Guest guest Posted September 2, 2004 Report Share Posted September 2, 2004 >http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_30-8-2004_pg3_4 >DAILY TIMES, AUGUST 30, 2004 >LETTER FROM LONDON: Demons from the past >Irfan Husain > >Whether we like it or not, neither geography nor history can be changed. >While >both countries have engaged in rewriting the past to suit their respective >agendas, the facts cannot be erased. Both Muslims and Hindus have to live >together as neighbours, and in India, as citizens > >In a tranquil place like St Andrews, there are not many distractions, so I >have >been reading lots of history and trying to reflect on its lessons. For some >time now, I have been interested in the dynamics of Hindu-Muslim relations, >and >the impact of ancient enmities and grievances on current Indo-Pak >relations. > >We have forgotten much of our past, but it nonetheless affects our daily >lives. > >For instance, when we now think of the Afghan city of Kandahar, we equate >it >with the Taliban. But its original name was Gandhara, and it was a part of >the >ancient Buddhist civilisation with its capital city in Taxila. Swat, >Peshawar >and the Kabul Valley were all included in this thriving, peaceful community >that had absorbed Mediterranean culture brought to the subcontinent by >Alexander, and before him, by Greek mercenaries and traders. > >While it was no utopia, it was a stable, prosperous civilisation that >threatened >none of its neighbours, and has bequeathed us a wealth of artefacts that >attest >to its high level of cultural development. > >The reason I mention this period of history is to try and understand the >bitterness that must exist in many Hindu minds over the Muslim conquest of >their country. In his Story of Civilisation, Will Durant writes: “The >Mohammedan conquest of India is probably the bloodiest in history”. While >historical events should be judged in the context of their times, it cannot >be >denied that even in that bloody period of history, no mercy was shown to >the >Hindus unfortunate enough to be in the path of either the Arab conquerors >of >Sindh and south Punjab, or the Central Asians who swept in from >Afghanistan. > >The Muslim heroes who figure larger than life in our history books >committed >some dreadful crimes. Mahmud of Ghazni, Qutb-ud-Din Aibak, Balban, Mohammed >bin >Qasim, and Sultan Mohammad Tughlak, all have blood-stained hands that the >passage of years has not cleansed. Indeed, the presence of Muslim >historians on >their various campaigns has ensured that the memory of their deeds will >live >long after they were buried. > >Seen through Hindu eyes, the Muslim invasion of their homeland was an >unmitigated disaster. Their temples were razed, their idols smashed, their >women raped, their men killed or taken slaves. When Mahmud of Ghazni >entered >Somnath on one of his annual raids, he slaughtered all 50,000 inhabitants. >Aibak killed and enslaved hundreds of thousands. The list of horrors is >long >and painful. > >These conquerors justified their deeds by claiming it was their religious >duty >to smite non-believers. Cloaking themselves in the banner of Islam, they >claimed they were fighting for their faith when, in reality, they were >indulging in straightforward slaughter and pillage. When these warriors >settled >in India, they ruled as absolute despots over a cowed Hindu populace. For >generations, their descendants took their martial superiority over their >subjects for granted. When the British exposed the decadence of the Moghuls >and >seized power, the Muslims especially the aristocracy tried to cut deals >with the new rulers to ensure that they would be treated differently from >the >Hindus. > >It has been argued by some historians that Pakistan was really created to >ensure >that the Muslim ruling class would not be subject to Hindu rule in an >undivided >India. But having created Pakistan, the ruling elites promptly started >lording >it over the Bengalis of East Pakistan. What, after all, is the point of >being >descendants of Tughlak, Aibak and Mahmud if there is no under-class to >persecute and exploit? > >This, then, is the Hindu perspective of the Muslim invasion of their >country. >After centuries of first Muslim and then British rule, they are finally in >charge of their destiny. For the first time in modern history, Indians feel >that they can play a role on the world stage in keeping with their numbers >and >the size of their country. > >Pakistan, especially its establishment and military, is smarting from >successive >military defeats and the steady diminishing of its international image. Due >to >their long domination of much of India, the Muslim elite in Pakistan feels >it >has some kind of divine right to be treated on a par with India. > >With this psychological and historical baggage, both sides are unable to >engage >constructively with each other. Many Hindus feel they have centuries of >humiliation to avenge. And a substantial number of Pakistani Muslims are >secretly convinced that they are inherently superior to the Hindus. > >One irony, of course, is that contrary to their wishful thinking, the vast >majority of Muslims in the subcontinent have more Hindu blood in their >veins >than there is Arab, Afghan, Turkish or Persian blood. Many of the invaders >took >Hindu wives and concubines. And many Hindus converted to Islam to further >their >military or civil service careers. As a result of this intermingling, >despite >proud boasts of pure bloodlines, most Pakistanis have many Hindu ancestors. > >This reality makes the Hindu-Muslim divide all the more bitter, for it pits >brother against brother. And as students of Moghul history are aware, this >is >perhaps the bloodiest kind of conflict. By ties of consanguinity, culture, >geography, and history, there is far more that unites than divides Indian >Hindus and Muslims. But the politics of self-interest, too often garbed in >the >banner of faith, has pushed them far apart. > >Why resurrect these ghosts from history? Because until we have confronted >the >demons from our past, we cannot understand the dynamics of contemporary >events. >As India and Pakistan go through the intricate steps of peace talks, each >side >needs to know what makes the other tick. > >Whether we like it or not, neither geography nor history can be changed. >While >both countries have engaged in rewriting the past to suit their respective >agendas, the facts cannot be erased. Both Muslims and Hindus have to live >together as neighbours, and in India, as citizens. > >A study and understanding of the past will promote better understanding >between >the two communities. It is important that Hindus grasp the central fact >that >their Muslim neighbours cannot now be held responsible for the persecution >of >their ancestors, and Muslims must face the fact that they are not the >political >heirs of the emperors Babar and Akbar. > >Time is a great leveller; it is also a great healer. > >The writer is a freelance columnist > > > > >------------------------------- >This message was sent using IMP, the Internet Messaging Program. > > _______________ Don’t just search. Find. Check out the new MSN Search! http://search.msn.click-url.com/go/onm00200636ave/direct/01/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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