Aligarh Muslim University historian S Chandni Bi, who has specialised in epigraphy, the study of inscriptions, says around 1,000 years ago there was zero tolerance towards financial bungling. According to him, inscriptions in the southern state of Tamil Nadu clearly indicate how intolerant civil society was against corrupt practices and the violators of ethical framework.

Chandni told IANS in an interview: “A well-evolved democratic system was functional, starting at the Saba level, between the eighth and the 16th century in South India, irrespective of the ruling dynasties: the Cheras, Cholas, Pallavas, Pandyas and Vijaynagar. The members of a Saba were elected by the whole community of the village by a system peculiarly known as ‘Kuda Olai’ system (Kudam-Pot and Olai-Palm leaf). The village was divided into wards called ‘Kudumbus’, and every ward had to write the eligible person’s names on the palm leaves. The bundle of palm leaves was emptied in a pot. The member was chosen by draw of lots.”

The most important point to note here was the issuance of strict guidelines by the rulers, inscriptions give fair indication of the clarity of thought and zero tolerance towards financial bungling.

…“The crimes committed by the members of the Saba are divided into three categories. The swindling of funds or public property and those who failed to submit their accounts have been considered as crime number two. Such members were not eligible to contest the Saba election for life long. Not only they but their relatives too could not contest elections, like children, in-laws, brothers and their children, grand -parents, grand- children, relations through wife etc, nearly for three generations. They were called as ‘Grama Dhurogis‘.

“While murder of even Brahmins was considered pardonable, crimes like cheating or swindling public funds were unpardonable even by gods. Political crime was not pardonable but other crimes could be punished with penalties or performance of penance and charitable deeds, to become eligible for elections again.”

…To prevent political power getting concentrated in one family leading to dynastic tendencies, rules were framed. “According to this rule, the present members of the Saba cannot contest the election for next 2 to 10 years. In the same way none of their relatives should have contested for the past five years if one wanted to contest for membership of Saba. There is also a sub-rule to provide equal opportunity for everybody stipulating induction of two new members without any previous experience as members of the Saba.”

…They also actively practised the right to recall. “In those days if an elected member of the Saba committed a crime or violated law, he was immediately sacked. Such has been our rich and exemplary past. Let us bring it back instead of looking to the west for solutions,” said Chandni who is teaching South Indian History in AMU.

Related Posts: “Corruption” – as mentioned in the Vedas, Greek Thoughts, Indian Roots? and the utterly fascinating and extensively researched, “Democracy in Ancient India…“

On his 21st birthday, Ranjit Singh was crowned a MahaRaja of the Sarkar Khalsa. Yet, he had little respite from wars and campaigns through much of his life. In the ensuing years, he fought the Afghans, recaptured Peshawar, gained control of Multan and subsequently Jammu & Kashmir. By the time of his death, the region that had suffered the brunt of invading armies over centuries, finally found peace.

The expansion of his kingdom in the north & west (Kashmir, Sind Sagar Doab, Pothohar and trans-Indus regions right up to the foothills of the Sulaiman and Hindu Kush mountains) was followed by Multan and consolidated by making deep inroads into Pashtun territory, marked by numerous battles with the Afghan (including at least four major wars in 1813, 1823, 1834 and in 1837). By 1837,  the empire extended to the Khyber Pass in the west, to Kashmir in the north, to Sindh in the south, and Tibet in the east [link].

Amongst the most notable of his campaigns were the conquest of Lahore (read an account of it here) and his wars with the Afghan (chronicled here). The Afghan Wars were brutal and prolonged and it is during these years that MahaRaja Ranjit Singh proved himself to be not just an inspiring general but also a master strategist. Here is a map of the extent of the Empire at its peak.

Images: Map and Portrait, both via Wikipedia

Sadly, the Sarkar-i-Khalsa did not last very long. After his death, internal dissensions, political mismanagement and a series of wars led to its disintegration in a bare decade. By 1849, the region had been split into a few princely states and the province of Punjab. Over the next few decades, it was gradually drawn into the British Empire. The Sikh Empire unfortunately did not survive the death of Sher-e-Punjab.

Most of you would know that MahaRaja Ranjit Singh is also associated with the story of Koh-i-noor, the famed diamond (read the story here). It had come into Ranjit Singh’s possession via Shah Shuja (who had received it from Ahmed Shah Abdali who in turn had got it fro Nadir Shah). But how many of you knew that he had willed the Koh-i-noor to the Jagannath Temple in Orissa? Unfortunately, the will was never executed. In 1849, the British finally got control of Lahore and along with it the treasures of the Sarkar Khalsa.  Amongst them was the Koh-i-noor – which was surrendered to the Queen of England – in whose control, it remains till date.

