GENERAL HISTORY (MINOR)

SUBMITTED BY: JAI KUMAR

ROLL NO: 2K20/IR/49
ASSIGMENT TOPIC: SINDH BEFORE AND AFTER ADVENT OF ISLAM
DEPARTMENT: INTERNATIONAL RELATION
SUBMITTED TO: SIR SHAFIQMAHAR
DATE: 5-5-2020
 CONTENTS

 INTRODUCTION

 Episode of India before the advent of Islam

1. Political Conditions

2. Religious Condition

3. Social condition

4. Economic Condition

5. Education and literature

 Arab conquest of Sindh

 The Impact of Islam on the Indian Society

1. Impact on Religion

2. Impact on Social and Political System

3. Impact on Culture and Civilization

4. Impact on Language and Literature:

 Bibliography
 SINDH BEFORE AND AFTER ADVENT OF ISLAM

INTRODUCTION:

The advent of Muslim power in the south Asia resulted from a number of factors, including the

absence of a strong, political condition, economic condition social condition in the

subcontinent. Islam expanded because of its pronounced emphasis of human equality, which

attracted underprivileged groups to its fold. Establishment of Muslim empires in the Middle

East benefited from an enduring power vacuum resulting from wars among the Greeks,

Persians, and Romans that had sapped their vitality. Where all religion Judaism, Christianity and

Zoroastrian could not block Islam’s entry because of its emphasis on simplicity, anticlericalism,

and the humanness of the prophet Muhammad (570-632). Islam’s political and spiritual

presence in the Indus valley since the late seventh century gradually helped the emergence of

an enduring Muslim factor that over the subsequent centuries, became quite pluralistic as its

indigenous, Arab, African, Persian and central Asian strands converged to from what came to be

known as the epochal Indo-Islamic culture.1

Episode of India before the advent of Islam:

From the ancient eras continuous process of migration into India at worked and a free society

continued to evolve from the early times. The Vedas (knowledge) exhorted worship of nature

by man, but other wise man was free from the hold of high priests. The early eras of Vedas and

of the freely evolving society came to an end 900 BC with emergence of high priests, the

1
Iftikhar H. Malik in the history of Pakistan (2008)
Brahmins who during the next four century institutionalized scarifies and caste divisions. In the

5th century BC, Gautama the Buddha reject the tranny of caste system affirmed human equality.

The rise of Imperial Guptas in the 4th century AD marked the beginning of a transition from

Ancient India to medieval Indian. In terms of its cultural impact and significant achievements,

the glory of the Guptas was a milestone between the early medieval eras and later historical

eras of the Muslim period. A long period of nearly half a millennium intervened between the

decline of the Guptas (6th century AD) and the establishment of Muslim power in Northern India

though the advent of the Arab Muslim in Sindh occurred earlier in the 8 th century.

 Political Conditions:

For about six century after the death of Harsha (647 AD) there was no central government

for the whole of the country that could think and act for the entire subcontinent. Policy

the states was divided into provinces and each provinces was headed by a Raja.

Whenever, they found a weak king on the throne they declared themselves independent.

They had tried to come on the throne they founded new dynasties, which very frequently

came into extensive. There was no sense of unity which could bring together various

states of India in the face of a common danger. The clash of arms was not between people

with any sense of territorial patriotism but between the loyal or mercenary personal

adherents of ambitious monarchs2. The result of his greed was that they usually fought

with the each other and thus wasted both energy and resources. The result was that no

ruler could have an extensive empire for himself.

 Religious Condition:
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Sh. Muhammad Qayyum in Indian History at the glance(712- 1947) by caravan book house
Before the advent of Islam India was dominated by three major religious i.e. Buddhism,

Jainism and Hinduism. The three religious of India lacked uniformity and suffers due to

great deal of difference amongst them. Hinduism was the dominate and main religion of

the people and most of the kings of this period were also Hindus. Both the Buddhism and

Jainism were on the decline. One reason for this was that Raja which dominated India

during this period did not believe in the philosophy of non-violence which these religions

preached. Still there was perfect religious freedom. No ruler discriminated against any

religion and provided every facility to propagate all religions without fear or hindrance.

