THE STATE FORMATION IN SULTANATE OF BENGAL

Author(s): ANIRUDDHA RAY

Source: Proceedings of the Indian History Congress , 1994, Vol. 55 (1994), pp. 186-193
Published by: Indian History Congress

Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/44143355

JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide
range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and
facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected].

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at
https://about.jstor.org/terms

Indian History Congress is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to
Proceedings of the Indian History Congress

This content downloaded from

163.47.37.202 on Sun, 21 Apr 2024 04:34:30 +00:00
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
 28

THE STATE FORMATION

IN SULTANATE OF BENGAL

ANIRUDDHA RAY*

1.1 When Bakhtiyar Khalji invaded Nadia at the end of A.D. 1204, Ben
divided into several units separated by rivers. The historian Minhaj-us
coming to Bengal 45 years after the event, had divided Bengal into th
units, namely Lakhnauti, Rarh and Banga. The first historian to use th
Bengal was Ziauddin Barani, who had also' used the word Lakhnaut
separate place. Shams Siraj Afif had used the word Shahi Bengla in cas
the Sultan llyas Shah of early 14th century,1 then ruling at the capit
Pandua.

1 .2 It has generally been accepted that the Muslim administration, beginning with
the conquest of Bakhtiyar, had oppressed the Hindus and there was no

* LM - 00516, Professor. Department of Islamic History and Culture, University of Calcutta,

Calcutta.

This content downloaded from

163.47.37.202 on Sun, 21 Apr 2024 04:34:30 +00:00
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
 Proceedings, IHC : 55th Session, 1994

integration between the two communities or between the administration and

the Hindu community. A fresh reading of the contemporary Bengali sources
seeks a reinterpretation of this thesis with emphasis on the state formation
in the Sultanate period.
2.1 Bakhtiyar's conquest was limited to Lakhnauti and Nadia known as part of
Rarh. The defeated Sena kings continued to rule eastern Bengal for nearly
one hundred years as could be seen from their inscriptions. The Bhagirathi
itself i.e. the Rarh region upto Saptagram was conquered only in 1298.
Therefore during the 13th century, parallel powers were holding separate
areas indépendant of the Sultanate.2
2.2 Although the Persian language and administrative model of the Delhi
Sultanate were used, the Governors often rebelled and became indépendant
kings. Their indépendance was disturbed by the invasions from Delhi till the
middle of the 14th century, excepting the one by Ibrahim Sharqi of Jaunpore
in the early 15th century, after which the kingdom of Bengal had remained
indépendant till 1538 when Sher Shah and Humayun had seized the capital,
Gaur, very briefly.
2.3 With the gradual expansion of Turkish military strength, the conversion of
occupational groups followed, thanks to the untiring efforts of the sufis , who
had come to Bengal on the heel of Bakhtiyar. But these converts continued
to keep their old customs and traditions. In 1594. Bengali poet Mukundaram
Chakrabarty infoms us that these Muslims do not observe Roza3. Islam in
Bengal therefore, was not pure Shariat Islam in this period. The absorption -
of local elements in the sufi preachings in Bengal began to be felt from the
end of the 14th century. By this time, the administrative unification had been
completed and the two communities had come for more closer politically
excepting occasional interlude of discordant notes.4
3.1 One notice a fundamental change in the style and wordings of the coins from
Sultan Sikandar Shah (1357-1389) onwards, which makes it different from
that of Delhi, yet remaining within the framework of Islamic ideology.
Sikandar Shah was not only politically indépendant of Delhi, like many of his
predecessors, but unlike them, he called himself Caliph in his coins,
mentioning the first fcur Caliphs at the same time5. This was a shrewd move
as Firuz Shah Tughluq of Delhi had received the investiture from the Caliph
of Egypt. Sikandars move was the culmination oi the policy initiated by his
father lliyas Shah (1342-1357).
3.2 Firuz Shah Tughluq led two invasions to Bengal - one during the reign of
lliyas Shah and the other during the reign of his son, Sikandar Shah. He
failed to Dislodge any of them. In lnsha-i Mahrtf , the fervent appeal of Firuz
Shah Tughluq to the Hindu zamindars and foot-soldiers as well as the Hindu
officials had been given. This pathetic appeal to the Hindus to join the Delhi
ruler revealed the unstained support of the different classes of the Hindus to
the Bengal ruler. That it was not merely rhetorical could be seen from the
writings of the historian Barani who records the death of a Hindu commender
of lliyas Shah in action. That Bengal was fighting as an unified and
territorially integrated state could be seen from the apt title of Shahi Bangla

