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vijay replied to the topic Today 14th Feb was the day when the death sentence was announced by the court to Bhagat Singh and his comrades. Today is also Valentines day. Who remembers Bhagat Singh?.
Their purpose is to spread animosity and they have done it. They will not apologise because it is done with a purpose.
9 years ago
9 years ago
vijay replied to the topic Farmer's suicide- Is this fashion!.
For inability to pay paltry loans poor farmers commit suicide, because the loaners can harass them or take away their property. But Vijay Mallaya and et el can take thousands of crores of loans from Banks, default and then lead lavish lives and when asked to return loan can say let the law take its course and also escape to a foreign country. Politicians love such characters because they enjoy at their and indirectly at our expense. The farmer suicide is a burden on the nations conscience and thus abuse it so that they are not questioned.
9 years ago
vijay replied to the topic Anti India slogan in JNU, Delhi.
Already certain channels are demonstrating that the vedeo of Kanhaiya showing him shout slogans is a morphed one and fake. In fact BJP spokesman stated that the channels are fighting a TRP war and involving politicians in it. I maintain the real truth has still to come out. Many will have to take back or eat their words. Let us wait and see. Now lashings are being proposed because they are done in Singapore.
9 years ago
vijay replied to the topic Reservations on Caste.
Malthusian theory predicted that due to natural calamities and pressure on food supplies and other disasters mankind would be wiped out (literally). He was talking on cumulative effects and not on stand alone incidents.
The fact that mankind is existing today and in much larger numbers than when the theory was predicted is in itself roof that it was a flawed theory. Flawed because it did not factor in the ability of mankind to develop technologies to overcome threats to its survival. Today vast number of diseases have been conquered, medicines are available, food grain yields have gone up considerably, shelters are sturdy (earthquakes do not kill or destroy as they did earlier in Japan), rivers have been tamed, storms are predictable and so on. So the net effect is that mankind is surviving and expanding. Malthusian theory did not take into account creativity of humans to fight for its survival. Hope it is proof enough. But knowing you you will discard it and stick to your stand taken in your first post. Even you are proving Malthusian theory wrong!!.
9 years ago
vijay replied to the topic Lowest cost smartphone at just Rs. 251..
Another approach is why worry so much about taking a risk for only Rs 251/-
9 years ago
took the quiz know about the Vardhana Dynasty.
One of the efficient rulers of the Vardhana dynasty was "Harsha Vardhana" the son of PrabhakaraVardhana.The chinese traveller Hiuen Tsang had described about the administrative works of Harsha Vardhana in his travel accounts.Harsha initially was a follower of Shiva and later he became a true follower of Hinayana Buddhism.The famous Nalanda University was patronised by Harsha Vardhana.Now it is time for you to take up the quiz.
9 years ago
passed the quiz know about the Vardhana Dynasty.
One of the efficient rulers of the Vardhana dynasty was "Harsha Vardhana" the son of PrabhakaraVardhana.The chinese traveller Hiuen Tsang had described about the administrative works of Harsha Vardhana in his travel accounts.Harsha initially was a follower of Shiva and later he became a true follower of Hinayana Buddhism.The famous Nalanda University was patronised by Harsha Vardhana.Now it is time for you to take up the quiz.
9 years ago
rambabu replied to the topic Lowest cost smartphone at just Rs. 251..
Babu saroj wrote:
does we have to pay money online or after the delivery i mean is it cash on delivery
Wait. Don't be in a hurry. The product is yet to see the market. There is a talk that this Smartphone is a hoax.
9 years ago
Babu saroj replied to the topic Lowest cost smartphone at just Rs. 251..
does we have to pay money online or after the delivery i mean is it cash on delivery
9 years ago
Babu saroj liked the topic Lowest cost smartphone at just Rs. 251..
One of the Noida based company is selling its smart phones at just Rs. 251. Rs. 40 for shipping charges extra. Its features are just like a costly smart phone, and many people are booking for it since morning. Its official site is freedom251.com.
A few years back Akash has also launched low cost tablets in India, but on booking they were delivered after months and years. Also their performance was not good.
9 years ago
MG Singh created new article The Butterfly Park at Dubai.
