History of J&K

Part 2
Note:-
Red Fort, also known as Muzaffarabad Fort, is a fortification located
in Muzaffarabad,Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan. It was built by
the Chak dynasty of Kashmir.The fort is locally referred to as the 'Rutta
Qila' or just 'qila.
• Mughal Rule
How it began?
Before the Mughals annexed Kashmir in 1586 AD, they had made
several unsuccessful attempts to grab it. Many a time, the Mughal troops
entered Kashmir but were either sent back or they withdrew in the face
of stiff resistance. The first attempt to occupy Kashmir was made by the
Mughals during Babur’s rule in India when his troops entered the Valley
in 1528. Their presence resulted in widespread resentment. The Mughal
soldiers were presented with gifts and sent back.
After Babur, the troops of his son, Humayun, also invaded Kashmir and
seized Srinagar but could not withstand the guerrilla warfare of
Kashmiri resistance forces that ambushed them in the city and inflicted
heavy casualties on them. The Mughal troops made peace overtures, and
after an agreement with the Kashmiri resistance returned to Lahore via
Baramulla.

The next attempt to capture Kashmir was made by the Mughals in 1533
when Babur’s cousin, Mirza Haider Doghlat, at the head of an army,
entered the Valley via Zojila. The Kashmiris soon recovered from the
initial shock of defeat and organized resistance. They hung on to the
enemy soldiers, harassed them and stalled their movement. Finally,
Doghlat was counselled by his advisor, Ali Taghai, to withdraw from
Kashmir as it would be difficult to conquer it. Under an agreement
reached between the two sides, the Mughal army finally left Kashmir
from the same route that it had entered the Valley from.
In 1540, Doghlat returned through the Poonch Pass and captured the
Valley. A king was installed on the throne of Kashmir but Doghlat
himself wielded the real power. The Kashmiri resistance again showed
up and fought several battles with the enemy troops. In 1551, they
chased the Mughal army in a battle at Mankot near Poonch and the
overpowered Mughals took to their heels, but many of them were killed
and their baggage seized. The commander of the Mughal soldiers, Qara
Bahadur, was arrested, but the rest of his garrison fled from the
battlefield. The leader of the Kashmiri resistance, Idi Raina, marched
towards Srinagar. Later, Doghlat was killed at Khampur in central
Kashmir. His widow made peace with Kashmiri resistance leaders
following which the family and followers of Doghlat were dispatched
via Pakhli and Kabul to Kashghar.
A year after the death of Doghlat,Afghan warlord, Haibat Khan Niazi,
marched to Kashmir but was defeated and killed along with his many
chieftains by Idi Raina.

