Thread by @VandanaJayrajan

#MuslimRulers
#TughlaqDynasty
#Barbarians
Firuz Shah Tughlaq:

As head of Tughlaq dynasty, Firuz Shah Tughlaq ruled over the Sultanate of Delhi for 37 years from 1351-1388. The Sultan was a religious fanatic. Dr. R.C. Majumdar writes, “Firuz was the greatest bigot of his age.”

He imposed his Islamic beliefs on non-Muslims who were labelled infidels under his rule. He reinstated the rigorous religious tax called Jizya that made it mandatory for non-Muslims to pay a yearly tariff or risk prosecution.

Slavery was commonplace during his reign and even prevailed upon his death. He encouraged the Hindus for conversion to Islam. In his autobiography, he wrote, “I encouraged my infidel subjects (Hindus) to embrace the religion of the Prophet (Islam religion),

and I proclaimed that everyone who left his creed and became a Mussalman should be exempted from ‘jizya’. He further wrote, “I also ordered that the infidel books, the idols and the vessels used in their worship (Hindus) should all be publicly burnt.”

So when the Sultan died, slaves under his service were systematically executed and piled on one large heap.
He led expeditions to the length and breadth of India and destroyed ancient Hindu temples, shrines.

The Tarikh-i-Firuz Shah, a historical record of his rule, tells us of such an expedition to the state of Odisha in 1360. He destroyed the temple of Jagannath at Puri.

(The Jagannath temple still standing tall after 18 invasions.)

On an island, not far off the coast, nearly a 100,000 men had taken refuge with their wives and children. The Sultan’s men turned the island red with blood and took the women and children as slaves.

How many of you learned these facts about this Islamic bigot?