court.

4. Dance and Music:

Indian dance forms and instruments were also influenced by Islam. The Indian Veena and the Irani Tambura merged together to emerge as Sitar. The Hindu Mridanga underwent alternations by Muslims and the result was the Tabla. Different Ragas and classical vocal music underwent subtle changes when those came in contact with Muslim singers. Tarana, Thumri, Ghazzal were popular Islamic contributions to Indian classical music. As a whole Muslim exponents too were highly impressed with the Indian Dhrupad and Damar. Qwali and Ghazzal were imitated Hindus and they produced a form of duet dance.

5. Religion: Bhakti Movement:

The influence of Islam was more pungent in the domain of religion. It gave a rude shock to Hinduism and shattered the Brahmanical influence from the Hindu society which it was availing since long. Besides this, the impact of Islam on Hinduism produced important consequences.

The Islamic message of universal brotherhood, introduction of equality in society, rejection of caste system and untouchability, opposition to idol-worship and the idea of oneness of God threw up a powerful challenge to the upholders of Hinduism. With the gradual march of time, this moulded the Hindu mind and fostered the growth of liberal movements by some saints and reformers.

This gave rise to the “Bhakti Cult” or Single-minded direct devotion and love to “One”. It also gave rise to Bhakti Movement and produced saints like Ramanand, Kabir, Nanak, Sri Chaitanya and many more.

This Bhaki cult provided a much coveted relief to the oppressed mass who were debarred from social privileges and they got liberation from the clutches of the priests. This Bhakti cult exerted great influence in South India Sankaracharya, Ramanuja, Basava and many others in South rose to reinterpret Hinduism in terms of Islamic monotheism.

6. Growth of Popular and Liberal Religion:

A lasting impact of Muslim rule was the division of the entire society into two distinct division – Hindus and Muslims. In due course of time these two sections evolved as two separate nations and the seed of this two-nation theory was germinated during India’s struggle for freedom and finally grew into a bitter fruit dividing India into Hindustan and Pakistan.

 

Secondly, this division made Hindus more orthodox in their outlook and practice than what they were in the past. To preserve their culture from Muslim fold, they followed rigid laws, customs and practices for their fellow groups and lower castes.

They favoured concession to the higher classes who were cut off from the main channels of Hindu way of life. The Hindus borrowed some democratic principles of Islam and advocated equality of castes. They now declared that caste was not a bar salvation. That promoted the growth of popular and liberal religion.

7. Mutual Respect:

Coming to the influence of Islam on Indian society, it can be stated that mutual cooperation and respect grew among the Hindus and Muslims. The healthy spirit of mutual toleration found expression in the growing veneration of the Hindus for Muslim saints and vice- versa. It led to the worship of ‘Satyapir’ both by the Hindus and Muslims.

The Hindus offered sweets and incense sticks on the tomb of Muslims ‘pirs’ ‘Saints’ and ‘Saikhs’. To express their sentiments of brotherhood and charity, they fed the Muslim Fakri’s and Saikhs, and began to observe Muslim festivals and fairs. They also become and devotees of the Muslim saints. For example, the tomb of Muinuddin Chisti at Ajmer and the tomb of Nizamuddin Auliya at Delhi became the centres of attraction for the Hindus. Similarly, the Muslims also visited Hindu shrines. Sultan Ziauddin visited Hindu shrine of Amarnath and Saradadevi’s temple.

8. Linguistic Synthesis:

The living together by the Hindus and Muslims not only developed mutual respect and cooperation for each other, rather it also brought a linguistic synthesis. Urdu became the outcome of this. It was a mixture of Persian, Arabic and Turkish words with the concepts and languages of Sanskrit origin. This Urdu became a common language in medieval period. A vast number of literatures was produced in this language.

Muslims scholars like Amir Khusru, Malik Muhammad Jayasi. Kutaban and many others wrote on Hindu life, culture and religion in Hindi. The Muslim rule also facilitated the growth of vernacular literature.

In North Hindi; in west Marathi and in east, Bengali developed into literary languages. Thus local language and literature grew to a considerable extent by the influence of Islam Dinesh Chandra Sen, thus writes.

“The evolution of Bengali to a literary status was brought about by several influences, of which the Muhammadan conquest was one of the foremost.”