Akbar could not digest the thought of Kashmir as an independent

country in his neighbourhood. He made his first foray into the Valley in
1560 when he dispatched a large invading force, but as the expected
support from some Kashmiri nobles was not forthcoming, the Mughal
army did not advance further from Rajouri. However, Kashmiri troops
under Gazi Chak attacked and defeated the Mughal army.
In the meanwhile, the ruler of Kashmir, Yusuf Shah Chak, faced revolt
and had to abdicate the throne within two months of his coronation. In
1580, he went to Agra and sought Akbar’s aid to regain his crown.
Akbar dispatched his troops with Yusuf Shah Chak under Raja Man
Singh’s command. When Yusuf reached Lahore, his former minister,
Muhammad Bhat, advised him against bringing the Mughal army to
Kashmir, for he feared it would be an unpopular development, and the
Mughals might take over the administration and enforce their own
laws. Yusuf managed troops on his own and was able to regain his
throne.
Meanwhile, Akbar asked Yusuf thrice to make personal appearance at
his court which he avoided on the advice of his counsellors. He sent his
son to Akbar with gifts. An infuriated Akbar sent 5,000 troops to invade
Kashmir. Overawed by Akbar, Yusuf had no option but to prepare for
defence. The Mughals were fought back. Inclement weather, besides
scarcity of food supplies and stiff resistance offered by Kashmiri forces,
added to the woes of the Mughal army and they failed to make progress.
The retreating Mughal commander, Bhagwan Dass, sent a word to
Yusuf that they would return with a stronger army and make Kashmiri
resistance impossible. He suggested that Yusuf should make personal
appearance before Akbar. The nobility again advised Yusuf against
taking such a step, but the mentally defeated king betrayed them and
escaped to the Mughal camp in February 1586.
Akbar’s army launched a fresh attack on Kashmir, faced stiff resistance
and suffered severe beating at various places. They lost many soldiers—
300 in a fight at Gusu and 1,500 in another at Hanjik. The commander
of the Mughal army, Qasim Khan, was so disheartened that he requested
Akbar to call him back, but the latter sent him reinforcement instead.
The Mughal army was ultimately successful in annexing Kashmir on 6
October 1586.
Kashmir came under Mughal rule, when it was conquered by the third
Mughal Badshah (Emperor) Akbar in 1586 CE. Akbar established
Mughal rule in Srinagar and Kashmir valley. Kashmir was added to
Kabul Subah in 1586, until Shah Jahan made it into a separate Kashmir
Subah(imperial top-level province) with seat in Srinagar.
With the disintegration of the Mughal empire after the death of
Aurangzeb in 1707, infiltration in the valley of the Afghan tribes from
Afghanistan increased and the Afghan Durrani Empire ruled the city
for several decades.
• Afghan Rule
During the reign of later Mughals i.e., after the death of Aurangzeb in
1707 AD, Kashmir faced great chaos. The later Mughals ruled Kashmir
through 14 Governors who looted and plundered people and showed
religious intolerance.
Due to this misrule, two Kashmiri noblemen, Mir Muquim
Kant and Khwaja Zahir Didmari, invited Ahmad Shah Durrani of Kabul
(Commander of Nadir Shah), who was at Lahore in 1752 AD to capture
Kashmir. He agreed and sent an Afghan army to occupy Kashmir.
Afghan army under commander Abdullah Khan defeated the Mughal
army in 1753.
For 66 years (1753-1819), Kashmir remained under the rule of five
Afghan kings, Ahmad Shah Abdali (1753-72), Timur Shah (1772-93),
Zaman Shah (1793-1800), Shah Shuja and Mahmud Shah (1801-19).
Like the Mughal rulers, they also sent their governors to Kashmir to rule
for them. In all, 28 Afghan governors and deputy governors, directly or
indirectly ruled over Kashmir. Last Afghan governor to rule Kashmir
was Jabbar Khan.
Some of the Afghan governors were excellently law-abiding and
humane. Some oppressed both the Muslims and Hindus and squeezed
them like the horse leech . There were others, too, who were examples
of wretched bigotry, and caused Shia-Sunni riots on several occasions,
and couple of occasions, Kashmiri Pandits, who happened to be the only
Hindus in the country, were savagely treated and tyrannized.
The 66 years of Afghan rule is known as the Darkest Period in the
history of Jammu and Kashmir. Due to terror of Afghan rule, two
Kashmiri, Pandit Birbal Dhar and his son Pandit Rajakak Dhar, went to
Lahore and requested Maharaja Ranjit Singh to conquer Kashmir. Thus,
Maharaja sent 30000 Sikh soldiers in 1819 AD to conquer Kashmir.

Battle of Shopian:-
From 1814 to 1819, the Sikh Empire was forced to send successive
punitive expeditions against the hill states
of Bhimber, Rajouri, Poonch, Nurpur and others. By subduing
rebellions in these states, the Sikh Empire was attempting to keep
control of the routes through the Pir Panjal range and into Kashmir.
However the Durrani Empire kept de facto control of the areas because
the Pir Panjal Range blocked supplies and fresh troops to the Sikh
armies.
By 1819, Azim Khan had taken a force of troops to Kabul leaving Jabar
Khan in charge. Birbal Dhar, Azim Khan's revenue minister, travelled
to Lahore, the capital of the Sikh Empire and asked Maharaja Ranjit
Singh to annex Kashmir. He informed Ranjit Singh that Azim Khan was
no longer leading the Durrani forces in Kashmir and supplied
information on invasion routes into Kashmir.

