Skip to main content

Politicized history books promote communal strife, religious antagonisms


By Moin Qazi*
The most effective way to destroy people is to deny and obliterate their own understanding of their history.” – George Orwell
Too much of the thinking about Muslim rulers is now being shaped along predictable, clichéd lines. This is true of all shades of opinion, perception and scholarship. There is evidence from a number of established scholarly discourses that the public perception about Muslim rulers is being increasingly manipulated to fit into a profile built by right wing historians.
The negative images of Islam stem partly from a lack of understanding of Islam among non-Muslims and partly from the failure of Muslims to explain themselves. The results are predictable: hatred feeds on hatred. Ignorance of Islam exists among both Muslims and non-Muslims. Non-Muslims, ignorant and misunderstanding Islam, fear it. They believe it threatens their most basic values. Similarly, Muslims have their own misconceptions. They, reacting to the hate and fear of non-Muslims, create a kind of defensive posture within their societies and a combative environment built on militant rhetoric. In this heat and misunderstanding, the voices of sanity are drowned.
The greatest damage to Muslim history has been done by the infamous book, “The History of India, as Told by Its Own Historians”, authored by Elliot and Dawson. There was a time when this book was widely prescribed in schools and colleges. A casual glance at a few pages would reveal the determined effort of the authors to poison the minds of readers against Muslim rulers.
The authors, keen to contrast what they understood as the justice and efficiency of British rule with the so-called cruelty and despotism of the Muslim rulers who had preceded that rule, were anything but sympathetic to the “Muhammadan” period of Indian history. The politics of the history textbooks in India today promote communal strife by creating a historical consciousness that gives pride of place to religion and proposes a narrative that traces back community identities and antagonisms, and hence legitimises their existence.
Several new studies, coming from western scholarship, also show that the Mughals were pluralists and catholic in their outlook and in their policies. According to Audrey Truschke, a Mellon post-doctoral fellow in the Department of Religious Studies at Stanford University, much of the current religious conflict in India has been fueled by ideological assumptions about that period rather than an accurate rendering of the subcontinent’s history.
In her book, “Culture of Encounters: Sanskrit at the Mughal Court”, Truschke says that the heyday of Muslim rule in India from the 16th to 18th centuries was, in fact, one of “tremendous cross-cultural respect and fertilization,” not religious or cultural conflict. A leading scholar of South Asian cultural and intellectual history, Truschke argues that this more divisive interpretation actually developed during the colonial period from 1757 to 1947.
“The British benefited from pitting Hindus and Muslims against one another and portrayed themselves as neutral saviors who could keep ancient religious conflicts at bay,” she says. “While colonialism ended in the 1940s, the modern Hindu right has found tremendous political value in continuing to proclaim and create endemic Hindu-Muslim conflict.”
Truschke finds that high-level contact between learned Muslims and Hindus was marked by collaborative encounters across linguistic and religious lines:
“Aurangzeb protected more Hindu temples than he destroyed. He employed more Hindus in his imperial administration than any prior Mughal ruler by a fair margin (50% more Hindus, proportionally, than Akbar had included, for instance). Aurangzeb asked Hindu doctors and astrologers for advice throughout his life, even in his final years. Aurangzeb also destroyed some temples, reinstitute the jizya tax, and, along with the Marathas, caused mass human suffering in central and south India. The goal for a historian is to make sense of all of these aspects of Aurangzeb rather than singling out only one side of this complicated king.”
Another great ruler vilified by historians was Tipu Sultan, who was the fiercest foe the British ever encountered. As one of the first Indian rulers to be martyred while defending his homeland against the Empire, Tipu figures prominently in the British Army’s National Army Museum as one of the ten greatest enemy commanders the British Army ever faced. In his capability as a military strategist, Tipu was an equal of Napoleon Bonaparte.
Besides being a great military strategist, Tipu was also a visionary and innovative ruler. Aside from military innovation, Tipu is said to have introduced new coinage, a calendar and a system of weights and measures mainly based on the methods devised by French technicians. Thus, he was a modernist who even planted the “tree of liberty” at the Srirangapatna fort, in honour of the French revolutionaries.
Tipu Sultan is, however, demonised, largely due to the particularly biased trajectory of British historiography, which branded him “a furious fanatic and an intolerant bigot.” Some even retained a fondness for comparing Tipu with Mahmud Ghaznavi and Nadir Shah. Wilks and Kirkpatrick accused Tipu of exiling 60,000 Kanarese Christians. But one must not forget that the Kanarese Christians apparently helped the English to conquer Mangalore during the Second Anglo-Mysore war. He treated the Syrian Christians of his kingdom extremely well and also encouraged Armenian merchants to settle in Mysore.
Similarly, he was falsely accused of resorting to forced conversions. An archival record unearthed in 1913 revealed 21 letters he wrote to Sringeri monastery proving him to be a patron of many Hindu maunders (temples). The reason for the acute venom spouted against Tipu by the British lay in the challenge he posed to colonial power. When the princes of Rajputana had surrendered and Ranjit Singh, “The Lion of Punjab,” compromised, and the Marathas quietly buckled under the threat of British arms, Tipu dared to confront the colonialists.
The defenders of Tipu Sultan say that when he was not fighting the British, he focused on welfare works such as improving irrigation and agriculture and making just laws. The 1988 Annual Journal of the Tipu Sultan Research Institute and Museum reprinted parts of a 1786 proclamation that abolished flogging and whipping. The edict also said:
“Looting a conquered army enriches a few, impoverishes the nation and dishonors the entire army. War must be linked to the battlefields. Do not carry it to innocent civilians. Honour their children and the infirm.”
Research by Dr BN Pande showed not only that Tipu paid annual grants to 156 temples, but that he enjoyed cordial relations with the Shankaracharya of Sringeri Math to whom he had addressed at least 30 letters.
The developments that occasioned the Indian Partition catalysed a process of sectarian politics that found its logical end in the creation of separate nations altogether. Seven decades after the partition of India, a debate on what caused it is merely academic. But the question of how to contain and tame its lingering sparks and bushfires is of immense practical importance. Hindu nationalist ideologues still periodically subject Indian Muslims to loyalty tests.
The saffron discourse normalizes a certain cultural-nationalist worldview which recasts the historic, 300-year rule of the Mughals (whose empire at one point stretched from Burma to Afghanistan and produced, among other things, the Taj Mahal and the Urdu language) as a form of Muslim settler-colonialism that oppressed Hindus. As the great American writer and social critic James Baldwin writes in “Notes of a Native Son”: “People are trapped in history, and history is trapped in them.”
A reappraisal of history can alone put the record straight and clear the misconceptions created by partisan historians, in whose works fantasy, conjecture and stereotypes have replaced fact and reality. Or else we will be confirming the fears of the great thinker, Walter Benjamin: “History is written by the victors.”
The paradox underlying this conundrum is best captured in the dedication template of Bhagwan S Gidwani, author of “The Sword of Tipu Sultan”, who devoted 13 years to part-time research on his book in the archives of half a dozen countries for writing his novel. It reads:
“To the country which lacks a historian; to men whom history owes rehabilitation.”
*Development expert

