Of great Mughals and a Maratha chieftain

shantanu ji

this is what i (we) have studied
when i was in school i always used to think that indian rulers always kept fighting, and britishers are better
there was even a point that i had started thinking that christanity and english people are all better than us

after this was time of competition exams, and then job, and i was completely disinterested in politics or political news

my thoughts slowly changed overtime when in bits in pieces got information about the fixing that had been done in our education system in the books that were taught to us

dramatic turn happened when i noticed the year 2007 programs broadcast by PYPT of swami ramdev – then i came to know the great knowledge bharat had and the great rishis we had, and the greatness of saints and social leaders we had

the programs were run for just a year – but they have at least transformed my life dramatically

i believe the same would be story of many other indians – they are brainwashed silently in the schools, by our well crafted education system, and just a few are able to get themselves somewhat corrected overtime

what you say in this article, and the pain you express, is something many people have been saying – that our education is heavily macaulaized

in recent times, and for past many years swami ramdev has spoken about this many many times… and that too with the common publis…in fact he keeps speaking this continuously – and this one of his points he raised with the govt in the satyagraha he tried to do at ramlila maidan in delhi

where ever he gives his sessions or yog or adhyatma programs, the stage in background always has photos of the great spiritual leaders and social leaders of bharat (india). and he also speaks about this, the greatness of our great leaders

you people are on the same page – why dont you good forces join hands

on the same note – do you think is something wrong in the way he is doing things (he sure could be)… but he is tremendously hardworking person, and seems to be saying the correct things…. !!!

And BJP will make an appearance with his typical secular stomach-ache in 3, 2, 1 seconds….

I don’t understand for what reason a Govt. organization is given autonomy. NCERT is an autonomous body, but to this date it keeps pulling out junk, leftist written, minority appeasement history from JNU archives and feeds it to the kids, without taking an independent call. What is more harrowing is the kind of need to uphold the so called SECULAR clause in our constitution which has only turned into complete fascist, pseudo-secular actions by both the Govt. as well as the numerous media channels, especially the English language one’s. BTW to reclaim Bharata Varsha the single most important aspect that one needs to realize other that spirituality is revival of SANSKRIT, based on which the entire Sindhu Valley civilization rests upon. And this revival has to be genuine not the Max Muller or a Robert-Di-Nobili deliberately misconstrued Sankrit language. Believe me, not many would connect with what I’ve written for that was the core idea of the Britishers who under the aegis of Babbington Macaulay have managed to decimate Sanskrit- The very BACKBONE of Bharata Varsha. While Sanskrit is, in many countries which never has any civilization whatsoever (entire Europe and US, especially) have come to realize the perfect symphony, synchronization and scientific value of SANSKRIT language. Wonder how many have heard that, by learning Sanskrit and by reading the Rig Veda scientists are able to unravel and make headway in QUANTUM PHYSICS. Just for information, Sri. N S Rajaram born in Mysore is one of those who is involved in this project.

And for all our pseudo-secular friends this is what realization does, of knowing what great a civilization Bharata Varsha was. http://francoisgautier1.blogspot.com/2011/06/shivaji-museum-fundraising-plea-by.html

I studied history in a grammer school in the UK. I therefore doubt that McAuley who wished Indians to British scholarship is responsible for the state of history education in India today. I would have expected his program to have concentrated on history from the time of British rule. Indian history in comparison to history taught in British schools is nothing short of brain washing by the Nehru’s Marxists who produced NCERT history books. As a consequence there is not an Indian who comes out of Indian schools with the level of skill in history that compares with a British counterpart. History is a living tool, the British left India more than half a century ago. It does not befit a great nation to provide lame excuse. If there is a fault with India’s past history, select leaders who right it.

Shantanu,

It serves the purpose of the establishment to keep hindus psychologically helpless in the current frame of mind .And many hindus themselves make it worse when they keep on repeating ‘hindus being slaves for a thousand years’ which is not true at all..These myths and lack of historical knowledge is another reason Hindus cant wake up and stand their ground against up the forces against them in india because their mentality is full of defeatism..

India was a non stop battleground for nearly 800 years till hindus won in the end.Muslim rulers and to import 10 thousands of muslim soldiers every year from the most toughest Islamic regions into India because they were losing so many in battle..

Most other ancient civilisations ended up as relics in museums and are gone forever while the Hindus are still here.Where are the ancient Egyptians or the greeks? nowhere apart from movies and musuems.. Our story is a story of victory but its taught to us and repeated as defeatism.Someone like Shivaji should be ranked as one of the greatest warriors globally of all time who revived the hindu civilisation when it looked like everything was over for Hindus but he turned the tables around .We wouldnt have hindu teachings or practises like even Yoga storming around the world if warriors like Shivaji didnt appear.Saying that im working on an hindu history site about to be released in a month or two which will also have information on Hindu warriors most haven’t heard of..