A new force was prepared comprising the Sikh Army with its newest
element, the Gurkhas. They marched towards Kashmir over the Pir
Panjals. The battle was fought at Shopian on 3 July 1819 between an
expeditionary force from the Sikh Empire and Jabbar Khan, the
governor of the Kashmir Valley ( province of the Durrani Empire ). It
was the decisive battle during the Sikh expedition into Kashmir in 1819.
• Sikh Rule
In 1819, Kashmir was annexed by Sikh ruler Ranjit Singh’s forces, thus
ending Afghan rule and more than four centuries years of Muslim rule
in the Valley. The Sikh rulers were generally tolerant towards different
faiths, but some decisions rankled the majority Muslim population in the
Valley. For instance, Diwan Moti Ram, the first governor under Sikh
rule (incidentally a Hindu), called for halting of public azan and Friday
prayers in the Jama Masjid. That said, the Sikhs ensured there was
adequate representation of Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs in the
administration.
The Sikh empire in north-western India quickly disintegrated after the
death of Maharaja Ranjit Singh in 1839. This resulted in the British
annexation of Punjab, after their victory in the first Anglo-Sikh War
(1845-46), through the Treaty of Lahore on March 9, 1846. This treaty
forced the Sikhs to cede Kashmir to the British. Within a week, through
the Treaty of Amritsar on March 16, 1846, the British ‘sold’ Kashmir to
Gulab Singh, the Dogra chieftain of Jammu (who served the Sikh
empire but later turned against it), for 75 lakh Nanakshahi rupees.
Note:- Treaty of Amritsar (16 March,1846) is known as Sale Deed of
Kashmir.
Diwan Moti Ram was the first Sikh Governor of Kashmir.
Sheikh Imam-ud-din was the last Sikh Governor of Kashmir.
• Dogra Rule
Gulab Singh (1792–1857)
He was son of Kishore Singh Jamwal. He joined the army of Ranjit
Singh in 1809 and was sufficiently successful to earn a jagir worth
12,000 rupees and also 90 horses. He was the founder of Dogra
dynasty and the first Maharaja of the princely state of Jammu and
Kashmir. Gulab Singh regularized the Shali System. He also started the
construction of the Raghunath temple. Maharaja Gulab Singh died on 30
June 1857 and was succeeded by his son, Ranbir Singh.
• Ranbir Singh
He ascended the throne of J&K on 20 Feb, 1856 and Gulab Singh was
appointed as Governor because of his ill health. Civil and criminal laws
were compiled into the RPC during his reign. He organized two durbars
in a day in which he heard the petitioners. Ranbir Singh was a scholar of
Sanskrit and Persian languages. He established Raghunath Paathshaala
and Library. He also established Translation Bureau (Dar-ul-Terjumah).
He also completed the construction of the Raghunath temple.
• Pratap Singh
He was the son of Ranbir Singh. He abolished the Beagar system
(forced labour) although it was used at the time of emergency. Jhelum
Valley Cart Road from Kohala (Pak) to Baramulla was completed in
1889 during his reign. In 1890, the Jammu-Sialkot railway line was
built, becoming the first railway in J&K.
One degree college at each capital, Prince of Wales College (Jammu)—
1907 and Sri Pratap College (Srinagar)—1905 was established.
To meet the demands of higher education, Amar Singh Technical
Institute (Srinagar)—1914 and Sri Pratap Technical School (Jammu)—
1924 were maintained.
Banihal Cart Road was completed in 1915 and thrown open for public
in the year 1922 during his reign.
In 1889, the British deposed Pratap Singh as ruler, accusing him of
misgovernment, disloyal dealings with the Russian Empire, and a plot to
murder his brothers and the British Resident. However, this was
contrary to the Treaty of Amritsar of 1846 and the outcome of it was
that Pratap Singh was reinstated, but a new ruling council was forced on
him, which included his brother Amar Singh and a British agent.
Pratap Singh left no surviving children of his own when he died during
a stay at Mirpur on 23 September 1925 and he was succeeded by his
nephew Hari Singh, son of Raja Amar Singh.
• Hari Singh
Maharaja Hari Singh (23 September 1895 – 26 April 1961) was the last
ruling Maharaja of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir.
Singh remained the titular Maharaja of the state until 1952, when the
monarchy was abolished by the Indian government.
It was the incident of 1921 that eventually gave Hari Singh a nickname
and an introduction worldwide. Around 1919, Partap Singh decided that
his nephew, Hari Singh, should go to Europe for a visit. He moved with
a vault of nearly $4,000,000 and was accompanied by his aide-de-camp,
Captain C W Arthur, whose duty was to safeguard the prince from
danger in all its forms.

