CHAPTER SEVEN

The Literary Evidence

Islamic literary sources provide far more extensive evidence of temple destruction by the Muslim invaders of India in medieval times. They also cover a larger area, from Sinkiang and Transoxiana in the North to Tamil Nadu in the South, and from the Seistan province of present-day Iran in the West to Assam in the East. As we wade through this evidence, we can visualise how this vast area, which was for long the cradle of Hindu culture, came to be literally littered with the ruins of temples and monasteries belonging to all schools of Sanatana Dharma-Bauddha, Jaina, Śaiva, Śakta, VaishNava and the rest. Archaeological explorations and excavations in modern times have proved unmistakably that most of the mosques, mazars, ziarats and dargahs which were built in this area in medieval times, stood on the sites of and were made from the materials of deliberately demolished Hindu monuments.

Hundreds of medieval Muslim historians who flourished in India and elsewhere in the world of Islam, have written detailed accounts of what their heroes did in various parts of the extensive Hindu homeland as they were invaded one after another. We have had access only to a few of these histories on account of our limitations in terms of language and resources. Most of the histories pertaining to what are known as provincial Muslim dynasties, have remained beyond our reach. One thing, however, becomes quite clear from the evidence we have been able to compile, namely, that almost all Muslim rulers destroyed or desecrated Hindu temples whenever and wherever they could. Archaeological evidence from various Muslim monuments, particularly mosques and dargahs, not only confirms the literary evidence but also adds the names of some Muslim rulers whom Muslim historians have failed to credit with this pious performance.

We are citing the literary evidence also in a chronological order, that is, with reference to the time at which a particular work was written and not with reference to the period with which it deals. Appendix 1 Provides the names and dates of dynasties and kings described in these histories in the context of India. Most of these histories start with the creation of Adam and Eve or the rise of the Prophet of Islam, and come down to the time when the authors lived. Glorification of Islam, as its armies invaded various countries and laid them waste with slaughter and rapine, is their common theme. The writers have exhausted their imagination in describing g the holocaust that was caused everywhere and in coining names for those whom they look down upon as infidels and idolaters.¹

The apologists of Islam are likely to point out that quite often the instances of iconoclasm have been copied by succeeding historians from the writings of their predecessors and that this repetition should be kept in mind while assessing the extent of temple destruction. There is no substance in this argument. Firstly, there are many instances of temple destruction which are not reported in the histories but which archaeological evidence proves. Secondly, what is relevant in this context is that the historians regard some instances as significant enough to bear repetition. It is obvious that no account of some reigns was considered complete unless the concerned ruler was credited with the destruction of Hindu temples. Had it not been an important pious performance from the point of view of Islam, it is inconceivable that historians who wrote in times when the dust of war had settled down, would have cared to mention it. The repetitions are valuable from another point of view as well. In quite a few cases, succeeding historians add details which are not found in the preceding accounts. It is immaterial whether the details were missed by the earlier historians or are the products of the succeeding historians’ imagination. What matters is that the historians thought them fit for the glorification of Islam.

(1)
Futuhu’l-Buldan

The author, Ahmad bin Yahya bin Jabir, is known as al-Biladhuri. He lived at the court of Khalifa Al-Mutawakkal (AD 847-861) and died in AD 893. His history is one of the earliest and major Arab chronicles. It gives an account of Arab conquests in Syria, Mesopotamia, Egypt, Iran, Armenia, Transoxiana, Africa, Spain and Sindh. The account is brought down to Khalifa Mu’tasim’s reign in AD 842. We have had no access to a translation of the full text in a language we know, and have depended on extracts.

Ibn Samurah (AD 653)

His full name was ‘Abd ar-Rahman bin Samurah bin Habib bin ‘Abd ash-Shams. He was appointed governor of Seistan after the first Arab invasion of that province in AD 650 was defeated and dispersed. Ibn Samurah reached the capital of Seistan in AD 653.

Seistan (Iran)

‘On reaching Dawar, he surrounded the enemy in the mountain of Zur, where there was a famous Hindu temple.’²

‘Their idol of Zur was of gold, and its eyes were two rubies. The zealous Musalmans cut off its hands and plucked out its eyes, and then remarked to the Marzaban how powerless was his idol to do either good or evil.’³

Qutaibah bin Muslim al-Bahili (AD 705-715)

He was a general of Al-Hajjaj bin Yusuf Saqafi, the notorious Governor of Iraq under Caliph Al-Walid I (AD 705-715). He was made Governor of Khurasan in AD 705 and is renowned in the history of Islam as the conqueror of Central Asia right upto Kashghar.

Samarqand (Farghana)

‘Other authorities say that Kutaibah granted peace for 700,000 dirhams and entertainment for the Moslems for three days. The terms of surrender included also the houses of the idols and the fire temples. The idols were thrown out, plundered of their ornaments and burned, although the Persians used to say that among them was an idol with which whoever trifled would perish. But when Kutaibah set fire to it with his own hand, many of them accepted Islam.’⁴

Muhammad bin Qasim (AD 712-715)

He was the nephew as well as son-in-law of Al-Hajjaj, who sent him to Sindh after more than a dozen invasions of that province had been defeated by the Hindus.

Debal (Sindh)

‘The town was thus taken by assault, and the carnage endured for three days. The governor of the town, appointed by Dahir, fled and the priests of the temple were massacred. Muhammad marked a place for the Musalmans to dwell in, built a mosque, and left four thousand Musalmans to garrison the place’.

‘Ambissa son of Ishak Az Zabbi, the governor of Sindh, in the Khilafat of Mu’tasim billah knocked down the upper part of the minaret of the temple and converted it into a prison. At the same time he began to repair the ruined town with the stones of the minaret.’⁵

Multan (Punjab)

‘He then crossed the Biyas, and went towards Multan. Muhammad destroyed the water-course; upon which the inhabitants, oppressed with thirst, surrendered at discretion. He massacred the men capable of bearing arms, but the children were taken captive, as well as the ministers of the temple, to the number of six thousand. The Muslamans found there much gold in a chamber ten cubits long by eight broad, and there was an aperture above, through which the gold was poured into the chamber.’⁶

Hasham bin ‘Amru al-Taghlabi

He was appointed Governor of Sindh by Khalifa Al-Mansur (AD 754-775) of the Abbasid dynasty. He led many raids towards different parts of India, both by land and sea.

Kandahar (Maharashtra)

‘He then went to Kandahar in boats and conquered it. He destroyed the Budd there, and built in its place a mosque.’⁷

(2)
Tarikh-i-Tabari

The author, Abu Ja’far Muhammad bin Jarir at-Tabari, is considered to be the foremost historian of Islam. His Tarikh is regarded as Umdatu’l-Kutab, mother of histories. He was born at Amil in Tabaristan in the year AD 839. He was educated at Baghdad and lived in Basra and Kufa as well. He travelled to Egypt and Damascus in order to perfect his knowledge of Traditions. He spent the last days of his life in Baghdad where he died in AD 922. We have had no access to his work in a translation we could follow. The citations below are only summaries made by modern historians.

Qutaibah bin Muslim al-Bahili (AD 705-715)

Beykund (Khurasan)

‘The ultimate capture of Beykund (in AD 706) rewarded him with an incalculable booty; even more than had hitherto fallen into the hands of the Mahommedans by the conquest of the entire province of Khorassaun; and the unfortunate merchants of the town, having been absent on a trading excursion while their country was assailed by the enemy, and finding their habitations desolate on their return contributed further to enrich the invaders, by the ransom which they paid for the recovery of their wives and children. The ornaments alone, of which these women had been plundered, being melted down, produced, in gold, one hundred and fifty thousand meskals; of a dram and a half each. Among the articles of the booty, is also described an image of gold, of fifty thousand meskals, of which the eyes were two pearls, the exquisite beauty and magnitude of which excited the surprise and admiration of Kateibah. They were transmitted by him, with a fifth of the spoil to Hejauje, together with a request that he might be permitted to distribute, to the troops, the arms which had been found in the place in great profusion.’⁸

Samarqand (Farghana)

‘A breach was, however, at last effected in the walls of the city in AD 712 by the warlike machines of Kateibah; and some of the most daring of its defenders having fallen by the skill of his archers, the besieged demanded a cessation of arms to the following day, when they promised to capitulate. The request was acceded to by Kateibah; and a treaty was the next day accordingly concluded between him and the prince of Samarkand, by which the latter engaged for the annual payment of ten millions of dirhems, and a supply of three thousand slaves; of whom it was particularly stipulated, that none should either be in a state of infancy, or ineffective from old age and debility. He further contracted that the ministers of his religion should be expelled from their temples and their idols destroyed and burnt; that Kateibah should be allowed to establish a mosque in the place of the principal temple, in which, to discharge the duties of his faith. To all this, Ghurek, with whatever reluctance, was compelled to subscribe, and he proceeded accordingly to prepare for the reception of Kateibah; who at the period agreed upon, entered Samarkand with a retinue of four hundred persons, selected from his own relatives, and the principal commanders of his army. He was met by Ghurek, with a respect bordering on adoration, and conducted to the gate of the principal temple, which he immediately entered; and after performing two rekkauts of the ritual of his faith, directed the images of pagan worship to be brought before him, for the purpose of being committed to the flames. From this some of the Turks or Tartars of Samarkand, endeavouring to dissuade him, by a declaration, that among the images, there was one, which if any person ventured to consume, that person should certainly perish; Kateibah informed them, that he should not shrink from the experiment, and accordingly set fire to the whole collection with his own hands; it was soon consumed to ashes, and fifty thousand meskals of gold and silver, collected from the nails which has been used in the workmanship of the images.’⁹

Ya’qub bin Laith (AD 870-871)

He was a highway robber who succeeded in seizing Khurasan from the Tahirid governors of the Abbasid Caliphate. He founded the short-lived Saffarid dynasty.

Balkh and Kabul (Afghanistan)

‘He first took Bamian, which he probably reached by way of Herat, and then marched on Balkh where he ruined (the temple) Naushad. On his way back from Balkh he attacked Kabul¹⁰

‘Starting from Panjhir, the place he is known to have visited, he must have passed through the capital city of the Hindu Śahis to rob the sacred temple - the reputed place of coronation of the Śahi rulers-of its sculptural wealth¹¹

‘The exact details of the spoil collected from the Kabul valley are lacking. The Tarikh [-i-Sistan] records 50 idols of gold and silver and Mas’udi mentions elephants. The wonder excited in Baghdad by elephants and pagan idols forwarded to the Caliph by Ya’qub also speaks for their high value.

‘The best of our authorities put the date of this event in 257 (870-71). Tabari is more precise and says that the idols sent by Ya’qub reached Baghdad in Rabi’ al-Ãkhar, 257 (Feb.-March, 871). Thus the date of the actual invasion may be placed at the end of AD 870.’¹²

(3)
Tarikhu’l-Hind

‘The author, Abu Rihan Muhammad bin Ahmad al-Biruni al-Khwarizmi, was born in about AD 970-71. He was an astronomer, geometrician, historian and logician. He was sent to Ghazni in an embassy from the Sultan of Khwarizm. On invitation from Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni (AD 997-1030) he entered his service, travelled to India and spent forty years in the country, chiefly in the Punjab. He learnt Sanskrit and translated some works from that language into Arabic. His history treats of the literature and learning of the Hindus at the commencement of the eleventh century.

Jalam ibn Shaiban (Ninth century AD)

Multan (Punjab)

The Sun Temple at Multan has been described by early Arab geographers like Sulaiman, Mas’udi, Istakhri and Ibn Hauqal who travelled in India during the ninth and tenth centuries of the Christian era. The Arab invaders did not destroy it because besides being a rich source of revenue, it provided protection against Hindu counter-attack. ‘Multan,’ wrote Mas’udi, ‘is one of the strongest frontier places of the Musalmans. In it is the idol also known by the name of Multan.¹³ The inhabitants of Sind and India perform pilgrimages to it from the most distant places; they carry money, precious stones, aloe wood and all sorts of perfumes there to fulfil their vows. The greatest part of the revenue of the king of Multan is derived from the rich presents brought to the idol. When the unbelievers¹⁴ march against Multan and the faithful ¹⁵ do not feel themselves strong enough to oppose them, they threaten to break their idol, and their enemies immediately withdraw.’¹⁶

Al-Biruni records: ‘A famous idol of theirs was that of Multan, dedicated to the sun, and therefore called Aditya. It was of wood and covered with red Cordovan leather; in its two eyes were two red rubies. It is said to have been made in the last Kritayuga. When Muhammad Ibn Alkasim Ibn Almunabih conquered Multan, he inquired how the town had become so very flourishing and so many treasures had there been accumulated, and then he found out that this idol was the cause, for there came pilgrims from all sides to visit it. Therefore he thought it best to have the idol where it was, but he hung a piece of cow’s flesh on its neck by way of mockery. On the same place a mosque was built. When the Karmatians¹⁷ occupied Multan, Jalam Ibn Shaiban, the usurper, broke the idol into pieces and killed its priests.’¹⁸

Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni (AD 997-1030)

Thanesar (Haryana)

‘The city of Taneshar is highly venerated by Hindus. The idol of that place is called Cakrasvamin, i.e. the owner of the cakra, a weapon which we have already described. It is of bronze, and is nearly the size of a man. It is now lying in the hippodrome in Ghazna, together with the Lord of Somanath, which is a representation of the penis of Mahadeva, called Linga.’¹⁹

Somnath (Gujarat)

‘The linga he raised was the stone of Somnath, for soma means the moon and natha means master, so that the whole word means master of the moon. The image was destroyed by the Prince Mahmud, may God be merciful to him! - AH 416. He ordered the upper part to be broken and the remainder to be transported to his residence, Ghaznin, with all its coverings and trappings of gold, jewels, and embroidered garments. Part of it has been thrown into the hippodrome of the town, together with the Cakrasvamin, an idol of bronze, that had been brought from Taneshar. Another part of the idol from Somanath lies before the door of the mosque of Ghaznin, on which people rub their feet to clean them from dirt and wet.’²⁰

(4)
Kitabu’l-Yamini

The author of this history in Arabic was Abu Nasr Muhammad ibn Muhammad al Jabbaru’l-‘Utbi. The family from Utba had held important offices under the Samanis of Bukhara. ‘Utbi himself became Secretary to Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni (AD 997-1030). His work comprises the whole of the reign of Subuktigin and that of Sultan Mahmud down to the year AD 1020. He lived a few years longer. Persian translations of this history are known as Tarjuma-i-Yamini or Tarikh-i-Yamini.

Amir Subuktigin of Ghazni (AD 977-997)

Lamghan (Afghanistan)

‘The Amir marched out towards Lamghan, which is a city celebrated for its great strength and abounding wealth. He conquered it and set fire to the places in its vicinity which were inhabited by infidels, and demolishing idol temples, he established Islam in them. He marched and captured other cities and killed the polluted wretches, destroying the idolaters and gratifying the Musalmans.’²¹

Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni (AD 997-1030)

Narain (Rajasthan)

‘The Sultan again resolved on an expedition to Hind, and marched towards Narain, urging his horses and moving over ground, hard and soft, until he came to the middle of Hind, where he reduced chiefs, who, up to that time obeyed no master, overturned their idols, put to the sword the vagabonds²² of that country, and with delay and circumspection proceeded to accomplish his design.’²³

Nardin (Punjab)

‘After the Sultan had purified Hind from idolatry, and raised mosques therein, he determined to invade the capital of Hind to punish those who kept idols and would not acknowledge the unity of God. He marched with a large army in the year AH 404 (AD 1013) during a dark night²⁴

‘A stone was found there in the temple of the great Budda on which an inscription was written purporting that the temple had been founded fifty thousand years ago. The Sultan was surprised at the ignorance of these people, because those who believe in the true faith represent that only seven thousand years have elapsed since the creation of the world, and the signs of resurrection are even now approaching. The Sultan asked his wise men the meaning of this inscription and they all concurred in saying that it was false, and no faith was to be put in the evidence of a stone.’²⁵

Thanesar (Haryana)

‘The chief of Tanesar was obstinate in his infidelity and denial of God. So the Sultan marched against him with his valiant warriors, for the purpose of planting the standards of Islam and extirpating idolatry²⁶

‘The blood of the infidels flowed so copiously, that the stream was discoloured, not withstanding its purity, and people were unable to drink it. The victory was gained by God’s grace, who has established Islam for ever as the best of religions, notwithstanding that idolaters revolt against it. Praise be to God, the protector of the world, for the honour he bestows upon Islam and Musulmans.’²⁷

Mathura (Uttar Pradesh)

‘The Sultan then departed from the environs of the city, in which was a temple of the Hindus. The name of this place was Maharatul Hind. On both sides of the city there were a thousand houses, to which idol temples were attached, all strengthened from top to bottom by rivets of iron, and all made of masonry work²⁸

‘In the middle of the city there was a temple larger and firmer than the rest, which can neither be described nor painted. The Sultan thus wrote respecting it: - ‘If any should wish to construct a building equal to this, he would not be able to do it without expending an hundred thousand, thousand red dinars, and it would occupy two hundred years even though the most experienced and able workmen were employed’. The Sultan gave orders that all the temples should be burnt with naptha and fire, and levelled with the ground.’²⁹

Kanauj (Uttar Pradesh)

‘In Kanauj there were nearly ten thousand temples, which the idolaters falsely and absurdly represented to have been founded by their ancestors two or three hundred thousand years ago. Many of the inhabitants of the place fled and were scattered abroad like so many wretched widows and orphans, from the fear which oppressed them, in consequence of witnessing the fate of their deaf and dumb idols. Many of them thus effected their escape, and those who did not fly were put to death,’³⁰

(5)
Diwan-i-Salman

The author, Khwajah Mas’ud bin Sa’d bin Salman, was a poet. He wrote poems in praise of the Ghaznavid Sultans Mas’ud, Ibrahim and Bahram Shah. He died sometime between AD 1126 and 1131.

Sultan Abu’l Muzaffar Ibrahim (AD 1059-1099)

‘As power and the strength of a lion was bestowed upon Ibrahim by the Almighty, he made over to him the well-populated country of Hindustan and gave him 40,000 valiant horsemen to take the country, in which there were more than 1000 rais. Its length extends from Lahore to the Euphrates, and its breadth from Kashmir to the borders of Sistan. The army of the king destroyed at one time a thousand temples of idols, which had each been built for more than a thousand years. How can I describe the victories of the king.’³¹

Jalandhar (Punjab)

‘The narrative of thy battles eclipses the stories of Rustam and Isfandiyar. Thou didst bring an army in one night from Dhangan to Jalandhar. Thou didst direct but one assault and by that alone brought destruction upon the country. By the morning meal not one soldier, not one Brahman, remained unkilled or uncaptured. Their beads were severed by the carriers of swords. Their houses were levelled with the ground with flaming fire. Thou has secured victory to the country and to religion, for amongst the Hindus this achievement will be remembered till the day of resurrection.’³²

Malwa (Madhya Pradesh)

‘Thou didst depart with a thousand joyful anticipations on a holy expedition, and didst return having achieved a thousand victories. On this journey the army destroyed a thousand idol-temples and thy elephants trampled over more than a hundred strongholds. Thou didst march thy arm to Ujjain; Malwa trembled and fled from thee. On the way to Kalinjar thy pomp obscured the light of day. The lip of infidelity became dry through fear of thee, the eye of plural-worship became blind.’³³

(6)
Chach-Namah

This Persian history was translated from Arabic by Muhammad ‘Ali bin Hamid bin Abu Bakr Kufi in the time of Nasiru’d-Din Qabacha, a slave of Muhammad Ghuri, who contested the throne of Delhi with Shamsu’d-Din Iltutmish (AD 1210-1236). The translator who lived at Uccha had gone to Alor and Bhakkar in search of accounts of the Arab conquest. He met a Maulana who had inherited a history written in Arabic by one of his ancestors. The translation in Persian followed because Kufi found that the Hijaji Arabic of the original was little understood by people in those days while the work was ‘a mine of wisdom.’ The Arabic original has been lost. The author remains unknown.

Muhammad bin Qasim (AD 712-715)

Nirun (Sindh)

‘Muhammad built at Nirun a mosque on the site of the temple of Budh, and ordered prayers to be proclaimed in the Muhammadan fashion and appointed an Imam.’³⁴

Siwistan and Sisam (Sindh)

Muhammad bin Qasim wrote to al-Hajjaj, the governor of Iraq: ‘The forts of Siwistan and Sisam have been already taken. The nephew of Dahir, his warriors, and principal officers have been despatched, and infidels converted to Islam or destroyed. Instead of idol temples, mosques and other places of worship have been built, pulpits have been erected, the Khutba is read, the call to prayers is raised so that devotions are performed at the stated hours. The takbir and praise to the Almighty God are offered every morning and evening.’³⁵

Alor (Sindh)

‘Muhammad Kasim then entered and all the town people came to the temple of Nobhar, and prostrated themselves before an idol. Muhammad Kasim enquired: ‘Whose house is this, in which all the people high and low are respectfully kneeling and bowing down.’ They replied: ‘This is an idol-house called Nobhar.’ Then, by Muhammad Kasim’s order, the temple was opened. Entering it with his officers he saw an equestrian statue. The body of the idol was made of marble or alabaster, and it had on its arms golden bracelets, set with jewels and rubies. Muhammad Kasim stretched his hand and took off a bracelet from one of the idol’s arms. Then he asked the keeper of the Budh temple Nobhar: ‘Is this your idol?’ ‘Yes,’ he replied, ‘but it had two bracelets on, and one is missing.’ ‘Well’ said Muhammad Kasim, ‘cannot your god know who has taken away his bracelet?’ The keeper bent his head down. Muhammad Kasim laughed and returned the bracelet to him, and he fixed it again on the idol’s arm.’³⁶

Multan (Punjab)

‘Then all the great and principal inhabitants of the city assembled together, and silver to the weight of sixty thousand dirams was distributed and every horseman got a share of four hundred dirams weight. After this, Muhammad Kasim said that some plan should be devised for realizing the money to be sent to the Khalifa. He was pondering over this, when suddenly a Brahman came and said, ‘Heathenism is now at an end, the temples are thrown down, the world has received the light of Islam, and mosques are built instead of idol temples. I have heard from the elders of Multan that in ancient times there was a chief in this city whose name was Jibawin, and who was a descendent of the Rai of Kashmir. He was a Brahman and a monk, he strictly followed his religion, and always occupied his time in worshipping idols. When his treasures exceeded all limits and computation, he made a reservoir on the eastern side of Multan, which was hundred yards square. In the middle of it he built a temple fifty yards square, and he made a chamber in which he concealed forty copper jars each of which was filled with African gold dust. A treasure of three hundred and thirty mans of gold was buried there. Over it there is an idol made of red gold, and trees are planted round the reservoir.’ It is related by historians, on the authority of ‘Ali bin Muhammad who had heard it from Abu Muhammad Hindui³⁷ that Muhammad Kasim arose and with his counsellors, guards and attendants, went to the temple. He saw there an idol made of gold, and its two eye were bright red rubies.

‘Muhammad Kasim ordered the idol to be taken up. Two hundred and thirty mans of gold were obtained, and forty jars filled with gold dust. This gold and the image were brought to treasury together with the gems and pearls and treasures which were obtained from the plunder of Multan.’³⁸

Janaki’s Evidence

Janaki was one of the daughters of King Dahir of Sindh. She was captured along with her sister and sent to the Khalifa at Baghdad. When the Khalifa invited Janaki to share his bed, she lied to him that she had already been violated by Muhammad bin Qasim. Her sister supported her statement. The Khalifa ordered that Muhammad be sewed up in raw hide and sent to his court. Muhammad was already dead when the chest containing him arrived in Baghdad. Janaki accused the Khalifa of having killed one of his great generals without making proper enquiry. She said:

‘The king has committed a very grievous mistake, for he ought not, on account of two slave girls, to have destroyed a person who had taken captive a hundred thousand modest women like us and who instead of temples had erected mosques, pulpits and minarets.’³⁹

(7)
Jamiu’l-Hikayat

The author of this collection of stories was Maulana Nuru’d-Din Muhammad ‘Ufi. He was born in or near the city of Bukhara in Transoxiana. He came to India and lived in Delhi for some time in the reign of Shamsu’d-Din Iltutmish (AD 1210-1236). He travelled to several other places in India.

‘Amru bin Laith (AD 879-900)

Sakawand (Afghanistan)

‘It is related that Amru Lais conferred the governorship of Zabulistan on Fardaghan and sent him there at the head of four thousand horse. There was a large Hindu place of worship in that country, which was called Sakawand, and people used to come on pilgrimage from the most remote parts of Hindustan to the idols of that place. When Fardaghan arrived in Zabulistan he led his army against it, took the temple, broke the idols in pieces and overthrew the idolaters.’⁴⁰

(8)
Taju’l-Ma’sir

The author, Sadru’d-Din Muhammad Hasan Nizami, was born at Nishapur in Khurasan. He had to leave his ancestral place because of the Mongol invasion. He came to India and started writing his history in AD 1205. The history opens with the year 1191 and comes down to AD 1217.

Sultan Muhammad Ghuri (AD 1175-1206)

Ajmer (Rajasthan)

‘He destroyed the pillars and foundations of the idol temples and built in their stead mosques and colleges, and the precepts of Islam, and the customs of the law were divulged and established.’⁴¹

Kuhram and Samana (Punjab)

‘The Government of the fort of Kohram and of Samana were made over by the Sultan to Kutbu-d din. He purged by his sword the land of Hind from the filth of infidelity and vice, and freed it from the thorn of God-plurality, and the impurity of idol-worship, and by his royal vigour and intrepidity, left not one temple standing.’⁴²

Meerut (Uttar Pradesh)

‘Kutbu-d din marched from Kohram ‘and when he arrived at Mirat -which is one of the celebrated forts of the country of Hind, for the strength of its foundations and superstructure, and its ditch, which was as broad as the ocean and fathomless-an army joined him, sent by the dependent chiefs of the country’. The fort was captured, and a Kotwal appointed to take up his station in the fort, and all the idol temples were converted into mosques.’⁴³

Delhi

‘He then marched and encamped under the fort of Delhi. The city and its vicinity were freed from idols and idols-worship, and in the sanctuaries of the images of the Gods, mosques were raised by the worshippers of one God.’⁴⁴

‘Kutbu-d din built the Jami’ Masjid at Delhi, and adorned it with stones and gold obtained from the temples which had been demolished by elephants, and covered it with inscriptions in Toghra, containing the divine commands.’⁴⁵

Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh)

‘From that place [Asni] the royal army proceeded towards Benares ‘which is the centre of the country of Hind’ and here they destroyed nearly one thousand temples, and raised mosques on their foundations; and the knowledge of the law became promulgated, and the foundations of religion were established.’⁴⁶

Aligarh (Uttar Pradesh)

‘There was a certain tribe in the neighbourhood of Kol which had occasioned much trouble  ‘Three bastions were raised as high as heaven with their beads, and their carcases became the food of beasts of prey. That tract was freed from idols and idol-worship and the foundations of infidelity were destroyed’.’⁴⁷

Bayana (Rajasthan)

‘When Kutbu-d din beard of the Sultan’s march from Ghazna, he was much rejoiced and advanced as far as Hansi to meet him. In the year AH 592 (AD 1196), they marched towards Thangar, and the centre of idolatry and perdition became the abode of glory and splendour.’⁴⁸

Kalinjar (Uttar Pradesh)

‘In the year AH 599 (AD 1202), Kutbu-d din proceeded to the investment Kalinjar, on which expedition he was accompanied by the Sahib-Kiran, Shamsu-d din Altamsh. The temples were converted into mosques and abodes of goodness, and the ejaculations of bead-counters and voices of summoners to prayer ascended to high heaven, and the very name of idolatry was annihilated.’⁴⁹

Sultan Shamsu’d-Din Iltutmish (AD 1210-1236)

Delhi

‘The Sultan then returned [from Jalor] to Delhi and after his arrival ‘not a vestige or name remained of idol temples which had raised their heads on high; and the light of faith shone out from the darkness of infidelity and the moon of religion and the state became resplendent from the heaven of prosperity and glory.’⁵⁰

(9)
Kamilu’t-Tawarikh

Also known as Tarikh-i-Kamil, it was written by Shykh ‘Abu’l Hasan ‘Ali ibn ‘Abu’l Karam Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn ‘Abdul Karim ibn ‘Abdul Wahid as-Shaibani, commonly known as Ibn Asir. He was born in AD 1160 in the Jazirat ibn ‘Umar, an island on the Tigris above Mosul. The book embraces the history of the world from the earliest period to the year AD 1230. It enjoys a very high reputation.

Khalifa Al-Mahdi (AD 775-785)

Barada (Gujarat)

‘In the year 159 (AD 776) Al Mahdi sent an army by sea under ‘Abdul Malik bin Shahabu’l Musamma’i to India. They proceeded on their way and at length disembarked at Barada. When they reached the place they laid siege to it. The town was reduced to extremities, and God prevailed over it in the same year. The people were forbidden to worship the Budd, which the Muhammadans burned.’⁵¹

Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni (AD 997-1030)

Unidentified Places (Rajasthan and Gujarat)

‘So he prayed to the Almighty for aid, and left Ghazni on the 10th of Sha’ban AH 414 with 30,000 horse besides volunteers, and took the road to Multan. After he had crossed the desert he perceived on one side a fort full of people, in which there were wells. People came down to conciliate him, but he invested the place, and God gave him victory. So he brought the place under the sway of Islam, killed the inhabitants, and broke in pieces their images⁵²

‘The chief of Anhilwara called Bhim, fled hastily. Yaminu-d daula again started for Somnat, and on his march he came to several forts in which were many images serving as chamberlains or heralds of Somnat, and accordingly he (Mahmud) called them Shaitan. He killed the people who were in these places, destroyed the fortifications, broke in pieces the idols and continued his march to Somnat.’⁵³

Somnath (Gujarat)

‘This temple of Somnat was built upon fifty-six pillars of teak wood covered with lead. The idol itself was in a chamber. Yaminu’d daula seized it, part of it he burnt, and part of it he carried away with him to Ghazni, where he made it a step at the entrance of the Jami’ masjid.’⁵⁴

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Tarikh-i-Jahan-Kusha

‘The author, ‘Alau’d-Din Malik ibn Bahau’d-Din Muhammad Juwaini, was a native of Juwain in Khurasan near Nishapur. His father who died in AD 1253 was one of the principal revenue officers under the Mongol ruler of Persia. ‘Alau’d-Din followed in his father’s office. He was with Halaku during the Mongol campaign against the Ismai’lians and was later on appointed the governor of Baghdad. He fell from grace and was imprisoned at Hamadan. He was, however, exonerated and restored to his office which he retained till his death in AH 681 (AD 1282). His history comes down to the year AD 1255.

Sultan Jalalu’d-Din Mankbarni (AD 1222-1231)

Debal (Sindh)

‘The Sultan then went towards Dewal and Darbela and Jaisi. The Sultan raised a Jami’ Masjid at Dewal, on the spot where an idol temple stood.’⁵⁵

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Tabqat-i-Nasiri

The author, Maulana ‘Abu Umr ‘Usman Minhaju’d-Din bin Siraju’d-Din al-Juzjani, was born in AD 1193. In 1227 he arrived in Uccha where he was placed in charge of Madrasa-i-Firuzi. He presented himself to Sultan Shamsu’d-Din Iltutmish when the latter came to Uccha in 1228. The same year he accompanied Iltutmish to Delhi and joined the expedition to Gwalior, which city was placed in his charge. He returned to Delhi in 1238 and took charge of Madrasa-i-Nasiriya. His fortune brightened after Nasiru’d-Din became the Sultan in 1246; he was appointed Qazi-i-mamalik in 1251. His history starts with Adam and comes down the year 1260.

Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni (AD 997-1030)

Somnath (Gujarat)

‘When Sultan Mahmud ascended the throne of sovereignty, his illustrious deeds became manifest unto all mankind within the pale of Islam when he converted so many thousands of idol temples into masjids. He led an army to Nahrwalah of Gujarat, and brought away Manat, the idol, from Somnath, and had it broken into four parts, one of which was cast before the entrance of the great Masjid at Ghaznin, the second before the gateway of the Sultan’s palace, and the third and fourth were sent to Makkah and Madinah respectively.’⁵⁶

The translator comments in a footnote: ‘Among die different coins struck in Mahmud’s reign one bore the following inscription: ‘The right hand of the empire, Mahmud Sultan, son of Nasir-ud-Din Subuk-Tigin, Breaker of Idols.’ This coin appears to have been struck at Lahor, in the seventh year of his reign.’⁵⁷

Sultan Shamsu’d-Din Iltutmish (AD 1210-1236)

Vidisha (Madhya Pradesh)

‘After he returned to the capital in the year AH 632 (AD 1234) the Sultan led the hosts of Islam toward Malwah, and took the fortress and town of Bhilsan, and demolished the idol-temple which took three hundred years in building and which, in altitude, was about one hundred ells.’⁵⁸

Ujjain (Madhya Pradesh)

‘From thence he advanced to Ujjain-Nagari and destroyed the idol-temple of Mahakal Diw. The effigy of Bikramjit who was sovereign of Ujjain-Nagari, and from whose reign to the present time one thousand, three hundred, and sixteen years have elapsed, and from whose reign they date the Hindui era, together with other effigies besides his, which were formed of molten brass, together with the stone (idol) of Mahakal were carried away to Delhi, the capital.’⁵⁹

Among his ‘Victories and Conquests’ is counted the ‘bringing away of the idol of Mahakal, which they have planted before the gateway of the Jami’ Masjid at the capital city of Delhi in order that all true believers might tread upon it.’⁶⁰

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Ãsaru’l-Bilad

The author, Zakariya bin Muhammad, was born in the town of Kazwin in Iran and became known as al-Kazwini. His work is a compilation from the writings of travellers like Istakhri and Ibn Hauqal. It was written between AD 1263 and 1275.

Sultan Muhmud of Ghazni (AD 997-1030)

Somnath (Gujarat)

‘SOMNÃT-A celebrated city of India, is situated on the shores of the sea, and washed by its waves. Among the wonders of that place was the temple in which was placed the idol called Somnat. When the Sultan Yaminu-d Daula Mahmud bin Subuktigin went to wage religious war against India, he made great efforts to capture and destroy Somnat, in the hope that Hindus would become Muhammadans. He arrived there in the middle of Zil K’ada AH 416 (December AD 1025). The Indians made a desperate resistance. The number of slain exceeded 50,000.’⁶¹

Muhammad bin Qasim (AD 712-715)

Multan (Punjab)

‘Muhammad Kasim, ascertaining that large offerings were made to the idol, and wishing to add to his resources by those means, left it uninjured, but in order to show his horror of Indian superstition, he attached a piece of cow’s flesh to its neck, by which he was able to gratify his avarice and malignity at the same time.’⁶²

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Nizamu’t-Tawarikh

The author, ‘Abu Sa’id ‘Abdullah bin ‘Abu’l Hasan ‘Ali Baizawi, was born at Baiza, a town near Shiraz in Iran. He became a Qazi, first at Shiraz and then at Tabriz, where he died in AD 1286. His history starts from the earliest period and comes down to the Mongol invasions.

Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni (AD 997-1030)

‘Nasiru-d din [Subuktigin] died in the year AH 387 (AD 997) and the command of his troops descended to Mahmud by inheritance, and by confirmation of Nuh, son of Mansur. He demolished the Hindu temples and gave prevalence to the Muhammadan faith.’⁶³

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Miftahu’l-Futuh

The author, Amir Khusru, was born at Delhi in 1253. His father occupied high positions in the reigns of Sultan Shamsu’d-Din Iltutmish (AD 1210-1236) and his successors. His mother was the daughter of another dignitary under Sultan Ghiyasu’d-Din Balban (AD 1266-1286). He himself became a companion of Balban’s son, Prince Muhammad, and stayed at Multan till the prince was killed in a battle with the Mongols. Reputed to be the dearest disciple of Shykh Nizamu’d-Din Auliya’, he became the lick-spittle of whoever came out victorious in the contest for the throne at Delhi. He became a court poet of Balban’s successor, Sultan Kaiqubad (AD 1288-1290) and wrote his Qiranu’s S’adain in the Sultan’s praise in AD 1289. Next, he joined Sultan Jalalu’d-Din Khalji (AD 1290-1296) as a court poet after the latter murdered Kaiqubad. He wrote in 1291 the Miftahu’l-Futuh which describes Jalalu’d-Din’s victories.

Sultan Jalalu’d -Din Khalji (AD 1290-1296)

Jhain (Rajasthan)

‘The Sultan reached Jhain in the afternoon of the third day and stayed in the palace of the Raya. He greatly enjoyed his stay for some time. Coming out, he took a round of the gardens and temples. The idols he saw amazed him. Next day he got those idols of gold smashed with stones. The pillars of wood were burnt down by his order. A cry rose from the temples as if a second Mahmud had taken birth. Two idols were made of brass, one of which weighed nearly a thousand mans. He got both of them broken, and the pieces were distributed among his people so that they may throw them at the door of the Masjid on their return [to Delhi].’⁶⁴

Another version of the same text is available in the translation by Elliot edited by Dowson:

‘Three days after this, the king entered Jhain at midday and occupied the private apartment of the rai. He then visited the temples, which were ornamented with elaborate work in gold and silver. Next day he went again to the temples, and ordered their destruction, as well as of the fort, and set fire to the palace, and ‘thus made hell of paradise’. While the soldiers sought every opportunity of plundering, the Shah was engaged in burning the temples, and destroying the idols. There were two bronze idols of Brahma each of which weighed more than a thousand mans. These were broken into pieces and the fragments distributed amongst the officers, with orders to throw them down at the gates of the Masjid on their return.’⁶⁵

Sultan ‘Alau’d-Din Khalji (AD 1296-1316)

Vidisha (Madhya Pradesh)

‘When he advanced from the capital of Karra, the Hindus, in alarm, descended into the earth like ants. He departed towards the garden of Behar to dye that soil with blood as red as tulip. He cleared the road to Ujjain of vile wretches, and created consternation in Bhilsan. When he effected his conquests in that country, he drew out of the river the idols which had been concealed in it.’⁶⁶

Devagiri (Maharashtra)

‘But see the mercy with which he regarded the brokenhearted, for, after seizing the rai, he set him free again. He destroyed the temples of the idolaters, and erected pulpits and arches for mosques.’⁶⁷

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Khazainu’l-Futuh

This work is also by Amir Khusru who wrote it in praise of ‘Alau’d-Din Khalji when the latter became the Sultan after murdering his uncle and father-in-law, Sultan Jalalu’d-Din Khalji. Khusru was among the foremost notables who welcomed ‘Alau’d-Din when the latter reached Delhi with the head of the late king held aloft on the point of a spear. He completed this history in AD 1311. It is famous for its flowery language and figures of speech.