Somewhat related post: Remembering Guru Tegh Bahadur-ji, Part I and Part II

The “chieftain” is a reference to Chhatrapati Shivaji MahaRaj. My simple dictionary tells me that a “chieftain” is usually a leader of a group, clan or tribe. Anyone who has studied the history of that age will readily agree that Chhatrapati Shivaji MahaRaj was more – a lot more – than merely a leader of a clan or a tribe. Having dismissed Chhatrapati Shivaji as a “Maratha Chieftain”, the text devotes an entire chapter (Ch 4) to the Mughal empire. No mention of Chhatrapati Shivaji’s exploits – or any description of the Maratha Empire.  No mention of  war that lasted 27 years – and was probably the longest war ever fought in the history of India. No mention of the fact that at its height, the Maratha empire covered much of South Asia, encompassing a territory of over 2.8 m km² (compared to 3.2m km² under the Mughal Empire at its peak).

And while we are at it, no mention of the forgotten empire that lasted almost as long as the Mughals - the Vijayanagar Empire in south India. No mention of the state that defeated seventeen successive attempts by the Delhi Sultans and Mughals to bring it under their rule..No mention of the Battle of Saraighat and the heroic story of Lachit Barphukan.  No mention of the Battle of Bahraich..

You see – such stories interrupt the smooth narrative of “harmony and peace” and could disrupt the “secular fabric of the nation“. Why create unnecessary trouble? Why bother with demons from the past?

No wonder entire generations of Indians grow up having little sense of history – or self-worth and self-esteem. The way the text book is written you would be forgiven for thinking that ”India” did not exist before the Mughals came – and it only became “India” after the British. The rest of “Indian History” would merely appear as stories about the Vijayanagar kings, about the Rajputs, about the Marathas, about the Sikhs – but nothing about the “Indians”. And a child would be forgiven for wondering who were these “Indians”? No wonder that most Indians are clueless about why this land is called by a foreign name – instead of being called “Bharat”.

But beware..as George Santayana wrote:

Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to fulfill it

Related Posts: Distorting history…and getting paid for it, Lies and half-truths in the name of national integrationand  Remembering the MahaRana..

Also read:  Dear Salil, I read lots and lots… and Dear Vir, Leave these kids alone…

The tales of Rajput valour and their determined resistance against the Mughals find no mention in this History text for students of Class VII (Age 12-14). There is no mention of the three Jauhars of Chittor (or of the more than 30,000 that were massacred following the fall of Chittor). The story of the one who refused to bow down appears to have been erased from the “official” version of history. The exploits of MahaRana Pratap will remain alien to these students…

What they will learn about instead are the kind and gentle-hearted Mughals and their buildings and architecture – written in a style that induces awe and suggests admiration. As an example, read this bit about the Qutub Minar:

Notice that the surface of the minar is curved and angular. Placing an inscription on sucha surface required great precision. Only the mostskilled craftsperson could perform this task.Remember that very few buildings were made of stoneor brick 800 years ago. What would have been theimpact of a building like the Qutb Minar on observersin the thirteenth century? (Pg60, Chapter 5)

What the text book delicately avoids mentioning is the Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque that was built from parts taken by destroying  27 Hindu and Jain temples that stood in the complex (pl see image below).

But the negationism does not end there. Under a section titled, “Why were Temples Destroyed?“, the text-book has several paragraphs devoted to why temples were attacked by kings and rulers (emphasis added):

Because kings built temples to demonstrate their devotion to God and their power and wealth, it is not surprising that when they attacked one another’s kingdoms, they often targeted these buildings.

In the early ninth century when the Pandyan king Shrimara Shrivallabha invaded Sri Lanka..the Buddhist monk andchronicler Dhammakitti noted: “he removed all thevaluables … The statue of the Buddha made entirelyof gold in the Jewel Palace … and the golden images in the various monasteries – all these he seized.”

The blow to the pride of the Sinhalese ruler had to be avengedand the next Sinhalese ruler, Sena II, ordered his general to invade Madurai, the capital of the Pandyas.The Buddhist chronicler noted that the expedition made a special effort to find and restore the gold statue of the Buddha.

