Book: Themes in Indian History – Part II | Chapter 5
Through the Eyes of Travellers
Perceptions of Society (c. Tenth to Seventeenth Century)
1. Learning Objectives
After reading these notes, you will be able to:
1
Identify and describe the three key travellers — Al-Biruni, Ibn Battuta and François Bernier — including their background, journeys and major works.2
Explain Al-Biruni’s three “barriers” to understanding India and how he tried to overcome them through Sanskritic texts.3
Understand Ibn Battuta’s vivid descriptions of Indian cities, trade, the postal system, coconut and paan.4
Critically analyse Bernier’s comparison of India and Europe — on land ownership, towns, social structure and women.5
Recognise the limitations of travellers’ accounts — what they noticed, what they missed, and how their cultural background shaped their observations.2. Introduction
This chapter focuses on the accounts of three remarkable travellers who visited the Indian subcontinent at different points in time — Al-Biruni (eleventh century, from Uzbekistan), Ibn Battuta (fourteenth century, from Morocco) and François Bernier (seventeenth century, from France). Since these travellers came from vastly different social and cultural environments, they were often more attentive to everyday activities and practices which were taken for granted by indigenous writers. It is precisely this difference in perspective that makes their accounts so valuable and interesting to historians.
📜 Why Are Travellers’ Accounts Important?
- Outsider’s Eye: Foreign travellers noticed things — like the coconut, paan, postal system or caste practices — that local writers considered too routine to record.
- Variety of Subjects: Some accounts deal with the royal court; others focus on religious practices, architecture, trade or social customs. For example, one of the most important descriptions of Vijayanagara (Chapter 7) comes from Abdur Razzaq Samarqandi, a diplomat from Herat.
- Rich Social History: These accounts provide a glimpse of ordinary life — markets, cities, agriculture, and the condition of women — beyond what official records tell us.
- Limitation: Travellers’ observations were shaped by their own cultural background and were not always accurate. Practically no travel accounts were left by women, though we know they travelled.
📌 Three Travellers and Their Works — At a Glance
🟠 Al-Biruni → Kitab-ul-Hind (Arabic) · 11th century🟡 Ibn Battuta → Rihla (Arabic) · 14th century
🔴 François Bernier → Travels in the Mughal Empire (French) · 17th century
3. Three Travellers — A Quick Overview
📚
Al-Biruni
973 – 1048 CE
Origin: Khwarizm, Uzbekistan
Century: 11th (arrived 1017 CE)
Languages: Syriac, Arabic, Persian, Hebrew, Sanskrit
Work: Kitab-ul-Hind (80 chapters)
Approach: Systematic study of Sanskrit and Brahmanical texts; comparative method
🗺️
Ibn Battuta
1304 – 1377 CE
Origin: Tangier, Morocco
Century: 14th (arrived 1333 CE)
Journey: ~30 years across 3 continents
Work: Rihla
Approach: Experience over books; vivid description of the novel and unfamiliar
🔭
François Bernier
1620 – 1688 CE
Origin: France
Century: 17th (stayed 1656–1668)
Profession: Doctor, political philosopher, historian
Work: Travels in the Mughal Empire
Approach: Constant comparison of India with Europe; analytical and critical
4. Al-Biruni and the Kitab-ul-Hind
🏛️ From Khwarizm to the Punjab
- Born in 973 CE in Khwarizm (present-day Uzbekistan) — an important centre of learning. Received the best education available at the time.
- Knew Syriac, Arabic, Persian, Hebrew and Sanskrit. Although he did not know Greek, he was familiar with Plato and other Greek philosophers through Arabic translations.
- In 1017 CE, Sultan Mahmud invaded Khwarizm and took several scholars to his capital Ghazni — Al-Biruni was one of them. He arrived as a hostage but gradually developed a liking for the city and spent the rest of his life there, dying at the age of 70.
- In Ghazni, he developed an interest in India. Sanskrit works on astronomy, mathematics and medicine had been translated into Arabic from the eighth century onwards.
