Reshaping India’s Political Map

Class 08 Social Science

A new era in India’s journey began in the early 11th century. Invasions from beyond the Hindu Kush mountains reshaped India’s political map.

The spate of invasions by people from outside the Indian subcontinent during this period was unprecedented. Many of these invaders were Central Asian - Turkic or Afghan. They were drawn to India not only for her reputed riches and for territorial ambitions, but also often to spread, by force of violence if necessary, their own versions of their religion.

Delhi Sultanate

Delhi Sultanate was formed after the defeat in 1192 of King Prithviraj Chauhan, who ruled over parts of northwestern India. This Sultanate saw the rule of five successive foreign dynasties of Turkic-Afghan origin:

the Mamluks (or ‘Slave dynasty’)
the Khiljis (or Khaljis)
the Tughlaqs
the Sayyids
the Lodis (or Lodhis)

While certain parts of northern India came under the control of the Delhi Sultanate, neighbouring kingdoms, such as the Eastern Gangas in the east and the Hoysalas in the south resisted its advance and also emerged as thriving centres of art, culture, and administration. The city of Delhi also assumed a bigger role in the political landscape of northern India.

The Sultanate period was marked by political instability combined with efforts at territorial expansion. This resulted in military campaigns that raided villages and cities, and plundered and destroyed temples and seats of learning. Successions (the appointments of new sultans) were often violent. Almost two sultans out of three seized power by eliminating their predecessor.

At the turn of the 14th century, Ala-ud-din Khilji conducted military campaigns over large areas of north and central India, sacking and plundering many cities. At the same time, he also repelled several invasions by Mongol forces, who were trying to add India to the vast Mongol Empire (it covered most of Asia at the time).

His slave-general Malik Kafur expanded the Sultanate’s reach southward, conquering several kingdoms on the way. Their plundered wealth helped finance the Sultanate’s enormous military apparatus. He also attacked a number of Hindu centres such as Srirangam, Madurai, Chidambaram, and possibly Rameswaram.

A few decades later, Muhammad bin Tughlaq ruled Delhi and expanded the Delhi Sultanate’s territories further. For the first time since the Mauryan Empire, most of the Subcontinent was now under one ruler. Although this dominance was significant, it proved to be short-lived. Muhammad bin Tughlaq had ambitious schemes, but they were often poorly executed.

One such was moving his capital from Delhi to Daulatabad (then called ‘Devagiri’, near present-day Sambhaji Nagar). Perhaps he thought its more central location would offer better control of the empire. The people were forced to travel over 1,000 km, and a few years later, as his plan misfired, he shifted the capital back to Delhi. Both transfers resulted in great loss of life according to some sources.

Another instance was the introduction of ‘token currency’, where cheap copper coins were declared to be tokens and have the value of silver or gold coins. At the time this created confusion in the trade and encouraged people to counterfeit copper coins, all of which caused the economy to decline.

The sultans and their court elite lived in luxurious palaces, enjoying elaborate clothing, jewelled ornaments and fine food. This wealth was largely derived from plunder from their military campaigns, taxes levied on common people and conquered regions, and engagement in slave trade. But plunder, in turn, affected trade networks and agricultural production. This period also witnessed numerous attacks on sacred or revered images in Buddhist, Jain and Hindu temples. Such destruction was motivated not just by plunder but also by iconoclasm.

Resistance to the Delhi Sultanate

Throughout its rule, the Delhi Sultanate faced resistance from many quarters. While many kingdoms fell into its net, it failed to subdue the Eastern Ganga kingdom of Kalinga, which included present-day Odisha and parts of Bengal and Andhra Pradesh. One of its rulers in the mid-13th century, Narasimhadeva I was noted for the military strength and cultural brilliance he brought to the kingdom. Apart from repelling multiple inroads of the Sultanate, he defeated the Delhi Sultanate’s governor of Bengal. Partly to commemorate these victories, he built the famed Sūrya temple at Konark (present-day Odisha).

