Volume 1, Issue 14 - Shriguru Pawan Sinha ji, Spiritual ...

Young MovesThe Magazine For GAME CHANGERS

Volume 1, Issue 14

AUGUST 2020

The Right History...

The Story of Partition 1947

They Died for Us...

PHOTOGRAPHERS

INSPIRATION

Dr Pawan Sinha Guruji

EDITORIAL ADVISOR

Dr Kavita Asthana

EDITORIAL COORDINATOR

Palak Aggarwal

Mayank Vij Abhishek Sharma

GRAPHICS

Navita Ahuja

YOUNG MOVES

A magazine for Future Leaders, World Peace, Culture and Development

YOUNG MOVES

A magazine for Future Leaders, World Peace, Culture and Development

August 2019 Volume 1August 2020 Issue14

Kripi Singh

ILLUSTRATOR

NOTE: The views and opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Young Moves Magazine or its parent organisation. Any content provided by our authors are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, ethnic group, club, organization, company, individual or anyone or anything.

03Ignited PensThey Died for Us...

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Ignited PensUnsung Heroes of the

Nationalist Movement

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Ignited PensKashi & The Nationalist Movement

02Editorial


ContentContent

Debating NarrativesAkbar;

the Great or the Demon

Reader’s SectionAbrogation of Article 370;

Decline of Terrorism in Jammu & Kashmir

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Core Issues The Story of Partition 1947

Editorial


Illustration by Kripi.

While all of us celebrate Independence day and the long history of the Freedom Struggle, there are several stories and people who have remained nameless and hidden in the pages of history. Their contributions, though equally important, have either been ignored or neglected. This edition of Young Moves Magazine tries to bring some such stories in the limelight through the articles, ‘Unsung heroes of the nationalist movement’, ‘Kashi & The Nationalist Movement’ and ‘They Died for Us.’

It is essential to read the right history in order to know our country and the article on Sanyasi Movement focuses on the same by showing the long-neglected contribution of the saints, sadhus and sanyasis of India who have always been the backbone of the country, be it spiritually or strategically. These sadhus and sanyasis have not only prayed for India and contributed spiritually, but a lot of them also sacrificed their lives for the country, fighting against the British. Their contribution, which was feared by the British, was thus left out of mainstream history.

Similarly, a lot is said and written about the Partition of 1947, but whether the facts are right or are written under any propaganda is a question of importance. The same is explored by the 5th episode of Core Issues which is included in this edition and brings out not only the history of partition but also focuses upon questions like could partition have been stopped, the radical transformation of Allama Iqbal who first wrote Tarana-E-Hindi and then later, Tarana-E-Milli. Continuing further on the path of history, the edition also questions on the “Greatness” of Akbar in the context of India. The 2nd episode of Debating Narratives analyses facts related to Akbar and if he was really as great as shown in history and mainstream media.

Our readers’ section includes an analysis of the situation of Kashmir, exactly a year after the abrogation of article 370 by a reader of the magazine. The magazine thus tries to bring forward a holistic approach towards history, especially in the times when distortion of history under certain agendas is rapidly spreading. We, at Young Moves, want to create a just way of looking at history because it is then that we’ll create a glorious future of India.

With hope, Palak Aggarwal Editorial Coordinator

[email protected]

+917428522756 (WhatsApp)

Come forward and mail us your pieces at

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First of all a very happy independence day to

all our fellow countrymen. On Independence

and Republic Day, we remember those people

who sacrificed everything for our beloved

nation. But, most of us know only those

revolutionaries about whom we have read in our

history textbooks. But history is surely beyond

school books. Most of us do not know that

whenever our nation faced any severe crisis then

our sages, saints, gurus and sanyasis were at the

forefront to protect our motherland.

Ancient IndiaIn ancient times, we witnessed various

invasions of Huns, Shakas, Greeks and other

foreign powers. Every time, our sadhus and

They Died for Us...

Dinesh NishadVisiting Faculty Mumbai, India

Article By.

Illustration by Kripi Singh

Cover Image; The Fierce Battle...

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sanyasis played a crucial role in defending our

nation. With tilak on the forehead, rudraksha

around the neck, ashes smeared on the body and

holding weapons in the hands; these sadhu-

sanyasis fought and won many battles. Even in

ancient India, many sects of sanyasis existed.

The credit for bringing all of them under one

umbrella goes to Adi Shankaracharya. Adi

Shankaracharya organized the sanyasis and laid

the foundation of the Dashnami sect. He

established four math (monasteries) in the four

corners of our country. This system initiated by

Adi Shankara kept our country, strong and

united for many centuries to come.

Medieval IndiaIn the medieval period (circa 16th century),

the Mughal Empire was expanding in India

under the leadership of Emperor Akbar. The

Mughals were foreigners in India. For them,

Indian culture of temples, idol worship, gurukul

system, roaming sadhu-sanyasis and so on were

against their Islamic beliefs. Thus these radical

Mughals demolished many of our temples,

destroyed the idols worshipped in temples,

forcibly converted Hindus and killed many

sadhu-sanyasis.

Madhusudan Saraswati was a contemporary

of Akbar. He lived in Bengal and was a scholar

of Advaita Vedanta philosophy. Seeing the

atrocities on indigenous faith, he decided to

meet Emperor Akbar. Madhusudan Saraswati

travelled from Bengal to Agra to meet Akbar and

raise his concerns in the Mughal court. But this

meeting was not fruitful. After this experience,

Madhusudan Saraswati realized that it is futile

to hold any talks with the tyrant Mughals. He

became convinced that Hindus themselves need

to come together and take initiative to save the

Hindu civilization. This incident is mentioned in

the book "Soldier Monks and Militant Sadhus"

by "William R. Pinch." It was Madhusudan

Saraswati who reorganized the warrior sanyasis

in the medieval period. Thousands of sadhus-

sanyasis gathered in the holy land of Varanasi

and took an oath to defend the Hindu faith and

culture.

After that, these warrior saints fought many

battles to protect our civilization. One such

example can be found in the era of Aurangzeb.

In 1664, Aurangzeb attacked the Kashi

Vishwanath temple in Varanasi. The brave

sadhu-sanyasis confronted the enormous

Mughal army of Aurangzeb. Soon the war cry of

"Har-Har Mahadev...Har-Har Mahadev" was

echoing in the streets of Varanasi. The Mughal


A Naga Sadhu

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army started quivering in fear when they saw

naked Naga sanyasi with a trident and sword in

their hands. In this battle, the sadhu-sanyasi

wreaked such havoc on Aurangzeb's army

which they could never imagine. The battle

lasted only for a few hours (From sunrise to

sunset), but the trauma of the defeat in the

memories of the Mughal was long-lasting. After

this defeat, Aurangzeb (The most powerful king

of that period) was so devastated that he didn’t

even set his foot on the land of Varanasi for the

next 5 years. We find a detailed description of

this battle in James G. Lochtefeld's book "The

Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism-Volume

1" and Sir Jadunath Sarkar's book "A History of

Dasnami Naga Sanyasis."

