Bangladesh India
In The Name Of The People
� The ancient, medieval, and colonial history of Bangladesh covers a period from antiquity to 1947, when India was partitioned. So the history of Bangladesh prior to 1947 is a history of India of which Bangladesh was a part. Today it is an independent nation within the Indian subcontinent, but is half the old Bengal or Bangla. For the first civilization of India and later empires go to Ancient India |
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Medieval History: �
� The First Muslim Invasions: The ancient period of Bangla ends with the invasion of Muslims. �In the begining came the marauding adventurers around 1000 C.E. They were the Turks of whom the Ghaznavids are the most notable as they defeated the Rajput kingdoms taking advantage of their disunity. This took place in the period from 1000 to 1200 C.E. These conquests did not initially affect Bangla as it was further East. But at the end of the 12th century, the Muslims reached Bangla.
The first to conquer Bangla was Ikhtyaruddin Mohammed Bakhtiar Khilji, from Turkistan. He captured Bengal in 1199 with only 20 men. He had acquired a monstrous fame, as he came marauding through India and upon hearing of his march Bangla was surrendered "without a fight". Today Muslim Bangalees consider him as their hero, which is an utter shame. Those who consider their conquerors as heroes are truly colonized minds.
Loose Control by the Sultanate of Delhi: However, these invaders did not create any powerful empire in Bangla. The period from early 1200s to about mid 1300s was a period of much instability. Bangla went in and out of the control of the Sultanate that was in power in Delhi. However, it was the period of power consolidation by the Muslims. The first muslim dynasty was formed� by Ilyas Shahi (1339-1379), who had invaded Nepal and had destroyed� the temple of Svayambhunath at Kathmandu. His dynasty lasted until 1414 when a Hindu dynasty was formed once again by King Ganesha for a brief period. This last native rule was overthrown in 1493, a year after Columbus discovered the americas for the Europeans, as the Husain Shahi dynasty was formed and ruled Bangla until 1539. They were followed by the rule of 12 powerful land lords called the Baro Bhuyans. Isa Khan, the most powerful of the lords, is still remembered in Bangla and a road in the University of Dhaka still bears his name. Many more blood thirsty invaders came to Bangla bringing with them their Turkish, Mongol and Arabic blood. Moghul Rule: Finally came the mighty Mughals in 1576 to India.� Today these alcoholic and opium addicted barbaric conquerors have their stories revised and are portrayed to the world as enlightened leaders.
The Mughals controlled Bangla with an iron fist but brought stability back to the region. They curbed the power of the 12 land lords and contolled the Portuguese pirates off the coast of bangla. Under their rule central administration returned to Bangla.
Converting To Islam: Bangla was converted to Islam mainly in the Mughal period. Some suggest that Bengal was converted to Islam peaceably. This is false claim of most Bengali Muslims who have forgotten their own great history. There were missionaries who may have converted some Bengalis through their efforts but the Muslim rulers were tyrannical in nature. Muslim rulers converted Bengal by the sword just as the rest of India. The immense destruction of temples and learning centers is recorded in the chronicles of the Emperors. Much of Bengal was converted by harsh and brute force. There are many examples of forced conversion in Bangla as well as the rest of India.� Maulana Abu'l Hasan writes in his "Muraq'at-i-Abu'I Hasan" of an order issued by Auranzeb one of the mighty Moghul emperors. All his military and civil officers of Orissa and Bengal were ordered (1655-67) to destroy all temples built anywhere in the province. This is one of hundreds of orders that Auranzeb (Aurongzeb) had issued for the destruction of temples and/or to convert the temples to mosques.
In 1661, Mir Jumla, a Muslim leader, made a war on the Raja of Kuch Bihar (Bengal), the Mughals destroyed many temples during the course of their operations. Idols were broken and some temples were converted to mosques. And it gives shivers to think that The Bahmani Sultans of Gulbarga and Bidar considered it meritorious to kill a hundred thousand Hindu men, women, and children every year. (Rajiv Varma) Aurongozeb was a very intolerant emperor who destroyed thousands of Hindu temples and Akbar The Great (Also read Akbar The (not) So Great) who many historians claim as secular was but a tyrannical ruler who was just as intolerant as Aurongozeb. Akbar razed many Hindu temples and slaughtered cows in them.
In Gujarat (closest relative to Bangalees), Mahmud Bergha, the Sultan (fanatic Muslim ruler 1458), invaded the vassal state of Junagadh ruled by the Mandalikas even though the Mandalikas had not withheld tribute. He forced converted the Mandalikas to Islam and renamed Junagadh to Mustafabad. Bangla, under the Mughals, virtually became a land for exploitation. The Muslim rulers of Bangla were not Bengal and were either under the control of Delhi (capital of Muslim ruled India) or used Bangla as a stepping stone to get to Delhi. Bangla was economically drained during this period. Much of its resources were transfered to Delhi. Bangla had lost its independence totally. It would not be gained until much later. The Mughal rule did not, however, destroy Bangla totally. Ibn Batuta, the famous traveller described Bangla as the wealthiest and cheapest state in the world. French traveller Francois Bernier wrote, "Egypt has been represented in every age as the finest and most fruitful country in the world, and even our modern writers deny that there is any other land so peculiarly favoured by nature; but the knowledge I have acquired of Bengal, during two visits paid to that Kingdom inclines me to believe that pre-eminence ascribed to Egypt is rather due to Bengal". This wealth can be attributed to the fact that Bengal was the major trading sea outlet in the East. Some of the best fabrics in the world at that time came from Bangla. The Dhaka region was the biggest supplier of silk to India, central Asia, Japan and Europe and produced the finest cotton. But the prize of the fabric industry was the hand woven "Muslin". Today the art of weaving the Muslin is lost and only a few Muslin survives in meuseums. For more information on the Islamization of India Click here. NOVO January 12th, 2000 |
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| Sources:
A Short History Of Bengal by Tanmoy Bhattacharya A History of the Indian People by D. P. Singhal Chronology of Events by Ashish DharmadhikariIndia's Contribution to World Culture by Sudheer Birodhkar � I am indebted to various sources for writing this history ... many books that I have read since I was a kid and those I read now both in paper and on the net. I thank the authors. |Majlish|Kashmir|NOVO1|NOVO2|NOVO3| |ReligionQuest|ArchiveLinks|Ancient| |HOME|
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