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HBSE Class 10 History Chapter 6 Foreign Invasion on India Notes for Haryana Board of Bharat and the World Book Solution.
Foreign Invasion on India Class 10 History Chapter 6 Notes
There have been many foreign invasions of India since ancient times. Invaders came to India in the form of Greeks, Shaks, Huns, Kushans, Parthians, etc. But there was a difference between the invaders of the ancient period and the invaders of the early-medieval period. The invaders of the ancient period were absorbed into Indian society, but the nature of the invasions between the seventh century and the eighteenth century was different and these attacks were more disastrous than the earlier attacks on India. These invasions continued during the early medieval period and also in the medieval period. In the present chapter, we will consider a few of the following foreign invasions:
➤ Invasion of Muhammad bin Qasim – Eighth century
➤ Invasions of Mahmud Ghaznavi – Eleventh century
➤ Invasion of Muhammad Ghori – Twelfth century
➤ Invasion Mongols – Thirteenth and Fourteenth Century
➤ Invasion Timur – Fourteenth Century
➤ Invasion of Babur – Sixteenth Century
➤ Invasion Nadirshah – Eighteenth Century
➤ Invasion of Ahmadshah Abdali – Eighteenth Century
When a person from another country comes to our country, he is a foreigner to us. In the same way, when we go to another country, we are foreigners to that country. ‘Foreign invasion’ means when another country invades our country. There may be many motives behind such invasions, such as excessive ambition to expand the empire, economic reasons and personal enmity, etc.
We are citizens of India, so it becomes necessary for us to have information about all those historical events in chronological order, due to which our country, which used to be economically very prosperous, came into the category of developing countries. If those events had not happened, perhaps the condition and direction of India today would have been different. Apart from the British rule, there were many such reasons, due to which even today, our India is not what it should have been. Some such reasons will be explained in this chapter. In this chapter, we will try to understand how foreign invasions weakened our great country. economically, and, how due to this weakness, we finally became the subject of the British.
Since ancient times, India has been a civilized, developed, and advanced country. Due to this, India was among the richest and most prosperous countries in the world, for which it was also called ‘Sone ki Chidiya’ (Golden Sparrow). Due to its prosperity and abundance of gold, India was known throughout the world. Foreign invaders attacked to plunder the wealth of India. Many brave and courageous rulers of India faced these foreign invaders, but after the fall of the Gupta dynasty in the 7th century, these invaders took advantage of the political instability in India.
Foreign Invasions on India
India has been the centre of attraction for foreigners since ancient times, and the north-western part of India was considered to be its main gateway. Foreigners have been coming here in the form of travellers, traders and invaders, The medieval period was no exception to this. There were three main routes to enter India from the west. The first was to reach the west coast by sea. The second was the major ridges located on the north-western border of undivided India in the north-west of Khyber, Gomal and Bolan. The third was the flat part of the Makran desert.
Pass: The natural routes for movement in mountainous areas are called passes.
The Arabs had established a vast empire in Central Asia. This empire was a strange combination of politics and religion, which was founded by Hazrat Muhammad. At the time of the death of Hazrat Muhammad in 632 AD, the area of this kingdom was very limited, but his successors took control of Syria and Egypt in only eight years. Later on, this empire also took control of the territories of the world’s two greatest empires. These empires were the Roman Empire of Europe and the Persian Empire of Central Asia. The boundaries of this vast Arab empire started touching India in the early medieval period.
The Arabs tried to enter India through the Khyber and Bolan passes, but they did not succeed for many years due to the watchfulness of the Indians in the Kabul-Jabul regions and the valour of the people of Kikkan.