187

This content downloaded from

163.47.37.202 on Sun, 21 Apr 2024 04:34:30 +00:00
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
 Aniniddha Ray : The State Formation in Sultanate Bengal

given by the historian Afif to lliyas Shah. Interestingly Barani writes that Firuz
Shah's invasion of Bengal wafe due to the oppression of lliyas Shah as "the
Muslim and zimmiś ' in Tirhut and his plundering of villages and towns
"without discrimination"7. This may show that in medieval Bengal religious
discriminations may not necessarily follows political dicisions.
3.3 Some modern historians had tried to show that the principal contradiction of
the period was the Hindu-Muslim conflict. They had drawn on the contempo-
rary Bengali writings of late 15th and early 16th centuries to show that the
qazis , with the help of state power, had oppressed the Hindus, who were not
given higher posts in the administration. We would come to these Bengali
poems later.
3.4 One may cite the writings of the Chines delegates who came to Bengal in
the early 15th century8. In their writings, one does not find any refernce to
communal conflicts. On the other hand, they wrote about the use of Bengali
language in all levels including that of the court the flourishing trade,
commerce and peaceful cultivation by the peasants. Although they had
mentioned the Hindus, whom they found to be vegetarians, they had not
spoken of any conflict. That Bengal had emerged as a separate political
entity, without appearent religious discrimination, was made clear. The
reference of serving of vegetárian food in the palace reminds us of Raja
Ganesh, perhaps the only Hindu Sultan of Bengal.
3.5 The rise of Raja Ganesh, a zamindar of Bhaduria, was due to palace intrigue
and not by conquest nor by Hindu reaction. The letters of the contemporary
saint Shaikh Nur Qutb Alam5 showed that how greatly he was depressed as
Muslims had supported Ganesh. The accusation that Ganesh was an anti-
Muslim ruler was not accepted by some scholars10. Interestingly, the son of
Ganesh, was converted and he took the name Jalaluddin. He appointed
Rajyadhar, son of Jagadatta, as his commander of the army. A huge
celebration followed his appointment11. As a matter of fact, from the letters
of Muzzaffar Shah Balkhi and Shaikh Nur Qutb Alam, it is clear that such
high appointments of Hindus had taken place much earlier12.
4.1 The deveopment of Bengali ethos, found expression in the formation of the
state over an unified territory, seen from the reign of Sultan lliyas Shah,
comes out clearly in the appointment of the Hindus as officials from the
second half of the 15th century. By that time the point of legitimacy had been
solved by Sultan Sikandar Shah13.
4.2 From the time of Sultan Barbak Shah, we get the names of Hindu officiers,
referred to by the celebrated poet of Mahabharata , Kirtibas14. He named
atleast four hindu officials, including Naryan Das, the personal physician of
the Sultan and the treasurer Gandharba Ray and Maladhar Basu (author of
Srikirshna Vijaya). Basu received the title of Gunraz Khan while his son got
the title of Subharaz Khan. Among other Hindus appointed in high adminis-
trative posts, one finds the name of Ananta Sen (another personal physician
of the Sultan), Kedar Ray (representative of- the Sultan in Tirhut), Bhaddasi
Ray (fort commander at Ghoraghat), Biswas Roy (minister). Oviously, the
policy laid down by lliyas Shah was still being followed. Barbak Shah also

188

This content downloaded from

163.47.37.202 on Sun, 21 Apr 2024 04:34:30 +00:00
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
 Proceedings, IHC : 55th Session , 1994

