century. In fact, in 1739, the Persian Sha ̄h sacked Delhi and the era of Islamic
power in India was at an end.
This brief sketch of the political landscape under Islamic rulers suggests
several realities of the period. Islamic polity took many forms – there was no
single policy toward subjects. Further, almost invariably, the hegemony
was really only strong at the center; the further one went from the center,
the less the control. Considerable autonomy and flexibility existed within
certain of the sultanates and during much of the Mughal period. Certainly,
there were military skirmishes, but these were almost invariably political in
nature – Muslim princes against Muslim princes; Hindu princes against
Hindu princes; Hindu mercenaries fighting in an army on behalf of a
Muslim prince and vice versa. While the chief advisers in the courts were
often Muslim, Hindus were increasingly employed and even the Muslim
advisers varied from different schools of Sunnı ̄ to Su ̄fı ̄ character, from
orthodox to eclectic.
Diversity of Islam in India
It is clear that Islam in the subcontinent was not monolithic. We turn now
to something of the diversity and character of Muslim communities in India.
To begin, there were clearly several cultures and languages that migrated
into India. Arab merchants brought Arabic language, but Arabic patterns
of governance were also applied, particularly in the early sultanates. More
importantly, Arabic was the language of the Qur‘a ̄n, hence the language
of orthodoxy, and the language taught in the madrasas(schools) when
individuals and communities sought a sense of rootedness and identity,
particularly in the period of the first several generations of migrants. Turkish
and Afghan “culture” tended to the language of warfare. Turkish warriors
were less cultured, yet Turkish soldiers were being employed even by Hindu
princes as early as the ninth century. These soldiers of Turkish background
continued to live on the subcontinent and tended to mingle with the
“common” folk and effect exchanges of vocabulary and customs. The Persian
cultural stream was the most significant influence in the courts especially
by the fifteenth century when language, music, architecture, and other
arts experienced the influence of Persian motifs. There was also some
“exporting” of cultural forms into Persia.
Sunnı ̄s
But Indian Muslim communities have showed great diversity in their
religious orientations as well. The Sunnı ̄s, for whom interpretation of Islamic
law (sharı ̄‘a) depends on the councils (‘ulama ̄‘), are one of the forms of Islam
The Coming of Islam 131