The early invasions of the Arabs (636 AD to 712 AD)
The Arabs first invaded India in 636 AD at a port called Thana, near modern Mumbai, but they were unsuccessful. After this, the Arabs attacked Bharuch and Debal, but here too they were defeated. After this, Caliph Umar (634-644 AD) planned to attack Sindh by land route instead of sea route, but the plan could not be successful. After this, Caliph Osman (644-656 AD) made a plan to conquer Sindh, but this also did not materialise. In 660 AD, the Arabs attacked Sindh for the first time by land route during the time of Caliph Abu. The Arab army suffered heavy losses in this attack. Sindh was attacked six times between 661 and 680 AD, during the time of Caliph Muawiyah. All were unsuccessful. In 695 AD, Al-Hajjaj became the governor of Iraq. He wanted to conquer Sindh. He planned to conquer Sindh in 708 AD.
Invasion of Muhammad bin Qasim (712 AD)
Governor Al-Hajjaz was also ordered to attack Sindh in an arbitrary manner after repeated requests from Caliph Walid. The immediate cause of the war was the plundering of Arab traders near Sindh. A few merchant ships from Lanka were returning to Arabia, but pirates plundered them near Debal.
The plunderers were pirates, but the governor of Iraq, Hajjaj, demanded compensation from King Dahir of Sindh. Dahir refused to pay compensation. But Hajjaj. Intoxicated with power, attacked King Dahir, knowing that he was weak, but he had to face defeat.
Hajjaj first sent the general Ubaidullah and then Burdal to attack the kingdom of Dahir. King Dahir defeated the generals Ubaidullah and Budail and put them to death. Then Hajjaj sent his nephew and son-in-law Muhammad-bin-Qassim to attack Sindh in 712 AD Muhammad attacked Debal and conquered it. All the adults who lived here were murdered. The temples were demolished. After this, he went ahead and crossed the Sindh river. A fierce battle took place on June 20, 712 AD between the two armies in Arod, Sindh. Dahir was killed while fighting heroically. His wife attacked the Arabs with fifteen thousand soldiers from inside the fort, but due to limited means, she could not resist much. To protect her respect, she did ‘Jauhar’. Dahir’s son, Jasia, continued the struggle. Muhammad bin Qasim took both the daughters of King Dahir, Surya Devi and Parmal Devi, as captives. Qasim sent them to the Caliph as a gift. On reaching there, both of them used diplomacy to get Qasim executed.
Dahir’s son continued to resist the Arabs. After that Lalitaditya, the ruler of Kashmir, stopped their expansion. In 725 AD, they attacked India again but the Gurjara Pratihara rulers defeated them. At that time Islam had entered India, But the Muslim rulers could not dare to move beyond Sindh in India for almost three centuries after the Arabs’ occupation of Sindh.
Do You Know? It took 75 years for the Arabs to conquer Sindh from 636 AD to 712 AD.
Invasion of Mahmud Ghaznavi
Once again in the eleventh century, the threat of foreign invasions on India increased when the Turks established their power in Ghazni. The Turks were a barbaric race of Central Asia who had converted to Islam. Alpatgin, a Turkic chieftain in Ghazni, established his empire in 962 AD. The rulers of this state had become a threat to India. The Indian territory bordering Ghazni state was ruled by Hindu Shahi rulers at that time. His capital was Vaihind. The boundaries of the state extended from the Chenab River to the Hindukush mountains.
In 986 AD, Jaipal attacked Ghazni with a huge army. A fierce battle took place between the two armies near Lamgan, but during the battle, suddenly a storm broke out. The storm inflicted heavy damage on Jaipal’s army. Jaipal was forced to make a treaty with the Turks. Jaipal was very upset with this treaty. After some time, Jaipal got information that Subuktagin was about to attack India. Jaipal sought help from the rulers of Kalinjar, Kannauj and Ajmer to face the foreign invasion. All these rulers sent their armies to stop the Turkish invasion of India. There was a battle again at a place called Lamgan, but the forces led by Jaipal did not achieve success in this war.
After the death of Subuktagin, his son Mahmud of Ghazni became the ruler in 997 AD. Mahmud was a staunch Muslim ruler. He made 17 attacks on India to spread Islam and plunder India’s wealth. He wanted to become famous in the Muslim world by spreading Islam in India. For this purpose, he made 17 attacks on India between 1000 AD to 1027 AD.
