Through The Eyes of Travellers Notes in English Class 12 History Chapter-5 Book-Themes in Indian History-II

 Chapter - 5  

travellers' perspective

There are many accounts of Indian history from the perspective of travellers from the 10th to 17th centuries, which help in understanding Indian society. Although these travellers had their own perspectives through which they interpreted Indian society, which cannot be considered completely accurate. Still, these do reveal the conditions of that time.

Why did people travel ?

• Men and women travelled far and wide in search of better opportunities and work .

• From one place to another to protect from natural disasters .

• To earn commercial profits, merchants undertook long journeys . 

• People travelled as soldiers , priests and pilgrims . 

• Some people travelled, inspired by the spirit of adventure, in search of new things .

Travelers arriving in India 

Passenger	Chronology
Al Biruni	arrived in the 11th century
Ibn Battuta	arrived in the 14th century
François Bernier	arrived in the 17th   century
Marco Polo	arrived in the 13th century
Abdur Razzaq	arrived in 1440 AD
duarte barbosa	arrived in 1518 AD
Tavernier	arrived in the 17th century

Al-Biruni

1. Place of Birth 

• Al Biruni was born in 973 in a place called Khwarizm in Uzbekistan .

2. Education 

• Khwarezm was a place very famous for education , Al Biruni received the best education of his time .

3. Languages 

•  Al Biruni had knowledge of many languages. He knew Syriac , Persian , Hebrew and Sanskrit well .

4. Influence of Greek philosophers 

• Al-Biruni did not know Greek , but was influenced by the ideas of Plato and other Greek philosophers which he read through Arabic translations .

1. How did Al Biruni come to India ?

• Khwarezm was attacked in 1017 , this attack was done by Sultan Mahmud .  

• Sultan Mahmud invaded Khwarezm and brought all the poets and scholars with him to his capital Ghazni , Al Biruni was one of them .

• When part of Punjab also came under Mahmud's control, Al Biruni's interest in coming to India increased and he came to India .  

• Al Biruni spent several years here with Brahmins , priests and scholars and acquired knowledge of Sanskrit , religion and philosophy . 

2. Al Biruni and his writings 

 1. Kitab-ul-Hind 

• Whatever Al Biruni saw and felt during his stay in India, he wrote it all in his work Kitab-ul-Hind . This book was written in Arabic. The language of this book was very simple and clear .  

• This detailed text contains information on religion , philosophy , festivals , astronomy , customs , traditions , weights and measures , sculpture , law and is divided into  80 chapters .   

  

2. Features of writing

• This book was written in a special way in which a question was asked in the beginning , then its description was written and finally it was compared with other cultures . 

• Some of today's scholars have considered the structure of this book to be a geometric structure because Al-Biruni was inclined towards mathematics.

• Al Biruni used the Arabic language and wrote these works for the people living in the frontier areas of the subcontinent .

• Al Biruni understood everything from legends to astronomy and medical works written in Pali and Prakrit texts through Arabic translations.

• Al Biruni was critical of the writing style of the texts, which he wanted to improve. 

3. Al Biruni's understanding and obstacles

 1. Obstacle 

• The first obstacle was that Al Biruni considered the Sanskrit language to be so different from Arabic and Persian that it was not easy to translate ideas and principles from one language to another .

• The second obstacle was religious condition and custom .

• The third obstacle was pride .

 

2. Overcoming obstacles 

• Used the works written by brahmans   

• To understand the Indian society, he took help of Vedas , Puranas , Bhagavad Gita , works of Patanjali and excerpts from Manusmriti.

4. Al Biruni's description of caste system

• Al Biruni tried to show that the caste system was not only in India but also in Persia and other countries .  Al Biruni said that there were four classes in ancient Persia: -

First	horsemen and ruling class
Second	Monks and priests
third	Scientists , doctors and astronomers
Fourth	Peasants and other artisan classes

• Alberuni accepted the Brahmanical interpretation of the caste system but rejected the concept of impurity .    

• Alberuni wrote that "  Everything that becomes impure tries to regain its original state of purity and succeeds.  "  The sun purifies the air and the salt in the sea prevents the water from becoming dirty.  

• Alberuni stressed that if this had not happened, life on earth would have been impossible.  

