Rajah Dahar of Sindh

By Khurram Ali Shafique

This is the second in a series of three articles on Queen
Suhandi, her son Raja Dahar and the Arab conqueror
Muhammad bin Qasim

 
"Whoever marries your sister will become the ruler of Sindh," the astrologers told Dahar, the Rajah of Sindh. Dahar was the eldest son of Chach, the founder of the Brahmin Dynasty in Sindh, and he had inherited lower Sindh. His younger brother, Daharsingh was ruling upper Sindh, and both of them were born of Suhandi, the ambitious wife of Chach. Bai, their sister whose horoscope posed a dilemma for Dahar, was born of a Jatt mother.

"The administration of a large kingdom is a delicate matter," said the grand vizier Budhiman to Dahar. "For the sake of their kingdom, kings bring death upon their brothers and relatives or banish them from their country. You should marry your sister, and seat her with you on the throne though you will never consummate the marriage. As she will be called your wedded wife the kingdom will remain with you, according to the astrologers' prediction." When this argument didn't convince Dahar, the grand vizier made a practical demonstration about the so-called collective memory of the people. He laid mud on the back of a sheep, and grew plants on it. When the sheep was paraded through the streets of Aror, it caught everyone's attention. But only for three days! Afterward, the sheep would roam around in the streets and no one would pay heed to it. That much is man' attention span.

Much has been said about Dahar's marriage to his sister, but as far as we can gather from recorded history it was a nominal marriage and never consummated. Yet, it earned Dahar a bad reputation, so that his name became proverbial and synonymous with "big mistake" in the Sindhi language. His younger brother, Daharsingh, who was ruling the northern areas of the empire, rose in rebellion, although death overtook him before a decisive battle could settle the affairs between the brothers. The true casualty of this whole affair goes mostly unnoticed by the historians of all schools. The saddest part of the story was perhaps the fact that a young woman was condemned to a life that she did not deserve.

Apart from his "big mistake," Dahar certainly possessed some remarkable characteristics. He was exceptionally brave and fearless. There is even a story about how, when a ferocious lion once attacked Dahar's hunting retinue, Dahar wrapped his scarf on his left arm and thrust that arm into the lion's mouth while killing the beast with his right arm. Even if we don't believe this story, we have witnesses to his other acts of bravery, and such witnesses are found even among his enemies, the Arab invaders. As described by the ancient historians, Rajah Dahar is the tragedy of a man who set out to take lessons in being a king. His flaw was his willingness to place his faith in the external factors stars, destiny, enemies and friends. By the time Dahar learnt his lessons, it was too late for him to live like a king. The only option left before him by then was to die like one.

Dahar had the opportunity to rule for a long period over his kingdom - almost forty years (c. 668 - 712 AD). Over that period his major achievement was to secure law and order in his land by routing the bandits and banishing them to the seas. His major weakness was his foreign policy, specially towards the western borders of his empire where the threat of an Arab invasion was increasing everyday since the Arab occupation of Persia in 635 AD.

It seems that Dahar was nostalgically looking back towards the days of the pre-Islamic Persia when the glorious Sassanid Dynasty ruled over that vast empire with great pomp and show. It was difficult for him to accept that the ancient glory of Iran had gone forever, and he could never make up his mind to deal with the Bedouins of the Arab Deserts as successors of the great Persian Emperors.

The Arabs, at the same time, displayed no desire for establishing friendly relations with the other powers of their time. Specially in the case of Sindh, the Arabs had always been speaking in terms of whether it was difficult or easy to annex this state, and never in terms of whether or not the Sind his have given them a cause for invasion. We must remember that "world peace" is a very modern term and has its origin in the Romantic Movement of the 18th and 19th Century. Even so it wasn't until after the World War I in the 20th Century that the concept of world peace became a reality in the foreign policies of the states.

The modern Muslim historians, more than anyone else, are guilty of anachronism when they try to perceive of the early Arab colonialism in terms of the 20th Century notions of democracy and world peace.

