Page:History of India Vol 3.djvu/72

 44 GHAZNI AND GHOE. with its forest of temples was a splendid prize. The invaders did not dare to hold it more than a few hours, lest they should be overwhelmed by the Hindus, and before mid-day they had plundered the markets and got off scot free with an immense booty. Myaltagin was suspected of still more daring schemes; he was said to be buying Turkish slaves secretly, and gave himself out as a son of Sultan Mahmud. Not only was the army of Lahore devoted to him, but Turkmans and adventurers of all sorts were flocking to his standard. The policy of sending suspected and disorderly persons to India was bearing fruit. In short, everything was ripe for rebellion, and in the summer of 1033 news came that the viceroy was in open revolt, the kadi shut up in a fort, and all was turmoil and bloodshed. To restore order Mas'ud appointed a Hindu, named Tilak, to take over the command in the Pan jab. The other generals showed themselves backward in volun- teering for the dangerous task, and Tilak 's eager bid for the command pleased the Sultan. The fact that a Hindu should have attained such a position shows how far the process of assimilation between the Turks and the Indians had already gone. Tilak was the son of a barber, a good-looking, plausible fellow, eloquent of speech, a fluent writer both in Hindi and Persian, and a master of dissimulation, which he had studied under the best professors in Kashmir, the home of lies. He is also described as " proficient in amours and witch- craft," and every one admired him. He gained a great influence over Mas'ud, who set him over the Indian