After visiting the Royal Family, Singh spent some time in London and
later crossed over to Paris. In this brief interval, he succumbed to the
wiles of a certain bewitching Mrs Robinson. The Raja did not treat his
ladylove with the liberality that she had expected. Therefore, according
to the evidence given at the trial, she became implicated in a plot.
Singh and ‘Maudie’ Robinson were in a Paris hotel when a man barged
in and introduced himself as her husband. A crestfallen prince was
forced to part with two cheques for about $750,000 each in order to
prevent divorce proceedings which would most certainly implicate him
as respondent. He did stop payment of one cheque but by then, another
had been cashed.

It was a corrupt solicitor named Hobbs who deposited the cheque in the
name of Robinson in a London branch of the Midland Bank. Later, he
withdrew the money, gave Robinson $125,000, divided the remaining
$625,000 among the plotters. In this year of grace, Robinson sought to
recover all the money which had been deposited in the bank, suing that
institution for negligence in turning over the money to Hobbs without
his authority.
Alternately, he claimed damages. But the bank affirmed and was upheld
by the court, that Robinson to them was merely a fictitious name and
that it was, therefore, entirely within its rights in returning the money to
the depositor who represented himself to be Robinson. The bank did say
it was extortion money from an ‘Eastern Potentate’. The court on the
request of Secretary of State for India withheld the potentate’s name and
thus was born ‘Mr A’.
The trial proved that Captain Arthur was party to the plot and was paid
$200,000, Hobbs, got another $200,000 for ‘professional services’.
Newton, who had impersonated as Robinson in the bedroom scene
because Mrs Robinson had a very low opinion of her husband’s physical
beauty, also received $200,000. Mrs Bevan who ‘decoyed’ the aide got
$25,000 and Robinsons received $125,000, which the male Robinson
paid over to the female and started divorce proceedings. Judgment was
entered for the defendant (Midland Bank) with costs amounting to about
$150,000. Lord John Simon who was Singh’s counsel described his
client as “a poor, green, shivering, abject wretch.”
After the case was over, the police made certain arrests. Captain Arthur
fled to Paris and fought a protracted extradition battle challenging
British court’s jurisdiction over him. Hobbs, the solicitor was put on
trial as Robinsons and Newton were put under police surveillance.
Finally, the crown permitted the identification of Mr A.
Hari Singh returned home to face the wrath of Partap Singh, his uncle.
He was banished to a remote jungle estate for six months and made to
perform ritual acts of humiliation and penance. In penance for his
indiscretions, Singh shaved off his moustache.
At the age of 30, Hari Singh ascended to the throne in the year 1925.
Singh abolished purdah. In fact, Tara Devi was the first Maharani to
appear in public without purdah. Interestingly, Tara Devi was Hari
Singh’s fourth wife. His first three wives had died young without any
issue. He had married Sri Lal Kunverba Sahiba at Rajkot (1913) who
died in pregnancy in 1915, Rani Sahiba Chamba in 1915 who died in
1920 and Dhanvant Kunveri Baiji in 1923. Finally, it was Tara Devi
whom he married in 1928. The royal couple had tensions throughout
and they finally separated in 1950.
• 1931 Kashmir Agitation
The Kashmir Martyrs’ Day: Youm-e-Shuhada-e-Kashmir is observed on
July 13 every year not only on both sides of the Line of Control but also
all over the world by the Kashmiris to pay homage to 22 Kashmiris who
were martyred in 1931 to free Kashmir from the brutalities of despotic
Dogra rulers. The tragic day is the milestone in the history of Kashmiri
struggle against foreign occupation. It was revolt against atrocities on
July 13, 1931 when people rose against the autocratic Dogra rule and
protested against the prosecution of sympathizer of Kashmir struggle,
Abdul Qadeer Khan Ghazi.
• Rebellion against Hari Singh in Poonch in 1947
Poonch was originally an internal jagir (autonomous principality),
governed by an alternative family line of Maharaja Hari Singh. The
Muslims of Poonch suffered from small landholdings and high taxation
and nursed their grievances since 1905. They had also campaigned for
the principality to be absorbed into the Punjab province of British India.
In 1938, a notable disturbance occurred for religious reasons, but a
settlement was reached. From then on, a garrison of State troops was
established in Poonch to keep order.
After the death of Raja Jagatdev Singh of Poonch in 1940, Maharaja
Hari Singh appointed a chosen guardian for his minor son, Shiv
Ratandev Singh, and used the opportunity to integrate the
Poonch jagir into the state of Jammu and Kashmir. Poonch came to be
administered by the officers of Jammu and Kashmir as a district of
the Jammu province. This resulted in loss of autonomy for Poonch and
subjected its people to the increased taxation of the Kashmir state, both
of which were resented by the people.