In 1001 AD, he attacked the Hindu Shahi ruler Jaipal. In the battle near Peshawar, Jaipal fought valiantly but was defeated. After the death of Jaipal, his son Anandpal became the ruler, Mahmud Ghaznavi made many attacks on his empire. Apart from the Hindu Shahi kingdom, Mahmud Ghaznavi attacked Bhera, Multan, Nagarkot and returned to Ghazni after breaking temples and idols and plundering a lot of wealth, Mahmud Ghaznavi attacked Thaneshwar, the holy site for Hindus. There was a big, famous temple of Chakraswamy here. Mahmud Ghaznavi not only broke the temple but also destroyed the idol of Chakraswami. Mahmud Ghaznavi also attacked Mathura, another holy site for Hindus. Here also, he humiliated the idol of Lord Keshav. Mahmud Ghaznavi decided to attack the temple of Somnath in Gujarat. The huge temple here was world famous. Hindus had deep faith in this temple. There was a huge amount of money, diamonds, and gems in this temple. The source of income for the temple was the revenue of ten thousand villages. There was a golden bell in the temple, which weighed many mannas (a unit of weight having forty kilograms). Thousands of precious gems were inlaid on the canopy built over the idol of Lord Somnath.
Do You Know? Jaipal, Anandpal, Trilochanpal and Bhimpal of Hindu Shahi dynasty constantly protested the invasions of Mahmud from 1001 AD to 1026 AD and he narrowly escaped defeat at the hand of Anandpal.
Mahmud Ghaznavi attacked the temple of Somnath to disturb the sanctity of the temple and plunder its wealth. It took him three days to capture the temple of Somnath due to heavy resistance from the Hindus. Many Hindus who were protesting were killed by Mahmud Ghaznavi. Thereafter, Mahmud ransacked the temple and broke the idol of Lord Somnath with a mace. The money plundered from here was taken by Mahmud to Ghazni, loaded on camels. When he was return ing to Ghazni, the Jats of Sindh blocked his way. But he somehow managed to take away the wealth from India to Ghazni. Reaching Ghazni, he once again attacked the Jats to teach them a lesson, This was Ghaznavi’s last invasion of India. During this attack, he also killed women and children. He died in 1030 AD.
The temples of Nagarkot, Kurukshetra and Mathura were centres of Indian knowledge, art and culture for the last several centuries. By destroying them, Mahmud Ghaznavi did great damage to India’s wealth as well as culture. Mahmud wanted to deeply hurt the confidence of Hindus by destroying the main centres (temples) of Indian culture, knowledge and faith. His actions created a feeling of hatred towards Muslims in the minds of Hindus.
Invasions of Muhammad Ghori
The empire of Ghazni was now replaced by the empire of Ghor in Asia. Muhammad Ghori, the ruler of Ghor, also planned an invasion of India. He attacked India from 1175 AD to 1206 AD At the time of Gauri’s invasion of India, the Chalukyas of Gujarat (Mulraj Il and Bhima II), the Chauhans (Prithviraj III) of Delhi and Ajmer and the Gahadwals (Jaichand Rathor) of Kannauj were the three powerful dynasties in north India, All three were so capable in themselves that they could single-handedly take on Muhammad Ghori. Invader Muhammad Ghori invaded Multan in 1175 AD and conquered it. After this, he took control of the fort of Uchch through diplomatic treachery. Muhammad Ghori was greatly influenced by the prosperity of Gujarat. He wanted to take possession of it. Muhammad Ghori was not an invincible invader. India has always been a land of heroes. These brave men gave a befitting reply to the attacks. Muhammad Ghori also had to face defeat several times in India. The first defeat of Muhammad Ghori in India took place in Gujarat in 1178-79 AD. At that time, Gujarat was ruled by the ruler of the Chalukya dynasty, Mulraj II. Muhammad Ghori attacked Anhilwara (Patan) via southern Rajputana. Under the leadership of Nayika Devi, the courageous mother of Mulraj Il and Bhima II, the army of Anhilwara faced Muhammad Ghori at a place called Kayadran near Mount Abu. Muhammad Ghori’s army was completely defeated, Muhammad Ghori somehow escaped from Gujarat with his defeated army. This was the first defeat of Muhammad Ghori in India. Mulraj II was the first ruler among Indian kings, who first defeated Muhammad Ghori and forced them to return.