- When Punjab became part of the Ghaznavid empire, Al-Biruni spent years with Brahmana priests and scholars, learning Sanskrit and studying religious and philosophical texts. He likely travelled widely in Punjab and parts of northern India.
- Travel literature was already an accepted part of Arabic literature — dealing with lands from the Sahara desert to the River Volga. Al-Biruni wrote for peoples living along the frontiers of the subcontinent.
📜 Source 1 — Al-Biruni’s Objectives
In His Own Words
“a help to those who want to discuss religious questions with them (the Hindus), and as a repertory of information to those who want to associate with them.”
📚 The Kitab-ul-Hind — Key Features
- Language: Arabic — simple and lucid.
- Size: Voluminous — divided into 80 chapters on subjects such as religion and philosophy, festivals, astronomy, alchemy, manners and customs, social life, weights and measures, iconography, laws and metrology.
- Chapter Structure: Generally each chapter follows — (1) A question → (2) Description based on Sanskritic traditions → (3) Comparison with other cultures. This “almost geometric structure” owed much to Al-Biruni’s mathematical orientation.
- He was critical of earlier Arabic translations and adaptations of Sanskrit/Pali/Prakrit texts and clearly wanted to improve upon them.
📌 Translating Texts, Sharing Ideas
Al-Biruni translated Patanjali’s work on grammar into Arabic. For his Brahmana friends, he translated the works of Euclid (Greek mathematician) into Sanskrit. His multilingual expertise allowed him to build remarkable bridges between civilisations.Note on the term “Hindu”: Derived from an Old Persian word (c. 6th–5th centuries BCE) for the region east of the river Sindhu (Indus). Arabs called the region “al-Hind.” The Turks later used “Hindu” for the people east of the Indus. None of these expressions originally indicated religious identity — that came much later.
5. Al-Biruni: Overcoming Barriers and Describing Caste
🚧 Three Barriers to Understanding India
⚠️ The Key Irony
Despite being aware of all three barriers, Al-Biruni depended almost exclusively on the works of Brahmanas — citing the Vedas, Puranas, Bhagavad Gita, Patanjali, Manusmriti etc. His picture of Indian society was therefore shaped by a normative, upper-caste Brahmanical perspective.🏛️ Al-Biruni’s Description of the Caste System
- Al-Biruni tried to explain the caste system by drawing parallels with other societies — to show that social divisions were not unique to India.
- He noted that in ancient Persia, four categories were recognised: (1) knights and princes, (2) monks, fire-priests and lawyers, (3) physicians, astronomers and scientists, (4) peasants and artisans.
- He pointed out that within Islam, all men are considered equal — differing only in their observance of piety.
- Despite accepting the Brahmanical description of caste, Al-Biruni disapproved of the notion of pollution. He argued it was contrary to the laws of nature — “the sun cleanses the air, the salt in the sea prevents water from becoming polluted… everything strives to regain its original condition of purity.” Without this principle, life on earth would be impossible.
📜 Source 5 — Al-Biruni on the System of Varnas
The Four Varnas in His Own Words
“The highest caste are the Brahmana, of whom the books of the Hindus tell us that they were created from the head of Brahman… The next caste are the Kshatriya, who were created from the shoulders and hands of Brahman. Their degree is not much below that of the Brahmana. After them follow the Vaishya, who were created from the thigh of Brahman. The Shudra, who were created from his feet… Much, however, as these classes differ from each other, they live together in the same towns and villages, mixed together in the same houses and lodgings.”
📌 Reality Check — Caste in Real Life
Al-Biruni’s description was based on normative Sanskrit texts — how things were supposed to be according to Brahmanical tradition. In real life, the caste system was not as rigid. The antyaja (literally “born outside the system”) were often expected to provide inexpensive labour to both peasants and zamindars. While socially oppressed, they were included within economic networks — showing a far more complex reality than textual accounts suggest.6. Ibn Battuta’s Rihla
🌍 An Early Globe-Trotter
- Born in 1304 CE in Tangier, Morocco — into one of the most respectable and educated families, known for their expertise in Islamic religious law (shari’a).