Sultan ‘Alau’d-Din Khalji (AD 1296-1316)

Delhi

‘He started his building programme with the Jami’ Hazrat mosque. Thereafter he decided to build a second minar opposite to the lofty minar of the Jami’ Masjid, which minar is unparalleled in the world⁶⁸ He ordered the circumference of the new minar to be double that of the old one. People were sent out in all directions in search of stones. Some of them broke the hills into pieces. Some others proved sharper than steel in breaking the temples of the infidels. Wherever these temples were bent in prayers, they were made to do prostration.’⁶⁹

Somnath (Gujarat)

‘On Wednesday, the 20th of Jamadi-ul Awwal in AH 698 (23 February, 1299), the Sultan sent an order to the manager of the armed forces for despatching the army of Islam to Gujarat so that the temple of Somnat on its shore could be destroyed. Ulugh Khan was put in charge of the expedition. When the royal army reached that province, it won a victory after great slaughter. Thereafter the Khan-i-‘Ãzam went with his army to the sea-shore and besieged Somnat which was a place of worship for the Hindus. The army of Islam broke the idols and the biggest idol was sent to the court of the Sultan.’⁷⁰

Professor Mohammed Habib’s translation provides a fuller version. It reads: ‘So the temple of Somnath was made to bow towards the Holy Mecca; and as the temple lowered its head and jumped into the sea, you may say that the building first said its prayers and then had a bath. It seemed as if the tongue of the Imperial sword explained the meaning of the text: ‘So he (Abraham) broke them (the idols) into pieces except the chief of them, that haply they may return to it.’ Such a pagan country, the Mecca of the infidels, now became the Medina of Islam. The followers of Abraham now acted as guides in place of the Brahman leaders. The robust-hearted true believers rigorously broke all idols and temples wherever they found them. Owing to the war, ‘takbir,’ and ‘shahadat’ was heard on every side; even the idols by their breaking affirmed the existence of God. In this ancient land of infidelity the call to prayers rose so high that it was heard in Baghdad and Madain (Ctesiphon) while the ‘Ala’ proclamation (Khutba) resounded in the dome of Abraham and over the water of Zamzam. The sword of Islam purified the land as the Sun purifies the earth.’⁷¹

Jhain (Rajasthan)

‘On Tuesday, the 3rd of Ziqad in AH 700 (10 July, 1301), the strong fort [of Ranthambhor] was conquered. Jhain which was the abode of the infidels, became a new city for Musalmans. The temple of Bahirdev was the first to be destroyed. Subsequently, all other abodes of idolatry were destroyed. Many strong temples which would have remained unshaken even by the trumpet blown on the Day of Judgment, were levelled with the ground when swept by the wind of Islam.’⁷²

Warangal (Andhra Pradesh)

‘When the blessed canopy had been fixed about a mile from the gate of Arangal, the tents around the fort were pitched together so closely that the head of a needle could not go between them. Orders were issued that every man should erect behind his own tent a kathgar, that is wooden defence. The trees were cut with axes and felled, notwithstanding their groans; and the Hindus, who worship trees, could not at that time come to the rescue of their idols, so that every cursed tree which was in that capital of idolatry was cut down to the roots⁷³

‘During the attack, the catapults were busily plied on both sides ‘Praise be to God for his exaltation of the religion of Muhammad. It is not to be doubted that stones are worshipped by Gabrs,⁷⁴ but as the stones did no service to them, they only bore to heaven the futility of that worship, and at the same time prostrated their devotees upon earth’.’⁷⁵

Deccan and South India

‘The tongue of the sword of the Khalifa of the time, which is the tongue of the flame of Islam, has imparted light to the entire darkness of Hindustan by the illumination of its guidance and on the right hand and on the left hand the army has conquered from sea to sea, and several capitals of the gods of the Hindus in which Satanism had prevailed since the time of the Jinns, have been demolished. All these impurities of infidelity have been cleansed by the Sultan’s destruction of idol temples, beginning with his first expedition against Deogir, so that the flames of the light of the law illumine all these unholy countries, and places for the criers to prayers are exalted on high, and prayers are read in mosques. God be praised!’⁷⁶

Chidambaram (Tamil Nadu)

‘After returning to Birdhul, he again pursued the Raja to Kandur. The Rai again escaped him, and he ordered a general massacre at Kandur. It was then ascertained that he had fled to Jalkota. There the Malik closely pursued him, but he had again escaped to the jungles, which the Malik found himself unable to penetrate, and he therefore returned to Kandur. Here he heard that in Brahmastpuri there was a golden idol, round which many elephants wore stabled. The Malik started on a night expedition against this place, and in the morning seized no less then two hundred and fifty elephants. He then determined on razing the beautiful temple to the ground ‘you might say that it was the Paradise of Shaddad which, after being lost, those hellites had found, and that it was the golden Lanka of Ram,’ ‘the roof was covered with rubies and emeralds’, - ‘in short, it was the holy place of the Hindus, which the Malik dug up from its foundations with the greatest care and heads of the Brahmans and idolaters danced from their necks and fell to the ground at their feet,’ and blood flowed in torrents. ‘The stone idol called Ling Mahadeo which had been a long time established at that place and on which the women of the infidels rubbed their vaginas for [sexual] satisfaction, these, up to this time, the kick of the horse of Islam had not attempted to break.’ The Musalmans destroyed all the lings, ‘and Deo Narain fell down, and the other gods who had fixed their seats there raised their feet, and jumped so high, that at one leap they reached the fort of Lanka, and in that affright the lings themselves would have fled had they had any legs to stand on.’ Much gold and valuable jewels fell into the hands of the Musalmans, who returned to the royal canopy, after executing their holy project, on the 13th of Zi-l Ka’da, AH 710 (April 1311 AD). They destroyed an the temples at Birdhul, and placed the plunder in the public treasury.’⁷⁷

Madura (Tamil Nadu)

‘After five days, the royal canopy moved from Birdhul on Thursday, the 17th of Zi-l Ka’da, and arrived at Kham, and five days afterwards they arrived at the city of Mathra (Madura), the dwelling place of the brother of the Rai Sundar Pandya. They found the city empty, for the Rai had fled with the Ranis, but had left two or three elephants in the temple of Jagnar (Jagganath). The elephants were captured and the temple burnt.’⁷⁸

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Dawal Rani-Khizr Khani

Amir Khusru wrote this epic in AD 1315. It is popularly known as ‘Ãshiqa, love-story. Its main theme is love between Dawal Rani, the captured daughter of the last Hindu King of Gujarat, and Khizr Khan, the eldest son of ‘Alau’d-Din Khalji. It also describes Muslim history in India upto the reign of ‘Alau’d-Din Khalji, including Malik Kafur’s expedition to South India in AD 1310.

Sultan ‘Alau’d-Din Khalji (AD 1296-1316)

Pattan (Tamil Nadu)

‘There was another rai in those parts, whose rule extended over sea and land, a Brahmin named Pandya Guru. He had many cities in his possession, and his capital was Fatan, where there was a temple with an idol in it laden with jewels. The rai, when the army of the Sultan arrived at Fatan, fled away, and what can an army do without its leader? The Musalmans in his service sought protection from the king’s army, and they were made happy with the kind of reception they met. 500 elephants were taken. They then struck the idol with an iron hatchet, and opened its head. Although it was the very Kibla of the accursed gabrs, it kissed the earth and filled the holy treasury.’⁷⁹

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Nuh Siphir

It is the fourth historical mathnavi which Amir Khusru wrote when he was 67 years old. It celebrates the reign of Sultan Mubarak Shah Khalji. It consists of nine(nuh) siphirs (parts). In Siphir III, he says that the Hindus ‘worship…stones, beasts, plants and the sun, but they recognize that these things are creations of God and adore them simply because their forefathers did so.’⁸⁰

Sultan Mubarak Shah Khalji (AD 1316-1320)

Warrangal (Andhra Pradesh)

‘They pursued die enemy to the gates and set everything on fire. They burnt down all those gardens and groves. That paradise of idol-worshippers became like hell. The fire-worshippers of Bud were in alarm and flocked round their idols.’⁸¹

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Siyaru’l-Auliya’

It was written by Sayyid Muhammad bin Mubarak bin Muhammad ‘Alwi Kirmani known as Amir or Mir Khwurd. He was the grandson of an Iranian merchant who traded between Kirman in Iran and Lahore, and who became a disciple of Shykh Faridu’d-Din Ganj-i-Shakar, the Sufi luminary of Ajodhan near Multan. His father was also a disciple of the same Sufi. The family travelled to Delhi after Shykh Farid’s death and became devoted to Shykh Nizamu’d-Din Auliya’. Mir Khwurd was forced to migrate to Daulatabad by Sultan Muhammad bin Tughlaq but allowed to return to Delhi after some time. It was then that he wrote this detailed biography of the Auliya’ and his disciples.

Shykh Mu’in al-Din Chisti of Ajmer (d. AD 1236)

Ajmer (Rajasthan)

‘The other miracle is that before his arrival the whole of Hindustan was submerged by unbelief and idol-worship. Every haughty man in Hind pronounced himself to be Almighty God and considered himself as the partner of God. All the people of India used to prostrate themselves before stones, idols, trees, animals, cows and cow-dung. Because of the darkness of unbelief over this land their hearts were locked and hardened.

‘All India was ignorant of orders of religion and law. All were ignorant of Allah and His Prophet. None had seen the Ka’ba. None had heard of the Greatness of Allah.

‘Because of his coming, the, Sun of real believers, the helper of religion, Mu’in al-din, the darkness of unbelief in this land was illumined by the light of Islam.

‘Because of his Sword, instead of idols and temples in the land of unbelief now there are mosques, mihrab and mimbar. In the land where there were the sayings of the idol-worshippers, there is the sound of ‘Allahu Akbar’.

‘The descendants of those who were converted to Islam in this land will live until the Day of Judgement; so too will those who bring others into the fold of Islam by the sword of Islam. Until the Day of Judgement these converts will be in the debt of Shaykh al-Islam Mu’in al-din Hasan Sijza and these people will be drawing closer to Almighty Allah because of the auspicious devotion of Mu’in al-din.’⁸²

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Tarikh-i-Wassaf

The author, ‘Abdu’llah ibn Fazlu’llah of Shiraz, is known by his literary name which was Wassaf, the panegyrist. The history he wrote is titled Tazjiyatu’l Amsar Wa Tajriyatu’l Ãsar. But it is popularly known as Tarikh-i-Wassaf. The first four volumes of the work were published in AD 1300. Later on, the author added a fifth volume, bringing the history down to AD 1328. The work was dedicated to Sultan Uljaitu, the Mongol ruler of Iran.

Sultan ‘Alau’d-Din Khalji (AD 1296-1316)

Somnath (Gujarat)

‘In short, the Muhammadan army brought the country to utter ruin, and destroyed the lives of the inhabitants, and plundered the cities, and captured their offspring, so that many temples were deserted and the idols were broken and trodden under foot, the largest of which was one called Somnat, fixed upon stone, polished like a mirror of charming shape and admirable workmanship. Its head was adorned with a crown set with gold and rubies and pearls and other precious stones and a necklace of large shining pearls, like the belt of Orion, depended from the shoulder towards the side of the body.

‘The Muhammadan soldiers plundered all these jewels and rapidly set themselves to demolish the idol. The surviving infidels were deeply affected with grief, and they engaged ‘to pay a thousand pieces of gold’ as ransom for the idol, but they were indignantly rejected, and the idol was destroyed, and ‘its limbs, which were anointed with ambergris and perfumed, were cut off. The fragments were conveyed to Delhi, and the entrance of the Jami’ Masjid was paved with them, that people might remember and talk of this brilliant victory.’ Praise be to God, the Lord of the worlds. Amen!’⁸³

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Tarikh-i-Guzida

The author, Hamdu’llah bin ‘Abu Bakr bin Hamd bin Nasr Mustaufi of Kazwin in Iran, composed this work in AD 1329. He was secretary to Ghiyasu’d-Din as well as his father Rashidu’d-Din, the ministers of Sultan Uljaitu. His work contains matter not found elsewhere.

Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni (AD 997-1030)

Nagarkot Kangra (Himachal Pradesh)

‘He now attacked the fort of Bhim, where was a temple of the Hindus. He was victorious, and obtained much wealth, including about a hundred idols of gold and silver. One of the golden images, which weighed a million mishkals, the Sultan appropriated to the decoration of the Mosque of Ghazni, so that the ornaments of the doors were of gold instead of iron.’⁸⁴

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Masalik’ul Absar fi Mamalik’ul Amsar

The author, Shihabu’d-Din ‘Abu’l Abbas Ahmad bin Yahya bin Fazlu’llah al-‘Umri, was born in AD 1301. He was educated at Damascus and Cairo. He is considered to be a great scholar of his time and author of many books. He occupied high positions in Syria and Egypt. This book of his is a large collection of history, geography and biographies. He himself never visited India about which he based his account on sources available to him. He died at Damascus in AD 1348.

Sultan Muhammad bin Tughlaq (AD 1325-1351)

‘The Sultan is not slack in jihad. He never lets go of his spear or bridle in pursuing jihad by land and sea routes. This is his main occupation which engages his eyes and ears. He has spent vast sums for the establishment of the faith and the spread of Islam in these lands, as a result of which the light of Islam has reached the inhabitants and the flash of the true faith brightened among them. Fire temples⁸⁵ have been destroyed and the images and idols of Budd have been broken, and the lands have been freed from those who were not included in the daru’l Islam, that is, those who had refused to become zimmis. Islam has been spread by him in the far east and has reached the point of sunrise. In the words of ‘Abu Nasr al-Ãini, he has carried the flags of the followers of Islam where they had never reached before and where no chapter or verse (of the Qur’an) had ever been recited. Thereafter he got mosques and places of worship erected, and music replaced by call to prayers (azan), and the incantations of fire-worshippers stopped by recitations of the Qur’an. He directed the people of Islam towards the citadels of the infidels and, by the grace of Allah, made them (the believers) inheritors of wealth and land and that country which they (the believers) had never trodden upon⁸⁶

‘The Sultan who is ruling at present has achieved that which had not been achieved so far by any king. He has achieved victory, supremacy, conquest of countries, destruction of the forts of the infidels, and exposure of magicians. He has destroyed idols by which the people of Hindustan were deceived in vain.’⁸⁷

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Futuhu’s-Salatin

The author whose full name is not known is famous by his surname of Isami. His forefathers had served the Sultans of Delhi since the days of Shamsu’d-Din Iltutmish (AD 1210-1236). He was born in AD 1311-12 and lived at Daulatabad (Devagiri) till 1351 when he finished this work at the age of forty. It covers the period from Mahamud of Ghazni (AD 997-1030) to Muhammad bin Tughlaq (AD 1325-1351).

Sultan ‘Alau’d-Din Khalji (AD 1296-1316)

Devagiri (Maharashtra)

‘Malik Naib [Kafur] reached there expeditiously and occupied the fort. He built mosques in places occupied by temples.’⁸⁸

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Rehala of Ibn Battuta

The full name of this book is Tuhfatu’n-nuzzar fi Gharaibu’l-amsar wa Ajaibu’l-afsar. The author was Shykh ‘Abu ‘Abdu’llah Muhammad ibn ‘Abdu’llah ibn Muhammad ibn Ibrahim al-Lawati at-Tanji al- Ma’ruf be Ibn Battuta. He belonged to an Arab family which was settled in Spain since AD 1312. His grandfather and father enjoyed the reputation of scholars and theologians. He himself was a great scholar who travelled extensively and over many lands. He came to India in 1325 and visited many places - east, west, north and south - till he left in 1346. India during this period was ruled by Muhammad bin Tughlaq with whom Ibn Battuta came in close contact. He was very fond of sampling Hindu girls from different parts of India. They were presented to him by the Sultan and other Muslim big-wigs during his sojourn in various places. He also married Muslim women wherever he stayed, and divorced them before his departure. He finished his book in 1355 after reaching Fez in Morocco where his family lived after migration from Spain.

Lahari Bandar (Sindh)

‘One day I rode in company with ‘Ala-ul-mulk and arrived at a plain called Tarna at a distance of seven miles from the city. There I saw innumerable stone images and animals, many of which had undergone a change, the original shape being obliterated.⁸⁹ Some were reduced to a head, others to a foot and so on. Some of the stones were shaped like grain, wheat, peas, beans and lentils. And there were traces of a house which contained a chamber built of hewn stone, the whole of which looked like one solid mass. Upon it was a statue in the form of a man, the only difference being that its head was long, its mouth was towards a side of its face and its hands at its back like a captive’s. There were pools of water from which an extremely bad smell came. Some of the walls bore Hindi inscriptions. ‘Ala-ul-mulk told me that the historians assume that on this site there was a big city, most of the inhabitants of which were notorious. They were changed into stone. The petrified human form on the platform in the house mentioned above was that of their king. The house still goes by the name of ‘the king’s house’. It is presumed that the Hindi inscriptions, which some of the walls bear, give the history of the destruction of the inhabitants of this city. The destruction took place about a thousand years ago.’⁹⁰

Delhi

‘Near the eastern gate of the mosque lie two very big idols of copper connected together by stones. Every one who comes in and goes out of the mosque treads over them. On the site of this mosque was a bud khana that is an idol-house. After the conquest of Delhi it was turned into a mosque.’⁹¹

Maldive Islands

‘Reliable men among the inhabitants of the islands, like the jurist (faqih) and teacher (mu’allim) ‘Ali, the judge ‘Abdullah - and others besides them - told me that the inhabitants of these islands were infidels. Subsequently a westerner named Abul Barakat the Berbar who knew the great Qur’an came to them. He stayed amongst them and God opened the heart of the king to Islam and he accepted it before the end of the month; and his wives, children and courtiers followed suit. They broke to pieces the idols and razed the idol-house to the ground. On this the islanders embraced Islam and sent missionaries to the rest of the islands, the inhabitants of which also became Muslims. The westerner stood in high regard with them, and they accepted his cult which was that of Imam Malik. May God be pleased with him! And on account of him they honour the westerners up to this time. He built a mosque which is known after his name.’⁹²

(24)
Tarikh-i-Firuz Shahi

The author, Ziau’d-Din Barani was born in AH 684 (AD 1285-86) at Baran, now known as Bulandshahar, in Uttar Pradesh. His ancestors, paternal as well as maternal, had occupied important positions in the reigns of Sultan Ghiyasu’d-Din Balban (AD 1266-1286) and the Khaljis. His uncle was a confidant of ‘Alau’d-Din Khalji (AD 1296-1316). Barani became a friend of Amir Khusru and a disciple of Nizamu’d-Din Auliya’, the renowned Chishti saint of Delhi. His prosperity continued in the reign of Sultan Ghiyasu’d-Din Tughlaq (AD 1320-1325) and he became a favourite of Sultan Muhammad bin Tughlaq (AD 1325-1351). But he fell from favour with the rise of Sultan Firuz Tughlaq (AD 1351-1388) and was imprisoned for five months for some offence. He completed this history in AD 1357. It covers a period of 82 years, from AD 1265 onwards. He wrote several other books among which Fatwa-i-Jahandari is famous for its tenets regarding how an Islamic state should be run. Barani’s ideal ruler was Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni. He exhorted Muslim rulers to follow Mahmud’s example in their treatment of Hindus, for whom he often uses very foul language.

Sultan Jalalu’d-Din Khalji (AD 1290-1296)

Jhain (Rajasthan)

‘In the year AH 689 (AD 1290), the Sultan led an army to Rantambhor. He took. Jhain, destroyed the idol temples, and broke and burned the idols.’⁹³

Vidisha (Madhya Pradesh)

‘ ‘Alau’d-din at this time held the territory of Karra, and with the permission of the Sultan he marched to Bhailsan (Bhilsa). He captured some bronze idols which the Hindus worshipped and sent them on carts with a variety of rich booty as presents to the Sultan. The idols were laid before the Badaun gate for true believers to tread upon.’⁹⁴

Sultan ‘Alau’d-Din Khalji (AD 1296-1316)

Somnath (Gujarat)

‘At the beginning of the third year of the reign, Ulugh Khan and Nusrat Khan, with their amirs and generals, and a large army marched against Gujarat. All Gujarat became a prey to the invaders, and the idol, which after the victory of Sultan Mahmud and his destruction of (the idol) of Manat, the Brahmans had set up under the name of Somanat, for the worship of the Hindus, was carried to Delhi where it was laid for the people to tread upon.’⁹⁵

Ma’bar (Tamil Nadu)

‘Malik Naib Kafur marched on to Ma’bar, which he also took. He destroyed the golden idol temple (but-khanah i-zarin) of Ma’bar, and the golden idols which for ages had been worshipped by the Hindus of that country. The fragments of the golden temple, and of the broken idols of gold and gilt became the rich spoil of the army.’⁹⁶

(25)
Tarikh-i-Firuz Shahi

The author, Shams Siraj Afif or Shamsu’d-Din bin Siraju’d-Din, became a courtier of Sultan Firuz Shah Tughlaq and undertook to complete the aforementioned history of Barani who had stopped at the sixth year of Firuz Shah’s reign.

Sultan Firuz Shah Tughlaq (AD 1351-1388)

Puri (Orissa)

‘The Sultan left Banarasi with the intention of pursuing the Rai of Jajnagar, who had fled to an island in the river. News was then brought that in the jangal were seven elephants, and one old she-elephant, which was very fierce. The Sultan resolved upon endeavouring to capture these elephants before continuing the pursuit of the Rai… ⁹⁷

‘After the hunt was over, the Sultan directed his attention to the Rai of Jajnagar, and entering the palace where he dwelt he found many fine buildings. It is reported that inside the Rai’s fort, there was a stone idol which the infidels called Jagannath, and to which they paid their devotions. Sultan Firoz, in emulation of Mahmud Subuktigin, having rooted up the idol, carried it away to Delhi where he placed it in an ignominious position.’⁹⁸

Nagarkot Kangra (Himachal Pradesh)

‘The idol, Jwalamukhi, much worshipped by the infidels, was situated on the road to Nagarkot. Some of the infidels have reported that Sultan Firoz went specially to see this idol and held a golden umbrella over it. But the author was informed by his respected father, who was in the Sultan’s retinue, that the infidels slandered the Sultan, who was a religious, God-fearing man, who, during the whole forty years of his reign, paid strict obedience to the law, and that such an action was impossible. The fact is, that when he went to see the idol, all the rais, ranas and zamindars who accompanied him were summoned into his presence, when he addressed them, saying, ‘O fools and weak-minded, how can ye pray to and worship this stone, for our holy law tells us that those who oppose the decrees of our religion, will go to hell?’ The Sultan held the idol in the deepest detestation, but the infidels, in the blindness of their delusion, have made this false statement against him. Other infidels have said that Sultan Muhammad Shah bin Tughlik Shah held an umbrella over the same idol, but this is also a lie; and good Muhammadans should pay no heed to such statements. These two Sultans were sovereigns especially chosen by the Almighty from among the faithful, and in the whole course of their reigns, wherever they took an idol temple they broke and destroyed it; how, then, can such assertions be true? The infidels must certainly have lied!’⁹⁹

Delhi

‘A report was brought to the Sultan that there was in Delhi an old Brahman (zunar dar) who persisted in publicly performing the worship of idols in his house; and that people of the city, both Musulmans and Hindus, used to resort to his house to worship the idol. The Brahman had constructed a wooden tablet (muhrak), which was covered within and without with paintings of demons and other objects. An order was accordingly given that the Brahman, with his tablet, should be brought into the presence of the Sultan at Firozabad. The judges and doctors and elders and lawyers were summoned, and the case of the Brahman was submitted for their opinion. Their reply was that the provisions of the Law were clear: the Brahman must either become a Musulman or be burned. The true faith was declared to the Brahman, and the right course pointed out, but he refused to accept it. Orders were given for raising a pile of faggots before the door of the darbar. The Brahman was tied hand and foot and cast into it; the tablet was thrown on top and the pile was lighted. The writer of this book was present at the darbar and witnessed the execution. The tablet of the Brahman was lighted in two places, at his head and at his feet; the wood was dry, and the fire first reached his feet, and drew from him a cry, but the flames quickly enveloped his head and consumed him. Behold the Sultan’s strict adherence to law and rectitude, how he would not deviate in the least from its decrees!’¹⁰⁰

(26)
Insha-i-Mahru

The author, Ãinu’d-Din Abdullah bin Mahru, was a high official in the court of Sultan Firuz Shah Tughlaq. Insha-i-Mahru is a collection of 133 letters related to various events.

Sultan Firuz Shah Tughlaq (AD 1351-1388)

Jajnagar (Orissa)

‘The victorious standards set out from Jaunpur for the destruction of idols, slaughter of the enemies of Islam and hunt for elephants near Padamtalav. The Sultan saw Jajnagar which had been praised by all
travellers¹⁰¹

‘The troops which had been appointed for the destruction of places around Jajnagar, ended the conceit of the infidels by means of the sword and the spear. Wherever there were temples and idols in that area, they were trampled under the hoofs of the horses of Musalmans¹⁰²

‘After obtaining victory and sailing on the sea and destroying the temple of Jagannath and slaughtering the idolaters, the victorious standards started towards Delhi.’¹⁰³

(27)
Futuhat-i-Firuz Shahi

This small history was written by Sultan Firuz Shah Tughlaq (AD 1351-1388) himself. The writer of Tabqat-i-Akbari, Nizam’ud-Din Ahmad, a 16th century historian, says that the Sultan had got the eight chapters of his work inscribed on eight slabs of stone which were fixed on eight sides of the octagonal dome of a building near the Jami’ Masjid at Firuzabad.

Prayers for Temple-destroyers of the Past

‘The next matter which by God’s help I accomplished, was the repetition of names and titles of former sovereigns which had been omitted from the prayers of Sabbaths and Feasts. The names of those sovereigns of Islam, under whose happy fortune and favour infidel countries had been conquered, whose banners had waved over many a land, under whom idol-temples had been demolished, and mosques and pulpits built and exalted, the fragrant creed had been extended, and the people of Islam had waxen strong and warlike, the names of these men had fallen into neglect and oblivion. So I decreed that according to established custom their names and titles should be rehearsed in the khutba and aspirations offered for the remission of their sins.’¹⁰⁴

Delhi and Environs

‘The Hindus and idol-worshippers had agreed to pay the money for toleration (zar-i zimmiya) and had consented to the poll-tax (jizya) in return for which they and their families enjoyed security. These people now erected new idol-temples in the city and the environs in opposition to the Law of the Prophet which declares that such temples are not to be tolerated. Under divine guidance I destroyed these edifices and I killed those leaders of infidelity who seduced others into error, and the lower orders I subjected to stripes and chastisement, until this abuse was entirely abolished. The following is an instance:- In the village of Maluh¹⁰⁵ there is a tank which they call kund (tank). Here they had built idol-temples and on certain days the Hindus were accustomed to proceed thither on horseback, and wearing arms. Their women and children also went out in palankins and carts. There they assembled in thousands and performed idol-worship. When intelligence of this came to my ears my religious feelings prompted me at once to put a stop to this scandal and offence to the religion of Islam. On the day of the assembly I went there in person and I ordered that the leaders of these people and the promoters of this abomination should be put to death. I forbade the infliction of any severe punishments on Hindus in general, but I destroyed their idol-temples, and instead thereof raised mosques. I founded two flourishing towns (kasba), one called Tughlikpur, the other Salarpur. Where infidels and idolaters worshipped idols, Musulmans now, by God’s mercy, perform their devotions to the true God. Praises of God and the summons to prayer are now heard there, and that place which was formerly the home of infidels has become the habitation of the faithful, who there repeat their creed and offer up their praises to God.

‘Information was brought to me that some Hindus had erected a new idol temple in the village of Salihpur, and were performing worship to their idols. I sent some persons there to destroy the idol temple, and put a stop to their pernicious incitements to error.’¹⁰⁶

Gohana (Haryana)

‘Some Hindus had erected a new idol-temple in the village of Kohana, and the idolaters used to assemble there and perform their idolatrous rites. These people were seized and brought before me. I ordered that the perverse conduct of the leaders of this wickedness should be publicly proclaimed, and that they should be put to death before the gate of the palace. I also ordered that the infidel books, the idols, and the vessels used in their worship, which had been taken with them, should all be publicly burnt. The others were restrained by threats and punishments, as a warning to all men, that no zimmi could follow such wicked practices in a Musulman country.’¹⁰⁷

(28)
Sirat-Firuz Shahi

It is a text either written or dictated by Sultan Firuz Shah Tughlaq himself. According to this book, the objects of his expedition to Jajnagar were: ‘extirpating Rai Gajpat, massacring the unbelievers, demolishing their temples, hunting elephants, and getting a glimpse of their enchanting country.’ ‘Ain-ul-Mulk also says, ‘The object of the expedition was to break the idols, to shed the blood of the enemies of Islam (and) to hunt elephants.’¹⁰⁸

Sultan Firuz Shah Tughlaq (AD 1351-1388)

Puri (Orissa)

‘Allah, who is the only true God and has no other emanation, endowed the king of Islam with the strength to destroy this ancient shrine on the eastern sea-coast and to plunge it into the sea, and after its destruction, he ordered the nose of the image of Jagannath to be perforated and disgraced it by casting it down on the ground. They dug out other idols, which were worshipped by the polytheists in the kingdom of Jajnagar, and overthrew them as they did the image of Jagannath, for being laid in front of the mosques along the path of the Sunnis and way of the musallis (the multitude who offer prayers) and stretched them in front of the portals of every mosque, so that the body and sides of the images may be trampled at the time of ascent and descent, entrance and exit, by the shoes on the feet of the Muslims.’¹⁰⁹

(29)
Tarikh-i-Mubarak Shahi

The author, Yahya bin Ahmad bin Abdu’llah Sirhindi, lived in the reign of Sultan Muizu’d-Din Abu’l Fath Mubarak Shah (AD 1421-1434) of the Sayyid dynasty which ruled at Delhi from AD 1414 to 1451. This history starts from the time of Muhammad Ghuri (AD 1175-1206) and closes with the year AD 1434.

Sultan Shamsu’d-Din Iltutmish (AD 1210-1236)

Vidisha and Ujjain (Madhya Pradesh)

‘In AH 631 he invaded Malwah, and after suppressing the rebels of that place, he destroyed that idol-temple which had existed there for the past three hundred years.

‘Next he turned towards Ujjain and conquered it, and after demolishing the idol-temple of Mahakal, he uprooted the statue of Bikramajit together with all other statues and images which were placed on pedestals, and brought them to the capital where they were laid before the Jami’ Masjid for being trodden under foot by the people.’¹¹⁰

Sultan ‘Alau’d-Din Khalji (AD 1296-1316)

Somnath (Gujarat)

‘Ulugh Khan invaded Gujarat. He sacked the whole country. He pursued the Rai upto Somnath. He destroyed the temple of Somnath which was the principal place of worship for the Hindus and great Rais since ancient times. He constructed a mosque on the site and returned to Delhi.’¹¹¹

(30)
Tarikh-i-Muhammadi

The author, Muhammad Bihamad Khani was the son of the governor of Irich in Bundelkhand. He was a soldier who participated in several wars. At last he became the disciple of a Sufi, Yusuf Buddha, of Irich and spent the rest of his life in religious pursuits. His history covers a long period - from Prophet Muhammad to AD 1438-39.

Sultan Ghiyasu’d-Din Tughlaq Shah II (AD 1388-89)

Kalpi (Uttar Pradesh)

‘In the meanwhile Delhi received news of the defeat of the armies of Islam which were with Malikzada Mahmud bin Firuz Khan. This Malikzada reached the bank of the Yamuna via Shahpur and renamed Kalpi, which was the abode and centre of the infidels and the wicked, as Muhammadabad, after the name of Prophet Muhammad. He got mosques erected for the worship of Allah in places occupied by temples, and made that city his capital.’¹¹²

Sultan Nasiru’d-Din Mahmud Shah Tughlaq (AD 1389-1412)

Kalpi (Uttar Pradesh)

‘Historians have recorded that in the auspicious year AH 792 (AD 1389-90) Sultan Nasiru’d-Din got founded a city named Muhammadabad, after the name of Prophet Muhammad, at a place known as Kalpi which was a home of the accursed infidels, and he got mosques raised in place of temples for the worship of Allah. He got palaces, tombs and schools constructed, and ended the wicked ways of the infidels, and promoted the Shariat of Prophet Muhammad.’¹¹³

Khandaut (Uttar Pradesh)

‘He laid waste KhaNdaut which was the home of infidels and, having made it an abode of Islam, founded Mahmudabad after his own name. He got a splendid palace and fort constructed there and established all the customs of Islam in that city and place.’¹¹⁴

Prayag and Kara (Uttar Pradesh)

‘The Sultan moved with the armies of Islam towards Prayag and Arail with the aim of destroying the infidels, and he laid waste both those places. The vast crowd which had collected at Prayag for worshipping false gods was made captive. The inhabitants of Kara were freed from the mischief of rebels on account of this aid from the king and the name of this king of Islam became famous by this reason.’¹¹⁵

(31)
Jawamiu’l Kilam

The book contains the malfuzat of Khwajah Sayyid Muhammad bin Yasuf al-Husaini Banda Nawaz Gisu Daraz (AD 1321-1422), one of the leading disciples of Shykh Nasiru’d-Din Mahmud Chiragh-i-Dihli. He settled down at Gulbarga, the capital of the Bahmani Empire in the Deccan, and became the mentor of Sultan Ahmad Shah Bahmani (AD 1422-1436).

Shykh Jalalu’d-Din Tabrizi (AH 533-623)

Pandua (Bengal)

‘An anecdote relating to Shaikh Jalalu’d-Din’s stay in Deva Mahal reads like other stock-in-trade stories and fairytales. It was related by such an authority as Gisu Daraz. According to him Shaikh Jalalu’d-Din stayed at Pandua in the house of a flower vendor. On the day of his arrival, he found each of the house members crying. On enquiry he was told there was a demon in the temple who daily ate a young man. It was the king’s duty to provide the demon with his daily food. On that day it was the turn of the young son in the family. The Shaikh requested them to send him in place of their son but they refused to accept the offer for fear of the king. The Shaikh, then followed the young man to the temple and killed the demon with a single blow from his staff. When the king accompanied by his retinue reached the temple to worship the demon they were amazed to find the demon killed and an old man dressed in black with his head covered with a blanket. The Shaikh invited them to see the fate with their god. The sight of their vanquished idol prompted them to accept Islam.’¹¹⁶

(32)
Habibu’s-Siyar

The author, Ghiyasu’d-Din Muhammad bin Humamu’d-Din, is known as Khondmir. He was the son of Mirkhond, the author of the famous Persian history, Rauzatu’s-Safa. Born at Herat in AD 1475 he reached Agra in 1528-29 when he was introduced to Babur. He accompanied Babur in his expedition to Bengal and Humayun in his expedition to Gujarat where he died in 1534-35. His Khulastu’l-Akhbar is a history of Asia brought down to AD 1471. The Habibu’s-Siyar which he started writing in 1521 starts with the birth of the Prophet and comes down to AD 1534-35.

Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni (AD 997-1030)

Somnath (Gujarat)

‘He several times waged war against the infidels of Hindustan, and he brought under his subjection a large portion of their country, until, having made himself master of Somnat, he destroyed all idol temples of that country¹¹⁷

‘Sultan Mahmud, having entered into the idol temple, beheld an excessively long and broad room, in so much that fifty-six pillars had been made to support the roof. Somnat was an idol cut out of stone, whose height was five yards, of which three yards were visible, and two yards were concealed in the ground. Yaminu-d daula having broken that idol with his own hand, ordered that they should pack up pieces of the stone, take them to Ghaznin, and throw them on the threshold of the Jama’ Masjid.’¹¹⁸

Mathura (Uttar Pradesh)

‘From that place the Sultan proceeded to a certain city, which was accounted holy by the people of the country. In that city the men of Ghaznin saw so many strange and wonderful things, that to tell them or to write a description of them is not easy. In short, the Sultan Mahmud having possessed himself of the booty, burned their idol temples and proceeded towards Kanauj.’¹¹⁹

Kanauj (Uttar Pradesh)

‘The Ghaznivids found in these forts and their dependencies 10,000 idol temples, and they ascertained the vicious belief of the Hindus to be, that since the erection of these buildings no less than three or four hundred thousand years had elapsed. Sultan Mahmud during this expedition achieved many other conquests after he left Kanauj, and sent to hell many of the infidels with blows of the well tempered sword. Such a number of slaves were assembled in that great camp, that the price of a single one did not exceed ten dirhams.’¹²⁰

(33)
Babur-Nama

It is an autobiography written in the form of a diary by Zahiru’d-Din Muhammad Babur, founder of the Mughal dynasty in India, who proclaimed himself a Padshah after his victory in the First Battle of Panipat (AD 1526), and a Ghazi (killer of kafirs) after the defeat of RaNa Sañga in the Battle of Khanwa (AD 1528). While presenting himself as an indefatigable warrior and drug-addict he does not hide the cruelties he committed on the defeated people, particularly his fondness for building towers of the heads of those he captured as prisoners of war or killed in battle. He is very liberal in citing appropriate verses from the Qur’an on the eve of his battle with RaNa Sañga. In order to ensure his victory, he makes a covenant with Allah by breaking the vessels containing wine as also the cups for drinking it, swearing at the same time that ‘he would break the idols of the idol-worshippers in a similar manner.’¹²¹ In the Fath-Nama (prayer for victory) composed for him by Shykh Zain, Allah is described as ‘destroyer of idols from their foundations.’¹²² The language he uses for his Hindu adversaries is typically Islamic.