9. Art and Architecture:

The influence of Islam on Hindu art and architecture was quite discernable. The common features of Islamic architecture were its massive structure in the forms of buildings mosques, domes; tall minarets; courtyards, huge walls etc. This Islamic influence of architecture was largely felt on the construction of Hindu temples, palaces and buildings. Also, the Islam borrowed the design of lotus, Kalash, different Indian flowers, the creepers; mango leaves etc. from the Hindu architectural forms. Thus, both the Hindus and Muslims reciprocated in a nobler way by following each other’s architectural designs.

10. Painting:

Indian painting underwent a great change coming in contact with Islamic paintings. The Islamic practice of painting the walls with the figures of ladies blowing trumpet was followed by the Hindus. The Ajanta style was gradually replaced by the pyramidal structure of the Sultanate and Mughal period.

The painting in Hindu shrines on Tanjore, Jaipur, Rajputana, Bengal and other places were followed by the Mughal style. Calligraphy developed during the Mughal period and the Hindus imitated it a lot. Pictorial art in the Islamic model was followed by the Hindus. Themes of Ramayana, Kaliyadalana etc. were followed in the same style. The Hindu houses, streets, bathing gliats and places of worship were painted following the Muslim style.

11. Crafts:

New arts and crafts were created by the Hindus following the Islamic style. Following the Muslim practice crafts like papermaking enameling, inlay works on stones, metals and Jewells etc. emerged in India. Numerous Karkhanas (factories) like paper, dying tanning, shoemaking, zari work etc. grew up in the country following the Muslim practice. A sustainable economy was affected by the development of crafts which took place in India by following the Muslim practice.

12. Restoration of Contact with Outside World:

Islam also helped the people of India in restoring its contact with outside world. In the past, India had its contact with outside world. It carried on cultural and commercial contact with the countries like South-East Asia, Rome, Egypt, Greece, China etc. After the fall of the Gupta empire and that of Harsavardhan, such relation ceased.

 

However, Islam helped in reviving such contacts. With the Muslim conquest of India, many traders from Bukhara, Samarkand, Balkh, Khurasan, Iran and many other Arab world came to India. They come through land routes and sea.

The ports of Ttah, Broach, Surat, Goa, Kathiawar etc. became active for commercial transactions. From these ports Indian ships sailed to Java, Sumatra, Siam, Egypt, China, Zanzibar etc. Thus again India’s contact with outside world developed due to the influence of Islam.

13. Literature:

Literature and history writing in India were greatly influenced by the Turko-Afghans during the rule of the Sultanate. Many books written in Parsi made a great impact on the Hindus. Of these Utbi’s ‘Kitab-ul-Yamini’, Hassan Nizami’s ‘Taj-ul-Maa’ Sir, Qazi Minhaz- us-Siraj’s ‘Tabakat-i-Nasiri’.

Poet Amir Khusru ‘Khazain-ul-Futuh’ and ‘Tughlug-Nama’, Ziauddin Barani’s ‘Tarikh-i-Firoze sahi’ and Isami’s ‘Futu-us-Salatin’, were the most outstanding. They gave a big boost to the art of history writing in India. Poet Chand Bardai gave a new dimension of history writing by producing the Prithviraj Raso. Sarangadhar too became famous for his work Umir Raso.

Thus, in several ways Hinduism was influenced by Islam. Indian art, architecture, language, literature and culture as a whole, came under the spell of Islam. As a result, Indian culture as a whole underwent a drastic change. In the long run it became extremely difficult to categories Islamic forms from the Hindu for both had been so inextricably woven into one another, that they could now only be termed as part of Indian culture.

Causes and effects of the Third Battle of Panipat.

 The Third Battle of Panipat took place between northern expeditionary force of the Maratha Empire and invading forces of the King of Afghanistan, Ahmad Shah Abdali, supported by two Indian allies—the Rohilla Afghans (Najib ad- Dawlah) of the Doab, and Shuja-ud-Daula, the Nawab of Awadh. The battle is considered one of the largest and most eventful fought in the 18th century. It has been said that this battle changed the power equation in India. Maratha was defeated and their rising power was checked.

Sequence of events resulting into Maratha Afghan conflict:

-> Declining Mughal power and rising Maratha power was one of the aspect of political scene during mid 18th century in India. It had come the extent that in 1752 A.D. there had been treaty between Mughal emperor and Peshwa, By which the Mughul emperor gave the Marathas the right to collect chauth and sardeshmukhi from all over India and, in return, the Marathas were obliged to help the Emperor in times of need. Thus, the Marathas involved themselves directly with the politics at Delhi. By that time, the Mughul nobility had sharply divided itself into conflicting groups. Among them, the one group was that of the Indian Muslims and, the other one, that of the foreign Muslims particularly those of the Turanis. The Marathas was involved in that group-politics as well and supported the group of Indian Muslims. The group of foreign Muslims, therefore, tried to seek foreign help which they readily received from the ruler of Afghanistan, Ahmad Shah Abdali who had his eyes upon Kashmir, Multan and Punjab. Abdali had attacked India in 1752 A.D. and Mughal emperor (Ahmad Shah) was forced to surrender Multan and Punjab to him. Abdali’s appointed person was ruling over these territory.

