Hassan Gangu Bahamani (1347-1358 C.E.), founder of the Bahamani kingdom, came from a humble background and had no education. But he paid full attention to educating his sons. His son Muhammad knew several languages, including Turkish, Arabic and Persian, and wrote poetry. But it was Muhammad II (C.E. 1378-1397), the third king, who became famous as a patron of learning. He established schools (makhtabs and madrassas) in Gulburga, Bidar, Kandahar, Elichpur, Doulatabad and Dabhol. He arranged for free boarding and lodging for poor students. A military school was also established for the children of nobles.

Firozshah Bahmani (1398-1422 C.E.) was an accomplished scholar and fond of learning. He sent ships from the port of Goa to Persia, Turkistan (Turkey), and Egypt carrying special invitations to scholars of Islamic institutions. They were given important posts and facilities in order to pursue their studies further. Firozshah was drawn to philosophy and natural sciences. Every fourth day of the week he copied sixteen pages of the Koran, before engaging in public affairs. He knew Arabic, Turkish, French, Bengali, Gujarati, Telugu and Marathi languages2. It is told that he had women in his zenaa (the women’s quarters within the royal palace) from all these regions and used to converse with each in her native tongue!

Discussions on botany, geometry and logic were arranged, in which Firozshah actively participated. He spent his leisure hours in the company of dervishes, poets and reciters of classics. He planned to build an observatory at Daulatabad, under the guidance of the famous astrophysicist Guilani, but the sudden death of the latter put an end to the remarkable aspiration. Firozshah’s attempt indicates that many experts in astronomy, mathematics and engineering were in his court and inspired him3. He built a big library at Ahmadnagar (in present day Maharashtra state), which was in good condition even in the 17th century, when Qasim Ferishta, the court historian of the Adilshahis visited it.

The arrival of Khwaja Sadruddin Muhammad Hussain Gesu Daraj, popularly known as Hazrat Banda Nawaz (1321-1422 C.E.), a famous Sufi saint to Gulbuga gave a good boost to the Dakhani (or "Deccani") language and literature. Later known as Dakhani Urdu, this was taking shape as an independent and important spoken language.

It was a mixture of north Indian Hindavi or Hindi, Persian, Gujarati and Marathi, languages spoken by soldiers who came from different regions, and by wandering mendicants and Sufi fakirs. Although Banda Nawaz knew Persian well and wrote in that language, he adopted Dakhani as his medium of instruction and preaching. His later works are in this language, which by then had adopted the Persian script. His works are considered the earliest in the Dakhani language of the Muslims for the entire Deccan Plateau. Persian continued to be the court language of the Bahmanis, but through Dakhani, Banda Nawaj reached the masses that were at once drawn to Sufi teachings. Banda Nawaz was the foremost disciple of the famous Chiraghi, Dehlvi who, along with Nizamuddin Aulia, was the most respected Sufi scholar of his times. At his insistence, Banda Nawaz came south in 1369 C.E.

Sufi teachings were directed at the abolition of social inequalities and discrimination. All men were equal; the Sufi saints treated the rich and the poor, Hindus and Muslims, freemen and slaves all alike. Obtaining freedom for slaves was considered a noble act and the upliftment of the poor and the downtrodden received priority in their interpretation of Islam. Hazrat Banda Nawaz became endeared to the masses quite quickly. Due to these teachings, which spanned over three-quarters of a century, Islam took root in the Deccan and especially in the Gulbarga, and Bidar regions4. Banda Nawaz also had a good number of non-Muslim followers. His dargah and urs at Gulburga are a place of pilgrimage for people of all sects even today.

