Mahmud of Ghazni had started his invasions in India during the period when the Rajput power had declined. The two main reasons that led to the conquest of India by Mahmud Ghazni was firstly, to accumulate the vast amount of wealth that existed in India, and secondly, to spread Islam. He was considered a great Islamic Hero for destroying Hindu temples and killing thousands of Hindus.
Let us read some of his brutal acts against Hindustan.
#1 : Mahmud of Ghazni invaded India 17 times. He was a Jihadi off the highest order and killed hundreds of thousands of Hindu and Buddhists including monks, women and innocent children. He mainly looted what is now Haryana and Uttar Pradesh as far as Kannauj. He then plundered Gujarat too.
Interestingly, he avoided invading strong kingdoms and instead selectively sacked weak ones who cannot resist him. In fact he always chose to retreat than fight powerful enemies. For instance, When Mahmud was in Gujarat and learnt that Bhojraj Parmar of Ujjain was marching with his army to punish Mahmud for destroying Somnath, Mahmud ran away rather than fight.
#2 : Like most of the Islamic invaders, even Ghazni was a gay despite being a staunch follower of Islam. He had a Georgian slave named Malik Ayaz with whom he fulfilled his sexual desires. Another thing to be noted is that homosexuality is not permitted in Islam. Ghazni was a bisexual who had 9 wives, several paramours and male slaves.
#3 : He hated other religions to the extent that he destroyed 1000 Hindu temples and Buddhist monasteries. His army used to rape Hindu women, loot the temple. This was a great setback to Indian art and sculpture owing to destruction of idols and temples.
#4 : Mahmud of Ghazni slaughtered 50,000 Hindus, including women and innocent children, during his jihad against Hindus at Somnath Temple, and left the place in ruins.
The Somnath temple was very famous for its treasures. There were one thousand priests to serve the temple. Hundreds of dancers and singers played before its gate. There was famous Linga, a rude pillar stone, adorned with gems embroidered with precious like stars, which decorated the shrine.
The brave Hindu Rajputs came forward to defend the temple. Shouting ‘Allah hu Akbar’, the enemy tried to enter into the temple. After three days, the invaders succeeded and entered into the Somnath temple.
Mahmud ordered his men to destroy the sacred idol, Linga. He looted the treasures of the temple. It is said that he got wealth worth 20-million Dinars.
#5 : This barbarian didn’t even spare the Somnath temple. The idol of this temple was broken into 4 pieces. According to Tabakat-i-Nasiri, one part was positioned in the entrance of a Mosque and the Muslim devotees were asked to walk on it. Rest 3 parts were placed in the entrance of Sultan’s palace, Mecca Masjid and Medina. He would enjoy while others walked on it.
One major thing that worked in the favour of Mahmud Ghazni was absence of unity among Hindus. Hindus were vast in number but divided. Due to lack of unity, Hindus reached this position in India. If Hindus don’t get united even after this, then it may put our own existence in danger.
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