Dahar, it seems, didn't display any personal aversion to the Muslims or their religion. He welcomed the Arab talent at his court, and was a great admirer of the Arab military genius. Unfortunately, the Arabs who found refuge at Dahar's court were the Allafi adversaries of the Umayyad Caliphate. It is said that one of their relatives, a dignitary of the Allafi tribe, was beheaded in Mekran by a deputy of Hajjaj bin Yousuf as he refused to pay proper honour to that deputy. His skin was taken off and his head sent to Basra.

In true Arab spirit some of the tribesmen of the victim took their revenge upon the deputy, who had by that time become the governor of Mekran, and then fled to the court of Dahar.

We cannot be certain how far the famous story about the plunder of eight Arab ships at Debal is true. It has been recorded in most histories that the King of Sarandeep had sent some gifts to the Umayyad Caliph Walid bin Abdul Malik, and the caravan of eight ships also carried the orphaned daughters of deceased Arab merchants.

These ships were forced by rough weather to take refuge on the coasts of Sindh, possibly Debal, and there they were looted by some of the outlandish tribes. The story even relates that one of the women called upon Hajjaj when she was being captured, and this message was conveyed to Hajjaj by one of the survivors. Hajjaj sent a letter to Dahar asking him to release the women, and we are told by historians that, "in that letter he couched many threats in very strong terms." If that was the case then Dahar must be praised for his patience in replying only, "This is the work of a band of robbers over whom I do not have power."

Mainly two facts make this story doubtful. Firstly, Chachnameh, the primary source of these events, narrates that when Muhammad bin Qasim later conquered Debal he found all the women in the castle prison. Why would those women be kept in the prison? Women captured in this manner were usually treated as slave girls and distributed among the captors for their pleasures, as Mohammad Bin Qasim reportedly did at the time of his capture of Sindh.

Secondly, the Chachnameh states again in the events of a year later that after the Arabs had conquered almost all of Sindh, the Hindu vizier Siyakar brought those Muslim women prisoners to Muhammad bin Qasim. How could they be freed now, if they had been already freed and sent home from Debal? Indeed, it seems that the story had become a folk tale and there were many versions of it. We can't be sure of the version that has come down to us was closest to reality.

In the light of what we know, it is more plausible to believe that some ships were most probably looted but that was an act of the robbers whom Dahar had banished from his lands with great difficulty and now didn't want to provoke by challenging their hold over the seas. Dahar's personal involvement in the events, as well as the captives' release from the prisons of Debal and (or) Alore, seems to be a fabrication by the later storytellers for obvious reasons.

The events of Muhammad bin Qasim's invasion of Sindh are well known. What isn't so well known to most students of history is the manner in which Raja Dahar met his death. It is said that when the Arab conqueror had captured most of Sindh, and Dahar's countrymen had changed their sides to join the Arabs, Dahar called his Arab friends, the Allafi rebels.

In a way they were the cause of Dahar's misfortune because it was by giving them refuge that Dahar had first annoyed the dreadful Hajjaj bin Yousuf. "O Allafi!" Dahar said to his Arab friend, "It was for such an emergency that we patronized you. You are best acquainted with the ways of the Arab army, and it is advisable that you should go with my forces in advance." The Allafi replied, "O King! We are grateful to you, but we cannot draw our swords against the army of Islam. If we are killed by them we will earn a bad name, and if we kill them we will burn in hell. We agree that in return for the favours you have shown us, we must at least give you some advice on how to fight these invaders even if we do not draw our swords against them. But if we give you advice, then again, this army will never forgive us. Please be kind to us and allow us to depart quietly." In a magnanimous gesture of royal grace, Dahar allowed these dubious characters to leave his camps in safety.