The Poonchis had a tradition of military service. During the Second
World War, over 60,000 Muslims from the Poonch and Mirpur districts
enrolled in the British Indian Army. After the war, many of them
retained their arms while returning. The Maharaja did not (or could not)
absorb them into the State forces. The absence of employment prospects
coupled with high taxation caused displeasure among the Poonchis and
they rose in a rebellion in 1947.
The rebellion in Poonch region of J&K turned violent and the state
carried out a "brutal crackdown" and the developing revolt was quicklou
“snuffed out”. The leader of the rebellion, Sardar Muhammad Ibrahim
Khan, escaped to Lahore by the end of August 1947.
Within a few months after the partition, the tribals raided. As the Mohra
powerhouse was blasted, Singh’s Srinagar palace plunged into darkness.
Within a few hours, Singh fled Srinagar in 85-vehicle convoy. The
cavalcade included, among other things, polo ponies, and necklaces
from the temple gods. Interestingly it was a Russian jeweller, Victor
Rosenthal who accompanied Singh to Jammu in the convoy comprising
jeeps and American limousines.
J&K acceded to India and the first war broke out between India and
Pakistan that eventually led to the division of the princely state into
Jammu and Kashmir and PAK after 15 months of fighting. The Poonch
jagir has since been divided across Kashmir, administered by Pakistan
and the state of Jammu and Kashmir, administered by India. For long,
the Indian state maintained that the tribal militias were Pakistani
troopers. The intervention by Pakistan is now known as “Kabail raid” in
local parlance.
As New Delhi started normalizing Kashmir with the help of Sheikh
Abdullah, Hari Singh abdicated his rule. He migrated to Mumbai as
New Delhi agreed to pay him one lakh US dollars a year. The Maharaja
of Kashmir started breeding polo ponies. However, Singh was best
known for the apartment building he started building in India’s
commercial capital. A team of masons was permanently employed in the
building to tear down and rebuild the walls because a fortune teller had
warned the erstwhile monarch that he would die the moment the
building was completed. And he died of cardiac arrest in April 1961. He
was 65.
• Hari Singh’s Initiatives
1. In 1927, Singh defined the state subject – almost 15 years after his
uncle loosely got a definition of it.
Hari Singh wanted to restructure the state bureaucracy to improve
governance. With this purpose in mind, he started to import bureaucrats
from other parts of British India especially Bengal. The British, too,
were happy to see the reforms. However, Kashmiri Pandits, who at that
time were more educated and had a better representation than their
Muslim counterparts, resisted the move. The Kashmiri Pandits under the
Dogra regime were highly educated and intellectually very strong. They
knew that importing officials from Bengal would have long-term
ramifications on governance and policy, hence they resisted. They
compelled the Maharaja to introduce the State Subject law, which
defined citizenship of Jammu and Kashmir.
This is the bedrock of J&K’s special status. The tussle within the
services became the foundation for the movement to protect the state’s
indigenous identity.
2. In 1929, he increased penalty for abducting Kashmiri women from
three to seven years imprisonment, plus the lashes. British India
cooperated by making the offence extraditable. The initiative
quadrupled the price for abducted Kashmiri women in the wicked
Indian cities of Kolkata and Chennai.
3. In 1930, primary education was made compulsory as Singh also
decreed the child marriage as banned. Children were forced to receive
modern education in what came to be known as Jabri schools.
‘Jabar’means force.
4. Beagaar or forced labour and prostitution was completely abolished.
5. As suggested by the Glancy Commission, two major measures to
prevent interests of agriculturalists were adopted by the State by passing
the Land Alienation Act, 1933 & the Right of Prior Purchase Act, 1937.
The first statute provided that a peasant can alienate land only upto
1/4th of the holding to an agriculturist only & the restriction was to
remain for first 10 years of the conferment, while the second statute
recognised prior right (pre-emption) of agriculturists of purchasing
agricultural land. Even the Kahcharai Act was adopted in his rule.
6. He was also the founder of Panchayati Raj in J&K in 1935. The
Panchayat Regulation Act of 1935 was amended in the year 1941.
7. Set up J&K Bank in 1938, Srinagar Emporium in 1941, and SMHS
hospital in 1945.
8. Opened all public schools, colleges, and wells to the untouchables
(low caste Hindus) in 1931 as untouchability was pronounced a crime.
9. He made his bit in permitting re-marriages of Hindu widows.
10. In 1934 Singh permitted setting up of Praja Sabha which had 75
members – 12 government officials, 16 state councillors, and 14
nominated and 33 elected (21 Muslims, 10 Hindus and 2 Sikhs)
members. It was a prelude to the formation of state legislative assembly
after 1947.
State legislative assembly was established in the year 1934.