took the title of Caliph in his coins15. One may also refer to Barbak Shah's
animosity towards certain religious groups, as he was alleged to have
beheaded Ismali Ghazi16 for his failure to take Kamrup.
4.5 There are detailed references to the contemporary Bengali writings of Hindus
holding high posts under Sultan Alauddin Husain Shah. Rup Goswami was
dabir khas while his brother, Sanatan, was sagar mulick (deputy king).
Subudhi Ray was the Choudhury of Gaur city, who had whipped Aluddin
Husain Shah earlier for not digging a tank properly17. That a Hindu official
could publicity whip a Muslim boy in the "Muslim State" shows that communal
discrimination was absent not only in the appointments but also in the
execution of policies which were indifferent to communal questions. Alauddin's
personal physician was Mukunda Das, son of Narayan Das. The younger
brother of Narayn, Jib Goswami, was given the title of anupam mulick.
According to some legend, he was a treasurer or was working in the
treasury. Srikanta, brother-in-law of Sanatan, used to live at Hajipur and was
incharge of the purchase of horses, for which the Sultan had sent him three
lakh rupees. It appears that Sanatan had other brothers who were living at
Bakla, which was converted as khalisa. The elder brother of Sanatan was
instrumental in converting it into a khalisa area after a stout resistance by the
locals. Another official was Keshav chatri (this seems to be a title of the
person who holds the umbrella over the head of the Sultan), who was also
referred to in various contemporary literature as Keshab Basu and Keshav
Khan. According to unreliable geneological table (kulaji), compiled later,
Keshav was the nephew of Maladhar Basu. We get references of two
Ramchandra Khans but only one was an officials under Alauddin. He was a
military administrator in Bengal-Orissa border. He was the one who provided
the security to Chaitanya while the latter was crossing the border. Another
official was Chiranjib Sen, father of the famous poet Govindadas Kaviraj, who
had mentioned him18. We read in the work of Krishnadas Kaviraj of the ijaradari
of Saptagram area by Hiranya Majumdar19 Gopal Chakrabarty was a tax
collector and used to live in Gaur. He used to collect taxes from different
ijaradars and came to Saptagram to collect it from Hiranya Majumdar who had
collected 20 lakhs rupees instead of 12 lakhs as contracted for 20. From
Rajmala of Tripura one gets the name of Gorai Mulick who led the Bengal
invasion to Tripura21.
5.1 Contemporary Bengali poets had described the oppression on the Hindus by
the qazis which had been referred to by some modern scholars like Ramesh
Chandra Majumdar22 and Anil Chandra Bannerjee23. Majumdar had gone
further in categorisjng Alauddin Husain Shah as anti-Hindu while A.B.M.
Habibullah had painted Alauddin as pro-Hindu24.
5.2 Sukhomoy Mukhopadhyay had discussed the thesis of Majumdar at great
length. He had shown that out of the three manuscripts on which Majumdar had
based his arguments, one was a fake and the other had been interpolated
during the 19th century. The third was written in A.D. 1848. Besides, some of
the incidents of violence referred to by Majumdar as belonging to Alauddin
Husain Shah's reign had occured in pre-Alauddin period and can not be
attributed to his reign. Mukhopadhyay had come to the conclusion that Alauddin

189

This content downloaded from

163.47.37.202 on Sun, 21 Apr 2024 04:34:30 +00:00
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
 Aniruddha Ray : The State Formation in Sultanate Bengal

Husain Shah was not a religious fanatic but he was not a pro-Hindu either25.
5.3 Accepting that violence and oppression were part of contemporary political
ethos, one could divide this kind of oppression on the Hindus to three types
in Bengal as given by contemporary poets and writers :
(a) oppression by the state on the Hindus as a whole
(b) oppression by the qazis including conversion
(c) oppression on the Hindus, along with the Muslims, as part of the
oppression of the higher classes on the lower classes.
Regarding the third, there are some evidence but in our present discussion,
we would exclude these. Regarding the first, we have one clear reference in
contemporary vaishnav literature, probably occuring around A.D. 1515. This
stated that the boats of the King had come to Nadia and tried to seize the
boys26. Although this was the only reference of such nature, it appears to
have originated from a rumour that a boy from Nadia would become king.
This did not occur in other areas like Saptagram or Santipore27. Such state
sponsored violence is abesnt in contemporary Bengal literature.
5.4 Regarding the second there are many references. Bipradas Pipiai, in A.D.
1494-952e and Bijoy Gupta in A.D. 149220 had referred to the oppression of
the qazis and their attempts of conversion by force. This could be confirmed
from the writings of the Portuguese traveller Duarte Barbosa30, who had
referred to such conversions. The oppression of the qazis therefore should
not be wished away.
5.5 One may note that the oppression of the qazis were mainly localised affairs
and were occuring in areas distant from Gaur, capital of Bengal. That
distance from the Bengal, mainly in eastern Bengal, was higher than the
Hindu population, which could be seen from the census figures of the late
19th century. Most of the Muslim literature during the medieval period comes
from Chittagong-Barisal areas. The coastal areas were not fully under the
control of the Sultans, although Bakla was converted into khalisa later on.
Thus, the centre had little control over the activities of the qazis in areas
distant from the centre. The Sultans did not always follow the advice of the
qazis but they did not intervene in their activities either. Significantly the
areas closer the capital were rarely touched. From the contemporary Bengali
literature, it is clear that there were large scale Brahmin settlements in the
villages of Ramkeli and Kanai-Natshala within almost walking distance of
Gaur. There the Brahmins had not been distubed. Had there been an anti-
Hindu policy of Alauddin Husain Shah, these Brahmin families would have
migrated to safer areas. Also, the Hindus of Nadia, Santipore or Saptagram
were not converted.

