Reshaping India's Political Map

Chapter 2 | Tapestry of the Past | Class 8 Social Studies

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 in an unprecedented manner. Many of these invaders were Central Asian — Turkic or Afghan. They were drawn to India not only for her reputed riches and territorial ambitions, but also to spread their religion, by force if necessary.

The period covered in this chapter — roughly the 11th to the 17th centuries — is often called the 'medieval period' of Indian history. The term 'medieval' (meaning 'between two ages') was originally used for European history, but for us it simply covers this crucial era of India's past.

1. Rise and Fall of the Delhi Sultanate

Our story begins with the Delhi Sultanate, a territory ruled by a Sultan — a title adopted by some Muslim rulers. It was formed after the defeat of King Prithviraj Chauhan in 1192 CE, who ruled over parts of northwestern India. The Sultanate saw five successive dynasties of Turkic-Afghan origin:

- The Mamluks (also called the 'Slave dynasty')

- The Khiljis (or Khaljis)

- The Tughlaqs

- The Sayyids

- The Lodis (or Lodhis)

While northern India came largely under the Sultanate's control, neighbouring kingdoms — such as the Eastern Gangas in the east and the Hoysalas in the south — resisted its advance and flourished as vibrant centres of art, culture, and administration. Delhi rose to become a major political hub of northern India during this period.

The Sultanate period was marked by political instability and constant attempts at territorial expansion. Military campaigns raided and plundered cities, destroyed temples, and disrupted learning. Successions were brutally violent — almost two sultans out of three seized power by eliminating their predecessors. A sultan's average reign was barely nine years.

1.1 Key Rulers of the Delhi Sultanate

1.1.1 Ala-ud-din Khilji

At the turn of the 14th century, Ala-ud-din Khilji emerged as one of the most powerful rulers. He conducted aggressive military campaigns across north and central India, sacking many cities and looting immense wealth. At the same time, he successfully repelled several Mongol invasions — a significant achievement, as the Mongols had conquered most of Asia.

His military commander Malik Kafur extended the Sultanate's reach deep into the south, conquering kingdoms along the way. The plundered wealth was used to finance the Sultanate's enormous military apparatus. Major Hindu centres like Srirangam, Madurai, Chidambaram, and possibly Rameswaram were also attacked.

1.1.2 Muhammad bin Tughlaq

Muhammad bin Tughlaq expanded the Sultanate's territories further. For the first time since the Mauryan Empire, most of the subcontinent was under a single ruler. However, this dominance was short-lived.

Tughlaq had ambitious but poorly executed schemes. Two of the most notable were:

• Shifting the capital from Delhi to Daulatabad (then called Devagiri, near present-day Sambhaji Nagar): He believed the central location would give him better control, but the forced migration of people over 1,000 km caused tremendous hardship and loss of life. His plan failed and the capital was shifted back.

• Introduction of token currency: Cheap copper coins were declared to have the value of gold or silver coins. While this was a progressive idea in theory (similar to modern currency), it led to widespread counterfeiting and economic confusion, causing the economy to decline.

The sultans and their court elite lived in lavish luxury — fine clothes, jewels, elaborate palaces. This wealth came from military plunder, heavy taxes on common people, and the slave trade. Plunder, in turn, badly disrupted trade and agriculture across the subcontinent.

This period also saw widespread iconoclasm — the rejection and destruction of religious images. Attacks on Buddhist, Jain, and Hindu temples were frequent, motivated both by plunder and religious ideology.

Some sultans also imposed the jizya — a tax on non-Muslim subjects — which functioned as both an economic burden and a social incentive for conversion to Islam.

1.1.3 Timur's Invasion (1398)

At the end of the 14th century, Timur — a brutal Turkic-Mongol conqueror from Central Asia — invaded northwest India and devastated Delhi. His stated goal was to wage war against non-believers and plunder their wealth. Large numbers were massacred or enslaved, and Delhi was left in ruins. Timur withdrew with enormous loot, leaving chaos behind.

In the aftermath, the Lodis emerged as the final dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate. By this time, however, the Sultanate's territory had shrunk considerably due to growing resistance from states within India.

2. Resistance to the Delhi Sultanate

The Delhi Sultanate faced fierce resistance throughout its existence. Many kingdoms bravely held their ground.

2.1 The Eastern Ganga Kingdom

The Eastern Ganga Kingdom of Kalinga (present-day Odisha, parts of Bengal and Andhra Pradesh) successfully resisted the Sultanate. Its ruler in the mid-13th century, Narasimhadeva I, was celebrated for both military strength and cultural brilliance. He defeated the Sultanate's governor of Bengal and repelled multiple invasions. To commemorate these victories, he built the magnificent Surya Temple at Konark (present-day Odisha), one of India's greatest architectural marvels.