In 1754 A.D., Maratha with helped Vazir Gaziuddin in raising Alamgir II to the Mughul throne in place of Ahmad Shah. This displeased the group of foreign nobles, main among them was Nazib-ud-daula (Rohilla Afghan). In 1756 A.D., Vazir Gaziuddin snatched away Multan and Punjab from Muglani Begum (was ruling Multan and Punjab). This enraged Ahmad Shah Abdali, he attacked Punjab and reached Delhi.

He appointed Nazib-ud-daula as Mir Bakshi and assigned Punjab to his son. Maratha Raghunath Rao proceed to Delhi but, before he could reach there Abdali had retired. Raghunath Rao removed Nazib-ud-daula from the post of Mir Bakshi. Maratha attacked punjab also and it was placed under a Maratha noble.

Primary causes which resulted into this battle:

a) Causes of defeat of Maratha:

-> Dattaji, a Martha nobel opened negotiations with Nazib-ud-daula but failed. Abdali was again enraged and attacked Punjab. A battle followed near Delhi in which Dattaji was killed. When the Peshwa heard of the death and defeat of Dattaji, he despatched a Maratha army under the command of Sadashiva Rao Bhau to the North with a view to turn out Abdali from India. But by the time they reached Delhi (1960) Abdali had left.

-> Abdali declared that his aim was not to stay in India but desired to turn out the Marathas of the South and place Emperor Shah Alam on the throne of Delhi. Nazib-ud-daula who also got Suja-ud-daula in his group, supported him.

-> Sadashiva Rao Bhau tried to win over different chiefs and rulers of north India but he largely failed. Thus, Maratha and Abdali was in head on with each other. Which resulted into battle of Panipath, in which Marathas where badly defeated.

b) Weakness of Mughul emperors: He could not check the acts among Nobilities, Had there been a strong emperor all the scenes could have been different.

c) The division of the nobility in contending groups: It was Nazib-ud-daula and Suja-ud-daula was looking from outside support and for which Abdali was a readily available. The ambition of the Marathas to gain influence in the North. The ambition of Abdali to capture Kashmir Multan and Punjab.

d) Outnumbered:

Abdali’s forces outnumbered the forces under the command of Bhauji.

e) Afghans were better equipped:

Abdali’s troops were not only better organised but better equipped. While Abdali’s troops used muskets, the Marathas fought mostly with sword and lances. Abdali’s swivel guns mounted on camel’s back caused havoc. Though Marathas had some of the best French-made guns of the time, their artillery was static and lacked mobility against the fast-moving Afghan forces. The heavy mounted artillery of Afghans proved much better in the battlefield than the light artillery of Marathas. Marathas did not use their guerilla method of warfare in which they were master. Malharrao Holkar had advised it. Ahmad Shah’s superiority in pitched battle could have been negated by using guerilla method.

f) Superiority of Abdali against Bhau as a commander:

Bhau had made many strategic mistakes. Though he was brave and courageous, acted on the spur of the moment. On seeing the demise of his beloved Vishwasrao, Bhausaheb came down from his elephant, climbed on a horse and plunged into the enemy lines, without realizing the consequences. Seeing his empty howda his troops thought that he had fallen and that they were leaderless. This led to

chaos. On the other hand, Ahmad Shah Abdali was probably the best General of his times in Asia and a worthy heir of Nadir Shah in capacity and spirit. Abdali’s experience and maturity were great assets. Abdali’s superior tactics of war and his strategy of action foiled all chances of Maratha success.

g) Indisciplined Maratha army:

Indiscipline prevailed in Maratha army at that time. It was no more like it was during Shivaji time when women were not allowed in army camps. Now, there was large number of women and servants in the Maratha camp who were simply burden to the army. The effective fighting force of the Marathas numbered only 45,000 while the army of Abdali consisted of nearly 60,000 soldiers. The campaigning, marching and discipline of Abdali’s army was direct contrast to that of the Marathas.

h) Scarcity of supplies:

Bhau lost control over Doab and therefore, felt scarcity of supplies. Near famine conditions prevailed in the Maratha camp at Panipat. The road to Delhi was cut off by the Afghan war. There was no food for men and fodder for horses. On the other hand, the Afghans kept their supply line open with the Doab and the Delhi region. Bhau wasted three months by camping before Abdali at Panipat and engaged in battle when, from the last two months, the Maratha army was semi-starved. The Marathas were fighting alone at a place which was 1000 miles away from their capital Pune.

i)Lack of allies:

The Marathas occupied parts of Punjab and Haryana when they occupied Delhi, this alienated the Marathas from the locals (Jats and Punjabis). While Muslim powers of Northern India rallied behind Ahmad Shah Abdali, the Marathas had to fight alone. The over-bearing attitude of the Marathas and their policy of indiscriminate plunder had estranged not only the Muslim powers but also Hindu powers like Jats and Rajputs. Even the Sikhs, the deadly enemies of the Afghans, did not help the Marathas.

j) Diplomatic failure of Bhau:

He was incapable of getting support of important Muslims support from the North.

Consequences of 3rd battle of Panipat:

-> He even lost the support of Suraj Mal, the Jat Raja of Bharatpur who felt disgusted with his behaviour and therefore, left the Maratha-camp. On the one hand, Nazib-ud-daula got Suja-ud-daula, the ruler of Avadh to the side of Abdali by pleading to him in the name of Islam.

-> Mutual jealousies:

Mutual jealousies of the Maratha commanders considerably weakened their side. For e.g. Bhau called Malhar Rao Holkar a dotard past his usefulness and lowered his esteem in the eyes of the army and the public. Thus, the Marathas captains were individualistic in spirit and their military tactics.

-> On the Maratha:

- The immediate loss to the Marathas was considerable as they lost heavily in men and money. An entire generation of capable leaders was cut off at one stroke and it gave a free hand to the unscrupulous Raghunatha Rao, the most infamous character in Maratha history.

- The battle destroyed the prestige of the Marathas and they were no more considered invincible.

- Apart from the territorial losses, the unity of the Maratha Empire was weakened which resulted in the disintegration of the Maratha empire.

- It was a death blow to the Maratha unity.

- The Peshwa lost his dominant position in the Maratha confederacy, becaming merely one of the confederate chiefs and subordinate members like Sindhia, Holkar, Bhosle and Gaikwad became virtually independent.

- It checked the progress of the Marathas towards north India. The Marathas took a long time to reconsolidate their power and the time was utilised by other powers to strengthen themselves. After their defeat in this battle, the Marathas could no longer claim to be the

foremost power in India. They, rather, became one of the powers in India.

- The Marathas now fell from the high pedestal. The India powers, after the battle were convinced that the Maratha friendship was worth nothing. For example, in Malwa, the disposed chieftains and even petty landlords raised their heads and talked of driving Marathas out.

- Of course, Sindhia remained protector of the Mughul emperor for some time but the Marathas failed to strengthen their hold over the North. That is why the British could get the chance of eliminating the French in India and capture power in Bengal also.

-> On Ahmad Shah Abdali:

He never reaped any great advantage besides gathering booty. There was practically a mutiny in Abdali’s camp due to arrears of pay. So Abdali returned to Afghanistan leaving Najib-ud-daulah as his representative in Delhi and started negotiations with the Marathas in the Punjab. In 1763 AD peace was concluded with Peshwa Madhava Rao I who recognised the Punjab as Afghan territory.

-> On the Sikhs:

This battle helped the Sikhs to establish their supremacy in the north-west. The Sikhs lost no time in occupying the Punjab and presented stiff opposition to the Afghans invaders. In 1764 AD they met at Amritsar and struck their first coins, a mark of the establishment of sovereignty of the Sikh community. On the final retreat of the Abdali from the Punjab, the Sikhs reappeared in all their force. Lahore was occupied. Between 1767 and 1770, the Sikhs extended their power from Saharanpur in the east to Attock in

the west, from Multan in the south to Kangra and Jammu in the north and they organized themselves into twelve misls.

-> On Rajputs, Nizam and Haider Ali:

The Rajputs came forward boldly to recover lost ground. The Nizam resumed the offensive again. In the south, Mysore under Haider Ali developed into an aggressive neighbour.

