Muslim–Hindu Relations in the Delhi Sultanate: A Socio-Political Analysis
Muslim–Hindu Relations in the Delhi Sultanate: A Socio-Political Analysis

Summary/Abstract: This article examines Hindu–Muslim relations during the Delhi Sultanate (1206–1526) within the framework of South Asian historiography and Area Studies, combining a critical reading of primary sources with socio-political theory. Rather than reducing the period to narratives of conquest or cultural synthesis, it evaluates it as a multifaceted era in which political accommodations, social hierarchies, religious practices, temple desecrations, forced conversions, cultural exchanges, and identity negotiations unfolded simultaneously. Within this scope, Persian court chronicles, the travel account of Ibn Baṭṭūṭa, and vernacular voices from Bengal such as the Vaiṣṇava literature and the writings of Vidyāpati, Jayananda, and Vijaya Gupta are examined together, enabling a comparative analysis of Muslim historians’ legitimacy-oriented perspectives and Hindu sources’ ideological concerns. The findings highlight structural inequalities such as the dhimmī status of Hindus, the imposition of the jizya tax, and legal as well as social restrictions, while also drawing attention to spheres of coexistence shaped by Ṣūfī influence, neighborhood interactions, fictive kinship ties, everyday practices, and literary exchanges. The Bengali case in particular illustrates that despite rigid religious boundaries, fragile forms of shared life could emerge. Ibn Baṭṭūṭa’s testimony reveals paradoxical Hindu attitudes of hospitality and exclusion grounded in ritual purity, while the Vaiṣṇava corpus demonstrates both resilience and adaptation strategies among rural communities under pressure. Methodologically, the study adopts a historical-analytical approach that triangulates diverse genres of sources and critically engages with modern historiographical debates, thereby moving beyond the binary of “conflict” versus “harmony.” Ultimately, the article argues that the Delhi Sultanate must be understood not merely as a political regime but as a formative “contact zone” where identities and practices of coexistence were continuously reshaped. This process not only facilitated the entrenchment of Islam in the Indian subcontinent but also left a lasting legacy that continues to shape the religion-based political dynamics of contemporary India.

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