2.2 The Musunuri Nayakas

During the time of the Tughlaqs, the Musunuri Nayakas — Telugu chieftains — performed a remarkable feat of political unity. They rallied over 75 regional chieftains into a confederacy that successfully defeated the Delhi Sultanate's forces and expelled Muhammad bin Tughlaq's army from Warangal (present-day Telangana) around 1330–1336 CE.

2.3 The Hoysalas

The Hoysalas ruled parts of southern India (mostly present-day Karnataka) and remained the only fully independent kingdom in the south for a long time, fending off multiple attacks by the Delhi Sultanate. They built magnificent temples at Belur and Halebidu. Weakened by repeated invasions and internal conflicts, the Hoysala kingdom eventually declined and, in the mid-14th century, was absorbed into the rising Vijayanagara Empire.

2.4 The Bahmani Sultanate and Regional Powers

The Delhi Sultanate also faced challenges from breakaway regional sultanates. The Bahmani Sultanate rose in the mid-14th century and controlled much of the Deccan. Powerful sultanates also emerged in Gujarat and Bengal. Meanwhile, in Rajasthan, rulers like Rana Kumbha of the Mewar kingdom resisted the Sultanate and later repelled further invasions. His famous Kumbhalgarh Fort, built in the Aravalli hills, had a massive 36-kilometre-long wall — one of the longest in the world.

3. The Vijayanagara Empire

As the Delhi Sultanate grew unstable, a new and powerful 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, broke free from Delhi's authority. They established an independent kingdom that eventually grew into the great Vijayanagara Empire, with its capital at Hampi (present-day Karnataka).

According to popular folklore, Harihara and Bukka witnessed a hare chasing a pack of hounds at Hampi — a symbol of unexpected courage and resilience. Their spiritual guide Vidyaranya interpreted this as an auspicious sign and advised them to establish their capital there.

To the north, the Bahmani Sultanate was a major rival. It eventually fragmented into five independent states — the Deccan Sultanates of Bijapur, Golconda, Berar, Ahmednagar, and Bidar. The Vijayanagara rulers engaged in frequent conflicts with these states, as well as with the Gajapati rulers of Odisha.

3.1 Krishnadevaraya — The Greatest Vijayanagara Ruler

In the 16th century, the Vijayanagara Empire reached its golden peak under its most celebrated ruler, Krishnadevaraya. He expanded and secured the empire's dominance over the Deccan, achieving remarkable success both militarily and culturally.

Under his reign:

• He patronised poets and scholars in Sanskrit, Telugu, and Kannada.

• He himself composed a Telugu epic poem called Amuktamalyada, which includes a section on Rajaniti (royal policy and good governance).

• He provided generous grants to many temples, including Tirupat temple and the magnificent Vitthala temple at Vijayanagara, famous for its 'musical pillars' that produce different musical notes when struck.

Foreign travellers, including Portuguese merchants, marvelled at the Vijayanagara capital. Domingo Paes, a Portuguese visitor, described it as one of the greatest and most abundantly supplied cities in the world, rivalling Rome in size and beauty.

Krishnadevaraya died of illness in 1529. In 1565, the Deccan Sultanates formed a coalition and defeated the Vijayanagara forces under Ramaraya (Krishnadevaraya's son-in-law) at the Battle of Talikota. The magnificent city was sacked, looted, and largely destroyed over several months. The empire fragmented into smaller regions ruled by Nayakas and finally came to an end in the mid-17th century.

4. The Mughals

As the Delhi Sultanate weakened, a new conqueror was setting his sights on India. Babur — a Turkic-Mongol ruler and brilliant military strategist — had been expelled from Samarkand (modern-day Uzbekistan) and turned toward India. A descendant of Timur, he defeated Ibrahim Lodi at Panipat in 1526 — an event known as the First Battle of Panipat. This decisive battle made heavy use of gunpowder, field artillery, and matchlock guns — relatively new technologies in Indian warfare. Babur's victory ended the Delhi Sultanate and founded the Mughal Empire.

Babur left behind a remarkable autobiography called the Baburnama. It reveals a cultured, intellectually curious man who appreciated architecture, poetry, birds, and gardens. At the same time, he was a ruthless conqueror who slaughtered entire populations of cities. He was nostalgic about Central Asia but acknowledged India's immense wealth and skilled artisans — and ultimately chose to stay and build his empire here.

4.1 Humayun and the Interlude

After Babur's death in 1530, his son Humayun struggled to maintain control. Taking advantage of this, Sher Shah Suri — a powerful Afghan leader — established the short-lived Sur Empire and introduced several lasting administrative reforms. Humayun eventually reconquered his lost territory.

