The Impact of Islam on the Indian Society
Since the Hindu society was living in isolation for several thousand years under a tight Brahninie control, it had lost its vigour and vitality. Bottled in their own customs and rites the Hindus were politically divided and militarily weak. This naturally resulted in a major shake up by the Muslims who were strong and better equipped. Islam as the most powerful movement to bring mankind into one brotherhood, free from exploitation and corruption, had at that time a firm moral, intellectual and political control over the civilized world.
The character of Hindu society was substantially changed after long and intimate association with the Muslims. Islam introduced in India a conception of human equality, a pride in one's religion, a legal system which in many ways was an advance on the codes of the time.
1.Impact on Religion: In the field of religion the impact of Islam on Hinduism was perhaps deeper and more far-reaching in its subsequent manifestations. Medieval Hindu theism, the rise of the Bhakti movement, the softening of the rigour of the caste system, the release from the choking and soul-killing religious rituals can all be traced to the influence of Islam. No doubt lslam, with its clear, definite and simple creed, which stood in contrast to the indigenous vagaries of the imagination and speculation about God, appealed to many Hindus as a satistying solution of the vexed problem of theology.
Some Hindu leaders were highly influenced by Islamic norms. As the result, they started advocating the Islamic principles of love, equality, brotherhood and Oneness of God. This Islamic impact paved the way for the Bhakti movement. The leaders of Bhakti movement made earnest efforts to bring in harmony between the teachings of Islam and the rituals of Hinduism. The Bhagats preached identity of religions, unity of Godhead, brotherhood of man, dignity relative to action rather than birth. They condemned caste, formality and priesthood. Ram and Rahim, Keshwar and Karim, Kaaba and Kailash, Quran and Puran very often go together in their devotional songs. The Bhakti cult made rapid progress in the hands of the masters who dominated the religious mind of India during the 8th and 16th centuries. Among the Bhakti leaders Shankaracharya, Ramanuja, Ramananda, Chaitanya, Nanmadeva, Kabir and Baba Guru Nanak (founder of Sikh religion) occupied a prominent place.
2.Impact on Social and Political Systems: The Muslim conquest of india brought the Hindus in contact with a different kind of social system. As a conquered people the Hindus had put up a strong fight against the influence of Islam, which was very natural. The complex and rigid Hindu social system and the difficult military and political situation made large scale conversions impossible, with the result that Muslims in India had continued to be a separate community. So, for the first time in Indian history two distinct communities stood face to face and India was permanently divided into two powerful units. This division later took the title of Two-Nation Theory.
Social conditions, however, considerably changed with the coming of the Muslims in India There was a gradual improvement in the condition of the Sudar and other classes at the bottom of the Hindu caste system. Muslim converts from the Hindu lower classes had, of course, great opportunities before them, and one of them, Khusrau Khan, even sat on the throne of Delhi. Later the preaching of Hindu reformers, due to the influence of Islam on them, also improved the position of these classes within Hindu society. The Arya Samaj, the Brahamo Samaj and the Sangathan movements were similar attempts to unify the lower sections of the Hindu society with the upper class.
Another important result of the advent of Islam was the restoration of contact with the outside world. India had close and deep relations with the Asian countries, particularly China, Rome, Egypt and Greece in the early Buddhist period. The collapse of the Gupta power (550 AD) and the rise of small states created a sort of vacuum in which India became self-centred and cut herself aloof from the outside world. The coastal ports did maintain India's contact with the outside world to some extent. The Mughul government established commercial relations with European nations as well as allowed them to install their factories in coastal towns. This resulted not only, in commercial contacts but also in an exchange of ideas, customs and traditions.
In the political sphere, where Muslims dominated, Islamic influence was considerable. New weapons and techniques of warfare were introduced. In fact, the whole military organization was revolutionized and a modern type of military became the principal political institution of Muslim India.
3.Impact on Culture and Civilization: Islam brought the greatest change in the field of culture and civilization of Indian society. The concept of freedom of thought and expression, respect for human dignity, universal brotherhood and equality of opportunity had all their impact on the Hindu culture. Mass education which was unknown to India even during the best days of Hindu ascendancy was another gift of Islam to the Hinduism. The inhumane burning of woman with the dead body of her husband was discouraged and it was only under acute circumstances that permission for the performance of sati was given. Unlike the Hindu religion the reward and punishment in lslam does not depend on the birth but on the good or bad deeds of an idividual, The influence of the new ideas struck the Hindu philosophy of life at its very roots and many among them started thinking about the man made bondage by Brahminism.
The cultural influence of Islam is also visible in dress, diet, in the celebration of fairs and feativals, in the ceremonies of a marriage and in the manners of the court. Achkan Shalwar the popular northern indian dress owe their introduction to Muslim influence.