Zahiru’d-Din Muhammad Babur Padshah Ghazi (AD 1526-1530)

Chanderi (Madhya Pradesh)

‘In AH 934 (AD 1528), I attacked Chanderi and, by the grace of Allah, captured it in a few hours. We got the infidels slaughtered and the place which had been a daru’l-harb for years, was made into a daru’l-Islam.’¹²³

Gwalior (Madhya Pradesh)

‘Next day, at the time of the noon prayer, we went out for seeing those places in Gwalior which we had not yet seen. Going out of the Hathipole Gate of the fort, we arrived at a place called Urwa 

‘Solid rocks surround Urwa on three sides. On these sides people have carved statues in stone. They are in all sizes, small and big. A very big statue, which is on the southern side, is perhaps 20 yards high. These statues are altogether naked and even their private parts are not covered 

‘Urwa is not a bad place. It is an enclosed space. Its biggest blemish is its statues. I ordered that they should be destroyed.’¹²⁴

(34)
Siyaru’l-‘Ãrifin

The author, Hamid bin Fazlullah is also known as Dervish Jamali Kamboh Dihlawi. He was a Sufi of the Suhrawardiyya sect who died in AD 1536 while accompanying the Mughal Emperor Humayun in the latter’s expedition to Gujarat. His son, Shykh Gadai was with the Mughal army in the Second Battle of Panipat (AD 1556) and advised Akbar to kill the Hindu king, Himu, with his own hand. On Akbar’s refusal, according to Badauni, Shykh Gadai helped Bairam Khan in doing the same deed. Siyaru’l-‘Ãrifin, completed between AD 1530 and 1536, is an account of the Chishti and Suhrawardi Sufis of the period.

Shykh Jalalu’d-Din Tabrizi (AH 533-623)

He was the second most outstanding disciple of Shykh Shihabu’d-Din Suhrawardi (AD 1145-1235), founder of the Suhrawardiyya silsila of Sufism. Having lived in Multan, Delhi and Badaun, he finally settled down in Lakhanauti, also known as Gaur, in Bengal.

Devatala (Bengal)

‘Shaikh Jalalu’d-Din had many disciples in Bengal. He first lived at Lakhnauti, constructed a khanqah and attached a langar to it. He also bought some gardens and land to be attached to the monastery. He moved to Devatalla (Deva Mahal) near Pandua in northern Bengal. There a kafir (either a Hindu or a Buddhist) had erected a large temple and a well. The Shaikh demolished the temple and constructed a takiya (khanqah) and converted a large number of kafirs. Devatalla came to be known as Tabrizabad and attracted a large number of pilgrims.’¹²⁵

Shykh ‘Abu Bakr Tusi Haidari (Thirteenth Century AD)

He was a qalandar (anchorite) of the Haidari sect founded by a Turk named Haidar, who lived in Sawa in Kuhistan. His disciples migrated into India when the Mongols sacked their homeland.

Delhi

‘The most prominent Indian Haidari was Shaikh Abu Bakr Tusi Haidari, who settled in Delhi in the mid-thirteenth century. There he demolished a temple on a site on the banks of the Jamna where he built a khanqah and organized sama gathering. Shaikh Nizamu’d-Din Auliya’ was a frequent visitor of Abu Bakr as was Shaikh Jamalu’d-Din of Hansi when he was in Delhi. The latter gave Shaikh Abu Bakr the title Baz-i Safid (White Falcon) symbolizing his rare mystical achievements.’¹²⁶

(35)
Tarikh-i-Shahi

The author, Ahmad Yadgar, was an old servant of the Sur sultans. He started writing this history on order from Da’ud Shah bin Sulaiman Shah. It is also known as Tarikh-i-Afaghana and Tarikh-i-Salatin-I-Afaghana. It deals with the history of the Lodis down to AD 1554. He completed it in AH 1001-02 (AD 1592-93). He calls the Hindu kings ‘rascally infidels’, ‘black-faced foes’, ‘evil-doers’, ‘dark-faced men’, etc. He extols the plunder and depopulation of entire regions by Bahlul Lodi (AD 1451-1489). He reports how Babur presented to his sons, Humayun and Kamran, two daughters of the Raja of Chanderi.

Sultan Sikandar Lodi (AD 1489-1517)

Kurukshetra (Haryana)

‘One day he ordered that ‘an expedition be sent to Thaneswar, (the tanks at) Kurkaksetra should be filled up with earth, and the land measured and allotted to pious people for their maintenance,’  He was such a great partisan of Islam in die days of his youth.’¹²⁷

Nagarkot Kangra (Himachal Pradesh)

‘Sultan Sikandar led a very pious life. Islam was regarded very highly in his reign. The infidels could not muster the courage to worship idols or bathe in the (sacred) streams. During his holy reign, idols were hidden underground. The stone (idol) of Nagarkot, which had misled the (whole) world, was brought and handed over to butchers so that they might weigh meat with it.’¹²⁸

Sultan Ibrahim Lodi (AD 1517-1526)

Gwalior (Madhya Pradesh)

‘It so happened that Raja Man, the ruler of Gwalior who had been warring with the Sultans for years, went to hell. His son, Bikarmajit, became his successor. The Sultan captured the fort after a hard fight. There was a quadruped, made of copper, at the door of the fort. It used to speak. It was brought from there and placed in the fort at Agra. It remained there till the reign of Akbar Badshah. It was melted and a cannon was made out of it at the order of the Badshah.’¹²⁹

(36)
Tarikh-i-Sher Shahi

The author, Abbas Sarwani, was connected with the family of Sher Shah Sur by marriage. He wrote this work by order of Akbar, the Mughal emperor, and named it Tuhfat-i-Akbar Shahi. But it became known as Tarikh-i-Sher Shahi because of its main theme. He wrote it probably soon after AD 1579.

Sher Shah Sur (AD 1538-1545)

‘The nobles and chiefs said, ‘It seems expedient that the victorious standards should move towards the Dekhin’Sher Shah replied: ‘What you have said is most right and proper, but it has come into my mind that since the time of Sultan Ibrahim, the infidel zamindars have rendered the country of Islam full of unbelievers, and having thrown down masjids and buildings of the believers, placed idol-shrines in them, and they are in possession of the country of Delhi and Malwa. Until I have cleansed the country from the existing contamination of the unbelievers, I will not go into any other country’.’¹³⁰

(37)
Waqi’at-i-Mushtaqi

The author, Shykh Rizqu’llah Mushtaqi, was born in AD 1492 and died in 1581. He heard accounts of the past from the learned men of his times and compiled them in a book. He was a great story-teller who revelled in ‘marvels’. He was known for his study of Sufi doctrines and spiritual exercises.

Sultan Sikandar Lodi (AD 1489-1517)

Nagarkot Kangra (Himachal Pradesh)

‘Khawas Khan, who was the predecessor of Mian Bhua, having been ordered by the Sultan to march towards Nagarkot, in order to bring the hill country under subjection, succeeded in conquering it, and having sacked the infidels’ temple of Debi Shankar, brought away the stone which they worshipped, together with a copper umbrella, which was placed over it, and on which a date was engraved in Hindu characters, representing it to be two thousand years old. When the stone was sent to the King, it was given over to the butchers to make weights out of it for the purpose of weighing their meat. From the copper of the umbrella, several pots were made, in which water might be warmed, and which were placed in the masjids and the King’s own palace, so that everyone might wash his hands, feet and face in them and perform “¹³¹ his purifications before prayers.’¹³¹

Mathura (Uttar Pradesh)

‘He got the temples of the infidels destroyed. No trace of infidelity was left at the place in Mathura where the infidels used to take bath. He got caravanserais constructed so that people could stay there, and also the shops of various professionals such as the butchers, bawarchis, nanbais and sweetmeatsellers. If a Hindu went there for bathing even by mistake, he was made to lose his limbs and punished severely. No Hindu could get shaved at that place. No barber would go near a Hindu, whatever be the payment offered.’¹³²

Sultan Ghiyasu’d-Din Khalji of Malwa (AD 1469-1500)

Jodhpur (Rajasthan)

‘Once upon a time a temple had been constructed in Jodhpur. The Sultan sent the Qazi of Mandu with orders that he should get the temple demolished. He had said to him, ‘If they do not demolish the temple on instructions from you, you stay there and let me know.’ When the Qazi arrived there, the infidels refused to obey the order of the Sultan and said, ‘Has Ghiyasu’d-Din freed himself from lechery so that he has turned his attention to this side?’ The Qazi informed the king accordingly. He climbed on his mount in Mandu and reached Jodhpur in a single night. He punished the infidels and laid waste the temple.’¹³³

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Tarikh-i-Alfi

It was composed in AD 1585 by Mulla Ahmad ThaTawi and Ãsaf Khan. It covers a period of one thousand years from the death of the Prophet.

Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni (AD 997-1030)

Somnath (Gujarat)

‘Mahmud, as soon as his eyes fell on this idol, lifted up his battle-axe with much anger, and struck it with such force that the idol broke into pieces. The fragments of it were ordered to be taken to Ghaznin, and were cast down at the threshold of the Jami’ Masjid where they are lying to this day.’¹³⁴

(39)
Burhan-i-Ma’sir

The author, Sayyid ‘Ali bin ‘Azizu’llah Tabataba Hasani, served Muhammad Qutb Shah (AD 1580-1627) of Golconda at first and then Sultan Burhan Nizam Shah (AD 1591-1595) of Ahmadnagar. He wrote this history in AD 1592. It deals with the Bahmani Sultans of Gulbarga (AD 1347-1422) and Bidar (AD 1422-1538) and the Nizam Shahi Sultans of Ahmadnagar upto AD 1596.

Sultan ‘Alau’d-Din Hasan Bahman Shah (AD 1347-1358)

Dankuri (Karnataka)

‘The Sultan sent Khwaja-i-Jahan to Gulbarga, Sikandar Khan to Bidar, Qir Khan to Kutar, Safdar Khan to Sakar which is called Sagar, and Husain Garshasp to Kotgir. He appointed other chiefs to invade the kingdom of the infidels. ‘Aitmadul Mulk and Mubarak Khan led raids upon the river Tawi and laid waste the Hindu Kingdom. After having invaded the province of Dankuri and cutting off the head of Manat,¹³⁵ they attacked Janjwal.’¹³⁶

(40)
Tabqat-i-Akhari

The author, Khwajah Nizamu’d-Din Ahmad bin Muhammad Muqim al-Harbi, was a Bakshi in the reign of Akbar, the Mughal emperor (AD 1556-1605). He wrote this history in AD 1592-93 and added to it, later on, events upto 1593-94. He died next year. The history starts with the times of the Ghaznivid Sultans. The work was initially known as Tabqat-i-Akbar Shahi but became known as simply Tabqat-i-Akbari. It is also known as Tarikh-i-Nizami. It is the first Muslim history which confines itself to India and excludes matter relating to other countries.

Amir Subuktigin (AD 977-997)

‘After this with kingly energy and determination, he girded up his loins for a war of religion, and invaded Hindustan, and carried away many prisoners of war and other plunder; and in every country, which he conquered, he founded mosques, and he endeavoured to ruin and desolate the territories of Raja Jaipal who, at that time, was the ruler of Hindustan.’¹³⁷

Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni (AD 997-1030)

Thanesar (Haryana)

‘The Sultan now received information that there was a city in Hindustan called Thanessar, and there was a great temple there in which there was an idol called Jagarsom, whom the people of Hindustan worshipped. He collected a large force with the object of carrying on a religious war, and in the year AH 402 marched towards Thanessar. The son of Jaipal having received intelligence of this, sent an envoy and represented through him, that if the Sultan would relinquish this enterprise, he would send fifty elephants as tribute. The Sultan paid no heed to this offer, and when he reached Thanessar he found the city empty. The soldiers ravaged and plundered whatever they could lay hands upon, broke the idols and carried Jagarsom to Ghaznin. The Sultan ordered that the idol should the placed in front of the place of prayer, so that people would trample upon it.’¹³⁸

Mathura (Uttar Pradesh)

‘From that place [Mahawan] the Sultan advanced to Mathurah, which is a large city containing many temples and the Sultan completely destroyed the city and burnt the temples. There was one golden idol which was broken up under the orders of the Sultan.’¹³⁹

Somnath (Gujarat)

‘Then in accordance with his custom, he advanced with his army towards Hindustan with the object of the conquest of Somnath there were many golden idols in the temple in the city, and the largest of these idols was called Manat 

‘When he reached Somnath, the inhabitants shut the gate on his face. After much fighting and great struggles the fort was taken, and vast multitudes were killed and taken prisoners. The temples were pulled down, and destroyed from their very foundations. The gold idol Somnath was broken into pieces, and one piece was sent to Ghaznin, and was placed at the gate of the Jami’ Masjid; and for years it remained there.’¹⁴⁰

Sultan ‘Abu-Sa’id Mas’ud of Ghazni (AD 1030-1042)

Sonipat (Haryana)

‘He marched with his army to the fort of Sonipat, and the commandant of that fort, Danial Har by name, becoming aware of his approach, fled the army of Islam, having captured that fort, pulled down all the temples and obtained an enormous quantity of booty.’¹⁴¹

Ikhtiyaru’d-Din Muhammad Bakhtiyar Khalji (AD 1202-1206)

Bengal

‘In short, Muhammad Bakhtiyar assumed the canopy, and had prayers read, and coin struck in his own name and founded mosques and Khankahs and colleges, in place of the temples of the heathens.’¹⁴²

Sultan Shamsu’d-Din Iltutmish (AD 1210-1236)

Ujjain (Madhya Pradesh)

‘In the year AH 631, he invaded the country of Malwah and conquered the fort of Bhilsa. He also took the city of Ujjain, and had the temple of Mahakal completely demolished, destroying it from its foundations; and he carried away the effigy of Bikramajit and certain other statues which were fashioned in molten brass, and placed them in the ground in front of the Jami’ Masjid, so that they might he trampled upon by the people.’¹⁴³

Sultan Jalau’d-Din Khalji (AD 1290-1296)

Vidisha (Madhya Pradesh)

‘About the same time Malik Alau’d-Din, the nephew of the Sultan, begged that he might have permission to march against Bhilsah and pillage those tracts. He received the necessary orders, and went and ravaged the country and brought much booty for the Sultan’s service. He also brought two brass idols which had been the object of the worship of the Hindus of these parts; and cast them down in front of the Badaun Gate to be trampled upon by the people.’¹⁴⁴

Sultan ‘Alau’d-Din Khalji (AD 1296-1316)

Somnath (Gujarat)

‘In the third year after the accession, the Sultan sent Ulugh Khan and Nasrat Khan, with large armies to invade Gujarat. They ravaged and plundered Nahrwalah, and all the cities of the province. Ulugh Khan and Nasrat Khan also brought the idol, which the Brahmans of Somnath had set up, and were worshipping, in place of the one which Sultan Mahmud had broken to pieces, to Delhi, and placed it where the people would trample upon it.’¹⁴⁵

M’abar (Tamil Nadu)

‘Again in the year AH 716 Sultan Alauddin sent Malik Naib towards Dhor Samundar (Dvar Samudra) and M’abar they then advanced with their troops to M’abar, and conquered it also, and having demolished the temples there, and broken the golden and jewelled idols, sent the gold into the treasury.’¹⁴⁶

Sultan Firuz Shah Tughlaq (AD 1351-1388)

‘Sultan Firuz Shah composed a book also in which he compiled an account of his reign and which he named Futuhat-i-Firuz Shahi¹⁴⁷

‘He writes in its second chapter  ‘Muslim and infidel women used to visit sepulchres and temples, which led to many evils. I stopped it. I got mosques built in place of temples’.’¹⁴⁸

Sultan Sikandar Lodi (AD 1489-1517)

Mandrail (Madhya Pradesh)

‘After the rainy season was over, he marched in Ramzan AH 910 (AD February-March, 1505) for the conquest of the fort of MunDrail. He stayed for a month near Dholpur and sent out armies with orders that they should lay waste the environs of Gwalior and MunDrail. Thereafter he himself laid siege to the fort of MunDrail. Those inside the fort surrendered the fort to him after signing a treaty. The Sultan got the temples demolished and mosques erected in their stead.’¹⁴⁹

Udit Nagar (Madhya Pradesh)

‘After the rainy season was over, he led an expedition towards the fort of Udit Nagar in AH 912 (AD 1506-07)¹⁵⁰

‘Although those inside the fort tried their utmost to seek a pardon, but he did not listen to them, and the fort was breached at many points and conquered. The Sultan thanked Allah in die wake of his victory. He got the temples demolished and mosques constructed in their stead.’¹⁵¹

Narwar (Madhya Pradesh)

‘After the rainy season was over, he made up his mind to take possession of the fort of Narwar which was in the domain of Malwa. He ordered Jalal Khan Lodi, the governor of Kalpi, to go there and besiege the fort. The Sultan himself reached Narwar after some time. He kept the fort under siege for an year. The soldiers went out to war everyday and got killed 

‘Thereafter the inhabitants of the fort were in plight due to scarcity of water and dearness of grains, and they asked for forgiveness. They went out with their wealth and property. The Sultan laid waste the temples and raised mosques. Men of learning and students were made to reside there and given scholarships and grants. He stayed for six months under the walls of the fort.’¹⁵²

Mathura (Uttar Pradesh)

‘He was a stout partisan of Islam and made great endeavours on this score. He got all temples of the infidels demolished, and did not allow even a trace of them to remain. In Mathura, where the infidels used to get together for bathing, he got constructed caravanserais, markets, mosques and madrasas, and appointed there officers with instructions that they should allow no one to bathe; if any Hindu desired to get his beard or head shaved in the city of Mathura, no barber was prepared to cut his hair.’¹⁵³

Sultan Ibrahim Lodi (AD 1517-1526)

Gwalior (Madhya Pradesh)

‘At the same time the Sultan thought that though ‘Sultan Sikandar had led several expeditions for conquering the fort of Gwalior and the country attached to it but met with no success.’ Consequently he sent ‘Ãzam Humayun, the governor of Kara, with 300,000 horsemen and 300 elephants for the conquest of Gwalior  After some time the royal army laid a mine, filled it with gunpowder, and set fire to it. He entered the fort and took possession of it after the wall of the fort was breached. He saw there a bull made of brass, which the Hindus had worshipped for years. In keeping with a royal order, the bull was brought to Delhi and placed at the Baghdad Gate. It was still there till the reign of Akbar. The writer of this history saw it himself.’¹⁵⁴

Sultan Mahmud bin Ibrahim Sharqi (AD 1440-1457)

Orissa

‘After some time he proceeded to Orissa with the intention of jihad. He attacked places in the neighbourhood of that province and laid them waste, and destroyed the temples after demolishing them.’¹⁵⁵

Sultan Mahmud Khalji of Malwa (AD 1436-1469)

Chittaurgarh (Rajasthan)

‘After he had crossed the river Bhim, he started laying waste the country and capturing its people by sending expeditions towards Chittor everyday. He started constructing mosques after demolishing temples. He stayed 2-3 days at every halt.’¹⁵⁶

Kumbhalgadh (Rajasthan)

‘When he halted near Kumbhalmir which was a very big fort of that province, and well-known for its strength all over Hindustan, Deva the Vakil of the Governor of Kumbha took shelter in the fort and started fighting. It so happened that a magnificent temple had been erected in front of that fort and surrounded by ramparts on all sides. That temple had been filled with weapons of war and other stores. Sultan Mahmud planned to storm the ramparts and captured it [the temple] in a week. A large number of Rajputs were made prisoners and slaughtered. About the edifices of the temple, he ordered that they should be stocked with wood and fired, and water and vinegar was sprinkled on the walls. That magnificent mansion which it had taken many years to raise, was destroyed in a few moments. He got the idols broken and they were handed over to the butchers for being used as weights while selling meat. The biggest idol which had the form of a ram was reduced to powder which was put in betel-leaves to be given to the Rajputs so that they could eat their god.’¹⁵⁷

Mandalgadh (Rajasthan)

‘He started for the conquest of ManDalgaDh on 26 Muharram, AH 861 (AD 24 December, 1456) after making full preparation. Reaching there the Sultan issued orders that ‘trees should be uprooted, houses demolished and no trace should be left of human habitation’. A great victory was achieved on 1 Zilhijja, AH 861 (AD 20 October, 1457). Sultan Mahmud offered thanks to Allah in all humility. Next day, he entered the fort. He got the temples demolished and their materials used in the construction of a Jami’ Masjid. He appointed there a qazi, a mufti, a muhtasib, a khatib and a mu’zzin and established order in that place.’¹⁵⁸

Kelwara and Delwara (Rajasthan)

‘Sultan Mahmud started again in AH 863 (AD 1458-59) for punishing the Rajputs. When he halted at ÃhaD, Prince Ghiyasu’d-Din and Fidan Khan were sent towards Kilwara and Dilwara in order to lay waste those lands. They destroyed those lands and attacked the environs of Kumbhalmir.

‘When they came to the presence of the Sultan and praised the fort of Kumbhalmir, the Sultan started for Kumbhalmir next day and went ahead destroying temples on the way. When he halted near that fort, he mounted his horse and went up a hill which was to the east of the fort in order to survey the city. He said, ‘It is not possible to capture this fort without a siege lasting for several years’.’¹⁵⁹

Sultan Muzaffar Shah I of Gujarat (AD 1392-1410)

Idar (Gujarat)

‘In AH 796 (AD 1393-94), it was reported that Sultan Muhammad bin Firuz Shah had died at Delhi and that the affairs of the kingdom were in disorder so that a majority of zamindars were in revolt, particularly the Raja of Îdar. Zafar Khan collected a large army and mountain-like elephants and proceeded to Îdar in order to punish the Raja. The Raja of Îdar had no time to prepare a defence and shut himself in the fort. The armies of Zafar Khan occupied the Kingdom of Îdar and started plundering and destroying it. They levelled with the ground whatever temple they found. The Raja of Îdar showed extreme humility and pleaded for forgiveness through his representatives. Zafar Khan took a tribute according to his own desire and made up his mind to attack Somnat¹⁶⁰

‘In AH 803 (AD 1399-1400) ‘Ãzam Humayun paid one year’s wages (in advance) to his army and after making great preparations, he attacked the fort of Îdar with a view to conquer it. After the armies of the Sultan had besieged the fort from all sides and the battle continued non-stop for several days the Raja of Îdar evacuated the fort one night and ran away towards Bijanagar. In the morning Zafar Khan entered the fort and, after expressing his gratefulness to Allah, and destroying the temples, he appointed officers in the fort.’¹⁶¹

Somnath (Gujarat)

‘In AH 797 (AD 1394-95) he proceeded for the destruction of the temple of Somnat. On the way he made Rajputs food for his sword and demolished whatever temple he saw at any place. When he arrived at Somnat, he got the temple burnt and the idol of Somnat broken. He made a slaughter of the infidels and laid waste the city. He got a Jami’ Masjid raised there and appointed officers of the Shari’h.’¹⁶²

‘In AH 804 (AD 1401-02) reports were received by Zafar Khan that the infidels and Hindus of Somnat had again started making efforts for promoting the ways of their religion. ‘Ãzam Humayun started for that place and sent an army in advance. When the residents of Somnat learnt this, they advanced along the sea-shore and offered battle. ‘Ãzam Humayun reached that place speedily and he slaughtered that group. Those who survived took shelter in the fort of the port at Dip (Diu). After some time, he conquered that place as well, slaughtered that group also and got their leaders trampled under the feet of elephants. He got the temples demolished and a Jami’ Masjid constructed. Having appointed a qazi, mufti and other guardians of Shari’h he returned to the capital at PaTan.’¹⁶³

Sultan Ahmad Shah I of Gujarat (AD 1411-1443)

Champaner (Gujarat)

‘Sultan Ahmad encamped near Champaner on 7 Rabi-us-Sani, AH 822 (AD 3 May, 1419). He destroyed temples wherever he found them and returned to Ahmadabad.’¹⁶⁴

Mewar (Rajasthan)

‘In Rajab AH 836 (AD February-March, 1433) Sultan Ahmad mounted an expedition for the conquest of MewaR and Nagaur. When he reached the town of Nagaur, he sent out armies for the destruction of towns and villages and levelled with the ground whatever temple was found at whichever place. Having laid waste the land of Kilwara, the Sultan entered the land of Dilwara, and he ruined the lofty palaces of RaNa Mokal and destroyed the temples and idols.’¹⁶⁵

Sultan Qutbu’d-Din Ahmad Shah II of Gujarat (AD 1451-1458)

Kumbhalgadh (Rajasthan)

‘Sultan Qutbu’d-Din felt insulted and he attacked the fort of Kumbhalmir in AH 860 (AD 1455-56). When he reached near Sirohi, the Raja of that place offered battle but was defeated.

‘From that place the Sultan entered the kingdom of RaNa Kumbha and he sent armies in all directions for invading the country and destroying the temples.’¹⁶⁶

Sultan Mahmud BegDha of Gujarat (AD 1458-1511)

Junagadh (Gujarat)

‘In AH 871 (AD 1466-67) he started for the conquest of Karnal [Girnar] which is now known as JunagaDh. It is said that this country had been in the possession of the predecessors of Rai Mandalik for the past two thousand years. Sultan Mahmud relied on the help of Allah and proceeded there; on the way he laid waste the land of SoraTh. From that place the Sultan went towards the temple of those people. Many Rajputs who were known as Parwhan, decided to lay down their lives, and started fighting with swords and spears in (defence) of the temple. Sultan Mahmud postponed the conquest of the fort to the next year and returned to Ahmadabad.’¹⁶⁷

Dwarka (Gujarat)

‘After some time the Sultan started contemplating the conquest of the port of Jagat which is a place of worship for the BrahmaNas. With this resolve he started for the port of Jagat on 16 Zil-Hajja, AH 877 (AD 14 July, 1473). He reached Jagat with great difficulty due to the narrowness of the road and the presence of forests. He destroyed the temple of Jagat.’¹⁶⁸

Sultan Muzaffar Shah II of Gujarat (AD 1511-1526)

Idar (Gujarat)

‘Sultan Muzaffar started for Îdar. When he arrived in the town of Mahrasa, he sent armies for destroying Îdar. The Raja of Îdar evacuated the fort and took refuge in the mountain of Bijanagar. The Sultan, when he reached Îdar, found there ten Rajputs ready to lay down their lives. He heaped barbarities on them and killed them. He did not leave even a trace of palaces, temples, gardens and trees.’¹⁶⁹

Sultan Sikandar Butshikan of Kashmir (AD 1389-1413)

Kashmir

‘On account of his extensive charities, scholars from Iraq, Khorasan and Mawaraun-Nahar started presenting themselves in his court and Islam was spread. He held in great regard Sayyid Muhammad who was a very great scholar of the time, and strived to destroy the idols and temples of the infidels. He got demolished the famous temple of Mahadeva at Bahrare. The temple was dug out from its foundations and the hole (that remained) reached the water level. Another temple at Jagdar was also demolished. Raja Alamadat had got a big temple constructed at Sinpur. He had come to know from astrologers that after 11 hundred years a king by the name of Sikandar would get the temple destroyed and the idol of Utarid, which was in it, broken. He got this [forecast] inscribed on a copper plate which was kept in a box and buried under the temple. The inscription came up when the temple was destroyed [by Sikandar]¹⁷⁰

‘The value of currency had come down, because Sultan Sikandar had got idols of gold, silver and copper broken and turned into coins.’¹⁷¹

Sultan Fath Shah of Kashmir (AD 1489-1499 and 1505-1516)

Kashmir

‘Fath Shah ascended the throne in AH 894 (AD 1488-89). In those days Mir Shams, a disciple of Shah Qasim Anwar, reached Kashmir and people became his devotees. All endowments, imlak, places of worship and temples were entrusted to his disciples. His Sufis used to destroy temples and no one could stop them.’¹⁷²

Jalalu’d-Din Muhammad Akbar Padshah Ghazi (AD 1556-1605)

Nagarkot Kangra (Himachal Pradesh)

‘On the 1st Rajab 990 [AD 1582] he (Husain Quli Khan) encamped by a field of maize near NagarkoT. The fortress (hissar) of Bhim, which is an idol temple of Mahamai, and in which none but her servants dwelt, was taken by the valour of the assailants at the first assault. A party of Rajputs, who had resolved to die, fought most desperately till they were all cut down. A number of Brahmans who for many years had served the temple, never gave one thought to flight, and were killed. Nearly 200 black cows belonging to Hindus had, during the struggle, crowded together for shelter in the temple. Some savage Turks, while the arrows and bullets were falling like rain, killed those cows. They then took off their boots and filled them with the blood and cast it upon the roof and walls of the temple.’¹⁷³

(41)
Muntakhabu’t-Tawarikh

The author, Mulla ‘Abdul Qadir Badauni son of Muluk Shah, was born at Badaun in AD 1540 or 1542. He was a learned man who was introduced to the court of Akbar by Shykh Mubarak, father of Abu’l Fazl and Faizi, two of the favourite courtiers of that king. He was employed by Akbar for translating Sanskrit classics into Persian, a work which he hated. He was a pious Muslim who acquired great aversion for Akbar due to the latter’s liberal policies via-a-vis the Hindus. His history, which is known as Tarikh-i-Badauni also, is the general history of India from the time of the Ghaznivids to the fortieth year of Akbar’s reign.

Sultan Muhmud of Ghazni (AD 997-1030)

Somnath (Gujarat)

’.’Asjadi composed the following qaSida in honour of this expedition:

When the King of kings marched to Somnat,
He made his own deeds the standard of miracles¹⁷⁴

‘Once more he led his army against Somnat, which is a large city on the coast of the ocean, a place of worship of the Brahmans who worship a large idol. There are many golden idols there. Although certain historians have called this idol Manat, and say that it is the identical idol which Arab idolaters brought to the coast of Hindustan in the time of the Lord of the Missive (may the blessings and peace of God be upon him), this story has no foundation because the Brahmans of India firmly believe that this idol has been in that place since the time of Kishan, that is to say four thousand years and a fraction. The reason for this mistake must surely be the resemblance in name, and nothing else. The fort was taken and Mahmud broke the idol in fragments and sent it to Ghaznin, where it was placed at the door of the Jama’ Masjid and trodden under foot.’¹⁷⁵

Thanesar (Haryana)

‘In the year AH 402 (AD 1011) he set out for Thanesar and Jaipal, the son of the former Jaipal, offered him a present of fifty elephants and much treasure. The Sultan, however, was not to be deterred from his purpose; so he refused to accept his present, and seeing Thanesar empty he sacked it and destroyed its idol temples, and took away to Ghaznin, the idol known as Chakarsum on account of which the Hindus had been ruined; and having placed it in his court, caused it to be trampled under foot by the people.’¹⁷⁶

Mathura (Uttar Pradesh)

‘From thence he went to Mathra which is a place of worship of the infidels and the birthplace of Kishan, the son of Basudev, whom the Hindus Worship as a divinity - where there are idol temples without number, and took it without any contest and razed it to the ground. Great wealth and booty fell into the hands of the Muslims, among the rest they broke up by the orders of the Sultan, a golden idol.’¹⁷⁷

Ikhtiyaru’d-Din Muhammad Bakhtiyar Khalji (AD 1202-1206)

Navadvipa (Bengal)

‘In the second year after this arrangement Muhammad Bakhtyar brought an army from Behar towards Lakhnauti and arrived at the town of Nudiya, with a small force; Nudiya is now in ruins. Rai Lakhmia (Lakhminia) the governor of that town fled thence to Kamran, and property and booty beyond computation fell into the hands of the Muslims, and Muhammad Bakhtyar having destroyed the places of worship and idol temples of the infidels founded Mosques and Monasteries and schools and caused a metropolis to be built called by his own name, which now has the name of Gaur.

There where was heard before
The clamour and uproar of the heathen,
Now there is heard resounding
The shout of ‘Allaho Akbar’.’¹⁷⁸

Sultan Shamsu’d-Din Iltutmish (AD 1210~1236)

Ujjain (Madhya Pradesh)

‘And in the year AH 631 (AD 1233) having made an incursion in the direction of the province of Malwah and taken Bhilsa and also captured the city of Ujjain, and having destroyed the idol-temple of Ujjain which had been built six hundred years previously, and was called Mahakal, he levelled it to its foundations, and threw down the image of Rai Vikrmajit from whom the Hindus reckon their era and brought certain other images of cast molten brass and placed them on the ground in front of the door of the mosque of old Dihli and ordered the people to trample them under foot.’¹⁷⁹

Sultan Jalalu’d-Din Khalji (AD 1290-1296)

Ranthambhor (Rajasthan)

‘and in the same year the Sultan for the second time marched against Ranthambhor, and destroyed the country round it, and overthrew the idols and idol-temples, but returned without attempting to reduce the fort.’¹⁸⁰

Sultan ‘Alau’d-Din Khalji (AD 1296-1316)

Patan and Somnath (Gujarat)

‘And in the year AH 698 (AD 1298) he appointed Ulugh Khan to the command of a powerful army, to proceed into the country of Gujarat. Ulugh Khan carried off an idol from Nahrwala and took it to Dihli where he caused it to be trampled under foot by the populace; then he pursued Rai Karan as far as Somnat, and a second time laid waste the idol temple of Somnat, and building a mosque there retraced his steps.’¹⁸¹

Sultan Sikandar Lodi (AD 1489-1517)

Mandrail (Madhya Pradesh)

‘At the time of his return he restored the fort of Dholpur also to Binayik Deo, and having spent the rainy season in Ãgra after the rising of the Canopus in the year AH 910 (AD 1504), marched to reduce the fortress of Mandrayal, which lie took without fighting from the Rajah of Mandrayal, who sued for peace; he also destroyed all the idol-temples and churches of the place.’¹⁸²

Udit Nagar (Madhya Pradesh)

‘And in the year AH 912 (AD 1506), after the rising of the Canopus, he marched against the fortress of ÛntgaRh and laid siege to it, and many of his men joyfully embraced martyrdom, after that he took the fort and gave the infidels as food to the sword. He then cast down the idol-temples, and built there lofty mosques.’¹⁸³

Sultan Ibrahim Lodi (AD 1517-1526)

Gwalior (Madhya Pradesh)

‘The fortress of Badalgarh, which lies below the fortress of Gwaliar, a very lofty structure, was taken from Rai Man Singh and fell into the hands of the Muslims, and a brazen animal which was worshipped by the Hindus also fell into their hands, and was sent by them to Ãgra, whence it was sent by Sultan Ibrahim to Dihli, and was put over the city gate. The image was removed to Fathpur in the year AH 992 (AD 1584), ten years before the composition of this history, where it was seen by the author of this work. It was converted into gongs, and bells, and implements of all kinds.’¹⁸⁴

Jalalu’d-Din Muhammad Akbar Padshah Ghazi (AD 1556-1605)

Siwalik (Uttar Pradesh)

‘In this year on the dismissal of Husain Khan the Emperor gave the pargana of Lak’hnou as jagir to Mahdi Qasim Khan. Husain Khan was exceedingly indignant with Mahdi Qasim Khan on account of this. After a time he left her in helplessness, and the daughter of Mahdi Qasim Beg at Khairabad with her brothers, and set off from Lak’hnou with the intention of carrying on a religious war, and of breaking the idols and destroying the idol-temples. He had heard that the bricks of these were of silver and gold, and conceiving a desire for this and all the other abundant and unlimited treasures, of which he had heard a lying report, he set out by way of Oudh to the Siwalik mountains.’¹⁸⁵

Nagarkot Kangra (Himachal Pradesh)

‘The temple of Nagarkot, which is outside the city, was taken at the very outset. On this occasion many mountaineers became food for the flashing sword. And that golden umbrella, which was erected on the top of the cupola of the temple, they riddled with arrows. And black cows, to the number of 200, to which they pay boundless respect, and actually worship, and present to the temple, which they look upon as an asylum, and let loose there, were killed by the Musulmans. And, while arrows and bullets were continually falling like drops of rain, through their zeal and excessive hatred of idolatry they filled their shoes full of blood and threw it on the doors and walls of the temple the army of Husain Quli Khan was suffering great hardships. For these reasons he concluded a treaty with them and having put all things straight he built the cupola of a lofty mosque over the gateway of Rajah Jai Chand.’¹⁸⁶

Sultan Sulaiman Karrani of Bengal (AD 1563-1573)

Puri (Orissa)

‘In this year also Sulaiman Kirrani, ruler of Bengal, who gave himself the tide of Hazrati Ã’la, and had conquered die city of Katak-u-Banaras, that mine of heathenism, and having made the stronghold of Jagannath into the home of Islam, held sway from Kamru to Orissa, attained the mercy of God.’¹⁸⁷

(42)
Shash Fath-i-Kañgra

The author is unknown. It is supposed to have been written in the reign of Jahangir.

Nuru’d-Din Muhammad Jahangir Padshah Ghazi (AD 1605-1628)

Nagarkot Kangra (Himachal Pradesh)

‘The Emperor by the divine guidance, had always in view to extirpate all the rebels in his dominions, to destroy all infidels root and branch, and to raze all Pagan temples level to the ground. Endowed with a heavenly power, he devoted all his exertions to the promulgation of the Muhammadan religion; and through the aid of the Almighty God, and by the strength of his sword, he used all his endeavours to enlarge his dominions and promote the religion of Muhammad.’¹⁸⁸

(43)
Tarikh-i-Da’udi

The author, ‘Abdu’llah, says nothing about himself and does not give even his full name. As he mentions the name of Jahangir, it can be assumed that he wrote it at some time after AD 1605. He starts with the reign of Sultan Bahlul Lodi (AD 1451-1489) and ends with the reign of Da’ud Shah who was beheaded in AD 1575 by the order of Bairam Khan.

Sultan Sikandar Lodi (AD 1489-1517)

Kurukshetra (Haryana)

‘It is also related of this prince, that before his accession, when a crowd of Hindus had assembled in immense numbers at Kurkhet, he wished to go to Thanesar for the purpose of putting them all to death.’¹⁸⁹

Mathura (Uttar Pradesh)

‘He was so zealous a Musalman that he utterly destroyed divers places of worship of the infidels, and left not a vestige remaining of them. He entirely ruined the shrines of Mathura, the mine of heathenism, and turned other principal Hindu places of worship into caravansarais and colleges. Their stone images were given to the butchers to serve them as meat-weight, and all the Hindus in Mathura were strictly prohibited from shaving their heads and beards, and performing their ablutions.’¹⁹⁰

Dholpur (Madhya Pradesh)

‘In that year the Sultan sent Khawas Khan to take possession of the fort of Dhulpur. The Raja of that place advanced to give battle, and daily fighting took place. The instant His Majesty heard of the firm countenance shown by the rai of Dhulpur in opposing the royal army, he went there in person; but on his arrival near Dhulpur, the rai made up his mind to fly without fighting. He (Sikandar) offered up suitable thanksgivings for his success, and the royal troops spoiled and plundered in all directions, rooting up all the trees of the gardens which shaded Dhulpur to the distance of seven kos. Sultan Sikandar stayed there during one month, erected a mosque on the site of an idol-temple, and then set off towards Ãgra.’¹⁹¹

Gwalior (Madhya Pradesh)

‘Sultan Sikandar passed the rainy season of that year at Ãgra. After the rising of the star Canopus, he assembled an army, and set forth to take possession of Gwalior and territories belonging to it. In a short space of time he took most of the Gwalior district, and after building mosques in the places of idol-temples returned towards Ãgra.’¹⁹²

Narwar (Madhya Pradesh)

‘Sultan Sikandar, after the lapse of two years, in AH 913 (AD 1507) wrote a farman to Jalal Khan, the governor of Kalpi, directing him to take possession of the fort of Narwar. Jalal Khan Lodi, by the Sultan’s command, besieged Narwar, where Sultan Sikandar also joined him with great expedition. The siege of the fort was protracted for one year. Men were slain on both sides. After the time above mentioned, the defenders of the place were compelled, by the want of water and scarcity of grain, to ask for mercy, and they were allowed to go forth with their property; but the Sultan destroyed their idol-temples, and erected mosques on their sites. He then appointed stipends and pensions for the learned and the pious who dwelt at Narwar, and gave them dwellings there. He remained six months encamped below the fort.’¹⁹³

Sher Shah Sur (AD 1538-1545)

Jodhpur (Rajasthan)

‘His attack on Maldev, Raja of Jodhpur, (was due) partly to his religious bigotry and a desire to convert the temples of the Hindus into mosques.’¹⁹⁴

(44)
Zafaru’l-Walih Bi Muzaffar Wa Ãlihi

The author, ‘Abdu’llah Muhammad bin ‘Umar al-Maqqi al-Asafi Ulugh-Khani, is popular as Hajjiu’d-Dabir. He arrived in India with his father in AD 1555. After 1573 he started living in Ahmadabad where Akbar had put his father in charge of many endowments, die income from which was sent to Mecca and Medina. After the death of his father he entered the service of another Amir, and finally went to Khandesh in 1595. He finished his history in 1605 but took some more years to revise it. The English translation we have is pretty bad.