Comments

TRENDING

देशव्यापी ग्रामीण भारत बंध में उतरे मध्य प्रदेश के आदिवासी, किया केंद्र सरकार का विरोध

- हरसिंग जमरे, भिखला सोलंकी, रतन अलावे*  15 और 16 फरवरी को निमाड के बड़वानी, खरगोन और बुरहानपुर में जागृत आदिवासी दलित संगठन के नेतृत्व में आदिवासी महिला-पुरुषों ग्रामीण भारत बंद में रैली एवं विरोध प्रदर्शन किया । प्रधान मंत्री द्वारा 2014 में फसलों की लागत का डेढ़ गुना भाव देने का वादा किया गया था, 2016 में किसानों की आय दुगना करने का वादा किया गया था । आज, फसलों का दाम नहीं बढ़ रहा है, लेकिन खेती में खर्च बढ़ता जा रहा है! खाद, बीज और दवाइयों का दाम, तीन-चार गुना बढ़ चुका है! किसानों को लागत का डेढ़ गुना भाव देने के बजाए, खेती को कंपनियों के हवाले करने के लिए 3 काले कृषि कानून लाए गए । 3 काले कानून वापस लेते समय प्रधान मंत्री ने फिर वादा किया था कि फसलों की लागत का डेढ़ गुना भाव की कानूनी गारंटी के लिए कानून बनाएँगे, लेकिन वो भी झूठ निकला! आज जब देश के किसान दिल्ली में आपको अपना वादा याद दिलाने आए है, तब आप उनका रास्ता रोक रहें है, उनके साथ मारपीट कर उन पर आँसू गैस फेंक रहें हैं, उन पर छर्रों से फायरिंग कर रहें है! देश को खिलाने वाला किसान खुद भूखा रहे, क्या यही विकास है?

