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In such case, a question can be asked as to who these Turks, then based in Bengal, could have been, since generally Bakhtiyar Khilji’s raid is believed to have been the first such in Eastern India. The answer is not difficult to find if one reads carefully between the lines, as several evidences have emerged which clearly establish Turkish activities in eastern India from at least the beginning of the 11th century. Though not many historians seem to have paid due attention to such references, they are nevertheless important for an understanding of the times, as Turkish influence in Bihar is documented in times much before the well known raids of Bakhtiyar Khiliji around 1193 A.D. Reading Taranath, we learn about several strifes with the Turks even prior to the departure of Atisa (1040 to 1042 A.D.), starting from the times of Canaka, when the efforts of the Bali acharya had salvaged the situation. Archaeological references for such activities have been also found at Maner, near Patna, where Arab rule is stated to have commenced in 1175 A.D itself, and a copper plate inscription (1126 A.D.) of Gahadvala King Govind Chandra mentions levy of “Turuska danda” or Turk’s duty even before such rule, thereby suggesting that long before Bakhtiyar Khilji’s advent in Bihar, some parts of the province including Maner had fallen under a sort of suzerainty of the Turks (the Ghaznavite emperors) who used to receive regular tribute from these places. All such existing Turkish groups may have combined their efforts towards the destruction of Vikramshila and subsequent invasion of different parts of contemporary Magadha taking advantage of the prevailing situation
To b continued....