It was not just Naga sadhus posing a threat to

Aurangzeb. The Sikh sect also fought many

fierce battles against the Mughals. In 1699,

Guru Gobind Singh Ji (The 10th Guru of Sikh

sect) initiated the ‘Khalsa Panth’ (a group of

spiritual warriors) and gave them the goal of

fighting against the tyrannical Mughals. Our

brave Sikh brothers defeated the Mughals in

many battles. In Western India, Chhatrapati

Shivaji Maharaj was also fighting Aurangzeb.

Samarth Ramdas was the guru of Shivaji

Maharaj. Samarth Ramdas built many temples

of Hanuman (Hindu deity renowned for strength

and valour) at various places in Maharashtra. He

encouraged the common people to become

brave and strong like Hanuman; so that they can

join Shivaji Maharaj's army and fight against the

foreign powers. This awakening of spiritual

consciousness in medieval India became one of

the main causes of the decline of Aurangzeb and

the Mughal Empire.

Modern India:In the modern era, even the British faced the

wrath of our sadhu-sanyasis. We all know that

after winning the Battle of Plassey (1757) and

the Battle of Buxar (1764), the British were able

to consolidate their power in the province of

Bengal. But very few people know that Naga

Sadhus also fought against the British in the

Battle of Buxar. The Naga regiment was led by

Anup Giri (aka Himmat Bahadur) and his

brother Umrao Giri. It was the first time that the

supreme British forces were challenged by

skyclad monks on the battlefield. The British

won the battle of Buxar but even after the battle,

there were continuous skirmishes between the

British and the sanyasis. Gradually, after

acquiring power in Bengal, the British did two

things. First, they imposed a systematic

restriction on sadhu-sanyasis. And second, the

economic exploitation of ordinary Indians. It is

rightly said that misfortunes seldom come

singly. Along with British oppression, Bengal

witnessed a severe famine in the period of 1769-

1773. This famine further worsened the

situation of the natives. In history, it is known as

the "Great Bengal famine of 1770." But this was

not a natural disaster. Nobel laureate economist

Amartya Sen, called it "man-made famine."

Historian William Dalrymple held that the

deindustrialisation of Bengal and the British

policies were the reasons for the mass famine

and widespread atrocities. The outcome of

exploitative policies of the British and the

drought was mass starvation. Each day

countless people were starving to death. To save

people, the sadhu-sanyasis plundered food

stocks held by British and distributed them

among the hungry. Such courageous and

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compassionate acts of the sanyasis earned them

loyalty and support of the common people.

Many peasants, artisans, craftsmen, labourers

and others joined the sadhu-sanyasis to fight the

British. Seeing the alarming danger, the British

banned the entry of sanyasis in Bengal in 1773.

Here a question arises why the British who

defeated the Mughals, Nawabs, French and

other powers were so afraid of our sanyasis? The

British were fighting for their political and

economic interest. While the sanyasis were

fighting for the motherland. The British who

always fought for land, money and power were

for the first time confronted with sanyasis who

had no materialistic desire. At that time, the

British Army had the most modern weapons.

While our sanyasis had traditional weapons like

spear, sword and trident. Still the British were

afraid of our sanyasis because the sanyasis were

not afraid of death. In India, our sadhu-sanyasis

celebrate death because it is a festival of union

with God. The British were mainly concerned

about this spiritual ideology of India. This

spiritual ideology of India posed a grave danger

to their ‘Divide and Rule’ policy. With spiritual

ideology and brilliant guerrilla warfare tactics,

the sanyasi warriors defeated the British on

various occasions.

Here it is important to mention one such

occasion. At that time, there was a factory in

Dhaka (Today’s capital of Bangladesh). In this

factory, the British exploited the Indian workers

for years. Thus this factory was seen as a symbol

of oppression. Under the leadership of sanyasis,

many Indians came together and destroyed the

factory. The destruction of this factory

motivated many people to join the revolution.

This revolution also fostered Hindu-Muslim

unity. Among the sanyasis, there was a sect of

Madār sanyasis (aka Madaria Fakir). These

were mainly Muslim fakirs. The Hindu sanyasis

and Muslim fakirs joined hands and fought

fearlessly against the common enemy i.e. the

British. The fakirs were mainly led by Sufi saint

Majnu Shah.

Gradually, the fire of the sanyasi revolution

began to spread from Bengal to other places, as

well. Sanyasis of different sects led the

revolution in their respective area. People from

all sections of society started joining this

revolution. For about 30 to 50 years, the

revolution continued in different areas in

different forms. The sacred words for every

Indian "Vande Mataram" was also born in this

revolution. Bhupendra Nath Dutt, the younger

brother of Swami Vivekananda, writes in his

book that the war cry of sanyasis in the Ramna

Kali temple in Dhaka was "Vande Mataram."

The then Governor-General Warren Hastings

called it a "Sanyasi Rebellion." But later,

Historians like W.W. Hunter and L.S.S.

O'Malley tried to hide its splendid history by

calling it a “Peasant Movement.” The British

tried their best to erase this chapter of revolution

from the pages of history. In their official

documents, the British labelled these sanyasis as

the “gipsies of Hindustan," "trading pilgrims,"

"disorderly tribe of lawless mendicants,"

"religious vagrants" and so on. But the names of

these revolutionaries got engraved in the minds

of the people. It is important to mention a few

names here, such as Bhavani Pathak, Devi

Chaudhurani, Fateh Bahadur Shahi, Ramanand

Gosain, Hazari Singh and Majnu Shah.

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Bhavani Pathak and his disciple Devi

Chaudhurani played an important role in this

revolution. Bhavani Pathak was originally from

Gorakhpur region but was fighting in Bengal for

the sake of the motherland. Devi Chaudhurani

was the widow of Narendra Narayan Roy

Chaudhary. After the death of her husband, Devi

Chaudhurani came under the guidance of

Bhavani Pathak. From her Guru, Bhavani

Pathak she received training in sword fighting,

horse riding and archery. Hiding from the

British, these sanyasis lived in the dense forest

of Baikunthapur. Whenever they got an

opportunity, they would attack the British. They

would loot the British and distribute the looted

items among the needy people. In this manner,

they pestered the British for many decades.

When Bhavani Pathak was killed by the British,

Devi Chaudhurani led the revolution. There is a

Kali Mata temple in this forest. Bhavani Pathak,

Devi Chaudhurani and the rest of the sanyasis

used to assemble here and devise strategies to

fight the British. Today this temple is known as

"Devi Chaudhurani Kali Mandir." And, it is

situated at the Gaushala turn of today's

Jalpaiguri town, but at that time the entire area

was a dense forest. A little further away, there is

also a temple in Shikarpur's tea estate called

"Bhavani Pathak" temple.

It can be inferred from these things that at that

time these sanyasis were nothing less than any

deity. They were the true saviour of the people.

Among the kings who participated in this

revolution, the most prominent name is that of

Hindu king Fateh Bahadur Shahi. He was the

king of erstwhile Husseypur estate (Spreading

into the territories of Awadh and Bengal). After


The warrior side of Sanyasis

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the Battle of Buxar, the British got control over

this area and thus demanded revenue from him.

