Which Rulers Imposed Jizya in India?
Jizya in India: A Historical Account of Its Imposition by Islamic Invader Rulers and the Regions Affected
The history of jizya in India is a grim reminder of the religious discrimination institutionalized under centuries of Islamic invader rule. Jizya was a tax imposed on non-Muslims—mainly Hindus, Buddhists, and Jains—as a condition for being allowed to practice their religion under Islamic regimes. It originated in Islamic theology and was used widely in India by rulers who invaded from Central Asia, Persia, and Arabia. These invaders used jizya not merely for revenue but as an expression of religious superiority and political domination.
Below is a detailed list of Islamic invader rulers, the regions they ruled, and where they imposed jizya.
1. Muhammad bin Qasim (Umayyad General, 712 AD)
Region: Sindh (modern-day Pakistan)
Jizya Imposed In: Sindh
Muhammad bin Qasim was the first Islamic invader to establish control in India by defeating Raja Dahir of Sindh. After consolidating power, he imposed jizya on Hindus and Buddhists in Sindh. This marked the beginning of a formalized system of religious discrimination in the Indian subcontinent.
2. Qutb-ud-din Aibak (Slave Dynasty, 1206–1210)
Region: Delhi Sultanate (North India)
Jizya Imposed In: Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh
As the founder of the Delhi Sultanate, Aibak institutionalized jizya in North India. Non-Muslims in the expanding territories under his control were required to pay the tax as a condition of their subjugation under Islamic invader rule.
3. Iltutmish (1211–1236)
Region: Delhi Sultanate (North India)
Jizya Imposed In: Delhi, Awadh, parts of Rajasthan
Iltutmish extended and regularized jizya collection. His policies cemented religious stratification across North Indian regions like Delhi, modern-day Uttar Pradesh, and parts of Rajasthan.
4. Alauddin Khilji (1296–1316)
Region: Delhi Sultanate
Jizya Imposed In: Delhi, Malwa, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Deccan (after southern raids)
Although known for administrative reforms, Alauddin Khilji also maintained the jizya on non-Muslims in the territories he captured, including after his brutal invasions into Gujarat and the Deccan.
5. Muhammad bin Tughlaq (1325–1351)
Region: Delhi Sultanate
Jizya Imposed In: North India, Deccan (including Daulatabad)
Bin Tughlaq, despite his eccentric policies, upheld the discriminatory jizya tax across his empire, which extended from Delhi to Maharashtra.
6. Firoz Shah Tughlaq (1351–1388)
Region: Delhi Sultanate
Jizya Imposed In: Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, parts of Bengal
He aggressively enforced jizya, going as far as imposing it on Brahmins. His rule was marked by harsh persecution of non-Muslims across his northern territories.
7. Sikandar Lodi (1489–1517)
Region: Delhi Sultanate
Jizya Imposed In: Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, parts of Bihar and Madhya Pradesh
Sikandar Lodi imposed jizya and banned Hindu festivals. His religious policies were implemented across key Gangetic belt regions.
8. Babur (1526–1530)
Region: Mughal Empire (North India)
Jizya Imposed In: Punjab, Delhi, Agra
As a Central Asian invader, Babur enforced Islamic practices including jizya in the core Mughal regions like Punjab and the Yamuna-Ganga basin.
9. Humayun (1530–1540; 1555–1556)
Region: Mughal Empire
Jizya Imposed In: Delhi, parts of Rajasthan and Punjab
Humayun continued the Mughal policy of taxing non-Muslims across the northern and central Indian territories under his control.
10. Sher Shah Suri (1540–1545)
Region: Sur Empire
Jizya Imposed In: Bihar, Bengal, Delhi, Malwa
Sher Shah Suri, although a skilled administrator, imposed jizya on non-Muslims across his empire, which spanned from Bengal to the western borders of present-day Madhya Pradesh.
11. Aurangzeb (1658–1707)
Region: Mughal Empire (Pan-India)
Jizya Imposed In: Delhi, UP, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Bengal, Deccan (Maharashtra, Telangana, Karnataka)
Aurangzeb reimposed jizya in 1679, after Akbar had abolished it. The tax was reintroduced across the entire Mughal Empire, which at the time covered almost the entire Indian subcontinent.
12. Tipu Sultan (1782–1799)
Region: Kingdom of Mysore
Jizya Imposed In: Mysore, Malabar (Kerala), Coorg (Kodagu, Karnataka)
Tipu Sultan, a devout follower of Islam, imposed jizya in southern India, particularly targeting the Hindu and Christian populations of Kerala and Kodagu during his military campaigns.
13. Mahmud Begada (1458–1511)
Region: Gujarat Sultanate
Jizya Imposed In: Gujarat, Saurashtra, Kutch
Mahmud Begada was notorious for imposing jizya and persecuting Hindus and Jains across Gujarat. Temples were destroyed, and non-Muslims were coerced into conversions or taxed heavily.
14. Bahmani Sultans (1347–1527)
Region: Deccan (Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telangana)
Jizya Imposed In: Bidar, Gulbarga, Bijapur, Raichur, Telangana
The Bahmani Sultans were among the earliest Islamic invader dynasties in the Deccan. They imposed jizya on local Hindu populations and promoted Islamic supremacy across southern India.
15. Bengal Sultanate Rulers (14th–16th Century)
Region: Bengal (modern-day West Bengal and Bangladesh)
Jizya Imposed In: Murshidabad, Gaur, Dhaka, Rajshahi
Rulers like Jalaluddin Muhammad Shah and others imposed jizya across Bengal. They pursued aggressive Islamization, with jizya being one of several coercive tools used against the Hindu majority.
Conclusion
The imposition of jizya was a hallmark of religious discrimination under Islamic invader rule in India. From Sindh in the west to Bengal in the east, and from Delhi in the north to Kerala in the south, non-Muslims were subjected to this humiliating tax simply for following their faith. Jizya not only drained the financial resources of the native population but also reinforced their status as second-class subjects under a foreign and theocratic regime. These rulers—whether from the Delhi Sultanate, the Mughal Empire, or regional Islamic invader kingdoms—used jizya not as a benign tax, but as a political weapon to suppress, convert, and dominate.
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