As usual Dubai conjures up something special and the latest addition to the tourist landscape is the Butterfly park. The park has just opened a few weeks back and is an absolute delight. As my American girl is here, I thought it a good idea to show her the park. She confessed that there is nothing like this park in America and I can vouchsafe that there is not a single similar park in India. Frankly, such a park should have opened in India, particularly in Shillong, which is home to some of the loveliest species of butterflies.
The Dubai park is close to the Miracle Garden, another must see spot in Dubai. I have already written about the miracle garden. We left Abu Dhabi, in my car and covered the distance in just over an hour. As the weather was cool, I had the bonnet of my Mustang down and the cool breeze refreshed us. We drove straight to the park, which is the newest attraction along with the Garden of lights.
The Butterfly park is a feather in the cap of the tourist industry in Dubai. I do not know how much it cost, but I am sure it would have cost a pile. The park creates a magical world of fairies, goblins and pixies. My girl loved it as we entered an ethereal world. The Park is spread over 4000 sq meters and is housed in 3 large domes, which have climate control.
The park opens from 0930 and closes at 6 in the evening. The entrance fee is AED 50, which is equivalent to about Rs 950. It does look steep to an Indian, but for the pleasure it gives, the price is just about fine. Once you enter the park, you are ushered into the world of butterflies. The park has nearly 2600 species of Butterflies from all over the world. The decor inside simulates the world of butterflies, which are from all over the globe. But I o feel there needs to be greater information about the butterflies an their species displayed.. As you traverse the park and sit on the many benches inside the butterflies will come and sit on you, on your hand or anything and this is itself an absolute delight. An array of trained personnel look after the butterflies and lovers and children find it delightful.
The butterflies hover over you and one can easily spend a couple of hours observing the butterflies. I was reminded of Shillong which had so many butterflies floating around, because the climate suited them. Here the climate inside the domes is controlled and natural flowers and a garden add to the ecology of the park. Obviously a lot of study has been done before this park came up and the result is something that is not ordinarily seen.
Dubai is now a mega metropolis rivaling London and New York and last year its airport handle 61 million passengers. Such exotic parks add to the lustre of the city an my american friend confessed that she had not seen a similar park in America.
Attached to the park is a small museum and souvenir shop. The souvenir shop sells butterflies framed in glass cases, that can be hung on the wall or just kept on a table. I recollect that in Shillong this was a thriving business, but it was stopped by the government. I do not favor selling framed butterflies as it is a form of cruelty. One can also pick other souvenirs like photos and trinkets. My friend bought a few of them, bt not the framed butterflies.
Attached to the park is an excellent cafeteria, that serves snacks and cold and hot tea or coffee. No alcohol of course and that is a good thing. As I held my friends hand with the butterflies hovering around us, I could sense the creation of a magical moment. I don't think any visitor to park can come away and not be affected by the glorious ambience and lovely world of butterflies. Its unique and I will recommend a visit to anybody who comes here. I wonder why we in India cannot create such exotic places.
The Dubai Butterfly park is a thing of joy and it shows a pragmatic and progressive min set. It is also a place to rekindle a long lost love affair. Such places reinforce, the status of Dubai as a world tourist centre.
I have added one photo of the park taken by me, Hope they will create for the readers the magical world that is revealed.
9 years ago
Babu saroj created new article "Home, Sweet Home!".
Each and every living being on this planet requires security, protection; safety etc. like them, man needs such fundamental necessities also. Therefore, a very relevant question creep into our mind, how can they acquire them? Generally a home is defined as a place which is filled and surrounded by bricks, sand, cement and limestone formed to live together.
But when we are going to define a sweet home we have to take up a broad aspect in order to give a proper definition. A place can never be defined as a sweet home if it is simply surrounded by bricks, sand, cement and limestone. It must possess basic virtues like harmony, trust, compassion, love etc. Thus in a sweet home every member of the family lives in harmony. They can share a sweet relationship with each other. In that particular way the very word ‘Home can be expanded as “Heaven” made on Earth. It is a symbol of purity in the society for the persons living there impacts their culture in the society. Thus home is the first place where man learns the values of life and starts his journey of life.