After this, Muhammad Ghori changed his course of attack on India. He now planned to attack India from the Punjab side. At this time, the Punjab region was ruled by Khusro Malik, the ruler of the Ghazni dynasty. He defeated Khusro Malik in 1186 AD. Muhammad Ghori had control over Punjab. Now he wanted to go ahead and capture Delhi. At this time, Delhi was ruled by Prithviraj III, the majestic ruler of the Chauhan dynasty. He was a very brave ruler. When Ghori conquered Sirhind in 1190 AD, Prithviraj came to the plains of Tarain to block the path of this foreign invader. In 1191 AD, Prithviraj Chauhan, showing bravery, defeated Muhammad Ghori badly in the field of Tarain. He managed to escape with great difficulty, saving his life. But the following year, Muhammad Ghori attacked India again. Once again, the second battle of Tarain took place between the two armies in 1192 AD. In this war, Prithviraj Chauhan showed bravery, but he was defeated. Delhi came into the possession of Muhammad Ghori.
Proceeding from here, the armies of Muhammad Ghori attacked other areas of India in 1193 AD and captured Meerut and Aligarh (Kol). In 1194 AD, Muhammad Ghori also defeated the ruler of Kanauj in the battle of Chandawar. Ghori’s power was established over the area up to Kannauj. In 1198 AD, Bakhtiyar Khilji, a General of Gauri, attacked Nadia, the capital of Bengal, where Lakshman Singh, the ruler of the Sen dynasty, was ruling.
During this invasion, Bakhtiyar Khilji also destroyed the world-famous Nalanda University. The library, along with the buildings here, was also set on fire. Khilji committed great atrocities on the people here. After the death of Muhammad Ghori in 1206 AD, one of his slaves, Qutbuddin Aibak, laid the foundation of his independent state in India. This state later came to be known as the Delhi Sultanate. But between 1206 AD and 1526 AD, the Hindus continued to resist the Delhi Sultanate. The Rajputs, Meos, and Mandars kept the Sultans embarrassed.
Invasion of Mongols
This series of foreign invasions of India continued in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries: The Mongols were the invaders during these years. The Mongols were a nomadic race of Central Asia. This race established its control over a large part of Central Asia under the leadership of Genghis Khan. These Mongols remained a threat to India in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. In 1241 AD, the Mongols attacked Lahore and took it under their control. In 1245 AD, the Mongols also conquered Multan. The main aim of the Mongol invasions was plunder. Due to the invasions of the Mongols, there was chaos in the north west region of India. In 1297 AD, the Mongols attacked under the leadership of Qadir Khan. During this invasion, he plundered the area around the Sutlej and Beas rivers. He plundered a lot of wealth. Therefore, after this, he attacked India several times in succession. In 1299 AD, the Mongols made a major attack on India. This time they plundered the territories up to Delhi. Four years later, in 1303 AD, under the leadership of Targi, the Mongols attacked India again and plundered the areas of Punjab and Delhi. After this, the Mongols attacked India in 1305 AD and 1306 AD for the purpose of plundering wealth. The last invasion of the Mongols into India was in 1327 AD under the leadership of Tarmashirin Khan.
India suffered a lot due to the invasion of the Mongols. Due to the continuous invasions, the fertile area of the north-west was ruined. The economy of Punjab deteriorated. The administration became unstable due to these attacks. The social fabric began to break down. The prosperous city of the north-west, Lahore, was ruined.
Invasion of Timur
In 1398 AD, the ruler of Samarkand, Timur attacked India. Nasiruddin Muhammad was the Sultan of Delhi at that time. He did nothing to stop Timur’s attack. He himself fled from Delhi as soon as he got word of the attack. Timur ransacked Delhi. He killed thousands of women, men and children. He took away a huge amount of gold, silver, diamonds and jewels from Delhi. Many prisoners of war, women, men and children were enslaved and sold to Muslims.