Before that, a remarkable figure called Himu (Hemu) — a skilled military commander and chief minister under one of the last Suri rulers — captured Delhi and ruled it briefly as Hemchandra Vikramaditya. He was wounded at the Second Battle of Panipat fighting Babur's grandson Akbar, was captured, and executed. Akbar retook Delhi for the Mughals.

4.2 Akbar

Akbar was declared emperor at just 13 years old, after his father Humayun's accidental death. His long reign of almost 50 years (1556–1605) was a complex blend of ambition, brutality, and growing tolerance.

In his early years, Akbar could be merciless. At the siege of Chittorgarh Fort (Rajasthan), after five months of fierce Rajput resistance, he ordered a massacre of around 30,000 civilians. Hundreds of Rajput women committed jauhar — a practice of entering mass fires to avoid capture and enslavement, considered a heroic act of final resistance.

As his empire grew, Akbar increasingly turned to political and diplomatic strategies:

• He entered into marriage alliances with Rajput princesses.

• He welcomed Rajput and regional leaders into his court and administration.

• He abolished the jizya tax imposed on non-Muslims.

• He promoted the doctrine of sulh-i-kul — literally 'peace with all' — which meant tolerance of all faiths.

• He conducted interfaith dialogues and appointed Hindu officials to high positions.

Despite being illiterate, Akbar was deeply curious intellectually. He established a 'house of translation' at Fatehpur Sikri, where major Sanskrit texts — including the Mahabharata (translated as Razmnama), the Ramayana, the Bhagavad Gita, and the Panchatantra — were translated into Persian.

Akbar's son Jahangir shared his father's love of art and architecture. Jahangir's son Shah Jahan is best remembered as the builder of the Taj Mahal at Agra — considered one of the world's greatest architectural marvels. This era also saw an extraordinary flourishing of calligraphy, miniature painting, classical music, and monumental architecture including Humayun's Tomb and the Red Forts of Delhi and Agra.

4.3 Aurangzeb

Aurangzeb came to power in 1658 through a violent succession — he defeated his brother Dara Shikoh in battle and executed him, removed his other brothers (having one executed and one exiled), and imprisoned his own father Shah Jahan in Agra Fort until his death. Aurangzeb named himself 'Alamgir' (conqueror of the world) and ruled for almost 49 years.

Under his reign, the Mughal Empire reached its greatest territorial expansion, but it was also under constant pressure from significant rebellions. Aurangzeb spent the last 25 years of his life fighting wars in the Deccan, which severely depleted the empire's treasury — a key cause of the Mughal decline after his death in 1707.

Unlike Akbar, Aurangzeb was a deeply orthodox Sunni Muslim. He:

• Banned music and dance from his court.

• Reimposed the jizya tax on non-Muslims (abolished by Akbar).

• Imposed a pilgrimage tax on Hindus travelling to sacred sites.

• In 1669, ordered governors to demolish temples and schools of non-Muslims. Temples at Banaras (Varanasi), Mathura, Somnath, and many others were destroyed, as were Jain temples and Sikh gurudwaras.

• Persecuted Muslims of other sects including Sufis, and also Zoroastrians (the faith of India's Parsi community).

Some scholars argue his motives were primarily political, but his own royal edicts (farmans) reveal deep personal religious conviction. In his dying letters to his sons, Aurangzeb expressed deep regret, writing that he had not done well for the country and the people.

5. Resistance to the Mughals

The Mughal Empire, for all its power, faced fierce and sustained resistance from multiple quarters across India.

5.1 Peasant and Tribal Resistance

Many peasant communities rose against Mughal exploitation. In the 17th century, the Jat peasantry (in present-day western Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and eastern Rajasthan) killed an oppressive Mughal officer. In a subsequent battle, 20,000 Jat fighters confronted the Mughal army, but their leader was killed and the rebellion was suppressed.

Many tribal groups — the Bhils, Gonds, Santhals, and Kochs — also resisted attempts to annex their territories or impose taxes. Those inhabiting forested, hilly, or remote regions often managed to maintain their independence.

5.2 Rani Durgavati

Rani Durgavati, the valiant queen of the Garha kingdom (a Gond kingdom in central India), ruled wisely and made her kingdom prosperous. She maintained an army of 20,000 soldiers and 1,000 elephants. When Akbar's general attacked her kingdom in 1564, she led her outnumbered troops personally into battle. Wounded in the fight, she chose to take her own life to avoid capture. She was only 40. Her sacrifice became an enduring symbol of regional pride and resistance, and she is still honoured as a heroic figure in Indian history.