-> On Najib-ud-daulah and Shuja-ud-daulah:

The Battle of Panipat left the Rohilfa chief, Najib-ud-daub, the Abdali’s Indian supporter, as the undisputed master of Delhi during the best nine years. The victory of the Abdali also enhanced prestige of Shuja-ud-daulah of Avadh. Najib and Shuja were rocketed as leaders of the Muslims in north India.

-> On the English:

The triangular contest for supremacy between the Mughals, the Marathas and the English that marks that history of the mid-eighteenth century, Panipat records the failure of the first two contestants and the backdoor was left open for the English. This battle gave the English the much needed opportunity to strengthen and consolidate their authority. If Plassey had sown the seeds of British supremacy in India, Panipat afforded time for their maturing and striking roots.

Failure of the administrative experiments of Mohammad-bin-Tughlaq.

 Experiments of Mohammad bin Tughlaq (1324-1351 CE)

Shifting of capital to Daulatabad

-> The first rebellion faced by Tughlaq was that of Bahauddin Gurhasp of Sagar. If he had not acted, entire southern peninsula would have slipped out of his hand. A little carelessness in dealing with this revolt would have led to a series of rebellions.

-> Plus, during the Warangal expedition of 1321-22, contact of Delhi was cut off which created confusion in the soldiers.

-> Thus, it was felt an effective control was needed on south. It would also give a chance to procure the fabulous gold and silver of the south for the Sultanat.

-> Delhi was frequently exposed to Mongol invasions due to their hold over Punjab region. The rich trade, flourishing agriculture and pleasant climate of Maharashtra was the ideal place for the new capital.

-> Both Barani and Farishta talk of Daulatabad as a central location. Ibn Batuta gives a different perspective that Tughlaq wanted to punish the people of Delhi for abuses. Isami also talks of Tughlaq not trusting the Awam-o-Khalq of Delhi and hence he wanted to uproot them. Farishta also records that the ministers had suggested Ujjain but Tughlaq brushed it aside.

Actual shifting-

-> 1326-28 - Barani says first royal ladies shifted.

-> Then the imperial court was shifted to Daulatabad. The upper cream of aristocracy consisting of nobles, Ulema, Sayyads and Sheikhs were forced to migrate which caused great discontent because they were forced to leave Delhi where they lived for almost 2 centuries.

-> Isami says six such caravans composed of people who were forced to move out of Delhi.

-> The common people were also forced to migrate to Daulatabad as it was the new capital and it was always safe to live near the Sultan in days where Mongol invasions took place. But the migration during summer killed many.

-> The sultan had built a Delhi-Daulatabad road with resting places. The houses were bought by Sultan for the people and many other concessions were given to settle in Daulatabad. But the people suffered and felt homesick in a new province. Sultan thus earned the displeasure of his people.

-> Delhi continued to be the most important city with coins being minted from both Daulatabad and Delhi. But Barani said Delhi appeared like a ghost city

-> He had to come back to Delhi by 1334-35. Ibn Batista in 1335 calls Delhi a bustling city.

Effects –

-> Tughlaq was cut off from northwest and Bengal which lead him to make whirlwind trips to Delhi continuously.

-> Mongol try to invade and Rajputs try to become independent

-> Shifting put tremendous strain on royal treasury and shifting the capital again to Delhi further created problems.

-> Plague in deccan affected new capital

-> revolts took place in Dwarsamudra and Maabar thus defeating very purpose of shifting capital

-> Ancient Indian kingdoms did have the concept of second capital. It was put to practice again by Tughlaq.

-> It established a renewed contact between north and south India and helped in spreading Muslim religious and cultural ideas in the south.

Issuing token currency

-> Token currency- no intrinsic value, works on sovereign guarantee and on people's confidence in the currency. Token currency also would help in accumulating capital, banking and ease of trade.

-> Token currencies were issued by Qublai Khan of China and some Mongol rulers of Iran.

-> Mohammad bin Tughlaq had issued bronze currency as a token equivalent to the value of silver tankas. He hoped that such a currency will help to absorb supply shocks of silver, silver being rarer than gold in those times.

-> But he forgot to make minting the monopoly of the state and also did not bring any rules to define a standard coin.

-> Barani says that soon, every Hindu's house was turned into a mint. They created extra money and paid their taxes from this. Every goldsmith struck copper coins and stored them. The corrupt officials of the state were also involved.

-> Merchants minted forget coins resulting in devaluation of currency. Foreign merchants bought goods in Indian currency but refused to sell their goods in return of this token currency because of no sovereign guarantee. No efforts were to sign an agreement with foreign kingdoms about the token currency.