Sultan Shamsu’d-Din Iltutmish (AD 1210-1236)

Vidisha (Madhya Pradesh)

‘In 631 (1233), Shamsuddin marched to Malwa and conquered the city of Bailsan and its fort and demolished its famous temple. The historians have narrated that its citizens built the temple by digging its foundation and raising its walls one hundred cubits from the ground in 300 years. All the images are fixed with lead. The temple is called Gawajit (?) (Vikramajit) Sultan of Ujjain Nagari. The history of the temple is a proof of what is said about its construction and demolition, that is, eleven hundred years. People of Hind are ignorant of history.’¹⁹⁵

Sultan Jalalu’d-Din Khalji (AD 1290-1296)

Jhain (Rajasthan)

‘He marched from it to Ranthanbhor. He first encamped at Jhayan and conquered it. He demolished temples and broke idols. He killed, captured and pillaged.’¹⁹⁶

Vidisha (Madhya Pradesh)

‘He permitted ‘Alauddin for a religious war in Bhilastan. Jalaluddin had marched to Mandu. ‘Alauddin influenced his uncle by the booty of the religious war. It was immense. It contained a Nandi idol carved in yellow metal and equal in weight to an animal. Jalaluddin ordered it to be placed at the entrance to the Gate of Delhi famous as Badaun Gate. He was pleased with ‘Alauddin and put the ‘Diwan-ul-‘Ard’ under his charge and added Oudh to Kara.’¹⁹⁷

Sultan ‘Alau’d-Din Khalji (AD 1296-1316)

Devagiri (Maharashtra)

‘He routed Ramdev everywhere except the fort. The fort contained temples of gold and silver and images of the same metals. Besides, there were jewels of different varieties. He ordered them to be destroyed and collected its gold. Ruler of the fort was surprised at this action and his mind got confused. He sent an envoy for conclusion of peace on condition of sparing the temples from destruction which was agreed to.’¹⁹⁸

Somnath (Gujarat)

‘MaHmud demolished Somnath in the year 416 (1122) and carried its relics to Ghazni. After his death, unbelief returned to Naharwala as its residents took an idol and buried it on a side. There was publicity of return of Somnath. They took it out from its burial place. It was exhibited and fixed at a place where it was. Malek Ulugh Khan took it along with all the spoils to Delhi. They made it the threshold at its gate. This victory took place on Wednesday, 20th Jamadi I, 698 (1299)¹⁹⁹

‘It was kept by a Brahmin after being mutilated by MaHamud. It was Lamnat. They named it Somnath. They worshipped it out of misguidance from ancient times. They carried it to Delhi. It was placed at the entrance of the gate.’²⁰⁰

Ma’bar (Tamil Nadu)

‘In 710 (1310) Kafur conquered the region of Ma’bar (Malabar) and Dahur Samand. Both these regions belonged to Bir Rai. He marched further to Sarandip (Ceylon) and Kafur broke the famous idol of Ram Ling Mahadev. It was wonderful that the swordsmen deserted the temple. The Brahmins assembled to fight with him at the time of his breaking the idol till they collected all broken parts and got displeased with swordsmen. Kafur marched further to Sira and demolished the temple of Jagannath²⁰¹

‘Kafur always gained one victory after another until he dominated over Jagannath and consigned it to fire. He returned from it on 5th Zilhajj of the year 710 (1310) and arrived at Delhi on 4th Jamadi II of the year 711 (1311). It was a day worth witnessing. No one had undertaken such campaigns before him and there would be none after him. A good omen was drawn from his arrival with that booty for his sultan and for general Muslim public. They believed that all these victories were facilitated by the blessings of Quth-uz-Zaman, Qiblat-ul-Asfiya Mawlana Shaikh Nizamuddin Awliya and Qutb-uz-Zaman, Madar ul-Jamkin Mawalana Shaikh Nasiruddin and similarly the two Qutbs of people of the world and faith Mawlana Shaikh Ruknuddin and Mawlana Shaikh ‘Alauddin, may God benefit us through them. During their life time, whatever they desired from their Lord, became the sunna (rule and regulation of the Prophet, may peace and benediction of God be on him). Every member of the house of the ‘Alaiya Sultan was a disciple and spiritual follower of Mawalana Shaikh Nizamuddin Awliya including the wazirs and amirs and persons of rank. His blessings were upon them all.’²⁰²

Sultan Mahmud BegDha of Gujarat (AD 1485-1511)

Junagadh (Gujarat)

‘In AH 871 (AD 1466-67) the Sultan led an expedition to Karnal [Girnar]. He spread the story that he was out for hunting. Thereafter he suddenly attacked and his army also arrived. He took possession of those treasuries which were beyond estimation. Many people living in those valleys lost their lives. They had a famous idol there. When Mahmud decided to break it, many members of the Barawan clan gathered round it. All of them were slaughtered and the idol was broken.’²⁰³

Dwarka (Gujarat)

‘In the same year of AH 877 (AD 1472-73) the Sultan made up his mind to destroy Jagat. Jagat is a very famous abode of infidelity and idolatry. Its idol is regarded as higher than all other idols in India and it is because of this idol that the place is called Dwarka. It is a very big nest of BrahmaNas too. The idolaters come here from far off places and the great hardships they undergo in order to reach here is regarded by them as earnest worship. There is a fort nearby known as Bait²⁰⁴

‘The Sultan mounted (his horse) in the morning. The people of Jagat also got this information. They shut themselves in the fort along with Rai Bhim. After a few days the Sultan entered Jagat and got its idols broken. He got its canopies pulled down and established the way of Islam there.’²⁰⁵

(45)
Zubdatu’t-Tawarikh

The author, Shaykh Naru’l-Haqq al-Mashriqi al-Dihlivi al-Bukhari, was the son of ‘Abdul Haqq who wrote Tarikh-i Haqqi in AD 1596-97. Nuru’l-Haqq’s history is an enlarged edition of his father’s work. The history commences with the reign of Qutbu’d-Din Aibak and ends with the close of Akbar’s reign in AD 1605.

Sultan Sikandar Lodi (AD 1489-1517)

‘In his time Hindu temples were razed to the ground, and neither name nor vestige of them was allowed to remain.’²⁰⁶

Jalalu’d-Din Muhammad Akbar Padshah Ghazi (AD 1556-1605)

Mewar (Rajasthan)

‘When Mewar was invaded [AD 1600] many temples were demolished by the invading Mughal army [led by Prince Salim].’²⁰⁷

(46)
Tarikh-i-Firishta

The author, Muhammad Qasim Hindu Shah Firishta, was born in Astrabad on the Caspian Sea and came to Bijapur in AD 1589. He lived under the patronage of Sultan Ibrahim ‘Ãdil Shah II of Bijapur where he died in 1611. He claims to have consulted most of the earlier histories in writing his Gulshan-i-Ibrahimi which became known as Tarikh-i-Firishta. He completed it in 1609. It contains sections on the independent sultanates of the Deccan, Gujarat, Malwa, Khandesh, Bengal, Multan, Sindh and Kashmir besides narrating the history of the kings of Ghazni, Lahore, Delhi and Agra. This is the most widely read Persian history at present.

Amir Subuktigin of Ghazni (AD 977-997)

NWFP and Punjab

‘Even during the fifteen years of Alptigin’s reign Subuktigin is represented by Firishta in an untranslated passage to have made frequent attacks upon India, and even to have penetrated as far as Sodra on the Chinab, where he demolished idols in celebration of Mahmud’s birth, which, as it occurred on the date of the prophet’s birth, Subuktigin was anxious that it should be illustrated by an event similar to the destruction of idols in the palace of the Persian king by an earthquake, on the day of the prophet’s birth.’²⁰⁸

Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni (AD 997-1030)

Nagarkot Kangra (Himachal Pradesh)

‘The king, in his zeal to propagate the faith, now marched against the Hindoos of Nagrakote, breaking down their idols and razing their temples. The fort, at that time denominated the Fort of Bheem, was closely invested by the Mahomedans, who had first laid waste the country around it with fire and sword.’²⁰⁹

Thanesar (Haryana)

‘In the year AH 402 (AD 1011), Mahmood resolved on the conquest of Tahnesur, in the kingdom of Hindoostan. It had reached the ears of the king that Tahnesur was held in the same veneration by idolaters, as Mecca by the faithful; that they had there set up a number of idols, the principal of which they called Jugsom, pretending that it had existed ever since the creation. Mahmood having reached Punjab, required, according to the subsisting treaty with Anundpal, that his army should not be molested on its march through his country.’²¹⁰

‘The Raja’s brother, with two thousand horse was also sent to meet the army, and to deliver the following message:- ‘My brother is the subject and tributary of the King, but he begs permission to acquaint his Majesty, that Tahnesur is the principal place of worship of the inhabitants of the country: that if it is required by the religion of Mahmood to subvert the religion of others, he has already acquitted himself of that duty, in the destruction of the temple of Nagrakote. But if he should be pleased to alter his resolution regarding Tahnesur, Anundpal promises that the amount of the revenues of that country shall be annually paid to Mahmood; that a sum shall also be paid to reimburse him for the expense of his expedition, besides which, on his own part he will present him with fifty elephants, and jewels to a considerable amount.’ Mahmood replied, ‘The religion of the faithful inculcates the following tenet: That in proportion as the tenets of the prophet are diffused, and his followers exert themselves in the subversion of idolatry, so shall be their reward in heaven; that, therefore, it behoved him, with the assistance of God, to root out the worship of idols from the face of all India. How then should he spare Tahnesur?’

‘This answer was communicated to the Raja of Dehly, who, resolving to oppose the invaders, sent messengers throughout Hindoostan to acquaint the other rajas that Mahmood, without provocation, was marching with a vast army to destroy Tahnesur, now under his immediate protection. He observed, that if a barrier was not expeditiously raised against this roaring torrent, the country of Hindoostan would be soon overwhelmed, and that it behoved them to unite their forces at Tahnesur, to avert the impending calamity.

‘Mahmood having reached Tahnesur before the Hindoos had time to take measures for its defence, the city was plundered, the idols broken, and the idol Jugsom was sent to Ghizny to be trodden under foot.’²¹¹

Mathura (Uttar Pradesh)

‘Mahmood having refreshed his troops, and understanding that at some distance stood the rich city of Mutra, consecrated to Krishn-Vasdew, whom the Hindoos venerate as an emanation of God, directed his march thither and entering it with little opposition from the troops of the Raja of Delhy, to whom it belonged, gave it up to plunder. He broke down or burned all the idols, and amassed a vast quantity of gold and silver, of which the idols were mostly composed. He would have destroyed the temples also, but he found the labour would have been excessive; while some say that he was averted from his purpose by their admirable beauty. He certainly extravagantly extolled the magnificence of the buildings and city in a letter to the governor of Ghizny, in which the following passage occurs: ‘There are here a thousand edifices as firm as the faith of the faithful; most of them of marble, besides innumerable temples; nor is it likely that this city has attained its present condition but at the expense of many millions of deenars, nor could such another be constructed under a period of two centuries.’²¹²

‘The King tarried in Mutra 20 days; in which time the city suffered greatly from fire, beside the damage it sustained by being pillaged. At length he continued his march along the course of a stream on whose banks were seven strong fortifications, all of which fell in succession: there were also discovered some very ancient temples, which, according to the Hindoos, had existed for 4000 years. Having sacked these temples and forts, the troops were led against the fort of Munj²¹³

‘The King, on his return, ordered a magnificent mosque to be built of marble and granite, of such beauty as struck every beholder with astonishment, and furnished it with rich carpets, and with candelabras and other ornaments of silver and gold. This mosque was universally known by the name of the Celestial Bride. In its neighbourhood the King founded an university, supplied with a vast collection of curious books in various languages. It contained also a museum of natural curiosities. For the maintenance of this establishment he appropriated a large sum of money, besides a sufficient fund for the maintenance of the students, and proper persons to instruct youth in the arts and sciences²¹⁴

‘The King, in the year AH 410 (AD 1019), caused an account of his exploits to be written and sent to the Caliph, who ordered it to be read to the people of Bagdad, making a great festival upon the occasion, expressive of his joy at the propagation of the faith.’²¹⁵

East of the Jumna (Uttar Pradesh)

‘In this year, that is AH 412, Sultan Mahmud learnt that the people of Hindustan had turned against the Raja of Qanauj. Nanda, the Raja of Kalinjar attacked Qanauj because Raja Kuwar (of Qanauj) had surrendered to Sultan Mahmud. As a result of this attack Raja Kuwar was killed. When Sultan Mahmud learnt it, he collected a large army and started towards Hindustan with a view to take revenge upon Raja Nanda. As the army of Musalmans reached the Jumna, the son of Raja Ãnand Pal stood in the way of Mahmud. The river of Jumna was in spate at this time and it became very difficult for the army to get across. But as chance would have it, eight royal guards of Mahmud showed courage and crossed the river they attacked the army of the Hindus and dispersed it the son of Ãnand Pal ran away with his chiefs. All the eight royal guards entered a city nearby and they plundered it to their heart’s content. They demolished the temples in that place.’²¹⁶

Nardin (Punjab)

‘About this time the King learned that the inhabitants of two hilly tracts, denominated Kuriat and Nardein, continued the worship of idols and had not embraced the faith of Islam. Mahmood resolved to carry the war against these infidels, and accordingly marched towards their country. The Ghiznevide general, Ameer Ally, the son of Arslan Jazib, was now sent with a division of the army to reduce Nardein, which he accomplished, pillaging the country, and carrying away many of the people captives. In Nardein was a temple, which Ameer Ally destroyed, bringing from thence a stone on which were curious inscriptions, and which according to the Hindoos, must have been 40,000 years old.’²¹⁷

Somnath (Gujarat)

‘The celebrated temple of Somnat, situated in the province of Guzerat, near the island of Dew, was in those times said to abound in riches, and was greatly frequented by devotees from all parts of Hindoostan. Mahmood marched from Ghizny in the month of Shaban AH 415 (AD Sept. 1024), with his army, accompanied by 30,000 of the youths of Toorkistan and the neighbouring countries, who followed him without pay, for the purpose of attacking this temple²¹⁸

‘Some historians affirm that the idol was brought from Mecca, where it stood before the time of the Prophet, but the Brahmins deny it, and say that it stood near the harbour of Dew since the time of Krishn, who was concealed in that place about 4000 years ago. Mahmood, taking the same precautions as before, by rapid marches reached Somnat without opposition. Here he saw a fortification on a narrow peninsula, washed on three sides by the sea, on the battlements of which appeared a vast host of people in arms. In the morning the Mahomedan troops advancing to the walls, began the assault.’²¹⁹

‘The battle raged with great fury: victory was long doubtful, till two Indian princes, Brahman Dew and Dabishleem, with other reinforcements, joined their countrymen during the action, and inspired them with fresh courage. Mahmood at this moment perceiving his troops to waver, leaped from his horse, and, prostrating himself before God implored his assistance. At the same time he cheered his troops with such energy, that, ashamed to abandon their king, with whom they had so often fought and bled, they, with one accord, gave a loud shout and rushed forwards. In this charge the Moslems broke through the enemy’s line, and laid 5,000220 Hindus dead at their feet. On approaching the temple, he saw a superb edifice built of hewn stone. Its lofty roof was supported by fifty-six pillars curiously carved and set with precious stones. In the centre of the hall was Somnat, a stone idol five yards in height, two of which were sunk in the ground. The King, approaching the image, raised his mace and struck off its nose. He ordered two pieces of the idol to be broken off and sent to Ghizny, that one might be thrown at the threshold of the public mosque, and the other at the court door of his own palace. These identical fragments are to this day (now 600 years ago) to be seen at Ghizny. Two more fragments were reserved to be sent to Mecca and Medina. It is a well authenticated fact, that when Mahmood was thus employed in destroying this idol, a crowd of Brahmins petitioned his attendants and offered a quantity of gold if the King would desist from further mutilation. His officers endeavoured to persuade him to accept of the money; for they said that breaking one idol would not do away with idolatry altogether; that, therefore, it could serve no purpose to destroy the image entirely; but that such a sum of money given in charity among true believers would be a meritorious act. The King acknowledged that there might be reason in what they said, but replied, that if he should consent to such a measure, his name would be handed down to posterity as ‘Mahmood the idol-seller’, whereas he was desirous of being known as ‘Mahmood the destroyer’: he therefore directed the troops to proceed in their work²²¹

‘The Caliph of Bagdad, being informed of the expedition of the King of Ghizny, wrote him a congratulatory letter, in which he styled him ‘The Guardian of the State, and of the Faith’; to his son, the Prince Ameer Musaood, he gave the title of ‘The Lustre of Empire, and the Ornament of Religion’; and to his second son, the Ameer Yoosoof, the appellation of ‘The Strength of the Arm of Fortune, and Establisher of Empires.’ He at the same time assured Mahmood, that to whomsoever he should bequeath the throne at his death, he himself would confirm and support the same.’²²²

Sultan Mas’ud I of Ghazni (1030~1042)

Sonipat (Haryana)

‘In the year AH 427 (AD 1036) he himself marched with an army to India, to reduce the fort of Hansy. Herein he found immense treasure, and having put the fort under the charge of a trusty officer, he marched towards the fort of Sonput. Depal Hurry, the governor of Sonput, abandoned the place, and fled into the woods; but having no time to carry off his treasure, it fell into the conqueror’s hands. Musaood having ordered all the temples to be razed to the ground, and the idols to be broken proceeded in pursuit of Depal Hurry.’²²³

Sultan Mas’ud III of Ghazni (AD 1099-1151)

Uttar Pradesh

‘In his reign Hajib Toghantugeen, an officer of his government, proceeded in command of an army towards Hindoostan, and being appointed governor of Lahore, crossed the Ganges, and carried his conquests farther than any Mussulman had hitherto done, except the Emperor Mahmood. Like him he plundered many rich cities and temples of their wealth, and returned in triumph to Lahore, which now became in some measure the capital of the empire, for the Suljooks having deprived the house of Ghizny of most of its territory both in Eeran and Tooran, the royal family went to reside in India.’²²⁴

Sultan Muhammad Ghuri (AD 1175-1216)

Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh)

‘Mahomed Ghoory, in the mean time returning from Ghizny, marched towards Kunowj, and engaged Jye-chund Ray, the Prince of Kunowj and Benares. This prince led his forces into the field, between Chundwar and Etawa, where he sustained a signal defeat from the vanguard of the Ghiznevide army, led by Kootbood-Deen Eibuk, and lost the whole of his baggage and elephants. He marched from thence to Benares, where, having broken the idols in above 1000 temples, he purified and consecrated the latter to the worship of the true God.’²²⁵

Bihar

‘Mahomed Ghoory, following with the body of the army into the city of Benares, took possession of the country as far as the boundaries of Bengal, without opposition, and having destroyed all the idols, loaded four thousand camels with spoils.’²²⁶

Sultan Shamsu’d-Din Iltutmish (AD 1210-1236)

Ujjain (Madhya Pradesh)

‘After the reduction of Gualiar, the King marched his army towards Malwa, reduced the fort of Bhilsa, and took the city of Oojein, where he destroyed a magnificent temple dedicated to Mahakaly, formed upon the same plan with that of Somnat. This temple is said to have occupied three hundred years in building, and was surrounded by a wall one hundred cubits in height. The image of Vikramaditya, who had been formerly prince of this country, and so renowned, that the Hindoos have taken an era from his death, as also the image of Mahakaly, both of stone, with many other figures of brass, were found in the temple. These images the King caused to be conveyed to Dehly, and broken at the door of the great mosque.’²²⁷

Sultan Jalalu’d-Din Khalji (AD 1290-1296)

Malwa (Madhya Pradesh)

‘The King, after the decease of his son, marched his army towards Runtunbhore, to quell an insurrection in those parts, leaving his son Arkully Khan in Dehly, to manage affairs in his absence. The enemy retired into the fort of Runtunbhore, and the King reconnoitred the place, but, despairing of reducing it, marched towards Oojein, which he sacked. At the same time also, he broke down many of the temples of Malwa, and after plundering them of much wealth, returned to Runtunbhore.’²²⁸

Vidisha (Madhya Pradesh)

‘In the year AH 692 (AD 1293), the King marched against the Hindoos in the neighbourhood of Mando, and having devastated the country in that vicinity, returned to Dehly. In the mean time, Mullik Allood-Deen, the King’s nephew, governor of Kurra, requested permission to attack the Hindoos of Bhilsa, who infested his province. Having obtained leave, he marched in the same year to that place, which he subdued; and having pillaged the country, returned with much spoil, part of which was sent to the King. Among other things, there were two brazen idols which were thrown down before the Budaoon gate of Dehly, to be trodden under foot.

‘Julal-ood-Deen Feroze was much pleased with the success and conduct of his nephew on this expedition, for which he rewarded him with princely presents, and annexed the province of Oude to his former government of Kurra.’²²⁹

Sultan ‘Alau’d-Din Khalji (AD 1296-1316)

Gujarat

‘In the beginning of AH 697 ‘Alau’d-Din sent Almas Beg and Nasrat Khan along with other chiefs of Dehli and the army of Sindh, for the conquest of Gujarat. Gujarat had a very famous idol which was not only of the same name as Somnat but was also equally prestigious. The Musalmans got hold of this idol and had it sent to Dehli so that it could be trampled upon.’²³⁰

Dwarasamudra (Karnataka)

In the year AH 710 (AD 1310), the King again sent Mullik Kafoor and Khwaja Hajy with a great army, to reduce Dwara Sumoodra and Maabir in the Deccan, where he heard there were temples very rich in gold and jewels. They found in the temple prodigious spoils, such as idols of gold, adorned with precious stones, and other rich effects, consecrated to Hindoo worship. On the sea-coast the conqueror built a small mosque, and ordered prayers to be read according to the Mahomedan faith, and the Khootba to be pronounced in the name of Allaood-Deen Khiljy. This mosque remains entire in our days at Sett Bund Rameswur, for the infidels, esteeming it a house consecrated to God, would not destroy it.’²³¹

Sultan Firuz Shah Tughlaq (AD 1351-1388)

Nagarkot Kangra (Himachal Pradesh)

‘From thence the King marched towards the mountains of Nagrakote, where he was overtaken by a storm of hail and snow. The Raja of Nagrakote, after sustaining some loss, submitted, but was restored to his dominions. The name of Nagrakote was, on this occasion, changed to that of Mahomedabad, in honour of the late king. Some historians state, that Feroze, on this occasion, broke the idols of Nagrakote, and mixing the fragments with pieces of cow’s flesh, filled bags with them, and caused them to be tied round the necks of Bramins, who were then paraded through the camp. It is said, also, that he sent the image of Nowshaba to Mecca, to be thrown on the road, that it might be trodden under foot by the pilgrims, and that he also remitted the sum of 100,000 tunkas, to be distributed among the devotees and servants of the temple.’²³²

Sultan Sikandar Lodi (AD 1489-1517)

Mandrail (Madhya Pradesh)

‘Sikundur Lody, having returned to Dholpoor, reinstated the Raja Vinaik Dew, and then marching to Agra, he resolved to make that city his capital. He stayed in Agra during the rains, but in the year AH 910 (AD 1504), marched towards Mundril. Having taken that place, he destroyed the Hindoo temples, and caused mosques to be built in their stead.’²³³

Udit Nagar (Madhya Pradesh)

‘Having returned to Agra, the King proceeded in the year AH 912 (AD 1506) towards the fort of Hunwuntgur, despairing of reducing Gualiar. Hunwuntgur fell in a short time, and the Rajpoot garrison was put to the sword, the temples were destroyed, and mosques ordered to be built in their stead.’²³⁴

Narwar (Madhya Pradesh)

‘In the following year (AH 913, AD 1506), the king marched against Nurwur, a strong fort in the district of Malwa, then in possession of the Hindoos. The Prince Julal Khan governor of Kalpy, was directed to advance and invest the place; and should the Hindoos resist, he was required to inform the King. The King remained for the space of six months at Nurwur, breaking down temples, and building mosques. He also established a college there, and placed therein many holy and learned men.’²³⁵

Mathura (Uttar Pradesh)

‘He was firmly attached to the Mahomedan religion, and made a point of destroying all Hindoo temples. In the city of Mutra he caused musjids and bazars to be built opposite the bathing-stairs leading to the river and ordered that no Hindoos should be allowed to bathe there. He forbade the barbers to shave the beards and beads of the inhabitants, in order to prevent the Hindoos following their usual practices at such pilgrimages.’²³⁶

Sultan Ibrahim Lodi (AD 1517-1526)

Gwalior (Madhya Pradesh)

‘The Dehly army, arriving before Gualiar, invested the place. After the siege had been carried on for some months, the army of Ibrahim Lody at length got possession of an outwork at the foot of the hill, on which stood the fort of Badilgur. They found in that place a brazen bull, which had been for a long time an object of worship, and sent it to Agra, from whence it was afterwards conveyed to Dehly, and thrown down before the Bagdad gate (AH 924, AD 1518).’²³⁷

Sultan Alau’d-Din Mujahid Shah Bahmani (AD 1375-1378)

Vijayanagar (Karnataka)

‘Mujahid Shah, on this occasion, repaired mosques which had been built by the officers of Alla-ood-Deen Khiljy. He broke down many temples of the idolaters, and laid waste the country; after which he hastened to Beejanuggur. The King drove them before him, and gained the bank of a piece of water, which alone divided him from the citadel, where in the Ray resided. Near this spot was an eminence, on which stood a temple, covered with plates of gold and silver, set with jewels: it was much venerated by the Hindoos, and called, in the language of the country, Puttuk. The King, considering its destruction a religious obligation ascended the hill, and having razed the edifice, became possessed of the precious metals and jewels therein.’²³⁸

Sultan Ahmad Shah I Wali Bahmani (AD 1422-1435)

Vijayanagar (Karnataka)

‘Ahmud Shah, without waiting to besiege the Hindoo capital, overran the open country; and wherever he went put to death men, women, and children, without mercy, contrary to the compact made between his uncle and predecessor, Mahomed Shah, and the Rays of Beejanuggur. Whenever the number of slain amounted to twenty thousand, he halted three days, and made a festival celebration of the bloody event. He broke down, also, the idolatrous temples, and destroyed the colleges of the bramins. During these operations, a body of five thousand Hindoos, urged by desperation at the destruction of their religious buildings, and at the insults offered to their deities, united in taking an oath to sacrifice their lives in an attempt to kill the King, as the author of all their sufferings.’²³⁹

Kullum (Maharashtra)

‘In the year AH 829 (AD 1425), Ahmud Shah marched to reduce a rebellious zemindar of Mahoor. During this campaign, the King obtained possession of a diamond mine at Kullum, a place dependent on Gondwana, in which territory he razed many idolatrous temples, and erecting mosques on their sites, appropriated to each some tracts of land to maintain holy men, and to supply lamps and oil for religious purposes.’²⁴⁰

Sultan ‘Alau’d-Din Ahmad Shah II Bahmani (AD 1436-1458)

‘He was averse from shedding human blood, though he destroyed many idolatrous temples, and erected mosques in their stead. He held conversation neither with Nazarenes nor with bramins; nor would he permit them to hold civil offices under his government.’²⁴¹

Sultan Muhammad Shah II Bahmani (AD 1463-1482)

Kondapalli (Andhra Pradesh)

‘Mahomed Shah now sat down before Condapilly and Bhim Raj, after six months, being much distressed, sued for pardon; which being granted, at the intercession of some of the nobility, he surrendered the fort and town to the royal troops. The King having gone to view the fort, broke down an idolatrous temple, and killed some bramins, who officiated at it, with his own hands, as a point of religion. He then gave orders for a mosque to be erected on the foundation of the temple, and ascending a pulpit, repeated a few prayers, distributed alms, and commanded the Khootba to be read in his name. Khwaja Mahmood Gawan now represented, that as his Majesty had slain some infidels with his own hands, he might fairly assume the title of Ghazy, an appellation of which he was very proud. Mahmood Shah was the first of his race who had slain a bramin.’²⁴²

Kanchipuram (Tamil Nadu)

‘On his arrival at Condapilly, he was informed by the country people, that at the distance of ten days’ journey was the temple of Kunchy the walls and roof of which were covered with plates of gold, and ornamented with precious stones; but that no Mahomedan monarch had as yet seen it, or even heard of its name. Mahomed Shah, accordingly, selected six thousand of his best cavalry, and leaving the rest of his army at Condapilly, proceeded by forced marches to Kunchy. Swarms of people, like bees, now issued from within, and ranged themselves under the walls to defend it. At length, the rest of the King’s force coming up, the temple was attacked and carried by storm, with great slaughter. An immense booty fell to the share of the victors, who took away nothing but gold, jewels, and silver, which were abundant.’²⁴³

Sultan ‘Ali ‘Ãdil Shah I of Bijapur (AD 1557-1579)

Bankapur (Karnataka)

‘Ally Adil Shah, at the persuasions of his minister, carried his arms against Bunkapoor. This place was the principal residence of Velapa Ray, who had been originally a principal attendant of Ramraj; after whose death he assumed independence²⁴⁴

‘Velapa Ray, despairing of relief, at length sent offers for surrendering the fort to the King, on condition of being allowed to march away with his family and effects, which Ally Adil Shah thought proper to grant, and the place was evacuated accordingly. The King ordered a superb temple within it to be destroyed, and he himself laid the first stone of a mosque, which was built on the foundation, offering up prayers for his victory. Moostufa Khan acquired great credit for his conduct, and was honoured with a royal dress, and had many towns and districts of the conquered country conferred upon him in jageer²⁴⁵

Sultan Quli Qutb Shah of Golconda (AD 1507-1543)

Dewarconda (Andhra Pradesh)

‘After his return the King proceeded to reduce the fortress of Dewurconda, strongly situated on the top of a hill, which after a long siege was taken, and the Hindoo palaces and temples, by the King’s orders were consumed to ashes, and mosques built in their stead.’²⁴⁶

Sultan Ibrahim Qutb Shah of Golconda (AD 1550-1580)

Adoni (Karnataka)

‘When the late king, Ibrahim Kootb Shah, had settled the countries of the Hindoos on his southern frontier, and despatched his commander, Ameer Shah Meer, to oppose the armies of his Mahomedan neighbours, he vested the management of the affairs of his government in the hands of one Moorhary Row, a Marratta bramin, to whom was attached a body of ten thousand infantry, under the command of Mahomedan officers of rank, with permission to beat the nobut. Moorhary Row was in every respect the second person in the state, not even excepting the princes of the blood-royal. In the latter end of the late king’s reign, this unprincipled infidel proceeded with a force towards a famous temple near Adony, where he attacked the inhabitants, laid waste the country, and sacked it of its idols, made of gold and silver, and studded with rubies. He levied also four lacks of hoons (160,000l.) from the inhabitants. At sight of the idols the King was taken seriously ill, and never recovered. He died on Thursday the 21st of Rubbeeoos-Sany, AH 988 (AD June 2, 1580) AD.’²⁴⁷

Sultan Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah of Golconda (AD 1580-1612)

Cuddapah (Andhra Pradesh)

‘The sudden swelling of the rivers, and the absence of the King with his army, gave Venkutputty leisure to muster the whole of his forces, which amounted to one hundred thousand men. The leaders were Yeltumraj, Goolrung Setty, and Munoopraj, who marched to recover Gundicota from the hands of Sunjur Khan. Here the enemy were daily opposed by sallies from the garrison, but they perservered in the siege; when they heard that Moortuza Khan, with the main army of the Mahomedans, had pentrated as far as the city of Krupa, the most famous city of that country, wherein was a large temple. This edifice the Mahomedans destroyed as far as practicable, broke the idol, and sacked the city.’²⁴⁸

Kalahasti (Tamil Nadu)

‘The King determined to spare neither men nor money to carry on the war against the Hindoos: he accordingly directed Etibar Khan Yezdy, the Hawaldar of Condbeer (henceforth called Moortuza Nuggur), to collect all the troops under his command, with orders to march towards Beejanuggur, and to lay in ashes all the enemy’s towns in his route. Etibar Khan now proceeded to the town of Calistry, which he reached after a month’s march from Golconda. Here he destroyed the Hindoo idols, and ordered prayers to be read in the temples. These edifices may well he compared in magnificence with the buildings and paintings of China, with which they vie in beauty and workmanship. Having given a signal example of the Mahomedan power in that distant country, the Hindoos did not dare to interrupt his return.’²⁴⁹

Sultan Muzaffar Shah I of Gujarat (AD 1392-1410)

Somnath (Gujarat)

‘On the return of Moozuffur Khan to Guzerat, he learnt that in the western Puttun district the Ray of Jehrend, an idolater, refused allegiance to the Mahomedan authority. To this place Moozuffur Khan accordingly marched, and exacted tribute. He then proceeded to Somnat, where having destroyed all the Hindoo temples which he found standing, he built mosques in their stead; and leaving learned men for the propagation of the faith, and his own officers to govern the country, returned to Puttun in the year AH 798 (AD 1395).’²⁵⁰

Jhalawar (Rajasthan)

‘From Mundulgur Moozuffur Khan marched to Ajmeer, to pay his devotions at the shrine of Khwaja Moyin-ood-Deen Hussun Sunjury, from the whence he went towards Guzerat. On reaching Julwara, he destroyed the temples; and after exacting heavy contributions, and establishing his authority, he returned to Puttun.’²⁵¹

Diu (Gujarat)

‘In the following year AH 804 (AD 1402), he marched to Somnat, and after a bloody action, in which the Mahomedans were victorious, the Ray fled to Diu. Moozuffur Shah having arrived before Diu laid siege to it, but it opened its gates without offering resistance. The garrison was, however, nearly all cut to pieces, while the Ray, with the rest of the members of his court, were trod to death by elephants. One large temple in the town was razed to the ground, and a mosque built on its site; after which, leaving his own troops in the place, Moozuffur Shah returned to Puttun.’²⁵²

Sultan Ahmad Shah I of Gujrat (AD 1411-1443)

Sompur (Gujrat)

‘Ahmud Shah having a great curiosity to see the hill-fort of Girnal pursued the rebel in that direction. After a short time, the Raja, having consented to pay an annual tribute, made a large offering on the spot. Ahmud Shah left officers to collect the stipulated amount, and returned to Ahmadabad; on the road to which place he destroyed the temple of Somapoor, wherein were found many valuable jewels, and other property.’²⁵³

General order

‘In the year AH 817 (AD 1414), Mullik Tohfa, one of the Officers of the King’s government was ennobled by the title of Taj-ool-Moolk, and received a special commission to destroy all idolatrous temples, and establish the Mahomedan authority throughout Guzerat; a duty which he executed with such diligence, that the names of Mawass and Girass were hereafter unheard of in the whole kingdom.’²⁵⁴

On way to Nagaur (Rajasthan)

‘In the year AH 819 (AD 1416), Ahmud Shah marched against Nagoor, on the road to which place he plundered the country, and destroyed the temples.’²⁵⁵

Idar (Gujarat)

‘In the year 832 he marched again to Idur; and on the sixth of Suffur, AH 832 (AD Nov. 14, 1428) carried by storm one of the principal forts in that province, wherein he built a magnificent mosque.’²⁵⁶

Sultan Mahmud BegDha of Gujarat (AD 1458-1511)

Girnar (Gujarat)

‘The author of the history of Mahmood Shah relates, that in the year AH 872 (AD 1468), the King saw the holy Prophet (Mahomed) in a dream, who presented before him a magnificent banquet of the most delicate viands. This dream was interpreted by the wise men as a sign that he would soon accomplish a conquest by which he would obtain great treasures, which prediction was soon after verified in the capture of Girnal.