An ideal home, defined as sweet home, comprises a lot of great importance. Here all the family members have their human-feelings for each other. Even the junior ones are properly respected. Here we can hardly find any kind of enmity or hatred. Here everybody’s feelings, emotions, affections and likings are equally given importance. In the word “HOME” we find four letters which might be further expanded such as ‘H’ for happiness and humane, ‘O’ for obedience and order, ‘M’ for merry and mutual understanding, ‘E’ for enjoyment and endurance. Not only that, we find loyalty, love, truth, tolerance, dedication and determination also.
Thus, a sweet home is owner’s pride and neighbour’s envy. In such a home no one finds himself a victim of greed, lust for power and misunderstanding. No member suffers from any kind of conflicts or disputes. All the family matters are settled peacefully so their unity can never be broken down nor can be challenged by any other outsiders. In this respect it can never be an exaggeration if we regard it as a heaven made on earth. So a sweet home is not based on economy and status. The house of a millionaire or a rickshaw puller is turned into a sweet one if there is compassion and humanity for each other .so, for that purpose every member of a sweet home must be ever conscious to hold its dignity and integration. And if one intends to make his home a sweet place he has to keep in mind that love, compassion, harmony, sympathy, kindness are the components of a sweet home.
9 years ago
MG Singh created new article Conversion of Hindus to Islam: Mostly it was Voluntary.
Some facts of history are not palatable to many people, but then one can't brush such facts under the carpet. History does throw up facts and figures which are subject to interpretation, yet there are some incontrovertible facts that can only be interpreted in one way. One of these facts concerns the conversion of Hindus en masse to Islam. I am afraid, I have to use the word en masse , as that is the only word, that can describe, as on date nearly 40% of the population of the sub-continent converting to Islam. The sub-continent includes the states of Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.
How did this happen? Many writers and historians have their own theories and some Hindus say that Islam in India was spread by the sword. However a reading of history does not reveal this. If the Muslims who ruled India for close to 900 years had wanted to convert the entire population to Islam, it was pretty easy as the Hindu subjects were a docile people as brought out by Frank Moraes, who coined the word" meek and mild Hindus". What did happen? It is worth thinking and pondering about it. If we study this aspect in its proper spirit, we may be able to stem the tide of conversion. It must be remembered that at some places the Muslim armies did use the sword to convert the locals, like in Iran and North Africa as well as Central Asia. At these places they converted 100% of the population to Islam. Again no Muslim army went to places like Indonesia, yet Indonesia is the country with the largest Muslim population in the world.
The first contact the Muslims had with the Hindus was around the 9th century. At that time they came just to plunder and loot the country. Mahmud of Ghazni led 17 expeditions into India, but his main purpose was to loot the wealth of the temples. He was not interested in conversion, though he was against idol worship. In due course some of the Turk and Mongols settled in India as rulers. This was because of the richness of the country and its wealth, which contrasted sharply with the bleak and desolate areas from where they came. Again they were the rulers and were content to rule a defeated race. They made no mass scale plan of conversion as they wanted to create a divide between the ruled and the rulers.
The advent of Islam brought in a string of Sufi saints to India like Baba Farid and Chisti. The Sai Baba of Shirdi was also part of this clan.These men were saints and they prolestilised against Hinduism by example, song and verse. It was here that Hinduism could not face Islam. Hinduism had a caste system which was water tight and allowed no social intercourse, while Islam propagated a classless society. The caste system effectively created a barrier and the Laws of Manu as codified in the Manusmriti ruled supreme. Some verses of the Manusmriti are obnoxious in the extreme as it gives the right to a brahmin to take to bed a lower caste woman, wife or daughter, but in case a lower caste was even to touch a higher caste woman, it merited death.
In addition there were other ills in the Hindu society and that included Sati, Child marriage and debar of marriage of widows. Islam did not recognize these aberrations and the appeal to Hindus of lower caste was immense. The most obnoxious of the rituals Sati was sanctified and temples were erected in honor of some women who committed Sati. I have seen so many of such temples in Rajasthan. Till the arrival of the English, there is only one instance of Sati being banned in India. This was done by the great Aurangzeb, who in his Firman of 1664 , outlawed Sati. This practice reverted back after he died.