Hunting, hawking, polo, and many other games assumed a Muslim in form and technique. Balance, harmony and precision were the Muslim contributions in the field of gardening. The Muslims, generally leading a more luxurious life than the Hindus, were responsible for setting new fashions which were copied by the richer clásses. They were accustomed to formal dinners and sometimes as many as 100 dishes were served on their tables. Abul Fazl enumerates these dishes in his famous work Ain-i-Akbari. It naturally led to the introduction of new article of food and new styles of cookery, which in course of time became completely Indianised. Some of the well known Mughul dishes such as Pullao, Kaurama, Sheermal Zarda, Biryani, Kababs of various kinds became quite popular and liked even today.
4.Impact on Language and Literature: The sacred language of Islam was Arabic, which was also the mother tongue of the early invaders, the later conquerors spoke Turkish and Persian, as influenced and modified by Arabic. Though Arabic remained the language of religion, Persian became the language of the court during Muslim rule. Persian was, therefore, seriously studied by all those Hindus and Muslims who sought administrative positions, but it could not become the language of the masses.
Hense Arabic, Turkish and Persian had to intermix with the local languages. This led to the birth of a new and common language called Urdu (from the Turkish word 'Urdu' meaning 'camp).
The impact of Islam also led to the development of local languages. Sanskrit ceased to be a living language even on a limited scale by the end of the 13th century when a major part of India was under Muslim rule. The peace and prosperity under the Muslim rule gave a literary stimulus and there was a sudden growth of vernacular literature throughout the country. A number of good works were produced in Bengali, Marathi, Sindhi and Punjabi.
5.Impact on Art and Architecture: The impact of Islam on Indian art and architecture was deep and pervasive. The contact of Islam with the Hindus resulted in the evolution of a new style of architecture called the Indo-islamic school of architecture. Main characteristics of the Islamic architecture were openness and simplicity while the Indian school of architecture emphasized on solidity and grace.
The Fatehpur Sikri Complex, the Red Fort of Delhi and the Taj Mahal are a few of the many outstanding examples of indo-lslamic architecture which represent both the Hindu and Muslim architectural features.
During the Sultanate period the Muslims developed decorative arts such as calligraphy and arabesque. They invented and improved floral designs and geometrical patterns "which enhanced the beauty of their buildings and illumination of their books" The Arabic script became a great art in Muslim lands. The art of painting was also practised by the Muslims and "there is evidence that moral paintings were widely in use for decorative purposes in royal palaces". Music, though disliked by the orthodox Muslims had such irresistible appeal that it could not be banished. The well-known rag, khayal, is attributed to a Muslim ruler of Jaunpur.
Alauddin Khalji was a great lover of music and had a number of musicians in his court. Mohammad bin Tughluq, too, was a great patron of music, Indian melodies were collected during the reign of Sikander Lodi and named after him. There were some reputed musicians during Sultans period among whom the great poet Amir Khusrau (1253-1325) occupied the first place. He set some of his poems to the Indian tunes and is said to have improved some of the most popular musical instruments such as Sitar. He also invented 17 tones of Dholak and is looked upon as the originator of Purbi rag (Eastern tune) which was the favourite of Nizamuddin Auliya.
Music, as other aspects of Indo-Islamic culture, reached its zenith at the time of
Akbar, who was a great patron of art. Though dancing is considered irreligious in Islam, this art was also cultivated under the patronage of Muslim rulers. The Kathak or Darbari style of dancing is the contribution of Muslims.
6.Impact on History: Muslims made great contributions in the field of history They introduced the art of historiography in India as the historical literature existed before the arrival of the Muslims was mostly legendary in character. Hindus were not interested in recording dates of the events. Arabs, on the other hand, kept a regular record of their campaigns and achievements in whatever part of the world they went. Their advent in India led to the production of a large number of
chronicles, autobiographies, etc., which serve as source material for the history of the period. Hindu writers naturally copied their style and thus was introduced a new and very useful element into Indian literature. Side by side where persian, Sanskrit, the classical language of the Hindus, also received a great impetus at the hands of the Muslims. Some of the Sanskrit works were translated into Persian. Al-Biruni who came to India during the 10th century was a great Sanskrit scholar who translated several works on different subjects from Sanskrit into Arabic. Under Sultan Sikander, the second ruler of the Lodi dynasty, a medical treaties was translated from Sanskrit into Persian. In Sanskrit and Hindi many excellent books were written on history, religion and philosophy by the Hindu scholars.
The contact of Islam was beneficial in another way. Contrary to the Hindu practice of making a secret religion the Muslim believed in copying and circulating their works on a large scale. The introduction of paper also helped this process. Many of the older Indian works were translated under the patronage of Muslim rulers, and freely circulated, which led to the diffusion of knowledge.
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