Sometime before the final battle, Dahar's vizier approached him and suggested that Dahar should take refuge with one of the friendly kings of India. "You should say to them, 'I am a wall between you and the Arab army. If I fall, nothing will stop your destruction at their hands.'" If that wasn't acceptable to Dahar, said the vizier, then he should at least send away his family to some safe point in India. Dahar refused to do either. "I cannot send away my family to security while the families of my thakurs and nobles remain here. And I consider it shameful as well that I should go to the door of another prince and await his permission to see him." Vizier Budhiman then asked Dahar what did he intend to do. To this Dahar gave a very dramatic reply, which was recorded faithfully by the early Arab historians despite their hostility to the unfortunate infidel.

"I am going to meet the Arabs in the open battle, and fight them as best as I can. If I crush them, my kingdom will then be put on a firm footing. But if I am killed honorably, the event will be recorded in the books of Arabia and India, and will be talked of by great men. It will be heard by other kings in the world, and it will be said that Rajah Dahar of Sindh sacrificed his precious life for the sake of his country, in fighting with the enemy."

After Dahar was killed in the Battle of Aror on the banks of the River Indus, his head was cut off from his body and sent to Hajjaj bin Yousuf. His queens burnt themselves to death in the tradition set by the Rajput heroines. These included Bai, the unfortunate sister of Dahar. Other ladies of the royal household, who remained alive, were captured by the Arab conquerors along with other women of Sindh, and sold into slavery. Thus ended the dynasty that had sprung out of the ambitions of Queen Suhandi and Chach the Brahmin.
 

Muhammad bin Qasim

By Khurram Ali Shafique
 

This is the last in a series of three articles
covering the personalities of Queen Suhandi, her son
Raja Dahar and the Arab conqueror Muhammad bin Qasim.

 
Muhammad bin Qasim was one of the finest colonialists in the Arab history, and a worthy soldier. Unfortunately, our modern writers have tried to turn him into a saint, and in the process, have lost all those features that made this Arab general an interesting human being. It is high time we restore his true picture from authentic sources of history written by the earliest Muslim historians.

Muhammad bin Qasim was born around 694 AD (if we are to believe the tradition that he was seventeen when he attacked Sindh in 711 AD). He belonged to the Saqqafi tribe that had originated from Taif in Arabia, and he was also a close relative of Hajjaj bin Yousuf (possibly a second cousin, but not a nephew as narrated in the popular tradition). Much because of the influence of Hajjaj, the young Muhammad bin Qasim was appointed the governor of Persia while in his teens, and it is said that he did a good job at crushing the rebellion in that region.

Sometime around the same period he got married to a girl in the Tamim tribe. There is also a popular tradition that presents him as the son-in-law of Hajjaj bin Yousuf, but some scholars discredit this tradition since an authentic pedigree of Hajjaj doesn't mention any daughter. It is more likely that the young hero was married to a woman of Banu Tamim, and although the name of his wife does not appear in recorded history it is certain that she gave him two sons who later became famous for their own exploits.

When Muhammad bin Qasim invaded Sindh, Hajjaj arranged for special messengers between Basra and Sindh, and told the general never to take any step without his advice. This order was followed to the letter during the campaign. "When you advance in the battle, see that you have the sun behind your backs," Hajjaj wrote to his cousin just before the famous storming of Debal. "If the sun is at your back then its glare will not prevent you from having a full view of the enemy. Engage in fight immediately, and ask for the help of God. If any of the people of Sindh ask for mercy and protection, do give it to them but not to the citizens of Debal, who must all be put to the sword."

Debal was the first important town in Sindh captured by the Arabs under Muhammad bin Qasim. It is also said that just before the final attack, a Brahmin came out to inform the invaders that the flag on the temple is a talisman and if they strike it down the city will hold no longer. "When the army of Islam scaled the walls of the fort, the Debalese opened the gates and asked for mercy," says the writer of Chachnameh, the primary source on Muhammad bin Qasim written on the orders of his descendants. "Muhammad bin Qasim replied that he had no orders to spare anyone in the town, and that his soldiers had to do the slaughtering for three days 700 beautiful females, who were under the protection of the temple, were all captured along with their valuable ornaments and clothes adorned with jewels."

