North India and Islamic traditions

In north India, many Rajput states emerged, which upheld the importance of Brahmanas. But other religious leaders, like the Naths, Jogis and Siddhas, many of them from artisan groups (like weavers), questioned the authority of the Vedas and expressed their ideas in languages spoken by ordinary people.

Islam came to the subcontinent in several ways: with Arab traders along the western coast; with Muhammad Qasim, an Arab general who conquered Sind in 711; and later with the Delhi Sultanate and the Mughals.

In theory, Muslim rulers were to be guided by the ulama and the shari'a. Non-Muslims could be treated as zimmis ('protected' people), who paid a tax called jizya in return for protection. In practice, rulers were often flexible: many gave land grants and tax exemptions to temples and to other religious groups. Akbar and even Aurangzeb made such grants.

All Muslims accept the five pillars of Islam: belief in one God, Allah, and his Prophet Muhammad (shahada); offering prayers five times a day (namaz/salat); giving alms (zakat); fasting in Ramzan (sawm); and the pilgrimage to Mecca (hajj). But there was great local diversity. The Khojahs, a branch of the Ismailis, expressed their ideas in devotional songs called ginans, in local languages. The Muslims of Malabar spoke Malayalam and followed matriliny.

Mosques share common features, like their orientation towards Mecca, shown by the mihrab (prayer niche) and the minbar (pulpit); but they differ in their roofs and building materials, following local styles. Sanskrit texts called the migrants Turushka (Turks), Yavana (originally used for Greeks) or mlechchha, rather than by their religion. One faith, many local forms.