Muhammad bin Qasim's invasion of the Indus.

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Hindus from the distant past, historically and even today, have been the victims of the annihilation and systematic killing of the entire religious community simply because of their faith. The Hindu community has been wiped out in a number of ways, including forced conversions, genocide targeting the Hindu community, destruction of Hindu temples, temple idols, conversion to mosques, and the seizure of temple idols, gold ornaments, money and property, and the destruction of educational institutions.

As the tradition of the religion, which grew up to contain the Vedic literature and culture of the ancient Aryans, is ancient, so too the followers of this religion have been attacked in the past, especially with the advent of Islam. From the 6th century onwards, Muslim armies, missionaries, and Sufis flocked to this vast region of the Indian subcontinent across the highways of Afghanistan. The main advantages and problems of this region are fertile land, habitable terrain, comfortable climate, adequate drinking water. Because of all these advantages, these people are somewhat lazy, inexperienced in warfare and their life is simple. It is essential to have a neutral view of the social and cultural environment of this vast region before the advent of Islam. Hinduism has since been intensely Brahmanical and immersed in the darkness of caste. The Hindus took hatred to the level of art within their own religion. Whose influence still exists strongly in this modern society. The upper caste Hindus used to oppress the lower caste Hindus so much that when a Muslim force attacked, in some cases they welcomed the invader just in the hope of getting rid of the oppression. The small feudal kingdoms were so engaged in inter-strife that they did not have even the slightest preparation to defend themselves from external aggression. But ordinary Hindus did not have happiness in their fortunes, converted to Islam to escape the tyranny of Brahmanical kings or under Muslim rule, but their social life did not change economically.

The most reliable sources on the emergence of Islam in the Indian subcontinent, the expansion of the kingdom, are the Persian-language Chachnama / Fateh Nama Sindh and the Tarikh al-Hind wa As-Sindh (The Story of the Conquest of Sindh). / Son-in-law General Muhammad bin Qasim invaded the Indus in 612 with 6,000 Syrian troops. The Indus was conquered by the Muslims without any hindrance, but not before, it had been attacked three times before. But 18-year-old Muhammad bin Qasim defeated King Dahir of Sindh and captured the neighboring cities of Debal (Karachi), Nirun, Rewar, Brahmanabad (Mansurabad), Alor, Multan and for the first time raised the flag of Islam in the Indian subcontinent. Will be able to spread dominance. All the defeated soldiers were killed at once and the wives, sons and daughters of the slain soldiers were sent as slaves to Hajjaj bin Yusuf in Iraq. Usually within a week to a month of the conquest of the state, Muhammad bin Qasim, the important citizen of the city, would call the merchants to fix the tax rate and arrange for an agreement to normalize the trade. There are a number of opportunities for city dwellers in the treaty, such as ordering all to surrender peacefully to Islam, or fighting with arms, or winning or dying in war, but becoming slaves if you lose. Hajjaj bin Yusuf wrote a letter to his son-in-law Qasim instructing him to kill all those who would carry weapons (Ahi-al-Harb), to take captive the wives and children of the armed men and enslave them, and to release those who did not fight. . But Qasim's forces of state conquest gave the local Hindus and Buddhists two chances, either to convert to Islam to save their lives or to get their heads under the sword.

In areas where Qasim faced resistance, the Muslim forces were likely to lose their troops, imposing blockades and slowly waiting until the final moment to seize power. Due to the siege strategy, the Muslim forces were able to capture Armabil, Nirun and Alo without much casualties. According to Chach Nama, Muhammad bin Qasim was able to capture about 70% of the cities in the Indus Basin due to the blockade strategy. However, Hajjaj bin Yusuf rebuked his son-in-law Qasim as a weak-hearted man for not being ruthless enough. After the capture of Hajjaj bin Yusuf Debal (Karachi), he gave strict instructions that not even an old man should survive.

Muhammad bin Qasim's achievement in the conquest of the Indus was more than his own achievement. The lower caste Hindus and Buddhists were the victims of the oppression of the local oppressive king Dahir. The local rebel Jat and Medha soldiers became impatient and joined Qasim to defeat King Dahir. There are other reasons why Muhammad bin Qasim easily conquered the Indus, such as-

1. Advanced armament and military equipment (Qasim forces had fortified gates and modern bows and arrows)

2. Strict rule discipline and timely leadership among the soldiers

3. The idea of ​​jihad inspired Muslim soldiers. They were told that if they survived, they would be Ghazi, free women to enjoy the spoils of war. (The lack of them will disappear, because most of the Syrian soldiers were nomadic bandits living in poverty.)

4. Rumors of the conquest of Islam had already spread like wildfire in the Indus region.

5. Most Buddhists, Hindus refuse to fight, preferring to surrender to war.

6. King Dahir of the people and his ministerial bureaucrats inflicted boundless oppression.

7. Social inequality with lower caste Hindus and Buddhists.

Historian Sir Henry Miller Elliott, in his book History of India, described Qasim as less destructive than other Muslim invaders. However, the destruction of temples, looting and killing of local Hindus did not stop. All the inhabitants of Sindh were forcibly converted. In Upendra Tagore's book Sindhi Culture published from Bombay University, he identified that time as dark history. During the mass conversion in Sindh, the temple was demolished where everything was found and Hindu Buddhists slaughtered and killed everyone for refusing to leave the religion. The Brahmins of Debal (Karachi) were forcibly circumcised in retaliation for King Dahir's ban on 'cow slaughter'. After the conquest of Sindh, Muhammad bin Qasim, during his short reign, enforced Hanafi and Sharia law, allowing Hindus and Buddhists to practice their religion in exchange for jizya taxes.

The journey of Islam in the Indian subcontinent started with the invasion of Indus. After that groups of invaders, tourists, Sufis, missionaries started coming to this area, they started living permanently. Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the father of Pakistan, said during the Pakistan movement that the entrance to Islam in India was made on the day when Muslims first set foot on the land of Indus.

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