Various reasons contributed to the success of Muhammad-bin- Qasim against Dahir. In this connection the first and foremost reason was the political and social disintegration of Sindh. The political unity in Sindh was nowhere visible and the province of Sindh was divided into many principalities.
All these principalities were having no unity due to mutual jealousies and conflicts. They failed to form a united front against the Arabs. The inefficiency and sensual life of the contemporary rulers of Sindh also contributed to its decline. They were neither worthy rulers nor efficient commanders. People were dissatisfied with them and they had no interest in the politics of the country. Under such circumstances, the defeat of the army of Sindh was inevitable against the Arabs.
People of different religions and castes lived in Sindh and there was no harmony among them. The foreign invader took advantage of this feud and forced’ the people of Sindh to surrender. Their mutual conflicts and religious differences ultimately proved fatal for their own existence.
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The Hindus’ social system was also responsible for the defeat of the king of Sindh. The people of high castes exploited the people of low castes. Untouchability and the mutual conflicting feelings among the rich and the poor were so much rampant in the society that the people of high castes used to be inhuman in behaviour with the other people. Disaffection and treachery, without doubt, were important causes of the fall of Sindh.
During this time some astrologers had prophesied that India would be ruled by foreigners in the near future. It also harmed the people of India who had firm faith in fate.
The geographical condition of Sindh also contributed to the success of the Arabs. Sindh was situated in far west region of India. The countries placed farther could not be attracted towards Sindh.
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Thus this region remained cut off from the rest of India and failed to get any help from any ruler at the time of distress. Besides, Sindh is a desert, so the population of this place is very sparse and resources very scanty. The life of most of the people was full of troubles. Hence the Arabs achieved success against Sindh.
The weaknesses of king Dahir were also a significant cause of the success of the Arabs. The subjects of Sindh were not satisfied with their king. Although he was quite brave yet he had no foresight. He was proud. He made no efforts to strengthen his navy nor did he try to establish communal harmony among his subjects. The Arabs had their entry in India through Makran and king Dahir was fully responsible for it. He should have strengthened his navy earlier to check the invasion of Sindh but he did not make any effort in this regard due to his negligence and lack of foresight.
King Dahir had many shortcomings as a soldier and commander as well. He did not know how to organize the army. His leadership was also quite inefficient. The Indian soldiers were less trained and disciplined in comparison with the Arab soldiers. Their arms were also old and wornout. The war strategy of king Dahir was also faulty, hence defeat was inevitable.
Besides training and discipline, the Muslim army was motivated by religious fanaticism. They were not afraid of death. They were satisfied with the notion that they would spread Islam in case of their victory and would go to heaven even if they died fighting this religious war.
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Hence they prepared themselves to sacrifice their everything for achieving either of the two motives; whereas their early failure disheartened the Indian army, and their morale fell.
Muhammad-bin-Qasim’s towering genius and excellent leadership also contributed to the victory of the Arabs against Sindh. Although he was a lad of seventeen years, he had valour and courage in him. His army organization and command was of a very high order.
He terrified the people of India by oppressing the vanquished people of Debal but later on he behaved politely and gained their favour. He gave facilities to Brahmans and appointed them on high posts in the administration. Thus he achieved victory against Sindh by his own merits.