5.3 Surge of the Rajputs

The Rajputs — located in northwest India and inheriting proud martial traditions — frequently battled invading forces. Two major Rajput clans emerged in the Mewar and Marwar regions, producing generations of valiant rulers whose stories are celebrated in ballads to this day.

Rana Sanga (early 16th century) unified several Rajput clans and won many battles against sultans, before ultimately being defeated by Babur at the Battle of Khanwa.

Maharana Pratap of Mewar became the most iconic face of Rajput resistance against the Mughals. Though he inherited a wounded kingdom, he refused to accept Mughal suzerainty. At the Battle of Haldighati in 1576, despite facing a stronger Mughal force, Maharana Pratap escaped and for years conducted guerrilla warfare (surprise attacks by small groups using knowledge of the terrain) from the Aravalli hills. The Bhil tribal community was a crucial ally — they joined as archers and contributed their knowledge of the terrain; in recognition, a Bhil warrior appears on the Mewar royal emblem.

Even during Aurangzeb's reign, Rajput nobles like Durga Das Rathore of Marwar fought to protect Jodhpur's independence. Mughal authority remained limited in Rajasthan.

5.4 The Ahoms

In the 13th century, the Ahom ethnic group migrated from present-day Myanmar to the Brahmaputra Valley and established the Ahom kingdom. They offered stiff resistance to both the Sultanate and Mughal empires throughout their rule.

The Ahoms had a unique system called the paik system: every able-bodied man was required to provide labour or military service to the state in exchange for land rights. This allowed rulers to build public infrastructure and maintain a large military force without a permanent standing army.

Over time, the Ahoms assimilated local culture, promoted agriculture, encouraged diverse faiths, and enriched the cultural traditions of Assam.

In the 17th century, Aurangzeb sent Mughal forces into Assam, briefly capturing the Ahom capital Garhgaon. But the Ahoms used their knowledge of dense forests, hills, and rivers — and relentless guerrilla tactics — to push back. In the celebrated Battle of Saraighat (1671), fought on the Brahmaputra River near present-day Guwahati, the Ahom military commander Lachit Borphukan with just 10,000 men defeated a Mughal force of 30,000 soldiers. The Ahoms ultimately preserved their independence.

5.5 The Rise of the Sikhs

In 15th century Punjab, Guru Nanak spread a powerful message of equality, compassion, and the oneness of God (Ik Onkar). His followers became known as Sikhs. Although Sikhism began as a purely spiritual movement, the later Gurus had to respond to growing Mughal intolerance.

When Emperor Jahangir discovered that Guru Arjan had supported his rebellious son, he had Guru Arjan tortured to death. In response, Guru Arjan's son and successor, Guru Hargobind, introduced martial training and formed a Sikh army to defend the community.

The Guru Granth Sahib — the Sikhs' sacred scripture — was first compiled by Guru Arjan and later expanded to include hymns by Guru Tegh Bahadur. It teaches truthfulness, compassion, humility, and self-control.

In 1675, Guru Tegh Bahadur stood with a group of Kashmiri Pandits who sought protection from religious persecution. Arrested by Aurangzeb and ordered to convert to Islam, the Guru refused despite torture and the execution of his disciples. On Aurangzeb's orders, he was publicly beheaded at Chandni Chowk, Delhi. The Gurudwara Sis Gunj Sahib marks this spot today.

In response to his father's martyrdom, Guru Gobind Singh — the 10th and last Guru — established the Khalsa in 1699: a martial brotherhood committed to justice, equality, and defence of the faith. The Khalsa clashed repeatedly with Mughal forces, at great cost of life.

As the Mughal Empire declined, Sikh confederacies emerged across Punjab. They were ultimately unified by Maharaja Ranjit Singh at the turn of the 19th century into a powerful, centralised Sikh Empire that spanned much of the Northwest, including parts of Kashmir, and resisted both Mughal remnants and later British expansion until the mid-19th century.

6. Administering India

6.1 Administration under the Delhi Sultanate

The Delhi Sultanate introduced a political system centred entirely on the sultan, who held absolute authority as the political and military head. The sultan was assisted by a council of ministers overseeing various departments.

A key instrument of Sultanate governance was the iqta system: territories were assigned to nobles (iqtadars), who collected taxes on behalf of the sultan. The taxes — minus administrative expenses — were to be sent to the sultan's treasury and were crucial for maintaining the army. These posts were not hereditary. While taxes were levied on trade at every stage, the heaviest burden fell on the peasantry, and some accounts report considerable cruelty in extracting revenue.