- Received literary and scholastic education when young; but unlike most of his class, he believed experience gained through travel was more important than books.
- Before setting off for India in 1332–33, he had visited Mecca (pilgrimage), Syria, Iraq, Persia, Yemen, Oman, and trading ports on the East African coast.
- Travelled overland through Central Asia, reached Sind in 1333. Attracted by Muhammad bin Tughlaq’s reputation as a generous patron of arts and letters, set off for Delhi via Multan and Uch.
- The Sultan was impressed by his scholarship and appointed him Qazi (judge) of Delhi. He remained in that position for several years until he fell out of favour and was thrown into prison. Once the misunderstanding was cleared, he was restored to imperial service.
- In 1342, ordered to proceed to China as the Sultan’s envoy to the Mongol ruler. Route: Central India → Malabar coast → Maldives (stayed 18 months as Qazi) → Sri Lanka → Bengal → Assam → Sumatra → China (reached Beijing).
- Decided to return home in 1347. Reached Morocco in 1354 — about 30 years after he had set out. His account is often compared with that of Marco Polo, who visited China and India from Venice in the late thirteenth century.
📜 Source 2 — The Rihla (Excerpt)
“The Bird Leaves Its Nest”
“My departure from Tangier, my birthplace, took place on Thursday… I set out alone, having neither fellow-traveller… nor caravan whose party I might join, but swayed by an overmastering impulse within me and a desire long-cherished in my bosom to visit these illustrious sanctuaries. So I braced my resolution to quit all my dear ones, female and male, and forsook my home as birds forsake their nests… My age at that time was twenty-two years.”
⚠️ Hazards of Travel in the Fourteenth Century
- Travelling was far more arduous and hazardous than today. Travel times: Multan to Delhi = 40 days; Sind to Delhi = 50 days; Daulatabad to Delhi = 40 days; Gwalior to Delhi = 10 days.
- Ibn Battuta was attacked by bands of robbers several times. On the Multan–Delhi journey, his caravan was attacked — many fellow travellers were killed; those who survived, including Ibn Battuta, were severely wounded.
- He once had to tie himself to the saddle with a turban-cloth during high fever so he would not fall off his horse.
- He also suffered deep loneliness — arriving in Tunis, while everyone around him greeted their companions, not a soul greeted him. “I felt so sad at heart on account of my loneliness that I could not restrain the tears that started to my eyes, and wept bitterly.”
📌 How Was the Rihla Written? (Source 3)
When Ibn Battuta returned to Morocco, the local ruler issued instructions that his stories be recorded. Ibn Juzayy was deputed to write down what Ibn Battuta dictated. The Rihla aimed to give “entertainment to the mind and delight to the ears and eyes” — education and entertainment together. Ibn Battuta narrated accounts of cities, rulers, distinguished scholars, pious saints and marvellous things.7. Ibn Battuta: The Excitement of the Unfamiliar
🥥 The Coconut and the Paan (Sources 6 and 7)
- The coconut and paan were completely unfamiliar to his Moroccan audience — Ibn Battuta described them in vivid detail.
- Coconut (Source 6): “These trees look exactly like date-palms, without any difference between them except that the one produces nuts as its fruits and the other produces dates. The nut of a coconut tree resembles a man’s head — for in it are what look like two eyes and a mouth, and the inside of it when it is green looks like the brain, and attached to it is a fibre which looks like hair.” Ropes made from its fibre were used to sew up ships instead of iron nails.
- Paan (Source 7): “The betel is a tree which is cultivated in the same manner as the grape-vine… The betel has no fruit and is grown only for the sake of its leaves… Before eating it one takes areca nut; this is like a nutmeg but is broken up until it is reduced to small pellets… Then one takes the leaves of betel, puts a little chalk on them, and masticates them along with the betel.”