But Fateh Bahadur Shahi refused to accept the

slavery of British. Around 1767, the British

attacked his estate. Realizing the military

supremacy of British he fled into the nearby

forest of Gorakhpur. But actually, this was the

start of the British woes. With the help of

sanyasis and few loyal soldiers, Fateh Bahadur

Shahi waged a guerrilla war against the British

for almost 3 decades. The British were terrified

of these sudden and frequent guerrilla attacks.

They tried their best to negotiate and reconcile

with Fateh Bahadur Shahi. But for Fateh

Bahadur Shahi any compromise with the British

was betrayal with the motherland. For 30 years,

he remained undefeated and uncaught. Some

historians believe that in the last phase of his

life, he too became a sanyasi.

All these glorious endeavours would have

been lost somewhere in history. But the credit

for rediscovering this history goes to Bankim

Chandra Chatterjee. Bankim Chandra

Chatterjee has given a detailed discussion of this

sanyasi revolution in his two novels

"Anandamath" and "Devi Chaudhurani."

Bankim Chandra Chatterjee gave "Vande

Mataram," the war-cry of sanyasis, a poetic

form in his novel "Anandamath." This "Vande

Mataram" poem lit the flame of patriotism

among countless revolutionaries. And

eventually became the national song of India.

Immortal Inspiration:The British tried their best to suppress this

revolution by killing numerous sadhu-sanyasi.

But they were not able to kill the spirit of this

revolution. Over some time, the nature of this

revolution changed. At the end of the 19th

century, the military war of sanyasis got

transformed into an ideological and cultural

war. And this war was led by two new sanyasis:

Swami Dayanand Saraswati and Swami

Vivekanand. Both Swami Dayanand Saraswati

and Swami Vivekanand rekindled the dying

flame of patriotism in the heart of Indians.

Taking inspiration from these two sanyasis,

thousands of Indians took active participation in

the freedom struggle. Even our current

generation should take inspiration from all these

holy souls. Normally, sadhu and sanyasis stayed

away from worldly people. They lived in dense

forests and high mountains and pursued their

spiritual practice. The ultimate aim of their life

is to achieve moksha (salvation from the endless

cycle of birth and death). But whenever these

sadhu-sanyasis saw any threat to the nation, they

were the first to raise their swords because

Indian spirituality teaches us that in the welfare

of the nation lies our welfare. Thus when the

nation was moving towards shackles of slavery,

then the desire for moksha (personal salvation)

was nothing short of treason. Our sages taught

us that the journey from self to divine goes via

nation. Thus the service to God is incomplete

without the service of the nation. We see most of

our sadhu-sanyasis wearing saffron robes.

Because saffron is the colour of sacrifice.

Sacrifice is the first virtue needed on the path of

spirituality. Whenever needed, our saffron-clad

sages sacrificed everything for the society and

nation. It is because of the sacrifice of countless

such spiritual revolutionaries today we are

living in a free nation. No wonder, saffron (the

colour of sacrifice) is at the top of our national

flag.

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Singh, Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Vallabhbhai

Patel and Subhash Chandra Bose, we often

forget the contribution of some unsung heroes.

Few of them are mentioned below:

ASHFAQULLA KHAN:

Ashfaqulla Khan was one of the main minds

behind the Kakori Conspiracy (Kakori Kand).

Along with other revolutionaries including Ram

Prasad Bismil and Chandrashekhar Azad, he

looted the train carrying British government’s

money in Kakori near Lucknow on August 9,

1925.

RAM PRASAD BISMIL:

Ram Prasad Bismil was another revolutionary

who helped in successfully executing the Kakori

Kand on August 9, 1925. Unfortunately, he was

arrested. Throughout his life, Ram Prasad Bismil

spread revolutionary thoughts by producing

various books and distributing them. He wrote

many patriotic poems in both Hindi and Urdu to

urge people to fight for independence.

SHIVARAM RAJGURU:

Shivaram Rajguru, born on August 24, 1908,

and grew up with British atrocities. This infused

within him a strong appeal to join hands with the

The Indian nationalist movement was

undoubtedly one of the biggest mass

movements that modern society had ever seen.

It was a movement which jolted innumerable

people from all the classes into political action

and brought to its knees a mighty colonial

empire.

Since the starting, the nationalists battled

against attacks by the State on the freedom of the

press, expression and association, and made the

struggle of such freedoms a centre part of the

national movement. In my view, India’s

freedom struggle was the result of a

fundamental contradiction between the interests

of the Indian people and that of British

colonialism. From the beginning itself, India’s

national leaders grappled this contradiction.

Our country saw the sacrifice and bloodshed

of millions of revolutionary leaders and

freedom fighters to free our country from the

control of the British tyranny. The struggle

which began with the great rebellion in 1857

finally came to an end on August 15th, 1947.

Though our nation can never forget the

sacrifices made by our leaders to earn freedom.

Amidst our praises for leaders like Bhagat

Unsung Heroes of the Nationalist Movement

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Article by:

Amandeep Singh Aspiring Advocate

Lucknow, India

Article by:

revolutionaries in a proposal for India's freedom

struggle. Rajguru made a great impact when

they dealt critical blows with attacks in the

Lahore Conspiracy Case and the bombing of the

Central Assembly Hall in New Delhi.

SUKHDEV THAPAR:

He went on to educate the youth at the

National College in Lahore, greatly inspiring

them about India's glorious past. He along with

other renowned revolutionaries started the

'Naujawan Bharat Sabha' at Lahore that was an

organisation involved in various activities,

mainly gearing the youth for the freedom

struggle and putting an end to communalism. He

also took an active part in several revolutionary

activities like the 'Prison hunger strike' in 1929;

however, he is best remembered for his

courageous attack in the Lahore Conspiracy

Case

CHANDRA SHEKHAR AZAD:

Azad shot to fame after being part of the 1925

Kakori Train Robbery. He was lastly involved in

the shooting of J.P. Saunders at Lahore in 1928

to avenge the killing of Lala Lajpat Rai. As the

British police opened fire, Azad sustained

injuries in the process of saving himself and

Sukhdev, another revolutionary. He managed to

convince Sukhdev to escape. Chandra Shekhar

Azad shot himself with the last bullet to escape

being captured by the British on February 27,

1931, in Alfred Park.

BADAL GUPTA, DINESH GUPTA &

BENOY BASU:

They were born in Bikrampur in modern-day

Bangladesh, Badal Gupta was 18 when he

martyred fighting in arms against the British.

Along with 22-year-old Benoy and 19-year-old

Dinesh, Badal volunteered to assassinate

Inspector General of Prisons Colonel NS

Simpson who was notorious for torturing and

manhandling nationalist prisoners. On 8

December 1930, they entered Kolkata's

Secretariat Building dressed in Western attire.

They shot Simpson dead and injured three other

English officers before being outnumbered by

the police inside the Writers' Building in

Dalhousie square. Adamant enough to

surrender, Badal consumed potassium cyanide

and the rest of the two-shot themselves.

It’s not possible to mention all the heroes

together but there are many more who might not

have come upfront but have backed the leaders

fighting and there’s nothing that can be done to

repay them. The national movement also played

a crucial role in the historical process through

which the Indian people got formed into a

nation. National leaders like Dadabhai Naoroji,

Surendranath Banerjee, Tilak, Gandhiji and

Nehru accepted that India was not yet a

completely oriented nation but a nation-in-the-

making. In addition to this, the emergence of

national identity and the blossoming of the

narrower identities were seen as processes

conceiving strength.

