Jun

24

History, as was where was

June 24, 2007 posted by indiatime |

A recent article in the Times discusses a few myths in Indian history.

Here’s what the Times is saying:

1. Islam was brought to India by Muslim invaders:

India’s introduction to Islam was through Arab traders and not Muslim invaders, as is generally believed…the first mosque in the county was built by an Arab trader at Kodungallur, in what is now Kerala, in 629 AD. Interestingly, Prophet Mohammed was alive at that time….

Here’s what the Times writer is confused about, I think. Islam may have originally come to India with Arab traders, between 610-629 AD, but Islam really came to India with the Muslim invaders a few centuries later. Now, both these sentences are correct. Consider this. Indians first came to the United States in the late 1700s. But Indian really arrived in the USA in the 1960s. There is a difference in the Islam that came in the 600s, and the Islam that came in say, 1100s, or 1200s. Those were two entirely different versions of Islam, one that came for business, and the other that came to aggress.

I don’t understand what the point is in denying that India of the early second millenium was invaded against its will by muslim invaders who left behind a path of destruction and devastation as they barged into the Indian territories. Over the next several centuries, religious conversions to Islam were commonplace during the Mughal kingdom, and the ancestors of the majority of today’s muslim population of India, were at one time or another Hindus. It is a historic fact, and so be it. Muslims are as much a part of today’s India as Hindus and Christians and Sikhs and Biddhists and Jains and Jews are.

Having said that, for some reason, some historians seem to be on a quest for political correctness that is totally unnecessary, pointless, and counterproductive. Even outsiders like James Laine feel empowered to pursue their crusade of rewriting Indian history with little more than hearsay to support their claims. But history needs to be told as was where was. Even if it is not a pleasant and a happy version of history, sometimes.


Comments

Name (required)

Email (required)

Website

Speak your mind

3 Comments so far

  1. Sami on June 25, 2007 9:00 pm

    I think these comments are by a communal person. The person is trying to kindle communal feelings by poinitng fingers at renowned historians and making baseless statements.

    I believe one should research thoroughly and then speak/write. By making such statements he won’t be able to change the history of the world.

    I sincerely request the editor to weed out such baseless articles against a community.

  2. namitanshu vatsa on July 13, 2007 10:00 am

    in indian tradition it is said that the truth is very subtle and not so easy to understand.and in this context that one should try to understand that truth has many dimensions. what is wrongin appreciating that the invasion as well as the trading relations both, played their role in spreading islam in india. this fact should not have us to confront on this issue.

  3. Soma Varma on January 5, 2010 6:15 pm

    History is shrouded in mystery! It is opinionated by the writer of the time, and his favourites. To get at the truth is extremely difficult, even of the present times. An ordinary Indian citizen gets the impression that the country won freedom because of Mahathma Gandhi only.The large number of small freedom fighters of various times are just…, so imagine hundreds of decades back!
    First foreigners come here as traders, then as conquerers and in the process of ruling convert the natives to their religion by offers of jobs, wealth or force. It is nothing new to this country, perhaps only waiting to happen again in a different form.
    From old books it appears muslim invaders were more violent in converting whereever through the invading hordes passed. For the (psuedo) secularists it is a nightmare to recall history, better to leave the sleeping dog to sleep?! . but..history ..repeats..!

Search

 




Most commented

Mumbai's communal overtones signal upcoming elections (475)
Why did Kolkata police murder Rizwanur Rahman? (329)
Ten reasons why India is doing better than Pakistan 60 years after independence (317)
Bun roller millionnaire saves Indicted Swami's buns by posting $10 bond (93)
Top 10 reasons India sucks at the Olympics (64)
Auntie, Corruption bureau and Crime branch (48)
Shah Rukh Khan detained at immigration checkpoint in US (44)
Ishmeet Singh (1989-2008) (39)
And my vote for a modern day wonder goes to.....India! (37)
Convicted Czech scientist flees India (36)


Most visited

Hollywood’s first Indian star
Meeting Raj Kapoor at the barbershop
Madhubala on a postal stamp
Why I’m happier than Mukesh Ambani
An inconvenient truth about India’s intellectual property
UFOs may be ‘idlis’ but time travels only in ‘medu-wadas’
Dr Singh is no Dr King
Lesser Known Indians
The Most ‘Nobel’ Teacher of Them All
The third Indian revered in China
A little Poland in India
The vanishing of Indian languages
The looting of Chandigarh’s treasures
Bharat, Pakistan and Hindustan, Indiana
Welcome to India, Steve!
Top 5 explanations for the president’s gesture
An IIT on every street, an IIM on every block
Pakistan, Jinnah, Wadias and the American anthem
An IAS officer’s nightmare of lustful, lascivious stares comes true