There are various sources to get the knowledge of Sultanate Indian history. Among these, the first place belongs to historical works, most of which are written in Persian language. During this period the work of writing historiography took place on a large scale due to various reasons, whose main features are as follows.
1. Didactic
nature of historiography
Didactic
history is the history that gives moral education. The aim of Muslim historians
in India was generally didactic, under which the ways of Allah are revealed to
man. The ruler or sultan was just a means to fulfill a divine purpose. The
purpose of recording the good and bad deeds of the rulers was to encourage, advise
and warn the entire Muslim community. Minhaj, Amir
Khusro, Barani all these Emphasized didactic history, which
was considered a branch of ethics and a repository of moral teachings.
2.
Lack of Research and lack of
criticism
The
greatest feature of Sultanate Muslim historiography was its scholarly,
impressionistic nature, which resulted in a realistic depiction of
the past. For the early Indo - Muslim historians, history was what trusted
reporters said and was contained in much older books. It was a history written
by 'right'
and not a description or
account of the discovered knowledge of the past. It lacked any kind of research.
Hardy writes about the Indo -Muslim historian : The historian is a scribe
rather than a researcher and his work is not creation but communication. He can
decorate and trim his material,
but he does not transform
it in his mind and does
n't question it.
3.
Secondary
role of history as a subject
Peter
Hardy cautions us that given the comparative abundance of historical writings
in the early phase of Islamic domination of India, we should not assume that
history was considered an independent intellectual subject at that time. Its
role in Muslim intellectual life was secondary. Barani placed history after the
religious sciences and considered it their follower. It was the subject of fine
education for the princes. But it was not given any place in the curriculum of
madrasas and colleges.
4.
Not seeing the past as a process
Hardy
also states that the concept of history as a process was not possible because
it was too late to take its concrete form. According to the Muslim historians
of medieval India, history was a series of mutually independent events given
meaning by God. He saw the past in a personal context and in the form of
biographies. The Muslim community was also not seen as an integrated component
of historical study, nor was their interaction taken into account. Not only God
was held responsible for all events in history, but it
was also said that it acts not through social forces or time
consciousness but through
individuals.
5.
Religious historiography
Hardy
points out that Muslim historians, with Barani being an exception, did
not view the past as a process of change or a story of
something new being or becoming. The present follows the past, not
the culmination of the past, in the view of most of them, history is a grand
display of the divine law in which man was the only medium of expression.
History was not a story of human action but action
of divine. History was
used to glorify Islam.
6.
Narrowness of subject area
Finally,
the fact that the history-writing of the Sultanate period was very narrow in
terms of subject area. Early Indo -Muslim historians placed great religious
figures and rulers such as prophets,
sultans, nobles
and saints at the center of history. History has never shed light on the lives
and conditions of the poor,
low caste or oppressed
common people. The vast majority of the population the Hindu community remained
marginalized in such works and were referred to as ' Kafirs
'. It also shows the absence of any challenge against
the social structure.
Conclusion
Thus
it is necessary for a student of medieval history to study the historiography
of this period very carefully and critically. Then he will get valuable and
abundant study material .
Reason for increase in Sultanate historiography
1. Scholarly exodus from Central Asia due to
Mongolian instability
2. Establishment of many colleges in India
3. stability
of the empire
4. Islamic tradition of historiography
5. Use
of paper
6. Personal
interest of rulers
7. Persian being the official language
8. Biographies
and conversations of saints
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