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Babu Shivprasad Gupt had a major contribution

in this session and it can’t be forgotten.

There came a time when Kashi rose as a major

centre for the freedom fighters. The reason for

this was that the British government was after

freedom fighters and thus, the freedom fighters

left Bengal and made Kashi their centre and

continued their activities from there. Kashi

helped in spreading the fire of freedom to the

whole north India. Founder of ‘Anusheelan

Samiti’ Shachindra Nath Saanyaal lived for a

long time in Kashi and along with Ras Bihari

Bose held the flame of independence for a long

time. Kashi remained in talk even during World

War 1. In 1914, ‘home-rule league’ re-

established the falling branch of congress. This

movement got support from Muslims. Under the

guidance of Annie Besant, Varanasi’s role in the

freedom struggle was appreciated. Her arrest

was strongly protested here. On 13 April 1919,

there was a huge massacre in Jallianwala Bagh of

Amritsar. General Dyer open-fired on

weaponless freedom fighters and citizens. In its

protest, there was a huge strike in Banaras on 13

April 1920. From Gaudoliya to Maidagin, whole

streets were filled with freedom fighters.

Kashi & The Nationalist Movement

Article by:

Dr Seemant PriyadarshiResearcher & Professor

Banaras, IndiaTranslated by Ishan Garg

Many great personalities had a role in

independence but we also have to see that many

other people fought side by side with them.

Unfortunately, we don’t talk about them much.

We mustn’t forget that students, females and old

citizens too had a major role in the fight. The

youth of Bengal played a major role in the

Swadeshi Movement. They used and publicized

Swadeshi products. They actively protested in

front of shops selling foreign goods. British

Government tried its best to suppress students.

Orders were passed in schools and colleges to

punish all students who were participating in the

Swadeshi Movement. Special status and help

were snatched from them. They were rusticated

from universities. Police thrashed them with

lathis. Along with students, women had a major

role, too. Urban middle-class women came on

the streets and actively participated in protests.

Britishers attacked students and women fiercely

but it couldn’t break their confidence. The crux is

that Independence was a long struggle in which

millions sacrificed themselves.

Take Kashi with Bengal for example. Citizens

of Kashi must have had a significant role in the

independence fight. In 1904 Kashi was again

chosen for the Congress session. This was the

time when Naram Dal and Garam Dal were

formed in congress and the country was

suffering from a severe financial crisis. This

session of congress in Kashi was completed

under the guidance of Krishna Gopal Gokhale.

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Shivprasad Gupt guided this organization.

People of Kashi protested against the Rowlatt

Act implemented by Britishers. Along with this,

people of Kashi donated a lot to the Martyrs and

Victims of Punjab.

This would have been impossible without the

support of its people but they were not

remembered in pages of history. I mentioned the

name Shivprasad Gupt many times. Did the

historians mention them according to their

contribution? Maybe not. But, their role is

important for the whole India along with Kashi.

Shivprasad Gupt started a daily newspaper to

give pace to the movement in India. It came on 5

December with the name ‘Aaj.’

On 26 November Mahatma Gandhi came to

Kashi to extend the non-cooperation movement.

When the Independence movement became

extreme in 1921 then also Kashi played an

important role. Organizations like Mahatma

Gandhi Kashi Vidyapeeth and Gandhi Ashram

also came into existence due to this movement.

These organizations played an important role in

boosting the Independent movement.

In January 1921 students of Kashi took the

responsibility to move forth the movement.

They started by protesting their classes. On the

day of their examination, they called for a strike.

They lied down in front of the entrance gate of

the college. Dr Abdul Karim was arrested along

with many students. On one hand, it challenged

the British Empire and on the other, it displayed

the Hindu-Muslim unity. Dr Abdul Karim is a

name which not only led the student movement

in Banaras but also provided it speed. There was

great support from Kashi when the Congress on

India tour of the Prince of Wales proposed that

there must be a full strike wherever he goes.

There was a full strike on 16 November and

Section 144 was implemented in the city. A

platoon was moved around the city but it had no


A still from Banaras

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major impact. Earlier it was planned on 10th

November to issue a notice to popularize this

and notice was put on the house of Dr Bhagwan

Das of Kashi. When the matter reached the

collector he picked up the notice before it

popularized and many people were arrested that

night. Prince of Wales was to be awarded D. Lit.

by the Kashi Hindu Vishwavidyalaya of

Banaras. In this event, instead of students,

workers were sitting with the uniform. This way

the strike was successful.

We see that in 1921, Pandit Kamla Pati

Tripathi, Kuber Singh, Raghunath Singh,

Kalamata Prasad Vidhyarthi, and many other

people were directing the movement. These

warriors of Kashi fought until the very last day.

The Provincial meet in 1924 took place in

Kashi. Due to people like Shivprasad Gupt and

Dr Abdul Karim faith was developed for Kashi

and they held an economic meet, discussing the

bad condition of farmers. In 1926, the

Provincial office of Allahabad (today Prayagraj)

was relocated to Kashi. Sampoorananda was the

head of this office. An ‘all-party meet’ was

arranged in 1928. The proposal was passed for

boycotting the commission and it was decided

that no one will give any statement in front of the

commission as there was no provincial congress

office till then. The preparations for the strike

were in full swing.

The release date of the commission was kept

secret but how can it be kept hidden from the

people of Kashi. Strikes were planned in many

places like railway stations, Kashi Hindu

Vishwavidyalaya and Gyaan Vaapi. The result

was that the members of the commission had to

get down at a station earlier upon their arrival.

Strikers knew of this action and reached there

too. Due to this, the commission had to return

without visiting Kashi. After the announcement

of Satyagrah, activities became faster in Kashi.

Satyagrah was carried in Varanasi in a place

named Soniya on 8 April 1930. It was due to the

influence of Kashi that many regions nearby

also started to break the salt law. ‘Shri Sumangal

Prasad’ of Kashi also participated in the Dandi

March of Gandhi. After this law of government,

the daily newspaper ‘Aaj’ was closed for six

months. In this period, a daily newspaper named

‘Rannbheri’ took the lead and was also on the

target of the British government. Police raided

many places against it.

Even during the Quit India Movement 1942,

the activities of revolutionaries of Banaras were

on the peak. Rallies were done in Banaras and Illustration by Kripi Singh

A neighbourhood from the 1900s

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regions nearby it like Cholapur, Saiydraj,

Dashashvamedh etc. Police brutally attacked

these rallies, they fired shots and lathis.

Thousands were martyred and many more were

sent to jail but this couldn’t lower the spirit of

rallies in Banaras. Banaras played a crucial role

in all fights for freedom be it the fight of 1781

and 1857 or 1942. Thousands of people were

participating in their ways and big leaders were

helping in their mission. I met a freedom fighter

Babu B. N. Sahay of Gazipur situated near

Banaras in his last days. When he was just nine

years old, he was very inspired by Subhas

Chandra Bose. He played a major role in his area

to speed up the movement. With his strong will

power, he established a school named after

Subhash Chandra Bose.

