Section I:Opportunities
From A History of India, Volume 5: Division to Empire
By the late medieval period, India was suffering mightly. No longer a vast, unified state as it had been under the Mauryan and Guptan Empires, it was instead a series of tiny squabbling princely states, incapable of uniting even under extreme threat. And that threat came, in the form of wave after wave of Muslim invaders from the west. For over 400 years, they burned, pillaged, and conquered India. By this time, Islamic principalities occupied over a third of India, from the mouth of the holy Ganges, to the the central Deccan, to the rich and populous plains around Delhi.
Map of the religions of India in 1399; note the extensive regions of Muslim control
It seemed only a matter of time before India was wholly subject to the Islamic yoke. However, this did not come to pass, thanks largely to the efforts of Rajputana. A loosely organized collection of aristocrats, reproducing in miniature all the foibles, follies, and nobilities of greater Indian society, this state that was barely a state managed, nevertheless, to not only liberate India from the Muslims, but also to finally unite it into a single, modern state.
A great deal of the credit for this can be placed at the feet of the Raja of Rajputana, Ranmal. While possessing only modest skills in administration or warfare, and a somewhat charismatic presence, he did have the foresight to see that a situation most would consider hopeless--a state surrounded by hostile and heathen enemies--in fact possessed the seeds of greatness. For were not the peoples occupied by the Muslims themselves Hindu, and often closely culturally related to the Rajputs? Had not the Muslims, in their time, become almost as divided and fractious as the Hindus were? Could not a clever king or leader exploit this to build one of the greatest empires the world had ever seen?
King's Council Room, Jaigarh Fort, October 14th, 1399 CE
"My king, we barely have the military forces to defend our own land, let alone conquer other's! We must take the time to build up our army--use our treasury to hire mercenaries--call out the lords--before we can do anything so bold as conquering Sind or Gujarat," explained Udha Rao Khumba, principal advisor to Ranmal, just after he finished outlining his plan to liberate the Aryan Hindus of Sind and Gujarat.
"We need to liberate our brothers in faith suffering under Muslim exploitation! The people there are ready to rise up against their overlords--I can feel it. We will be greated as liberators and heroes!" retorted Ranmal, angrily. "
We must do this"
Khumba took a deep breath before replying, "Yes sir, we must do this. But we must do this
right. If we have inadequate military forces, we ourselves might be the conquered! Besides, even if the Gujarati and Sindhi initially hail us as liberators and heroes, as soon as we set up conscription stations and send out tax collectors, they'll 'forget' the role we played in ensuring their freedom. We will need more forces to control the probable rebellions, at the very least."
Ranmal sat back quietly, brooding for a moment before quietly responding, "You are, as always, right, Khumba. We will wait, build up our forces, and prepare, for the time being."