Talks of Timur’s massacre continued for many centuries in Delhi and its surrounding areas. Timur ruined Delhi and its surrounding areas The Punjab was ruled by his representative for many years. Timur’s invasions played a major role in the downfall of the Sultanate, revealing the weakness of the Sultans’ military system
Invasion of Babur
Zahiruddin Muhammad Babur invaded India in the sixteenth century. He was a descendant of Timur. His father was the ruler of Fargana located in Central Asia. After the death of his father he became the ruler at a young age in 1494 AD, but he could not face the power of the Uzbek in Central Asia and finally he became the ruler of Kabul in 1504 AD. From Kabul he started planning an attack on India.
In 1519 AD, he attacked Bajaur, the frontier fort of India and conquered it. He then conquered Peshawar during his second invasion. After this, in 1520 AD, Babur attacked Sialkot in Punjab but he could not advance beyond this because the people of Sayyidpur fought him fiercely. After this Babur made his fourth attack on Punjab. He conquered Punjab.
Babur’s most important attack was on the Sultanate of Delhi. The Sultan here was Ibrahim Lodi at that time. He was an unpopular ruler. Babur defeated and killed him in the first battle of Panipat in 1526 AD and ended the Delhi Sultanate. He laid the foundation of the Mughal dynasty. Moving forward, he attacked Rana Sanga in 1527 AD to capture Rajputana. To face him, Rana Sanga of Mewar took the front. There was panic among Babur’s soldiers as they had heard many stories of the valour and courage of the Rajputs. The confidence of the Mughal army was shaken by the brave Rajputs, who were fond of war and bloodshed and full of a strong sense of nationalism. In such a situation, Babur resorted to jihad and tried to raise the morale of his army by breaking cups of wine. The Rajputs bravely faced the Mughals at a place called Khanwa. A fierce battle ensued between both the sides, but Babur won.
Now Rajputs started gathering around Medini Rai to give a befitting reply to Babur. In 1528 AD, Babur attacked Medini Rai. A fierce battle took place between the two armies in January 1528 in Chanderi. But before sacrificing their lives, the Rajputs fought fiercely with the Mughal army. The next year, in 1529 AD, Babur defeated the Afghans in the battle of Ghaghra and established his power over Bihar as well.
Invasion of Nadirshah
The Mughal Empire weakened due to the policies adopted by Aurangzeb in the last phase of the 17th century. The wars of succession made this situation even more deplorable. Taking advantage of this, in 1739 AD, the ruler of Iran, Nadir Shah attacked India. At this time, Delhi was ruled by the Mughal emperor Muhammad Shah. He spent most of his time on pleasures and merry-making. People called him Muhammad Shah Rangeela. He was unable to defend Delhi from the invasion of Nadir Shah. His army was defeated by Nadir Shah in the battle of Karnal on February 24, 1739 AD. Nadir Shah stayed in Delhi for about two months, and when he returned to Iran, he took away with him thirty crore rupees in cash, gold, silver, diamonds. and jewels; ten elephants; seven hundred horses; ten thousand camels; one hundred thirty accountants; two hundred blacksmiths, three hundred masons; one hundred sculptors; and two hundred carpenters. Before leaving, he again declared the Mughal emperor Muhammad Shah as the emperor of India.
His invasion exposed the weakness, ineptitude and inefficiency of the Mughal state in India. Nadir Shah carried out a massacre in Delhi. His soldiers did not spare even women, children and old people. Plundering and killing continued in Delhi for three days. Within three days, three crore rupees were plundered from the common people of Delhi. Nadir Shah returned to Iran with the famous Kohinoor diamond and a peacock throne from India. The Peacock Throne was the throne of the Mughal emperors studded with gold and navaratna, which was worth crores even at that time. The Mughal emperor Muhammad Shah, fearing that Delhi would be plundered, gave him the entire province of Punjab.