Ala-ud-din’s push to the South was attracted by its renowned wealth. At the time, the Hoysalas ruled parts of southern India (mostly present-day Karnataka) and fended off several attacks from the Delhi Sultanate, remaining the only independent kingdom in the south. However, weakened by these attacks and internal conflicts, the Hoysala kingdom declined and, in the mid-14th century, was absorbed into the Vijayanagara Empire further south.

The Delhi Sultanate also faced rebellions from the emergence of several independent regional Sultanates. The Bahmani Sultanate rose in the mid-14th century and controlled much of the Deccan for a while. Powerful Sultanates also emerged in Gujarat, Bengal and other regions, leading to a complex interplay of alliances and frequent wars.

Parts of Rajasthan also remained beyond the reach of the Delhi Sultanate; in the 15th century. It faced stiff resistance from Rana Kumbha, the ruler of the Mewar kingdom, who also successfully repelled invasions from these later sultanates.

Vijayanagara Empire

While the Delhi Sultanate grew politically more unstable, a new centre of power emerged in the south. In the 14th century, two brothers, Harihara and Bukka, who had initially served as governors under Muhammad bin Tughlaq, eventually rejected Delhi’s authority, and established an independent kingdom that became a significant force in southern India and grew into the Vijayanagara Empire.

To the north of the Vijayanagara Empire, the Bahmani Sultanate was a major rival. It eventually fragmented into five independent states called the ‘Deccan Sultanates’ - Bijapur, Golconda, Berar, Ahmednagar, and Bidar - each ruled by former governors or tarafdars who declared autonomy. The Vijayanagara rulers battled with the first two, as well as with the Gajapati rulers of Odisha in the east.

Krishnadevaraya

In the 16th century, the Vijayanagara Empire reached its peak under its celebrated ruler, Krishnadevaraya, who expanded and secured the empire’s dominance over the Deccan. Under his rule, the empire achieved both military power and cultural renaissance. He patronised poets and scholars in Sanskrit, Telugu and Kannada; he himself composed an epic poem in Telugu, Āmuktamālyada, on the story of the Tamil poet-saint Āṇḍāl. One section of the work is a Rājanīti (‘royal policy’) where he expounded his ideas of good governance. Krishnadevaraya provided grants to many temples, including Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh and the Vitthala temple in his own capital Vijayanagara, which displayed many grand temples, palaces and other buildings.

After winning many wars against his neighbours, Krishnadevaraya died of illness in 1529. In 1565, the Deccan Sultanates formed a coalition and defeated the Vijayanagara forces led by Ramaraya, Krishnadevaraya’s son-in-law, at the Battle of Talikota. The city was sacked over several months. Houses, shops, buildings, palaces and most of its temples were destroyed, and much of its civilian population massacred. It was left in ruins. After this, the empire got fragmented into smaller regions ruled by Nayakas, who were former military governors. The empire came to an end in the mid-17th century.

Mughal Empire

While the Delhi Sultanate weakened, Babur, a Turkic-Mongol ruler and military strategist who, having been thrown out of Samarkand (modern-day Uzbekistan), turned his sights to India. A descendant of Timur, Babur defeated Ibrahim Lodi at Panipat in 1526 (First Battle of Panipat). It relied heavily on gunpowder, field artillery, and matchlock guns, which had recently been introduced in warfare in India. That defeat put a final end to the Delhi Sultanate and laid the foundation of the Mughal Empire, as Babur assumed control of the Delhi throne.

Humayun

After Babur’s death in 1530, his son Humayun struggled to hold the empire together. Taking advantage of this, Sher Shah Suri, a powerful Afghan leader, established the Sur Empire over large parts of north India and introduced many lasting reforms. The empire was short-lived, however, as Humayun soon reconquered the lost ground.

