THE NORTHERN REGION of India has historically been vulnerable to invasions from Central Asia because of its geographical location. Mountain passes, flat terrain, political fragmentation, and many other factors contributed to invasions by Central Asian powers like the Greeks, Kushans, Huns, Ghaznavids, Ghurids, and Mughals. During these invasions, many soldiers from both invading and local armies died on the battlefield, but they were not the only casualties. The rulers also captured the families of fallen kings, took them as prisoners, and forced women into slavery or their harems.

During these invasions, many women who became aware that their armies had lost the battle would commit suicide to protect their honor. This was when practices like Jauhar, — in which women and children would self-immolate to avoid being captured, enslaved, or subjected to sexual violence following military defeat, — became significant.

The enslavement, capture, and trafficking of Indian people, particularly women, expanded under various Central Asian and Turkic rulers and continued between the 11th and 18th centuries under the Delhi Sultanates and the Mughal Empire.

Hindu Women and Human Trafficking in Medieval India

In ancient India, during the Vedic period (c. 1500 – c. 500 BCE), women enjoyed a relatively high status in various fields of life and had access to education and religious activities. They used to take part in public gatherings, were widely respected in many contexts, and had significant roles in society. However, this changed a lot during the medieval period (476 CE to 1500 CE), as invasions by central Asian powers took place.

Historical practices like purdah, child marriage, patriarchal control, slavery, and jauhar became more stricter in certain communities and regions. Parents may have stopped educating their daughters as fears of enslavement, human trafficking, kidnapping, and sexual exploitation increased. Evidence of violence against women can also be found in hero stones, where warriors were frequently commemorated for dying while performing specific acts of bravery, including rescuing women from abduction.

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There are also many historical texts, literary records, and accounts of the slave trade in which practices like slavery, abduction, and sexual exploitation are mentioned. During the late medieval period (1300 to 1500 AD), historical records indicated that trade routes between Northern India and Persia, Central Asia were used to traffic enslaved people, including women who had been captured during wars and raids. There is also some evidence of slave markets in Delhi and other parts of North India. In these places the Hindu women who were enslaved were subjected to oppression and exploitation.

Persian and Turkic Invasions: Slavery and the Capture of Indian Women

India was a major attraction for Arab and Turkic invaders because of its wealth, including the riches held in temples and its dense population. This was one of the reasons why invasions used to happen in India followed by slave raids, abduction of men and women who were later turned into servants or sex slaves. One example of this was the Arab invasion of Sindh in the 8th century. During this campaign, Muhammad bin Qasim (695 AD - 715 AD) a young Umayyad military commander, defeated and killed the last ruler of  the Brahmin dynasty of Sindh, Raja Dahir, at the Battle of Aror in 712 CE.

After his defeat, Qasim took Raja Dahir's two daughters, Parmal Devi and Suraj Devi, captive and later sent them to the Umayyad Caliph's harem in Baghdad. Historical sources like the Chachnama mention that, after the conquest of Sindh, numerous women were taken captive and one-fifth of the captives were sent to the Caliphate, while many others were distributed among soldiers. The wife of the king, alongside a large number of other women, reportedly committed jauhar to preserve their honor.

Then came Mahmud of Ghazni (971 AD - 1030), who invaded the Indian subcontinent seventeen times. According to historian al-Utbi's work Tarikh-i-Yamini, after Ghazni defeated Hindu Shahi King Jaipal in the 11th century, he took a total of five lakh people which included both men and women. Because of the large number of enslaved people, Utbi wrote that the prices of slaves became very low. There were also several references that the women of high rank were held captive and subjected to humiliating treatment.

These women were either sold or given away to high-ranking officials of the court or other members of the ruling elite. Some were forced to sing and dance in royal courts. And the raids continued with hundreds of thousands of people reportedly taken captive, including girls who were given to soldiers. According to these accounts, many soldiers had several servants and slave girls.

Central Asian Invaders and the Slave Trade Under the Delhi Sultanate

In some historical accounts, Muslim rulers and nobles have been described as maintaining lavish courts with large harems and indulging in wine and entertainment. Kaiqubad, the grandson of Balban, succeeded to the throne in 1287 AD when he was just 17 years old. After becoming Sultan, he reportedly indulged in wine, women, and entertainment, which contributed to the decline of his health. He died at a young age, and the Mamluk (Slave) Dynasty came to an end following his death.

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Khan Jahan Maqbul, the prime minister of Sultan Firoz Shah Tughlaq (1351 to 1388 AD), is said to have maintained a large personal harem of around 2,000 women from various nationalities and ethnic backgrounds. Some rulers were also very strict about the rules within their harems. According to certain historical accounts, there were rules against laughing or getting involved in disputes, and if these rules were broken, both sides were subjected to severe punishment sometimes amounting to death.

Mughal Empire: Akbar's Harem and the Treatment of Women

Akbar (1542 - 1605 AD), who is considered one of the greatest Mughal emperors, has also been associated with such practices in some historical accounts of his early reign as a king. Records say that Akbar didn’t even leave married women and found them interesting. He forced their husbands to divorce them and refused to do so, can lead to  death or other severe punishments. He would then include these women in his harem. Many of these women were said to have been the former wives of Muslim and Hindu noblemen at his court.

According to Mughal historian Abul Fazl, Akbar had approximately 5,000 women in his harem, who were supervised and guarded by a separate staff of female officers and eunuchs. He also prohibited entry to unauthorized men, and anyone who entered without permission reportedly faced severe punishment, including the cutting off of their legs or death. However, in his later years, Akbar's approach to governance evolved. He abolished certain practices like jizya (religious tax on non Muslim citizens), introduced several reforms, and held interfaith debates at his court.

In the 16th century, Akbar issued a royal decree that introduced measures to restrict certain forms of slavery including the ban on enslavement of women, children and war captives, but this did not bring an end to the practice. Historical research confirms that women who were captured during raids continued to be enslaved, and some were even used as payment for soldiers. Historian Ruby Lal's biography of Nur Jahan — the twentieth wife and chief consort of Mughal emperor Jahangir — also describes how the Mughal empress freed enslaved women in her palace and made arrangements to support working-class women defying the norms of traditional Mughal harem.

Although some women of royal lineage and noble birth were able to exercise political power and command armies, they were still unable to protect themselves from violence, abduction, and humiliation.

(Edited by Harsh Pandey)

[OG/VP/HP]

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