UPSC Prelims 2022 Q57: Mongol Invasions of India — Explained
With reference to Indian history, consider the following statements:
1. The first Mongol invasion of India happened during the reign of Jalal-ud-din Khalji.
2. During the reign of Ala-ud-din Khalji, one Mongol assault marched up to Delhi and besieged the city.
3. Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq temporarily lost portions of his kingdom to Mongols.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- 1 and 2
- 2 only
- 1 and 3
- 3 only
Answer: (b) 2 only
Statement-wise explanation
- 1: incorrect — The Mongols first reached the Indian frontier in 1221. Chinggis (Genghis) Khan chased the Khwarazmian prince Jalal-ud-din Mangbarni to the Indus and beat him there, while Iltutmish ruled Delhi. Iltutmish refused the prince shelter, and this kept the Mongols out of the Sultanate's heartland. Jalal-ud-din Khalji ruled about 70 years later (1290–96). He did beat back a Mongol raid in 1292, but it was nowhere near the first.
- 2: correct — Ala-ud-din Khalji (1296–1316) faced repeated Mongol invasions from the Chagatai Khanate. In 1299 Qutlugh Khwaja's army marched right up to Delhi and was fought off at Kili. In 1303 Taraghai's army camped around Delhi and besieged the city for about two months. Ala-ud-din held out in his camp at Siri until the Mongols withdrew.
- 3: incorrect — Under Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq (1325–51), the Chagatai ruler Tarmashirin raided around 1327. He sacked frontier towns such as Lamghan and Multan and pushed towards Delhi. Accounts differ on whether he was beaten back or paid off, but he went home. No Sultanate territory was annexed or held by the Mongols. The Sultanate lost land under Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq to its own governors and to new states such as Vijayanagara and the Bahmani kingdom, not to the Mongols.
How to eliminate
Statement 1 can be dropped on chronology alone. The Mongols under Chinggis Khan were active from 1219–21, and the Khaljis took power only in 1290. Two generations of Mamluk sultans (Iltutmish, Balban) dealt with the Mongols before that, so 'first ... during Jalal-ud-din Khalji' cannot be right. That removes the options with statement 1, leaving '2 only' and '3 only'. Statement 2 is standard textbook knowledge: Ala-ud-din's market and army reforms and the building of Siri are always explained as his response to Mongol attacks on Delhi. With 2 confirmed, the answer follows without needing to know 3. Facts to remember: 1221 (Indus, Iltutmish's reign); 1299 and 1303 (Mongols at Delhi under Ala-ud-din); 1327 (Tarmashirin's raid under Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq, no lasting loss of land).
Know more
The Mongol threat to the Delhi Sultanate (1221–1328)
The Mongols reached the Indus while chasing a fugitive prince. After that, the Mongol khanates to the north-west, especially the Chagatai Khanate in Central Asia, kept raiding Punjab and Sindh. The danger shaped Sultanate policy more than any Indian rival did.
| Ruler | Mongol episode | Sultanate response |
|---|---|---|
| Iltutmish (1211–36) | 1221: Chinggis Khan defeats Jalal-ud-din Mangbarni at the Indus | Refuses the prince shelter and avoids war |
| Successors of Iltutmish | 1241: Mongols sack Lahore | Frontier lost for a time |
| Balban (1266–87) | Constant raids in Punjab | Forts along the frontier; his son Prince Muhammad dies fighting Mongols (1285) |
| Jalal-ud-din Khalji (1290–96) | 1292: Abdullah's raid | Defeats it; settles Mongol converts ('New Muslims') near Delhi |
| Ala-ud-din Khalji (1296–1316) | 1297–98, 1299 (Qutlugh Khwaja, Kili), 1303 (Taraghai's siege), 1305 (Amroha), 1306 (Ravi) | Large standing army, dagh and chehra, price controls, Siri |
| Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq (1325–51) | c. 1327: Tarmashirin's raid | Repulses or pays off the raiders; no territory lost |
Why the reforms followed. Barani (a chronicler of the period) presents Ala-ud-din's market control as a way to pay a big army on low cash salaries. Branding of horses (dagh) and descriptive rolls of soldiers (chehra) stopped fraud at musters. These were defensive needs created by the Mongol raids.
After 1306. The Mongol raids slowed after the defeat on the Ravi in 1306. Infighting inside the Chagatai Khanate also helped. The Mongol pressure ended with the Tughlaqs. Timur's sack of Delhi in 1398 was a different, later invasion.
NCERT Concepts to Revise
- Mongol invasions of India: All three statements test the timeline of Mongol attacks on north-west India in the 13th–14th centuries.
- Alauddin Khalji: Statement 2 concerns events in the reign of this sultan, who ruled from 1296 to 1316.
- Siri Fort: Siri is linked to the Mongol sieges of Delhi, which statement 2 tests.
- Dagh and chehra: These army checks were part of the military build-up against the Mongol raids under the Khaljis.
- Delhi Sultanate: Placing Iltutmish, the Khaljis and the Tughlaqs in dynastic order is the key to judging 'first' in statement 1.
- Khilji dynasty: Statements 1 and 2 both name Khalji rulers, so knowing when the dynasty ruled anchors the chronology.