Similarly in the early eleventh century, when the Chola king Rajendra I built a Shiva temple in his capital he filled it with prized statues seized from defeated rulers.

And then slyly,

Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni was a contemporary of Rajendra I. During his campaigns in the subcontinent he also attacked the temples of defeated kings and looted their wealth and idols. Sultan Mahmud was not a very important ruler at that time. But by destroying temples – especially the one at Somnath – he tried to win credit as a great hero of Islam. In the political culture of the Middle Ages most rulers displayed their political might and military success by attacking and looting the places of worship of defeated rulers.

As expected no evidence is cited, nor is any record mentioned of a single temple razed & destroyed by Hindu kings of that age (or of any previous age). But there appears to be almost complete amnesia about the thousands of temples that were systematically razed to ground and/or converted into mosques by invading armies and the then Islamic rulers of India (as an aside, a good reference for this is “Hindu Temples: What Happened to Them?“).

Is it because of the demons from the past? Or is there something else?

In Part II: Of great Mughals and a Maratha chieftain

On June 21, 1576 (June 18 by other calculations), the two armies met at Haldighati, near the town of Gogunda in present-day Rajasthan. While accounts vary as to the exact strength of the two armies, all sources concur that the Mughal forces greatly outnumbered Pratap’s men (4:1). The battle of Haldighati, a historic event in the annals of Rajputana, lasted only four hours. In this short period, Pratap’s men essayed many brave exploits on the field. Folklore has it that Pratap personally attacked Man Singh: his horse Chetak placed its front feet on the trunk of Man Singh’s elephant and Pratap threw his lance; Man Singh ducked, and the mahout was killed.

Elphinstone mentions that:

The Rajputs inflicted heavy casualties on the Mughals despite having a considerably smaller force, Rajputs proved that none equaled them as warriors even when heavily outnumbered on the battlefield. It is estimated that a mere 20,000 Rajputs slaughtered 1,50,000 Mughals.

However, the numerical superiority of the Mughal army and their artillery began to tell[1]. Seeing that the battle was not in their favor, and to make matters worse Pratap suffered a grave injury and fainted on his horse Chetak which then rushed to take Pratap to safety, one of his lieutenants, a member of the Jhala clan, donned Pratap’s distinctive garments and took his place in the battlefield. He was soon killed. Meanwhile, riding his trusty steed Chetak, Pratap made good his escape to the hills[1].

…The impact of the battle on the Mughal army was..significant. In terms of numbers the Mughal army suffered heavier losses. This was also because of the intensive arrow showers by the Bhil tribes of the surrounding mountains who had sided with Pratap. To honour their contribution, a Bhil warrior was placed next to Pratap in the Royal Coat of Arms of Mewar.

The battle of Haldighat is considered to be the first Major breakthrough of Rajputs against the Mughals since the Second Battle of Khanwa in 1527, which was fought between Rana Sanga grandfather of Maharana Pratap, and the Mughal Babur grandfather of Akbar. It is regarded with a degree of significance by many Rajput families.

One of the lesser known heroes of Haldighati was the Jhala Sardar, Man Singh.

When Jhala Sardar saw his king wounded and his steed faltering, he donned the royal garmets (including the Crown and royal emblem) of MahaRana Pratap, thus confusing the enemy ..and took the entire attack of the Mughal hordes upon himself.

The Jhala Sardar did not live to see the results of his valour and extraordinary courage…but it was his sacrifice that let MahaRana Pratap live for another day and continue his fight against the Mughals, eventually liberating all of Mewar except Chittorgarh.  His descendants in Udaipur still proudly carry the emblem of Mewar as their coat of arms.

According to Sh P N Oak, Akbar’s “victory” in the Battle of Haldighati was a pyrrhic victory:

Out of the 20,000 of the Rana’s troops only 8,000 survived. The Moghuls lost nearly 40,000 men. That was a superficial victory for Akbar, almost as bad as a defeat.

MahaRana Pratap now made the Aravalli mountains his base and began a long and debilitating guerilla campaign against the Mughals. The MahaRana’s hatred towards Akbar ran deep – at least partly (if not largely) explained by the ruthless massacre by Akbar of 27,000 ~ 40,000 peasants and artisans that lived within the walls of Chittor after the third seige of the fort in 1567 (I doubt if this is mentioned in any official textbooks and narratives; don’t be suprised if you had never read this before). Over the next 20+ years, Akbar planned several campaigns to Rajputana to capture or kill Pratap. They all failed.

