Q. & A. 711 to 1707 with solved Papers css 1971 to date

Expedition to India
Meanwhile another column of considerable size including

6,000 Syrians were engaged in the south eastern theatre of war under another lieutenant of Hajjaj b. Yusuf. He was his own cousin and son

398
Political and Cultural History of Islam
in law Muhammad b. Qasim of the Banu Thaqif tribe, the governor of Makran. On a military expedition he moved southward to the Indian border. It was reported that some pirates of Sind had plundered a number of ships loaded with Muslim widows and orphans and gifts from the king of Ceylon for the Arab ruler, \Valid I. Dahir, the Hindu ruler of Sind, the lower valley and delta of the Sind (Indus), was asked to pay compensation for the loss but he refused to do so on the plea that the pirates were not under his control.
Muhammad b. Qasim v\as thus ordered by Hajjaj b. Yusuf to teach a lesson to Dahir. The general marched on Sind through modern Baluchistan and laid siege to the Daybul. Pieces of stones were hurled by munjaniq (catapult). A very big catapult worked by

500 men and known as the Bride was used in destroying the city. A stone thus flung destroyed the pinnacle of the famous temple of AlBudd (Buddha) which had a statue of Buddah forty cubits high. This struck terror in the’ heart of Dahir who fled. Pursued by Muhammad b. Qasim across the Indus he gave battle to the Muslims at Mihran. A severe battle was fought. Dahir died fighting in the battle-field. His queen and other maidens performed Jawhar by setting fire to the palace.

Next Brahamnabad was taken by storm. In commemoration of which al-Mansurah, the city of victory, was founded at a distance of two farsangs from Brahmanabad in the hill tract of Baluchistan. In order to keep under control the Muslims possession another military camp grew into a city under name of al-Mahfuzah (Protected). Al Nirun (modern Hyderabad) was also captured Muslims then marched on Multan and laid siege to it. It was called the gateway to India and was a great centre of Buddhist pilgrimage. It fell after a stubborn resistance. This led to the permanent occupation of Sind and southern Punjab which from 1947 formed a part of West Pakistan. Sind in the South and Tashqand and Kashghar in the north formed the border of Muslim empire. Muhammad b. Qasim’s further progress in the east to capture rest of India was arrested by the death of Walid. He was recalled by Sulayman killed on the false charge of dishonouring the daughters of Dahir before sending them as prisoners to Damascus. Other adherents of Hajjaj were also tortured and put to death due to old animosity between Hajjaj and Sula\man.