Hindu History
http://www.hinduhistory.info/

We will be living in a fool’s paradise if we expect any government to put the history right. Real education of children starts at home. We can educate our children in the real history of India. However, in these days and times, children wish to do their own study and research. If we arm them with the tools, they can do it themselves. For this purpose, here is what we, as the concerned citizens can do.

1. Commission a recognized modern historian to compile and write an authentic, unbiased history of India, completely cross referenced. It should be translated in all Indian languages. I have read one such book, voluminous as it is, it is the most readable and well researched (with cross references of books by British and Indian historians). It was written by Pandit Sunder Lal and the name of the book is, “The British rule in India.” It was proscribed by the British Govt as soon as it was published.

2. Concerned citizens should buy these books and read it to their children as they are growing up. Imbibed in the true cultural history of India, they will become aware of their heritage. Only then they will start questioning the Marxist-propagandist and false historians of JNU genre a la Irfan Habib et al. Armed with authentic, well referenced books, the new generation will be able to put the false prophets in their place.

3. For this purpose, it will be necessary to create a fund, find a scholar and commence the project. I am an OAP, yet am willing to contribute a modest sum of 100 BP.

Are there any more contributors and leaders who can take on the project?

The newly established Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies should be capable of writing a history book that does justice to hindu history. Please let me know if interested?

@Arjun

It is the only academic group which has the prestige and our ear in the UK. I am willing to support a history writing project for which we need to find a an academic to lead it. That is what is crucial.

I have been a part of the Friends of the Oxford Hindu Centre, so I am involved in shaping the debate at our meetings. So far the discussions have been as inane as the one’s taking place anywhere else in Hindu blogs like this. ISKON is run very well by non-Indians and that is how they have managed to make it to the seat of learning. ISKON is no different to any other Hindu religious sect which meerely seeks to harvest members with varying levels of committment to their set of beliefs. I see no prospect of the Sai Babas, Ram Dev’s and all rising to the level of debate which will answer Hindu’s needs (if indeed we want anything more than simplistic platitudes). Shantana has made a good beginning with his Saluting Our Heroes book. I once came across an English history written trascript by a military officer: in this case English history lent itself to the writing of it by a soldier. Churchill himself was never an academic but people took notice of his writings because he was a statesman. So, there are any number of approaches to writing the history. Unfortunately, there are none of the stature of India’s independence leaders with us today who clear demonstrable capability for such writings. Dr Sen is one of the few Indian academics (now retired) who is atuned to our views. If we are serious about this, then he seems to be the ideal choice.

Shantanu,

Thanks for this post.

I have been increasingly gratified to find that my knowledge of Indian history and “Indian” heroes is markedly better than most other “middle class, educated in Indian private schools” Indians – and I think the credit for this has to go the Maharashtra State School Board, whose history books trace the rise and fall of Indian civilisation from the MohenjoDaro/Saraswati civilisations to the final capture of India by the English.

Of course, there was an overdose of Shivaji and the Marathas, with every alternate year (or so) being devoted to ever more detailed (!) history of the Maratha Empire, but others were not missed out. So, when you write about forgotten Indian heroes, I think, wait a minute, I knew that! Maybe, the MSSB only missed out on some of the Bengali heroes like the early revolutionaries (Khudiram Bose), although they did full justice to the latter ones (Bipin Pal thru to Subhas Chandra Bose) and the Chola dynasty of the south – so, their books can hopefully be used as a template of reform for our history books nationwide.

BTW, some small errors in your post: I am sure that you know that Shivajirao Bhosale died relatively young fighting Aurangzeb, and while his war with Aurangzeb was the trigger for the downfall of the Mughal empire, he never did defeat Aurangzeb, nor did he outlast him in life. However, he managed to free the entire Konkan coastline, Surat and surrounding areas, much of the deccan plateau and many parts of southern India from Mughal rule, before his death.

Neither did his son, Shambhaji, beat Aurangzeb. Aurangzeb threw the might of the Mughal army, including previously defeated Rajput commanders and armies, against the Marathas and imprisoned, tortured and then murdered the latter. However, he also died thereafter, from sickness resulting from his continuing campaign against the Marathas, but not in battle.

While Aurangzeb never did manage to conquer the Marathas, the Marathas were left in disarray, too, due to the death of Shambhaji and the losses they had sustained against the Mughal armies.

While Shahuji was then crowned king, power passed to the Peshwas (chief minister) of the Marathas and it was Peshwa Balaji Rao I, who completed Shivaji’s dream of the Maratha flying virtually all over India. Delhi pledged loyalty to Pune, the seat of the Maratha Empire!

Sorry to go on and on, but Shivaji and Peshwa Balaji Rao have been inspirational characters to me, right from my school days.

The key difference between the Rajputs and the Marathas were that the Mughals never did manage to subdue the Marathas. The English did, but that is another story!