5.6 One may also cite the case of Chaitanya and the qazi of Nadia. On the
complaint of the Brahmins, the qazi of Nadia had banned the performance
of kirtan (vaishnava music) loudly. Chaitanya organised a procession to the
house of the qazi , which was plundered31. But no punishment was given to
Chaitanya, after which there a spurt of Vaishnav preaching in the
neighbourhood. The later French traveller Vincent Le Blance had found such

190

This content downloaded from

163.47.37.202 on Sun, 21 Apr 2024 04:34:30 +00:00
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
 Proceedings , IHC : 55th Session , 1994

performances in "many temples" in Saptagram32. Rajmala of Tripura had

mentioned that the Hindu soldiers of Alauddin Husain Shah had worshipped
idols on the bank of the Gomti33. One therefore should not equate the
oppression of the qazis with the oppression of the state or the oppression of
the Muslims on the Hindus as a whole. Even Alauddin Husain Shah had
prohibited any such oppression on Chaitanys34. Which was a sharew
political move that would weaken the Brahmins. There is also no instance o
Hindus losing their land, excepting that of Ramchandra Khan. The contem
porary vaishnav poet Krishandas Kaviraj clearly mentioned that Ramchandra
was a dacoit and did not pay the taxes, which, in medieval India, wa
equated with rebellion. As a result, he was arrested along with his family by
the wazir of Alauddin. His village was plundered and he was forcibly given
cow's meat35. Muslim nobles in northern India had lost their heads for lesser
offences.

5.7 At the Same time, one may also note the praise of the Sultans by the
contemporary Bengali poets. Bijoy Gupta, writing in A.D. 1492 and after
depicting the oppression of the qazis, had praised Sultan Jalaluddin Fateh
Shah. To "them there was a clear distinction between the policy of the qazi
and the policy of the Sultan. The flight of Mukundaram Chakrabarty at the fag
end cf the period ci the Sultanate, was generally ascribed to the opression
of the Dihidar Mahmud Sharif. Not only Mukundaram fled with his Muslim
cultivator but it could easily be seen that this was due to the new land-
revenue arrangement started in the wake of the Mughal cónquest.
6.1 From the sketch and extant biographies of the Hindu nobles appointed by the
Sultans, one may find two trends :
(a) the appointments were from certain areas like Rarh and distant Barisal
(b) the appointments were limited to certain families and their relatives.
The appointments from distant areas were made obviously to have greater
control over those areas. Unfortunately, we do not have the biographies of
the Muslim officials to make any firm conclusions. The appointments of
particular families was a common practice in northern India, which however
limited the process of political integration. This process slowed further during
the time of Nusrat Shah, son of Alauddin. By that time the family of Sanatan
had left the state service and we know nothing of replacement. Excepting
Basant Rao (actually Roy), commander of Bengal forces fighting against
Babar36 no other Hindu was mentioned till A.D. 1574, when Srihari, treasurer
of Daud Karrani fled to Katar (Jassore) with the treasurer after Daud's fall37.
This may suggest that after Alauddin Husain Shah, the process of political
integration slackened thus weakening the state. The easy victories of Sher
Shah and Humayun reveals this weakness.
6.2 One may therefore conclude that the state policy in Bengal was not anti-
Hindu per se and the state formation in Bengal could develop only with the
cooperation of the Hindus despite the zeal of the qazis. It was a new Bengali
society in which Islam was modified by the preaching of the sufis and the
activities of the converted But the ethos of the new society grew from within
and not imposed from outside.
191

This content downloaded from

163.47.37.202 on Sun, 21 Apr 2024 04:34:30 +00:00
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
 Aniruddha Ray : The State Formation in Sultanate Bengal

6.3 This new ethos of the Bengali society, seen from the early 14th century, was
due to the integration of the two communities. But this integration was a
political one, growing from a common political interest. It was not an
integration in the social or religious level. Further research would require to
see how far the two communities had lived in peace in innumerable village
and towns in medieval Bengal.