🎯 Ibn Battuta’s Strategy of Representation
Ibn Battuta described unfamiliar things by comparing them to familiar objects his audience already knew — the coconut is compared to a man’s head, the coconut tree to a date-palm, the areca nut to a nutmeg. This was a deliberate and effective technique to make the exotic comprehensible to his Moroccan readers.🏙️ Indian Cities — Vibrant and Prosperous
- Ibn Battuta found Indian cities full of exciting opportunities — densely populated and prosperous, except for occasional disruptions from wars and invasions.
- Delhi — described as a vast city with the largest population in India. Daulatabad (Maharashtra) — easily rivalled Delhi in size.
- Most cities had crowded streets and bright, colourful markets stacked with a wide variety of goods.
- Bazaars were not just economic spaces — they were also hubs of social and cultural activity. Most bazaars had a mosque and a temple; some had spaces for public performances by dancers, musicians and singers.
📜 Source 8 — Ibn Battuta on Delhi
Dehli — The Greatest City in India
“The city of Dehli covers a wide area and has a large population… The rampart round the city is without parallel. The breadth of its wall is eleven cubits; and inside it are houses for the night sentry and gatekeepers. Inside the ramparts, there are store-houses for storing edibles, magazines, ammunition, ballistas and siege machines… It has many towers close to one another. There are twenty-eight gates of this city which are called darwaza… It has a fine cemetery in which graves have domes over them… In the cemetery they sow flowers such as tuberose, jasmine, wild rose etc.; and flowers blossom there in all seasons.”
🌾 Trade, Agriculture and Textiles
- Indian agriculture was very productive because of the fertility of the soil — farmers could cultivate two crops a year.
- The subcontinent was well integrated with inter-Asian trade networks — Indian manufactures were in great demand in West Asia and Southeast Asia, fetching huge profits.
- Indian textiles — particularly cotton cloth, fine muslins, silks, brocade and satin — were in great demand. Some varieties of fine muslin were so expensive that they could be worn only by the nobles and the very rich.
📮 A Unique System of Communication — The Postal System (Source 10)
- The state took special measures to encourage merchants. Almost all trade routes were well supplied with inns and guest houses.
- Ibn Battuta was amazed by the efficiency of the postal system — merchants could send information, remit credit and even dispatch goods over long distances at short notice.
- Two kinds of postal system:
→ Horse-post (Uluq): Royal horses stationed at every 4 miles.
→ Foot-post (Dawa): Three stations per mile. Each courier carried a rod with copper bells at the top; running at top speed, the bells warned the next courier to get ready. Each man ran one-third of a mile and handed the letter to the next. - The foot-post was quicker than the horse-post — even used to transport fresh fruits from Khurasan that were much desired in India.
- While it took 50 days to travel from Sind to Delhi, spy reports reached the Sultan through the postal system in just 5 days.
8. François Bernier and the “Degenerate” East
🏥 Background and Stay in India
- A Frenchman — doctor, political philosopher and historian — who came to the Mughal Empire in search of opportunities.
- Stayed in India for twelve years (1656–1668). Associated with the Mughal court — first as physician to Prince Dara Shukoh (Shah Jahan’s eldest son), then as intellectual companion to Danishmand Khan, an Armenian noble at the Mughal court.
- Dedicated his major writing to Louis XIV, King of France. Many other works were written as letters to influential officials and ministers.
- Works published in France in 1670–71 and translated into English, Dutch, German and Italian within five years. Between 1670–1725, reprinted 8 times in French; by 1684 reprinted 3 times in English.
- In marked contrast, Arabic and Persian travel accounts circulated as manuscripts and were generally not published before 1800 — so Bernier’s European image of India spread far more widely.
📌 Bernier’s Method — Binary Opposition
Bernier’s account works on a model of binary opposition — India is presented as the inverse of Europe. He ordered perceived differences hierarchically so that India appeared inferior to the Western world. He constantly compared Mughal India with contemporary Europe, generally emphasising the superiority of the latter. His goal was to influence European policy-makers to make what he considered “right” decisions.🏠 The Question of Land Ownership
- According to Bernier, the most fundamental difference between Mughal India and Europe was the absence of private property in land in India.