Mehmood Gawan arrived in Bidar in 1453 C.E. and gave a good boost to the promotion of education and learning. Although a merchant by vocation, he was well versed in Islamic lore, Persian language and mathematics. He was also known for his profound scholarship in the Middle East before coming to India. Due to his perseverance, honesty, simplicity and learning, he earned the goodwill of the Bahamani rulers and held important posts under three successive kings. Mahmud III (1462-82 C.E.) as a young boy studied under his tutorship, and Gawan became the grand vazir or Prime Minister when Mahmud became the king, and looked after the administration for nearly thirty years. Gawan was rich due to his adventures in international trade, but spent his entire earnings on the promotion of education. In 1472 C.E. he established a madrassa in Bidar, then the capital of the Bahmanis. The madrassa consisted of an imposing three-story building with 100 feet tall minarets in four corners. There were thirty-six rooms for students and six suites for the teaching staff5. The building also had large lecture halls, a prayer hall and a matchless library of three thousand volumes. Gawan himself had a personal library of more than a thousand books. He spent all his leisure time in the library.

The madrassa building had a large courtyard with nearly a thousand cubicles, where students and learned men came from all parts of the country and the East to stay. Boarding and lodging were free. There were 118 students on a permanent basis and countless itinerant scholars.Mahmud Gawan was familiar with renowned colleges at Samarkhand and Khorasan and his own college or madrassa was modeled after west Asian architecture6.Gawan attempted to get renowned scholars from Persia and other West-Asian countries to teach at and head the now famous college. But most of them declined the offer due to age or the arduous and long journey involved. Sheikh Ibrahim Multani became head of the madrassa, and finally chief kazi of the kingdom; he is credited with the spread of Islamic learning in the state.

Gawan’s growing clout in the court was a sour issue with Dakhani (local) Muslim leaders. They considered him a foreigner and his influence over the royalty raised a lot of contention. There were administrative reforms introduced by Gawan, which also generated much resentment among Dakhani governors. The courtiers decided to kill him and hatched a careful plot. They obtained Gawan’s seal and affixed it on a blank piece of paper and forged a letter inviting the king of Orissa to attack the Bahamani Kingdom. The letter was duly delivered to the king, who was often inebriated. Without verifying the facts, the king sent for Gawan, and asked about the punishment to be meted out for treason. “Death,” was the prompt reply from Gawan.

The Sultan (king) showed him the letter. Although Gawan admitted that the seal was his, he pleaded complete innocence about the contents. Unfortunately the Sultan was not in his senses and ordered Gawan’s beheading on the spot. Gawan warned the king to use discretion in such serious allegations. Those were his last words. Thus came the end of the legendary scholar statesman.When Gawan’s house was raided for the alleged wealth he had accumulated, all that could be found was a mat, cooking vessels, the Holy Koran and 144 letters he wrote. Although the madrassa suffered a heavy loss due to his sudden death, the building continued to stay in good condition for nearly two centuries. After the capture of Bidar by Aurangzeb in the late 17tcentury, the buildings were used for storing a powder magazine and as barracks for a body of cavalry. Unfortunately lightning struck the powder magazine and there was a huge explosion, destroying the greater part of the edifice and causing immense damage. Most of the rooms and the three minarets were destroyed. Only one minaret and a few cubicles have survived till date.

The kingdoms of the Bahamanis (1348-1527 C.E.) and the Adilshahis (1489-1686 C.E.) in the north of Karnataka the main Islamic kingdoms in Karnataka. In the southern part of the state they may be remembered for the boost they provided to Islamic learning, arts, crafts, and rise of the Urdu language and literature. None of these rulers displayed an inclination towards traditional methods of recording events, such as palm books and stone inscriptions, but they had court historians who recorded important events of the reigns of their respective patrons. In spite of a certain degree of bias and exaggeration, books by these historians provide some valuable information. Travelers’ accounts, Kaifiats and Bakhairs provide additional glimpses into the educational system prevalent among Muslims.

It is known that Prophet Mohammad lacked formal education. He was a visionary and had no need for literate training, but had all the respect for learning and scholarship. He declared that extensive knowledge (through reading) is the only medium for earthly and heavenly happiness. "Respecting scholars amounted to respecting oneself," was his belief. He went a step further to pronounce that "a scholar’s ink (pen) is superior to a martyr’s blood" which emphasized his regard for scholars. The faithful received the message. With the political conquest came the spread of Islam and Islamic learning. When they arrived in India, Muslim conquerors energetically attended to the propagation of Prophet Muhammad’s teaching. In Iran and other Arab countries, the mosque was a center of culture and learning and the same system was adopted in India1. Masjids (mosques) big and small appeared in the newly conquered territories. Makhtabs or elementary schools were attached to them, where, in addition to prayer, recitation from the Holy Koran, the Arabic language and arithmetic were taught.