Before this happened, Himu, a skilled military commander and chief minister (‘wazir’) under one of the last Suri rulers, captured Delhi and ruled it briefly under the royal name of Hemchandra Vikramaditya. Though enjoying some military successes, he was injured on the battlefield (Second Battle of Panipat) when confronted by Babur’s grandson, Akbar. Captured, Himu was brought to Akbar, who had him beheaded. Akbar soon reclaimed Delhi for the Mughals.

Akbar

Declared emperor at the age of 13 upon his father Humayun’s accidental death, Akbar set out to bring the entire Subcontinent under Mughal control. His reign was a blend of brutality and tolerance, shaped by ambition and strategy.

In early conquests, following many of his predecessors’ examples, he showed no mercy at the fort Chittorgarh (in Rajasthan), which he besieged for more than five months in the face of determined resistance from the Rajput soldiers. They inflicted heavy losses on the Mughal army, but, the fort finally breached, died fighting in large numbers, while hundreds of women committed jauhar. Akbar ordered the massacre of some 30,000 civilians, and the surviving women and children were enslaved.

His long reign lasted almost 50 years from 1556 to his death in 1605. While its middle period was relatively peaceful, the final 15 years involved fresh military campaigns in Kashmir, Sindh, the Deccan, and Afghanistan.

Despite being illiterate, Akbar became keen to explore Persian and Indian texts, and showed great interest in classical Indian thought and often invited scholars to his court. He established a ‘house of translation’ at Fatehpur Sikri where he had major Sanskrit texts translated into Persian, including the Mahābhārata, the Rāmāyaṇa, the Bhagavad Gītā, and the Pañchatantra.

Jahangir and Shah Jahan

Akbar’s son Jahangir shared with his father a love for art and architecture and tried to expand the empire into the Deccan. His son Shah Jahan fought several rebellions and is best remembered as the builder of the Taj Mahal at Agra.

This period formed the peak of an immense flowering of art and architecture, which included the building of Humayun’s tomb in Delhi and the Red Forts in Delhi and Agra.

Aurangzeb

Shah Jahan fell ill in 1657. He wished the throne to go to Dara Shikoh, his eldest son, but Dara’s younger brother Aurangzeb defeated him in a series of battles and eventually executed him, presenting his severed head to their father. Aurangzeb also removed his two other brothers - he had one arrested and executed, and drove the second into exile. To prevent further challenge to his rule, Aurangzeb imprisoned his father Shah Jahan in the Agra Fort, where he remained until his death. Aurangzeb crowned himself emperor in 1658 and named himself ‘Alamgir’ or ‘conqueror of the world’; he ruled for almost 49 years.

Aurangzeb, skilled in military matters, conducted many campaigns, conquering parts of the South in particular. Under his reign the Mughal empire reached its greatest expansion, though constantly faced with significant rebellions. Aurangzeb had to spend the last 25 years of his life fighting war after war in the Deccan. Maintaining large armies for those campaigns depleted the empire’s treasury and put a great strain on the administration. This is often considered one of key factors in the rapid decline of Mughal power after Aurangzeb’s death in 1707.

Resistance to the Mughals

Over the centuries, many peasant communities rebelled against harsh exploitation. One such case, in the 17th century, involves the Jat peasantry (in present-day western Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and eastern Rajasthan), who managed to kill an oppressive officer of the Mughal administration. In a subsequent battle, 20,000 men confronted the Mughal army and fought valiantly, but their Jat leader was killed and the rebellion suppressed.

Many tribal groups - the Bhils, the Gonds, the Santhals, the Kochs - also fought back against attempts to annex their territory or impose taxes on them. While some of these groups were subdued or gradually integrated into the Delhi Sultanate or the Mughal Empire, others - especially those inhabiting forested, hilly, or remote regions - managed to maintain some degree of independence.

Rajputs

Because of their location in northwest India and the proud traditions they inherited from earlier dynasties (such as the Pratiharas, who had resisted the Arab invasions of Sindh a few centuries earlier), the Rajputs were often battling the invading forces from beyond the Subcontinent. They had rebuilt their kingdoms after the Khiljis’ conquest, two major clans emerged in this process, in the Mewar and Marwar regions.

