Mike Conrad, in “The Greatest Murder Machine in Human History,” writes:
“When one thinks of mass murder, Hitler comes to mind. If not Hitler, then Tojo, Stalin, or Mao. Credit is given to the 20th-century totalitarians as the worst species of tyranny to have ever arisen. However, the alarming truth is that Islam has killed more than any of these, and may surpass all of them combined in numbers and cruelty. The enormity of the slaughters of the ‘religion of peace’ are so far beyond comprehension that even honest historians overlook the scale. When one looks beyond our myopic focus, Islam is the greatest killing machine in the history of mankind, bar none.” [1]
Will Durant, the famous American historian, had this to say about the encounter of the Hindu world with Islam “The Mohammedan conquest of India was probably the bloodiest story in history.” [2]
Koenraad Elst gave an estimate of 80 million Hindus massacred over a period of five centuries from 1000 – 1525 CE [3], to which Mike Conrad added: “The conquistadors’ crimes pale into insignificance at that number. No wonder Hitler admired Islam as a fighting religion. He stood in awe of Islam, whose butchery even he did not surpass.” [1]
Elst’s estimate of the Hindu slaughter is, in itself, a staggering claim. However, it does not describe the full magnitude of the Hindu genocide by Islam. The focus of Elst’s work was the 500-year period from 1000 CE (defeat of Hindu Shahi in Afghanistan) to 1525 CE (end of the Delhi sultanate and beginning of the Moghul era). In reality, the gruesome saga of Hindu genocide began in the early 8th century with the invasion of Sindh and continued through the Moghul period well into the mid-19th century. In fact, one could reasonably argue that the “murder machine” of Jihad continues to do its ghastly work to this day.
What is remarkable is that the modern Hindu society, by and large, remains blissfully oblivious to this part of their civilizational history. A discussion of the reasons for this ignorance will take us far afield from the intended scope of this article. Instead, we hereby initiate a series of posts to explore episodes of the Hindu massacre by Islam where reliable information can be gleaned from available sources.
Muhammad Bin Qasim – Invasion of Sindh – Early 8th Century
Muhammad Bin Qasim, an Arab military commander in service of the Umayyad Caliphate, led the Muslim conquest of Hindu lands in 712 CE by overrunning the coastal town of Debal near modern Karachi.
The sacking of Debal was followed by killing all men 17 years and above, without regard for whether they were combatants. All the women and children were enslaved. Debal became the template that would be followed in every town across Sindh. The enslaved women were forcefully converted to Islam. The women that belonged to the aristocracy were set aside to be sent to Hajaj. The remaining women were distributed to the soldiers and married to Arab soldiers. [4]
After the town of Rawar was taken, Qasim “halted there for three days during which he massacred 6000 (men). Their followers and dependents, as well as their women and children, were taken prisoners….The slaves were counted, and their number came to 60,000….He sold some of these female slaves of royal birth, and some he presented to others.” Raja Dahir’s daughters also were among the slave girls. [5]
According to another source, “it is said that about six thousand fighting men were slain, but according to others sixteen thousand were killed”, and their families enslaved. The garrison in the fort-city of Multan was put to the sword, and families of the chiefs and warriors of Multan, numbering about six thousand, were enslaved. [6,7]
Chach Nama, the contemporary historical document by a close associate of Qasim, also describes the Jauhar (jova har, taking of life by collective self-immolation) committed by the vanquished king’s women … “Raja Dahir’s sister Bai collected all the women in the fort (of Rawar) and addressed them thus: ‘It is certain that we cannot escape the clutches of these Chandals and cow-eaters… As there is no hope of safety and liberty, let us collect firewood and cotton and oil (and) burn ourselves to ashes, and thus quickly meet our husbands (in the next world). Whoever is inclined to go and ask mercy of the enemy, let her go… But all of them were of one mind, and so they entered a house and set fire to it, and were soon burnt to ashes.”
Here is an excerpt from another contemporary Islamic source on the conquest of Sindh: “The town (Debal) was thus taken by assault, and the carnage endured for three days. The governor of the town, appointed by Dahir, fled and the priests of the temple were massacred….He then crossed the Biyas, and went towards Multan… Muhammad destroyed the water-course upon which the inhabitants, oppressed with thirst, surrendered at discretion. He massacred the men capable of bearing arms, but the children were taken captive, as well as the ministers of the temple, to the number of six thousand.” [8]
Sources
- Mike Conrad, The Greatest Murder Machine in History, available online at https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2014/05/the_greatest_murder_machine_in_history.html#ixzz5MlGTaPYS
- Will Durant, The Story of Civilization, Ch. XVI
- Koenraad Elst, Negationism in India, Voice of India, New Delhi, 2002, p.34
- Chach Nama by Kazi Ismail, a close confidant of Muhammad Bin Qasim (English translation by Kalichbeg Fredunbeg)
- ibid, p.154
- Andre Wink, Al-Hind, p.161
- Mohammad Habib, The Arab conquest of Sind
- Futuhu’l-Buldan by the 9th-century Persian historian Yahya bin Jabir