-> In those times, dynasties were changing in quick succession. People felt that Tughlaq's successors might not accept these coins. So, there was no sovereign guarantee.

-> Barani says due to this confusion, people stopped using bronze coins and held back the gold and silver coins they had thus increasing its scarcity and creating inflation. Trade was disrupted.

-> Soon, it had to be chucked and silver had to be given in return of true coins. Barani says the forged coins were lying in the fort for many years. Ibn Batuta in 1333 has mentioned no such ill effects of the failed token currency pointing that the empire recovered fast.

Taxation in doab-

-> In his zeal to improve agriculture, Tughlaq established the department for agriculture or diwan-i-kohi. He invested 70 lakh tankas over a period of two years. The plan was to replenish the treasury by ensuring agriculture grows.

Ill-effects of policies

-> The corrupt officers in the department appropriated the money and the agriculturists did not apply their brains to increase productivity. He asked people to change cropping pattern from barley to wheat and sugarcane but it failed miserably.

-> Random taxes were applied on the people. The land revenue was so huge that Barani says the lower and poor Riyaya were wiped out and the richer sections rose in rebellions. He also says that the people, in order to escape from taxes, left their villages and resided in the jungles.

-> Dabir talks of the condition then – the tax collectors were brutal on peasants, the peasants killed them. Then the sultan sent men to kill the peasants. The peasants again took a chance and killed these men. This completely ruined the doab.

-> Apart from land revenue, different taxes like grazing tax, house tax, etc were also levied. The revenue officers were brutal in collecting taxes.

-> The combined effect was that the grains stopped being grown. Even the rains failed. No foodgrains were coming to Delhi that led to a deadly famine and drought, prices of grains increased a lot. The result was the death of millions of humans as per Barani.

-> Tughlaq shifted to a base called Swarga-Dwari in doab region due to famine in Delhi. Ibn-Batuta talks of his relief measures- he announced a compensation to each person daily, whether free or slave, big or small. He suspended the collection of land revenue and the peasants were advanced loans to buy bullocks, seeds and wells were dug for irrigation.

The Mongols were weak due to their internal strife. However they were a force to reckon with in Punjab. They were strong in the Indus region. In fact, during Mohammad bin Tughlaq time, Mongol Tarmashirin had attacked Sindh and came as near as Meerut. Tughlaq defeated him at the Battle and for some time, Delhi had regained control of Peshawar too. This shows that the empire was now in a good shape to launch an offensive. He even had recruited large

army after coming back from Daulatabad for expeditions at Khurasan. However, he suffered defeat in the Kangra expedition.

Upset nobles-

-> Another problem was of heterogeneous nature of nobility. Right from the times of Khalji, the Turk domination in nobility was broken.

-> This might have introduced many heterogeneous races into nobility but this also created problems in cohesion as well as resentment in Turkish nobles.

-> Although no rebellion took place in Alauddin's times, problems started building up in Tughlaq's times.

-> Plus, the hot temperament of Tughlaq created many enemies

-> Mohammad had promoted people from all backgrounds to important posts which led to the fluid situation.

-> His introduction of Wali and Amir in Iqtas infuriated the Iqatdars.

-> Tughlaq believed in rational approach towards religion and hence many Islamic theologians and Sufi saints were upset with him.

Last year's of Tughlaq were engaged in suppressing rebellion all over. One after another Awadh, Sindh, Gujarat, Bengal, Kampili and Warangal and Mabar in south rose in rebellion. Plus, plague hit the army and nearly two thirds of army perished. At these times, Harihar and Bukka declared independence and established the Vijayanagara empire. Some nobles foreign declared independence and established the Bahamani kingdom at Daulatabad. It was while returning from the campaign at Sindh that Mohammad bin Tughlaq died and was succeeded by his cousin Firuz Shah Tughlaq.

Local Self Government in the Chola Empire.

Imperial Cholas were the most powerful Kingdom of Tamilakam lasting from 9th to 13th century and the first south Indian kingdom to extend its influence right upto southeast Asia. The politico admnistrative system of imperial cholas was characterized by the co-existence of centralization and de-centralization. The Chola kings maintained a balance between the control of king on local administration and the autonomy of local bodies.

Chola Administration:

Administrative divisions - Rajam --> 8 Mandalams --> districts called Kottams or Valanadus --> Nadus --> Assemblies or Varium called Ur, Mahasabha, Nagaram.

-> The head of the Mandala was mainly a member of royal family.

-> Olainayak was the chief secretary of the king.