‘In the year AH 873 (AD 1469), Mahmood Shah marched towards the country of Girnal, the capital of which bears the same name²⁵⁷

‘The victorious army, without attacking the fort of Girnal, destroyed all the temples in the vicinity; and the King sending out foraging parties procured abundance of provisions for the camp²⁵⁸

‘The King, being desirous that the tenets of Islam should be propagated throughout the country of Girnal, caused a city to be built, which he called Moostufabad, for the purpose of establishing an honourable residence for the venerable personages of the Mahomedan religion, deputed to disseminate its principles; Mahmood Shah also took up his residence in that city.’²⁵⁹

Dwarka (Gujarat)

‘Mahmood Shah’s next effort was against the port of Jugut, with a view of making converts of the infidels, an object from which he had been hitherto deterred by the reports he received of the approaches to it.’²⁶⁰

‘The King, after an arduous march, at length arrived before the fort of Jugut a place filled with infidels, misled by the infernal minded bramins. The army was employed in destroying the temple at Jugut, and in building a mosque in its stead; while measures, which occupied three or four months in completing, were in progress for equipping a fleet to attack the island of Bete.’²⁶¹

Sultan Muzaffar Shah II of Gujarat (AD 1511-1526)

Idar (Gujarat)

‘The King, hearing of this disaster, instantly marched towards Idur. On reaching Mahrasa he caused the whole of the Idur district to be laid waste. Bheem Ray took refuge in the Beesulnuggur mountains; but the garrison of Idur, consisting of only ten Rajpoots, defended it against the whole of the King’s army with obstinacy; they were, however, eventually put to death on the capture of the place; and the temples, palaces, and garden houses, were levelled with the dust.’²⁶²

Sultan Mahmud Khalji of Malwa (AD 1435-1469)

Kumbhalgadh (Rajasthan)

‘Sooltan Mahmood now attacked one of the forts in the Koombulmere district, defended by Beny Ray, the deputy of Rana Koombho of Chittor. In front of the gateway was a large temple which commanded the lower works. This building was strongly fortified, and employed by the enemy as a magazine. Sooltan Mahmood, aware of its importance, determined to take possession of it at all hazards; and having stormed it in person, carried it, but not without heavy loss; after which, the fort fell into his hands, and many Rajpoots were put to death. The temple was now filled with wood, and being set on fire, cold water was thrown on the, stone images, which causing them to break, the pieces were given to the butchers of the camp, in order to be used as weights in selling meat. One large figure in particular, representing a ram, and formed of solid marble, being consumed, the Rajpoots were compelled to eat the calcined parts with pan, in order that it might be said that they were made to eat their gods.’²⁶³

Mandalgadh (Rajasthan)

‘On the 26th of Mohurrum, in the year AH 861 (AD Dec. 23, 1465), the King again proceeded to Mundulgur; and after a vigorous siege occupied the lower fort, wherein many Rajpoots were put to the sword, but the hill-fort still held out; to reduce which might have been a work of time but the reservoirs of water failing in consequence of the firing of the cannon, the garrison was obliged to capitulate, and Rana Koombho stipulated to pay ten lacks of tunkas. This event happened on the 20th of Zeehuj of the same year AH 861 (AD Nov. 8, 1457), exactly eleven months after the King’s leaving Mando. On the following day the King caused all the temples to be destroyed, and musjids to be erected in their stead, appointing the necessary officers of religion to perform daily worship.’²⁶⁴

On Way to Kumbhalgadh (Rajasthan)

‘Sooltan Mahmood, in the year AH 863 (AD 1485), again marched against the Rajpoots. On arriving at the town of Dhar, he detached Gheias-ood-Deen to lay waste the country of the Kolies and Bheels. In this excursion the Prince penetrated to the hills of Koombulmere, and on his return, having given the King some description of that fortress, Sooltan Mahmood resolved to march thither. On the next day he moved for that purpose, destroying all the temples on the road.’²⁶⁵

Sultan Mahmud Shah bin Ibrahim Sharqi of Jaunpur (AD 1440-1457)

Orissa

‘Mahmood Shah Shurky, having recruited his army, took the field again for the purpose of reducing some refractory zemindars in the district of Chunar, which place he sacked, and from thence proceeded into the province of Orissa, which he also reduced; and having destroyed the temples and collected large sums of money, returned to Joonpoor.’²⁶⁶

Muhammad bin Qasim (AD 712-715)

Debal (Sindh)

‘On the receipt of this letter, Hijaj obtained the consent of Wuleed, the son of Abdool Mullik, to invade India, for the purpose of propagating the faith and at the same time deputed a chief of the name of Budmeen, with three hundred cavalry, to join Haroon in Mikran, who was directed to reinforce the party with one thousand good soldiers more to attack Deebul. Budmeen failed in his expedition, and lost his life in the first action. Hijaj, not deterred by this defeat, resolved to follow up the enterprise by another. In consequence, in the year AH 93 (AD 711) he deputed his cousin and son-in-law, Imad-ood-Deen Mahomed Kasim, the son of Akil Shukhfy, then only seventeen years of age, with six thousand soldiers, chiefly Assyrians, with the necessary implements for taking forts, to attack Deebul²⁶⁷

‘On reaching this place, he made preparations to besiege it, but the approach was covered by a fortified temple, surrounded by strong wall, built of hewn stone and mortar, one hundred and twenty feet in height. After some time a bramin, belonging to the temple, being taken, and brought before Kasim, stated, that four thousand Rajpoots defended the place, in which were from two to three thousand bramins, with shorn heads, and that all his efforts would be vain; for the standard of the temple was sacred; and while it remained entire no profane foot dared to step beyond the threshold of the holy edifice. Mahomed Kasim having caused the catapults to be directed against the magic flag-staff, succeeded, on the third discharge, in striking the standard, and broke it down. Mahomed Kasim levelled the temple and its walls with the ground and circumcised the brahmins. The infidels highly resented this treatment, by invectives against him and the true faith. On which Mahomed Kasim caused every brahmin, from the age of seventeen and upwards, to be put to death; the young women and children of both sexes were retained in bondage and the old women being released, were permitted to go whithersoever they chose.’²⁶⁸

Multan (Punjab)

‘On reaching Mooltan, Mahomed Kasim also subdued that province; and himself occupying the city, he erected mosques on the site of the Hindoo temples.’²⁶⁹

Sultlan Jalalu’d-Din Mankbarni of Khwarizm (AD 1222-1231)

Thatta (Sindh)

‘Julal-ood-Deen now occupied Tutta, destroyed all the temples, and built mosques in their stead; and on one occasion detached a force to Nehrwala (Puttun), on the border of Guzerat.’²⁷⁰

Sultan Sikandar Butshikan of Kashmir (AD 1389-1413)

Kashmir

‘In these days he promoted a bramin, by name Seeva Dew Bhut, to the office of prime minister, who embracing the Mahomedan faith, became such a persecutor of Hindoos that he induced Sikundur to issue orders proscribing the residence of any other than Mahomedans in Kashmeer; and he required that no man should wear the mark on his forehead, or any woman be permitted to burn with her husband’s corpse. Lastly, he insisted on all golden and silver images being broken and melted down, and the metal coined into money. Many of the bramins, rather than abandon their religion or their country, poisoned themselves; some emigrated from their native homes, while a few escaped the evil of banishment by becoming Mahomedans. After the emigration of the bramins, Sikundur ordered all the temples in Kashmeer to be thrown down; among which was one dedicated to Maha Dew, in the district of Punjhuzara, which they were unable to destroy, in consequence of its foundation being below the surface of the neighbouring water. But the temple dedicated to Jug Dew was levelled with the ground; and on digging into its foundation the earth emitted volumes of fire and smoke which the infidels declared to be the emblem of the wrath of the Deity; but Sikundur, who witnessed the phenomenon, did not desist till the building was entirely razed to the ground, and its foundations dug up.

‘In another place in Kashmeer was a temple built by Raja Bulnat, the destruction of which was attended with a remarkable incident. After it had been levelled, and the people were employed in digging the foundation, a copper-plate was discovered, on which was the following inscription:- ‘Raja Bulnat, having built this temple, was desirous of ascertaining from his astrologers how long it would last, and was informed by them, that after eleven hundred years, a king named Sikundur would destroy it, as well as the other temples in Kashmeer’Having broken all the images in Kashmeer, he acquired the title of the Iconoclast, ‘Destroyer of Idols’.’²⁷¹

Sultan Fath Shah of Kashmir (AD 1485-1499 and 1505-1516)

Kashmir

‘On the imprisonment of Mahomed, Futteh Khan, assuming the reigns of government, and being formally crowned, was acknowledged King of Kashmeer in the year 902; and appointed Suffy and Runga Ray, the two officers who had lately made their escape, his ministers. About this time one Meer Shumsood-Deen, disciple of Shah Kasim Anwur, the son of Syud Mahomed Noorbukhsh arrived in Kashmeer from Irak. Futteh Khan made over to this holy personage all the confiscated lands which had lately fallen to the crown; and his disciples went forth destroying the temples of the idolaters, in which they met with the support of the government, so that no one dared to oppose them. In a short time many of the Kashmeeries, particularly those of the tribe of Chuk, became converts to the Noorbukhsh tenets. The persuasion of this sect was connected with that of the Sheeas; but many proselytes, who had not tasted of the cup of grace, after the death of Meer Shumsood-Deen, reverted to their idols.’²⁷²

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Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri

The author is the fourth Mughal emperor, Jahangir (AD 1605-1628). He wrote it himself as his memoirs upto the thirteenth year of his reign, that is, AD 1617. After that his ill-health forced him to give up writing and the work was entrusted to Mu’tamad Khan who continued writing it in the name of the emperor upto the beginning of the nineteenth year of the reign. Muhammad Hadi continued the memoirs upto Jahangir’s death in 1628.

Ajmer (Rajasthan)

‘On the 7th Ãzar I went to see and shoot on the tank of Pushkar, which is one of the established praying-places of the Hindus, with regard to the perfection of which they give (excellent) accounts that are incredible to any intelligence, and which is situated at a distance of three kos from Ajmir. For two or three days I shot waterfowl on that tank, and returned to Ajmir. Old and new temples which, in the language of the infidels, they call Deohara are to be seen around this tank. Among them Rana Shankar, who is the uncle of the rebel Amar, and in my kingdom is among the high nobles, had built a Deohara of great magnificence, on which 100,000 rupees had been spent. I went to see that temple. I found a form cut out of black stone, which from the neck above was in the shape of a pig’s head, and the rest of the body was like that of a man. The worthless religion of the Hindus is this, that once on a time for some particular object the Supreme Ruler thought it necessary to show himself in this shape; on this account they hold it dear and worship it. I ordered them to break that hideous form and throw it into the tank. After looking at this building there appeared a white dome on the top of a hill, to which men were coming from all quarters. When I asked about this they said that a Jogi lived there, and when the simpletons come to see him he places in their hands a handful of flour, which they put into their mouths and imitate the cry of an animal which these fools have at some time injured, in order that by this act their sins may be blotted out. I ordered them to break down that place and turn the Jogi out of it, as well as to destroy the form of an idol there was in the dome.’²⁷³

Kangra (Himachal Pradesh)

‘On the 24th of the same month I went to see the fort of Kangra, and gave an order that the Qazi, the Chief Justice (Mir’Adl), and other learned men of Islam should accompany me and carry out in the fort whatever was customary, according to the religion of Muhammad. Briefly, having traversed about one koss, I went up to the top of the fort, and by the grace of God, the call to prayer and the reading of the Khutba and the slaughter of a bullock which had not taken place from the commencement of the building of the fort till now, were carried out in my presence. I prostrated myself in thanksgiving for this great gift, which no king had hoped to receive, and ordered a lofty mosque to be built inside the fort 

‘After going round the fort I went to see the temple of Durga, which is known as Bhawan. A world has here wandered in the desert of error. Setting aside the infidels whose custom is the worship of idols, crowds of the people of Islam, traversing long distances, bring their offerings and pray to the black stone (image). Some maintain that this stone, which is now a place of worship for the vile infidels, is not the stone which was there originally, but that a body of the people of Islam came and carried off the original stone, and threw it into the bottom of the river, with the intent that no one could get at it. For a long time the tumult of the infidels and idol-worshippers had died away in the world, till a lying brahman hid a stone for his own ends, and going to the Raja of the time said: ‘I saw Durga in a dream, and she said to me: They have thrown me into a certain place: quickly go and take me up.’ The Raja, in the simplicity of his heart, and greedy for the offerings of gold that would come to him, accepted the tale of the brahman and sent a number of people with him, and brought that stone, and kept it in this place with honour, and started again the shop of error and misleading.’²⁷⁴

Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh)

‘I am here led to relate that at the city of Banaras a temple had been erected by Rajah Maun Singh, which cost him the sum of nearly thirty-six laks of five methkally ashrefies. The principle idol in this temple had on its head a tiara or cap, enriched with jewels to the amount of three laks ashrefies. He had placed in this temple moreover, as the associates and ministering servants of the principal idol, four other images of solid gold, each crowned with a tiara, in the like manner enriched with precious stones. It was the belief of these Jehennemites that a dead Hindu, provided when alive he had been a worshipper, when laid before this idol would be restored to life. As I could not possibly give credit to such a pretence, I employed a confidential person to ascertain the truth; and, as I justly supposed, the whole was detected to be an impudent imposture. Of this discovery I availed myself, and I made it my plea for throwing down the temple which was the scene of this imposture and on the spot, with the very same materials, I erected the great mosque, because the very name of Islam was proscribed at Banaras, and with God’s blessing it is my design, if I live, to fill it full with true believers.’²⁷⁵

(48)
Tarikh-i-Khan Jahan Lodi

The author, Ni’amatu’llah, was a historian in the court of the Mughal emperor Jahangir (AD 1605-1628). His Tarikh is practically the same as his Makhzan-i-Afghani except for the memoirs of Khan Jahan Lodi which have been added. Khan Jahan Lodi was one of the most illustrious generals of Jahangiri. The history begins with Adam and comes down to AD 1612 when it was completed. Ni’amatu’llah refers to Hindus as ‘the most notorious vagabonds and rebels.’

Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni (AD 997-1030)

Somnath (Gujarat)

‘After a long time, in AH 400, Allah conferred the honour of sultanate on Sultan Mahmud Ghazi, son of Subuktigin. Nine men from among the Afghan chiefs took to his court and joined his servants. The Sultan gave to each one of them enamelled daggers and swords, horses of good breed and robes of special quality and, taking them with him, he set out with the intention of conquering Hindustan and Somnat.

‘Rai Daishalim whom some historians have pronounced as Dabshalim or Dabshalam was the great ruler of that country. The Sultan inflicted a smashing defeat on that Raja, demolished and desecrated the idol temples there, and devastated that land of the infidels.’²⁷⁶

Sultan Sikandar Lodi (AD 1489-1517)

Dholpur (Madhya Pradesh)

‘Sikandar himself marched on Friday, the 6th Ramzan AH 906 (AD March, 1501), upon Dhulpur; but Raja Manikdeo, placing a garrison in the fort, retreated to Gwalior. This detachment however, being unable to defend it, and abandoning the fort by night, it fell into the hands of the Muhammadan army. Sikandar on entering the fort, fell down on his knees, and returned thanks to God, and celebrated his victory. The whole army was employed in plundering and the groves which spread shade for seven kos around Bayana were tom up from the roots²⁷⁷

Mandrail (Madhya Pradesh)

‘In Ramzan of the year 910 (AD 1504), after the rising of Canopus, he raised the standard of war for the reduction of the fort of Mandrail; but the garrison capitulating, and delivering up the citadel, the Sultan ordered the temples and idols to be demolished, and mosques to be constructed. After leaving Mian Makan and Mujahid Khan to protect the fort, he himself moved out on a plundering expedition into the surrounding country, where he butchered many people, took many prisoners, and devoted to utter destruction all the groves and habitations; and after gratifying and honouring himself by this exhibition of holy zeal he returned to his capital Bayana.’²⁷⁸

Udit Nagar (Madhya Pradesh)

‘In 912, after the rising of Canopus, the Sultan went towards the fort of Awantgar 

On the 23rd of the month, the Sultan invested the fort, and ordered the whole army to put forth their best energies to capture it. All of a sudden, by the favour of God, the gale of victory blew on the standards of the Sultan, and the gate was forced open by Malik ‘Alau-d din. The Rajputs, retiring within their own houses, continued the contest, and slew their families after the custom of jauhar. After due thanks-giving for his victory, the Sultan gave over charge of the fort to Makan and Mujahid Khan, with directions that they should destroy the idol temples, and raise mosques in their places.’²⁷⁹

Narwar (Madhya Pradesh)

‘The Sultan set out for conquering the fort of Narwar. Those inside the fort asked for refuge when they became helpless because of the dearness of grains and scarcity of water; they sought security of their lives and left the fort together with their goods. The Sultan took over the fort, demolished the temples and idol-houses in it and built mosques, and fixed scholarships and stipends for the teachers and the taught. He resided for six months in the fort.’²⁸⁰

Mathura (Uttar Pradesh)

‘The Islamic sentiment (in him) was so strong that he demolished all temples in his kingdom and left no trace of them. He constructed sarais, bazars, madrasas and mosques in Mathura which is a holy place of the Hindus and where they go for bathing. He appointed government officials in order to see that no Hindu could bathe in Mathra. No barber was permitted to shave the head of any Hindu with his razor. That is how he completely curtailed the public celebration of infidel customs.’²⁸¹

Thanesar (Haryana)

‘Sultan Sikandar was yet a young boy when he heard about a tank in Thanesar which the Hindus regarded as sacred and went for bathing in it. He asked the theologians about the prescription of the Shari’ah on this subject. They replied that it was permitted to demolish the ancient temples and idol-houses of the infidels, but it was not proper for him to stop them from going to an ancient tank. Hearing this reply, the prince drew out his sword and thought of beheading the theologian concerned, saying that he (the theologian) was siding with the infidels.’²⁸²

Sultan Ibrahim Lodi (AD 1517-1526)

Gwalior (Madhya Pradesh)

‘When the thought occurred to Sultan Ibrahim, he sent ‘Ãzam Humayun on this expedition. The Afghan army captured from the infidels the statue of a bull which was made of metals such as copper and brass, which was outside the gate of the fort and which the Hindus used to worship. They brought it to the Sultan. The Sultan was highly pleased and ordered that it should be taken to Delhi and placed outside the ‘Red Gate’ which was known as the Baghdad Gate in those days. The statue was so fixed in front of the ‘Red Gate’ till the time of the Mughal emperor, Akbar the Great, who ordered in AH 999 that it be melted down and used for making cannon as well as some other equipment, which are still there in the government armoury. The author of this history has seen it in both shapes.’²⁸³

Sultan Sulaiman Karrani of Bengal (AD 1563-1576)

Puri (Orissa)

‘After Taj Khan, his brother Sulaiman Karrani took possession of the province of Gaur and proclaimed his independence. He also made up his mind to demolish all the temples and idol-houses of the infidels. As the biggest temple of the Hindus was in Orissa and known as Jagannath, he decided to destroy it and set out in that direction with a well-equipped force. Reaching there, he demolished the idol-house and laid it waste. There was an idol in it known as that of Kishan. Sulaiman ordered that it be broken into pieces and thrown into the drain. In like manner, he took out seven hundred golden idols from idol-temples in the neighbouring areas and broke them.²⁸⁴

‘When the armies of Islam entered that city, the women of the Brahmans, dressed in costly robes, wearing necklaces, covering their heads with colourful scarves and beautifying themselves in every way, took shelter at the back of the temple of Jagannath. They were told again and again that a Muslim army that had entered the city would capture and take them away, and that those people would desecrate the temple after laying it waste. But the women did not believe it at all. They kept on saying. ‘How could it happen? How could the soldiers of the Muslim army cause any injury to the idols?’

‘When the army of Islam arrived near the temple, it made prisoners of those Hindu women. That is what surprised them most.’²⁸⁵

The History of the Afghans in India AD 1545-1631 by M.A. Rahim (Karachi, 1961) quotes Makhzan-i-Afghana while describing the exploits of Sulaiman Karrani’s general, Kalapahar, in AD 1568. It says: ‘Every Afghan, who took part in the campaign, obtained as booty one or two gold images. Kala Pahar destroyed the temple of Jagannath in Puri which contained 700 idols made of gold, the biggest of which weighed 30 mans.’²⁸⁶

(49)
Mir’at-i-Sikandari

The author, Sikandar bin Muhammad Manjhu bin Akbar, was in the employ of Aziz Koka, the Mughal governor of Gujarat, and fought against Sultan Muzaffar Shah III, the last independent sultan of Gujarat, who was dethroned in AD 1591.

He finished his history in 1611 or 1613. It relates the history of Gujarat from Muzaffar Shah I to Muzaffar Shah III.

Sultan Muzaffar Shah I of Gujarat (AD 1392-1410)

Somnath (Gujarat)

‘On his return (from Îdar) the Khan made up his mind to destroy Somnat, that is, the temple of PaTandev. But in the meanwhile he received a report that ‘Ãdil Khan, the ruler of Ãsir and Burhanpur, had crossed the border and stepped into die province of Sultanpur and Nadrabar which was under Gujarat. The Khan postponed his march to PaTandev 

‘In AH 799 (AD 1394-95) he invaded Jahdand (JunagaDh)which was in the Kindgdom of Rai Bhara and slaughtered the infidels there.

‘From there he proceeded towards Somnat, and destroyed the famous temple. He embellished that city with the laws of Islam.’²⁸⁷

Sultan Ahmad Shah I of Gujarat (AD 1411-1443)

Sidhpur (Gujarat)

His destruction of the Rudramahalaya and construction of a mosque on the same site, as described in Mir’at-i-Sikandari, has been related already in Chapter One. Strangely, the long verse cited from the Aligarh text has been omitted from the English translation by Fazlullah Lutfullah Faridi, originally published from Dharampur (Gujarat) and reprinted from Gurgaon in 1990.

General Order

‘Thereafter in AH 823 (AD 1420-21) he proceeded to different parts of his Kingdom for establishing order and good government. He got temples demolished and palaces and mosques constructed in their stead.’²⁸⁸

Sultan Mahmud BegDha of Gujarat (AD 1458-1511)

Dwarka (Gujarat)

‘On 17 Zilhijja he started towards Jagat and reduced that place after marching continuously. The infidels of Jagat ran away to the island of Sankhu. The Sultan destroyed Jagat and got its palaces dismantled. He got the idols broken.’²⁸⁹

Sankhodhar (Gujarat)

‘When the Sultan saw that the infidels had gone to that island, he ordered boats from the ports and proceeded to the island with his well-armed soldiers. The infidels did not stint in fighting with swords and guns. In the end the army of Islam achieved victory. A majority of the infidels were slaughtered. The Musalmans started giving calls to prayers after mounting on top of the temples. They started destroying the temples and desecrating the idols. The Sultan offered namaz out of gratefulness of Allah. He got a Jami’ Masjid raised in that place.’²⁹⁰

Sultan Muzaffar Shah II of Gujarat (AD 1511-1526)

Idar (Gujarat)

‘The Raja of Îdar ran away to the mountains and on the fourth day the Sultan started from Morasa and halted near Îdar. He ordered that the houses and temples of Îdar should be destroyed in such a way that no trace of them should remain.’²⁹¹

Sultan Bahadur Shah of Gujarat (AD 1526-1537)

Vidisha (Madhya Pradesh)

‘Afterwards he went towards Bhilsa which country had been conquered for Islam by Sultan Shamsu’d-din (Altamsh), King of Delhi. Since eighteen years the estate of Bhilsa had been subject to Silahdi, and the laws of Islam had been changed there for the customs of infidelity. When the Sultan reached the above place, he abrogated the ordinances of infidelity and introduced the laws of Islam, and slew the idolaters and threw down their temples.’²⁹²

(50)
Intikhab-i-Jahangir Shabi

The name of the author is not known. He was evidently a contemporary and a companion of Jahangir. The Tabqat-i-Shah-Jahani mentions a work written by Shykh ‘Abdul Wahab and named Akhlaq-i-Jahangiri. This work may be the same as the Intikhab. The Shykh died in 1622-23.

Nuru’d-Din Muhammad Jahangir Padshah Ghazi (AD 1605-1628)

Ahmadabad (Gujarat)

‘One day at Ahmadabad it was reported that many of the infidel and superstitious sect of the Seoras (Jains) of Gujarat had made several very great and splendid temples, and having placed in them their false gods, had managed to secure a large degree of respect for themselves and that the women who went for worship in those temples were polluted by them and other people. The Emperor Jahangir ordered them banished from the country, and their temples to be, demolished. Their idol was thrown down on the uppermost step of the mosque, that it might be trodden upon by those who came to say their daily prayers there. By this order of the Emperor, the infidels were exceedingly disgraced, and Islam exalted.’²⁹³

(51)
Tazkiratu’I-Muluk

It is a history of sixteenth century Bijapur written in AD 1608-09 by Rafiu’d-Din Ibrahim Shirazi, an Iranian adventurer and diplomat.

Sultan ‘Ali I ‘Ãdilshah of Bijapur (AD 1557-1580)

Karnataka

‘While campaigning in Karnataka following the fall of Vijayanagar ‘Ali I’s armies destroyed two or three hundred Hindu temples, and the monarch himself was said to have smashed four or five thousand Hindu images.’²⁹⁴

(52)
Tarikh-i-Kashmir

The author, Haidar Malik Chadurah, was a Kashmirian nobleman in the service of Sultan Yusuf Shah (AD 1579-1586). He gives the history of Kashmir from the earliest times. Though mainly based on Raja-tarañgiNi, there are some additions in the later period. It was begun in AD 1618 and finished sometime after 1620-21.

Sultan Sikandar Butshikan of Kashmir (AD 1389-1413)

Kashmir

‘During the reign of Sultan Sikandar, Mir Sayyid Muhammad, son of Mir Sayyid Hamadani came here, and removed the rust of ignorance and infidelity and the evils, by his preaching and guidance. He wrote an epistle for Sultan Sikandar on tasawwuf. Sultan Sikandar became his follower. He prohibited all types of frugal games. Nobody dared commit acts which were prohibited by the Shariat. The Sultan was constantly busy in annihilating the infidels and destroyed most of the temples.’²⁹⁵

Malik Musa of Kashmir

Kashmir

He was a powerful minister in the reign of Sultan Fath Shah (AD 1489-1516), but Tarikh-i-Kashmir presents him as the monarch. It says:

‘Malik Musa ascended the throne in AH 907 (AD 1501). During his reign, he devoted himself to the obliteration of the infidels and busied himself with the spread of the religion of the prophet. He made desolate most of the temples where the infidels had practised idolatry. Wherever there was a temple, he destroyed it and built a mosque in its place. None of the Sultans of Kashmir after Sultan Sikandar ever made such an effort for the spread of the Islamic faith as did Malik Musa Chadurah, and for this auspicious reason he received the title of the ‘Idol Breaker’.’²⁹⁶

Sufi Mir Shamsu’d-Din Iraqi

Kashmir

He was a sufi of the Kubrawiyya sect who came to Kashmir first in AD 1481, next in AD 1501, and finally in 1505 in the reign of Sultan Fath Shah. He found it convenient to work as a member of the Nur Bakhsh Sufi sect. His doings are ‘anticipated’ in the Tarikh-i-Kashmir in the following words:

‘Baba Ûchah Ganai went for circumambulation of the two harms (Mecca and Medina) in search of the perfect guide (Pir-i-Kamil). He prayed to God (to help) him when he heard a voice from the unknown that the ‘perfect guide’ was in Kashmir himself. Hazrat Shaikh, Baba Ûchah Ganai returned to Kashmir. All of a sudden his eyes fell upon a place of worship, the temples of the Hindus. He smiled; when the devotees asked the cause of (his smile) he replied that the destruction and demolition of these places of worship and the destruction of the idols will take place at the hand of the high horn Shaikh Shams-ud-Din Irraqi. He will soon be coming from Iraq and shall turn the temples completely desolate, and most of the misled people will accept the path of guidance and Islam. So as was ordained Shaikh Shams-ud-Din reached Kashmir. He began destroying the places of worship and the temples of the Hindus and made an effort to achieve the objectives.’²⁹⁷

(53)
Mir’at-i-Mas’udi

It is a biography of Sayyid Salar Mas’ud Ghazi whose tomb at Bahraich (Uttar Pradesh) occupies the site of a Sun Temple. It was written by Shykh ‘Abdu’r-Rahman Chishti in the reign of Jahangir (1605-1628). He drew his main material from Tawarikh-i-Mahmudi by Mulla Muhammad Ghaznavi, a contemporary of Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni (AD 997-1030). Salar Mas’ud, according to this account, was the son of Sitr Mu’alla’, a sister of Sultan Mahmud, married to his general, Salar Sahu. Salar Mas’ud was born when the couple was staying in Ajmer. He is famous among the Muslims as Ghazi Miyan, Bala Miyan (revered boy) and Hathila Pir (the obstinate saint). There are many stories current regarding how he led or sent many expeditions against the Hindu Kafirs in all direction from his headquarters at Satrakh in the Barabanki District of Uttar Pradesh. He is supposed to have defeated many Rajas, plundered many towns, and destroyed many temples, particularly in Awadh. Many tombs all over Awadh and neighbouring areas are reputed to be the graves of his Ghazis (veterans) who became Shahids (martys) in a prolonged Jihad (holy war) directed by him. He was finally caught and killed near Bahraich by a league of Hindu Rajas. The Sun Temple which was his target escaped this time, but was destroyed when another wave of Islamic invasion swept over the area at the end of the twelfth century.

Saiyyid Salar Mas’ud Ghazi (AD 1013-1033)

Somnath (Gujarat)

‘It happened that Mahmud had long been planning an expedition into Bhardana, and Gujarat, to destroy the idol temple of Somnat, a place of great sanctity to all Hindus. So as soon as he had returned to Ghazni from his Khurasan business, he issued a farman to the General of the army, ordering him to leave a confidential officer in charge of the fort of Kabuliz, and himself to join the court with his son Salar Mas’ud²⁹⁸

‘It is related in the Tarikh-i Mahmudi that the Sultan shortly after reached Ghazni, and laid down the image of Somnat at the threshold of the Mosque of Ghazni, so that the Musulmans might tread upon the breast of the idol on their way to and from their devotions. As soon as the unbelievers heard of this, they sent an embassy to Khwaja Hasan Maimandi, stating that the idol was of stone and useless to the Musulmans, and offered to give twice its weight in gold as a ransom, if it might be returned to them. Khwaja Hasan Maimandi represented to the Sultan that the unbelievers had offered twice the weight of the idol in gold, and had agreed to be subject to him. He added, that the best policy would be to take the gold and restore the image, thereby attaching die people to his Government. The Sultan yielded to the advice of the Khwaja, and the unbelievers paid the gold into the treasury.

‘One day, when the Sultan was seated on his throne, the ambassadors of the unbelievers came, and humbly petitioned thus: ‘Oh, Lord of the world! we have paid the gold to your Government in ransom, but have not yet received our purchase, the idol Somnat.’ The Sultan was wroth at their words, and, falling into reflection, broke up the assembly and retired, with his dear Salar Mas’ud, into his private apartments. He then asked his opinion as to whether the image ought to be restored, or not? Salar Mas’ud, who was perfect in goodness, said quickly, ‘In the day of the resurrection, when the Almighty shall call for Ãzar, the idol-destroyer, and Mahmud, the idol-seller, Sire! what will you say?’ This speech deeply affected the Sultan, he was full of grief, and answered, ‘I have given my word; it will be a breach of promise.’ Salar Mas’ud begged him to make over the idol to him, and tell the unbelievers to get it from him. The Sultan agreed; and Salar Mas’ud took it to his house, and, breaking off its nose and ears, ground them to powder.

‘When Khwaja Hasan introduced the unbelievers, and asked the Sultan to give orders to restore the image to them, his majesty replied that Salar Mas’ud had carried it off to his house, and that he might send them to get it from him. Khwaja Hasan, bowing his head, repeated these words in Arabic, ‘No easy matter is it to recover anything which has fallen into the hands of a lion.’ He then told the unbelievers that the idol was with Salar Mas’ud, and that they were at liberty to go and fetch it. So they went to Mas’ud’s door and demanded their god.

‘That prince commanded Malik Nekbakht to treat them courteously, and make them be seated; then to mix the dust of the nose and ears of the idol with sandal and the lime eaten with betel-nut, and present it to them. The unbelievers were delighted, and smeared themselves with sandal, and ate the betel-leaf. After a while they asked for the idol, when Salar Mas’ud said he had given it to them. They inquired, with astonishment, what he meant by saying that they had received the idol? And Malik Nekbakht explained that it was mixed with the sandal and betel-lime. Some began to vomit, while others went weeping and lamenting to Khwaja Hasan Maimandi and told him what had occurred.’²⁹⁹

‘Afterwards the image of Somnat was divided into four parts, as is described in the Tawarikh-i-Mahmudi. Mahmud’s first exploit is said to have been conquering the Hindu rebels, destroying the forts and the idol temples of the Rai Ajipal (Jaipal), and subduing the country of India. His second, the expedition into Harradawa and Guzerat, the carrying off the idol of Somnat, and dividing it into four pieces, one of which he is reported to have placed on the threshold of the Imperial Palace, while he sent two others to Mecca and Medina respectively. Both these exploits were performed at the suggestion, and by the advice, of the General and Salar Mas’ud; but India was conquered by the efforts of Salar Mas’ud alone, and the idol of Somnat was broken in pieces by his sold advice, as has been related. Salar Sahu was Sultan of the army and General of the forces in Iran³⁰⁰

Awadh (Uttar Pradesh)

‘Mas’ud hunted through the country around Bahraich, and whenever he passed by the idol temple of Suraj-kund, he was wont to say that he wanted that piece of ground for a dwelling-place. This Suraj-kund was a sacred shrine of all the unbelievers of India. They had carved an image of the sun in stone on the banks of the tank there. This image they called Balarukh, and through its fame Bahraich had attained its flourishing condition. When there was an eclipse of the sun, the unbelievers would come from east and west to worship it, and every Sunday the heathen of Bahraich and its environs, male and female, used to assemble in thousands to rub their heads under that stone, and do it reverence as an object of peculiar sanctity. Mas’ud was distressed at this idolatry, and often said that, with God’s will and assistance, he would destroy that mine of unbelief, and set up a chamber for the worship of the Nourisher of the Universe in its place, rooting out unbelief from those parts³⁰¹

‘Meanwhile, the Rai Sahar Deo and Har Deo, with several other chiefs, who had kept their troops in reserve, seeing that the army of Islam was reduced to nothing, unitedly attacked the body-guard of the Prince. The few forces that remained to that loved one of the Lord of the Universe were ranged round him in the garden. The unbelievers, surrounding them in dense numbers, showered arrows upon them. It was then, on Sunday, the 14th of the month Rajab, in the aforesaid year 424 (14th June, 1033) as the time of evening prayer came on, that a chance arrow pierced the main artery in the arm of the Prince of the Faithful³⁰²

(54)
Siyar al-Aqtab

This work was completed in AD 1647 by Allah Diya Chishti. It deals with many miracles performed by the Sufis, particularly of the Sabriyya branch of the Chishtiyya silsila.

Shykh Mu’in al-Din Chishti of Ajmer (d. AD 1236)

Ajmer (Rajasthan)

‘Although at that time there were very many temples of idols around the lake, when the Khwaja saw them, he said: ‘If God and His Prophet so will, it will not be long before I raze to the ground these idol temples.’

‘It is said that among those temples there was one temple to reverence which the Raja and all the infidels used to come, and lands had been assigned to provide for its expenditure. When the Khwaja settled there, every day his servants bought a cow, brought it there and slaughtered it and ate it 

‘So when the infidels grew weak and saw that they had no power to resist such a perfect companion of God, they went into their idol temples which were their places of worship. In them there was a dev, in front of whom they cried out and asked for help³⁰³

‘The dev who was their leader, when he saw the perfect beauty of the Khwaja, trembled from head to foot like a willow tree. However much he tried to say ‘Ram, Ram’, it was ‘Rahim, Rahim’ that came from his tongue. The Khwaja with his own hand gave a cup of water to a servant to take to the dev. He had no sooner drunk it than his heart was purified of darkness of unbelief, he ran forward and fell at the Heaven-treading feet of the Khwaja, and professed his belief 

‘The Khwaja said: ‘I also bestow on you the name of Shadi Dev [Joyful Deval]’³⁰⁴

‘Then Shadi Dev suggested to the Khwaja, that he should now set up a place in the city, where the populace might benefit from his holy arrival. The Khwaja accepted this suggestion, and ordered one of his special servants called Muhammad Yadgir to go into the city and set in good order a place for faqirs. Muhammad Yadgir carried out his orders, and when he had gone into the city, he liked well the place where the radiant tomb of the Khwaja now is, and which originally belonged to Shadi Dev, and he suggested that the Khwaja should favour it with his residence³⁰⁵

‘Mu’in al-din had a second wife for the following reason: one night he saw the Holy Prophet in the flesh. The prophet said: ‘You are not truly of my religion if you depart in any way from my sunnat.’ It happened that the ruler of the Patli fort, Malik Khitab, attacked the unbelievers that night and captured the daughter of the Raja of that land. He presented her to Mu’in al-din who accepted her and named her Bibi Umiya.’³⁰⁶

P.M. Currie comments:

‘The take-over of ‘pagan’ sites is a recurrent feature of the history of the expansion of Islam. The most obvious precedent is to be found in the Muslim annexation of the Hajar al-aswad at Mecca. Sir Thomas Arnol remarks that ‘in many instances there is no doubt that the shrine of a Muslim saint marks the site of some local cult which was practised on the spot long before the introduction of Islam.’

‘There is evidence, more reliable than the tradition recorded in the Siyar al-Aqtab, to suggest that this was the case in Ajmer. Sculpted stones, apparently from a Hindu temple, are incorporated in the Buland Darwaza of Mu’in al-din’s shrine. Moreover, his tomb is built over a series of cellars which may have formed part of an earlier temple. A tradition, first recorded in the ‘Anis al-Arwah, suggests that the Sandal Khana is built on the site of Shadi Dev’s temple.’³⁰⁷

(55)
Badshah-Nama

The author, ‘Abdu’l Hamid Lahori, was commissioned by Shah Jahan himself to compile this history which is a voluminous work covering the first twenty years of Shah Jahan’s reign. Lahori died in 1654.

Nuru’d-Din Muhammad Jahangir Padshah Ghazi (AD 1605-1628)

Many Places

‘Perhaps these in stances [Mewar, Kangra, and Ajmer] made a contemporary poet of his court sing his praises as the great Muslim emperor who converted temples into mosques.’³⁰⁸

Shihabu’d-Din Muhammad Shah Jahan Padshah Ghazi (AD 1628-1658)

Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh)

‘It had been brought to the notice of His Majesty that during the late reign many idol temples had been begun, but remained unfinished at Benares, the great stronghold of infidelity. The infidels were now desirous of completing them. His Majesty, the defender of the faith, gave orders that at Benares, and throughout all his dominions in every place, all temples that had been begun should be cast down. It was now reported from the province of Allahabad that seventy-six temples had been destroyed in the district of Benares.’³⁰⁹

Orchha (Madhya Pradesh)

‘At the Bundela capital the Islam-cherishing Emperor demolished the lofty and massive temple of Bir Singh Dev near his palace, and erected a mosque on its site.’³¹⁰

Kashmir

‘Some temples in Kashmir were also sacrificed to the religious fury of the emperor. The Hindu temple at Ichchhabal was destroyed and converted into a mosque.’³¹¹

(56)
Shahjahan-Nama

It was written by ‘Inayat Khan whose original name was Muhammad Tahir Ãshna. It comes down to AH 1068 (AD 1657-58), the year when Aurangzeb seized power and imprisoned Shah Jahan in the fort of Agra. It presents Shah Jahan as a pious Muslim vis-a-vis the Hindu Kafirs.

