UPSC Prelims 2022 Q58: Who Were the Kulah-Daran? — Explained
With reference to Indian history, who of the following were known as "Kulah-Daran"?
- Arab merchants
- Qalandars
- Persian calligraphists
- Sayyids
Answer: (d) Sayyids
Statement-wise explanation
- a: incorrect — Arab merchants traded on India's western coast long before the Delhi Sultanate. None of the medieval sources uses 'kulah-daran' for them. The word describes a kind of headgear, not a trade or a place of origin.
- b: incorrect — Qalandars were radical be-shari'a sufis who rejected the settled life of the khanqah. NCERT groups them with the madaris, malangs and haidaris, and describes them as known for extreme asceticism and for ignoring rituals. They were not called kulah-daran.
- c: incorrect — Persian calligraphists were valued at Sultanate and Mughal courts. No special group name for them is linked to a cap or 'kulah'. This option is a distractor because it sounds Persian, like the term itself.
- d: correct — Sayyids claimed descent from the Prophet through his daughter Fatima, and they had special respect in Muslim society. In the Delhi Sultanate they wore a pointed cap (kulah), so they were called 'kulah-daran', meaning cap-wearers. The cap set them apart from the wider body of theologians, who wore turbans and were called 'dastar-bandan'.
How to eliminate
Mostly you need to know the fact. Remember: kulah means cap, and kulah-daran means 'cap-wearers', the pointed-cap-wearing Sayyids. Even partial knowledge helps. 'Daran' means 'those who hold or wear', so the term names a group by what it wore. That points to a status group, not to a trade like merchants or calligraphists. Qalandars were known for shaved heads and wandering asceticism, not a dignified cap of rank. So the choice is effectively between a religious elite and a distractor. Pair it with 'dastar-bandan' (turban-wearers, the theologians), which UPSC can test the same way.
Know more
Status groups in the Delhi Sultanate
Sultanate society was ranked. Besides the ruling Turkish nobles, Muslim society recognised religious groups that ranked by lineage and learning:
- Sayyids claimed descent from the Prophet Muhammad through Fatima and Ali. Rulers gave them gifts, land grants and respect. Their mark was a pointed cap (kulah), so they were called kulah-daran.
- Ulema were scholars of Islamic law and theology. They wore the turban (dastar), so they were called dastar-bandan.
- Sufis were mystics organised in silsilas. They ranged from ba-shari'a orders like the Chishtis and Suhrawardis to be-shari'a groups like the qalandars.
| Term | Meaning | Group |
|---|---|---|
| Kulah-daran | Cap-wearers | Sayyids |
| Dastar-bandan | Turban-wearers | Ulema / theologians |
| Qalandars | Wandering radical sufis | Be-shari'a sufis |
| Turkan-i-Chahalgani | 'The Forty' | Turkish nobles (13th century) |
The Sayyid dynasty (c. 1414–1451)
The Sayyids gave their name to the fourth dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate. Khizr Khan, a former governor of Punjab, took Delhi in 1414 after the Tughluq line ended. He was followed by Mubarak Shah (assassinated 1434), Muhammad Shah and Alam Shah. In 1451 Bahlul Lodi took Delhi and founded the Afghan Lodi dynasty.
Order of the five dynasties: Mamluk → Khalji → Tughluq → Sayyid → Lodi.
UPSC often tests medieval terms by their literal meaning (kulah = cap, dastar = turban, chahalgani = forty). Learn the root word and you can work out the group.
NCERT Concepts to Revise
- Sayyid dynasty: Shows who the Sayyids were and where their dynasty fits in the Delhi Sultanate.
- Qalandars: Explains who the qalandars were, one of the groups offered as a possible kulah-daran.
- Be-shari'a and ba-shari'a: The ba-shari'a/be-shari'a split helps you place the qalandars among the sufi groups in the options.
- Delhi Sultanate: Puts all the options in their period, the five dynasties of the Delhi Sultanate.