नफरती बातें: मुसलमानों में असुरक्षा का भाव बढ़ रहा है, वे अपने मोहल्लों में सिमट रहे हैं

- राम पुनियानी*  भारत पर पिछले 10 सालों से हिन्दू राष्ट्रवादी भारतीय जनता पार्टी (भाजपा) राज कर रही है. भाजपा आरएसएस परिवार की सदस्य है और आरएसएस का लक्ष्य है हिन्दू राष्ट्र का निर्माण. आरएसएस से जुड़ी सैंकड़ों संस्थाएँ हैं. उसके लाखों, बल्कि शायद, करोड़ों स्वयंसेवक हैं. इसके अलावा कई हजार वरिष्ठ कार्यकर्ता हैं जिन्हें प्रचारक कहा जाता है. भाजपा के सत्ता में आने के बाद से आरएसएस दुगनी गति से हिन्दू राष्ट्र के निर्माण के अपने एजेण्डे को पूरा करने में जुट गया है. यदि भाजपा को चुनावों में लगातार सफलता हासिल हो रही है तो उसका कारण है देश में साम्प्रदायिकता और साम्प्रदायिक मुद्दों का बढ़ता बोलबाला. इनमें से कुछ हैं राम मंदिर, गौमांस और गोवध एवं लव जिहाद. 

Only 15% businesses provide employees real-time sustainability dashboards: Study

Kyndryl in collaboration with Microsoft has released the findings of The Global Sustainability Barometer study. The study, conducted by Ecosystm, finds that while 85% of organizations place a high strategic level of importance on achieving their sustainability goals, only 16% have integrated sustainability into their strategies and data. A Kyndryl note: *** Kyndryl (NYSE: KD), the world’s largest IT infrastructure services provider, in collaboration with Microsoft , today released the findings of The Global Sustainability Barometer study. The study, conducted by Ecosystm , finds that while 85% of organizations place a high strategic level of importance on achieving their sustainability goals, only 16% have integrated sustainability into their strategies and data.

How the slogan Jai Bhim gained momentum as movement of popularity and revolution

By Dr Kapilendra Das*  India is an incomprehensible plural country loaded with diversities of religions, castes, cultures, languages, dialects, tribes, societies, costumes, etc. The Indians have good manners/etiquette (decent social conduct, gesture, courtesy, politeness) that build healthy relationships and take them ahead to life. In many parts of India, in many situations, and on formal occasions, it is common for people of India to express and exchange respect, greetings, and salutation for which we people usually use words and phrases like- Namaskar, Namaste, Pranam, Ram Ram, Jai Ram ji, Jai Sriram, Good morning, shubha sakal, Radhe Radhe, Jai Bajarangabali, Jai Gopal, Jai Jai, Supravat, Good night, Shuvaratri, Jai Bhole, Salaam walekam, Walekam salaam, Radhaswami, Namo Buddhaya, Jai Bhim, Hello, and so on.

Laxmanpur Bathe massacre: Perfect example of proto-fascist Brahmanical social order

By Harsh Thakor  The massacre at Laxmanpur-Bathe of Jehanabad in Bihar on the night of 1 December in 1997 was a landmark event with distinguishing features .The genocide rightly shook the conscience of the nation in the 50th year of Indian independence. The scale of the carnage was unparalleled in any caste massacre. It was a perfect manifestation of how in essence the so called neo-liberal state was in essence most autocratic. 