There were therefore no communal clashes. The individual Hindu was free to decide for

himself what kind of god he would worship. Too many Hindu there were many gods each

with their different responsibilities. The principal gods were Brahma - the creator, Vishnu -

the preserver and Shiva the destroyer.

 Social condition:

There was a total collapse of the social order. The Hindu society consisted of many castes

and sub-castes though theoretically it recognized only the four castes, the Brahmin, the

Khatri, the Vesh, and the Sudar. It was believed that the god Braham created people

belonging to the different castes from different parts of his body and hence they were

assigned work in the society. Brahmin the highest caste were born out of the head of god

the Brahma so there regard as the custodians of all spiritual knowledge the priests. The

Khatri were supposed to have sprung forms the arms of god brahma and they were

assigned work in the society performed by the hands they were warriors and nobles. The

Veshs were born out of the stomach of the god brahma and hence they were given the
professions for stomach they were farmers, herdsmen, trader’s artisans and later minor

officials. Sudars the lowest caste grew out of the feet of god Brahma and were laborers,

servants and salves the out castes or untouchables. Birth of a girl was not cherished in the

family the birth of such a child was regarded as a bad omen. The system of infanticide had

come to stay. The women were divided into two categories; upper class and lower class

women. The women of the upper classes took a prominent share in administration and in

social life. They moved freely and got higher education as well. On the other hand, the

society had put many restriction on the women belonging to the lower classes and they

enjoyed less respect than those of the upper classes. But in the both cases the women

were not considered at par with men. The cruel custom of sati was in practice accordingly

to which Hindu windows were obligated to burn themselves on the funeral pyres of their

husbands. It was believed that by burning herself on the funeral pyre a widow sanctified

her ancestors removed the sins of her husband and got rest for herself for ages to come.

She was believed in live in heaven after death.

 Economic Condition:

From economic point of view the people could be divided into two categories. On one

hand there were the kinds and landlord as well as the provincial governors and also the

rich. They lived life pleasure and joy. All comforts of life of those days were available to

them. The revenue collected by them was spent by them on their own comforts.

But their number was not large. On the whole the vast majority of the people was poor

and lived a simple life. Agriculture was their main occupation. They lived in the villages

which were not well developed. They lived in simple life in ‘kacha house’.
  Education and literature:

All over the country there were schools and colleges and people in general were well

educated. There was a residential university at Nalanda in Bahir where thousands of

students received education free of any charge. There were very able teachers and

professors in the country. Even scholars from outside came to India to receive education.

Arab conquest of Sindh:

“The first wave of Arab political expansion reached the subcontinent when the Makran

coast in north-western India was invaded in 644, towards the end of the caliphate of

Umar. Although this and a second raid during the reign of Ali (656-61) were repulsed,

Makran was finally subjugated under the first Ummayid caliph, Muawiya (661-80). The

eastern of early Islam was reached when Muhammad Bin Qasam conquered Sind in 712 3”.

The Arabs were provoked to undertake the conquest of Sindh in 712 AD because king of

Ceylon was sending to Hajjaj the viceroy of the eastern provinces of the khilfha orphan

daughters of the Muslim merchants who had died in his dominions and his vessels were

attacked and plundered by pirates of the coast of Sindh. The khalifa demanded

reparations from Dahir, the ruler of Sindh but the latter refused to do so the ground that

the pirates were not under control. Then Hajjaj was finally given permission he sent a

picked body of soldiers under the command of nephew and son-in-law Mohammad bin

Qasam. In 712 he defeated Raja Dahir and brought Sindh under the Muslim rule. The

establishment of the Muslim rule in Sindh opened the new cultural contacts between the

Muslims and the Hindus. The new rulers granted full tolerance and freedom of worship.
3
Sugata Bose and Ayesha Jalal in modern south Asia history ,culture, political economy
 The people were greatly impressed by the justice and secularism of the Muslims. Their

moral integrity, benevolence, honesty and polished behavior attracted many people into

new the new religion. This provided Islam a sound ground to penetrate into Sindh,

Balochistan and the Punjab. The spread of Islam in the Indus valley across the Kirthar

range made Sindh to be Babul Islam (gate way to Islam) for the region and brought

revolutionary changes in the thinking and pattern of living of local people.

