“It was a general practice for Hindu girls of good families to learn the art of dancing. It was a sort of religious rite. They used to dance during weddings, festivals and Pujas at home and in temples. This art was turned ravenous under their Muslim captor or buyer. According got Ibn Battuta, “Thousands (Chandin hazar) of non-Muslim women (aurat va masturat) were captured during the yearly campaign of Firoz Tughlaq’ … their sale during the Hajj seasons brought profits to the state and Muslim merchants. Their possession within, inflated the harems of Muslim kings and nobles beyond belief”. (Shams-i-Siraj ‘Afif, Tarikh-i-Firoz. p, 144. Translated by Eliot & Dawson, The History of India by its own Historians – The Muhammadan Period, Volume 3, Trubner, London. https://ia801500.us.archive.org/15/items/in.ernet.dli.2015.116023/2015.116023.Tarikh-i-Firoz-Shahi-Of-Shams-i-Siraj-Afif_text.pdf)
Dr Rinita Mazumdar
About Author
Dr. Rinita Mazumder is a distinguished scholar and professor with deep expertise in philosophy and social thought. She teaches at Central New Mexico Community College and serves as an affiliate professor in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at the University of New Mexico. Dr. Mazumder is also a renowned author.