- He believed the Mughal Emperor owned all land and distributed it among his nobles — making landholders unable to pass land to their children.
- Since landholders had no permanent stake, they had no incentive for long-term investment in sustaining or expanding production.
- Result (according to Bernier): ruination of agriculture, excessive oppression of the peasantry, continuous decline in living standards for all sections except the ruling aristocracy.
- He described Indian society as consisting of “undifferentiated masses of impoverished people” subjugated by a tiny, very rich ruling class — “There is no middle state in India.”
⚠️ Critical Analysis — Bernier Was Wrong
Mughal official documents do NOT support the claim that the state was the sole owner of land. Abu’l Fazl (Akbar’s sixteenth-century chronicler) describes land revenue as “remunerations of sovereignty” — a claim made by the ruler for the protection he provided, not rent on land he owned. European travellers likely mistook these high revenue demands for rent. It was actually a tax on the crop, not on land itself (see Chapter 8 for more). In reality, during the 16th–17th centuries, rural society had considerable social and economic differentiation — from powerful zamindars to landless labourers.🌐 Bernier’s Wide Influence on Western Thought
Montesquieu — Oriental Despotism
- French philosopher used Bernier’s account to develop the idea of Oriental Despotism
- Argued that rulers in Asia (the Orient) enjoyed absolute authority over their subjects
- Subjects were kept in subjugation and poverty; all land belonged to the king; private property non-existent
- Everybody, except the emperor and nobles, barely managed to survive
Karl Marx — Asiatic Mode of Production
- 19th century — developed the concept of Asiatic Mode of Production
- In India (and other Asian countries), surplus was appropriated by the state
- Led to a society of large number of autonomous, internally egalitarian village communities
- Regarded as a stagnant system — but this was based on Bernier’s inaccurate picture of Mughal India
🏘️ Bernier on Mughal Towns
- In the seventeenth century, about 15% of India’s population lived in towns — higher on average than in Western Europe at the same period.
- Despite this, Bernier described Mughal cities as “camp towns” — towns that owed their existence to the imperial camp and declined when the court moved out.
- This was an oversimplified picture. In reality, there were manufacturing towns, trading towns, port-towns, sacred centres, pilgrimage towns — all with viable social and economic foundations.
- Merchant communities in western India — called Mahajans — were organised into caste-cum-occupational bodies, led by the Sheth. In cities like Ahmedabad, the chief of the community was called the Nagarsheth.
- Other urban groups included: physicians (hakim/vaid), teachers (pundit/mulla), lawyers (wakil), painters, architects, musicians, calligraphers. Some depended on imperial patronage; many served other patrons or ordinary people in markets.
📜 Source 13 — Bernier Contradicts Himself
A Different Socio-Economic Scenario
Bernier himself acknowledged that Bengal surpassed even Egypt “not only in the production of rice, corn, and other necessaries of life, but of innumerable articles of commerce — silks, cotton and indigo.” He further noted: “gold and silver, after circulating in every other quarter of the globe, come at length to be swallowed up, lost in some measure, in Hindustan.” His own observations undermined his sweeping negative assessments of India.
9. Women — Slaves, Sati and Labourers
Travellers who left written accounts were generally men who were interested in — and sometimes intrigued by — the condition of women in the subcontinent. Sometimes they took social inequities for granted as a “natural” state of affairs, and focused on practices that they found most unusual or shocking.
⛓️ Slavery — Ibn Battuta’s Account
- Slaves were openly sold in markets like any other commodity and were regularly exchanged as gifts.
- When Ibn Battuta reached Sind, he purchased “horses, camels and slaves” as gifts for the Sultan. At Multan, he presented the governor with “a slave and horse together with raisins and almonds.”
- Muhammad bin Tughlaq, pleased with a preacher named Nasiruddin, gave him “a hundred thousand tankas (coins) and two hundred slaves.”
- Considerable differentiation existed among slaves — some female slaves in the Sultan’s service were experts in music and dance (Ibn Battuta enjoyed their performance at the Sultan’s sister’s wedding). Others were employed by the Sultan to spy on his nobles.
