Muslim period in the Indian subcontinent

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The Muslim period in the Indian subcontinent or Indo-Muslim period[1] is conventionally said to have started in 712, after the conquest of Sindh and Multan by the Umayyad Caliphate under the military command of Muhammad ibn al-Qasim.[2] It began in the Indian subcontinent in the course of a gradual conquest. The perfunctory rule by the Ghaznavids in Punjab was followed by Ghurids, and Sultan Muhammad of Ghor (r. 1173–1206) is generally credited with laying the foundation of Muslim rule in Northern India.

From the late 12th century onwards, Muslim empires dominated the subcontinent, most notably the Delhi Sultanate and Mughal Empire.[3] Various other Muslim kingdoms ruled most of South Asia from the mid-14th to late 18th centuries, including the Bahmani, Bengal, Gujarat, Malwa, Kashmir, Multan, Mysore, Carnatic and Deccan Sultanates.[4][5] Though the Muslim dynasties in India were diverse in origin, they were linked together by the Persianate culture and Islam.

The height of Islamic rule was marked during the reign of Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb (r. 1658–1707), during which the Fatawa Alamgiri was compiled, which briefly served as the legal system of Mughal Empire.[6] Additional Islamic policies were re-introduced in South India by Mysore's de facto king Tipu Sultan.[7]

Sharia was used as the primary basis for the legal system in the Delhi Sultanate, most notably during the rule of Firuz Shah Tughlaq and Alauddin Khilji, who repelled the Mongol invasions of India. On the other hand, rulers such as Akbar adopted a secular legal system and enforced religious neutrality.[8] Muslim rule in India saw a major shift in the cultural, linguistic, and religious makeup of the subcontinent.[9] Persian and Arabic vocabulary began to enter local languages, giving way to modern Punjabi, Bengali, and Gujarati, while creating new languages including Hindustani and its dialect, Deccani, used as official languages under Muslim dynasties.[10] This period also saw the birth of Hindustani music, Qawwali.[11][12] Religions such as Sikhism and Din-e-Ilahi were born out of a fusion of Hindu and Muslim religious traditions as well.[13]

In the 18th century the Islamic influence in India begin to decline following the decline of the Mughal Empire, resulting in former Mughal territory conquered rival powers such as the Maratha Confederacy. However, Islamic rule would still remain under regional Nawabs and Sultans.

Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, large parts of India were colonized by the East India Company, eventually establishing the British Raj in 1857. Regional Islamic rule would remain under princely states, such as Hyderabad State, Junagadh State, and other minor princely states until the mid of the 20th century.

Today, Bangladesh, Maldives and Pakistan are the Muslim majority nations in the Indian subcontinent while India has the largest Muslim minority population in the world numbering over 204 million.

  1. ^ Goetz, Hermann (1934). "The Genesis of Indo-Muslim Civilization: Some Archaeological Notes". Ars Islamica. 1 (1): 46–50. ISSN 1939-6406.
  2. ^ Tripathi, R. P. (1956). Some Aspects of Muslim Administration. Allahabad: Central Book Depot. p. 24.
  3. ^ Noah), Abu Noah Ibrahim Ibn Mika'eel Jason Galvan (Abu; Galvan, Jason (30 September 2008). Art Thou That Prophet?. Lulu.com. ISBN 978-0-557-00033-3. Archived from the original on 2 May 2021. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
  4. ^ Syed, Muzaffar Husain; Akhtar, Syed Saud; Usmani, B. D. (14 September 2011). Concise History of Islam. Vij Books India Pvt Ltd. ISBN 978-93-82573-47-0. Archived from the original on 26 April 2021. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
  5. ^ Stanley Lane-Poole (1 January 1991). Aurangzeb And The Decay Of The Mughal Empire. Atlantic Publishers & Distributors (P) Limited. ISBN 978-81-7156-017-2.
  6. ^ Chapra, Muhammad Umer (2014). Morality and Justice in Islamic Economics and Finance. Edward Elgar Publishing. pp. 62–63. ISBN 9781783475728.
  7. ^ B. N. Pande (1996). Aurangzeb and Tipu Sultan: Evaluation of Their Religious Policies. University of Michigan. ISBN 9788185220383.
  8. ^ Madan, T. N. (5 May 2011). Sociological Traditions: Methods and Perspectives in the Sociology of India. SAGE Publications India. ISBN 978-81-321-0769-9. Archived from the original on 5 May 2021. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
  9. ^ Avari, Burjor (2013). Islamic Civilization in South Asia: A History of Muslim Power and Presence in the Indian Subcontinent. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-58061-8. Archived from the original on 11 April 2023. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
  10. ^ Khan, Abdul Jamil (2006). Urdu/Hindi: An Artificial Divide: African Heritage, Mesopotamian Roots, Indian Culture & British Colonialism. Algora Publishing. ISBN 978-0-87586-438-9. Archived from the original on 21 November 2021. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
  11. ^ Goldberg, K. Meira; Bennahum, Ninotchka Devorah; Hayes, Michelle Heffner (6 October 2015). Flamenco on the Global Stage: Historical, Critical and Theoretical Perspectives. McFarland. ISBN 978-0-7864-9470-5. Archived from the original on 4 May 2021. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
  12. ^ Lavezzoli, Peter (24 April 2006). The Dawn of Indian Music in the West. A&C Black. ISBN 978-0-8264-1815-9. Archived from the original on 2 May 2021. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
  13. ^ Oberst, Robert (27 April 2018). Government and Politics in South Asia, Student Economy Edition. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-429-97340-6.