Pakistan History: An Alternative Narrative
From Pre-History to 1947
Tipu Salman Makhdoom
(Translated
from Urdu)
Chapter Four
Tughlaq, Vijayanagara, and the
Bhakti Movement
(1300 CE to 1500 CE)
Sultan
Muhammad bin Tughlaq
Sultan
Muhammad bin Tughlaq was a Hafiz-e-Quran (one who has memorized the
entire Quran), observed fasting and prayers regularly, and had a keen interest
in philosophy and logic.
Muhammad
bin Tughlaq was known for his harsh treatment of Sufis, yet he displayed
remarkable benevolence towards religious scholars (Ulama). One
explanation for this dichotomy suggests that the Sufis wielded immense
influence over both the common populace and the court during his era, and the
Sultan sought to diminish this influence for political objectives.
Another
contributing factor is attributed to the reformist movement of Allama Ibn
Taymiyyah, which he had initiated in Syria and Egypt during that period—a movement
that, unfortunately, extremist jihadist organizations still adhere to today.
The
renowned traveler Ibn Battuta served as a courtier to Muhammad bin Tughlaq for
several years, documenting extensive material regarding the Sultan's character
and reign.
On one hand, the Sultan was so tyrannical that people sought refuge from his wrath, while on the other, he actively pursued the welfare of his subjects, and his intellectual pursuits were widely recognized.
Ruling
from 1325 CE to 1351 CE, this Sultan expanded Muslim rule in India to an extent
unprecedented by any previous Muslim ruler. With the exception of Kashmir and
Kerala, the entirety of the Indian subcontinent (including modern-day Pakistan)
was integrated into the Sultan's empire.
The
Sultan favored Iranian and Turanian nobles over their Indian counterparts,
which caused resentment among Indian elites. Furthermore, religious scholars
desired the Sultan to consult them on all governmental decisions; however, the
Sultan was independent-minded and acted according to his own will.
Consequently, even many Iranian and Turanian religious scholars often harbored
dissatisfaction and engaged in conspiracies against him.
To
suppress numerous rebellions, the Sultan, in the final years of his reign,
endeavored to legitimize his rule by associating it with the Caliphate. In 1342
CE, the Sultan declared that India was, in fact, part of the Islamic Caliphate,
and he was merely the representative of the Caliph of the Muslims. In this
regard, the Sultan began replacing his own name with that of the Caliph on
Indian currency.
Sultan
Muhammad bin Tughlaq undertook several progressive initiatives during his
reign, but unfortunately, none of them achieved success.
One
such initiative involved issuing a modern currency in place of gold and silver
coins. At that time, only two other countries in the world, China and Iran, had
such a currency in circulation. Consequently, the Sultan issued copper coins as
currency instead of gold and silver. Unfortunately, the local populace failed
to grasp the significance of this system, and illicit mints for counterfeit
currency proliferated in almost every household. The Sultan was compelled to
abolish this currency, resulting in significant losses to the treasury.
The
Sultan also undertook several measures to modernize the tax system, but each
new step led to unforeseen complications. For instance, instead of directly
granting jagirs (land grants) for revenue collection, the Sultan began
auctioning them publicly. This was a highly progressive method, still prevalent
and successful today. However, the people of that era could not keep pace with
the Sultan's advanced thinking, and this scheme too met with disaster. Many
individuals, driven by the desire for overnight wealth, entered the field without
any experience or understanding of revenue collection. They secured large land
grants by bidding excessively without proper assessment but subsequently failed
to collect sufficient revenue proportionate to their bids. As a result,
peasants suffered immense oppression, with even well-off farmers facing
starvation. This was compounded by the imposition of cattle taxes, house taxes,
and several other levies, completely breaking the backs of the peasantry.
Consequently, farmers set fire to their fields and homes, forming rebellious
groups in the forests and engaging in looting. Enraged, the Sultan ordered his
armies to massacre any peasants found in rebellious areas and to confiscate all
their property on behalf of the state. These tyrannical measures led to the
deaths of countless peasants.