When we see the first big use of Gandhi’s

Satyagrah, which held in Champaran, Bihar in

1917 then we will find that after listening to

Gandhi’s struggle in South Africa, many

farmers came to help him. When Gandhi Ji left

for Champaran, many big leaders like Rajendra

Prasad, J.P. Kriplani, Narhaari Parikh, Mahadev

Desai etc. were with him. Condition of farmers

was examined in detail with the help of these

people. The angry officials of district ordered

them to leave Champaran but they violated that

order. Contribution of others can’t be forgotten

in the victory of Mahatma Gandhi in Civil

Disobedience. For the Non-cooperation

Movement, thousands of farmers from all

provinces and Bengal non-cooperated. Farmers

of tea plantation farms in Assam did strikes.


The Army

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Farmers of Midanpur rejected to pay taxes to

union bank. The whole population of Chirala

rejected to give taxes to the municipality and

had already left the town. All officials of

Pedananpadu gave resignation. The protest of

Guntur district can’t be forgotten which took

place under the guidance of Dugirala Gopal

Krishnaiah. It was a very powerful movement in

Guntur District. In East Bengal even chanting

‘Vande Mataram’ was banned. Public meetings

were given very fewer funds and sometimes

they were even not permitted. Laws were made

to control the Press. The cases were filed on

Indigenous workers and they were given long

terms of jail. Many students were given strict

and brutal physical punishments. One of the

biggest examples of suppression is the attack of

police on Bengal Provincial Meet in Baarisaal in

April 1906. Many youngsters were beaten badly

and the meet was dismissed forcibly. In

December 1908, nine political leaders were

forcibly exiled from the country. In these Krishn

Kumar Mitra and Ashvini Kumar Dutt were also

included. Chidambaram Pille in Madras and

Hari Sarvottam Rao in Andhra Pradesh were

made prisoners. We find many examples of the

Swadeshi Movement in the culture.

Development of nationalistic poems, proses and

journalism were witnessed. Rabindranath

Tagore is a well-known name of Bengal related

to this field but people like Rajnikant Sen,

Saiyad Abu Mohammed and Mukund Das also

wrote patriotic songs. They are still sung in

Bengal. Many creative and innovative ways

were used for Independence. A crucial element

of the Swadeshi Movement was the focus given

to Self-dependency and self-confidence. Many

cloth mills, factories of soap and matches,

handloom industries, national banks and loan

companies were opened. The contribution of

P.C. Ray can’t be forgotten who started the

famous Bengal chemical swadeshi store.

By 1945, Indian citizens were filled with self-

confidence and were ready to take on the British

Empire face to face. Azad Hind Fauz was

established by now. People were just not ready

to face the rule and atrocities by the British

Empire. Now they could not take a breath of

relaxation till they got the Independence. Navy

had revolted. Strikes were going on for people

of Azad Hind Fauz who were imprisoned. In

1945-46 there were many strikes and protests

across the whole country. In 1945 millions of

people of Kolkata protested for the Azad Hind

Fauz. In 1946 there were many protests for the

release of Abdur Rashid a member of Azad Hind

Fauz. Why there were so many protests for

release of a single Abdur Rashid? It is necessary

to shed light on these pages of history. There was

a complete strike in Bombay for the Navy and

the army was called to suppress this protest. 250

were injured by bullets within just 48 hours.

The stories of Independence of the country

are widespread. In these, many people have

contributed. It can’t be covered in an article, it is

a matter of research and a huge topic for

thinking and research.

Sources:

1. History of Modern India by Bipin Chandra

2. Bharat ka Swantantra Sangram by Bipin

Chandra

3. Kashi ka Itihas by Motichand

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Rea

der’s

Sec

tio

n

this year, 110 of which were local Kashmiri and the rest were from Pakistan.

Security forces carried out several missions to eliminate the terrorists of Hizbul Mujahideen, Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad, Islamic State of J&K and Ansar Ghazwat-ul Hind. Adding to this, the entire ranks of Hizbul and LeT have been killed by the Security forces. A Surgical Strike on terror funding; National Investigation Agency conducted raids across Jammu & Kashmir in 2019 and arrested Jammu-

Abrogation of Article 370; Decline of Terrorism in

Jammu & Kashmir

Although the security forces were given a free hand by the Modi Government to tackle terrorism in the valley, there still were some local hindrances. The abrogation of Article 370 paved the way for the security forces to tackle and uproot all the possible hurdles and rivals.

Getting straight on to the facts and figures, as per the data released by the Ministry of Home Affairs, there has been a 73% drop in Martyrdom of Security Forces personnel in Jammu and Kashmir since the Abrogation of Article 370. Also, the number of Kashmiri youths joining terrorist ranks has dropped more than 40 per cent since the abrogation. Doda, Tral and Srinagar have been declared “Terror Free” as each terrorist in these districts was searched and killed by the armed forces. Indian Security Forces have eliminated 136 terrorists

Article by:

Pranjal SinghWriter & Fashion Communication Student

Gujarat, India

Article by:

Dal Lake, Kashmir


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Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chief Yasin Malik, separatists Asiya Andrabi, Shabir Shah and Masarat Alam Bhat, and filed a charge sheet against them for criminal conspiracy and carrying out terrorist activities in the region. A former J&K MLA Rashid Engineer has also been named in the charge sheet. In a supplementary charge sheet, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) also has established the role of the Pakistan High Commission in supporting separatists through financial channels and creating unrest in Kashmir.

After the delay of almost 30 years, the trial resumed on the 11th of September, 2019 at a TADA court in Jammu against JKLF chief Yasin Malik for his involvement in the horrendous 1990 Indian Air Force personnel killings. Yasin Malik is currently in Tihar Jail in a separate terror funding case. Ironically, senior leaders of Congress like PC Chacko have lauded Yasin Malik for his “bravery” in not surrendering to

the Government. The Modi Government has truly and undoubtedly empowered NIA to proceed against the devil Yasin Malik and several other separatists and terrorists.

A much needed “Operation Maa” was launched by the Indian Army last year. The basic objective of this mission was to ensure that youth indulged into terrorism by Pakistan-backed terror groups are brought back into the folds of mainstream society. Indian Army is counselling and rehabilitating local youth of the Valley who have chosen the path of terrorism. As the data says, more than 60 local youth have been pulled away from terrorism until now.

Large gatherings at funerals of terrorists were used for recruitment of youth into terrorist groups, this is now a thing of the past as now only a handful of close relatives are seen at burial grounds. Now terrorists are buried in the presence of few close relatives only. Whereas earlier such funerals used to attract a huge crowd. Security Forces have now started a policy of not disclosing the names of terrorists and not to hand over the bodies to their relatives.