6.2 The Mughal Administrative Framework

Akbar reorganised the administrative machinery for greater efficiency. Key posts included:

• Diwan — head of finances

• Mir Bakhshi — head of military affairs

• Khan-i-Saman — in charge of public works, trade, industry, agriculture, and the royal household

• Sadr — responsible for justice, religious matters, and education

These posts existed at both the imperial level and within each of the empire's twelve provinces (subahs), which were further subdivided. Checks and balances were enforced between officials. At the village level, traditional self-governance systems continued more or less undisturbed.

Akbar also created the mansabdari system. Officers called mansabdars were ranked by their mansab (rank) and were required to maintain a specific number of troops, horses, camels, and elephants for the state. This allowed the empire to rapidly assemble a large army without maintaining a permanent centralised force. Mansabdars were generally paid by being assigned land (jagirs), and were also called jagirdars.

However, despite Akbar's growing tolerance, non-Muslims remained a minority in the higher levels of administration — their share rarely exceeded one-third of the total. Even among Muslim officials, those of foreign origin were often preferred over those of Indian origin.

Akbar's finance minister Todar Mal introduced an efficient revenue system. He conducted detailed surveys of crop yields and prices, and fixed revenues accordingly. He also initiated a systematic land survey across the empire that boosted revenue collection significantly.

7. People's Lives

Despite centuries of political upheaval, India remained one of the wealthiest regions in the world, thanks to its strong agrarian foundation, thriving artisan industries, community-based economies, and extensive trade networks. Decentralised economic systems — such as shrenis (guilds), jatis (occupational communities), and credit networks — kept the economy functioning even through political instability.

7.1 Agriculture and Trade

Agriculture was the backbone of the Indian economy. Rulers typically collected land revenue equal to one-fifth of the produce, though some sultans raised it as high as one-half. Expanded irrigation systems enabled the production of multiple crops — food crops like rice, wheat, barley, pulses, sugarcane, and spices, as well as non-food crops like cotton, silk, wool, dyes, timber, and jute.

The peasantry, however, suffered from severe famines at various points during this period, and their economic relief depended largely on the benevolence of the ruler.

Beyond agriculture, craftspeople produced a vast range of goods — weapons, utensils, ornaments, jewellery. Ship-building advanced considerably, enabling river and overseas trade. Indian goods were exported through coastal cities like Calicut (Kozhikode), Mangalore, Surat, Masulipatnam (Machilipatnam), and Hooghly. India imported far less than it exported — mainly silk, horses, metals, and luxury goods. Merchants from Arabia, Persia, and Central Asia settled in Indian ports.

The hundi system — a written financial instrument similar to a modern cheque — allowed merchants to transfer funds across political boundaries without carrying currency, protecting them from robbery. Trading communities like the Marwaris developed parallel systems of credit and trust that functioned independently of political authority.

7.2 Temples as Centres of Economic Activity

Temples during this period were far more than places of worship. They functioned as economic hubs — centres of learning, social interaction, and performing arts. Rulers donated land and wealth (dana) to temple deities; these funds, managed by temple administrators, were used to build community infrastructure (irrigation systems, tanks), provide pilgrim accommodations (dharmashalas and chhatrams), extend credit to merchants, and fund both local and maritime trade.

7.3 Life of Common People

By the late 1600s, economic stress increased. Peasants were often left with very little after paying taxes and fees to intermediaries. Many lost their land and became bonded labourers. Craftspeople and other labourers also faced harsh conditions. While India was still a land of abundance — as testified by Arab and European travellers — wealth was heavily concentrated among rulers, courtiers, officials, and the merchant class.

Frequent warfare also caused forced displacement of populations. At the community level, clashes over desecrated sacred sites did occur, but by and large, people of different faiths lived peacefully side by side, bound together by economic interdependence.

Even as political powers rose and fell, communities across India worked to maintain and revive their cultural traditions. Many traditions adapted and blended, creating a shared heritage. Rulers patronised the arts, and new forms of architecture, music, painting, poetry, and literature flourished. India endured — economically resilient and culturally creative despite political turbulence.

Before We Move On — Key Takeaways

• This period witnessed many foreign invasions led by Turkic, Afghan, and Mughal forces, causing widespread destruction and reshaping India's political boundaries.

• The period had many instances of religious intolerance — Buddhists, Jains, Hindus, Sikhs, Zoroastrians, and tribals faced persecution, though some rulers were more tolerant than others.

• Agriculture and trade expanded, enhancing India's wealth and global connectivity. Yet economic conditions for common people remained largely harsh.

• Indian society showed remarkable adaptability and resilience — rebuilding cities, preserving cultural traditions, and creating new expressions in architecture, music, and painting.