Among its neighbors and the nations of the world, India was particularly notorious for its class divisions, racial discrimination, inequality among its people, and the preference of some human beings over others. The class divisions within this system were extremely rigid and inflexible. At the same time, the system was supported and endorsed by religious beliefs and doctrines and was based on the interests of the occupying Aryans and the sanctimonious Brahmins. The foundation of this system consisted of occupations and professions that were inherited among different social groups.
Civil and political laws also supported this system. Consequently, it was enforced throughout the country and regarded as a prescribed way of life.
According to this system, the people of India were divided into four classes:
Religious leaders, the religious class, and priests, who were called Brahmins;
Warriors and soldiers, who were called Kshatriyas;
Farmers and merchants, who were known as Vaishyas;
The servant class, who were called Achhuts (Untouchables).
The last class was regarded as the lowest in society. It was believed that the Creator had created this class from His feet and that its sole purpose was to serve the other three classes and provide for their comfort. [1]
Women in Indian Society
The status of women in this society had been reduced to that of female slaves. Sometimes, a man would lose his wife in gambling, and in many cases, a woman would have several husbands.
If her husband died, she was not permitted to marry again. She remained constantly exposed to insults and hurtful remarks, and she became a servant of her deceased husband’s family, serving his relatives.
At times, in order to escape the suffering of life and the misery of this world, a woman would set herself on fire after her husband’s death.
In this way, this fertile land, rich in the intellectual and philosophical heritage of its people—a nation that some Arab historians regarded as a treasure of wisdom, a fountain of justice, governance, and political insight, and a people possessing great intellect and respected thought—had become a battleground of ignorance, idol worship, and social oppression. This situation had resulted from the abandonment of true religion, the deviation of religious leaders, the waste of the country’s resources, the people’s immersion in speculation and imaginary matters, and their pursuit of inner desires and sensual impulses. Such a condition, it is claimed, had no parallel among any nation or in any period of history.
From studying the conditions of India before Islam, it becomes clear that the people of that era were caught in ignorance, darkness, polytheism, and superstition. Many people worshipped idols and believed in false and superstitious ideas. [2]
The family system was also in a poor condition, and in many cases, little value or importance was given to the family. Sometimes, a man would lose his wife in gambling.
Such practices demonstrate that, in some parts of society, the value and respect accorded to the family had fallen to a very low level.
In general, before Islam, India faced numerous problems in matters of belief, morality, and social life, and its people needed reform and proper guidance.
