History
of Bharat can easily be divided into three sections-ancient, medieval
and modern. The chain of events and the lifestyle in each period ofcourse
is different. One can easily trace the dominant factor in each period
and one can also study the stages of development. Amongst these Medieval
Bharat suffered from both the sides. Invasions on Bharat dominate
this period.
The
period encompasses the span of around 700 years. While comparing the span
with that of the ancient period, it seems too short. But the density and
frequency of events- (those proven to be the turning point or landmark
in the Indian history) is the highest in this period.
Medieval Bharat witnessed invasions starting from the Arab conquest of
Sindh, to the formation of the Mughal Empire that lasted from 1526 to
1707. This
probably was the period when the gap between the two religions- Hindu
and Muslims- prominently came to surface.
Before Muslims came to Bharat, there had been attacks from Iranians, Greeks,
Parthians, Sakas, Kushanas and Huns. But they were absorbed in the Hindu
society. But this never happened with the Muslims. One of the reasons
for this was the inflexibility of Islam that did not permit any compromises
with other religions.
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It is said that the Hindus in this period had become narrow minded as
compared to their ancestors. But this was partly due to the rigidity of
Islam. That is why, when faced with the Muslims, the Hindus adopted protective
armor in the form of rigid socio-religious laws. Position of women deteriorated
.
When at one end Medieval Bharat witnessed the negativities in the social
and political field, at the other end it contributed a lot. All these
negativities acted as impetus for Reform and Bhakti movement. Traditional,
irrelevant practices in the religion, which were tightening their hold
and were proving to be healthy for the growth of Hindu society were abolished
through the Reform movement.
Bhakti movement with its own outstanding philosophy, spread all over Bharat.
Their view was that devotion to God was the only means of salvation. The
movement was non-sectarian. Regarding the political awakening, various
parts of Bharat produced great leaders like Shivaji. They dared to oppose
the militant Islamic rule and gave the common man his voice.
Rise of Sikhism was the product of this period only. All these in detail
will be covered in the topic. To make the reader absorb and sense the
nerve of Medieval Bharat, we have divided it into some parts.
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