- Slaves were generally used for domestic labour. Ibn Battuta found their services especially useful for carrying people on palanquins (dola). The price of female slaves for domestic labour was very low — most families who could afford to did kept one or two.
- Most female slaves were captured in raids and military expeditions.
🔥 Sati — Bernier’s Description (Source 16)
- Contemporary European travellers often highlighted the treatment of women as a crucial marker of difference between Western and Eastern societies.
- Bernier chose the practice of sati for detailed description. He noted that while some women seemed to embrace death cheerfully, others were forced to die.
- His most poignant account: at Lahore, he witnessed a beautiful young widow of about twelve years of age being forced to commit sati. She was trembling and weeping bitterly, but three or four Brahmanas, assisted by an old woman, forced the unwilling victim to the spot, seated her on the wood, tied her hands and feet lest she run away, and she was burnt alive. Bernier wrote: “I found it difficult to repress my feelings and to prevent their bursting forth into clamorous and unavailing rage.”
📌 A More Complete Picture of Women’s Lives
Women’s lives revolved around much more than the practices travellers chose to describe. Their labour was crucial in both agricultural and non-agricultural production. Women from merchant families participated in commercial activities, sometimes even taking mercantile disputes to the court of law. It therefore seems unlikely that women were entirely confined to private spaces. Ordinary women workers, however, did not attract the attention of travellers such as Ibn Battuta and Bernier.10. In the Footsteps of Ibn Battuta — Other Travellers
Between 1400 and 1800, visitors to India wrote a number of travelogues in Persian. At the same time, Indian visitors to Central Asia, Iran and the Ottoman empire also sometimes wrote about their experiences. These writers followed in the footsteps of Al-Biruni and Ibn Battuta, and had sometimes read these earlier authors.
Abdur Razzaq Samarqandi (1440s)
Visited south India in the 1440s. One of the most important descriptions of Vijayanagara (Chapter 7) comes from him. Initially found the people of Calicut (Kozhikode) strange — “a people the likes of whom I had never imagined.” But later in Mangalore, saw a temple that filled him with admiration — a bronze-covered square structure with a life-size golden statue with ruby eyes: “What craft and artisanship!”
Mahmud Wali Balkhi (1620s)
Travelled very widely in the 1620s. So fascinated by India that he became a sort of sanyasi for a time. Saw India as a land of wonders.
Shaikh Ali Hazin (1740s)
Came to north India in the 1740s. Was disappointed and disgusted with India — had expected a red-carpet treatment that he did not receive.
Jean-Baptiste Tavernier (France)
- Travelled to India at least six times
- Particularly fascinated with trading conditions
- Compared India to Iran and the Ottoman empire
Portuguese Travellers (after c. 1500)
- After the Portuguese arrived c. 1500, many wrote detailed accounts of Indian social customs and religious practices
- Jesuit Roberto Nobili translated Indian texts into European languages
- Duarte Barbosa — wrote a detailed account of trade and society in south India
- Italian doctor Manucci — never returned to Europe; settled in India
📌 The Creation and Circulation of Ideas About India
The writings of European travellers helped produce an image of India for Europeans through the printing and circulation of their books. Later, after 1750, when Indians like Shaikh Itisamuddin and Mirza Abu Talib visited Europe and confronted this image that Europeans had of their society, they tried to influence it by producing their own version of matters.11. Comparing the Three Travellers
| Aspect | Al-Biruni | Ibn Battuta |
|---|---|---|
| Country of Origin | Uzbekistan (Khwarizm) | Morocco (Tangier) |
| Century | 11th (arrived 1017 CE) | 14th (arrived 1333 CE) |
| Major Work | Kitab-ul-Hind (Arabic) | Rihla (Arabic) |
| Objective | Help others understand Hinduism; academic, systematic enquiry | Describe the exciting and novel; education + entertainment |
| Method | Question → Sanskritic description → Comparison with other cultures | Personal experience; vivid descriptions of the unfamiliar |
| Sources Used | Brahmanical Sanskrit texts — Vedas, Puranas, Gita, Manusmriti | Personal observation, interaction, hearsay |
| On the Caste System | Drew parallels with Persia; disapproved of pollution concept | Noted social hierarchy; described differentiation among slaves |
| On Women | Very little mention | Detailed accounts of slavery and female slaves’ roles at court |
| Intended Audience | People on the frontiers of the subcontinent | The ruler of Morocco and general educated readers |
🆚 How Bernier Differed from Both
- Al-Biruni and Ibn Battuta wrote about what they found different, interesting or remarkable — their approach was broadly descriptive and exploratory.
