Society and Culture During the Delhi Sultanate

At a Glance

• Hindu society Little structural change; Brahmans high
• Women Purdah spread; property rights improved
• Muslim society Divided into Turks, Iranians, Afghans, Indian Muslims
• State Militaristic and aristocratic, Islamic in form
• Culture Persian literature, arch and dome, Qutb Minar
• Exam link UPSC Prelims, Medieval History: The Delhi Sultanate

Where Does It Fit?

This is the eleventh topic of the category on the Delhi Sultanate. The previous topic covered the towns, and this topic describes social groups, the nature of the state and cultural life. The next topic covers science and law. Previous topic: Ibn Battuta Other big towns Daulatabad, Lahore, Multan, Kara, Lakhnauti, Cambay, Anhilwara Base of growth…">Urbanization During the Delhi Sultanate.

How Was Hindu Society Organised?

In short: Hindu society changed little in structure, with Brahmans placed high, Shudras barred from the Vedas, and women under strong restrictions, though property rights for women improved.

The smriti writers kept giving Brahmans a high place, and one school said they could take to agriculture even in normal times. Kshatriyas were given the duty of punishing the wicked and the right to bear arms. Shudras were to serve other castes but could take any occupation except trade in liquor and meat, and the ban on studying the Vedas remained. The severest restrictions applied to Chandalas and other outcastes. Women were still expected to marry early and serve their husbands, widow remarriage was banned in the Kali Age for the upper three castes, and sati was approved by some writers and allowed with conditions by others. Ibn Battuta wrote with horror of a sati and said the sultan’s permission was needed. A widow had full rights over the property of a sonless husband if it was divided property.

Why Did Purdah Spread?

Purdah, the seclusion of women and the veiling of their faces before outsiders, became widespread among upper-class women in this period. It was already known among upper-class Hindus and in ancient Iran and Greece, and the Arabs and Turks brought it to India, where it spread mainly in the north. Reasons given include fear that women would be captured by invaders, and, more important, its growth as a sign of respectability that others wished to copy. Religious justification was found for it too. It made women more dependent on men.

How Was Muslim Society Divided?

Muslim society was divided into ethnic and racial groups, and Turks, Iranians, Afghans and Indian Muslims rarely married each other. They developed some of the caste exclusiveness of the Hindus, and converts from lower Hindu groups were also discriminated against. Great economic differences marked this society, more than the mainly rural Hindu one. The Hindu and Muslim upper classes had little social intercourse because of the superiority complex of the Muslims and religious limits on intermarriage and dining on the Hindu side, but the picture of two sealed communities is false. Hindu soldiers served in Muslim armies, nobles had Hindu managers, and local administration was almost entirely in Hindu hands.

What Was the Nature of the State and Religious Policy?

A wazir told divines under Iltutmish who wanted Hindus given only Islam or death that the Muslims were as little as salt in a dish. Jalaluddin Khalji admitted that idols were publicly worshipped in the capital and provincial centres. The policy was toleration within limits, with occasional lapses, such as the execution of a Brahman by Firoz. The number of Muslims stayed comparatively small.

What Were the Cultural Developments?

Persian became the language of literature and administration; Lahore was the first centre of Persian, and Amir Khusrau, who took pride in being Indian, was its most notable writer. Ziauddin Barani, Afif and Isami wrote history. Sanskrit remained a major language of philosophy, law and poetry, and many Sanskrit works were translated into Persian, such as Zia Nakhshabi’s Tuti Nama. Regional languages matured as the Bhakti saints used the common speech.

In architecture, the Turks first converted temples into mosques and then built their own using the arch, the dome and a superior mortar. They avoided human and animal figures and used geometric and floral designs with Quranic verses, called arabesque, and also borrowed Hindu motifs such as the lotus. The Qutb Minar, begun by Aibak and completed by Iltutmish, rose 71.4 metres in its original form. Alauddin added the Alai Darwaza, with a dome built on scientific lines for the first time, the Tughlaqs built Tughlaqabad with sloping walls, and the Lodis placed tombs on high platforms in gardens. Details are in the later category on art and architecture.

Why Is This Topic Important?

• Social base Explains Hindu-Muslim interaction and tension
• State character Barani’s view is a common Mains point
• Culture Persian and the arch and dome are frequent facts

What Came Next?

The next topic covers science and the legal system of the Sultanate. Next topic: Scientific Knowledge and Legal System of the Delhi Sultanate.

Key People and Terms

• Purdah Veiling and seclusion of upper-class women
• Zimmi Protected non-Muslim subject
• Jizya Tax on non-Muslims
• Zawabit Regulations made by sultans
• Jahandari Worldly rule, Barani’s term
• Arabesque Geometric and floral design with inscriptions

Exam Corner

Mains Angle

Questions on Sultanate society ask about religion, state and women. These points add depth.

• State Islamic in form but militaristic in practice
• Society Hindu and Muslim groups with real interaction
• Women Purdah and improved property rights