India was fertile ground for the Sufi saints who also spread into Bengal and there was mass scale conversion of Hindus to Islam. The lower caste fed up with the atrocities of the higher castes, saw a ray of hope in a classless Islam and readily converted. There was also no prohibition on widow remarriage and overall the appeal of Islam transcended all barriers.
The Sufi saints were supported by the rulers, who were Muslim. But there was no mass scale conversion, though during certain periods like in Kashmir, the sword was used to convert and there 95% of the population converted to Islam. In contrast during this period no Hindu leader or saint emerged. One can only think of Baba Nanak who appeared in the 15th century, but he also wore a choga ( robe) that eulogized Mohammed as the true apostle of god. His " mool Mantra" is a verbatim copy from the Koran. He was not a Muslim, but he realised that there were many ills in Hinduism and accordingly he preached against them. His influence was limited to Punjab.
No great Hindu saint or leader emerged during this period and it was left to Lord Bentick to ban Sati as an act of murder. It is recorded that the Hindu leaders of Bengal were aghast at the legislation equating Sati with murder and appealed to the Governor General and the Privy Council against the banning of Sati, stating it was part of their heritage an practice. The appeal was rejected. I bring this out, only to show how bigoted the Hindu system had become.
In such an atmosphere, the Sufi saints were able to convert millions to Islam. The same set of Sufi saints went to the Far East and converted Buddhists and Hindus to Islam in Indonesia and Malaya. These nations were Hindus and Buddhists, but the appeal of Islam transcended all the barriers.
Till the 1857 mutiny, Hindus and Muslims lived together and as is well known all the Hindu and Muslim kings and chieftains accepted the Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar as the emperor of Hindustan. It was only later that the seeds of communialism were sowed by the English to perpetuate their rule.
Coming to the conversion of Hindus to Islam, it was an ongoing process. There was no compulsion, but the lower caste Hindus thought they would get a better deal in Islam. For this, the blame lies at the door of the Hindu religion. No leader emerged to show the light. Sadly the much touted Hindu leaders like Gandhi and Vivekananda espoused the caste system. This has been the bug bear of Hindu society and even now the entire nation is bedeviled with it. I wonder whether the Hindu leaders take any lessons from history. The future may not be all that rosy.
9 years ago
vijay replied to the topic Today 14th Feb was the day when the death sentence was announced by the court to Bhagat Singh and his comrades. Today is also Valentines day. Who remembers Bhagat Singh?.
Their purpose is to spread animosity and they have done it. They will not apologise because it is done with a purpose.
9 years ago
9 years ago
vijay replied to the topic Farmer's suicide- Is this fashion!.
For inability to pay paltry loans poor farmers commit suicide, because the loaners can harass them or take away their property. But Vijay Mallaya and et el can take thousands of crores of loans from Banks, default and then lead lavish lives and when asked to return loan can say let the law take its course and also escape to a foreign country. Politicians love such characters because they enjoy at their and indirectly at our expense. The farmer suicide is a burden on the nations conscience and thus abuse it so that they are not questioned.
9 years ago
vijay replied to the topic Anti India slogan in JNU, Delhi.
Already certain channels are demonstrating that the vedeo of Kanhaiya showing him shout slogans is a morphed one and fake. In fact BJP spokesman stated that the channels are fighting a TRP war and involving politicians in it. I maintain the real truth has still to come out. Many will have to take back or eat their words. Let us wait and see. Now lashings are being proposed because they are done in Singapore.
9 years ago
vijay replied to the topic Reservations on Caste.
Malthusian theory predicted that due to natural calamities and pressure on food supplies and other disasters mankind would be wiped out (literally). He was talking on cumulative effects and not on stand alone incidents.
The fact that mankind is existing today and in much larger numbers than when the theory was predicted is in itself roof that it was a flawed theory. Flawed because it did not factor in the ability of mankind to develop technologies to overcome threats to its survival. Today vast number of diseases have been conquered, medicines are available, food grain yields have gone up considerably, shelters are sturdy (earthquakes do not kill or destroy as they did earlier in Japan), rivers have been tamed, storms are predictable and so on. So the net effect is that mankind is surviving and expanding. Malthusian theory did not take into account creativity of humans to fight for its survival. Hope it is proof enough. But knowing you you will discard it and stick to your stand taken in your first post. Even you are proving Malthusian theory wrong!!.