Abrogation of Article 370 and 35 A was a vital move for the eradication of terrorism in the valley. This has had a positive impact on the state at several levels, there has been a rise in peace, reduction in terrorism and cross border infiltration, negligible incidents of stone-pelting, decreasing morale of the Hurriyat Conference and other political parties such as PDP and National Conference which were inducing hatred in the minds of local Kashmiri youth and making them against their nation. Thus, it can be very firmly said that the Modi Government has undeniably taken great steps in uprooting terrorism and paving a way for development in Jammu & Kashmir.Illustration by Kripi Singh

A Stone Pelter, Kashmir

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Co

re I

ssue

s

What happened that converted Taran-E-Hindi

to Tarana-E-Milli? What happened that

separated the brothers who claimed to love each

other? What happened that led to the partition of

India? The British authorities pushed the policy

of ‘Divide and Rule’ to counter the growing

nationalist movement. They realised that the

growing unity of the Indian people posed a major

threat to British rule. George Hamilton wrote to

Elgin, the Viceroy in 1897: “The solidarity,

which is growing, of native opinion and races

and religions in antagonism to our rule frightens

me as regards the future.” The British officials,

therefore, tried to drive a wedge between the

Hindus and the Muslims and created a

communal rivalry. They repressed the Muslim

The Story of Partition 1947

It was the day of 16 August 1904, when

Allama Iqbal's Tarana-E-Hindi was

published in the Ittehad magazine, the words of

which are:

“Sare Jahan se acha,

Hindostan Humara

Hum bulbule hain iss ki,

Yeh Gulistan Humara”

But in 1910, he wrote Tarana-E-Milli,

whose words are:

“Chin-o-Arab Humara,

Hindostan humara

Muslim hain hum,

Watan hai saara jahan humara”

Research and Script by Palak AggarwalTranscribed by Khushi Gupta and Presha Rawat

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upper class and favoured the Hindu middle and

upper class after the revolt of 1857. They also

exploited the controversy around Hindi and

Urdu to promote communal feelings. They also

manipulated the cow protection movement

which was started by orthodox Hindus. The way

they tried to break Bengal but the people came

forward unitedly. The moment when people

went on hunger strikes, shouted the slogans of

Vande Matram and sang patriotic songs which

gave goosebumps to all of us. That moment

when all the Hindus and Muslims fought

together against the British government, this

passion, is the spirit of India. The songs by

Rabindranath Tagore gave lyrics and rhythm to

this anger and these emotions. The Bengalis

rose like one man, to resist, to sacrifice and to

suffer.

The communal tensions increased due to the

concretisation of the communal theory with the

establishment of the All India Muslim League in

1906 under the leadership of Aga Khan, Nawab

Salimullah and Nawab Mohsin-Ul-Mulk. Let us

first understand the history of the All India

Muslim League. Sir Syed had found the

Muhammadan Educational Conference, but a

self-imposed ban prevented it from discussing

politics. In the December 1906 conference of

Dhaka, the conference removed the ban and was

attended by 3000 delegates. This led to the

resolution to form an All India Muslim League

political party. The party emerged as an early

political expression of the gradual growth of the

Muslim middle class in India. In 1930,

Muhammad Iqbal because the party's President

and demanded a separate Muslim state. This is


A train carrying passengers between the divided nations

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the same Allama Iqbal who wrote Taran-E-

Hindi in 1904. It is believed that this radical

transformation occurred when he left for the UK

and turned into an Islamic fundamentalist and

paved path for the creation of Pakistan. He is

regarded as the spiritual father of Pakistan

because it was based on his speech that two-

nation theory was formulated. In his presidential

address at the 25th Annual Session of the All

India Muslim League on the 29th of December,

1930, he said, “India is a continent of human

beings belonging to different languages and

professing different religions…I, therefore,

demand the formation of a consolidated Muslim

state in the best interests of the Muslims of India

and Islam.” In the same address, Muhammad

Iqbal also said, “I would like to see the Punjab,

North-West Frontier Province, Sind and

Baluchistan amalgamated into a single State.

Self-government within the British Empire, or

without the British Empire, the formation of a

consolidated North-West Indian Muslim State

appears to me to be the final destiny of the

Muslims, at least of North-West India.”

Muhammad Iqbal in 1931 announced the

formation of a separate nation. In 1933, a group

of Muslims living near Britain's Cambridge

University took Iqbal's suggestion further and

published a pamphlet called "Now or Never" in

which they not only proposed the boundaries

but also called the new nation Pakistan.

Claiming that he was guided by Allah,

Chaudhary Rehmat Ali asserted that the new

State should consist of Punjab, Afghanistan,

Kashmir, Sind and Baluchistan. From this came

the name- Pakistan, that is, the land of the pure.

Iqbal also urged lawyer and politician,

Muhammad Ali Jinnah to return to India and

lead the league. Jinnah returned to India in the

mid-1930s and became the President of Muslim

league.

During an address to party members in 1940,

Jinnah declared that Muslims would be

politically and economically undermined in a

Hindu majority India. A turning point arrived in

1937 with the Government of India Act. The

Muslim League, the second most powerful party

yet with less support than Congress, found itself

sidelined. Many Muslims feared that the British

Raj was now likely to be replaced by a Hindu

Raj. Muhammad Ali Jinnah, seeing this

opportunity broke from Congress Party and

pledged to turn the Muslim League into a mass

movement. The question was of India's largest

minority community, Muslims. Their leaders

had long served in the Congress Party. Leaders

like Maulana Azad, President of Congress from

1840-1946 were more than willing to remove

the Britishers and construct a modern nation.

They believed that Hindus, Muslims and

Sikhs would live peacefully in the FREE

INDIA. But, some Muslims thought that their

interests and traditions might be best protected

if they had a nation of their own. It was the

events of World War 2 that solidified the split

between Congress and Muslim League and the

stubbornness of Muhammad Ali Jinnah which

ensured that the League was committed to

Partition. Jinnah's appeal was based on the

worldwide conception that nations were not

simply political entities but groups of people

united by language, religion, custom, ethnic

background and other factors. Thus, Indian

Muslims constituted a nation.

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Our expert, Professor Pradip Kumar

comments on this matter and says: In 1928 a

separate electorate was given to the citizens of

India, Mohammad Ali Jinnah did his fourteen

points program after the Nehru Report came, in

1928. From this point onwards, it became clear

that the Muslim League wants certain important

issues to be decided for the people of Pakistan

by the government to protect their rights

because they were a minority. About 25% of the

population of India belonged to a minority

community known as the Muslims. Due to this,

Muslim League was established as they feared

that the rest 75% community is definitely going

to dominate and wherever the issue of

nationalism comes, this fear always plays an

important role in it that “you are a minority and

thus you will be dominated by the majority

community.” It was not just because of his fear,

it was the fear of his whole community, of which

he was a representative.

Gandhi disagreed with this idea, claiming

that Indian Muslims were descended from

Hindu converts to Islam and thus they

fundamentally remained Indians. Professor

Pradip Kumar on this matter says: Gandhi ji was

a sole leader, I am saying it categorically. He

was a sole leader who brought the people of

India together as a one. Our nationalism, the

nationalism of India is the nationalism of unity!

We all know how divided our country was, in

various princely states, in provinces, in the

presidencies everyone had different views and

those princely states were sovereign states.

