Set of 5 Books – K. S. Lal

The set of 5 books by K. S. Lal includes following books:

1. Growth Of Scheduled Tribes And Castes In Medieval India: Opening a new vista, what this work is about is contrary to modern-day make-believe, there is no evidence to show that the lower classes suffered from the tyranny of the Hindu upper classes in the medieval period. The case being exactly opposite, throughout the medieval period, the lower castes fought shoulder to shoulder with the upper castes against the foreign invaders and tyrannical rulers. Present study is only a beginning in this direction, based for the most part on medieval Muslim chronicles.
2. Indian Muslims: Who Are They: Several factors have contributed to the growth of Muslim population in India-invading armies with their retinues, constant recruitment of soldiers from across the borders, red-carpet welcome extended to immigrants from Muslim countries, forcible conversions, proselytization by means of pressures and temptations, large-scale polygamy with Hindu women, and the proverbial Muslim fecundity enjoined by express statements of the Prophet who wanted his flock ‘to be more numerous than any other people’. Dr. K.S. Lal has documented in some fulness how the continued wars of conquest waged by the Islamic invaders ensured a constant supply of Hindu prisoners of war who were sold and resold as slaves and who eventually ended up by feeding the Muslim population. It may sound cruel but the Theology of Islam does prescribe capture and enslavement of non-combatant men, women and children of the infidels as a part of the legitimate booty promised by Allah to those who fight for enforcing his commandments. The history of Islam is replete with this practice. On the other hand, Dr. Lal examines in some detail and refutes conclusively the oft-repeated theory that the Hindu caste system was responsible for conversions to Islam. He points out that the countries in the Middle East, Central Asia and North Africa had no caste system and yet they succumbed completely to the onslaught of Islam.
3. Muslim Slave System In Medieval India: Slavery originated during the age of savagery and continued into ancient civilizations. Slavery was there in Babylon and elsewhere in Mesopotamia; it was widely prevalent in ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome, centuries before the coming of Christ. Ancient India also had slaves but they were so mildly treated that foreign visitors like Megasthenes, who were acquainted with their fate in other countries, failed to notice the existence of slavery in this country. An altogether new dimension—religious sanction—was added to the institution of slavery with the rise of Christianity to power in the Roman Empire. Hitherto, slavery had been a creation of the crude in human nature is the urge to dominate over others, to make use of others for private comfort and profit. Now it was ordained that the God of the Christians had bestowed the whole earth and all its wealth on the believers, that the infidels had no natural or human rights, and that the believers, that the infidels had no natural or human rights, and that the believers could do to the infidels whatever they chose to kill them, plunder them, reduce them to the status of slaves or non-citizens. In short, slavery became a divinely ordained institution.
4. The Legacy of Muslim Rule in India: Slavery originated during the age of savagery and it was widely prevalent in ancient Egypt,Greece and Rome,centuries before the coming of Christ.Ancient India also had slaves but they were so mildly treated that foreign visitors like Megasthenes, who were acquainted with their fate in other countries,failed to notice the existence of slavery in this country.The present study documents for the first time the Muslim slave system as it obtained in medieval India under Muslim rule.
5. Theory And Practice Of Muslim State In India: The theory part is traced to the Quran,the Hadis and the Sunnah of the Prophet;the practice part to the principal activities of Muslim rulers in India as narrated by their chroniclers.Muslim state in India has not ceased to exist even in modern times and Indian Muslims on account of Islamic laws and separate identity almost form a separate state within the Indian State.

Overall, K.S. Lal’s book set appears to offer a comprehensive and nuanced understanding of medieval Indian history, particularly focusing on the dynamics of different social, religious, and political groups during this period. His works are likely to contribute to a deeper appreciation of the complexities and interconnections that shaped the medieval Indian subcontinent.