Cheers

It is becoming a little clearer that Indian history is less about the history of India but an interpretation of how it fits into the history of the region and the party in power. The communists of South India have coloured the brutalities of the Muslim conquest as a civilising a influence. In Maharastra, Shivaji is a Maharaja but in South India he is a chiefton. It is clearly impossible to talk of Indian history as a shared narrative in the present political dispensation. History can only make sense when the country will to go by the single narrative. No history book, however well written, whatever the emminence and qualification of the author would be seen as contributing to scholarship or meaningful discourse of any sort. The ancient Britons (Celts) under the Roman conquest had their paganism knocked out of them which has been to the considerable distress of some on the Hindu right who have claimed them for their own. But they accepted the civilising influence of the Romans in the laws and learning which in small measure provided the qualities for British domination of the world. Even though the present day British people came to inhabit the island long after the Romans left it, their armed forces have not forgotton the slight inflicted on their Queen Boadicea. The Hindus are more hurt at the slaughter of the Druid priests. The Queen as the manifestation of the power of the nation had to matter more than a long dead religion. The history will take care if the politics is sorted, but will history contribute to sorting the politics? That would be the case if history is intrepreted as contemporary struggles in all its forms is sought in aid to write the narrative of a living history that breaths new life into the nation. Dwelling solely on the past, no matter even if India was the power that conquered the ancient world, has little value it itself. Of course we know India to have been a very worthy ancient civilisation of great merit. The only way to honour its memory is to live by her example to scale new heights in the world today, and not an excuse to escape that obligation. India’s history is less about the Muslim and British conquest of India, but about the modern India’s conquest of the world we live in today.

“Hindus Beyond the Hindu Kush: Indians in the Central Asian Slave Trade.” Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society. Vol. 12, no. 3.
“Hindus Beyond the Hindu Kush: Indians in the Central Asian Slave Trade.” Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society. Vol. 12, no. 3. (2002): 277-288. Scott C. Levi. FULL TEXT AVAILABLE ONLINE AT: http://www.scribd.com/dd_sylva

(extracts)
[Historical analyses of slavery in India generally emphasize the escalation of this social institution during the era of Muslim domination in north India. The present study is not an exception to this rule. The slave population of early modern Central Asia was considerable; virtually every affluent household included several slaves to look after its affairs and maintain the garden, and large numbers of slaves were used to cultivate the land and watch over livestock on the plantation-style farms of Central Asia’s wealthy families. Slaves were also used for such purposes as soldiering, maintaining irrigation canals, working in brick factories, and many were trained in construction engineering. the common practice of rival political powers enslaving and relocating large numbers of artisans following successful invasions. Because of their identification in Muslim societies as kafirs, “non-believers”, Hindus were especially in demand in the early modern Central Asian slave markets. They were by no means, however, the only ethnic or religious group present in large numbers. It is well known that the slave markets were also stocked with considerable numbers of Iranian
slaves, whose association with the Shia sect of Islam made them legitimate targets for the Sunni Muslim Uzbek and Turkman slave traders. Signifcant numbers of Indians were taken to the slave markets of Central Asia in a variety of ways.Smaller numbers of skilled slaves were also commonly included in the gifts sent between the rulers of India and Central Asia.Probably the greatest factors contributing to the increased supply of Indian slaves for export to markets in Central Asia in this period were the military conquests and tax revenue policies of the Muslim rulers in the subcontinent. The revenue system of the Delhi Sultanate produced a considerable proportion of the Indian slave population as these rulers, and their subordinate iqtadars, ordered their armies to abduct large numbers of Hindus as a means of extracting revenue. While those communities that were loyal to the Sultan and regularly paid their taxes were often excused from this practice, taxes were commonly extracted from other, less loyal groups in the form of slaves. An even greater number of people were enslaved as a part of the efforts of the Delhi Sultans to finance their expansion into new territories.By and large, the enslavement of Hindus and their exportation to Central Asia continued unhindered throughout the Mughal period.Unfortunately, there is no means by which to determine precisely how abundant Indian slaves were in early modern Central Asia.The Central Asian slave trade continued at an active level throughout the eighteenth century, although during this period there were considerably fewer Indian slaves exported to Central Asian markets.The Central Asian slave trade remained active up to Russia’s nineteenth-century expansion into the region. First-hand accounts report of tens and even hundreds of thousands of slaves owned by the Turko-Afghan rulers of the north India. While many of these individuals were enslaved as a result of the expansionist efforts of the Delhi Sultans and Mughal emperors, others were forced into slavery to satisfy the tax demands of the state treasury. Still others were motivated to sell their children, or themselves, in an effort to avoid starvation during times of famine or other economic hardship. The presence, perhaps even dominance, of Hindus in the Central Asian slave markets continued up to the early eighteenth-century decentralization of the Mughal Empire.]

Adding this here for the record:
SHIVAJI-Maharaj ~ A NAVAL Visionary