To
compound matters, a severe famine struck these regions, with no rainfall for
seven consecutive years. The situation deteriorated to the extent that people
resorted to eating dead animals, and in several places, hunger-stricken
individuals even began consuming human corpses. At this point, the Sultan's
cruelty transformed into compassion; state granaries were opened for the
famine-stricken population, state kitchens tirelessly provided food to the
people, and loans were extended to farmers.
Another
of the Sultan's decisions was to relocate the imperial capital from Delhi to
Devagiri. There were two primary reasons for this. Firstly, the new capital,
being situated in the heart of the empire and away from the border, would be
secure from Mongol incursions. Secondly, Devagiri, being centrally located, was
relatively closer to Southern India, making it easier to administer the entire
empire from there. However, the people of Delhi opposed this move as well.
At
this, the Sultan once again became enraged, renamed Devagiri as Daulatabad, and
relocated the capital from Delhi to Daulatabad, ordering all residents of Delhi
to settle in Daulatabad. When two blind and lame beggars refused to leave
Delhi, the Sultan, in a fit of rage, ordered one tied to a cannon and blown
apart, while the other was tied behind horses and dragged to pieces. Terrified,
all the residents of Delhi moved to Daulatabad.
Daulatabad
served as the capital of India for eight years, after which the Sultan once again
declared Delhi the capital.
The
Sultan utterly devastated the region of Kampili in Southern India, attacking
its ruler. The Raja was killed, and his queens committed suicide. Many nobles
from the region were also captured. Among these captured nobles were two
brothers, Harihara and Bukka, who converted to Islam and joined the Sultan's
army. Later, these two brothers reverted to Hinduism and founded the
magnificent Vijayanagara Empire in Southern India.
Vijayanagar
From
the eighth to the eighteenth century CE, the Indian subcontinent was primarily
governed by Afghan and Central Asian Turkic Muslim rulers. During this period,
only two Hindu states in India could truly be classified as empires: the
Vijayanagara Empire in Southern India and the Maratha Confederacy.
The
Vijayanagara Empire, which existed from 1336 CE to 1646 CE, encompassed the
entirety of Southern India at its zenith. In 1526 CE, when the Mughal Emperor
Zahiruddin Babur invaded India, the largest state in India was not the Muslim
state of Ibrahim Lodi, but rather the Hindu state of Vijayanagara.
While
Vijayanagara was indeed a Hindu empire, as the majority of its inhabitants were
Hindu and it was consistently ruled by Hindu rajas who greatly patronized Hindu
temples and literature, it cannot be exclusively associated with a Hindu
revival. This is because, although the empire engaged in numerous conflicts
with the Muslim Bahmani Sultanate, these wars were primarily for territorial
expansion rather than for promoting or suppressing any religion. Vijayanagara
also waged many similar wars against other neighboring Hindu states.
Vijayanagara
was not only a prosperous state but also engaged in extensive international
trade with numerous countries. Consequently, alongside its own currency, Iranian,
Portuguese, and Italian currencies were also in circulation. Hindus, Muslims,
Buddhists, Christians, Parsis, and Jews—people of every faith—resided and
conducted business in Vijayanagara. Due to Goa and other ports, ships from
around the world brought traders and people of all nationalities, making
Vijayanagara a truly international state.
The
capital city of Vijayanagara was reputedly larger than Rome. It boasted over
one hundred thousand homes, and the city was embellished with numerous canals,
reservoirs, and gardens. According to Portuguese traders who visited
Vijayanagara at the time, they had not witnessed such a splendid city anywhere
in Europe. The wealth of Vijayanagara, its magnificent temples, its immense
military power, and its enchanting cities left Europeans awe-struck.
In
Vijayanagara, the Raja upheld the rule of law. Punishments were few but severe,
and the law treated individuals and property equally. Consequently, for minor
theft, a thief's hand and foot were amputated, but grand larceny or an attack
on a respectable woman's honor carried the death penalty, executed by hanging
the individual by a sharp hook beneath the chin. The rich were extremely
wealthy, while the poor were extremely impoverished. Although land tax was
levied according to the condition and type of the land, it was still so high
that it continuously burdened the farmers.