The 100 year span of Dogra rule is completely bleak and dark part of
history of miseries to the Muslims of Jammu and Kashmir. It is the most
agonizing period.
 Miscellaneous
• Full fledged high court was established in J&K in the year 1928. Lala
Kanwar Sain was the first Chief Justice of J&K high court.
The “long-winding and cumbersome” nomenclature ‘Common High
Court of UT of Jammu and Kashmir and UT of Ladakh’ has been
changed to ‘High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.

• Instrument of Accession
Signed by:
Lord Mountbatten on behalf on GOI.
Meher Chand Mahajan on behalf of Hari Singh.
Sheikh Abdullah on behalf of people of J&K.
Signed on 26th of October, 1947.
• In mid-October, the Dogra Army troops began expelling Muslim
villagers from Jammu province. The refugees were sent on foot
towards West Punjab (later to form part of Pakistan), where most were
accommodated in refugee camps in the districts of Sialkot, Jhelum,
Gujrat and Rawalpindi. The Dogra Army soldiers began another
organised evacuation of the Muslims but “instead of taking them to
Sialkot, as they had been promised, the trucks drove them to forest
hills of Rajouri districts of Jammu, where they were executed”. The
exact number of casualties in the killings that continued for two
months is not known but estimates range from 20,000 to 237,000 and
nearly half million forced into displacement across the border into the
newly created nation of Pakistan and its administered part of Kashmir.
• Article 370
N Gopalaswami Ayyangar was the chief drafter of Article 370 which
granted local autonomy to the state of J&K.
Included in the constitution on 17th of October, 1949.

• Constitution of J&K
Adopted on 17th of November, 1956 and came into force on 26th of
January, 1957.
Chairman of the drafting committee: Girdhari Lal Dogra.
Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad was the PM of J&K at that time.
• UN mediated ceasefire between India and Pakistan on 1st of Jan, 1949.
It is also known as Karachi agreement.
Cease-fire line was declared.

• Tashkent Declaration
Peace agreement between India and Pakistan signed on 10th of Jan, 1966
that resolved the Indo-Pak war of 1965.
Signed by Lal Bahadur Shastri and Mohammad Ayoub Khan.
• Shimla Agreement
Followed from the Bangladesh liberation war of 1971.
Signed between India and Pakistan on 2nd July, 1972.
Signed by Indira Gandhi and Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto.
Cease-fire line was re-designated as Line Of Control (LOC).

• Delhi Agreement
Tripartite agreement signed on 28th August, 1973.
Signed by Kamal Hossain (Bangladesh), Swaran Singh (India) and Aziz
Ahmad (Pakistan).
• Walter Lawrence was appointed as the first Revenue Settlement
Commissioner of Kashmir.
• Gurmat Kanya Paathshaala was the first Girls school in the Jammu
region.
• Name of the favourite horse of Hari Singh was Zabardast.

• PM of India during Indo-China war of 1962….Jawahar Lal Nehru

• // // // // Indo-Pak war of 1965…..Lal Bahadur Shastri
• // // // // // // // 1971….Indira Gandhi
• // // // // // // // 1999….Atal Bihari Vajpayee
List of Foreign Travellers in Medieval India
1. Al Beruni from Persia (1024-1030 A.D.)
Al Beruni was an Islamic philosopher “appointed” by Mahmud of
Ghazni to compose Kitab-ul-Hind, a vast commentary on Indian
philosophy and culture. “His insights on Indian realities, institutions of
knowledge, social conventions, religion… are possibly the most
penetrating made by any traveler to India.