9 years ago
vijay replied to the topic Lowest cost smartphone at just Rs. 251..
Another approach is why worry so much about taking a risk for only Rs 251/-
9 years ago
took the quiz know about the Vardhana Dynasty.
One of the efficient rulers of the Vardhana dynasty was "Harsha Vardhana" the son of PrabhakaraVardhana.The chinese traveller Hiuen Tsang had described about the administrative works of Harsha Vardhana in his travel accounts.Harsha initially was a follower of Shiva and later he became a true follower of Hinayana Buddhism.The famous Nalanda University was patronised by Harsha Vardhana.Now it is time for you to take up the quiz.
9 years ago
passed the quiz know about the Vardhana Dynasty.
One of the efficient rulers of the Vardhana dynasty was "Harsha Vardhana" the son of PrabhakaraVardhana.The chinese traveller Hiuen Tsang had described about the administrative works of Harsha Vardhana in his travel accounts.Harsha initially was a follower of Shiva and later he became a true follower of Hinayana Buddhism.The famous Nalanda University was patronised by Harsha Vardhana.Now it is time for you to take up the quiz.
9 years ago
rambabu replied to the topic Lowest cost smartphone at just Rs. 251..
Babu saroj wrote:
does we have to pay money online or after the delivery i mean is it cash on delivery
Wait. Don't be in a hurry. The product is yet to see the market. There is a talk that this Smartphone is a hoax.
9 years ago
Babu saroj replied to the topic Lowest cost smartphone at just Rs. 251..
does we have to pay money online or after the delivery i mean is it cash on delivery
9 years ago
Babu saroj liked the topic Lowest cost smartphone at just Rs. 251..
One of the Noida based company is selling its smart phones at just Rs. 251. Rs. 40 for shipping charges extra. Its features are just like a costly smart phone, and many people are booking for it since morning. Its official site is freedom251.com.
A few years back Akash has also launched low cost tablets in India, but on booking they were delivered after months and years. Also their performance was not good.
9 years ago
MG Singh created new article The Butterfly Park at Dubai.
As usual Dubai conjures up something special and the latest addition to the tourist landscape is the Butterfly park. The park has just opened a few weeks back and is an absolute delight. As my American girl is here, I thought it a good idea to show her the park. She confessed that there is nothing like this park in America and I can vouchsafe that there is not a single similar park in India. Frankly, such a park should have opened in India, particularly in Shillong, which is home to some of the loveliest species of butterflies.
The Dubai park is close to the Miracle Garden, another must see spot in Dubai. I have already written about the miracle garden. We left Abu Dhabi, in my car and covered the distance in just over an hour. As the weather was cool, I had the bonnet of my Mustang down and the cool breeze refreshed us. We drove straight to the park, which is the newest attraction along with the Garden of lights.
The Butterfly park is a feather in the cap of the tourist industry in Dubai. I do not know how much it cost, but I am sure it would have cost a pile. The park creates a magical world of fairies, goblins and pixies. My girl loved it as we entered an ethereal world. The Park is spread over 4000 sq meters and is housed in 3 large domes, which have climate control.
The park opens from 0930 and closes at 6 in the evening. The entrance fee is AED 50, which is equivalent to about Rs 950. It does look steep to an Indian, but for the pleasure it gives, the price is just about fine. Once you enter the park, you are ushered into the world of butterflies. The park has nearly 2600 species of Butterflies from all over the world. The decor inside simulates the world of butterflies, which are from all over the globe. But I o feel there needs to be greater information about the butterflies an their species displayed.. As you traverse the park and sit on the many benches inside the butterflies will come and sit on you, on your hand or anything and this is itself an absolute delight. An array of trained personnel look after the butterflies and lovers and children find it delightful.
The butterflies hover over you and one can easily spend a couple of hours observing the butterflies. I was reminded of Shillong which had so many butterflies floating around, because the climate suited them. Here the climate inside the domes is controlled and natural flowers and a garden add to the ecology of the park. Obviously a lot of study has been done before this park came up and the result is something that is not ordinarily seen.
Dubai is now a mega metropolis rivaling London and New York and last year its airport handle 61 million passengers. Such exotic parks add to the lustre of the city an my american friend confessed that she had not seen a similar park in America.