-> Nadu- Term means assembly of the locality. it was the main administrative center with important revenue rights. It was managed by Nattar. They even donated land to temples. Subbarayalu estimates their number as 140 in Cholamandalam area.

-> Ur was the asembly of tax paying citizens open to all male members of all families.

-> Mahasabha was assembly of brahmins which included those owning Brahmadeya lands

-> Nagaram was assembly of merchants and traders for promotion of trade.

Local representation

From Uttaramerur inscription during reign of Parantaka I

-> Nadu or Ur- The local govt could have developed in pre-Chola times due to settlement of agri communities bound by economic and kinship ties. The villages were made of Vellalas and non-brahmans hence called Vellanvagai. Nadu also collected taxes and levies at local level and maintained infrastructure. Headed by Nadalvar.

-> Sabha- made of land owning Brahmins who were scholarly and we'll learned. They formed Variyams or committees to look over various aspects of admin. Various Variyams existed for looking after gardens, fields, gold allays, etc. The Samvatsara Variyam was an annual committee of more experienced elders. The election happened by the system of lots. Conditions included property, 40 years and knowledge in Shastras. No one allowed consecutive terms. The Sabha had right to levy taxes collected through Tanduvan or collector. It also had judicial functions called Dharmasana.

-> Uttaramerur inscription details- the election used to proceed by lots every year. The eligibility was 35-70 years, own property of 1/4th Veli or 1.5 acres, knowledge of Vedas or one Veda and a Bhashya. No criminal record, no stolen property, no failure to submit accounts of earlier posts. Democracy and Local Self Govt Various aspects of democracy and local government are-

-> Elections- From Uttaramerur. held at Ur and Sabha level. Qualifications, age, criminal record, all people of village voted, etc. The Sabhas functioned in Variyams or committees. Thus, people chose their own representatives.

-> Financial Autonomy- The Ur and Sabha had taxation rights. They could levy tolls and levies along with collection of tax for the monarch. Probably, the villages got some share of it too. The Nagarams levied taxes on shops and market places. A 13th century inscription at Mannargudi talks of burden of levies on farmers. The Sabha met the leading people of locality and decided on the issue.

-> Operational Autonomy- the Ur and Sabha had authority to construct roads, bridges, irrigation tanks and even maintain them. All small level works were done at village level itself. The Sabha managed the religious activities of the temples. Thus, operational freedom existed.

-> Judicial autonomy- Even though the royal court or Dharnasana existed, the petty disputes seem to have been solved at Ur and Sabha level itself.

-> Control over community resources- In spite of land grants, communal landholding was common. The common pastures, forests and lakes were controlled by the Ur and Sabha.

However,

-> There are no references of decisions by voting or quorums.

-> The modern definition of democrwcy of by, for and of people doesnt apply due to overarching influence of monarchy. The assemblies were bound by the will of the monarchy.

-> Concept of separate elecrorates was seen in case of Sabhas.

-> It is only in case of electing local representatives that limited democracy exercised, it did not go to the Nadu or Kottam level.

-> Very few examples of women being active in public life- An epigraph from Shikarpur talk talks of wife of a district headman succeeding him after his death.

Medieval History PYQ

1. Local Self Government in the Chola Empire. (20 marks)

https://punyasmaranpanda.blogspot.com/2020/12/local-self-government-in-chola-empire.html

2. Failure of the administrative experiments of Mohammad-bin-Tughlaq. (20 marks)

https://punyasmaranpanda.blogspot.com/2020/12/failure-of-administrative-experiments.html

3. Causes and effects of the Third Battle of Panipat. (20 marks)

https://punyasmaranpanda.blogspot.com/2020/12/causes-and-effects-of-third-battle-of.html

4. Impact of Islam on Indian Culture. (20 marks)

https://punyasmaranpanda.blogspot.com/2020/12/impact-of-islam-on-indian-culture.html

5. Discuss the role of Rashtrakutas in the history of South India.

https://punyasmaranpanda.blogspot.com/2021/01/discuss-role-of-rashtrakutas-in-history.html

6. Make an estimate of Iltutmish as the real founder of the Delhi Sultanate.

https://punyasmaranpanda.blogspot.com/2021/01/founder-of-delhi-sultanate-achievements.html

7. Explain why Akbar is regarded as the greatest muslim ruler of India.

https://punyasmaranpanda.blogspot.com/2021/01/undoubtedly-akbar-was-only-ruler-among.html

