Al Haqeeqa
In the light of the Babri Masjid-Ram Janmabhumi dispute, it would be interesting to read about an early king of Gujarat, who insisted on restoring a mosque that had been destroyed.
The Dharma Shastras, the ancient law books, state that it is the duty of the king to protect his subjects. Thus the Manu Smriti says, “The lord created the king for the protection of all (Manu Smriti, 7.3).” Most kings and rulers of the past, whatever their caste or community, followed this principle.
One such incident is revealed in the work of the medieval Persian historian Muhammad Awfi [1171-1242]. Born in Bukhara, Awfi travelled to a number of places and came to India in the time of Sultan Iltutmish. He visited and stayed in different places in India, including in Gujarat.
From the earliest days Gujarat was a centre of trade, where merchants and traders from different lands had settled. Awfi once went to stay in Khambayat (modern Khambat) located on the Gujarat sea-coast. He found that Hindus and Muslims, along with some Zoroastrians, lived there in perfect harmony. When he commented on this, he was told it was due to the efforts of a wonderful king of the past, whom they referred to as Raja Jai Singh. This was probably Jai Singh of the Solanki dynasty, a twelfth century ruler.
Khambayat was part of the Solanki kingdom with its capital at Nahrwala (also known as Anhilwara, modern Patan). According to the story, Awfi was told, in the time of Raja Jai Singh, Muslims constructed a new mosque in the region. Awfi states that some Zoroastrians instigated the Hindus in the region to attack the mosque. Local Hindus then set fire to the mosque, and killed 80 Muslims in the vicinity. Ali, the khatib of the mosque, went to Nahrwala to complain to Raja Jai Singh, but the raja’s courtiers did not give him access to the ruler.
The khatib then sat under a tree along the route the raja was to take for a hunting expedition. As Jai Singh approached on his royal elephant, the khatib managed to reach him, and begged the raja to listen to his story. The khatib had composed his story in Hindvi verse, and narrated all that had happened. Still on his elephant, the raja waited and listened.
Jai Singh forgot about his hunting expedition. He first asked one of his courtiers to take care of the needs of the khatib, until he summoned the latter to court. Then returning to the court, he left everything in the hands of his vazir, and told him he would be away for some time. All court activities, including the daily darbar, were suspended.
Jai Singh chose a camel, known to move very fast, and and set off for Khambayat mounted on this. In one night and day, he managed to cover 40 farsangs (about 130 km) and reached his destination.
There, disguised as a merchant, he entered the city in the evening. Moving through the markets, in the course of conversation, he enquired about the Muslims and the mosque, and came to know that the khatib’s story was true. Then he filled a vessel with sea-water and returned to his capital.
The next day the darbar was held, and the khatib was called to narrate his story. A group of non-Muslims began to say that the story was not true. The raja asked for the vessel of water to be brought, and for the people there to taste it.
As they did so, they realised that it was sea-water, and that this meant the raja himself had gone to Khambayat. Then the raja said: “Since the dispute took place between people who belonged to different religions, I could not trust any person for investigations, and therefore I myself enquired into the case. The Muslims have been subjected to tyranny and killed mercilessly. How could people who reside in my country and have been granted full security, be oppressed like this?” He ordered that the leaders involved in the demolition and killing be punished, and that a hundred thousand balutras (type of coin) be paid for the restoration of the mosque.
This is not a unique case. There are other instances of Hindu kings protecting their Muslim subjects, and of Muslim kings protecting non-Muslim subjects and their religious monuments.
Islamic kings in India generally followed the principles of government formulated by Nasiruddin al-Tusi [1201-1274]. In his influential works, Nasiruddin emphasised that the ideal ruler ensured the welfare of people of different religious groups. The sultans and the Mughals kept his principles in mind.
The unity under the Mughal emperor Akbar is well-known. In one notable later instance, during the time of the Mughal emperor Shah Alam II, Sikhs were allowed to build shrines at historic sites in Delhi, and granted Rs 300,000 for this purpose, even though construction at one of the sites involved the demolition of a mosque that had been built there.
In British days, there were fewer communal conflicts in states under Indian rulers, where the tradition of protection of all people, continued. At the time of Partition too, several rulers made attempts to protects all communities.
[Awfi’s account is based on the translation of IH Siddiqui]
(A PhD in ancient Indian History, the writer lives in Dehradun and has authored ten books)