Recitations from the Quran became obligatory on festive occasions, celebrations and at community gatherings. Knowledge of Arabic was compulsory for administrators, which stood second in importance only to the reading and understanding of the Koran. Religious literature flowered in this period. Political conquests and the spread of religion went hand-in-hand.

Slowly, the learning of Persian, which became the court language under the Mughals, was introduced in makhtabs . The masjids were endowed with land and cash by the ruling class, which fact allowed deserving students to take up higher studies in madrassas (centers of higher learning).

The same pattern, which existed in north India, was followed in the South. Under the Bahamni rule, Islamic education received new fillip. Every village in the Deccan with a Muslim population had a masjid and invariably a makhtab. Mohallas (neighborhoods) in towns and cities had bigger masjids , wherein madrassas additionally came into existence. It became essential to train youngsters as scribes, accountants and readers for the ever-growing administrations. Along with the Quran, Hadiths (Authentic Records of Sayings of Prophet Muhammad PBUH) and their interpretation were taught, as were mathematics (including geometry), logic, history and the Unani system of medicine. Only those students who had completed religious courses and other studies in makhtabs received admission into madrassas.

Calligraphy was given prominence by the Muslim rulers of Karnataka, over the centuries. The paper had come into existence, and penmanship, whether original or a copy, got priority. Theology, rhetoric, and astronomy were preferred subjects. Archery, fencing, horse-riding and chaugan (polo) were practiced among the aristocracy. Military training was compulsory for princes.
Learned mullahs and moulvis ran madrassas and well-known makhtabs. Parents escorted students to school where pious and selfless teachers took their jobs seriously, and assumed proper care of them.

Iinitiation started very early for the child, in fact at the exact age of four years, four months and four days. The bismillah ritual was undertaken, wherein the child was dressed in new clothes, and a feast ensued, to which family members and relatives were invited. The village mullah initiated the boy by making him recite the relevant prayer of bismillah, and the mullah received presents for his services. From the next day onwards, the child attended the nearby makhtab, where in addition to Persian letters, he learnt songs and moral stories. The book of Bustan was the most popular text, along with the Gulistan. Arabic, Persian grammar and other languages were also taught. Correspondence, writing applications and administrative terminology were taught in these Islamic schools.

Life in residential Islamic schools started early in the morning with ablutions and prayer, followed by the lessons. Hand-written books were few and usually shared by the youngsters. Practical jokes and mischief were common among students and punishment was quite severe for errant boys. Self-study was important, while memorizing and recitation formed part of a lesson Education among Muslims in coastal Karnataka seems to have developed without gender bias even in 14th century.Iban Batuta, the Arab traveler, who visited the town of Honavar in 1336 C.E. as a guest of the local ruler Jamaluddin, saw and recorded a rare sight: there were twenty-three schools for boys and thirteen schools for girls, the likes of which he had not seen anywhere. All the women in these schools knew the Koran by heart. In all likelihood they studied in makhtabs, where learning of the Koran received a priority. Ibn Batuta's observation is important for more than one reason: he had traveled in almost all Muslim countries of the period, in addition to various parts of Southeast Asia, and found the rare presence of schools for girls and women fit to be recorded in his accounts. He further mentions that the girls were very beautiful and wore nose rings. This obviously meant that they did not put on the veil or burquaah. In contemporary north India, due to the Muslim invasion, even Hindu society was forced to keep women in strict control, covered with the purdah in public places. In the south however, and especially in Karnataka, perhaps due to past tradition, Muslim girls, possibly Navayats and new converts to Islam, did not use the veil and attended makhtabs just like boys. Although a solitary situation, the availability of schools for girls was an extraordinary case in the middles ages, not only for India, but for the entire contemporary Muslim world.

Notes Sources:
Jotsna Kamat