Shihabu’d-Din Muhammad Shah Jahan Padshah Ghazi (AD 1628-1658)

Orchha (Madhya Pradesh)

‘When the environs of Orchha became the site of the royal standards, an ordinance was issued authorising the demolition of the idol temple, which Bir Singh Deo had erected at a great expense by the side of his private palace, and also the idols contained in it.’³¹²

(57)
Mir’at-i-‘Ãlam

The author, Bakhtawar Khan, was a nobleman of Aurangzeb’s court. He died in AD 1684. The history ascribed to him was really compiled by Muhammad Baqa of Saharanpur who gave the name of his friend as its author. Baqa was a prolific writer who was invited by Bakhtawar Khan to Aurangzeb’s court and given a respectable rank. He died in AD 1683.

Muhiyu’d-Din Muhammad Aurangzeb ‘Ãlamgir Padshah Ghazi (AD 1658-1707)

General Order

‘Hindu writers have been entirely excluded from holding public offices, and all the worshipping places of the infidels and great temples of these infamous people have been thrown down and destroyed in a manner which excites astonishment at the successful completion of so difficult a task. His Majesty personally teaches the sacred kalima to many infidels with success. All the mosques in the empire are repaired at public expense. Imama, criers to the daily prayers, and readers of the khutba, have been appointed to each of them, so that a large sum of money has been and is still laid out in these disbursements.’³¹³

(58)
‘Ãlamgir-Nama

This work, written in AD 1688 by Mirza Muhammad Kazim, contains a history of the first ten years of Aurangzeb’s reign.

Muhiyu’d-Din Muhammad Aurangzeb ‘Ãlamgir Padshah Ghazi (AD 1658-1707)

Palamau (Bihar)

‘In 1661 Aurangzeb in his zeal to uphold the law of Islam sent orders to his Viceroy of Bihar, Daud Khan, to conquer Palamau. In the military operations that followed many temples were destroyed.’³¹⁴

Koch Bihar (Bengal)

‘Towards the end of the same year when Mir Jumla made a war on the Raja of Kuch Bihar, the Mughals destroyed many temples during the course of, their operations. Idols were broken and some temples were converted into mosques.’³¹⁵

(59)
Ma’sir-i-‘Ãlamgiri

The author, Saqa Must’ad Khan, completed this history in AD 1710 at the behest of ‘Inayatu’llah Khan Kashmiri, Aurangzeb’s last secretary and favourite disciple in state policy and religiosity. The materials which Must’ad Khan used in this history of Aurangzeb’s reign came mostly from the State archives which were thrown open to him.

Muhiyu’d-Din Muhammad Aurangzeb ‘Ãlamgir Padshah Ghazi (AD 1658-1707)

General Order

‘The Lord Cherisher of the Faith learnt that in the provinces of Tatta, Multan, and especially at Benares, the Brahman misbelievers used to teach their false books in their established schools, and that admirers and students both Hindu and Muslim, used to come from great distances to these misguided men in order to acquire this vile learning. His Majesty, eager to establish Islam, issued orders to the governors of all the provinces to demolish the schools and temples of the infidels and with the utmost urgency put down the teaching and the public practice of the religion of these misbelievers.’³¹⁶

Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh)

‘It was reported that, according to the Emperor’s command, his officers had demolished the temple of Viswanath at Kashi.’³¹⁷

Mathura (Uttar Pradesh)

‘During this month of Ramzan abounding in miracles, the Emperor as the promoter of justice and overthrower of mischief, as a knower of truth and destroyer of oppression, as the zephyr of the garden of victory and the reviver of the faith of the Prophet, issued orders for the demolition of the temple situated in Mathura, famous as the Dehra of Kesho Rai. In a short time by the great exertions of his officers the destruction of this strong foundation of infidelity was accomplished, and on its site a lofty mosque was built at the expenditure of a large sum 

‘Praised be the august God of the faith of Islam, that in the auspicious reign of this destroyer of infidelity and turbulence, such a wonderful and seemingly impossible work was successfully accomplished. On seeing this instance of the strength of the Emperor’s faith and the grandeur of his devotion to God, the proud Rajas were stifled and in amazement they stood like images facing the wall. The idols, large and small, set with costly jewels which had been set up in the temple were brought to Agra, and buried under the steps of the mosque of the Begam Sahib, in order to be continually trodden upon. The name of Mathura was changed to Islamabad.’³¹⁸

Khandela (Rajasthan)

‘Darab Khan who had been sent with a strong force to punish the Rajputs of Khandela and to demolish the great temple of the place, attacked the place on the 8th March/5th Safar, and slew the three hundred and odd men who made a bold defence, not one of them escaping alive. The temples of Khandela and Sanula and all other temples in the neighbourhood were demolished.’³¹⁹

Jodhpur (Rajasthan)

‘On Sunday, the 25th May/24th Rabi. S., Khan Jahan Bahadur came from Jodhpur, after demolishing the temples and bringing with himself some cart-loads of idols, and had audience of the Emperor, who highly praised him and ordered that the idols, which were mostly jewelled, golden, silvery, bronze, copper or stone, should be cast in the yard (jilaukhanah) of the Court and under the steps of the Jam’a mosque, to be trodden on. They remained so for some time and at last their very names were lost’³²⁰

Udaipur (Rajasthan)

‘Ruhullah Khan and Ekkataz Khan went to demolish the great temple in front of the Rana’s palace, which was one of the rarest buildings of the age and the chief cause of the destruction of life and property of the despised worshippers Twenty machatoR Rajputs who were sitting in the temple vowed to give up their lives; first one of them came out to fight, killed some and was then himself slain, then came out another and so on, until every one of the twenty perished, after killing a large number of the imperialists including the trusted slave, Ikhlas. The temple was found empty. The hewers broke the images.’³²¹

‘On Saturday, the 24th January, 1680/2nd Muharram, the Emperor went to view lake Udaisagar, constructed by the Rana, and ordered all the three temples on its banks to be demolished.’³²²

‘On the 29th January/7th Muharram, Hasan ‘Ali Khan brought to the Emperor twenty camel-loads of tents and other things captured from the Rana’s palace and reported that one hundred and seventy-two other temples in the environs of Udaipur had been destroyed. The Khan received the title of Bahadur ‘Alamgirshahi³²³

Amber (Rajasthan)

‘Abu Turab, who had been sent to demolish the temples of Amber, returned to Court on Tuesday, the 10th August/24th Rajab, and reported that he had pulled down sixty-six temples.’³²⁴

Bijapur (Karnataka)

‘Hamiduddin Khan Bahadur who had gone to demolish a temple and build a mosque (in its place) in Bijapur, having excellently carried out his orders, came to Court and gained praise and the post of darogha of gusalkhanah, which brought him near the Emperor’s person.’³²⁵

Iconoclasm was a part of Aurangezb’s Islamic Piety

‘As his blessed nature dictated, he was characterized by perfect devotion to the rites of the Faith; he followed the teaching of the great Imam. Abu Hanifa (God be pleased with him!), and established and enforced to the best of his power the five foundations of Islam.’³²⁶

‘Through the auspices of his hearty endeavour, the Hanafi creed (i.e., the Orthodox Sunni faith) has gained such strength and currency in the great country of Hindustan as was never seen in the times of any of the preceding sovereigns. By one stroke of the pen, the Hindu clerks (writers) were dismissed from the public employment. Large numbers of the places of worship of the infidels and great temples of these wicked people have been thrown down and desolated. Men who can see only the outside of things are filled with wonder at the successful accomplishment of such a seemingly difficult task. Arid on the sites of the temples lofty mosques have been built.’³²⁷

(60)
Akhbarat

These were reports from different provinces compiled in the reign of Aurangzeb.

Muhiyu’d-Din Muhammad Aurangzeb ‘Ãlamgir Padshah Ghazi (AD 1658-1707)

Mathura (Uttar Pradesh)

‘The Emperor learning that in the temple of Keshav Rai at Mathura there was a stone railing presented by Dara Shukoh, remarked, ‘In the Muslim faith it is a sin even to look at a temple, and this Dara had restored a railing in a temple. This fact is not creditable to the Muhammadans. Remove the railing.’ By his order Abdun Nabi Khan (the faujdar of Mathura) removed it.’³²⁸

Ujjain (Madhya Pradesh)

‘News came from Malwa that Wazir Khan had sent Gada Beg, a slave, with 400 troopers, to destroy all temples around Ujjain. A Rawat of the place resisted and slew Gada Beg with 121 of his men.’³²⁹

Aurangabad (Maharashtra)

‘The Emperor learnt from a secret news writer of Delhi that in Jaisinghpura Bairagis used to worship idols, and that the Censor on hearing of it had gone there, arrested Sri Krishna Bairagi and taken him with 15 idols away to his house; then the Rajputs had assembled flocked to the Censor’s house, wounded three footmen of the Censor and tried to seize the Censor himself; so that the latter set the Bairagi free and sent the copper idols to the local subahdar.’³³⁰

Pandharpur (Maharashatra)

‘The Emperor, summoning Muhammad Khalil and Khidmat Rai, the darogha of hatchet-men ordered them to demolish the temple of Pandharpur, and to take the butchers of the camp there and slaughter cows in the temple. It was done.’³³¹

On Way to the Deccan

‘When the war with the Rajputs was over, Aurangzeb decided to leave for the Deccan. His march seems to have been marked with the destruction to many temples on the way. On 21 May, 1681, the superintendent of the labourers was ordered to destroy all the temples on the route.’³³²

Lakheri (?)

‘On 27 September, 1681, the emperor issued orders for the destruction of the temples at Lakheri.’³³³

Rasulpur (?)

‘About this time, on 14 April, 1692, orders were issued to the provincial governor and the district fojdar to demolish the temples at Rasulpur.’³³⁴

Sheogaon (?)

‘Sankar, a messenger, was sent to demolish a temple near Sheogaon. He came back after pulling it down on 20 November, 1693.’³³⁵

Ajmer (Rajasthan)

‘Bijai Singh and several other Hindus were reported to be carrying on public worship of idols in a temple in the neighbourhood of Ajmer. On 23 June, 1694, the governor of Ajmer was ordered to destroy the temple and stop the public adoration of idol worship there.’³³⁶

Wakenkhera (?)

‘The temple of Wakenkhera in the fort was demolished on 2 March, 1705.’³³⁷

Bhagwant Garh (Rajasthan)

‘The newswriter of Ranthambore reported the destruction of a temple in Parganah Bhagwant Garh. Gaj Singh Gor had repaired the temple and made some additions thereto.’³³⁸

Malpura (Rajasthan)

‘Royal orders for the destruction of temples in Malpura Toda were received and the officers were assigned for this work.’³³⁹

(61)
Fathiyya-i-‘Ibriyya

This is a diary of Mir Jumla’s campaigns in Kuch Bihar and Assam. ‘By looting,’ writes Jadunath Sarkar, ‘the temples of the South and hunting out buried treasures, Mir Jumla amassed a vast fortune. The huge Hindu idols of copper were brought away in large numbers to be melted and cast into cannon.’³⁴⁰

Muhiyu’d-Din Muhammad Aurangzeb ‘Ãlamgir Padshah Ghazi (AD 1658-1707)

Koch Bihar (Bengal)

‘Mir Jumla made his way into Kuch Bihar by an obscure and neglected highway. In six days the Mughal army reached the capital (19th December) which had been deserted by the Rajah and his people in terror. The name of the town was changed to Alamgirnagar; the Muslim call to prayer, so long forbidden in the city, was chanted from the lofty roof of the palace, and a mosque was built by demolishing the principal temple.’³⁴¹

(62)
Kalimat-i-Tayyibat

This is a collection of letters and orders of Aurangzeb compiled by ‘Inayatullah in AD 1719 and covers the years 1699-1704 of Aurangzeb’s reign.

Muhiyu’d-Din Muhammad Aurangzeb ‘Ãlamgir Padshah Ghazi (AD 1658-1707)

Somnath (Gujarat)

‘The temple of Somnath was demolished early in my reign and idol worship (there) put down. It is not known what the state of things there is at present. If the idolaters have again taken to the worship of images at the place, then destroy the temple in such a way that no trace of the building may be left, and also expel them (the worshippers) from the place.’³⁴²

Satara (Maharashtra)

‘The village of Sattara near Aurangabad was my hunting ground. Here on the top of a hill, stood a temple with an image of Khande Rai. By God’s grace I demolished it, and forbade the temple dancers (muralis) to ply their shameful profession.’³⁴³

General Observation

‘The demolition of a temple is possible at any time, as it cannot walk away from its place.’³⁴⁴

Sirhind (Punjab)

‘In a small village in the sarkar of Sirhind, a Sikh temple was demolished and converted into a mosque. An imam was appointed who was subsequently killed.’³⁴⁵

(63)
Ganj-i-Arshadi

It is a contemporary account of the destruction of Hindu temples at Varanasi in the reign of Aurangzeb:

Mubiyu’d-Din Muhammad Aurangzeb ‘Ãlamgir Padshah Ghazi (AD 1658-1707)

Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh)

‘The infidels demolished a mosque that was under construction and wounded the artisans. When the news reached Shah Yasin, he came to Banaras from Mandyawa and collecting the Muslim weavers, demolished the big temple. A Sayyid who was an artisan by profession agreed with one Abdul Rasul to build a mosque at Banaras and accordingly the foundation was laid. Near the place there was a temple and many houses belonging to it were in the occupation of the Rajputs. The infidels decided that the construction of a mosque in the locality was not proper and that it should be razed to the ground. At night the walls of the mosque were found demolished. Next day the wall was rebuilt but it was again destroyed. This happened three or four times. At last the Sayyid hid himself in a corner. With the advent of night the infidels came to achieve their nefarious purpose. When Abdul Rasul gave the alarm, the infidels began to fight and the Sayyid was wounded by Rajputs. In the meantime, the Musalman resident of the neighbourhood arrived at the spot and the infidels took to their heels. The wounded Muslims were taken to Shah Yasin who determined to vindicate the cause of Islam. When he came to the mosque, people collected from the neighbourhood. The civil officers were outwardly inclined to side with the saint, but in reality they were afraid of the royal displeasure on account of the Raja, who was a courtier of the Emperor and had built the temple (near which the mosque was under construction). Shah Yasin, however, took up the sword and started for Jihad. The civil officers sent him a message that such a grave step should not be taken without the Emperor’s permission. Shah Yasin, paying no heed, sallied forth till he reached Bazar Chau Khamba through a fusillade of stones. The, doors (of temples) were forced open and the idols thrown down. The weavers and other Musalmans demolished about 500 temples. They desired to destroy the temple of Beni Madho, but as lanes were barricaded, they desisted from going further.’³⁴⁶

(64)
Kalimat-i-Aurangzeb

This is another compilation of letters and orders by ‘Inayatu’llah covering the years 1703-06 of Aurangzeb’s reign.

Muhiyu’d-Din Muhammad Aurangzeb ‘Ãlamgir Padshah Ghazi (AD 1658-1707)

Maharashtra

‘The houses of this country (Maharashtra) are exceedingly strong and built solely of stone and iron. The hatchet-men of the Government in the course of my marching do not get sufficient strength and power (i.e., time) to destroy and raze the temples of the infidels that meet the eye on the way. You should appoint an orthodox inspector (darogha) who may afterwards destroy them at leisure and dig up their foundations.’³⁴⁷

(65)
Muraq’at-i-Abu’I Hasan

This is a collection of records and documents compiled by Maulana Abu’l Hasan, one of Aurangzeb’s officers in Bengal and Orissa during AD 1655-67.

Muhiyu’d-Din Muhammad Aurangzeb ‘Ãlamgir Padshah Ghazi (AD 1658-1707)

Bengal and Orissa

‘Order issued on all faujdars of thanas, civil officers (mutasaddis), agents of jagirdars, kroris, and amlas from Katak to Medinipur on the frontier of Orissa:- The imperial paymaster Asad Khan has sent a letter written by order of the Emperor, to say, that the Emperor learning from the newsletters of the province of Orissa that at the village of Tilkuti in Medinipur a temple has been (newly) built, has issued his august mandate for its destruction, and the destruction of all temples built anywhere in this province by the worthless infidels. Therefore, you are commanded with extreme urgency that immediately on the receipt of this letter you should destroy the above-mentioned temples. Every idol-house built during the last 10 or 12 years, whether with brick or clay, should be demolished without delay. Also, do not allow the crushed Hindus and despicable infidels to repair their old temples. Reports of the destruction of temples should be sent to the Court under the seal of the qazis and attested by pious Shaikhs.’³⁴⁸

(66)
Futuhat-i-‘Ãlamgiri

The author, Îshwardas Nagar, was a Brahman from Gujarat, born around AD 1654. Till the age of thirty he as in the service of the Chief Qazi of the empire under Aurangzeb. Later on, he took up a post under Shuja’t Khan, the governor of Gujarat, who appointed him amin in the pargana of Jodhpur. His history covers almost half a century of Aurangzeb’s reign, from 1657 to 1700. There is nothing in his style which may mark him out as a Hindu. He sends to ‘hell’ every Hindu who dies at the hands of Muslims or otherwise, while every Muslim who gets killed becomes a ‘martyr’ and attains paradise.

Muhiyu’d-Din Muhammad Aurangzeb ‘Ãlamgir Padshah Ghazi (AD 16M-1707)

Mathura (Uttar Pradesh)

‘When the imperial army was encamping at Mathura, a holy city of the Hindus, the state of affairs with regard to temples of Mathura was brought to the notice of His Majesty. Thus, he ordered the faujdar of the city, Abdul Nabi Khan, to raze to the ground every temple and to construct big mosques (over their demolished sites).’³⁴⁹

Udaipur (Rajasthan)

‘The Emperor, within a short time, reached Udaipur and destroyed the gate of Dehbari, the palaces of Rana and the temples of Udaipur. Apart from it, the trees of his gardens were also destroyed.’³⁵⁰

(67)
Nau-Bahar-i-Murshid Quli-Khani

The author, Ãzad al-Husaini, was a poor but learned immigrant from Persia, who presented this work in AD 1729 to Mirza Lutfullah surnamed Murshid Quli II who had arrived in Dhaka in 1728 as the Deputy Governor of Shujau’d-Din, the Mughal Governor of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa from 1727 to 1739.

Nasiru’d-Din Muhammad Shah Bahadur Padshah Ghazi (AD 1719-1748)

Udaipur (Tripura)

‘Tipara is a country extremely strong. The Raja is proud of his strength and the practice of conch-blowing and idol-worship prevailed there 

‘Murshid Quli II decided to conquer Tipara and put down idolatry there. He wrote to Sayyid Habibullah (the Commander-in-Chief), Md. Sadiq, Mir Hashim, Shaikh Sirajuddin Md., and Mahdi Beg who were then engaged in the Chittogong expedition, that they should set out with their forces, observing every precaution, arrive close to the Kingdom of Tipara, and try to conquer it.’³⁵¹

‘The Tipara soldiers did not fail to fight regardless of death. The Muslim troops invested the fort from four sides. A severe battle was fought. The zamindar’s men lay dead in heaps. The victors entered the fort. The flag of Murshid Quli Khan was unfurled on the top of fort Udaipur. The Muslims raised the cry of Allahu-akbar and the Muslim credo (There is no deity except Allah and Muhammad is His messenger), and demolished the temple of the zamindar which had long been the seat of idol-worship. Making a level courtyard on the side of the temple, they read the Khutba in the Emperor’s name. The world-illuminating sun of the faith of Muhammad swept away the dark night of infidelity, and the bright day of Islam dawned.’³⁵²

(68)
Kanzu’l-Mahfuz

The name and position of the author is not known. It deals with the history of the ‘Ummayids, the Ghaznivids and the Muslim dynasties of India.

Muhiyu’d-Din Muhammad Aurangzeb ‘Ãlamgir Padshah Ghazi (AD 1658-1707)

Agra (Uttar Pradesh)

‘In the city of Agra there was a large temple, in which there were numerous idols, adorned and embellished with precious jewels and valuable pearls. It was the custom of the infidels to resort to this temple from far and near several times in each year to worship the idols, and a certain fee to the Government was fixed upon each man, for which he obtained admittance. As there was a large congress of pilgrims, a very considerable amount was realized from them, and paid into the royal treasury. This practice had been observed to the end of the reign of the Emperor Shah Jahan, and in the commencement of Aurangzeb’s government; but when the latter was informed of it, he was exceedingly angry and abolished the custom. The greatest nobles of his court represented to him that a large sum was realized and paid into the public treasury, and that if it was abolished, a great reduction in the income of the state would take place. The Emperor observed, ‘What you say is right, but I have considered well on the subject, and have reflected on it deeply; but if you wish to augment the revenue, there is a better plan for attaining the object by exacting the jizya. By this means idolatry will be suppressed, the Muhammadan religion and the true faith will be honoured, our proper duty will be performed, the finances of the state will be increased, and the infidels will be disgraced.’  This was highly approved by all the nobles; and the Emperor ordered all the golden and silver idols to be broken, and the temple destroyed.’³⁵³

(69)
Muntikhabu’l-Lubab

The author, Hashim ‘Ali Khan, is better known by his designation of Khafi Khan. His father was also a historian in the employ of Aurangzeb. He was brought up in the court of Aurangzeb, made a diwan, but was ordered to stop writing history. He, however, continued writing in secret. Muhammad Shah was pleased when he saw what had been written and named him Khafi Khan. The work is also known as Tarikh-i-Khafi Khan. It starts with the invasion of Babur in AD 1519 and comes upto the fourteenth year of Bahadur Shah (AD 1719-1748). He refers to the Hindus as evil dogs, accursed wretches, etc.

Shihabu’d-Din Muhammad Shah Jahan Padshah Ghazi (1628-1658)

After describing the destruction of temples in Benares and Gujarat, this author stated that ‘The materials of some of the Hindu temples were used for building mosques.’³⁵⁴

Hargaon (Uttar Pradesh)

‘In AD 1630-31 (AH 1040) when Abdal, the Hindu chief of Hargaon in the province of Allahabad, rebelled, most of the temples in the state were either demolished or converted into mosques. Idols were burnt.’³⁵⁵

Muhiyu’d-Din Muhammad Aurangzeb ‘Ãlamgir Padshah Ghazi (1658-1707)

Golkonda (Andhra Pradesh)

‘On the capture of Golkonda, the Emperor appointed Abdur Rahim Khan as Censor of the city of Haiderabad with orders to put down infidel practices and (heretical) innovations and destroy the temples and build mosques on their sites.’³⁵⁶

Bijapur (Karnataka)

‘The fall and capture of Bijapur was similarly solemnized though here the destruction of temples was delayed for several years, probably till 1698.’³⁵⁷

Sikh Temples (Punjab)

‘Aurangzeb ordered the temples of the Sikhs to be destroyed and the guru’s agents (masands) for collecting the tithes and presents of the faithful to be expelled from the cities.’³⁵⁸

Shah ‘Ãlam Bahadur Shah Padshah Ghazi (AD 1707-1712)

Jodhpur (Rajasthan)

‘Ajit Singh sent a message humbly asking that Khan Zaman and the Kaziu’I-Kuzat might come into Jodhpur, to rebuild the mosques, destroy idol-temples, enforce the provisions of the law about the summons to prayer and the killing of cows, to appoint magistrates and to commission officers to collect the jizya. His submission was graciously accepted, and his requests granted.’³⁵⁹

(70)
Mir’at-i-Ahmadi

This is the most important Persian history of Gujarat. It starts with the Hindu Rajas of ANhilwaD PaTan and ends with the establishment of Maratha rule in the eighteenth century. It was written after the Third Battle of Panipat in AD 1761. The author, ‘Ali Muhammad Khan, came to Gujarat from Burhanpur in 1708-09 and, when grown up, had access to official records.

Sultan ‘A1au’d-Din Khalji (AD 1296-1316)

Sidhpur (Gujarat)

‘When Raja Sidhraj Jaisingh Solanki became the king, he extended his conquest as far as Malwa and Burhanpur etc. and laid foundation of lofty forts such as the forts of Broach and Dabhoi etc. He dug the tank of Sahastraling in Pattan, many others in Biramgam and at most places in Sorath. His reign is known as ‘Sang Bast’, the Age of Stone Buildings. He founded the city of Sidhpur and built the famous Rudramal Temple. It is related that when he intended to build Rudramal, he summoned astrologers to elect an auspicious hour for it. The astrologers said to him that some harm through heavenly revolution is presaged from Alauddin when his turn comes to the Saltanat of Dihli. The Raja relied on the statement of astrologers and entered into a pledge and pact with the said Sultan. The Sultan had said. ‘If I do not destroy it under terms of the pact, yet I will leave some religious vestiges.’ When, after some time, the turn of the Sultan came to the Saltanat of Delhi, he marched with his army to that side and left religious marks by constructing a masjid and a minar.’³⁶⁰

Somnath (Gujarat)

‘In the year 696, six hundred and ninety-six, he sent an army for the conquest of Gujarat under the command of Ulugh Khan who became famous among the Gujaratis as Alp Khan and Nusrat Khan Jalesri. These Khans subjected Naharwala that is, Pattan and the whole of that dominion to plunder and pillage. They broke the idol of Somnat which was installed again after Sultan Mahmud Ghaznawi and sent riches, treasure, elephants, women and daughters of Raja Karan to the Sultan at Delhi.’³⁶¹

Patan (Gujarat)

‘After conquest of Naharwala and expulsion of Raja Karan, Ulugh Khan occupied himself with the government. From that day, governors were appointed on this side on behalf of the Sultans of Dilhi. It is said that a lofty masjid called Masjid-i-Adinah (Friday Masjid) of marble stone which exists even today is built by him. It is popular among common folk that error is mostly committed in counting its many pillars. They relate that it was a temple which was converted into a masjid. Most of the relics and vestiges of magnificence and extension of the ancient prosperity of Pattan city are found in the shape of bricks and dried clay, which inform us about the truth of this statement, scattered nearly to a distance of three kurohs (one kuroh = 2 miles) from the present place of habitation. Remnants of towers of the ancient fortifications seen at some places are a proof of repeated changes and vicissitudes in population due to passage of times. Most of the ancient relics gradually became extinct. Marble stones, at the end of the rule of rajas, were brought from Ajmer for building temples in such a quantity that more than which is dug out from the earth even now. All the marble stones utilized in the city of Ahmedabad were (brought) from that place.’³⁶²

Sultan Muzaffar Shah I of Gujarat (AD 1392-1410)

Somnath (Gujarat)

‘He made efforts at the proclamation of the word of God (confession of the Muslim faith). He led an army for plundering the temple of Somnat, that is, Pattan Dev. He spread Islam at most of the places.’³⁶³

Sultan Ahmad Shah I of Gujarat (AD 1411-1443)

Sidhpur (Gujarat)

‘In the year 817, eight hundred and seventeen Hijri, he resolved to march with intent of jihad against the unbelievers of Girnar, a famous fort in Sorath. Raja Mandalik fought with him but was defeated and took refuge in the fort. It is narrated that even though that land (region) this time did not get complete brightness form the lamp of Islam, yet the Sultan subdued the fort of Junagadh situated near the foot of Girnar mountain. Most of the Zamindars of Sorath became submissive and obedient to him and agreed to pay tribute. After that, he demolished the temple of Sayyedpur in the month of Jamadi I of the year 818, eight hundred and eighteen Hijri. In the year 823, eight hundred and twenty-three Hijri, he attended to the establishment of administrative control over his dominion. He suppressed refractoriness wherever it was found. He demolished temples and constructed masjids in their places.’³⁶⁴

Sultan Mahmud BegDah of Gujarat (AD 1458-1511)

Junagadh (Gujarat)

‘Rao Mandalik saw that his fate was sealed. He fled at night to the fort and gave him a battle. When the warfare continued for some time provisions in the fort became scarce. He requested the Sultan in all humility to save his life. The Sultan agreed on condition of his accepting Islam. Rao Mandalik came down from the fort, surrendered the fort’s keys to the Sultan. The Sultan offered recitation of the word of Unity to him to repeat. He instantly recited it. The fort was conquered in the year 877, eight hundred and seventy-seven. In a few days, he populated a city which can be called Ahmedabad and named it Mustafabad. Rao Mandalik was given the title of Khan Jahan with a grant of jagir. He gave away as presents the gold idols brought from the temple of Rao Mandalik to all soldiers.’³⁶⁵

Sankhodhar (Gujarat)

‘This victory took place in the year 878, eight hundred and seventy-eight; the island of Sankhodar was never conquered in any age by any king of the past. It is related that the Sultan performed two genuflexions of namaz out of thanksgiving at the time of demolishing the temple and breaking the idols of Jagat. He grew eloquent in recitation of praise out of gratitude to God. The Muslims raised calls to namaz (azan) by loud voice from top of temples. He built a masjid there.’³⁶⁶

Idar (Gujarat)

‘He marched towards Malwa, in the same month, from Muhammedabad for repulsion of unbelievers and defence of religious-minded Muslims. He halted at the town of Godhra for reinforcement of powerful forces when he received a report about insolence of the Raja of Idar. He, therefore, marched thither and ordered to demolish houses and temples of Idar. This event took place in the year 919, nine hundred and nineteen Hijri.’³⁶⁷

Muhiyu’d-Din Muhammad Aurangzeb ‘Ãlamgir Padshah Ghazi (AD 1658-1707)

Ahmadabad (Gujarat)

‘During the Subedari of religious-minded, noble prince, vestiges of the Temple of Chintaman situated on the side of Saraspur built by Satidas jeweller, were removed under the Prince’s order and a masjid was erected on its remains. It was named ‘Quwwat-ul-Islam’.’³⁶⁸
__

Gujarat

‘As it has come to His Majesty’s knowledge that some inhabitants of the mahals appertaining to the province of Gujarat have (again) built the temples which had been demolished by imperial order before his accession therefore His Majesty orders that the formerly demolished and recently restored temples should be pulled down.’³⁶⁹

Vadnagar (Gujarat)

‘The Emperor ordered the destruction of the Hateshwar temple at Vadnagar, the special guardian of the Nagar Brahmans.’³⁷⁰

Malarina (Rajasthan)

‘Salih Bahadur was sent to pull down the temple of Malarna.’³⁷¹

Sorath (Gujarat)

‘In AD 1696-97 (AH 1108) orders were issued for the destruction of the major temples at Sorath in Gujarat.’³⁷²

Dwarka (Gujarat)

‘He stopped public worship at the Hindu temple of Dwarka.’³⁷³

(71)
Tarikh-i-Ibrahim Khan

It was composed by Nawab Ibrahim Khan and written down by Mulla Baksh in the town of Benares. It was finished in the year AD 1786. It is mainly a history of the Marathas.

Ahmad Shah Abdali (AD 1747-1773)

Mathura (Uttar Pradesh)

‘Ahmad Shah Abdali in the year AH 1171 (AD 1757-58), came from the country of Kandahar to Hindastan, and on the 7th of Jumadal awwal of that year, had an interview with the Emperor ‘Ãlamgir II, at the palace of Shah-Jahanabad. After an interval of a month, he set out to coerce Raja Suraj Mal Jat, who from a distant period, had extended his sway over the province of Ãgra, as far as the environs of the city of Delhi. In three days he captured Balamgarh, situated at a distance of fifteen kos from Delhi. After causing a general massacre of the garrison he hastened towards Mathura, and having razed that ancient sanctuary of the Hindus to the ground, made all the idolaters fall a prey to his relentless sword.’³⁷⁴

(72)
Tarikh-i-Husain Shahi

It was written in AD 1797-98 by Sayyid Imamu’d-Din al-Husain. We have not been able to obtain other particulars about it.

Ahmad Shah Abdali (AD 1747-1773)

Mathura (Uttar Pradesh)

‘Idols were broken and kicked about like polo-balls by the Islamic heroes.’³⁷⁵

(73)
Nishan-i-Haidari

The author, Mir Hussain ‘Ali Kirmani, describes his work as ‘the History of the Nawab Hyder Ali Khan Bahadur, and a commentary on the reign and actions of Tipu Sultan.’ He completed the work in AD 1802. We have been able to get an English translation of the second part only.

Tipu Sultan (AD 1782-1799)

Srirangapatnam (Karnataka)

‘At this time the Sultan determined to recommence the building of the Masjidi Ala, the erection of which had been suspended since the year 1198 Hijri, and the Daroghu Public buildings, according to the plan, which will be mentioned hereafter, completed it in two years, at the expense of three lakhs of rupees 

‘It is known that when the vile and rejected Brahman Khunda Rao imprisoned the Nawab’s Zanana and the Sultan (who was then a boy of six or seven years of age) in a house in the fort there stood a Hindu temple, the area or space round which was large. The Sultan, therefore, in his infancy being like all children fond of play, and as in that space boys of Kinhiri Brahmin castes assembled to amuse themselves, was accustomed to quit the house to see them play, or play with them. It happened one day that a Fakir (a religious mendicant) a man of saint-like mind passed that way, and seeing the Sultan gave him a life bestowing benediction, saying to him, ‘Fortunate child, at a future time thou will be the king of this country, and whey thy time comes, remember my words-take this temple and destroy it, and build a Masjid in its place, and for ages it will remain a memorial of thee.’ The Sultan smiled, and in reply told him, ‘that whenever, by his blessing, he should become a Padishah, or king, he would do as he (the Fakir) directed.’ When, therefore, after a short time his father became a prince, the possessor of wealth and territory, he remembered his promise, and after his return from Nagar and Gorial Bundar, he purchased the temple from the adorers of the image in it (which after all was nothing but the figure of a bull, made of brick and mortar) with their goodwill, and the Brahmins, therefore, taking away their image, placed it in the Deorhi Peenth, and the temple was pulled down, and the foundations of a new Masjid raised on the site, agreeably to a plan of the Mosque built by Ali Adil Shah, at Bijapur, and brought thence.’³⁷⁶

The nature of the purchase needs no comment:

(74)
Riyazu’s-Salatin

This is a history of Bengal from the invasion of Bakhtiyar Khalji to AD 1788 when the British were in complete control. The author, Ghulam Hussain Salim of Zaidpur in Awadh, had migrated to Bengal and become a Postmaster in Malda. He died in AD 1817.

Ikhtiyaru’d-Din Muhammad Bakhtiyar Khalji (AD 1202-1206)

Lakhnauti (Bengal)

‘Muhammad Bakhtiyar sweeping the town with the broom of devastation, completely demolished it, and making anew the city of Lakhnauti his metropolis, ruled over Bengal and strove to put in practice the ordinances of the Muhammadan religion and for a period ruling over Bengal he engaged in demolishing the temples and building mosques.’³⁷⁷

Sulaiman Karrani of Bengal (AD 1563-1576)

Orissa

‘Kalapahar, by successive and numerous fightings, vanquished the Rajah’s forces, and brought to his subjection the entire dominion of Odisah (Orissa), so much so that he carried off the Rani together with all household goods and chattels. Notwithstanding all this, from fear of being killed, no one was bold to wake up this drunkard of the sleep of negligence, so that Kalapahar had his hands free. After completing the subjugation of the entire country, and investing the Fort of BarahbaTi, which was his (the Rajah’s) place of sleep, Kalapahar engaged in fighting. The firm Muhammadan religion and the enlightened laws of Islam were introduced into that country. Before this, the Musalman Sovereigns exercised no authority over this country. Of the miracles of Kalapahar, one was this, that wherever in that country, the sound of his drum reached, the hands and the feet, the ears and the noses of the idols, worshipped by the Hindus, fell off their stone-figures, so that even now stone-idols, with hands and feet broken, and noses and ears cut off, are lying at several places in that country. And the Hindus pursuing the false, from blindness of their hearts, with full sense and knowledge, devote themselves to their worship!

It is known what grows out of stone:
From its worship what is gained, except shame?

‘It is said at the time of return, Kalapahar left a drum in the jungle of Kaonjhar, which is lying in an upset state. No one there from fear of life dares to set it up; so it is related.’³⁷⁸

(75)
Bahar-i’Ãzam

It is an account of a journey undertaken in 1823 by ‘Ãzam Jah Bahadur ‘after he ascended the throne of the Carnatic as Nawwab Walajah VI.’³⁷⁹ The author, Ghulam ‘Abdul Qadir Nazir, was his court scribe who accompanied the Nawwab on this journey. Nazir does not tell us that his patron was a Nawwab only in name as he was living in Madras on British charity, his ancestral principality of Arcot having been ceded to the British in 1801. What he says instead is how the ‘Nawwab’ lost his temper when he learnt that the Muslims in his retinue were visiting the Hindu temples at Chidambaram and how he ‘gave strict orders’ to British officers of the place ‘that no Muslim should be allowed to go over to the temple and enter it.’³⁸⁰ At a later stage, we are told that ‘the party marched forth to the accompaniment of music provided by dancing girls of the Hindu cornmunity.’³⁸¹ The account names numerous Sufis etc., who came to the districts of Chingleput, North Arcot, South Arcot, Tiruchirapalli and Thanjavur and established Muslim places of worship. What these new monuments replaced becomes obvious from the following few instances.

Sufi Natthar Wali

Tiruchirapalli (Tamil Nadu)

‘It is said that in ancient days Trichila, an execrable monster with three heads, who was a brother of Rawan, with ten heads, had the sway over this country. No human being could oppose him. But as per the saying of the Prophet, ‘Islam will be elevated and cannot be subdued’, the Faith took root by the efforts of Hazarat Natthar Wali. The monster was slain and sent to the house of perdition. His image namely but-ling worshipped by the unbelievers was cut and the head was separated from the body. A portion of the body went into the ground. Over that spot is the tomb of the Wali, shedding rediance till this day.’³⁸²
__

Sufi Shah Bheka

‘Shah Bheka when he was at Trichinopoly during the days of Rani Minachi, the unbelievers who did not like his stay there harassed him. One day when he was very much vexed, he got upon the bull in front of the temple, which the Hindus worship calling it swami, and made it move on by the power and strength of the Supreme Life Giver. They abandoned the temple and gave the entire place on the aruskalwa as present to the Shah.’³⁸³

Sufi Qayim Shah

‘Qayim Shah came here from Hindustan. He was the cause for the destruction of twelve temples. He lived to an old age and passed away on the 17th Safar AH 1193.’³⁸⁴

Sufi Nur Muhammad Qadiri

Vellore (Tamil Nadu)

‘Hazarat Nur Muhammad Qadiri was the most unique man regarded as an invaluable person of his age. Very often he was the cause of the ruin of temples. Some of these were laid waste. He selected his own burial ground in the vicinity of the temple. Although he lived five hundred years ago, people at large still remember his greatness.’³⁸⁵

(76)
Ãsaru’s-Sanadid

It is a book on the antiquities of Delhi written by Sayyid Ahmad Khan, the famous founder of the Aligarh Muslim University. Its first edition was published in 1847, the second in 1854, and the third in 1904. A new edition with a long introduction, footnotes, comments, bibliography, and index has been published recently. We are reproducing relevant passages from this edition.

