The Hindus, their Girls and Women and the Harem

Background

Brooklyn Museum - Harem Scene

The Hindus have been the predominant religious groups in India. However during the 9th and 10th century the Hindus had to face the Moslem invaders. There were furious batt3es, but the Hindus lost. As per Field Marshal Barnard Montgomery the Moslems won as ‘the Hindus though very brave, did not have any startegoic sense as the passes to the North West were never guarded’
Thus, from that time Moslem ascendency over India increased and very soon they were the rulers of India The Hindus were reduced to the status of second class citizens in their own land. This must have been a traumatic experience for most of the Hindu kings including the Rajputs. They had no choice but to be subseverient to the Moslem rulers.

Islam and Wives

entertaining the Lord

Islam enjoins a man to have 4 wives and any number of concubines. Thus the Moslem rulers practiced Islam with particular reference to their wives who were all kept in a harem. A harem was a place where only the women were allowed and no male except the ruler could enter inside to partake of the pleasure of the women in the harem.

The Tribute of Hindu Girls

Inside a harem

With all around defeats, the Hindus and the Rajputs in particular decided to make peace with the rulers at Delhi. One form was to present Hindu girls and princesses to the rulers for their pleasure. Such Hindu girls were thus ensconced in a harem and converted to Islam. The Moslem nobles and kings were invariably delighted with the acquision of Hindu girls and accepted them with relish into their harems.

However some benevolent rulers like Akbar allowed his Hindu wives some latitude by allowing them to worship the Hindu gods, in the privacy of their chambers. But as a thumb rule most Moslem rulers thought it their divine right to have a number of Hindu girls and princesses as part of their harems. This was more like a barter agreement, as the rulers at Delhi allowed the Hindu kings some power and some retained their principalities and other rose to high ranks in the Mughal and Moslem administration and the army.

Hindu Girls and Virginity

In the Harem

The price for this was Hindu girls for Moslem harems. It was important that the girl sent into the Moslem harem was a virgin, as the rulers would never accept a non virgin. In fact a careful examination was carried out to confirm that the girl was virgin.
This is indeed one of the unfortunate facts of History. A pointer to this is the fact that Akbar and other rulers had over 400-500 women in their harems. The Hindu girls and princesses had themselves no choice in the matter and were in all probability resigned to their Fate. It is a sad commentary on the conduct of the Hindu rulers who were basically men who compromised their principles for some trappings and privileges of power and rule.

Last Word

Harem in India

Tthe concept of the Harem was copied by Hindu Kings and Maharajahs. Maharajah Ranjit Singh the Sikh ruler of the Sikh empire has 11 women in his harem including 4 Muslim girl princesses, who he loved dearly.
This sad practice continued even with the arrival of the British and the defeat of the Moslems. as an example the Maharajah of Patiala Sardar Bhupinder Singh and his father Devinder Singh had over 400 wives and concubines including Muslim and English girls

References

Gustave Boulanger: The Harem

The Mughul Harem by LK Saran Aditya Prakashan , New Delhi ( 1988)
Harem: The World Behind the Veil, by Alev Lytle Croutier reprint ed. Abbeville Publishing Group (Abbeville Press, Inc.), 1998