8. Examine main aspects of the economic policy of Alauddin Khiliji.

9. Discuss the reason for which Akbar is regarded as the greatest muslim ruler of India.

10. Examine the nature and significance of the Bhakti Movement.

11. Examine critically new orientation of state policies and administrative principles under Muhammad Bin Tughlaq.

12. Give a critical account of Aurangzeb's religious policy and its consequences

13. Discuss the rise of Shivaji and his conflicts with the Mughals

14. Examine critically the amdministrative and economic measures of Alauddin Khiliji.

15. What do you mean by Sufism ? Discuss its main principles, important orders and its impact on the Indian Society.

16. Discuss critically the Mansabdari System.

17. Critically examine the administrative policies and reforms of Muhammad-Bin-Tughlaq.

18. Trace the growth of urban centers and the rise of industrial economy in Medieval India.

19. Describe briefly the administrative system of Sher Shah.

20. Account for the disintegration of Mughal Empire.

21. Village administration under Cholas. (20 marks)

22. Alberuni's understanding of Indian Sciences (20 marks)

23. Portuguese trade in South India (20 marks)

24. Sufism in north India (20 marks)

25. Give a critical account of the experiments made in revenue administration during Sultanate period.

26. How can you trace out socio-economic conditions during the Vijayanagara basing upon foreign accounts

27. Explain the development of technology during the mughal period and analyse its impact on the growth of industry and trade.

28. Review the contributions of the Somavamsi Rulers to the history and culture of Odisha.

29. Rise of rajputs

30. Impact of eocnomic policies of Alaudin Khiliji on state and people.

31. Socio-religious factors for the growth of Bhakti Movement

32. Historiography during the reign of Akbar.

33. Elaborate critically the theory of kingship under the Turko-Afghan rulers.

34. Examine the relationshiop between Jagirdari and Mansabdari. How far it was responsble for the decline of the Mughal Empire.

35. Discuss the nature and implications of Rajput Policy under Akbar.

36. Trace the origin of Cult of Jagannatha.

37. Feudalism in India.

38. Advent of Islam in India.

39. Bhakti Schools in South.

40. Condition of Women during 16th and 17th Centuries.

41. Elaborate critically the rise of provincial dynasties in India during 15th and the ealry 16th centuries.

42. Discuss the salient features of Provincial school of architecture and Painting during the Mughal Empire.

43. Discuss the nature of administrative and religious policies of Mughal rulers during 17th and 18th centuries.

44. How far the rulers of Suryavamsi Gajapatis were responsible for the decline of Orissan Empire? Discuss.

45. Contribution of Kalhana as a historian.

46. Village communities in the South

48. Dara Shukoh

49. Styles of temple architecture during 750-1200.

50. Analyze the nature of Ghorian invasions and its consequences on history of Odisha.

51. Disucss the political, social cultural, importance of Vijaynagar empire.

52. Write about the rise of Shivaji and its implications for the mughals in India.

53. How will you explain the cult of Jagannath ?

54. What do you know about Shankaracharya's Vedanta?

55. Introduce Alberuni and his picture of Indian science and civilization.

56. Write about caste and slavery under Sultanate.

57. Make an assessment of Sher Shah's administration.

58. Make an estimate of two provinicial dynasties during 15th and early 16th centuries, examining their contribution.

59. Give an outline of the 17th century important indian Towns, Trade and Commerce with Europe.

60. Trace the history of Imperial Gangas with special reference to Odisha.

61. Write a note on Arab Conquest of Sindh.

62. Bhakti Movement has been termed as a famous historical event in Medieval times. Discuss.

63. Give an account of Alauddin Khiliji's economic policy.

64. The Ganga age of Odisha is a glorious age in History. Discuss.

65. Muhammad Bin Tughlaq is one of the controversial rulers of medieval  history. Examine.

66. Akbar is famous in History for his liberal religious policy. Discuss.

67. What were the contributions of Shivaji in establishing an independant  Maratha Kingdom.

68. Analyse the significance of Vijaynagar Empire in the comtemporary political scenario of India.

69. What are the different theories of origin of the Rajputs?

70. How and why India attracted foreign invasions from across in North West frontier and with what results ?

71. Throw light on the nature and functioning of the village communities in the south.

72. Evaluate the significance of history written by kalhana

73. Write an essay on the court patronage of art, technology during the time of Akbar.

74. Make an assessment of the contribution of Shivaji in different fields of administration and polity.

75. Adi Shankaracharya

Write about the Gupta Art and Architecture

The new attitude of caution and conservation can be detected in almost every sphere of British activity in India after revolt of 1857.