Attached to the park is a small museum and souvenir shop. The souvenir shop sells butterflies framed in glass cases, that can be hung on the wall or just kept on a table. I recollect that in Shillong this was a thriving business, but it was stopped by the government. I do not favor selling framed butterflies as it is a form of cruelty. One can also pick other souvenirs like photos and trinkets. My friend bought a few of them, bt not the framed butterflies.
Attached to the park is an excellent cafeteria, that serves snacks and cold and hot tea or coffee. No alcohol of course and that is a good thing. As I held my friends hand with the butterflies hovering around us, I could sense the creation of a magical moment. I don't think any visitor to park can come away and not be affected by the glorious ambience and lovely world of butterflies. Its unique and I will recommend a visit to anybody who comes here. I wonder why we in India cannot create such exotic places.
The Dubai Butterfly park is a thing of joy and it shows a pragmatic and progressive min set. It is also a place to rekindle a long lost love affair. Such places reinforce, the status of Dubai as a world tourist centre.
I have added one photo of the park taken by me, Hope they will create for the readers the magical world that is revealed.
9 years ago
Babu saroj created new article "Home, Sweet Home!".
Each and every living being on this planet requires security, protection; safety etc. like them, man needs such fundamental necessities also. Therefore, a very relevant question creep into our mind, how can they acquire them? Generally a home is defined as a place which is filled and surrounded by bricks, sand, cement and limestone formed to live together.
But when we are going to define a sweet home we have to take up a broad aspect in order to give a proper definition. A place can never be defined as a sweet home if it is simply surrounded by bricks, sand, cement and limestone. It must possess basic virtues like harmony, trust, compassion, love etc. Thus in a sweet home every member of the family lives in harmony. They can share a sweet relationship with each other. In that particular way the very word ‘Home can be expanded as “Heaven” made on Earth. It is a symbol of purity in the society for the persons living there impacts their culture in the society. Thus home is the first place where man learns the values of life and starts his journey of life.
An ideal home, defined as sweet home, comprises a lot of great importance. Here all the family members have their human-feelings for each other. Even the junior ones are properly respected. Here we can hardly find any kind of enmity or hatred. Here everybody’s feelings, emotions, affections and likings are equally given importance. In the word “HOME” we find four letters which might be further expanded such as ‘H’ for happiness and humane, ‘O’ for obedience and order, ‘M’ for merry and mutual understanding, ‘E’ for enjoyment and endurance. Not only that, we find loyalty, love, truth, tolerance, dedication and determination also.
Thus, a sweet home is owner’s pride and neighbour’s envy. In such a home no one finds himself a victim of greed, lust for power and misunderstanding. No member suffers from any kind of conflicts or disputes. All the family matters are settled peacefully so their unity can never be broken down nor can be challenged by any other outsiders. In this respect it can never be an exaggeration if we regard it as a heaven made on earth. So a sweet home is not based on economy and status. The house of a millionaire or a rickshaw puller is turned into a sweet one if there is compassion and humanity for each other .so, for that purpose every member of a sweet home must be ever conscious to hold its dignity and integration. And if one intends to make his home a sweet place he has to keep in mind that love, compassion, harmony, sympathy, kindness are the components of a sweet home.
9 years ago
MG Singh created new article Conversion of Hindus to Islam: Mostly it was Voluntary.
Some facts of history are not palatable to many people, but then one can't brush such facts under the carpet. History does throw up facts and figures which are subject to interpretation, yet there are some incontrovertible facts that can only be interpreted in one way. One of these facts concerns the conversion of Hindus en masse to Islam. I am afraid, I have to use the word en masse , as that is the only word, that can describe, as on date nearly 40% of the population of the sub-continent converting to Islam. The sub-continent includes the states of Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.
How did this happen? Many writers and historians have their own theories and some Hindus say that Islam in India was spread by the sword. However a reading of history does not reveal this. If the Muslims who ruled India for close to 900 years had wanted to convert the entire population to Islam, it was pretty easy as the Hindu subjects were a docile people as brought out by Frank Moraes, who coined the word" meek and mild Hindus". What did happen? It is worth thinking and pondering about it. If we study this aspect in its proper spirit, we may be able to stem the tide of conversion. It must be remembered that at some places the Muslim armies did use the sword to convert the locals, like in Iran and North Africa as well as Central Asia. At these places they converted 100% of the population to Islam. Again no Muslim army went to places like Indonesia, yet Indonesia is the country with the largest Muslim population in the world.
