The History and Culture of the Indian People: Volume 6: The Delhi Sultanate

This volume deals with the period from the accession of the Kahlji's on the throne of Delhi to the first Battle of Panipat which laid to foundations of the Mughul Empire. The Muslim Sultans of Delhi never ruled over even a major part of India, except during two brief periods of about twenty years each. For the rest, the history of India was really the history of a large number of Independant States under both Hindu and Muslim rulers. There were three powerful Hindu Kingdoms - Vijayanagara, Orissa and Mewar - which played a dominant role in politics throughout the period. There were also some minor Hindu Kingdoms - Assam, Nepal, Mithila and Marwar - which maintained their independence. These Hindu states - particularly Mithila in the north and Vijayanagara in the south - performed the very important function of preserving the relics of Hindu culture against the onslaughts of powerful Islam. That India has not shared the fate of other countries in Asia overrun by Muslim forces is chiefly due to these States, and hence their history has been dealt with in some detail. Among the powerful Muslim Kingdoms mention may be made of the Bahmani Kingdom in the Deccan, and Gujarat, Malwa, Jaunpur and Bengal in North India. They vied with the sultanate of Delhi - practically reduced to the status of a kingdom - in patronizing art and literature, and the result was the evolution of a large number of local styles in architecture which form a distinctive feature of the period. These styles have been adequately dealt with. The period witnessed the settlement of Muslims on a large scale in India. Unlike the previous foreign invaders, the Muslims did not merge themselves with the Hindus and thus for the first time the population of India was divided into two separate units which marked distinctions. This was the historic beginning of the Hindu-Muslim problem which led after more than six hundred years to the creation of Pakistan.