In democracies it is the will of the people that provides legitimacy to a Sovereign’s rule. In pre-democratic societies often, it was God who played this role. Starting with the first Islamic dynasty in India, Emperors often projected themselves as the Zil-i-Ilahi (God’s shadow on earth). This series explores the fascinating relationship between the Sufis, Islam’s greatest ambassadors in India, and the Zil-i-Ilahi.
Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya was arguably the most influential Sufi Saint of the subcontinent who would play a seminal role in the spread of Sufism. Seven centuries after they passed away, the towering murshid and his inseparable murid, continue to rule from their graves.
History sometimes produces its great characters in pairs. This two-part series explores the lives of two of the greatest figures of the subcontinent – Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya and Amir Khusraw, the master and his murid. Chengiz Khan’s Mongol hordes were undoubtedly the greatest scourge of history. As the unstoppable hordes swept across the world, bringing…
The final part of this series provides a rushed account of the central characters of 300 years of Pathan history in India – from the eighteenth century to the present. Abdali, Sikhs and Rohillas The next chapter of the Pathan saga in India was written by Ahmed Shah Abdali. The Abdalis are the most westerly…
Two Pathan dynasties ruled India – the Lodhis and the Surs. The reign of one, the Lodhis, was long but its imprint on history was limited. The reign of the other, the Surs, was brief but it left behind an indelible mark. The history of Pathan rule, especially that of the Lodhis, is based on…
Pathans are an inseparable part of the complex patchwork that is India. This three-part series provides a brief account of the history of Pathans and the role they have played in shaping India. The first article in the series explores Pathan origins, migration from Roh*, the Pathan homelands, and their way of life. Dilip Kumar,…
Man has continually played with nature. Agricultural crops, as we know them today, are essentially manmade: they are the product of the breeding work of farmers and breeders over thousands of years. A common refrain one hears today is how man has gained such control over nature that he has started playing God. We live…
As contemporary India attempts to restore its past glory, corrupting foreign influences on Indian culture are paid special attention. Food, surprisingly, escapes this attention. Zahiruddin Mohammad Babur, the founder of the Mughal dynasty, is a much reviled figure in India. In popular memory, he is remembered as a cruel conqueror responsible for many atrocities, the…