અત્યારસુધી પ્રિન્ટ કરાયેલા ચુંટણી બૉન્ડ નો પ્રિન્ટિંગ ખર્ચ રૂ 1,90,01,380 કેન્દ્ર સરકારે ભોગવ્યો

- પંક્તિ જોગ  ચુંટણી બૉન્ડ ના કુલ 30 તબક્કામાં SBI  જુદાજુદા 19 રાજ્યો માં અધિકૃત કરેલા SBI મુખ્ય શાખાઓ માંથી જે બોન્ડ વેંચવામાં આવ્યા તેના કમિશન પેટે SBI કેન્દ્ર સરકાર (નાણાં મંત્રાલય) પાસે રૂ 12,4,59,043/-  માંગ્યા. 

Tamil Nadu brahmins are at cross roads, their future scenario remains uncertain

By NS Venkataraman*  For over 70 years now, brahmin community in Tamil Nadu have been abused, insulted and even physically attacked on some occasions by those who claimed that they were part of the so called dravidian movement. However, brahmin community silently and helplessly ducked under pressure and showed no signs of resistance or fight back.

गुजरात विश्वविद्यालय कुलपति महोदया का बयान उल्टा चोर कोतवाल को डांटे समान है

गुजरात विश्व विद्यालय परिसर में विदेशी छात्रों को सांस्कृतिक संवेदनशीलता का पाठ देने की ख़बर के संबंध में विश्व विद्यालय को खुला पत्र: --- प्रति श्री, कुलपति महोदय गुजरात विश्वविद्यालय अहमदाबाद विषय- गुजरात विश्व विद्यालय परिसर में विदेशी छात्रों को सांस्कृतिक संवेदनशीलता का पाठ देने की ख़बर के संबंध में। महोदया,

અંકલેશ્વર/પાનોલી માં વાંરવાર અકસ્માત ના બનાવો બને છે એ એક ચિંતન નો વિષય છે

- સલીમ પટેલ*  પાનોલી જીઆઇડીસીમાં ઓદ્યોગિક ઘન/પ્રવાહી કચરાનું રીસાયલીંગ કરતી RSPL નામની કમ્પની આવેલ છે. જે અન્ય ઓદ્યોગિક એકમોના રાસાયણિક કચરાને રીસાયલીંગ કરવાનું કામ કરે છે જેમાં અનેક અને દુર –દુર ના એકમોનો રાસાયણિક કચરાને અહિયાં પ્રોસેસ માટે લાવવામાં આવે છે. આ દરમ્યાન 23.03.24 નાં રોજ મોડી સાંજે કોઈ કારણોસર રાસાયણિક કચરામાં આગ લાગતા હોળી પેહલા જ વેસ્ટ કેમિકલ હોળી દહન ના દ્ર્શ્યો સર્જાયા હતા અને તેમાં સોલ્વન્ટ સહીત ના ઝેરી તત્વો શામેલ હોવાના લીધે વાતાવરણ પ્રદુષિત બનતા આસપાસના લોકોમાં ભય ફેલાયો હતો. આ અગાઉ પણ ગત વર્ષે પણ પાનોલી જી આઈ ડી સી માં આગ અકસ્માત નો બનાવ બનતા કેટલાક ગામો ને ખાલી કરવાની ફરજ પડી હતી જે ઘટના ને યાદ કરી પ્રજા માં ભય નું વાતાવરણ સર્જાયું હતું.

Holi, also known as Eid-e-Gulabi, is a shared colourful heritage of Hindus, Muslims

By Firoz Bakht Ahmed* Though I never see people as Hindus and Muslims as the famous poet saint Kabir had said that he doesn’t see a Hindu and and Muslim in the eyes of a person but a human! Interestingly yet I would like to share that Tilak Raj Rustagi, a Hindu friend and colleague of mine, has since 1983 been coming to my place on Holi to smear the red gulal on my forehead as a mark of the festival’s inter-faith harmonious spirit. Once a relative of mine, on seeing the colour smeared on my forehead, remarked, “It is irreligious and un-Islamic to play Holi.” I told him that such things only reiterate my faith in my religion, as friendly acts like putting gulal or lighting a candle on Diwali cannot take away my religion. In the same tone and tenure, Atyab Siddiqui, a senior Delhi High Court lawyer, while celebrating the hues of Holi with his wife Umema, son Mizan and Sumaiyya, states this lovely couplet about Urdu, “”Munh par naqab-e-zard har ik zulf par gulal/ Holi ki shaam hi to sahar