LITERATURE

LITERATURE

Though primarily a military people, the Turko-Afghan rulers patronised learning. Amir Khusrau, the first Muslim writer to make use of Hindi words and adopt Indian themes, enjoyed the patronage of Balban, Ala­ud-din Khalji and Ghiyas-ud-din Tughlaq. His famous works are Khazain-ul-Futuh, Miftah-ul-Futuh, Tughlaqnama, Tarikh-i-Alai, Laila Majnu, Aina-Sikandari, Nuh-Siphir, and Hasht Bihist. Among the writers of historical works, the most important are Amir Hasan DeWvi, Minhaj-us-Siraj, the author of Tabaqat-i-Nasiri, Zia-ud-din Barani, the author of Tabaqat-i-Firuz Shahi, and Shams-i-siraj Afif who wrote Tarikh-i-Firuz Shahi.
Vernacular literature got an impetus with the Bhakti movement. Ramananda and Kabir wrote poems in Hindi. Mira Bai composed her songs in Brajabhasa. The verses of Guru Nanak enriched the Punjabi language.

A good example of the union of Hindu and Islamic cultures was the evolution of the Urdu language (originally called zaban-i-hindavi). Amir Khusrau is considered the first Muslim to have used this language for the expression of his poetic ideas.