NOTES AND REFERENCES

1. For a full discussion, see D.C. Sircar, Studies in the Geography of Anc
Medieval India, New Delhi, 1971, 131-134.
2. For a detailed history, see Abdul Karim, Banglar Itihas : Sultani Amai (Bengali), Dacca,
1987 (2nd ed.) For the inscriptions, see R. Mukherjee & S.K. Maity, Corpus of Bengal
Inscriptions, Calcutta, 1967.
3. Mukundaram Chakrabarty, Kavi Kankan Chandi (Bengali), Basumati ed. Abdul Karim
does not accept it {A Social History of the Muslim in Bengal, Chittagong, 1983, 204-
5). For the sufis , see Muhammad Enamul Huq, Sufism in Bengal, Dacca, 1973.
4. Huq. op. cit., 155-156.
5. Karim, Banglar Itihas, 174-176.
6. Translated into Bengali by Sukhmoy Mukhopadhyay from the English translation
(JASB, 1923, 279-80) in Banglar Itihas Duso Bachař { Bengali), Calcutta, 1988, 39-41.
7. .Ziaudding Barani, Tarikh-i Firuz Shahi (translated into Bengali), Dacca, 1982, 488 post.
8. P.C. Bagchi's article entitled "Political relation between Bengal and China in the Pathan
period" in Vi swa Bharti Annals, 1945, I, 96-134.
9. For the English translations of the letters of Shaikh Nur Qutb Alam, see the articles
of Syed Hasan Askari in Bengal Past& Present, 194 8, LXVII, 38-39. See the full text
in Abdul Karim's article in Abdul Karim Sahitya Visharad Commemoration Volume,
Dacca, 1972, 341-343, entitled "Nur Qutb Alam's letter on the ascendance of Raja
Ganesh".

10. ' For the legends prevailing in the late 18th century, see Ghulam Husain Salim, Reyaz-
us Salatin, Dacca, 1874 (Bengali tr.), 87-91. For fuller discussion, see Mukhopadhyay,
op. cit., 143 post.
12. Tr. by Abdul Karim, op. cit., Also, atfjcle of S.H. Askari entitled "Correspondence of
two 14th century Saints of Bihar", PlflQ, ,1958, pp. 206-222.
13. Discussion in Abdul Karim, Banglar Itihas, 250.
14. Mukhopadhyay, op.cit., 205-6.
15. Karim, Banglar Itihas, 250.
16. Mukhpadhyaya, op. cit., 191 post.
17. Krishnadas Kaviraj, Chaitanya Charitamrita (Bengali), Basumati ed., 265. The refer-
ence of Chaudhury at Gaur is interesting since Gaur, as a capital, was under direct
administation. He could be a tax collector and could hold land on the outskirt of Gaur.

18. Mukhopadhyay, op. cit., 387 post.

19. Kaviraj, op. cit., 184.

192

This content downloaded from

163.47.37.202 on Sun, 21 Apr 2024 04:34:30 +00:00
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
 Proceedings, IHC : 55th Session, 1994

20. Ibid , 289. He was called Annda , a tax collector.

21 . Mukhopadhy.ay, op. cit., 395-96.
22. R.C. Majumdar, History of Medieval Bengal, Calcutta, 1 973, asking for a re-assessment.
Also see (Ibid, pp. 247-52) for Hindu-Muslim animosity during the Sultanate pferiod.
23. Anil Chandra Bannerjee, Madhyayuger Bengla o Bengali (Bengali), Calcutta, 1 986, pp.
50-58.

24. A.B.M. Habibullah in History of Bengal ed. by Jadunath Sarkar, Dacca, reprint 1972,
II, pp. 151-52.
25. Mukhopadhyay, op. cit., p. 427 post.
26. Brindaban Das, Chaitanya Bhagavat, Nadia, 3rd ed., pp. 474-75 (Bengali).
27. Jayananda, Chaitanys Mangal (Bengali), Viswa Bharati, 1994, ed. by S. Mukhopadhyay,
pp. 10-11, for the rumour.
28. Bipradas Pipiai, Mansa Vijaya (Bengali), Asiatic Society, no date, ed. by Sukumar Sen,
p. 67. Some portions are interpolated since there is mention of tobacco smoking before
A.D. 1494.

29. Bajay Gupta, Padma Puran (Bengali), Calcutta, 1962, pp. 122-26.
30. The Book of Bua rte Barbosa ed. by M.L. Dames, Indian reprint, 1989, II, p. 148.
31. Brindaban Das, op. cit., pp. 803-804.
32. Vincent Le Blanc, Les Voyages Fameux, Paris, 1648.
33. Mukhopadhyay, op. cit., p. 428.
34. Ibid, pp. 426-28. For the prohibition of Alauddin Husain Shah against the qazi when
Chaitanya was close to Gaur at Ramkeli village, see Kaviraj, op. cit. p. 82.
35. Kaviraj, op. cit., p. 288.
36. BaburNama tr. by A.S. Beveridge, Indian reprint, New Delhi, 1979, p. 673. It is written
"pagan of repute Basanta Rao".
37. Abul Fazl, Akbar Nama, tr. by Beveridge, III, p. 172.

193

This content downloaded from

163.47.37.202 on Sun, 21 Apr 2024 04:34:30 +00:00
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms