THE SWORD AND INDIA 61With the consolidation of British commercial, political, and military
power, the independent Muslim military history of India came to an end.
The Muslim conquests of India struck the subcontinent at a time before
much unity was present. Despite significant resistance, in the end, a small
feudal military class of Turkish horsemen subjugated a vast population.
Much of this is because Islamic culture offered a great deal to the Indian
peoples, but it is also true that Hindu India offered much to Islam. Had
the sultans obeyed their religious instruction—and starting with bin
Qasim, they did not—the Hindu people would have been annihilated.
They were not, largely because their destruction might well have been
beyond the physical capacity of the Moghul rulers and because their lives
and labors provided the wealth that made conquest inviting. There was
never much doubt about the victor, when practical self-interest conflicted
with Koranic scripture!
It is interesting that the eighth-century conquests of the regions that
would become Afghanistan and Pakistan brought in an Islamic culture
that has been the dominant religion for 1,200 years. On the other hand,
although Islam was introduced to India, it did not become the dominant
religious or cultural force. India is one of few lands that turned its back
on the Prophet’s religion. This suggests that the military conquest of the
great Indian states may have been of less importance than most other
campaigns waged by the sultans and caliphs.
CHRONOLOGY
711 Qasim occupies Daibil in Sind.
961 Alptigin establishes Gaznavid state in Afghanistan.
960s Subaktagin begins raiding into India from Gaznavid Afghanistan.
1000 (approximate date) Mahmud of Gazni launches seventeen at-
tacks on India, the first great wave of conquests.
1175 (approximate date) Muhammad Ghori, the second great in-
vader continues the advances into India.
1199 Muhammad Ghori’s lieutenant Bakhtiyar occupies Nadia,
completing Muslim conquest of Northern India—the Delhi
sultanate.
1206–88 The Slave Dynasty in Delhi
1294 Ala-ud-din-Khilji, the third great conqueror, ascends the Delhi
throne, taking the Deccan and Gujarat during his reign.