2. Ibn Batuta from Morocco (1333-1347 A.D.)

It’s hard to think that Ibn Battuta traveled over 75,000 miles (121,000
kilometers), a distance unmatched by any other explorer until the Steam
Age arrived 450 years later. He was the only medieval traveller reported
to have visited the domains of all of his time’s Muslim rulers. In the
West, he traveled to North Africa, Southern Europe, West Africa, and
Eastern Europe; in the East, he travelled to the Middle East, South Asia,
Central Asia, Southeast Asia, and China, covering three times the
distance of his near-contemporary Marco Polo.
3. Marco Polo from Italy (1288-1292 AD)
Marco Polo, the Venetian traveller, is possibly the most famous traveler.
In 1288 and 1292, he is reported to have gone South India twice, seeing
a tomb of St. Thomas “in a certain small-town” that he does not name.
Many historians believe that these dates and travels are accurate and that
the little hamlet he mentions is Mylapore.

4. Abdur Razzak from Persia (1443-1444 A.D.)

Abdul Razzak, a Persian explorer who visited Vijaynagar in 1440, is one
of the first references of the Vijaynagar empire in India. His descriptions
of the Hampi markets, their architecture, and their magnificence have
left a large body of history for future historians to investigate. Abdur
Razzak was the Shahrukh of the Timurid Dynasty’s diplomat.
5. Nicolo Conti from Italy (1420-1421 A.D.)
Nicolo De Conti’ was a Venetian adventurer and writer who traveled to
Ely on the west coast of India and then interior to Vijayanagar, the seat
of the Deccan’s main Hindu state. Conti offers a detailed account of this
city, which is one of the most intriguing parts of his story. He went to
Maliapur near Madras, existing Chennai, from Vijayanagar and the
Tungabudhra.
6. Afanasy Nikitin from Russia (1442-1443 AD)
Nikitin, a Russian trader, spent more than two years in India, visiting
several places, getting to know the locals, and meticulously recording
all he observed.

7. Thomas Roe from England (1615 A.D. – 1619 A.D)

Sir Thomas Roe was a diplomat from England. In 1615, he traveled to
India under the reign of Jahangir. He travelled to Surat to seek security
for an English enterprise. His “Journal of the Mission to the Mughal
Empire” is a priceless addition to India’s history.
8. Domingo Paes from Portugal (1520-1522 A.D.)
Paes’ account, written during Krishnadeva’s reign and based mostly on
close observation, explains in full the so-called feudal Malankara
system of Vijayanagara’s military structure as well as the yearly royal
Durga celebration.
9. Fernao Nunes from Portugal (1535-1537 A.D.)
Around 1536-37, a Portuguese horse-trader named Fernao Nuniz wrote
his description of India. During the reign of Achyutaraya, he was at
Vijaynagara’s capital, and he may have been there for
Krishnadevaraya’s earlier fights. This visitor was extremely interested in
Vijayanagara’s history, specifically the city’s founding, the following
careers of three ruler dynasties, and the conflicts they waged against the
Deccan sultans and Orissan Rayas. His descriptions also provide insight
into the Mahanavami celebration, where he admires the lavish jewels
worn by the courtly women and the hundreds of women serving the
monarch.
10. Francois Bernier from France(1656 A.D. – 1668A.D.)
He was a physician and wanderer from France. From 1656 to 1668, he
lived in India. During Shah Jahan’s reign, he travelled to India. He
worked as a physician for Prince Dara Shikoh and eventually joined
Aurangzeb’s court. The book mostly discusses Dara Shikoh and
Aurangzeb’s regulations.
11. Hiuen Tsang from China
He visited Kashmir during the reign of Durlabavardhana of Karkota
dynasty.
12. Fa-Hein from China
Visited India during the reign of Chandragupta II (Vikramaditya) of
Gupta dynasty.

13. Megasthenes from Greece

He was an ambassador sent by Seleucus Nicator of Syria. He visited the
court of Chandragupta Maurya. He wrote the famous book ‘Indica’.
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