HistoryMedieval India: Bhakti Sufi Traditions

Sanskrit texts and inscriptions of the eighth to fourteenth centuries…

Sanskrit texts and inscriptions of the eighth to fourteenth centuries virtually never use the term musalman or Muslim. How were people occasionally identified instead?

Answer & explanation

Correct answer: option 3

The correct answer is Option (3) → By the region from which they came

Sanskrit texts and inscriptions of the eighth to fourteenth centuries identified people by the region they came from, such as Turushka for Turks and Parashika for people from Persia.

NCERT (2026-27): “5.3 Names for communities …
Historians who have studied Sanskrit texts and inscriptions dating between the eighth and fourteenth centuries point out that the term musalman or Muslim was virtually never used. Instead, people were occasionally identified in terms of the region from which they came. So, the Turkish rulers were designated as Turushka, Tajika were people from Tajikistan and Parashika were people from Persia. …”