Last year I saved a tweet from Rakesh Simha that mentioned the number of years different dynasties have ruled in India. Here it is –
This is the unfortunate reality … that our children learn just the recent history of India and that too a “Mughal Centric” history. I have no problems with the Mughals, they did what they had to do to survive and thrive. Plundering, looting, incessantly warring and establishing your kingdom was the only business enterprise in those times. Actually the modern corporate world is no different, we just do it using sophisticated terms and assuming that we less barbaric !
I have a problem with history being lopsided – showcase the Taj Mahal, but also write about the fact that the 20000 workers had their hands chopped off after completing this world class monument. Showcase the Red Fort by all means, but also showcase the Brihadeeswarar Temple, an architectural marvel. Showcase Fatehpur Sikri but also showcase the Murud Janjira Fort. Showcase the Nartiang Monoliths, in the Jaintia Hills near Shillong, that date to 1600 AD even as you showcase the pink city of Jaipur. Why is Kailas Temple at Ellora, the only temple of its kind in the whole wide world that has been built top down without a foundation, not the symbol of India ?
I can go on, but the wonders in India, won’t end. We have natural wonders and we have man made wonders that are unique and speak to our glorious heritage and age old civilisation.
What focussing on the Mughals and the British to the exclusion of all other rulers does, is to further our mental slavery to the white men and makes us glorify the invaders… am sure there is no other country in the world that would name cities after those who plundered them. Bakhtiyarpur is named after the barbaric Allauddin Bakhtiyar Khilji who burnt 9 million books in 1193 at the Nalanda university. Let that sink in … 9 million books, burnt down. In today’s world, the Library of Congress in Washington has 10 million books. Nearly a thousand years back a barbarian burnt down a wealth of knowledge and we celebrate him by naming a town after him !!
We need to rewrite our history textbooks and ensure that our glorious history gets its due… who wouldn’t feel a sense of pride with this kind of legacy ? Is that why it was being misrepresented?? The conspiracy theorist in me says “YES”.
#LockdownMusings
Lovely post thnx to share