• According to Alberuni, the concept of impurity in the caste system was against the laws of nature.  

• Alberuni's description of the caste system was based on his study of Sanskrit texts. Alberuni believed that brahminical rules were formulated but were not actually so strict.  

• Although there was a difference between the upper class and the lower class , still these people were connected to the economic system in the society.    

Ibn Battuta

1. Place of Birth 

• Ibn Battuta was born in Tangier, Morocco, into a respected and educated family .

2. Education 

• Ibn Battuta's family was knowledgeable about Islamic laws , and Ibn Battuta received higher education at a very young age .

3. Travel 

• Mecca , Syria , Iraq , Persia , Oman , India , Africa , West Asia , Central Asia , to China .

1. How did Ibn Battuta, a stubborn traveler , come to India ?

1. Book - Rihla

• Ibn Battuta was a stubborn and obstinate traveler , the book that Ibn Battuta wrote is called Rihla .  

• This travelogue was written in Arabic , we get very interesting information from the accounts of Ibn Battuta .   

    

2. Travel 

• Ibn Battuta was very fond of travelling. Ibn Battuta believed that we get more knowledge from travelling than from bookish knowledge .

• Before coming to India, Ibn Battuta had travelled to Mecca , Syria , Iraq , Persia and Oman . Passing through Central Asia, he reached Sindh by land route in 1333 .  

• He had heard about the Sultan of Delhi , Muhammad bin Tughlaq. Ibn Battuta wanted to meet the Sultan once, so he left for Delhi.    

• Seeing the skills of Ibn Battuta, Sultan Tughlaq appointed him as the judge of Delhi , Ibn Battuta remained on the post of judge for many years.

• Ibn Battuta lost the trust of the Sultan and was then put in prison , after some time the misunderstanding between him and the Sultan was resolved and he got a chance to serve the state and also went to China as an envoy .

• Ibn Battuta was robbed many times during his travels , but he continued travelling; he was a stubborn traveller .

2. Description of cities by Ibn Battuta

• When Ibn Battuta came to India, he roamed around the markets of India , Ibn Battuta found Indian cities full of opportunities .

• Ibn Battuta said that if one has skill and desire then there is no dearth of opportunities in this city.

• The cities were densely populated and crowded , and the streets were very dazzling.

• The markets were very colourful and beautiful , the markets here were filled with different types of goods .

• Ibn Battuta described Delhi as a great city , and said that it was the largest in India.

• Ibn Battuta tells that Daulatabad was no less than Delhi and challenged Delhi in size.

• Many markets had both temples and mosques.

• Ibn Battuta reported that muslin cloth was expensive in India and only wealthy men could wear them.

3. Coconut and Betel 

• Ibn Battuta considers coconut a wonderful tree and was very impressed by its fruit and fibre . He had never seen such a tree anywhere else and saw it for the first time in India . Ibn Battuta tells that people used coconut fibre for making ropes and for sewing ships.  

• The second tree Ibn Battuta saw was the betel tree, which was like a grapevine and did not bear fruit; people grew it only for its leaves, which were chewed in the mouth.  

4. Description of the communication system by Ibn Battuta

   

 1.  Horse post system

• It was also called Uluk .

• In this system, royal horses were stationed every 4 miles and the horses used to carry messages.

   

 2. Foot mail system

• In this system there were three stations at every mile which were called daawa .

• In this the messenger runs with a rod in his hand and bells were tied to his rod; at every mile a messenger was ready to take the rod .

• To encourage the traders , the state had taken special measures ; inns and rest houses were established on almost all the trade routes , where traders got various facilities.

5. Description of slaves by Ibn Battuta

• Ibn Battuta states that slaves were bought and sold in markets like ordinary commodities , and were also given as gifts.

• When Ibn Battuta reached Sindh, he bought horses and slaves for Sultan Muhammad bin Tughlaq and presented them to him.

• Slaves were used to perform general household chores , and also carried palanquins .

• Ibn Battuta tells that slaves were appointed to keep an eye on the nobles , slaves also did the work of music and singing .

François Bernier

1. Place of Birth : François Bernier was from France .

2. Education :- He was a physician , politician , philosopher and historian .

3. Book: - Travels In The Mughal Empire

1. How did Francois Bernier come to India ?

• He came in search of opportunities in the Mughal Empire , he stayed in India for 12 years from 1656 to 1668 .

