Tuesday, 24 June 2025

Pakistan History: An Alternative Narrative (Chap-4)



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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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