- Bernier had a specific political agenda — to compare India unfavourably with Europe and influence French policy-makers and intelligentsia.
- He used a model of binary opposition — presenting India as the inverse of Europe, ordered hierarchically to make India appear inferior.
- Bernier’s works were published, widely reprinted and translated into multiple European languages — his image of India spread far more widely than the manuscripts of Al-Biruni and Ibn Battuta.
- As a result, Montesquieu and Karl Marx both drew on Bernier’s account, shaping Western intellectual understanding of India for centuries — largely on the basis of a flawed and biased picture.
12. Mind Map — Chapter 5 at a Glance
🗺️ Mind Map — Through the Eyes of Travellers
Chapter 5 — Travellers’ Accounts📚 Al-BiruniKitab-ul-Hind · Arabic
80 chapters
Sanskrit texts based
80 chapters
Sanskrit texts based
🌍 Ibn BattutaRihla · Arabic
30 yrs · 3 continents
Experience-based
30 yrs · 3 continents
Experience-based
🔭 BernierTravels in Mughal Empire
French · 12 years
India vs. Europe
French · 12 years
India vs. Europe
🚧 Al-Biruni’s 3 BarriersLanguage · Religion
Insularity of locals
Insularity of locals
🏙️ Urban LifeDelhi · Daulatabad
Bazaars · Karkhanas
Mahajans · Nagarsheth
Bazaars · Karkhanas
Mahajans · Nagarsheth
👩 WomenSlavery · Sati
Labour in agriculture
Trade — overlooked
Labour in agriculture
Trade — overlooked
🏠 Land DebateBernier: No private
property → Montesquieu
Marx — both wrong
property → Montesquieu
Marx — both wrong
13. Timeline — Major Travellers Who Left Accounts
| Period / Dates | Traveller | Country of Origin |
|---|---|---|
| Tenth–Eleventh Centuries 973–1048 CE | Muhammad ibn Ahmad Al-Biruni | Uzbekistan (Khwarizm) |
| Thirteenth Century 1254–1323 CE | Marco Polo | Italy (Venice) |
| Fourteenth Century 1304–1377 CE | Ibn Battuta | Morocco (Tangier) |
| Fifteenth Century 1413–1482 CE | Abd al-Razzaq Samarqandi | Samarqand |
| Fifteenth Century 1466–72 (years in India) | Afanasii Nikitin | Russia |
| Sixteenth Century 1518 (visit to India) | Duarte Barbosa (d. 1521) | Portugal |
| Sixteenth Century 1536–1600 CE | Antonio Monserrate | Spain |
| Seventeenth Century 1626–31 (years in India) | Mahmud Wali Balkhi | Balkh |
| Seventeenth Century 1605–1689 CE | Jean-Baptiste Tavernier | France |
| Seventeenth Century 1620–1688 CE | François Bernier | France |
14. Summary — Quick Revision
1
Three key travellers: Al-Biruni (11th century, Uzbekistan), Ibn Battuta (14th century, Morocco), François Bernier (17th century, France).
2
Kitab-ul-Hind (Al-Biruni): 80 chapters in Arabic. Structure per chapter: Question → Sanskritic description → Comparison with other cultures. Written for people on the frontiers of the subcontinent.
3
Al-Biruni’s three barriers to understanding India: (1) Language — Sanskrit very different from Arabic/Persian, (2) Religious differences, (3) Insularity of the local population.
