1. The Arab Muslim Conquest of Sindh
Story of Islamic Imperialism in India – 1
The most brutal imperialism that India ever suffered from is Islamic imperialism. In this series we;'ll know India’s Islamic history one episode at a time. First episode is Arab conquest of Sindh.
Story of Islamic Imperialism in India – 1
The most brutal imperialism that India ever suffered from is Islamic imperialism. In this series we;'ll know India’s Islamic history one episode at a time. First episode is Arab conquest of Sindh.
2. ‘Chachnama’ is the history of Muslim conquest of Sindh. After defeating Hindu king Dahir of Sindh, the Islamic conquistador, Muhammad Qasim, put 6000 Hindus to death. 30,000 were taken prisoners, mostly women and children including Dahir’s sister’s daughter Jaisiya.
3. The Hindu women and children prisoners were sent to Hajjaj bin Yusuf, the Umayyad governer in Basra, to be sold into slavery. Hajjaj thanked Allah for the war booty and sent the prisoners and booty forward to the Caliph in Baghdad.
4. When the Caliph, the commander of the faithful Muslims, read the letter from Hajjaj, he praised the God and distributed the Hindu girls to his chiefs and generals, giving Jaisiya, the niece of Raja Dahir to his nephew, to be a piece in his harem.
5. When Qasim, who was very young, asked about his policy towards his Hindu majority acquisitions like Sindh, Hajjaj, the governor, replied that he was too lenient on Hindus. In reality, he was not lenient but Hajjaj wanted him to be crueler so that Hindus convert to Islam.
6. Chachnama quotes Hajjaj: “Allah says - Give no quarter to infidels but cut their throats. Then know that this is the command of Allah the great. You should not be too ready to grant protection, because it will prolong your work.”
7. Chachnãma records: “Muhammad bin Qãsim fixed a tax upon all subjects according to the laws of the Prophet. Those who embraced Islam were exempted from slavery, tribute & poll-tax, and from those who did not change their creed a tax was exacted according to three grades.”
8. This story of conquest, massacred of Hindu men, enslaving of Hindu women and children, implementation of Jizyah, and forceful conversion of Hindus followed at Brahmanabad, Askalanda, Multan and at many other places.
9. A neo-convert from Multan proudly proclaims the brutality of Arab conquest, as per Chachnama: “Heathenism is now at an end, the temples are thrown down, the world has received the light of Islam, and mosques are built instead of idols temples.”
10. Arab conquest of Sindh was devastating for an ancient high Hindu culture. All arts, fine arts, dance, music, literature were destroyed or banned. Barbarity which was unknown to civilians was now everywhere. Untold atrocities happened to women and children.
11. It also financially ruined Sindh as the Arab conquistadors destroyed Hindu temples, killed Brahmins and cows and looted all wealth and sent it to Arab Muslim lands. About 600 million dirhams were looted from this conquest not including the sale of slaves.
12. Arab conquest of Sindh was ever as brutal and destructive as any Islamic conquest of India has been for Hindus. Read Sita Ram Goel’s “Story of Islamic Imperialism of India” and Sandeep Balakrishna’s “Invaders and Infidels” for reading the story in detail.
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