Impact of Delhi Sultanate and Women in Mughal Royal Households

This article discusses the impact of Delhi Sultanate on Indian subcontinent and the role of women in Mughal royal households. It provides insights into the political and cultural intricacies of the Mughal era and the contributions made by women in building the empire. The article also sheds light on the treatment of native people and the adverse effects of the Sultanate rule.

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History Essay
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Topic 1: Analyze the impact of Delhi Sultanate on the Indian subcontinent and its people
Wendy Doniger, “Fusion and Rivalry”
Almost after three centuries through the traditional routes of the northwest the Afghans, Persians,
and Turks entered India. On 27th November 1001, in Afghanistan near Peshawar, the Turkish
Mahmud of Ghazni invaded India. In 1004 Mahmud established a base in Punjab, in 1018 he
sacked Mathura and after that Kanauj. According to Frederick (2009), in the regions of Varanasi
and elsewhere the Turkish communities were also established. As Varanasi was the boom area
for immigration from Central Asia and Persia and this in turn, resulted into cosmopolitanism of
the subcontinent. The central and the northern part of the subcontinent faced a bewildering array
of dynasties and kings for the next four centuries with consistent warfare among them.
Muhammad of Ghor ruled from his capital at Delhi from 1192 to 1206. One of the successors
Raziya who was a woman was is considered to be generous, just, an effective general and wise.
She ruled for four years that ended in 1240 and brought peace and harmony to the country. For
twenty years Ala-ud-din Khilji who was an Afghan ruled from Delhi, captured, redeemed as well
as made a Hindu eunuch a senior commander. Later a slave who was named Kafur was
converted to Islam. After the reign of Ala-ud-din Khilji came Muhammad bin Tughluq who was
considered to be the genius, philosopher king, lunatic tyrant, bloodthirsty and cruel. It was
believed that even under his rule most of the people suffered a lot though he was even-handed.
“On the other hand, Feroz Shah II rescued from penury and employed a number of Hindus
slaves and redeemed an African eunuch who founded the Sharqi kingdom of Jaunpur, the
eunuch successor”1. This is due to the fact that he was not determined to be the religious bigot
and found it beneficial to accommodate the non-Muslims in India. Moreover the author critically
1 Frederick M. Smith, "The Hindus: An Alternative History  By Wendy Doniger",€“ Religious Studies
Review 35, no. 4 (2009): 302-302, doi:10.1111/j.1748-0922.2009.01391_6.x.

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states that the rulers of the Sultanate did not try a mass conversion of Hindus but during this
period most of the Hindus were converted to Muslim. Some of the Hindus in the northwest
frontier were switched to both religion and political allegiance and they fought for the
Ghaznavids. The sultans of Delhi exempted the people from both the ends such as the purest and
the poorest like the Brahmins. The Brahmins wanted to keep the barbarians out, but in order to
keep temporal support for themselves they legitimize and assimilate the foreign rulers.
Catherine B Asher and Cynthia Talbot, India before Europe, Ch. 2
The Delhi Sultanate is determined to be an Islamic conquest state. In the standard accounts of
Indian history with a ruling elite which was unfamiliar to the subcontinent and cruel in its
treatment of the native people. Qutub Minar the tallest structure of India is considered to be the
sign of ascendance of foreign Muslims over the Indians those who are non-Muslims. “While it is
nowadays generally assumed that Sultanate monuments and texts were meant to convey certain
messages to the Indians whom they had subjugated, the intended audience”2. The group that
faced a massive amount of loss is the uppermost layer of the political authority such as the native
kings their chief followers and their families. As the Sultanate possessed a thin veneer of
personnel overlaid on the power structure of the pre-existing rural, most of the elite Indians
experienced their disruptive effects. Another group who were affected by the adverse effects of
the Sultanate rule were the sectarian leaders, Jain monks, Hindu temple priests and the Brahmins
who were considered to be religious specialists. In the words of John (2007), the first Islamic
rulers classified the Indians as zimmis in the subcontinent. The practice of the Arabs of Sind in
the eighth-century was followed by the subsequent Muslim kings. A separate jizya tax was not
levied on the Indian peasantry as most of the rural population comprise of non-Muslims. The
2 John E. Cort, "India Before Europe ? By Catherine B. Asher And Cynthia Talbot", Religious Studies
Review 33, no. 1 (2007): 84-84, doi:10.1111/j.1748-0922.2007.00156_7.x.

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Jain and the Hindus temple were destroyed, damaged and sacked on the occasion despite the
protected status of the zimmi religion. In modern times in India against the Muslim rulers and the
Delhi Sultans, the most serious accusation made was destroying the images of god and
plundering the Hindu temple. It is stated by the author that various different acts such as the
complete destruction of the temple building and the looting of the temple treasuries as well as the
defacing of an image were subsumed. The life of the peasants of the average Indian was little
affected by the rule of the Delhi Sultans in the other parts of north India3. The increase in the
scale of slavery was the worst repercussion in the life of the Indians due to the consequence of
the Sultanate rule.
3 Ibn Battuta: International Trade At The Malabar Coast, 2018.

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Topic 2: Women of the Mughal royal households are often stereotyped as passive inhabitants of the
Mughal harem/haram (women’s quarters)
-M. Palit, “Power behind the Throne”
In the history of India, the significance of the Mughal era was not only based on the unification
of the centralized administration but also on the intricacy of the political culture. In the principle
of the Islamic faith founds the equality of women and men in both intelligence and ability in
practice in the Mughal era where women were given an inferior position. Despite the restrictions
on the women most of the wives, daughters, and mothers of the Mughal emperors were the
support system behind the rulers who advanced and protected them by their own ambitions,
talents, and will. “The diaries and autobiographies of Babur's daughter Gulbadan Begum,
Shahjahan's daughter Jahanara, and Aurangzeb's daughter Zebunnisa are well known as both
historical and literary document”4. The perceptions of the Mughal women in the political
content remained neglected even though they set an example in the commerce and politics to
abound. For example, Emperor Jahangir's queen Nurjahan Begum played a vital role during his
reign in the administration of the empire. She was the only Mughal queen to have inscribed her
face on the coin of the realm. As mentioned by Ruby Lal (2008), it often surprises with the history
of the early Mughal expansion were the contribution of the Mughal women in building the
empire and the position that is held by the women in the power elite. Along with grandmother of
Babur both, his elder sister Khanzada Begum and his mother Qutlugh Nigar Khanam were the
strong influencers during his struggles. In the harems of the Mughal emperors that was enjoined
by custom Purdah was less strictly observed. It was stated by Gulbadan Begum that the women
of the royal harem were freely mixed with the male visitors and friends. They are frequently
4 Ruby Lal, Servants Of The Dynasty (University of California Press, 2008).

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found in playing polo, dressed in male attire and involved in music. They were allowed to
remarry even after divorce, for example, the first wife of Babur, Aiysha Sultan Begum within
three years of marriage left him and married more than once.
-Ruby Lal, “Mughal Palace Women”
Akbar the great who was considered to be the imperial chronicle reported the obligations based
on Mughal haram. In order to place women in the strictly segregated space in terms of imperial
regulations, ritual practices and physical structures a neatly compartmentalized haram was
designed for property and good order as possessed by Abu-l-Fazl. The women pardeh-giyan, the
veiled ones was officially designated by him. As per the author the term haram is determined to
be the most common explanation of the women’s sphere and delivered significant changes in the
domestic life of the Mughals as a part of the institutionalization process. The resonance and the
meaning of the word haram varied from the utilization during the reign of Humayun. In the
Akbari chronicles, the word Haram referred to both secluded quarters and the physical structures
where the royal women dwelled or stay in them. It is stated by Mriducchanda (2018), the return of
the origin of the term Haram in the history of Islam and also to the sanctity that focuses not only
on the inner quarters but also to the folks of haram. “If a woman wanted anything “within the
limit of her salary,” she had to apply to the cash keepers of the haram. It was the general
treasurer, however, who made the payments in cash”5. The idea of notions of fostering and wet-
nursing was built around practices in the Akbar’s haram. From Kabul to Hindustan in 1557 that
refers to Akbar and the women in indirect language and highly ornate that presents the
description if the arrival of the royal women that is “chaste”. However, the author states that
even though Akbar’s haram was inaccessible, sacred and secluded to most of the people by no
5 Mriducchanda Palit, Powers Behind The Throne Women In Early Mughal Politics, 2018.

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means it was unconcerned with the politics, closed off from the world and lacks interest and
power in the public affairs.
Reflection
The assignment was all about India before Europe where I have provided the details about the
two topics that are based on the history. I have found the assignment interesting as it provides
with the knowledge of the history. I got to know that how the Delhi of Sultanate influenced the
Indian subcontinent and its people and the role of the women during the Mughal period. While
doing the assignment I have made the use of the books that were based on the history of the
Mughal period. It was useful for me as I got to know about the factors during the Mughal period.

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References
Cort, John E. "India Before Europe ? By Catherine B. Asher And Cynthia Talbot". Religious
Studies Review 33, no. 1 (2007): 84-84. doi:10.1111/j.1748-0922.2007.00156_7.x.
Ibn Battuta: International Trade At The Malabar Coast, 2018.
Lal, Ruby. Servants Of The Dynasty. University of California Press, 2008.
Palit, Mriducchanda. Powers Behind The Throne Women In Early Mughal Politics, 2018.
Smith, Frederick M. "The Hindus: An Alternative History  By Wendy Doniger".€“ Religious
Studies Review 35, no. 4 (2009): 302-302. doi:10.1111/j.1748-0922.2009.01391_6.x.