The Impact of Islam on the Indian Society:

Since the Hindu society was living in isolation for several thousand years under a tight

Brahaminic control it had lost its vigor and vitality. The character of Hindu society was

substantially changed after long and intimate association with the Muslims. Islam introduced in

India a conception of human equality a pride in one’s religion a legal system which in many

ways was an advance on the codes of the time.

 Impact on Religion:

in the field of religion the impact of Islam on Hinduism was perhaps deeper and more

far-reaching in the subsequent manifestations . medieval Hindu theism the rise of the

bhakti movement the softening of the rigor of the caste system, the release from the

choking and soul killing religious rituals can all be traced to influence of Islam. No

doubt Islam with its clear definite and simple creed which stood in contrast to the

indigenous vagaries of the imagination and speculation about God, appealed to many

Hindus as a satisfying solution to the vexed problem of theology. A glance at the

geographical destruction of Muslims in the subcontinent reveals an inverse

 relationship between the degree of Muslim political penetration and the degree of

conversion of Islam those region of the most dramatic conversation of the population,

such as eastern Bengal or western Punjab lay on the fringes of indo-Muslim rule

whereas the heartland of the rule the upper Gangetic plain, saw a much lower

incidence of conversion4. Some Hindu leaders were highly influenced by Islamic

norms. As the result they started advocating the Islamic principles of love equality

brotherhood and oneness of God. This Islamic impact paved the way for the bhakti

movement. The leaders of Bhakti movement made earnest efforts to bring in harmony

between the teachings of Islam and rituals of Hinduism

 Impact on Social and Political System:

The Muslim conquest of India brought the Hindus in contact with a different kind of

social system. As a conquered people the Hindu had put up a strong fight against the

influence of Islam which very natural. The complex and rigid Hindu social system and

the difficult military and political situation made large scale conversions impossible

with the result that Muslims in India had continued to be a separate community.

Social conditions, however considerably changed with the coming of the Muslims in

India. There was a gradual improvement in the condition of the Sudar and other

classes at the bottom of the Hindu caste system. Muslim converts from the Hindu

lower classes had, of course, great opportunities before them, and one of them,

Khusrau khan even sat on the throne of Delhi. Later the preaching of Hindu reforms

4
M.R.Kazimi in BA,BSA, Bcom Pakistan studies
 due to the influence of Islam on them also improved the position of these classes

within Hindu society.

Another important result of the advent of Islam was the restoration of contact with

the outside world. India had close and deep relations with the Asian countries

particularly China, Rome, Egypt, and Greece in the early Buddhist period. In the

political sphere where the Muslim dominated Islamic influence was considerable. New

weapons and techniques of warfare were introduced. In Fact the whole military

organization was revolutionized and a modern type of military because the principal

political institution of Muslim India.

 Impact on Culture and Civilization:

Islam brought the greatest change in the field of culture and civilization of Indian

society. The concept of freedom of thought and expression, respect for human dignity,

universal brotherhood and equality of opportunity had all their impact on the Hindu

culture. Mass education which was unknown to India even during the best days of

Hindu ascender was another gift of Islam to the Hinduism. The inhuman burning of

women with the dead body of her husband was discourage and it was only under

acute circumstances that permission for the performance of sati was given. The

cultural influence of Islam is also visible in dress, diet in the celebration of fairs and

festivals in the ceremonies of marriage and in the manners of the court.

 Impact on Language and Literature:

The scared language of Islam was Arabic, which was also the mother to tongue of the

invaders the later conqueror spoke Turkish and Persian as influenced and modified by
 Arabic. Though Arabic remained the language of religion, Persians became the

language of the court during Muslim rule. This is led to the bisth of a new language

called Urdu from Turkish word Urdu meaning ‘camp’.

Bibliography:

1. Iftikhar H. Malik in the history of Pakistan, p.49

2. Sh. Muhammad Qayyum in Indian History at the glance(712- 1947) by caravan book house,

p.1

3. Sugata Bose and Ayesha Jalal in modern south Asia history ,culture, political economy,

p.17

4. M.R.Kazimi in BA,BSA, BCom Pakistan studies p.10