The women and children thus captured from Debal were included in the spoils of the war. Some of them were distributed among the soldiers, while one-fifth was sent to the ruler through Hajjaj bin Yousuf in accordance to the law followed at the time which proclaimed that one-fifth of the spoils of the war belonged to the ruler for rightful use. These spoils included two daughters of the deceased ruler of Debal, who were handpicked for his harem.

The fate of Debal sent shock-waves across Sindh. People consulted their astrologers, and soon the word was out: fate has ordained that the country will fall to the Arabs. It is more likely than not that the invaders sponsored the rumour after witnessing at Debal how local superstition could be used as a war strategy. The Buddhist population of Sindh was the first to make secret alliances with the Arabs, since they had little stake in the rule of the Brahmin dynasty. Hajjaj Bin Yousuf carefully dictated the terms of mercy to Muhammad bin Qasim all the way from Basra. "Whoever submits to you, let him retain his power and wealth and family," Hajjaj ordered his cousin. "And whoever does not submit, treat him brutally and torture him till he submits."

This strategy was carried out with great success. Nothing weakens the spirit of a human being more than existing on a borderline of hope and fear. All colonialists have known this fact of human psychology, and exploited it to make traitors of their enemy. The colonialization of Sindh by Mohammad Bin Qasim's army is a superb example of this policy.

One such case is the story of Kaka Kotak, a Buddhist of some influence in Siwistan (now Sehwan). Kaka made a secret alliance with the Arabs and then went to the Brahmin ruler of the town, telling him that it was written in the ancient books of India that the country of Sindh would fall to the Arabs at a certain time, and that time had now arrived. "Our religion forbids us to shed blood," the cunning Buddhist told the governor. "We are afraid that when the Arab horde storms the city, they will take us for your followers and deprive us of our life and domestics. We have come to know that Lord Hajjaj, under the orders of the Caliph, has ordered this army to grant pardon to those who ask for it, and the Arabs are said to be faithful to their word."

He then asked for the governor's permission to make an alliance with the Arabs. When permission was refused, Kaka continued to serve as a spy to the Arabs, and never failed to remind his governor that the fall of Sindh was foretold in books written hundreds of years ago. The governor soon lost hope, and fled to his cousin Raja Dahar while the Arab army marched on and occupied the city. True to their word, they spared the family of Kaka and his friends while the rest of the population was sold into slavery or distributed among the soldiers. Kaka was then raised to the rank of a local chief, something he might not have dreamt of under the Brahmin rulers. "When Kaka put on this dress of honor, all the noblemen in the surrounding places were inspired to accept his influence," writes the author of Chachnameh.

"Kaka secured immunity from the Arab army for those who submitted while he led the Arabs to those who refused to submit, so that the stubborn could be punished." Muhammad bin Qasim's advance towards Dahar was very careful. He ensured that his supply line was safe, moving ahead only after each city on the way was secured in possession and its population either annihilated or won over with generosity. To Hajjaj, who was sitting several thousand miles away, it might have seemed that his cousin was wasting time. "Now give up other towns and march against Dahar," Hajjaj wrote in a rather frustrated mood. There is a subtle, almost vague suggestion that Muhammad bin Qasim wanted Raja Dahar to submit to him and rule over Sindh as the Caliph's viceroy. Hajjaj saw this as a waste of time. "I am shocked at the weakness of your policy," Hajjaj wrote to him. "People will think that you are trying to bring about peace- and nothing will be gained. You must not give up the ways of imperialism and high-handed conquest, and you should inspire fear in order to subdue the enemy completely."

Muhammad bin Qasim, whose first lesson as a soldier was to take orders, then gave up his personal bias and led his armies for a head-on collision with the elephants of Dahar. "O Men of Arabia," Muhammad bin Qasim charged his armies to the final contest with Dahar. "These crowds of infidels have come prepared to fight with us. You must use all your strength, for they will put up a furious resistance for the sake of their wealth and families. Ride against them - with the help of God, we hope to make them all food for our sharp swords, take away their wealth and their families, and obtain large booty. Do not show weakness, and remember that God makes the end of the pious happy."