Qutbu’d-Din Aibak (AD 1192-1210)

Iron Pillar: ‘In our opinion this pillar was made in the ninth century before (the birth of) Lord Jesus. When Rai Pithora built a fort and an idol-house near this pillar, it stood in the courtyard of the idol-house. And when Qutbu’d-Din Aibak constructed a mosque after demolishing the idol-house, this pillar stood in the courtyard of the mosque.’³⁸⁶

Idol-house of Rai Pithora: ‘There was an idol-house near the fort of Rai Pithora. It was very famous. It was built along with the fort in 1200 Bikarmi [Vikrama SaMvat] corresponding to AD 1143 and AH 538. The building of this temple was very unusual, and the work done on it by stone-cutters is such that nothing better can be conceived. The beautiful carvings on every stone in it defy description. The eastern and northern portions of this idol-house have survived intact. The fact that the Iron Pillar, which belongs to the Vaishnava faith, was kept inside it, as also the fact that sculptures of Kirshan avatar and Mahadev and Ganesh and Hanuman were carved on its walls, leads us to believe that this temple belonged to the Vaishnava faith. Although all sculptures were mutilated in the times of Muslims, even so a close scrutiny can identify as to which sculpture was what. In our opinion there was a red-stone building in this idol-house, and it was demolished. For, this sort of old stones with sculptures carved on them are still found.’³⁸⁷

Quwwat al-Islam Masjid: ‘When Qutbu’d-Din, the commander-in-chief of Muizzu’d-Din Sam alias Shihabu’d-Din Ghuri, conquered Delhi in AH 587 corresponding to AD 1191 corresponding to 1248 Bikarmi, this idol-house (of Rai Pithora) was converted into a mosque. The idol was taken out of the temple. Some of the images sculptured on walls or doors or pillars were effaced completely, some were defaced. But the structure of the idol-house kept standing as before. Materials from twenty-seven temples, which were worth five crores and forty lakhs of Dilwals, were used in the mosque, and an inscription giving the date of conquest and his own name was installed on the eastern gate³⁸⁸

‘When Malwah and Ujjain were conquered by Sultan Shamsu’d-Din in AH 631 corresponding to AD 1233, then the idol-house of Mahakal was demolished and its idols as well as the statue of Raja Bikramajit were brought to Delhi, they were strewn in front of the door of the mosque.’³⁸⁹

‘In books of history, this mosque has been described as Masjid-i-Ãdinah and Jama’ Masjid Delhi, but Masjid Quwwat al-Islam is mentioned nowhere. It is not known as to when this name was adopted. Obviously, it seems that when this idol-house was captured, and the mosque constructed, it was named Quwwat al-Islam.’³⁹⁰

Sultan Shamsu’d-Din Iltutmish (AD 1210-1236)

Tomb of Sultan Ghari: Sayyid Ahmad Khan notices this tomb and describes it as exquisite. He says that it was built in AH 626 corresponding to AD 1228 when the corpse of Sultan Nasiru’d-Din Mahmud, the eldest son of Sultan Shamsu’d-Din Iltutmish, who was Governor of Laknauti and who died while his father was still alive, was brought to Delhi and buried.³⁹¹ But the editor, Khaleeq Anjum, comments in his introduction that ‘the dome of the mosque which is of marble has been re-used and has probably been obtained from some temple’, and that the domes on the four pavilions outside ‘are in Hindu style in their interior.’³⁹² He provides greater details in his notes at the end of Sayyid Ahmad’s work. He writes:

‘This is the first Muslim tomb in North India, if we overlook some others. And it is the third historical Muslim monument in India after Quwwat al-Islam Masjid and ADhai Din Ka JhoñpRa. Stones from Hindu temples have been used in this tomb also, as in the Quwwat al-Islam Masjid.’³⁹³

‘In the middle of the corridor on the west there is a marble dome. A look at the dome leads to the conclusion that it has been brought from some temple. The pillars that have been raised in the western corridor are of marble and have been made in Greek style. It is clear that they belong to some other building.’³⁹⁴

Sultan Ghiyasu’d-Din Tughlaq (AD 1320-1325)

Tomb of Ghiyasu’d-Din Tughlaq: Similarly, Sayyid Ahmad notices this tomb in some detail but does not describe its Hindu features.³⁹⁵ Khaleeq Anjum, however, says in his introduction that ‘corridors inside this tomb have been constructed in the style of Hindu architecture, and the pillars as well as the beams in the corridors are fully of Hindu fashion.’³⁹⁶ He repeats the same comments in his notes at the end.’³⁹⁷

Nasiru’d-Din Muhammad Humayun Padshah Ghazi (AD 1530-1540 and 1556)

Nili Chhatri: ‘At the foot of Salim Garh and on the bank of the Jamuna, there is a small Baradari near Nigambodh Ghat. It is known as Nili Chhatri because of the blue mosaic work on its dome. This Chhatri was built by Humayun Badshah in AH 939 corresponding to AD 1533 in order to have a view of the river. Hindus ascribe this Chhatri to the time of the PaNDus. Even if that is not true, this much is certain that the bricks with mosaic work which have been used in this Chhatri have been taken from some Hindu place because the bricks bear broken and mutilated images. On account of a derangement of the carvings, some have only the head left, while some others show only the torso. This derangement of carvings also goes to prove that these bricks have been placed here after being taken out from somewhere else. According to the Hindus, Raja Judhastar had performed a Jag [Yajña] at this Ghat. It is not inconceivable that in the Hindu era a Chhatri had been built at some spot on this Ghat in commemoration of the Jag, and that this Chhatri was built in the reign of Humayun after demolition of that (older) Chhatri³⁹⁸

He repeats some of these comments while describing the Nigambodh Ghat³⁹⁹

(77)
Hadiqah-i-Shuhada

This was written in the reign of Nawab Wajid ‘Ali Shah of Awadh (AD 1847-1856) by Mirza ‘Ali Jan, an eyewitness of and active participant in the jihad led by Amir ‘Ali Amethawi in 1855 for recapturing the Hanuman GaRhi temple at Ayodhya. The temple had been converted into a mosque in the reign of Aurangzeb but restored when Muslim power suffered an eclipse. The work was written immediately after the failure of the jihad and published in 1856.

Zahiru’d-Din Muhammad Babur Padshah Ghazi (AD 1026-1030)

Ayodhya (Uttar Pradesh)

‘Wherever they found magnificent temples of the Hindus ever since the establishment of Sayyid Salar Mas’ud Ghazi’s rule, the Muslim rulers in India built mosques, monasteries and inns, appointed mu’azzins, teachers, and store-stewards, spread Islam vigorously and vanquished the Kafirs. Likewise, they cleared up Faizabad and Avadh, too, from the filth of reprobation (infidelity), because it was a great centre of worship and capital of Rama’s father. Where there stood the great temple (of Ramjanmasthan), there they built a big mosque, and where there was a small mandap (pavilion), there they erected a camp mosque (masjid-i-mukhtasar-i-qanati). The Janmasthan temple is the principal place of Rama’s incarnation, adjacent to which is the Sita ki Rasoi. Hence, what a lofty mosque was built there by king Babar in AH 923 (AD 1528) under the patronage of Musa Ashiqan! The mosque is still known far and wide as the Sita ki Rasoi mosque. And that temple is extant by its side (aur pahlu mein wah dair baqi hai).’⁴⁰⁰

(78)
Muraqqa’-i-Khusrawi

It was completed in 1869 by Shykh ‘Azmat Ali Kakorwi Nami who was an eyewitness of much that happened in the reign of Wajid ‘Ali Shah. The work, known as Tarikh-i-Awadh also, was published for the first time in 1986 by the Fakhruddin Ali Ahmad Committee, U.P., Lucknow, but the chapter dealing with the jihad led by Amir ‘Ali Amethawi was left out. This chapter was published separately by Dr. Zaki Kakorawi from Lucknow in 1987.

Zahiru’d-Din Muhammad Babur Padshah Ghazi (AD 1526-1530)

Ayodhya (Uttar Pradesh)

‘According to old records, it has been a rule with the Muslim rulers from the first to build mosques, monasteries, and inns, spread Islam, and put (a stop to) non-Islamic practices, wherever they found prominence (of kufr). Accordingly, even as they cleared up Mathura, Bindraban etc., from the rubbish of non-Islamic practices, the Babari mosque was built up in AH 923 (?) under the patronage of Sayyid Musa Ashiqan in the Janmasthan temple (butkhane Janmsthan mein) in Faizabad Avadh, which was a great place of (worship) and capital of Rama’s father 

‘A great mosque was built on the spot where Sita ki Rasoi is situated. During the regime of Babar, the Hindus had no guts to be a match for the Muslims. The mosque was built in AH 923 (?) under the patronage of Sayyid Mir Ashiqan. Aurangzeb built a mosque on the Hanuman Garhi. The Bairagis effaced the mosque and erected a temple in its place. Then idols began to be worshipped openly in the Babari mosque where the Sita ki Rasoi is situated.’⁴⁰¹

(79)
Waqi’at-i-Mamalakat-i-Bijapur

This is an Urdu work compiled in 3 volumes by Bashir’ud-Din Ahmad in AD 1913-14 and published from Agra in 1915. The first two volumes are translations of Basatin al-Salatin, a general history of Bijapur written in 1811 by Muhammad Ibrahim Zubairi. The third volume contains details collected by Bashiru’d-Din Ahmad himself from the life-stories and sayings of Sufis.

Sultan ‘Ali ‘Ãdil Shah I of Bijapur (AD 1558-1580)

Mudgal (Karnataka)

‘And in Mudgal town located 75 miles south-east of Bijapur ‘Ali I tore down two temples and replaced them with ashurkhanas, or houses used in the celebration of Shi’a festivals.’⁴⁰²

(80)
Mosque Architecture of Pre-Mughal Bengal

This is a modern work published from Dacca (Bangladesh) in 1979. The author, Dr. Syed Mahmudul Hasan, had submitted it as his Ph.D. thesis to the University of London in 1965. He has been the Head of the Post-Graduate Department of Islamic History and Culture in Jagannath University College in Decca, a member of F.R.A.S. and F.S.A. (Scot), and has served on the staff of the Department of Eastern Art in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. The book is documented from impeccable sources, literary and archaeological. It carries 43 plates with 45 photographs of monuments, and of inscriptions etc. discovered in them. We have brought together, from different pages, the passages which relate to the same subject.

General and Persistent Practice

‘The Muslim invaders were necessarily impressed by Indian architecture and sculpture, expressing as they do foreign religious emotions in terms of images and emblems. What they saw at Delhi, and the other cities of India, which they attacked, was absolutely foreign to them. Yet when they came to raise their own religious buildings, they were not averse to using the spoils of their temples⁴⁰³

‘The ruthless desecration and makeshift conversion of Indian temples into Mosques has led many scholars to regard Indo-Muslim architecture as nothing more than a local variety of hybrid nature. In point of fact, these early Indian mosques which were compiled from Brahamanical fragments, such as the Deval Masjid at Bodhan near Hyderabad, have no direct bearing on the general development of Mosque architecture in India.’⁴⁰⁴

‘On the other hand the use of the spoils of non-Muslim ruins was a widely recognised feature in early Muslim architecture⁴⁰⁵

‘Just as later Mughal painting is a harmonious blend of Persian and Indian artistic tradition, so the Indo-Muslim architecture of Delhi and Ajmer is a blend. In the Quwwat al-Islam at Delhi and the Arhai din-ka-Jhopra at Ajmer, existing remains bear unmistakable evidence that they were not merely compilations, but the distinctive, planned works of professional architects⁴⁰⁶

‘Although constructed of destroyed Hindu temples, the Mosques at Old Delhi and Ajmer once and for all set the fashion to be followed by later mosques in Muslim India⁴⁰⁷

‘The early formative phase of Indo-Muslim architecture, marked by the adaptation of Hindu, Buddhist or Jaina temples, is illustrated by the oldest Mosques at Delhi, Bengal, Jaunpur, Daulatabad, Patan, etc. In Malwa, also, spoils of Hindu temples were used⁴⁰⁸

‘Creighton says, ‘It appears to have been the general practice of the Muhammadan conquerors of India, to destroy all the temples of the idolaters, and to raise Mosque out of their ruins.’ The statement is of course a gross exaggeration, for innumerable contemporary Hindu and Buddhist temples still exist in the cities of India once conquered by the Muslims. ‘Abid ‘Ali seems to have carried the observation of Creighton further when he remarks, ‘It seems to the writer that the builder of the Mosque [Chhoto Sona Masjid at Gaud] had collected the stones containing the figure of the Hindu gods from the citadel of Gaur where temples must have existed in the time of the earlier Hindu kings.’ Incidentally, Ravenshaw gave illustrations of sculptured stones, representing stone capitals and Makara gargoyles, which have been discovered in Hazrat Pandua. Westmacott, however, thinks that the circular stone given in Ravenshaw’s plate XXX ‘formed a part of the high ornament or pinnacle with which both the Buddhist Stupas and later Hindu temples were usually crowned. I have seen similar pieces at Debkot, and elsewhere, often with a perforation through the centre, through which I conjecture that a rod of metal, or perhaps a column of molten lead may have been passed, to retain it in an upright position’. In the event of a prodigious abundance of Hindu temple building material scattered all over the province, it is difficult to pin-point the provenance of each stray sculptured piece used in the mosques of Gaud and Hazrat Pandua. The existence of any Hindu temple in the citadel or outside Gaud as ‘Abid ‘Ali tells us, is as difficult to prove as to obviate the fact that no material was taken from Devikot or Bannagar in Dinajpur. Contradicting the views of ‘Abid ‘Ali, Stapleton says, ‘On the other hand from Manrique’s statement that in 1641, he saw figures of idols standing in niches surrounded by carved grotesques and leaves in some stone reservoirs in Gaur, it is possible that except during periods of persecution the Muhammadan Kings of Gaur allowed idols and Hindu temples to remain unmolested in their capital.’ Although examples of the use of Hindu material are not scarce, as proved by the discovery of three sculptured figures from Mahisantosh with Muslim ornament on the reverse side, now in the Varendra Research Society Museum, it would be wrong to say after Creighton that all the Hindu temples were desecrated by the Muslims to procure building material⁴⁰⁹

‘The Indian Museum, Calcutta, as well as the Bangiya Sahitya Parishad Museum, Calcutta, acquired a large number of architectural objects from the ancient sites of Bengal, particularly, Gaud, Hazrat Pandua, Bagerhat, Hughli, Rajshahi, Dinajpur and elsewhere. Besides freshly quarried basalts, a large quantity of locally available building materials was employed by the architects of Gaud, Hazrat Pandua and elsewhere. Ravenshaw’s unwarranted observation that ‘Though it (Hazrat Pandua) cannot boast of such antiquity as Gaud, its remains afford stronger evidence than those of the latter city of its having been constructed mainly from the materials of Hindoo buildings’, has been brushed aside by Westmacott, who thinks that Hazrat Pandua is older than Gaud. One of the strongest advocates of the Indianized form of Muslim structures is Havell, who is too intolerant to allow any credit to the Muslim builders for the use of radiating arches, domes, minarets, delicate relief works. He maintains that the central mihrab of the Adina Masjid (Pl. III) at Hazrat Pandua is so obviously Hindu in design as hardly to require comments. While Havell writes that ‘The image of Vishnu or Surya has trefoil arched canopy, symbolizing the aura’ of the god, of exactly the same type as the outer arch of the mihrab, Beglar says that the Muslims delighted in ‘placing the sanctum of his orthodox cult (in this case the main prayer niche) on the spot, where hated infidel had his sanctum’. Saraswati is even more emphatic on this point when he contends, ‘An examination of the stones used in the construction of the Adina Masjid (one of them bearing a Sanscrit inscription, recording merely a name of Indranath, in the character of the 9th century AD) and those lying about in heaps all round, reveals the fact, which no careful observer can deny, that most of them came from temples that once stood in the vicinity.’ Ilahi Bakhsh, Creighton, Ravenshaw, Buchanan-Hamilton, Westmacott, Beglar, Cunnigham, King, and a host of other historians and archaeologists bear glowing testimony to the utilization of non-muslim materials (Fig. 3b & Pl. V), but none of them ventured to say that existing temples were dismantled and materials provided for the construction of magnificent monuments in Gaud and Hazrat Pandua.⁴¹⁰

‘Creighton drew the sketches of a few Hindu sculptures which were evidently used in the Chhoto Sona Masjid at Gaud. These are the image of Sivani, the consort of Siva, Varahaavatara or Vishnu in the form of a Boar, Brahmani, consort of Brahma. In the British Museum there are a few images of Hindu and Buddhist character, such as the Brahmani, sketched by Creighton, and the seated Buddha figure (Pls. XLI-XLII). The Muslim builders out of sheer expediency felt no scruple to use these fragments in their mosques by concealing the carved sides into the wall and utilizing the flat reverse side of these black basalts for arabesque design in shallow carvings. Piecemeal utilization of Hindu sculptures were also to be seen in the earlier monuments, such as, the Mosque and Tomb of Zafar Khan at Tribeni, the Mosque at Chhoto Pandua, the Adina Masjid at Hazrat Pandua, etc. The British Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum, both in London, the Indian Museum and the Bangiya Sahitya Parishad Museum, both at Calcutta, Varendra Research Society Museum, Rajshahi, provide large specimens of carved stones and architectural fragments used in the monuments of pre-Mughal Bengal. Ravenshaw photographed a circular stone pedestal and a gargoyle, which is now in the Indian Museum, Calcutta. Used obviously as the gargoyle in the Adina Masjid, it ‘consists of a modification of an elephant’s head with the eyes, horns and ears of a sardula (elephant).’ Cunningham found in the pulpit of the Adina Masjid ‘a line of Hindu sculpture of very fine bold execution.’ Innumerable Hindu lintels, pillars, door-jambs, bases, capitals, friezes, fragments of stone carvings, dadoes, etc., have been utilized in such a makeshift style as to render ‘improvisation’ well-nigh impossible. In many cases as observed in the Quwwat al-Islam at Delhi and the Arhai-din-ka-Jhopra Mosque at Ajmer, pillars were inverted, joining the base with capitals, suiting neither pattern nor size. Still there is no denying the fact that Hindu materials were utilized, yet it would be far-fetched to say that existing Hindu temples were dismantled and converted by improvisation into mosques as observed in the early phase of Muslim architecture in Indo-Pak sub-continent. The ritual needs and structural properties of the Hindus and the Muslims are so diametrically opposite as to deter any compromise and, therefore, the early Muslim conquerors of Bengal said their prayer in mosques built out of the fragments of Hindu materials in the same way as their predecessors did at Delhi, Ajmer, Patan, Janupur, Dhar and Mandu, and elsewhere. In the event [absence?] of any complete picture of pre-Muslim Hindu art as practised in Gaud and Hazrat Pandua, it is an exaggeration to hold the view after Saraswati that ‘indeed, every structure of this royal city (Hazrat Pandua) discloses Hindu materials in its composition, thus, disclosing that no earlier monument was spared.’⁴¹¹

‘During the Husain Shahi period the stone cutter’s art was thoroughly practised and perfected, as walls of gates and mosques were adorned with stone, either quarried from Rajmahal hills or obtained from some existing buildings⁴¹²

‘The British Museum, London, has in its collection two sculptured pieces from Bengal, namely, the seated Buddha figure (Pl. XLIIa) and the image of Brahmani (Pl. XLIa). Both these images have on their obverse (Pls. XLIb, XLIIb) exquisitely carved diaper work of unmistakable Muslim workmanship. The Indian Museum, Calcutta, has a stone slab carved on the one side with the image of Durga, destroying Mahisha or Buffalow-demon, and on the reverse arabesque. The panel consisting of a scalloped arch with a lotus rosette on each of its sides, surrounded by richly foliated devices, is undoubtedly a Muslim work.⁴¹³

‘The Muslim calligraphers did not feel any scruple to utilize fragments of Hindu or Jaina sculpture in carving out beautiful inscriptions in elegant Naskh, Thulth and Tughra, keeping the images inside the wall.’⁴¹⁴

Delhi

‘Delhi was the source of artistic inspiration for all the later provincial schools of Indo-Muslim architecture. Codrington remarks, ‘At Delhi, the Kutb-ul-Islam marks the beginning of Islamic architecture in India.’ This formative phase of Mosque architecture in India began with the random utilization of temple spoils, Hindu architraves, corbelled ceilings, kumbha pillars with hanging bell-and-chain motifs, which were organised to fulfil the needs of congregational prayer. It is said that the columns of twenty-seven Hindu and Jaina temples were utilized in the great Mosque, at Delhi, rightly called the ‘Might of Islam’. It was built by Qutb-al-Din Aybak in AH 587/AD 1191-92 on an ancient pre-Muslim plinth.⁴¹⁵

‘Originally there were five domes in the liwan all compiled of Hindu fragments, as is evident from their corbelled interiors⁴¹⁶

‘Incidentally, it may be recalled that Beglar carried out excavations at the Quwat-al-Islam Mosque at Old Delhi under the supervision of Cunningham and noticed the foundation of pre-Muslim temples there⁴¹⁷

Ajmer (Rajasthan)

‘To Iletmish we owe some of the finest Muslim works in India. The Arhai din ka-Jhopra began by Qutab al-Din in AD 1198-99, was also completed by him. Tod had said of it that it was ‘one of the most perfect as well as the most ancient monuments of Hindu architecture’, on the evidence of certain four-armed figures to be seen on the pillars⁴¹⁸

‘The Ajmer Mosque resembles the Delhi Mosque in its use of pre-Muslim materials as well as in its courtyard plan, arched screen, columnar liwan and riwags and use of reconstructed Hindu corbelled domes. All these features, except the fragments of Hindu and Jain carvings used in the work are essentially Islamic. The Ajmer Mosque indicates a further improvement in Mosque design. As Sardar puts it, ‘These pillars have a greater height than those at the Kutub, and are more elegant in their sculpture and general appearance than the converted Mosques in Malwa and Ahmedabad.’‘⁴¹⁹

Badaun (Uttar Pradesh)

‘The Jami Masjid of Badaun, also built by Iletmish is one of the largest mosques in India. Following the traditional courtyard plan, it also utilizes Hindu temple pillars. The entrance arches of the gateways leading into the courtyard of the Mosque presumably recall those in the great Mosques at Delhi and Ajmer.’⁴²⁰

Bayana (Rajasthan)

‘That the practice of utilizing the spoils of Hindu temples continued throughout the reign of Sultan Iletmish is proved by the Mosque of Ukha in Bayana (Uttar Pradesh), which is also on the site of a Hindu temple.’⁴²¹

Dhar (Madhya Pradesh)

‘The oldest of the Mosques in Malwa is the Kamal Maula Masjid which was built in Dhar in AH 803/AD 1400. Both this Mosque and the slightly later Jami or Lat Masjid are clearly adaptations of ruined Hindu temple material.’⁴²²

Mandu (Madhya Pradesh)

‘The transfer of the capital from Dhar to Mandu by Dilwar Khan in AH 794/AD 1392, marks a new phase in the development of Mosque architecture in Malwa. The Mosque built by him in C. AH 808/AD 1405-06 is oblong in ground plan, the western side being formed by the liwan. Its roof is supported by Hindu pillars.’⁴²³

Gujarat

‘It is true that Mosque architecture in Gujarat only began in the 14th century. When ‘Ala-al-Din Khalji conquered and annexed the country to the Delhi Sultanate in the later part of the 13th century, there still flourished a singularly beautiful indigenous style of architecture. The early monuments of Gujarat, notably at Patan (Anhilvada) tell the same story of the demolition of local temples and the reconstruction of their fragments⁴²⁴

‘In the beginning, at the Qutb, the Hindu element was confined architecturally to the trabeate constructive methods, and to part of the decoration, Islam contributing the plan and the embellishment of the Arabic lettering. In Gujarat, notably in the entrance porches of the Jami’ Masjid at Cambay, much may fairly be described as literal reconstruction of Hindu work, as units in the established plan of a Muslim place of worship. These entrances have their parallels in the pavilions and mandapas of Hindu and Jaina temples still standing, for instance, at Modhera and Mount Abu.’⁴²⁵

Patan (Gujarat)

‘The earliest recorded building in Gujarat is the Adina Masjid at Patan (Anhilvada), as stated above. This bears the same unusual name as that of the Mosque built by Sikandar Shah at Hazrat Pandua about fifty years later. The tomb of Sheikh Farid and the Adina Masjid at Patan, which are dated C. AH 700/AD 1300, correspond in their utilization of Hindu building material with the tomb and the Mosque of Zafar Khan Ghazi at Tribeni in Hooghly, Bengal, which are dated C. AH 705/ AD 1305. The now demolished Adina Masjid at Patan, is said to have had one thousand and fifty pillars of marble and other stones taken from destroyed temples. Erected by Ulugh Khan, ‘Ala’-al-Din Khalji’s Governor, it measures 400 feet by 300 feet.’⁴²⁶

Bharuch (Gujarat)

‘Unlike the Patan Mosque, the Jami’ Masjid of Bharoch, which is also dated C. AH 700/AD 1300 is a new creation. Although it does incorporate Hindu pillars, it is built on the usual Mosque plan with which we are familiar in earlier works. The brackets of the incorporated pillars and the carved interior of the corbelled domes are particularly fine. They, of course, necessarily recall the much earlier work of the Quwwat al-Islam at Delhi. It is important to realize that these primitive methods were still being used in the Indian provinces two hundred years after they were fully developed at Delhi.’⁴²⁷

Khambhat (Gujarat)

‘The Mosque of Cambay demonstrates the imposition of Khalji features, such as the arched screen of the Jama’at Khana Masjid at the Dargah of Nizam-al-Din Aulia in Delhi, upon the local trabeate forms of Gujarat Hindu architecture. Codrington writes, ‘The Jami’ Masjid at Cambay was finished in 1325, and is typical of these earlier buildings. It has all the appurtenances that Islam demands-cloisters, open court-yard, the covered place for prayer, mimbar and mihrab-but only the west end is in any sense Islamic. As at Delhi and Ajmir, the pillars of the cloisters, and notably the entrance porches as a whole, are the relics of sacked Hindu shrines.’⁴²⁸

Deccan

‘Like all other provinces of India, the Deccan, also, witnessed the growth of a distinguished school of Muslim architecture. Its early phase is also, characterized by the adaptation of local temples, for the purpose of Muslim congregational prayer, as exemplified by the Deval Mosque of Bodhan in Nizamabad, near Hyderabad, dated AD 1318, which was formerly a Hindu shrine.’⁴²⁹

Bodhan (Maharashtra)

‘It is said that the star-shaped Jaina Temple built in the Chalukya style at Bodhan in the 9th or 10th century was, also, transformed into a Mosque during the reign of Muhammad Tughlaq (AH 726-52/AD
1325-51).’⁴³⁰

Daulatabad (Maharashtra)

‘The Mosque of Qutb al-Din Mubarak Khalji at Daulatabad, dated AH 718/AD 1318, is probably the earliest surviving Muslim structure in the Deccan. It is a square, 260 feet each way, assembled into the usual orthodox plan out of destroyed Hindu pillars, brackets, and beams.’⁴³¹

Pandua (Bengal)

‘Beglar traces the origin of the Adina Masjid to pre-Muslim sources. He bases his arguments on the point that if the Adina Masjid occupies the site of a pre-Muslim Hindu temple, the name may be a reminiscent of Adisur, the so-called founder of the hitherto unidentified temple dating from the 7th century AD; however, he does not know that there is a mosque at Patan, called Adina, and that it is a Persian term for Friday. The use of fragments of Hindu or Buddhist architectural works in the Masjid do [does?] not prove that the site was pre-Muslim. They may have been brought there.’⁴³²

‘Beglar suggests that the mihrab of the Adina Masjid was transferred from a Hindu temple. He says, ‘Of the Hindu sculpture, the most striking and superb is beyond question the trefoil arch and pillars of the main prayer niche.’ But there are no grounds for his assertion. The Adina Masjid mihrab, forming a single work of art, must be accepted as contemporary with the fabric of the Masjid itself. But it must be admitted that the style is local⁴³³

‘Particular attention has been drawn to the curiously interesting designs of the archivolt of the niche. The conventional grotesque Lion’s head at the crown and the Kinnara and Kinnari at the haunches, which appear in the lintel of the Vaishnava temple from Gaud, according to many scholars have been transformed into graceful foliage, palmette and sensuous tendrils⁴³⁴

‘The discovery of an odd fragment of Hindu sculpture found built into the steps of the staircase has led many scholars to ascribe a pre-Muslim origin to the Adina Masjid. As Cunningham puts it, ‘The steps leading up to the pulpit have fallen down, and, on turning over one of the steps I found a line of Hindu sculpture of very fine and bold execution. The main ornament is a line of circular panels formed by continuous intersecting lotus stalks. These are five complete panels, and two half-panels which have been cut through. These two contain portions of an elephant and a rhinoceros. In the complete panels are: (i) cow and a calf; (ii) human figures broken; (iii) a goose; (iv) a man and woman and a crocodile; (v) two elephants. The carving is deep and the whole has been polished.’ This sculpture is still visible. It is, therefore, clear that the exigencies of the circumstances led to the utilization of some Hindu materials available on the site. Nevertheless, such mutilated fragments hardly testify to the fact that the Adina Masjid was built on the ruins of an ancient Indian temple.⁴³⁵

‘The western wall of the northern prayer hall is pierced by two openings on either side of die zenana gallery, which reduce the number of niches (Fig. 3) between the pilaster of the back walls from the 16 found in the southern prayer hall to 14. These postern gateways (Figs. 3, 9, & Pls. IV, V), are built out of elements of Hindu door frames and, therefore, are unusual features, rarely found in Indian Mosques. It is hard to believe that they were provided for the use of the general worshippers. Probably they were for the use of the attendants, palanquin-bearers and entourage of the King and his ladies, who entered the Mosque through the adjoining Ladies’ vestibule.⁴³⁶

‘However, there is one exception shown in the northern hall, which differs from the other semi-circular niches. Here the trefoil arch corresponds generally with that of the central mihrabs. The arch itself has a superimposed ribbed roof, recalling Hindu architecture. The face of the trefoil is decorated with a lotus and diamond band, the pilasters on either side having kumbha bases and looped garlands on their shafts. All these details are different from the rest of the decorative motifs in the Adina Masjid. But there are no grounds for the suggestion that the work is Hindu or that it is built up of fragments of a destroyed Hindu temple. The space between the pilasters of this mihrab and the stone-face of the brick wall is filled with fragmentary remains of Hindu sculpture.⁴³⁷

‘The two postern gateways and the two doors are already mentioned. Beglar pointed out that the door frames of all these four door ways are built up of fragments from some other buildings. He identifies the work as being Hindu but admits that he does not know any local source from their fragments. The work is more or less of the same kind as that to be seen in the postern gate. In all these doorways various Indian motifs attracts undivided attention. These include pot and foliage, pilasters, door guardians and the intertwined nagas on the lintel. The utilization of non-Muslim materials in the Adina Masjid as well as in later Mosques in Gaud and Hazrat Pandua is supported by two fragments in the British Museum. They are cut in basalt and the first shows finely cut Muslim diaper work on one side and the figure of Buddha on the other (Pls. XLII, a-b). Another fragment has the image of probably the goddess Brahmani on the other side (Pls. XLI, a-b). The work indicates that these fragments came from Gaud or Hazrat Pandua.⁴³⁸

‘The entrance gateway to the Minar at Chhoto Pandua as well as that of the Eklakhi Mausoleum at Hazrat Pandua (Pl. XVI) provide parallels for zenana gatways. The floor of the zenana gallery with its worn basalt paving slabs is supported by the squat pillars of the prayer hall below. These support bays roofed by a corbelled construction of plain slabs placed across the corners of the bays. At earlier mosques, such as the Quwwat al-Islam, internal domes constructed in this way were removed from Hindu temples. Here the old Indian method is still utilized with fresh material⁴³⁹

‘A curiously interesting feature of the Adina Masjid is the square structure, adjoining the outer wall of the qibla on the northern side of the central mihrab. It communicates with the zenana gallery by lintellect doorways, formed by Hindu door jambs as stated earlier. According to Beglar it measures externally 54 feet by 48 feet, whereas ‘Abid ‘Ali notes that this roofless annexe is 42 feet square. It stands on a very high plinth, raising the floor to the level of the ladies’ gallery. The plinth is built of random rubble work with conventionalised Buddhist railing ornament resembling those in the dadoes of the qibla wall of the mosque.⁴⁴⁰

‘The real character as well as the distinguishing features of the Adina Masjid have yet to be determined. In the present crumbling state of this one-time ‘wonder of the world’, as Cunningham calls it, it is well nigh impossible to say whether this magnificent mosque occupies the site of any Hindu or Buddhist temple. A group of scholars failed to see in the impressive Adina Masjid anything more than a mere assemblage of Hindu or Buddhist fragments, arranged skilfully to adhere to a mosque plan. Ilahi Bakhsh started the controversy when he wrote, ‘It is worth observing that in front of the chaukath (lintel) of the Adina Masjid, there was a broken and polished idol, and that there were other idols lying about. So it appears that, in fact, this mosque was originally an idol-temple.’ Beglar steps up this controversy by saying, ‘the Adina Masjid occupies the site, of a once famous, or at least a most important, and highly ornamented, pre-Muhammadan shrine’; he depends for his arguments on a Proto-Bengali inscription (Fig. 4b) discovered in the building which bears the name of Brahma. Saraswati seems to have carried the thesis too far when he writes, ‘an examination of the stones used in the construction of the Adina Mosque (one of them bearing a Sanskrit inscription recording merely a name, Indranath, in character of the 9th century) and those lying about in heaps all around, reveals the fact, which no careful observer can deny, that most of them came from temples that once stood in the vicinity.’ Beglar even went so far as to pin-point ‘the sanctum of the temple, judging from the remnants of heavy pedestals of statues, now built into the pulpit, and the superb canopied trefoils, now doing duty as prayer niches, stood where the main prayer niche now stands; nothing would probably so tickle the fancy of a bigot, as the power of placing the sanctum of his orthodox cult (in this case the main prayer niche) on the spot, where hated infidel had his sanctum’. The existence of the foundation of a Hindu Temple in the Adina Masjid is as far-fetched as to consider the circular pedestal to the west of the qibla wall as remains of a Buddhist stupa (Fig. 3). It may be the base of a detached minar, as similar examples are to be seen in the mosques of Egypt, Persia and India.’⁴⁴¹

Tribeni (Bengal)

‘The existing tomb and mosque of Zafar Khan Ghazi at Tribeni is another example of contemporary Hindu fragments being utilized in Muslim structure⁴⁴²

‘The Mosque of Zafar Khan Ghazi is the earliest known example of Mosque architecture in Bengal, and ‘is certainly the oldest in Bengal far anterior to any building at Gaud and Hazrat Pandua’. Marking the earliest phase of Muslim building activities, it incorporates fragments of non-Muslim monuments, like those of the Quwwat al-Islam Mosque in Delhi. R.D. Banerjee is of opinion that ‘the Mosque of Tribeni was most probably a Vaishnava temple but relics of Buddhism and Jainism were found.’⁴⁴³

‘Unmistakable Hindu workmanship is evident in the mutilated figures in some of the architectural fragments used – a phenomenon to be observed in the Adina Masjid at Hazrat Pandua, dated AH 776/AD 1374. There are five mihrabs in the qibla wall, the most striking being the central one. Tastefully carved multifoil brick arch of the central mihrab is supported by slender stone pillars of some Hindu temple⁴⁴⁴

‘The utilization of non-Muslim building materials is to be taken as a matter of expediency for no mosque plan was ever superimposed on the traditional ground plan of temple architecture. In the light of this phenomena the mosques can hardly be regarded as mere improvisations of existing temples, as stated by R.D. Banerjee in the case of the Mosque of Zafar Khan. The Muslim architects did not feel any scruple to employ fragments of Hindu sculpture still bearing traces of iconographical art in their mosques, and furthermore Hindu workmanship is evident in the delicate stone carvings and sensuous tendrils, and corbelled domes.’⁴⁴⁵

Gaud (Bengal)

‘Both Cunningham and Marshall accept Creighton’s suggestion that the Lattan Masjid was built in the year AH 880/AD 1475446

‘The qibla wall has three semi-circular niches, the central one being bigger than the side ones. These are all encrusted with glazed tiles. The mihrab to the north of the central niche has fragments of Hindu sculpture built into it⁴⁴⁷

‘Although less ornate than those of the southern prayer chamber in the Adina Masjid, the Tantipara Masjid pillars have square bases, moulded bands and cubical abaci. Brown says that the pillars of this mosque are ‘of the square and chamfered variety originally part of a Hindu temple’, but this was not so. They are contemporary with the building. Certainly work of this character is known in Hindu building, and this seems to have misled Brown.⁴⁴⁸

‘Two rows of chamfered pillars, each carrying 5 pointed arches, divide the interior of the [Chhoto Sona] Mosque into 3 longitudinal aisles. In each row there are 4 pillars of black basalt which in their moulded string-courses, cubical pedestal, dog-tooth ornament and square abacus recall those of the supporting pillars of the zenana gallery in the Adina Masjid. Evidently they are much more attenuated in shape in the Chhoto Sona Masjid than those in the Adina Masjid. It is hard to ascertain their origins, but considering the enormous quantity of Hindu spoil used in the Chhoto Sona Masjid (Pls. XLI, XLII) and comparing its pillars with the carved stone pillars at the Bari Dargah which originally must have been brought from the Adina Masjid it may be said that they were taken from unidentifiable Hindu temples. ⁴⁴⁹