The first contact the Muslims had with the Hindus was around the 9th century. At that time they came just to plunder and loot the country. Mahmud of Ghazni led 17 expeditions into India, but his main purpose was to loot the wealth of the temples. He was not interested in conversion, though he was against idol worship. In due course some of the Turk and Mongols settled in India as rulers. This was because of the richness of the country and its wealth, which contrasted sharply with the bleak and desolate areas from where they came. Again they were the rulers and were content to rule a defeated race. They made no mass scale plan of conversion as they wanted to create a divide between the ruled and the rulers.
The advent of Islam brought in a string of Sufi saints to India like Baba Farid and Chisti. The Sai Baba of Shirdi was also part of this clan.These men were saints and they prolestilised against Hinduism by example, song and verse. It was here that Hinduism could not face Islam. Hinduism had a caste system which was water tight and allowed no social intercourse, while Islam propagated a classless society. The caste system effectively created a barrier and the Laws of Manu as codified in the Manusmriti ruled supreme. Some verses of the Manusmriti are obnoxious in the extreme as it gives the right to a brahmin to take to bed a lower caste woman, wife or daughter, but in case a lower caste was even to touch a higher caste woman, it merited death.
In addition there were other ills in the Hindu society and that included Sati, Child marriage and debar of marriage of widows. Islam did not recognize these aberrations and the appeal to Hindus of lower caste was immense. The most obnoxious of the rituals Sati was sanctified and temples were erected in honor of some women who committed Sati. I have seen so many of such temples in Rajasthan. Till the arrival of the English, there is only one instance of Sati being banned in India. This was done by the great Aurangzeb, who in his Firman of 1664 , outlawed Sati. This practice reverted back after he died.
India was fertile ground for the Sufi saints who also spread into Bengal and there was mass scale conversion of Hindus to Islam. The lower caste fed up with the atrocities of the higher castes, saw a ray of hope in a classless Islam and readily converted. There was also no prohibition on widow remarriage and overall the appeal of Islam transcended all barriers.
The Sufi saints were supported by the rulers, who were Muslim. But there was no mass scale conversion, though during certain periods like in Kashmir, the sword was used to convert and there 95% of the population converted to Islam. In contrast during this period no Hindu leader or saint emerged. One can only think of Baba Nanak who appeared in the 15th century, but he also wore a choga ( robe) that eulogized Mohammed as the true apostle of god. His " mool Mantra" is a verbatim copy from the Koran. He was not a Muslim, but he realised that there were many ills in Hinduism and accordingly he preached against them. His influence was limited to Punjab.
No great Hindu saint or leader emerged during this period and it was left to Lord Bentick to ban Sati as an act of murder. It is recorded that the Hindu leaders of Bengal were aghast at the legislation equating Sati with murder and appealed to the Governor General and the Privy Council against the banning of Sati, stating it was part of their heritage an practice. The appeal was rejected. I bring this out, only to show how bigoted the Hindu system had become.
In such an atmosphere, the Sufi saints were able to convert millions to Islam. The same set of Sufi saints went to the Far East and converted Buddhists and Hindus to Islam in Indonesia and Malaya. These nations were Hindus and Buddhists, but the appeal of Islam transcended all the barriers.
Till the 1857 mutiny, Hindus and Muslims lived together and as is well known all the Hindu and Muslim kings and chieftains accepted the Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar as the emperor of Hindustan. It was only later that the seeds of communialism were sowed by the English to perpetuate their rule.
Coming to the conversion of Hindus to Islam, it was an ongoing process. There was no compulsion, but the lower caste Hindus thought they would get a better deal in Islam. For this, the blame lies at the door of the Hindu religion. No leader emerged to show the light. Sadly the much touted Hindu leaders like Gandhi and Vivekananda espoused the caste system. This has been the bug bear of Hindu society and even now the entire nation is bedeviled with it. I wonder whether the Hindu leaders take any lessons from history. The future may not be all that rosy.
9 years ago