The MahaRana’s exploits in the ravines and the hard struggle for survival in the wild are now the stuff of legends..For several years, he and his family survived on wild berries and by hunting and fishing for food. Legend has it that he even ate chapatis made of grass seeds during those dark days. And it is known that he did not sleep on a bed till his very end because of a vow to not rest until Chittor was free from foreign occupation.

I wonder who tells these stories to our children these days? Are they even taught these things in school? Does the MahaRana get the treatment and time he deserves or is he dismissed as a Rajput king who fought against the “Great Mughals”? Is there anyone who tells our young what happened…and how the times were back then?  At least once this year, I hope I have the opportunity to tell this story to a group of young children… and sometime during the next few months, I am making a promise to myself to read a book or two about the MahaRana.

To close off, I would like to reproduce these immortal lines from a response by the MahaRana to a question posed by Prithviraj Rathod on hearing that the MahaRana had agreed to address Akbar as “Badshah” and bow before him (loose English translation below):

राजपूताने में यह जनश्रुति है कि एक दिन बादशाह ने बीकानेर के राजा रायमसिंह के छोटे भाई पृथ्वीराज से, जो एक अच्छा कवि था, कहा कि राणा प्रताप अब हमें बादशाह कहने लग गए है और हमारी अधीनता स्वीकार करने पर उतारू हो गए हैं। इसी पर उसने निवेदन किया कि यह खबर झूठी है। बादशाह ने कहा कि तुम सही खबर मंगलवाकर बताओ। तब पृथ्वीराज ने नीचे लिखे हुए दो दोहे बनाकर महाराणा प्रताप के पास भेजे-

पातल जो पतसाह, बोलै मुख हूंतां बयण।
हिमर पछम दिस मांह, ऊगे राव उत॥
पटकूं मूंछां पाण, के पटकूं निज जन करद।
दीजे लिख दीवाण, इण दो महली बात इक॥

आशय : महाराणा प्रतापसिंह यदि अकबर को अपने मुख से बादशाह कहें तो कश्यप का पुत्र (सूर्य) पश्चिम में उग जावे अर्थात जैसे सूर्य का पश्चिम में उदय होना सर्वथा असंभव है वैसे ही आप के मुख से बादशाह शब्द का निकलना भी असंभव है। हे दीवाण (महाराणा) मैं अपनी मूंछों पर ताव दूं अथवा अपनी तलवार का अपने ही शरीर पर प्रहार करूं, इन दो में से एक बात लिख दीजिये।

इन दोहों का उत्तर महाराणा ने इस प्रकार दिया-

तुरक कहासी मुख पतौ, इण तन सूं इकलिंग।
ऊगै जांही ऊगसी, प्राची बीच पतंग॥
खुसी हूंत पीथल कमध, पटको मूंछा पाण।
पछटण है जेतै पतौ, कलमाँ तिस केवाण॥
सांग मूंड सहसी सको, समजस जहर स्वाद।
भड़ पीथल जीतो भलां, बैण तुरब सूं बाद॥

आशय : भगवान एकलिंगजी इस शरीर से तो बादशाह को तुर्क ही कहलावेंगे और सूर्य का उदय जहां होता है वहां ही पूर्व दिशा में होता रहेगा। हे वीर राठौड़ पृथ्वीराज जब तक प्रतापसिंह की तलवार यवनों के सिर पर है तब तक आप अपनी मूछों पर खुशी से ताव देते रहिये। राणा सिर पर सांग का प्रहार सहेगा, क्योंकि अपने बराबरवाले का यश जहर के समान कटु होता है। हे वीर पृथ्वीराज तुर्क के साथ के वचनरूपी विवाद में आप भलीभांति विजयी हों।

Rough English translation:

The mouth of Pratap has begun to say “Badshah”. O Rao! has the sun started rising in the West, as well? Should I keep my hand over my mustache or should my body fall with my own hands? Write, O Deewan! to give an answer choosing between the two.

MahaRana Pratap replied to this letter like this:

Lord Eklingji will always make my mouth call him “Turk”. The sun will rise in the east always. O Prithviraj Rathod be happy and put your hand over your mustache. Till Pratap stands on his feet, his sword will keep hovering over the heads of the invaders.

* Birth Anniversary as per “tithi” (i.e. the Hindu lunisolar calendar). Image courtesy: Portrait of Maharana Pratap by Raja Ravi Varma, courtesy Wikipedia