Language as Empire: The Need for Decolonisation in Writing Indian History
Slavery and Foreign Invasions in the Indian Subcontinent
Slavery is broadly defined as coerced labor and the ownership of people, and it has existed in different forms across cultures long before the transatlantic slave trade began. The history of the Indian subcontinent, meanwhile, has been shaped by successive waves of migration and foreign conquest that reshaped its political, social, and cultural fabric over millennia.
Early Traces of Servitude in India
The earliest South Asian inscriptions from the 3rd century BCE mention obligations of slaves and hired workers.^1 References to dasa and dasi appear in Vedic texts and in Panini’s grammar. Some historians interpret these terms as denoting slaves, while others argue they are referring to servants, dependents, or war captives.^2 Evidence also suggests that individuals labeled as dasa could rise to positions of power, as names like Divodasa appear in hymns as kings or chiefs.^3 In other contexts, dasa is used to describe wealthy noblemen. This ambiguity makes it difficult to draw definitive conclusions about the existence of slavery in early India; what is clearer is that unfree labor and bonded servitude existed in varying forms.
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| A photograph of the Gateway of India in Mumbai, showcasing the Indo-Saracenic architectural style introduced during British rule. |
Waves of Invasions and Their Legacies
Aryan Migration (c. 1800–1500 BCE):
Among the earliest significant population movements into India was that of Indo-Aryan groups. Their arrival introduced significant cultural and religious changes, including the development of the varna system, which eventually evolved into the caste hierarchy.^4 While social divisions were present in early Vedic society, rigid caste stratification and untouchability evolved much later. Scholars now generally describe this as a gradual migration rather than a sudden invasion.^5
Conclusion: The evils of untouchability did not originate in India; they were developed within a migrated group of people and then popularised.
Persian Expansion (c. 550 BCE):
Under Darius I, parts of the northwestern frontier, including Gandhara and the Indus Valley, were integrated into the Achaemenid Empire.^6 Persian rule introduced new administrative practices and facilitated cultural exchanges between South Asia and West Asia.
Greek Incursion (336–323 BCE):
Alexander the Great’s campaign into India reached Punjab, where he famously faced King Porus at the Battle of the Hydaspes in 326 BCE.^7 Though Alexander soon withdrew, the encounter opened channels for Greco-Indian cultural and military exchange. His army was particularly impressed by Indian war elephants, which later influenced Hellenistic warfare.^8
Arab Conquest (712 CE):
The Arab general Muhammad bin Qasim captured Sindh and Multan, establishing the first Muslim-ruled territory in India.^9 Expansion was limited beyond these regions due to geography, internal politics, and resistance by local powers, but Islam took root and gradually spread across the subcontinent through trade, migration, and Sufi traditions.^10
Conclusion: Islam was introduced to India and has since existed and thrived, which also means that religious conversions to Islam began as early as 712 CE.
Turkic Raids (11th–12th Centuries):
Mahmud of Ghazni launched a series of raids between 1000 and 1027 CE, targeting wealthy temples and cities in northern India.^11 Later, Muhammad Ghori’s campaigns in the late 12th century laid the foundation for the Delhi Sultanate, which marked the beginning of sustained Muslim rule in India.^12
Mongol Pressure (13th–14th Centuries):
Although Genghis Khan himself never invaded India, Mongol armies under his successors launched repeated incursions that tested the Delhi Sultanate’s defenses.^13 While the Sultanate often repelled these attacks, the constant threat strained its resources.
The Mughal Era (1526–1857): 331 years of colonisation and conversion
The Mughal Empire began with Babur’s victory at the Battle of Panipat in 1526.^14 Over the next two centuries, the Mughals consolidated much of the subcontinent and fostered a rich Indo-Persian cultural synthesis, visible in art, architecture, language, and governance.^15 The empire declined after Aurangzeb’s death in 1707, weakened further by the invasion of Nader Shah in 1739 and the growing power of regional kingdoms and European trading companies. Though politically diminished, the Mughal dynasty survived in reduced form until 1857.^16
Nader Shah’s Plunder (1739):
The Persian ruler Nader Shah’s invasion culminated in the sack of Delhi, causing massive destruction and draining the treasury that the Mughals had collected from Indians.^17 This catastrophic event accelerated the empire’s decline and destabilized the region further.
European Colonization (16th–19th Centuries):
Europeans first arrived as traders — the Portuguese in the 16th century, followed by the Dutch, French, and British. Over time, the British East India Company expanded its control, beginning with the Battle of Plassey in 1757 and the Battle of Buxar in 1764.^18 By 1858, after the Revolt of 1857, India came under direct rule of the British Crown, ushering in a century of colonial dominance that deeply altered the economy, governance, and social structure of the subcontinent.^19
India’s Resilience
India is not just a country but a vast subcontinent — populous, diverse, and culturally rich. Despite facing invasions, plunder, and colonization for more than two millennia, Indian civilization has shown remarkable resilience. It has preserved its spiritual traditions, nurtured artistic and scientific achievements, and continued to thrive as one of the world’s most enduring cultures.
Even today, visitors often remark on poverty or chaos without recognizing that much of India’s wealth was historically drained by foreign powers. This perspective reminds us why decolonizing language, history, and thought is important: to see India not through the lens of conquest, but through its own resilience and creativity.
References:
Bose, Sugata, and Ayesha Jalal. 2004. Modern South Asia: History, Culture, Political Economy. Routledge.
Chandra, Satish. 2005. Medieval India: From Sultanat to the Mughals. Har-Anand.
Dalrymple, William. 2006. The Last Mughal. Bloomsbury.
Eaton, Richard. 1993. The Rise of Islam and the Bengal Frontier, 1204–1760. University of California Press.
Fazl, Abul. 1907–1939. Akbarnama. Translated by H. Beveridge. Asiatic Society of Bengal.
Fox, Robin Lane. 2004. Alexander the Great. Penguin.
Jackson, Peter. 1999. The Delhi Sultanate: A Political and Military History. Cambridge University Press.
Olivelle, Patrick. 1993. The Āśrama System: The History and Hermeneutics of a Religious Institution. Oxford University Press.
Richards, John F. 1993. The Mughal Empire. Cambridge University Press.
Sarkar, Jadunath. 1964. Fall of the Mughal Empire. Orient Longman.
Singh, Upinder. 2008. A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India. Pearson.
Spear, Percival. 1990. A History of India, Vol. 2. Penguin.
Stein, Burton. 2010. A History of India. Oxford University Press.
Thapar, Romila. 2002. Early India: From the Origins to AD 1300. University of California Press.
Thapar, Romila. 2005. Somanatha: The Many Voices of a History. Verso.
Trautmann, Thomas R. 1997. Aryans and British India. University of California Press.
Wink, André. 1990. Al-Hind: The Making of the Indo-Islamic World. Vol. 1. Brill.
Witzel, Michael. 1999. “Substrate Languages in Old Indo-Aryan.” Electronic Journal of Vedic Studies 5 (1).
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