Question

Explain briefly the Indo-Islamic culture. How can you say that it was a composite culture?

Answer 1

The establishment of the Delhi Sultanate towards the beginning of the 13th century marked the beginning of a new phase in the cultural development of the country. The interaction of the Turks with the Indians, who had strong religious beliefs and well- developed ideas on art, architecture, and literature, resulted in the development of a new composite culture, called the Indo- Islamic culture. This culture was neither purely Persian or Muslim nor entirely Indian or Hindu, but a happy fusion of the best elements of the two. There are two distinct phases of the growth of this culture, the Sultanate phase, and the Mughal phase. The Sultanate phase was marked by the emergence of the fusion of the Indian traditions with the Turkish culture, whereas the Mughal phase marked the consolidation of this composite culture. There are various states and cities depicting this culture through common traditions, language, architecture, and thoughts e.g. Delhi, Lucknow, Hyderabad are the main examples.