Gandhi ji never advocated partition. In

December 1946, people were almost made to

believe that partition is an inevitable thing,

partition has to happen. Sardar Patel announced

that India will remain united in case (26:05)

means India cant remain united without division

because the leadership of the congress was not

demanding partition it was the Muslim League

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which was demanding partition. Partition was

full of forced migration, loss of property and

death. This partition legacy is one of the major

reasons for bitter distrust between India and

Pakistan. Almost 11.5 million people migrated

and around 10 million of them were from

Punjab. Nearly 7 to 10 lakh people were killed.

The British found themselves quite happy

with the events. Lord Samuel said, “it may be

said of the British Raj as Shakespeare said of the

Thane of Cawdor- 'Nothing in his life became

like him like the leaving of it'.” A British official

writes: “Punjab is an absolute inferno and it is

still going strong. Thousands have been

murdered and tens and hundreds of thousands of

refugees are streaming about. There has been a

lot of arson. It will take generations to work to

put things straight.” An Indian army officer, K.

P. Candeth recalled, “I remember seeing a train

come in from Pakistan and there wasn’t a single

live person on it; there were just bodies, dead

and butchered. Now, that train entered India and

the people saw it. And the next Pakistan-bound

train that came, they set upon it, and the

slaughter was terrible.”

A British soldier on the scene spoke much

more directly. He remembered that in parts of

Lahore, “Corpses lay in the gutter. Nearby a

posse of Muslim police chatted unconcerned. A

British major . . . had also arrived. He and his

driver were collecting the bodies. Some were

dead.Some were dying. All were mutilated.

They were Sikhs. Their long hair and beards

were matted with blood. An old man, not so bad

as the rest, asked me where we were taking

them. “To the hospital,” I replied, adding to

hearten him, “You’re not going to die.”

“I shall,” he said, “if there is a Muslim

doctor.”

Professor Pradip Kumar on the issue of

Partition being stopped says, “I don’t think that

partition could have been stopped because as I

told you earlier, the outrage in the age of

decolonisation was over the threshold and to

find the bigger share of the political power was a

very clear intention of all the political leaders

and Jinnah was amongst those leaders. Partition

could have stopped or not is a very difficult

question. For this, we need to know that, in all

the nations, communities identify themselves

differently and when gradually communities

start to identify themselves, political assertions

also start to increase. And this political

assertiveness leads you towards the idea of

nationalism. When there is a large majority and

a small minority then there is a threat to the

minority of being dominated by the majority.

But partition could have been stopped only on

one condition that like one majority community

was saying that minority should be appeased

then the minority should have decided upon

being with the majority supporting them, then

only partition could have stopped, else partition

was very much in the cards.

Kuldip Nayar in his book ‘Tales of Two

Cities’ writes, “Was it inevitable, I ask? Could

its thirst for blood have been slaked by some

means other than India’s division?” Holding

Jinnah and Nehru equally “responsible”, Nayar

explains the Partition was not inevitable, to

begin with. The Cabinet Mission Plan held the

promise of resolution but as events panned out

and Nehru and Jinnah remained implacable, it

became inevitable.

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Deb

atin

g N

arra

tive

sAkbar;

the Great or the Demon

Indian history books have always looked at the Mughals in an extremely positive light, but are they really that great? Have they really contributed as much as it is shown in the mainstream media and Bollywood movies? Let’s understand both sides of the facts by Debating Narratives.

Akbar was born on November 23, 1542. He ascended the throne on February 14, 1556. Akbar was of middle stature, probably about 5ft 7inches in height. He was compactly built and possessed immense bodily strength. History describes him as having a dark complexion, loud voice and vibrant eyes. This goes in contrast with how Bollywood movies represent

Akbar as a tall, magnificent man. Another such representation is in terms of Akbar’s nature which are shown as gentle and caring in the TV shows and movies but he was naturally hot-tempered and occasionally sanctioned barbarous punishment which comes as a shock to the modern readers.

Against the glorified representation of Akbar by TV series and movies, one of the debaters, Anjali Saini, says: “To punish the oppressors of humanity is clemency, to forgive them is cruelty. Akbar, the 3rd generation Mughal emperor of India, has often been presented as a great man and noble king. But, I don't agree with this. Every coin has 2 sides. Our historians

Article by:Research by Garvit Vij

Transcribing by Khyati Mehra Compilation by Palak Aggarwal

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and filmmakers have always shown only his positive side. None of his deeds was free from cruelty, treachery and lust for conquest. Akbar wasn't secular at all. He enjoyed killing Hindus, Brahmins and Acharyas. The concept of Din-E-Illahi was created where forced conversions of Hindus into Muslim was done. He also forcibly converted Tansen into a Muslim, naming his Finauvat Khan. Akbar was a womanizer, having 300 wives. Moreover, his officials were free to slaughter cows and vandalise Hindu temples to build mosques.”

Another debater, Arpita Pal, contradicts and says, “I believe that he was a great emperor. Crowned as a king at just the age of 13, he ruled for 50 years establishing a huge empire. Many social, political, religious and cultural reforms were introduced under his rule. In 1556, India was a fragmented nation and the one who took steps to consolidate the divided country cannot be called a demon for sure. The administrative policies he pursued, can be seen being followed in the current times too. Various administrative departments were developed on the basis of the concept of checks and balances. Akbar always encouraged and promoted integrated development of all religions together, for which he also introduced Ibadat Khana, where people belonging to various religions used to gather and the positive points of all religions were kept together. Matrimonial alliances with Rajputs was also an example of his religious tolerance.”

Debater Chetna Garg adds to this, “Akbar showed religious tolerance, secured trade, administration and military and patronized art and culture. So, it won't be wrong to say that he not only ruled on land or resources but ruled the hearts of people. Mughal Empire grew 3 times in size as well as wealth under his rule. In the

times when religious persecution was common throughout Europe and Asia, Akbar was the one who introduced Din-E-Ilahi (1582) where positive elements of all religions were brought together. He also introduced the term 'Suleh Kul'- meaning universal tolerance and peace for all. He was an embodiment of Hindu-Muslim unity as he removed Jazia tax imposed on Hindus.”

But, history says something else. Badayuni writes in his book, “Defeating Bez Bahadur, the Sultan of Malwa at Sangrur near Dewas in Central India, Akbar’s General Adam Khan and Peer Mohammad brought the captures before them and troop after troop of them were put to death so that their blood flowed river upon the river.” Another such incident is of April 1567 where it is mentioned, “It gave Akbar great pleasure to see that two factions of hated Hindu slaughtered one another. He drove immense pleasure from two groups of men stabbing and stoning one another.” Adding to the barbarous activities of Akbar, it is also mentioned by Abu Fazal in his book that- “Akbar tortured Mohammad Mirak of Mashhad, a special confidant of Khan Zaman (who had revolted against Akbar). He was tortured for 5 consecutive days on the execution ground. Each day he was trussed up in a wooden frame and placed before one of the elephants. The elephants caught him in his trunk and flung it from one side to another.” Abu Fazal related this horrid barbarity without a word of censure. One of the most barbarous activities by Akbar also includes the battle of Ahmedabad which was fought on Sep 2 1573. In accordance with the gruesome custom of times, a pyramid was built with the heads of the rebels, more than 2000 in numbers.