4
Al-Biruni disapproved of untouchability — called it contrary to the laws of nature. But his caste description relied on Brahmanical texts and did not reflect the complexity of real social life.
5
Ibn Battuta’s Rihla. He was appointed Qazi of Delhi by Muhammad bin Tughlaq. Famous descriptions: coconut, paan, the city of Delhi, Daulatabad, and the postal system.
6
Ibn Battuta described two postal systems: Horse-post (Uluq, every 4 miles) and Foot-post (Dawa, every ⅓ mile). The foot-post was faster than the horse-post.
7
Bernier stayed 12 years in India (1656–1668). His works were widely published and reprinted in Europe. He constantly compared India unfavourably with Europe using a model of binary opposition.
8
Bernier’s key claim: India had no private property in land → led to agricultural ruin and peasant oppression. Mughal documents contradict this — land revenue was a tax on the crop, not rent.
9
Bernier’s account directly influenced Montesquieu’s “Oriental Despotism” and Karl Marx’s “Asiatic Mode of Production” — both largely based on an inaccurate picture of Mughal India.
10
On Women: Ibn Battuta described slavery (slaves sold in markets, used as gifts); Bernier described sati (including the heart-rending case of a 12-year-old). But women actually participated actively in agriculture, trade and commerce — largely overlooked by travellers.
15. Important Terms to Remember
- Kitab-ul-Hind: Al-Biruni’s major work written in Arabic, covering 80 chapters on religion, philosophy, festivals, astronomy, alchemy, manners, social life, weights and measures, iconography, laws and metrology of India.
- Rihla: Arabic for “journey” or “travels.” Ibn Battuta’s fourteenth-century travelogue — one of the richest accounts of social and cultural life in the medieval Indian subcontinent.
- Metrology: The science of measurement. One of the subjects covered by Al-Biruni in the Kitab-ul-Hind.
- Qazi: A judge who administers Islamic religious law (shari’a). Ibn Battuta served as Qazi in Delhi and in the Maldives.
- Shari’a: Islamic religious law. Ibn Battuta’s family were known for their expertise in shari’a.
- Antyaja: Literally “born outside (the system)” — people considered to be outside the varna hierarchy. While socially oppressed, they were integrated into economic networks as labourers.
- Uluq (Horse-Post): The horse-based relay postal system in medieval India — royal horses stationed every 4 miles.
- Dawa (Foot-Post): The foot-messenger postal relay system — three stations per mile. Couriers ran with copper-belled rods, passing letters to the next runner. Faster than the horse-post.
- Mahajan: The merchant community organisation in western India, organised along caste-cum-occupational lines.
- Sheth / Nagarsheth: The chief of the mahajans / the chief representative of the merchant community in a city (as in Ahmedabad).
- Karkhana: The imperial workshops of the Mughal Empire — large halls where artisans (embroiderers, goldsmiths, painters, tailors, silk-weavers etc.) worked under supervision. Described in detail by Bernier (Source 14).
- Oriental Despotism: The idea developed by Montesquieu (using Bernier’s account) that Asian rulers held absolute authority over their subjects, who lived in subjugation and poverty with no private property.
- Asiatic Mode of Production: Karl Marx’s concept (drawing on Bernier) that in India, state appropriation of surplus led to large autonomous village communities in a stagnant system — now largely considered inaccurate.
- Binary Opposition: Bernier’s technique of presenting India as the exact opposite (inverse) of Europe — used to make India appear systematically inferior to Western civilisation.
- Sati: The practice of a widow self-immolating on her husband’s funeral pyre — described in disturbing detail by Bernier; he noted some were willing, but others were forced.
- Remunerations of Sovereignty: Abu’l Fazl’s term for land revenue — a claim made by the ruler on subjects for the protection he provided, not rent on land he owned. This contradicts Bernier’s land-ownership theory.
- Hakim / Vaid: Muslim and Hindu physicians respectively — part of the professional urban classes in Mughal India.