Dahar was killed at the Battle of Rawar. "It is related that when the fort of Rawar was taken, all the treasures and arms that were in it were secured, except what had been taken away by Dahir's son Jaisingh," narrates the author of Chachnameh. "All this booty was brought to Muhammad bin Qasim. The slaves were counted, and their number came to 60,000. Out of these, 30 were young ladies of royal blood including Raja Dahar's niece whose name was Husna (Sundri).

Muhammad bin Qasim sent all these to Hajjaj, together with Dahar's head, and one-fifth of the booty, as the royal share. When the head of Dahar and women and the treasure were brought to Hajjaj, he placed his forehead on the ground and offered prayers of thanks-giving, saying: Now I have got all the treasures of the world. I rule the world." It is said that one of Dahar's wives, Ladi, married Muhammad bin Qasim, but there is another tradition according to which Ladi killed herself by jumping down the rampart when she saw the approaching army.

The conquest of Sindh was completed with occupation of the remaining major cities, specially Brahmanabad and Multan. This brought more serious responsibilities. So far, Sindh was treated as an enemy country, and in his earlier conquests Muhammad bin Qasim had torn down temples, replacing them with mosques. "Now that the people of this land have placed their heads in the yoke of submission," Hajjaj instructed his general. "I do not see what further rights we have over them beyond the usual tax. Therefore, permit them to build the temples of those they worship. No one is prohibited from or punishes for following his own religion, and let no one prohibit it, so that these people may live happily in their homes."

This edict of Hajjaj bin Yousuf had a lasting influence in the history of Muslim India. By giving the Buddhists and Hindus the status of zimmis and imposing 'protection tax' (or jizya) on them, the Arabs had given them acceptance. However, the Muslim psychology could never come to terms with the practice of idol-worship by the Hindus. Hence a paradoxical situation existed throughout the Muslim rule in India where Hinduism was accepted for the purpose of tax collection but was otherwise seen as the creed of the infidels in all matters. It is difficult to conclude from the edict of Hajjaj what he or other Muslims of his age actually thought about Hinduism, but it is obvious that the Arabs as colonialists had to make pragmatic compromises.

Muhammad bin Qasim completed the annexation of Sindh in three years, enlisting a large cohort of loyal followers from the native population. He then prepared plans to annex other states of India, beginning with Qannauj, which lied just across the Rajasthan desert. Of course, these states had given no provocation, and since the Hindus had just gained religions acceptance,' there was no justification of a religious war against them either. But clearly, Muhammad bin Qasim was serving the interests of the Arab Empire as a worldly-wise general.

It was about this time that he lost both of his sponsors at the court. His cousin Hajjaj was the first to die, soon followed by the master himself, Caliph Walid. The successor on throne, Caliph Sulieman bin Abdul Malik, was a generous monarch who owed his throne to the opponents of the late Hajjaj bin Yousuf. Most of these were relatives of people killed or tortured by Hajjaj (some 20,000 women and 50,000 men were found unjustly imprisoned when Hajjaj died). They demanded revenge, and there was no way, nor enough reason, for Sulieman to stop them.

Muhamamd bin Qasim was high on the hit list due to his close association with Hajjaj. It is said that the young general was about to invade an Indian state when the Caliph's messengers arrived to take him back in chains. True to the soldier's honor, like always, Muhammad bin Qasim obliged. His followers wept bitterly, warning him that he was going back to a certain death. We don't know what he said in reply, if he said anything. We do know, however, that shortly afterwards, just before he died of torture in the prison of Wasit, he recited an Arabic couplet to the effect: "They wasted me at the prime of my youth, and what a youth they wasted: the one who was a defender of their borders."

Sources used in this series of articles: Chachnameh by Ali Kufi; Futuhul Baldan by Al Balazri;
Tarikh-e-Masumi by Mir Masum Bakhari; and Tuhfatil Kiram by Mir Ali Sher Qanea