‘Many of the stones used for casing the wall to give the illusion of a stone monument from distance are evidently Hindu. To quote Creighton, ‘The stone used in these mosques had formerly belonged to Hindu temples destroyed by the zealous Muhammadans,’ as will be evident from an inspection of Plates XLI and XLII, representing two slabs taken from this Building. Creighton’s painting XVI represents a stone with the image of the Hindu deity, Vishnu, in the Boar incarnation, with shallow diaper carving on the reverse side. The figure of Sivani, the consort of Siva, one of the Hindu triad, appears on another stone sketched by Creighton (painting XVII). The mother figure evidently drawn from sculptured stones used in the Small Golden Mosque is that of Brahmani, given in Plate XLIa (Creighton’s painting XVII). It is very interesting to point out in connection with the figure of Brahmani that it agrees in meticulous execution of details and perfection of style with that of the British Museum piece. Therefore, it is certain that Creighton drew his sketch from this black stone which curiously displays diaper work on the other side (Pl. XLIb) similar to that of Creighton’s Plate XVI. Arabesque design in shallow stone carving, resembling delicate tapestry, appears also in another superb black basalt piece, shown in Plate XLIb, now in the British Museum. It has the image of a seated Buddha on one side thereby again indicating the utilization of non-Muslim material (Pl. XLIIa). This fascinating piece may well be attributed to the Chhoto Sona Masjid on the grounds of the close similarity of its diaper work with that of the stone sketched by Creighton in his Plate XVI, and of the existence of gilding in the shallow carvings of the diaper work.’⁴⁵⁰

Rampal (Bengal)

‘The famous Mosque of Baba Adam, (Fig. 17) the patron saint of the locality in the ancient Hindu site of Rampal where Raja Ballal Sena built his palace in the district of Dacca is an impressive architectural monument of pre-Mughal Bengal.⁴⁵¹

‘Measuring 43 feet by 36 feet externally and 34 feet by 22 feet internally, the Mosque incorporated a number of beautifully carved stone pillars of unmistakable Hindu workmanship⁴⁵²

‘In the construction of this 6-domed mosque, measuring 36 feet by 24 feet, considerable amount of locally available materials from dilapidated Hindu monuments were employed as evident in the black carved basalts of the pillars, mihrabs, epigraphic slabs, etc⁴⁵³

Chhota Pandua (Bengal)

‘’Next to Satgaon’, writes D.G. Crawford, ‘Pandua is the oldest place of Hughli District-once the capital of a Hindu Raja and is famous as the site of a great victory gained by the Musulmans under Shah Safi over the Hindus in about AD 1340.’ Besides the Mosque and Tomb of Shah Safiuddin, the most outstanding architectural project of great magnitude is the Great Mosque at Chhoto Pandua. O’Malley and M.M. Chakravarti differ from Blockmann in ascribing Buddhist origin to these pillars and maintain that they were probably quarried from a Hindu temple. As put forward by Cunningham, ‘The Mosque stands on a mound once die site of a Hindu temple, the pillars of which now support this mean-looking barn-like Masjid.’ It would be far-fetched to maintain that the Great Mosque at Chhoto Pandua was built on the very foundation of a Hindu temple, like the improvised Tomb of Zafar Khan Ghazi at Tribeni, dated 14th century AD.’⁴⁵⁴

Sadipur (Bengal)

‘A.K. Bhattacharya points out that an inscription in Arabic, carved in Tughra is found on the reverse of an image of Adinath, which is recovered from a ruined Dargah in the village Sadipur, P.S. Kaliachak, Malda.’⁴⁵⁵

Footnotes:

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1. The language which is uniformly used by Muslim writers in describing the slaughter of people, destruction of cities and towns, and enslavement of the conquered men, women and children, has to be read in the original Arabic or Persian in order to realize that the writers themselves must have been bloodthirsty thugs masquerading as theologi­ans, poets and historians. Amir Khusru and Ziau’d-Din Barani, the two distinguished disciples of Nizamu’d-Din Auliya’, excel them all in the respect. The Urdu translations retain some of the flavour which is lost in translations in other languages. Urdu is truly an Islamic language. ↩

2. Cited by Abdur Rahman, The Last Two Dynasties of the Shahis, Delhi Reprint, 1988, pp. 55-56 ↩

3. Elliot and Dowson, op. cit., Vol. II, pp. 413-14. ↩

4. Kitab Futuh Al-Buldan of al-Biladhuri, translated into English by F.C. Murgotte, Columbia University, New York, 1924, p. 707. ↩

5. Elliot and Dowson, op. cit., Vol. I, pp. 120-21. ↩

6. Ibid., pp. 122-23. ↩

7. Ibid., p. 127. ‘Budd‘ in Islamic parlance means an idol. The word is derived from ‘Buddha‘ whose idols were known as Budd or But in Iran long before the Muslims conquered that land. The Muslims borrowed the word and extended it to mean all idols. The Iranian text of Bundahism translated by H.W. Bailey says that ‘The demon But is that which they worship in India and in his image a spirit is resident which is worshipped as Bodasf‘ (Indian Studies, Volume in Honour of Edward James Rapson, edited by J. Bloch et al., London, 1931, Delhi Reprint, 1988, p. 279). Bodasf is Persian for Bodhisattva. ↩

8. Major David Price, Mahommedan History, London. 1811. New Delhi Reprint, 1984, Vol. I. pp. 467-68. ↩

9. Ibid., pp. 474-75. ↩

10. Abdur Rahman, op. cit., p. 102. ↩

11. Ibid., pp. 103-04. ↩

12. Ibid., p. 104. ↩

13. The ancient name of Multan was Mulasthana and the Sun God was probably named accordingly. ↩

14. Hindus under the leadership of the Gurjara-Pratihara rulers of Kanauj. ↩

15. The Muslim occupants of Multan. ↩

16. Elliot and Dowson. op. cit., Vol. I. p. 23. ↩

17. A Shi’ah Muslim sect. ↩

18. E.C. Sachau (tr.), Alberuni’s India, New Delhi Reprint, 1983, p. 116. ↩

19. Ibid., p. 117. ↩

20. Ibid., pp. 102-03. ↩

21. Elliot and Dowson, op. cit., Vol. II, p. 22. ↩

22. This is one of the names by which Muslims mean Hindus. ↩

23. Elliot and Dowson, op. cit, Vol. II, p. 36. ↩

24. Ibid., p. 37. ↩

25. Ibid., p. 39. According to Firishta the temple in which the inscription was found was destroyed. ↩

26. Ibid., p. 40. ↩

27. Ibid., p. 40-41. ↩

28. Ibid., p. 44. ↩

29. Ibid., pp. 44-45. The conspicuous temple referred to in this passage was most probably that of Keśavadeva, predecessor of those destroyed by latter-day Islamic icono­clasts, the latest by Aurangzeb. ↩

30. Ibid., p. 46. ↩

31. Ibid. Vol. IV, pp. 518-19. ↩

32. Ibid., pp. 520-21. ↩

33. Ibid., p, 524. ↩

34. Ibid. Vol. I, p. 158. ↩

35. Ibid., p. 164. ↩

36. The Chachnamah, translated into English by Mirza Kalichbeg Fredunbeg. Delhi Reprint, 1979, pp. 179-80. ↩

37. This man was most probably the Brahmana who led Muhammad bin Qasim to the temple treasure. He had accepted Islam simply because its arms were victorious. ↩

38. Elliot and Dowson, op. cit., Vol. I. pp. 205-06. ↩

39. Ibid., p. 21. ↩

40. Ibid., Vol. II, p. 172. ↩

41. Ibid., p. 215. ↩

42. Ibid., p. 216-17. ↩

43. Ibid., p. 219. ↩

44. Ibid., p. 223. ↩

45. Ibid., p. 222. ↩

46. Ibid., p. 219. ↩

47. Ibid., p. 224. Kol was the old name of Aligarh. ↩

48. Ibid., p. 226. Thangar or Tahangarh is the name of the Fort near Bayana. ↩

49. Ibid., p. 231. ↩

50. Ibid., pp. 238-39. ↩

51. Ibid., p. 246. ↩

52. Ibid., p. 469. ↩

53. Ibid., pp. 469-70. ↩

54. Ibid., p. 471. ↩

55. Ibid., p. 398. ↩

56. Tabqat-i-Nasiri, translated into English by Major H.G. Reverty, New Delhi Reprint, 1970, Vol. I, pp. 81-82. ↩

57. Ibid., p. 88, footnote 2. ↩

58. Ibid., pp. 621-22. ↩

59. Ibid., pp. 622-23. ↩

60. Ibid., p. 628. ↩

61. Elliot and Dowson, op. cit., Vol. I, pp. 97-98. ↩

62. Ibid., p. 470. ↩

63. Ibid., Vol. II, p. 252. ↩

64. Translated from the Hindi version by S.A.A. Rizvi included in Khalji Kalina Bharata, Aligarh, 1955, pp. 153-54. ↩

65. Elliot and Dowson, up. cit., Vol. III, p. 542. ↩

66. Ibid., p. 543. ↩

67. Ibid. ↩

68. The reference is to the tower known as Qutb Minar at present. ↩

69. Translated from the Hindi version by S.A.A. Rizvi included in Khalji Kalina Bharata, Aligarh, 1955, pp. 156-57. The last sentence means that the temples were first made to topple and then levelled with the ground. ↩

70. Ibid., p. 159. ↩

71. Quoted by Jagdish Narayan Sarkar, The Art of War in Medieval India, New Delhi, 1964, pp. 286-87. ↩

72. S. A. A. Rizvi, op. cit., p. 160. Bahirdev arms to be Bhairavadeva. ↩

73. Elliot and Dowson, op. cit. Vol. III, p. 81. ↩

74. ‘Gabr’ was a term which the Muslims used for the Zoroastrians to start with. Later on, the term was sometimes extended to mean the Hindus as well. ↩

75. Ibid., pp 82-83. ↩

76. Ibid., p. 85. ↩

77. Ibid., pp. 90-91. The Hindi translation by S.A.A. Rizvi says that temples at Birdhul touched the sky with their tapes, and reached the nether world in their foundations, but they were dug up (Khalji Kalina Bharata, p. 169). ↩

78. Ibid., p. 91. ↩

79. Ibid., pp. 550-51. Other histories identify this place as Birdhul, the PaNDya capital. Capitals and seaports were often called pattana in ancient India. This was not the only instance of Muslims employed by Hindu rulers deserting to Islamic invaders. Muslims have always placed their loyalty to Islam above loyalty to the employer whose salt they have eaten, sometimes for many years. ↩

80. Mohammad Wahid Mirza, The Life and Works of Amir Khusrau (1935), Delhi Re­-Print 1974. pp. 183-84. ↩

81. Elliot Dowson, op. cit., Vol. III, p. 559. ↩

82. Cited in P.M. Currie, The Shrine and Cult of Mu’in al-Din Chishti of Ajmer, OUP, 1989, p. 30. ↩

83. Elliot and Dowson, op. cit., Vol. III, pp. 43-44. ↩

84. Ibid., p. 65. ↩

85. Hindu temples were often called ‘fire temples’ by Muslim writers as Hindus were often described as ‘fire-worshippers’ or ‘gabrs’. The appellations were transferred from the Zoroastrian temples and the Zoroastrian people. ↩

86. Translated from the Hindi version by S.A.A. Rizvi included in Tughlaq Kalina Bharata, Aligarb, 1956, Vol. I, p. 325. ↩

87. Ibid., p. 327. The saints, sages, scholars and Brahmin priests of the Hindus were re­garded as ‘magicians’ by the theologians of Islam. ↩

88. Translated from the Hindi version by S.A.A. Rizvi included in Khalji Kalina Bharata, Aligarh, 1955, p. 206. ↩

89. The figures were defaced. That is how Islamic iconoclasts spent some of their fury against ‘false gods’. ↩

90. The Rehala of Ibn Battuta translated into English by Mahdi Hussain, Baroda, 1967, p. 10. It shows how local legends grew about a whole city destroyed by Muslim invad­ers during one of their invasions of Sindh. This was moss probably the site of Debal. ↩

91. Ibid., p. 27. ↩

92. Ibid., pp. 203AM. The ‘westerner’ was a Muslim missionary from North Africa which is known as Maghrib (the West) among the Arabs. See Thor Heyerdahl, The Maldive Mystery, Bethesda (Maryland, USA), 1986, for the large number of Hindu temples destroyed. Many mosques stand on their sites now. ↩

93. Elliot and Dowson. Vol. III, p. 146. ↩

94. Ibid., p. 148. The last line according to S.A.A. Rizvi should be translated as ‘so that people may be educated’ (Khalji Kalina Bharata. p. 29), and as ‘for the fun of the people’ according to Dr. Mu’in-ul-Haq (Urdu translation of Barani. Lahore, 1983, p. 335). ↩

95. Ibid., p. 163. Dr. Mu’in-ul-Haq translate it as ‘for the fun of the people,’ (Ibid., p. 377), but S.A.A. Rizvi agrees with Elliot’s translation. ↩

96. Ibid., p. 204. ↩

97. Ibid., p. 313. Banarsi is the name of Cuttack which was known as Kataka-VaraNasi to the Hindus of medieval India. ↩

98. Ibid., p. 314. ↩

99. Ibid., p. 318. Hindus had to spread such ‘lies’ in order to save their temples from demolition and their idols from desecration by succeeding sultans and swordsmen of Islam. ↩

100. Ibid., p. 365. Zunar or Zunnar is the Muslim term for the sacred thread worn by the BrahmaNas who were accordingly called Zunar-dars. ↩

101. Translated from the Hindi version by S.A.A. Rizvi included in Tughlaq Kalina Bharata, Aligarh, 1957, Vol. II, p. 380. ↩

102. Ibid., p. 381. ↩

103. Ibid., p. 382. ↩

104. Elliot and Dowson, op. cit., Vol. III, pp. 376-77. This translation does not mention ‘idol-temples had been demolished.’ This qualification of the ‘former sovereigns’, however, is mentioned in the Hindi translation by S.A.A. Rizvi included in Tughlaq Kalina Bharata, Aligarh, 1957, Vol. II, p. 328. ↩

105. It was probably Malza or Malcha where, according to Shams Siraj, Sultan Firuz had built a dam. This place is near the Kalka Temple in the area of Okhla (S.A.A. Rizvi, Tuqhlaq Kalina Bharata, Vol. II, p. 333, footnote 1). ↩

106. Elliot and Dowson. op. cit., Vol. III, pp. 380-81. The apologists of Islam tell us that zimmis are guaranteed freedom of worship once they agree to pay jijyah. Here we have a most pious sultan saying and acting otherwise. ↩

107. Ibid., p. 381. ↩

108. Quoted in R.C. Majumdar (ed.), op. cit., Vol. VI, The Delhi Sultanate, Bombay, 960, p. 94. ↩

109. Quoted in Ibid., pp. 105-60. ↩

110. Translated from the Urdu version by Dr. Ãftab Asghar, second edition, Lahore. 1982. ↩

111. Translated from the Hindi version by S.A.A. Rizvi included in Khalji Kalina Bharata, Aligarh, 1955, p. 223. ↩

112. Translated from the Hindi version by S.A.A. Rizvi included in Tughlaq Kalina Bharata, Aligarh, 1957, Vol. II, pp. 228-29. ↩

113. Translated from the Hindi version by S.A.A. Rizvi included in Uttara Taimur Kalina Bharata, Aligarh, 1959, Vol. II, p. 27. ↩

114. Ibid., pp. 27-28. ↩

115. Ibid., p. 29. ↩

116. Summarised by S.A.A. Rizvi in History of Sufism in India, New Delhi, 1978, Vol. I, pp. 201-202, footnote 4. Tabrizi is most probably the hero of Sekasubhodaya, a San­skrit work ascribed to Halayudha Miśra, discovered at Gaur in Bengal and edited with an English translation by Sukumar Sen, Calcutta, 1963. ↩

117. Elliot and Dowson, op. cit., Vol. IV, p. 166. ↩

118. Ibid., pp. 182-83. ↩

119. Ibid., pp. 178-79. ↩

120. Ibid., pp. 179-80. The number of temples mentioned in this passage means the number of temples destroyed. ↩

121. Translated from the Hindi version by S.A.A. Rizvi included in Mughal Kalina Bharata: Babur, Aligarh, 1960, p. 233. ↩

122. Ibid., 237. ↩

123. Ibid., p. 167. Professor Sri Ram Sharma cites from Tarikh-i-Baburi that ‘His Sadr, Shaikh Zain, demolished many Hindu temples at Chanderi when he occupied it’ (Religious Policy of the Mughal Emperors, p. 9). ↩

124. Ibid., p. 277. It seems that for some reason, the statues could not be destroyed, though they were mutilated. All of them are Jain statues. ↩

125. Summarised by S.A.A. Rizvi in his. A History of Sufism in India. Vol. I, New Delhi, 1978, pp. 201-02. ↩

126. ‘Summarised by Ibid., p. 307. ↩

127. Translated from the Hindi version by S.A.A. Rizvi included in Uttara Taimur Kalina Bharata, Aligarh, 1955, Vol. I, p. 322. ↩

128. Ibid., p. 331. ↩

129. Ibid., p. 343. ↩

130. Eliot and Dowson, op. cit, Vol. IV, pp. 403-04. ↩

131. Ibid., p. 544. ↩↩

132. Translated Iron the Hindi version by S.A.A. Rizvi included in Uttara Taimur Kalina Bharata, Aligarh, 1958, Vol. I, p. 102. ↩

133. Ibid., Vol. II. 138. Ghiyasu’d-Din had collected 16,000 women in his harem and was notorious for his lewdness. Piety in Islam has no relation with personal character. Lechers can serve the faith as well as the recluse. ↩

134. Elliot and Dowson, op. cit., Vol. II, p. 471. ↩

135. The reference is to some Hindu Goddess. Islamic iconoclasts often named Hindu Goddesses after those of Arabia whose idols the prophet of Islam had destroyed. ↩

136. Translated from the Hindi version by S.A. A. Rizvi included in Tughlaq Kalina Bharata. Aligarh, 1956, Vol. I, p. 370. ↩

137. The Tabqat-i-Akbari translated by B. De, Calcutta, 1973, Vol. I, p. 3. ↩

138. Ibid., p. 7. ↩

139. Ibid., p. 11. ↩

140. Ibid., p. 16. ↩

141. Ibid., p. 22. ↩

142. Ibid., p. 51. ↩

143. Ibid., pp. 68-69. ↩

144. Ibid., p. 144. ↩

145. Ibid., p. 157. ↩

146. Ibid., p. 184. ↩

147. Translated from the Hindi version by S.A.A. Rizvi included in Tughlaq Kalina Bharata, Aligarh, 1957. Vol. II, p. 349. ↩

148. Ibid., p. 350. ↩

149. Translated from the Hindi version by S.A.A. Rizvi included in Uttara Taimur Kalina Bharata, Aligarb, 1958. Vol. I, p. 219. ↩

150. Ibid., p. 220. ↩

151. Ibid., p. 221. ↩

152. Ibid., p. 222. ↩

153. Ibid., p. 227. ↩

154. Ibid., pp, 236-37. The bull was most probably a Nandi standing outside a temple of Śiva. ↩

155. Translated from the Hindi version by S.A.A. Rizvi included in Uttar Taimur Kalina Bharata, Aligarh 1959, Vol. II. p. 9. ↩

156. Ibid., p. 74. ↩

157. Ibid., p. 75. ↩

158. Ibid., p. 85. ↩

159. Ibid., p. 86. ↩

160. Ibid., pp. 177-78. Zafar Khan crowned himself as Muzaffar Shah a few years later, and founded the independent kingdom of Gujarat. ↩

161. Ibid., p. 180. ↩

162. Ibid., p. 178. ↩

163. Ibid., p. 180. ↩

164. Ibid., p. 192. ↩

165. Ibid., pp. 201-02. ↩

166. Ibid., pp. 206-07. ↩

167. Ibid., p. 214. ↩

168. Ibid., p. 218-19. ↩

169. Ibid., pp. 233-34. ↩

170. Ibid., p. 515. The discovery of an inscription seems to be true, but the reading is obviously wishful and fictitious. ↩

171. Ibid., p. 517. ↩

172. Ibid., p. 527. ↩

173. Elliot and Dowson, op. cab, Vol. V, p. 358. ↩

174. Muntakhabu’t-Tawarikh, translated into English by George S.A. Ranking, Patna Reprint 1973, Vol. I, p. 17. ↩

175. Ibid., pp. 27-28. ↩

176. Ibid., pp. 21-22. ↩

177. Ibid., p. 24. ↩

178. Ibid., pp. 82-83. ↩

179. Ibid., p. 95. ↩

180. Ibid., pp. 235-36. ↩

181. Ibid., pp. 255-56. ↩

182. Ibid., p. 420. ↩

183. Ibid., p. 422. ↩

184. Ibid., pp. 432-33. ↩

185. Ibid., Vol. II, pp. 128-29. ↩

186. Ibid., pp. 165-66. ↩

187. Ibid., pp. 166-67. ↩

188. Elliot and Dowson. op. cit, Vol. VI, p. 528. ↩

189. Ibid., Vol. IV, p. 439. ↩

190. Ibid., p. 447. ↩

191. Ibid., p. 465. ↩

192. Ibid., p. 466. ↩

193. Ibid., pp. 466-67. ↩

194. Cited by Sri Ram Sharma, op. cit., p. 11. ↩

195. Zafaru’l Walih Bi Muzaffar Wa Ãlihi, translated into English by M.F. Lokhand­wala, Baroda, 1970 and 1974, Vol. II, p. 575. ↩

196. Ibid., p. 626. ↩

197. Ibid., pp. 627-28. ↩

198. Ibid., Vol. I, p. 138. ↩

199. Ibid., Vol. II. pp. 646-47. ↩

200. Ibid., p. 650. ↩

201. Ibid., Vol. I, p. 139. Malabar in wrongly indicated by the translator. ↩

202. Ibid., Vol. II, p. 676. This is a revealing report. The Sufis were not only instigators but also beneficiaries of jihad and iconoclasm. ↩

203. Translated from the Hindi version by S.A.A. Rizvi included in Uttara Taimur Kalina Bharata, Aligarh, 1959, Vol. II, p. 413. ↩

204. Ibid., p. 417. ↩

205. Ibid., p. 418. ↩

206. Elliot and Dowson, op.cit., Vol. VI, p. 187. ↩

207. Tarikh-i-Haqqi (of which Zubdatu’t-Tawarikh is an extension) cited by Sri Ram Sharma, op. cit., p. 62. ↩

208. Elliot and Dowson, op. cit., Vol. II, pp. 435-36. ↩

209. Tarikh-i-Firishta, translated by John Briggs under the title History of the Rise of the Mahomedan Power in India, first published in 1829, New Delhi Reprint 1981, Vol. I, pp. 27-28. ↩

210. Ibid., p. 29. ↩

211. Ibid., p. 30. ↩

212. Ibid., p. 34. ↩

213. Ibid., p. 35. ↩

214. Ibid., p. 36. Mahmud was a pious Muslim who destroyed Hindu temples and idols in keeping with the tenets of Islam. Those who present him as a freebooter out to plun­der temple treasuries are either fools like Jawaharlal Nehru or knaves like Mohammad Habib, and Pandit Sunderlal. Mahmud is too great an hero of Islam to be sacrificed in order to salvage the faith. ↩

215. Ibid., p. 37. ↩

216. Translated from the Urdu version of Tarikh-i-Firishta by ‘Abdul Hai Khwajah, Deoband, 1983, pt. I, p. 125. ↩

217. John Briggs, op. cit., pp. 38-39. ↩

218. Ibid., pp. 40-41. Lure of plunder as well as religious merit made many Muslims join the army without pay. Islam like Christianity enables people to make the best of the both the worlds. ↩

219. Ibid., pp. 41-42. ↩

220. Other accounts put the figure at 50,000. ↩

221. Ibid., pp. 43-44. ↩

222. Ibid., p. 49. ↩

223. Ibid., p. 63. ↩

224. Ibid., p. 82. ↩

225. Ibid., pp. 100-01. ↩

226. Ibid., p. 108. ↩

227. Ibid., P. 119. ↩

228. Ibid., p. 170. ↩

229. Ibid., p. 171. ↩

230. ‘Abdul Hai Khwajah, op. cit, pt. I, p. 349. It appears to be the Śivaliñga of the Rudramahalaya at Sidhpur. ↩

231. John Briggs, op. cit., pp. 213-14. Modern historians doubt if Malik Kafur reached Setubandha Rameśvaram. ↩

232. Ibid., p. 263. The word ‘temple’ at the end of the passage stands for the Ka’ba. ↩

233. Ibid., p. 338. ↩

234. Ibid., p. 339. ↩

235. Ibid., pp. 339-40. ↩

236. Ibid., p. 343. ↩

237. Ibid., pp. 347-48. ↩

238. Ibid., Vol. II, p. 206-07. ↩

239. Ibid., p. 248. ↩

240. Ibid., p. 251. ↩

241. Ibid., p. 269. ↩

242. Ibid., p. 306. ↩

243. Ibid., p. 308. ↩

244. Ibid., Vol. III, p. 82. ↩

245. Ibid., p. 84. ↩

246. Ibid., p. 212. ↩

247. Ibid., p. 267. Murahari Rao was obviously a precursor of our present-day devotees Secularism who are Hindus by accident of birth and who stop at nothing in order to please the Muslims. ↩

248. Ibid., p. 274. ↩

249. Ibid., pp. 276-77. ↩

250. Ibid., Vol. IV, p. 3. ↩

251. Ibid., p. 4. ↩

252. Ibid., p. 5. ↩

253. Ibid., p. 10. ↩

254. Ibid. ↩

255. Ibid., pp. 10-11. ↩

256. Ibid., p. 16. There is evidence that the mosque was raised on the site of a temple. ↩

257. Ibid., p. 31. ↩

258. Ibid., p. 32. ↩

259. Ibid., p. 33. ↩

260. Ibid., p. 35. ↩

261. Ibid., p. 36. ↩

262. Ibid., p. 49. ↩

263. Ibid., pp. 125-26. ↩

264. Ibid., p. 135. ↩

265. Ibid., p. 136. ↩

266. Ibid., p. 215. ↩

267. Ibid., p. 234. ↩

268. Ibid., p. 235. ↩

269. Ibid., p. 238. ↩

270. Ibid., p. 244. ↩

271. Ibid., pp. 268-69. Another wishful reading of an ancient inscription. ↩

272. Ibid., pp. 279-80. ↩

273. Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri, translated into English by Alexander Rogers, first published 1909-1914, New Delhi Reprint, 1978, Vol. I, pp. 254-55. ↩

274. Ibid., Vol. II, pp. 223-25. ↩

275. Another manuscript of Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri, translated into English by Major David Price, Calcutta, 1906, pp. 24-25. ↩

276. Translated from the Urdu version by Muhammad Bashir Husain, second edition, Lahore, 1986, pp. 121-22. ↩

277. Elliot and Dowson, op. cit., Vol. V, p. 97. The Urdu version by Muhammad Bashir Husain adds that ‘all buildings were pulled down’ (p. 166). ↩

278. Ibid., p. 98 ↩

279. Ibid., pp. 100-01 ↩

280. Translated from the Urdu version, op. cit., p. 172. ↩

281. Ibid., p. 178. ↩

282. Ibid., p. 179. ↩

283. Ibid., P. 199. ↩

284. Ibid., p. 305. ↩

285. Ibid., pp. 305-06 ↩

286. Cited in The Cult of Jagannath and the Regional Tradition of Orrisa by Anncharotte Eschmann et al, New Delhi, second printing. 1981, p. 322. footnote 7. ↩

287. Translated from the Hindi version by S.A.A. Rizvi in Uttara Taimur Kalina Bharata, Aligarh, 1959, Vol. II, p. 256. ↩

288. Ibid., p. 273. ↩

289. Ibid., p. 318. ↩

290. Ibid., p. 319. ↩

291. Ibid., p. 350. ↩

292. Mir’a-i-Sikandari, translated by Fazlullah Lutfullah Faridi, Dharampur (Gujarat), Gurgaon Reprint, 1990, p. 171. ↩

293. Elliot and Dowson, op. cit, Vol. VI, p. 451. An additional excuse besides commandments of Allah was invented in order to destroy the temples. ↩

294. Summarised by Richard Maxwell Eaton in his Sufis of Bijapur 1300-1700, Princeton (U.S.A.), 1978, p. 68. ↩

295. Tarikh-Kashmir, edited and translated into English by Razia Bano, Delhi, 1991, p. 55. ↩

296. Ibid., p. 61. ↩

297. Ibid., pp. l02-03. ↩

298. Elliot and Dowson, op. cit., Vol. II. p. 524. ↩

299. Ibid., pp. 525-27. ↩

300. Ibid., p. 527. ↩

301. Ibid., p. 538. ↩

302. Ibid., pp. 546-47. ↩

303. Cited by P.M. Currie, op. cit., p. 74. ↩

304. Ibid., p. 75. ↩

305. Ibid., p. 80. ↩

306. Ibid., p. 83. The Sunnah of the Prophet prescribes that every true Muslim should force into his bed some captured women of the unbelievers. ↩

307. Ibid., pp. 86-87. ↩

308. Badshah Nama cited by Sri Ram Sharma, op. cit., p. 63. ↩

309. Elliot and Dowson, op. cit., Vol. VII, p. 36. Sri Ram Sharma op. cit. cites Lahori to add that ‘three temples were destroyed in Gujarat’ (p. 86). ↩

310. Quoted by Jadunath Sarkar, op. cit., Vol. I and II, p. 15. Sri Ram Sharma cites Lahori to add that ‘several other temples suffered the same fate and were converted into mosques’ (p. 86). ↩

311. Cited by Sri Ram Sharma, op. cit., p. 86. ↩

312. The Shahjahan Nama of ‘Inayat Khan, translated by A.R. Fuller and edited and compiled by W.E. Beyley and Z.A. Desai, OUP, Delhi, 1090, p. 161. ↩

313. Elliot and Dowson, Vol. VII, p. 159. ↩

314. Cited by Sri Rain Sharma, op. cit., p. 129. ↩

315. Ibid. ↩

316. Maasir-i-‘Ãlamgiri, translated into English by Sir Jadu-Nath Sarkar, Calcutta, 1947, pp. 51-52. ↩

317. Ibid., p. 55. ↩

318. Ibid., p. 60. ↩

319. Ibid., p. 107. ↩

320. Ibid., pp. 108-09. ↩

321. Ibid., pp. 114-15. ↩

322. Ibid., p. 116. ↩

323. Ibid., p. 116-17. ↩

324. Ibid., p. 120. Amber had hem loyal to the Mughals since the days of Akhar, and, unlike Mewar and Mewar, given no offence to Aurangzeb. ↩

325. Ibid., p. 241. ↩

326. Ibid., p. 312. ↩

327. Ibid., pp. 314-15. ↩

328. Quoted by Jadunath Sarkar, op. cit., Vol. III, p. 186. ↩

329. Quoted by Ibid., p. 187. ↩

330. Quoted by Ibid., p. 188. ↩

331. Quoted by Ibid., p. 189. ↩

332. Cited by Sri Rain Sharma, op. cit, p. 136. ↩

333. Ibid. ↩

334. Ibid., p. 137. ↩

335. Ibid. ↩

336. Ibid. ↩

337. Ibid., p. 138. ↩

338. Ibid. ↩

339. Ibid., pp.138-39 ↩

340. Jadunath Sarkar, op. cit, Vol. I and II, pp. 120-21. ↩

341. Summarised in Ibid., Vol. III, p. 103. ↩

342. Quoted in Ibid., Vol. III, pp. 185-86. ↩

343. Quoted in Ibid., Vol. I and II, p. 94. ↩

344. Quoted in Ibid., Vol. III, p. 188. ↩

345. Cited by Sri Ram Sharma. op. cit., p. 138. ↩

346. Ibid., pp. 144-45. The mosque demolished by Hindus had been built on the site of a temple recently destroyed. ↩

347. Quoted in Jadunath Sarkar, op. cit, Vol. III, pp. l88-89. ↩

348. Quoted in Ibid., p. 187. ↩

349. Futuhat-i-‘Ãlamgiri, translated into English by Tanseem Ahmad, Delhi, 1978. p. 82 ↩

350. Ibid., p.130. ↩

351. Nau-Bahar-i-Murshid Quli-Khani, translated into English by Jadu Nath Sarkar and included in his Bengal Nawabs, Calcutta Reprint, 1985, p. 4. ↩

352. Ibid., p. 7. ↩

353. Elliot and Dowson, op. cit., Vol. VIII, pp. 38 -39. ↩

354. Cited by Sri Ram Sharma. op. cit, p. 86. ↩

355. Cited by Ibid., pp. 86-87. ↩

356. Quoted in Jadunath Sarkar, op. cit., Vol. III, p. 188. ↩

357. Cited by Sri Ram Sharma, cit., p. 137. ↩

358. Quoted in Jadunath Sarkar, Vol. III, p. 207, footnote. ↩

359. Elliot and Dowson, op. cit., Vol. VII, p. 405. ↩

360. Mirat-i-Ahmdi, translated into English by M.F. Lokhandwala, Baroda, 1965, P. 27. This account is obviously a folktale because ‘Alau’d-Din Khalji became a Sultan two hundred years after Siddharaja JayasiMha ascended the throne of Gujarat. Moreover, ‘Alau’d-Din never went to Gujarat; he sent his generals, Ulugh Khan and Nasrat Khan. ↩

361. Ibid., p. 28. ↩

362. Ibid., P. 29. ↩

363. Ibid., P. 34. ↩

364. Ibid., pp. 37-38. Sayyedpur is Sidhpur. ↩

365. Ibid., pp. 47-48. ↩

366. Ibid., p. 48. ↩

367. Ibid., pp. 51-52. ↩

368. Ibid., p. 194. It was a Jain Temple built at great expense. ↩

369. Quoted in Jadunath Sarkar, op. cit., Vol. III, p. 186. ↩

370. Quoted in Ibid., p. 188. ↩

371. Quoted in Ibid., p. 186. ↩

372. Cited by Sri Ram Sharma, op. cit., p. 137. ↩

373. Cited by Ibid., p. 138. ↩

374. Elliot and Dowson, op. cit., Vol. VIII, pp. 264-65. ↩

375. Quoted by Jadunath Sarkar, Fall of The Mughal Empire, Vol. II, Fourth Edition, New Delhi, 1991, p. 70. ↩

376. History of Tipu Sultan Being a Continuation of The Neshan-i-Hyduri, translated from Persian by Col. W. Miles, first published 1864, New Delhi Reprint, 1986, pp. 66-67. ↩

377. Riyuz-us-Salatin, translated into English by Abdus Salam, Delhi Reprint, 1976, pp. 63-64. ↩

378. Ibid., pp. 17-18. ↩

379. Bahar-i-Ãzam, translated in English, Madras, 1960, p. 2. ↩

380. Ibid., pp. 18-19. ↩

381. Ibid., p. 101. ↩

382. Ibid., p. 51. Hindu mythology from the RamayaNa has obvious, up with the story of how Sayyid Nathar Shah (AD 969-1030) from Arabia destroyed a Śiva temple and converted it into his khanqah. He died in AH 673, and the khanqah became a dargah which has since grown into an important place of Muslim pilgrimage. ↩

383. Ibid., p. 63. This is another garbled account of how a Hindu temple was converted into a Muslim dargah during the time when Tiruchirapalli was occupied by Chanda Sahib, the Diwan of the Nawwab of Arcot, and Rani Minakshi committed suicide when thrown into prison through treachery. ↩

384. Ibid., p. 64. ↩

385. Ibid., p. 128. ↩

386. Translated from the Urdu of Ãsaru’s-Sanadid, edited by Khaleeq Anjum, New Delhi, 1990. Vol. I, p. 305. ↩

387. Ibid., p. 310. ↩

388. Ibid., pp. 310-11. ↩

389. Ibid., p. 316. ↩

390. Ibid., p. 310. ↩

391. Ibid., p. 317. ↩

392. Ibid., p. 89. ↩

393. Ibid., Vol. III, p. 406. ↩

394. Ibid., p. 407. ↩

395. Ibid., Vol. I, p. 321. ↩

396. Ibid., p. 97. ↩

397. Ibid., Vol. III, p. 409. ↩

398. Ibid., Vol. I, p. 334. ↩

399. Ibid., p. 361. ↩

400. Cited by Dr. Harsh Narain in his article, Rama-Janmabhumi Temple: Muslim Testimony, Indian Express, February 26, 1990. ↩

401. Cited by Ibid. ↩

402. Summarised from the Waqi’at, Vol. III, p. 575 by Richard Maxwell Eaton m his Sufis of Bijapur 1300-1700, Princeton (U.S.A.), 1978, p. 68. ↩

403. Syed Mahmudul Hasan, Mosque Architecture of Pre-Mughal Bengal, Dacca (Bangladesh), 1979, p. 33. ↩

404. Ibid. ↩

405. Ibid. ↩

406. Ibid., p. 34. ↩

407. Ibid., p. 38. ↩

408. Ibid., p. 43. ↩

409. Ibid., pp. 163-64. His statement that ‘innumerable Hindu and Buddhist temples still exit in the cities of India once conquered by the Muslims’, is a figment of his imagination. No city in North India can show a temple from pre-Islamic times. ↩

410. Ibid., pp. 170-71. In subsequent passages he himself says that existing buildings were quarried for stones used in Mosques. Medieval Muslim historians say that all Hindu temples were destroyed and mosques raised at Lakhnauti, the site of Gaud, and Pandau. ↩

411. Ibid., pp. 171-72. ↩

412. Ibid., p. 183. ↩

413. Ibid. ↩

414. Ibid., p. 185. ↩

415. Ibid., p. 37. ↩

416. Ibid. ↩

417. Ibid., P. 64. ↩

418. Ibid., p. 38. ↩

419. Ibid. ↩

420. Ibid., p. 39. ↩

421. Ibid. ↩

422. Ibid., p. 43. ↩

423. Ibid., p. 44. ↩

424. Ibid., p. 45. ↩

425. Ibid., p. 46. ↩

426. Ibid. ↩

427. Ibid. ↩

428. Ibid. ↩

429. Ibid., p. 49. ↩

430. Ibid., p. 50. ↩

431. Ibid. ↩

432. Ibid., 62 and 64 (Illustration on p. 63). ↩

433. Ibid., p. 77. ↩

434. Ibid. ↩

435. Ibid., pp. 80-81. ↩

436. Ibid., pp. 81-82. ↩

437. Ibid., p. 83. ↩

438. Ibid., pp. 85-86. ↩

439. Ibid., P. 86. ↩

440. Ibid., pp. 90-91. ↩

441. Ibid., p. 97. ↩

442. Ibid., p. 86. ↩

443. Ibid., p. 128. ↩

444. Ibid., p. 129. ↩

445. Ibid., p. 131. ↩

446. Ibid., p. 123. ↩

447. Ibid., p. 122. ↩

448. Ibid., p. 131. ↩

449. Ibid., pp. 160-61. ↩

450. Ibid., p. 163. ↩

451. Ibid., p. 138. ↩

452. Ibid. ↩

453. Ibid., p. 141. ↩

454. Ibid., pp. 144-45. ↩

455. Ibid., p. 185. ↩