Invasion of Ahmadshah Abdali
In 1756 AD, Abdali attacked India. He plundered Delhi, but proceeded to the east and went on up to Mathura. The power of the Marathas was emerging in India when they stopped Abdali. The Marathas removed Abdali’s trusted people from Punjab and made a trusted man Adina Beg, the governor of Punjab. This made Abdali very angry. He again attacked India. The Marathas confronted him.
The third battle of Panipat took place between the two armies on January 14, 1761. The Marathas were defeated in this war. Abdali was given a lot of money by the Mughal nobles. He declared Shah Alam as the Mughal emperor on his way back from Delhi. After this, in 1767 AD, he again attacked Delhi. Abdali’s invasion caused great economic and political loss to India. Abdali defeated the Marathas in the third battle of Panipat and ended their possibility of establishing power over Delhi. Punjab was once again ruined by Abdali’s invasion. Abdali received huge wealth from India.
The Marathas’ plan to conquer India by defeating Abdali suffered a major setback. After the decline of their power, the East India Company’s domination expanded in India and plundered India for many years. Between the seventh and the eighteenth century, India was attacked by foreign invaders one after another, which the Indian people faced with valour, courage and bravery. On many occasions, the mutual division and idealism of the Indian rulers became the reason for their failure, but the Indians never succumbed to the suppression of these foreign invaders and maintained the unwavering values of their civilization and culture.
Nature of Foreign Invasions:
The main features of all these foreign invasions from the seventh century to the eighteenth century were:
- These were all Islamic invasions except the Mongol invasions.
- Most of the invaders resorted to communal frenzy or jihad.
- Plundering and killings took place.
- The spread of Islam was the main (forced conversion) objective of these invasions, so the assimilation of these invaders into Indian culture could not take place.
- All the invaders had to face the fierce resistance of the Indian people who were full of valour, courage and bravery.
- The invaders were successful in getting victory only by using immoral warfare.
- Indian Hindu rulers followed mostly the highest moral ideals even in times of war which proved suicidal for them. Most of the invaders destroyed large establishments, cultural centres and temples of Indian knowledge tradition and carrier of culture to shatter the morale and confidence of Indian Hindu rulers.
- The armies of the Turks and Arabs were equipped with horses of good breeds.
- The abundance of elephants in the army of Indian Hindu rulers reduced the intensity of the attack.
Mistakes of Indian Rulers:
- Dahir did not attack the army of Muhammad bin Qassim while his army was exhausted and treating their sick horses.
- Prithviraj III let Gauri return after defeating him in the first battle of Tarain.
- Anandpal did not attack Mahmud when he was fighting for life and death with llaq Khan.
- Ibrahim Lodi allowed the exhausted Mughal army of Babur to rest for seven days and dig trenches in the meantime.
- The Indian rulers of the medieval period failed to maintain the highest level of intelligence (Chanakya period).
- The level of epic archery declined in the medieval period while the Turks trained archers in their army.
Effects of Foreign Invasions on India
The impact of foreign invasions on India can be divided into two parts:
(a) Immediate effects
(b) Far-reaching effects
a) Immediate effects: By these effects we mean what was the effect of the invasions of Muhammad-bin-Qassim, Ghaznavi and Ghori on India at that time. For example, these attacks caused extensive loss of public property, damage to art and literature. In short, the invasions of Arabs and Turks had the following immediate effects:
1. Spread of Islam: Arabs and Turks had a new religious zeal and they invaded India only to spread Islam. After taking over northern India, they started spreading Islam very rapidly. Many Ulema-Maulvis came to India with the invaders. They spread Islam in India. Seeing the failure of the policy of the sword, greed was resorted to, but still Islam could not spread too much.
2. Loss of lives and wealth: Ghaznavi attacked India many times from 1000 AD to 1025 AD. The purpose of these attacks by Mahmud was to get wealth. He was successful in taking away immense wealth from Nagarkot, Kannauj, Mathura and Somnath. Although the direct goal of Ghor’s attacks was not to get money, in his campaigns, incidents like massacres are described. He put many people to death. The universities of Nalanda and Vikramshila were set on fire. In both the attacks, India had to bear the loss of lives and wealth.