Vijayanagara
maintained a massive army, including over thirty thousand cavalry. This army
comprised thousands of Muslim soldiers, for whom large land grants were
specifically allocated. By royal decree, a mosque was specially constructed for
them, and to appease his Muslim soldiers, the Raja would respectfully place a
copy of the Holy Quran on a table before him in the court.
In
Vijayanagara, while Brahmins refrained from consuming meat and fish, the Raja
and his subjects indulged in meat with great relish, despite all being devout
Hindus. Goat, pork, and all types of poultry were openly sold and highly
favored. Animals were slaughtered in the temple, and their blood was offered to
the deity, while the meat was sold in the market for public consumption.
Vijayanagara
was a vast and splendid Hindu empire of its time. At its zenith, it extended
across almost the entirety of Southern India, standing as the largest and most
powerful state in the Indian subcontinent. Its rajas were patrons of knowledge
and literature, and under their rule, Sanskrit literature flourished, and
palaces and temples showcasing Hindu art, painting, sculpture, and architecture
were constructed in Southern India. Until the mid-seventeenth century, the
splendor of Vijayanagara illuminated all of India.
The Bhakti Movement
In
the fifteenth century CE, a unique movement emerged in India. The objective of
this movement was to liberate religion from the confines of clerics and
pundits, and to strengthen the relationship between the worshiper and the
worshipped. This movement was known as the Bhakti Movement.
Because
religious leaders had established a monopoly over religions, the Bhakti Movement
was strongly opposed to pundits and mullahs. The leaders of the Bhakti Movement
often ridiculed religious rituals, as they believed these rituals enabled
mullahs and pundits to maintain their significant positions in society.
The
Bhakti Movement was an indigenous Indian movement, not exclusive to any single
religion. Its leaders and followers included Hindus, Muslims, and people of
other faiths. The movement aimed to eradicate religious prejudices and promote
love for God and humanity.
The
leaders of the Bhakti Movement were considered Muslims by Muslims, while Hindus
regarded them as Hindus. Two prominent leaders of the Bhakti Movement were
Bhagat Kabir Julaha and Guru Nanak. Guru Nanak was the founder of Sikhism,
while several of Bhagat Kabir's couplets are included in the Sikh holy
scripture, the Guru Granth Sahib. Followers of Bhagat Kabir are known as
"Kabir Panthis." Bhagat Kabir passed away in 1518 CE, and Baba Guru
Nanak in 1538 CE.
A
prominent objective of the Bhakti Movement was also to synthesize the tenets of
Islam and Hinduism, thereby eliminating religious distinctions. This aimed to
shift the focus of all religions away from rituals and religious disputes
towards religious tolerance, equality, and love.
According
to the Bhakti Movement, attaining God's pleasure and proximity necessitated
that an individual wholeheartedly dedicate themselves to the search for God and
cultivate love for God's creation. Furthermore, visiting temples and mosques
was deemed entirely unnecessary for this endeavor, as God resides within every
human being. In this sense, many teachings of the Bhaktas and Sufi saints were
congruent.
The
Bhakti Movement was a movement of the oppressed lower castes. Consequently, its
leaders also belonged to lower castes, and their messages were directed towards
the common person. Therefore, two characteristics were prominent in the
discourses of the Bhaktas. Firstly, their leaders' expressions were simple and
straightforward, requiring no religious scholar to comprehend them. Secondly, each
Bhakta composed their teachings in their mother tongue, enabling the common
people of that region to understand them easily.
Table of Contents
Chapter One
History, Facts, and Story
Chapter Two
Harappa to Gandhara
(8000 BCE to 500 CE)
Chapter Three
Arabs and Ghaznavids
(700 CE to 1100 CE)
Chapter Four
Tughlaq, Vijayanagara, and Bhakti Movement
(1300 CE to 1500 CE)
Chapter Five
Akbar the Great
(1542 CE to 1605 CE)
Chapter Six
Europeans, Sikhs, and Marathas
(1500 CE to 1800 CE)
Chapter Seven
Pakistan Movement
(1857 CE to 1947 CE)
Bibliography
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