On History and Historians of Medieval India

The present work is based on an extensive and critical study of the historical literature of medieval India and provides fresh perspectives for its interpretation and analysis. The introductory chapter identifies different types of literature, political and non-political, available for reconstructing the history of medieval India. The author’s views about historiographical concepts and conspectus of the medieval historians are original and thought-provoking. Holding the view that a study of the thought-process of a historian should precede the utilization of data supplied by him, the author has x-rayed the prejudices, predilections, motives, and objectives of Minhaj, Barani, Abul Fazl and others with remarkable insight and erudition. The author’s psycho-historical method of analysis and interpretation makes the work extremely fascinating and informative. The author has drawn attention to the historical value of the table talks of the Sufi saints of medieval India, has highlighted the importance of historical literature produced during the reign of Akbar, has established the apocryphal nature of the so-called autobiography of Muhammad b. Tughluq, and has shown that the Futuhat-i-Firuz Shahi was an inscription and should not be taken as a complete exposition of the policies of Firoz Shah Tughluq. The work is a valuable addition to literature on medieval Indian Historiography.