Paper Title
Islam and Islamization in Medieval India: A Study of Ecology and Acculturative Trend in Historical Writings

Abstract
Islam demonstrates the ability to absorb and adapt to the local cultures of areas wherever it has reached. Islam spread in other countries of the world including Indian subcontinent. Islamization process started with the establishment of Delhi Sultanate in Medieval India. Historians have given different theories of the expansion of Islam in India from late eighteenth century to the present times which focused on different factors viz. immigration, religion of the sword, religion of patronage and religion of social liberation. Some scholars like Asim Roy, Richard M. Eaton, Mohammad Ishaq Khan refutes all the conventional theories of Islamization and laid emphasis on slow process of acculturation caused by several factors with respect to regions like Bengal, Kashmir and Punjab. This paper tries to understand the evolution of historical thinking on the nature of Islam and process of Islamization in Medieval India. Keywords- Islam, Islamization, Forcible Conversion, Acculturation, Assimilation, Syncretism