3. Bad policy of war: The Indians’ bad war strategy was exposed during the foreign invasion. The Indian rulers used mostly elephants in the army, while the Turks had more horses. Horses could turn faster and more quickly than elephants. In addition, the military organisation of the Indians was weak. The Turks had a army smaller than the Indians, but it was systematically divided. By properly conducting the war policy and by dividing his army in a planned manner, Muhammad Ghori won the second battle of Tarain, despite having a small army.
4. Blow to art and literature: The destruction of Indian temples and idols emerged as the main characteristic of the attacks of Ghaznavi. Buildings, shrines and temples at Thaneshwar, Nagarkot, Mathura, Kannauj, Somnath were demolished. These magnificent art sculptures and specimens were destroyed forever. Mahmud not only destroyed temples and idols, but he also took many talented artists and craftsmen with him to Ghazni and put them to death. His actions had a bad effect on Indian architecture Attacks on temples are not visible in Gauri’s attacks, but this type of damage was done by Ghori’s generals. For example, Bakhtiyar Khilji set the Nalanda Buddhist monastery on fire. Many priceless books and manuscripts were burnt.
5. Establishment of Turk power in India: Turk invasions led to the establishment of Turk power in India. This was the most widespread immediate effect of the Turk invasion. Ghori captured Punjab and occupied the interior parts of India as well. After the second battle of Tarain, he captured Delhi, Kannauj, Ajmer, Mathura and Gujarat. The slaves of Muhamad Ghori conquered many areas of India. Thus, at the time of the death of Ghori in 1206 AD the Turk Empire was established in India.
b) Far-reaching effects: The successful campaigns of Mahmud Ghaznavi and Ghori introduced Turk rule in India. This marked the entry of this new political element, despite not changing the basic structure. The Turks’ invasions created new elements in all spheres of Indian life and society. The far-reaching effects of these new elements can be clearly seen on society:
1. Establishment of Islamic State in India: After the death of Harsh in the early medieval period, the central authority weakened. The Rajput rulers were dependent on the feudatories. With the establishment of Turk rule, the centre again emerged as powerful The Sultan was a sovereign and independent ruler. The power of the Sultan of Delhi was different and greater than that of the earlier Indian rulers. The nature of the state or sultanate that was established under the sultans was that of an islamic state in which the Ulemas had influence.
2. Decline of Feudal System: The feudal system of the Rajput period declined after the invasion of the Turks. These rulers removed the main Rajput chieftains from their posts. The feudatories no longer had the right to rule over a particular area. All authority was concentrated in the hands of the Sultan. This led to political and economic integration during this period. However, the Sultan could not completely eliminate the Rajput chieftains. The tax system was introduced according to Islamic custom. A tax called Jaziya was collected from the Hindus.
3. Development of Islamic Architecture: Indian architecture was damaged by the effects of the Turk invasion. In its place, a new art has emerged. This art had certain characteristics of its own. A mosque named ‘Adhai Din Ka Jhopra’ was built from this art. In this new architecture, lime was used in the construction of buildings. This new technology brought solidity to the buildings.
4. Impact on Education and Language: The arrival of the Turks led to the decline of Indian educational centres and the beginning of a separate system in the field of education, which is called the Madrasa system. This education system was different from the Indian system. This education was given in mosques, In Islam, the teacher could even go to the student’s home and impart education. The Persian language emerged in India with the arrival of the Turks. The Turk rulers gave priority to this language in their official functions. Soldiers and scholars carried this language to many places in India. Seeing this, the nature of Indian society started changing.
In this way, we can say that from the seventh century to the eighteenth century, India was attacked by many foreign invaders. Although India’s social and religious background, Indian philosophy and culture, economic situation and political outlook had a huge impact due to these invasions, yet Indian culture, religion and civilization kept themselves intact. The constant resistance of the Indian rulers and the people played a major role in maintaining the enthusiasm and self-confidence of the Indians. There was only a limited spread of Islam. Politically, these invaders had some success, but culturally, India remained invincible.