1. Muhammad Ghori was an ambitious and imperialist Sultan- He was not satisfied with the small kingdom of Ghor. He wanted to expand the territory of his kingdom and India was the best suited empire for the fulfillment of his ambitions. Taking the advantage of India’s political, social religious and military weaknesses, he turned his attention to India.
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2. There had been a prolonged tug of war between Ghazni and Ghor. Prior to his invasion on India, Ghori had occupied Ghazhni and the Sultans of Ghazni had settled in Punjab after fleeing Ghazni. Muhammad Ghori wanted to uproot the Ghaznavids completely. It had, therefore, become essential for him to invade Punjab first.
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3. The Shia rulers of Sindh and Multan were against Muhammad Ghori, hence he decided to punish them on his way to Punjab.
4. Muhammad Ghori was, a staunch Sunni Musalman, hence it was his pious duty to serve Islam and to expand it among the infidels. To break the idols and to convert the Hindus to the fold of Islam, he considered his pious duty. Thus we see that religious motives were also hidden behind his imperialist policy.
5. Greed for gold had also been a reason of foreign invasions. India was considered a golden bird. To reap the harvest of gold was one of the prominent aims of the invaders. Muhammad Ghori also needed money for his central Asian wars and it could be procured from the temples and kings of India, hence he decided to invade India.
6. The kingdom of Ghori was surrounded by enemies however. Muhammad Ghori wanted to enhance his power and-resources by invading India. Though in the beginning be, wanted to extend his territories in Western Asia, he failed to achieve success in his mission. Later, he directed his attention towards India due to her deplorable political condition and attained success.
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7. The kingdom of Ghori was newly established. Muhammad Ghori intended to enhance its power and prestige by his wonderful achievements. In this way he should have earned name and fame in the Islamic world.
No doubt, prior to him the Arabs and the Turks had invaded India and plundered her wealth but the aim of the invasion of Muhammad Ghori was a bit different in comparison to the former aggressors. He was not only motivated by the greed for gold and lust for power hut intended to establish a permanent Turkish Empire in India.
Historians are of the opinion that had India not been a country of the infidels, Muhammad Ghori must have invaded her due to his political ambitions. In fact, he immortalized his name in the pages of medieval history by launching incessant attacks on India and establishing a permanent Muslim empire in India.