Rana Sanga (early 16th century) unified several Rajput clans, won many battles against sultans, ultimately meeting defeat against Babur at the Battle of Khanwa.

Although he inherited a wounded kingdom from his predecessors, Mewar’s ruler Maharana Pratap refused to accept Mughal suzerainty and became the face of Rajput resistance. A confrontation took place at the Haldighati pass in the Aravallis in 1576, and although the Mughal army had the upper hand, Maharana Pratap escaped and pursued for years guerrilla warfare against the Mughals from the Aravalli hills, living in harsh conditions but firm on his independence. Maharana Pratap received strong support from the Bhils, who not only joined his troops as archers but also contributed their knowledge of the terrain.

While some Rajput states eventually allied with the Mughals - through diplomacy and marriage alliances - some, especially Mewar, did not accept Mughal dominance. During Aurangzeb’s reign, several Rajput nobles rebelled, including Durga Das Rathore of Marwar, who fought to protect the independence of Jodhpur. Thus, Mughal authority remained limited in Rajasthan.

Ahoms

In the 13th century, the Ahom ethnic group migrated from present-day Myanmar to the Brahmaputra Valley and formed the Ahom kingdom there.

During both the Sultanate and the Mughal periods, the Ahom rulers offered stiff resistance to attempts at expansion into the Northeast. Their unique paik system called on every able-bodied man to provide service to the state through labour or military duty in exchange for land rights. This allowed the rulers to create public infrastructure and maintain a large standing force without a permanent army.

Over time, the Ahoms assimilated the local culture, promoted agriculture, encouraged diverse faiths, and contributed to the rich traditions of Assam.

In the 17th century, when Aurangzeb sent Mughal forces, briefly capturing the Ahom capital Garhgaon, the Ahoms used their knowledge of the terrain - dense forests, hills and rivers - and persistent guerrilla tactics to repulse the attack, although the latter had more men and a larger fleet of river boats. In the Battle of Saraighat (1671), fought on the Brahmaputra River near present-day Guwahati, the Ahom military commander Lachit Borphukan and his 10,000 men defeated a Mughal force of 30,000 soldiers. Ultimately, the Ahom were able to preserve their independence.

Sikhs

In 15th century Punjab, Guru Nanak spread the message of equality, compassion, and the oneness of God (Ik Onkār). His followers came to be known as Sikhs. Although Sikhism began purely as a spiritual movement, the later Sikh Gurus had to respond to the growing intolerance and persecution under some Mughal rulers. When Emperor Jahangir found out that Guru Arjan had supported his rebellious son, he had Guru Arjan tortured to death. This prompted Guru Arjan’s son and successor, Guru Hargobind, to introduce martial training and form a Sikh army, which fought several battles against the Mughal forces.

In 1675, a group of Kashmiri Pandits approached Guru Tegh Bahadur seeking protection from religious persecution. The Guru decided to stand with them and court martyrdom. Arrested, Aurangzeb ordered him to convert to Islam. Despite torture, and despite witnessing two of his disciples being tortured to death, the Guru refused. On Aurangzeb’s orders, he was publicly beheaded in Chandni Chowk, Delhi. In response, his son Guru Gobind Singh - the 10th and last Guru - established the Khalsa - a martial brotherhood committed to justice, equality and defence of the faith, which frequently clashed with the Mughal forces, at great cost of life.

As the Mughal Empire declined, especially under the onslaughts of the Marathas, several Sikh confederacies emerged in the Punjab region. They were ultimately unified through the efforts of Maharaja Ranjit Singh at the turn of the 19th century. Ranjit Singh’s military acumen, diplomatic skill and religious tolerance allowed him to establish a strong, centralised Sikh Empire which spanned much of the Northwest, including parts of Kashmir. Till the mid-19th century, this empire resisted both Mughal remnants and later British expansion.