Why did the Indian civilization go into decline?
It is tempting to simply blame it on repeated foreign invasion – by Turks, Mongols and Afghans from Central Asia and later by the European colonial powers. The Muslim conquest of India was undoubtedly a very bloody affair – temples, universities and cities were laid waste and hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions, of people were massacred (anyone who doubts this should read the Tarikh-i-Farishtah1 ). However, this alone does not quite explain the secular decline of India as a civilization and a leading world power. India was no stranger to foreign invasion. Over the centuries Huns, Bactrians, Indo-Greeks, Sakas and others had invaded India. Their invasions must have caused disruptions but did not cause a long-term decline in the country’s fortunes. The Indians had put up a spirited resistance to these incursions – the Gupta and Mauryan Empires had both risen up in response to external threats. Even when the invaders had penetrated deep into the country, India had simply absorbed and
