[Reader-list] Understanding history for communal harmony

[Yousuf]

Dear Pawan
I didn't find any specific detail about the Kamakhya temple, but there are many references about Mughal rulers (such as Aurangzeb) granting land for temples. You may look at some of these refs:

http://www.iosworld.org/ebk7.htm
http://www.milligazette.com/Archives/15102002/1510200212.htm
http://nation.ittefaq.com/issues/2008/06/03/news0405.htm

Yousuf


--- On Wed, 1/7/09, Pawan Durani <pawan.durani at gmail.com> wrote:

> From: Pawan Durani <pawan.durani at gmail.com>
> Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Understanding history for communal harmony
> To: ysaeed7 at yahoo.com
> Cc: "sarai list" <reader-list at sarai.net>
> Date: Wednesday, January 7, 2009, 3:19 PM
> Kamakhya temple in Guwahati given as a jagir is a news to me
> . Can someone
> please share more on this , if it is true.
> 
> Pawan
> 
> On Wed, Jan 7, 2009 at 2:46 PM, Yousuf
> <ysaeed7 at yahoo.com> wrote:
> 
> > Understanding medieval history for communal harmony
> > CJ: Jayati Chakraborty
> >
> > Rulers' history is always a history of conflict.
> The conflicts between
> > Hindu and Muslim rulers in medieval period cannot be
> seen as Hindu-Muslim
> > religious conflict, as these were primarily power
> conflicts. It was an
> > administrative necessity.
> >
> > HISTORY EDUCATION has failed to deliver communal
> harmony in India. This is
> > because most of the history that we, as lay men, know
> is nothing but
> > distortion. The most unfortunate aspect is that we try
> to understand history
> > through religion. The entire history of the medieval
> era i.e. the Muslim
> > period, which is crucial in understanding the question
> of Hindu Muslim
> > unity, is basically rulers' history. And
> rulers' history is always a history
> > of conflict.
> >
> > For instance, we take the example of the battles
> between Shivaji and
> > Auangazeb, Akbar and Rana Pratap, Mahmud Ghazni's
> destruction of the Somnath
> > temple, Aurangazeb's destruction of Hindu temples
> etc to forment communal
> > disharmony. But we forget that these conflicts were
> conflicts to acquire
> > power. Rana Pratap's senapati or commander-in
> –chief was a Muslim.
> > Similarly, Akbar'a commander was a Rajput. It is
> true that Aurangazeb
> > destroyed a number of Hindu temples but what we do not
> know is that many of
> > the Hindu temples (the Kamakya temple at Guwahati)
> were given as Jagir. In
> > medieval times the Parmar rulers of Gujarat destroyed
> many Jain temples.
> > Before the plunder at Somnath, Mahmud of Ghazni
> conquered Multan and
> > destroyed many masjids or Muslim places of worship as
> well.
> >
> > The Muslim rulers of India had no fixed law of
> succession. So war of
> > succession was a common feature during this period.
> Aurangazeb killed all
> > his brothers and even imprisoned his father in order
> to ascend to the throne
> > of Delhi. While he re-imposed the Jizya tax on
> non-Muslims, recent
> > researches have shown that the largest number of Hindu
> Mansabdars existed
> > during Aurangazeb's reign.
> >
> > If we closely analyse the history of the sultanate
> period, we find that
> > kings of this period always tried to restrict Ulema
> intervention in
> > administrative matters. Balban, Allauddin Khilji,
> Muhammad bin Tughlaq
> > clearly refused to take any advice from the Ulema (the
> Islamic scholars),
> > regarding administration. In the 1980s, when Indira
> Gandhi sent troops to
> > the Golden Temple, the commander was a Sikh, just to
> send the message that
> > this move was not because of disrespect for any
> religion. It was an
> > administrative necessity. Similarly, the conflicts
> between Hindu and Muslim
> > rulers cannot be seen as Hindu-Muslim religious
> conflict, as these were
> > primarily power conflicts.
> >
> > Textbooks, therefore, must stress more on the
> people's history that is the
> > composite culture that developed in the medieval
> period. There are numerous
> > instances of the Sufi and Bhakti saints like Sant
> Kabir, Guru Nanak who
> > tried to build communal harmony.
> >
> > Amir Khusrau was a well-known poet and musician who
> had a deep love for the
> > Brij language .It was he who introduced the sitar and
> the quawali. It may be
> > noted here that most of the ragas in quawali have been
> taken from
> > Hindusthani classical music. Dara Sikhoh was a great
> Sanskrit scholar who
> > translated the Upanishad in Persian and titled it
> 'The Great Mystery'. In
> > this book, he said, if after Koran, we imagine the
> concept of one God, it is
> > the Upanishad.
> >
> > The manuscript is available at the Azamgarh library.
> One will be shocked to
> > find that on the top right hand corner of the
> manuscript is written 'Sri
> > Ganesh Namah' with a picture of Lord Ganesha. And
> the left hand corner
> > contains an invocation to Allah. Such bonding needs to
> be stressed in the
> > textbooks.
> >
> > Communal harmony is necessary for our survival. Once
> Mahesh Bhatt, the
> > eminent film director asked a war veteran at Vietnam,
> 'What was philosophy
> > with which you fight war?' He answered, 'One
> philosophy, save your brother.'
> >
> > This is true for Indians also. Either we all drown
> together or we do not.
> > We always try to analyse others and we see other's
> faults. We do not analyse
> > ourselves. True, Kasab, the terrorists accused in the
> Mumbai attack, was a
> > Pakistani but the person who opened the door was a
> Hindusthani. Therefore,
> > the ideology of secularism needs to be reiterated time
> and again. We have to
> > assert the secular fabric of our nation. Without this
> we have no future.
> >
> > http://www.merinews.com/catFull.jsp?articleID=155365
> >
> >
> >
> >
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