• François Bernier was closely associated with the Mughal court as the physician of Dara Shikoh, the eldest son of the Emperor Shah Jahan , and later as an intellectual and scientist with Danishmand Khan , the Armenian amir of the Mughal court.  

2. Comparison of East and West

• François Bernier travelled to many parts of the country and wrote accounts , comparing what he saw in India with the European situation  

• Bernier compared Mughal India to contemporary Europe and considered Europe to be superior. He hierarchically ranked the differences he observed in India, which made India appear inferior to the Western world .  

3. Bernier's writings 

• Bernier dedicated his major work to the ruler of France, Louis XIV .

• Bernier's works were published in France in 1670–71 , and within the next five years were translated into English , Dutch , German, and Italian .

• His account was reprinted eight times in French between 1670 and 1725 , and three times in English by 1684 .

• Bernier's book Travels in the Mughal Empire is an important work which attempts to place the history of the Mughals in some kind of global framework .

4. François Bernier's question on land ownership 

• According to Bernier , one of the fundamental differences between India and Europe was the absence of private land ownership in India.

• Bernier considered private ownership of land to be better , and considered state ownership of land to be harmful to both the state and its inhabitants .

• He felt that in the Mughal Empire the emperor was the owner of all the land , which was distributed among his nobles, with bad consequences for the economy and society.

• Bernier believed that because of state ownership of land, landowners could not pass on land to their children and were therefore reluctant to invest more to maintain or increase production levels.  

• The lack of private land ownership prevented the emergence of a class of better-off landowners who would be conscious of the maintenance and improvement of the land. This led to the destruction of agriculture , oppression of the peasants and the degradation of life of all sections of society except the ruling class.  

• Bernier described Indian society as a mass of poor people who were subordinate to a group which was in minority .    

• Bernier told that there were two groups in India , one very rich and the other very poor, there were no middle class people in India .    

5. Bernier's view of the Mughal Empire  

• Bernier saw the Mughal Empire as a country whose king was a ruler of beggars and brutes .

• Its cities and towns were ruined and polluted with bad air , its fields were covered with scrub and deadly swamps , all due to one reason : state land ownership .

• Surprisingly, not a single official Mughal document mentions that the state was the sole owner of the land.  

6. Bernier's view of the cities of the Mughal Empire 

• Bernier calls the Mughal era cities as camp towns, meaning those cities which were dependent on the royal camp for their existence and survival .  

• He believed that these came into existence with the advent of the royal court and rapidly declined after it moved elsewhere.

• Bernier says that all types of towns existed :-

1. Production center

2. Trading town

3. Port Cities

4. Religious Centre

5. Pilgrimage Place

• Merchants were often linked by strong community or kinship ties and were organised through their caste and professional associations.  

• In Western India such groups were called Mahajans and their head was called Seth.

• Other urban groups included professional classes such as doctors , teachers , lawyers , painters , musicians , calligraphers etc.

7.  Bernier's poignant description of the practice of Sati

• At Lahore I saw a very pretty young widow, who I think was not more than twelve years of age , being sacrificed. The helpless little girl seemed more dead than alive as she was led to that horrible hell. The agony of her mind is indescribable . She was trembling and weeping terribly. But three or four Brahmans , assisted by an old woman who held her under her sleeve, forcibly led the unwilling victim to the fatal spot ,  seated her on logs , tied her hands and feet so that she might not escape, and in that position the innocent creature was burned alive. I was unable to repress my feelings and prevent the venting of their tumultuous and futile anger.    

Some other travellers who visited India 

• After the arrival of the Portuguese in India around 1500 AD , many of them wrote detailed accounts of Indian social customs and religious practices .

• There were some foreign writers who translated Indian texts into European languages.

• Like the Jesuit Roberto Nobili ,  Duarte Barbosa wrote a detailed account of trade and society in South India .

• After 1600 AD, Dutch , English and French travellers started coming to India , one famous name among them was that of French jeweller Jean Baptiste Tavernier, who visited India at least six times and was highly impressed by the trading conditions in India ,  he compared India with Iran and the Ottoman Empire.  

 

 

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