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While the royal courts of the Mughals are praised and glorified in history textbooks, an alternative historical account can be seen in the story of the young, handsome Hindu painter named Yashwant (misspelt by Muslim

chronicles as Deshbandh) who stabbed himself to death from melancholia because of the foul atmosphere in Akbar's court which was reeking with sodomy, doping, drugging, drinking and prostitution. Also, while Akbar is praised for being secular, one historical evidence recounts the entering of Akbar in Chittor on Feb 24, 1568. He issued an order of general massacre. Throughout the day the invaders roamed in the streets, killing and destroying. The numbers killed was so vast that the sacred threads (Janeu) of killed Brahmins alone weighed 741/2 maunda of 8 seers each (1 maunda = 34kg appx, 1 seer = 0.9 kg appx) that is 18,237 Kgs of thread.

Talking about distorted history, debater Dinesh Nishad says, “The easiest way to destroy a nation is to attack its history and culture, which is being done in India also. We are being intentionally taught such history in

which foreign invaders are glorified while real Indian heroes are not discussed anywhere. False history and movies like Jodha Akbar, Mughal-E-Azam deliberately create a positive image of Akbar in our minds. But he was actually a demon. He wanted to build the largest Harem of the world where he kept more than 5000 females. As P.N. Oak wrote in his book, ‘Who Says Akbar was Great,’ Akbar celebrated an occasion called “Khuda Roz” or “Khusroz” in which he made all the females of his kingdom stand naked so as to select some of them for his harem. In 1568, 8000-12000 women committed “Johar” (3rd Johar of Chittorgarh) in order to save themselves from Akbar's lust. When he got

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to know this, out of anger, he killed 30,000 innocent civilians present at the fort. Many historians claim that Bairam Khan (who made Akbar a king) was killed by Akbar himself. And after his death, Akbar even put Bairam Khan's mother in his harem.

It is also recorded by P.N. Oak in his book, ‘Was Akbar Really Great’ that “It was the law of the Mogul Emperors that if the emperor cast his eyes on any women then the husband was bound to divorce her and the virtuous sic lady entered the imperial harem.” Many women were bound to have burnt themselves with fire or acid to render their faces ugly and unattractive to the royal abductors. Among them, many even bribed royal agents with sexual gratification to escape permanent detention in emperors gilded cages and teaming harem. Badayuni writes, “Anybody could lift anybody’s daughter, sister or wife in Akbar’s reign and gift her away or detain her in his own house.” Muslim rule reduced Hindusthan to a great brothel and Akbar was glorified as the chief patron of this vast brothel. Another form of lechery practised by Akbar in his own grand royal style of cruelty and repression was to force his subjects to parade their women for him. The festival called ‘Khusroz’ is mentioned by Colonel Todd in his book, “Annals and antiquities of Rajasthan.”

Chetna Garg countered by saying, “Regarding the issue of women welfare, I want to tell everyone that Akbar was the one who introduced the concept of widow remarriage, thus discouraging the system of Sati Pratha. He believed that it was the right of women to live as they wish. Colonel G.B. Malleson in his book 'Akbar and the rise of Mughal Empire' states that Akbar himself said that such harsh treatment to women is against the law of

humanity and should not be practised by any means.” Dinesh Nishad further countered, “You just discussed the Sati System… Akbar stopped this Pratha just for the reason that instead of setting young females on fire, it would be better to put them in his harem to satisfy his lust. Abdul Qadir Badayuni (historian) wrote that it was a rule in the Mughal Empire that if the king liked a woman, may it be a married one, her husband had to forcibly divorce her so that Badshaah could marry her.”

Debater Dinesh Nishad also questioned those defending Akbar as a religiously tolerant person by saying, “As per the author of 'Akbar and his India'- Irfan Habib, Akbar declared himself a 'Ghazi' in 1575. It refers to a person fighting for Islam who kills non-Muslims or kaafir for no reason. I will go ahead with the incident of 1568. He wasn't a kid, for sure, at that time. During the second war of Panipat, I can agree that he was a child. But, after his victory over Chittorgarh, Akbar wrote 'Fateh-E-Chittor' that he declared from Ajmer Sharif's Dargah in the month of Ramzan. He wrote, “I am just fulfilling the responsibility given to me by Allah. I have killed the Kaafirs (non-Muslims) and vandalised their temples and I will spread Islam in the whole country.” This is written in a book of 1971, ‘Proceedings of Indian National Congress.’ How can you still call him secular?”

Chetna Garg answered, “In 48th and 49th sessions of Indian National Congress, Irfan Habib presented papers, according to which he studied in Vrindavan and found that in 1598, Akbar permitted grants for the temples which were being constructed. Also, Akbar personally looked into the matters and resolved the issues of that area. Now tell me, isn't it possible that he

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might have been transformed at a later stage after witnessing the religious diversity in India?” Arpita Pal also added, “Akbar belonged to Islam. Although he thought of consolidating all religions together, doesn't mean he should forget his own religion, right? Following one's religion and becoming a Ghazi isn't a problem unless he is imposing it on anyone else. Din-I-Illahi is the biggest proof of his secularism. He abolished Jizya Tax imposed on Hindus and even did not force his Rajput wife to convert into a Muslim. What else can you expect?

Dinesh Nishad countered, “Talking of Jizya tax, let me tell you, Jizya tax was removed in 1562 but reimposed by Akbar in 1575 when he was pressured by Maulavis. Second thing, Din-I-Illahi was introduced in the very last phase of his life. If a person instigates killings and commits sins in his entire lifetime, but does just one good thing at last, does that mean we should forget and ignore all his cruelties?” He further added, “As you spoke about him being a secular,

let me give you another reference. At the time of Akbar, Goa was under Portuguese rule. In Goa lived a Christian Missionary named Father Monserrate, S.J. who travelled to the Mughal court to meet Akbar around 1579-80. He wrote a travelogue on this journey. In this book, he mentions that in the Mughal Empire, many Hindu temples were demolished. And at those sites, Muslim built dargah and mosque. And all this happened circa 1579-80, so how can we call Akbar a secular king? The wrong history is taught to us about Akbar being great. Few good deeds of Akbar were actually performed by his Navratna. Akbar was an alcoholic and a womanizer. He was never a good ruler.”

The expert of the show, Dr Ashutosh Jha comments, “When you see Akbar in binaries, understanding him definitely becomes tough. The references have to be very clear. This is exactly what we want to see in our youth. The biggest problem with history in our country is that the one who doesn't know history speaks

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about it and the others who should know history, don't bother to read it.” He further adds, “See, when we talk about Akbar, we have to understand how Akbar has been portrayed or described in our history texts. The historical writings have been very Delhi centric. But I believe, our country does not need a Delhi- centric history. History is not static. It is a dynamic subject. But we are reading it while leaving behind its dynamism. Today, new archaeological facts are coming, new facts in climatology are coming, new research tools are coming. But those new research tools are not being used for developing new hypotheses and new observations. History is very scientific. So first, the study of history and the approach towards historical study requires a huge change so that true, modern and scientific history is passed on to us. Else, we would go on building wrong narratives. Hence, I believe that it should be restructured, reordered and rewritten.”

On being asked about Akbar being an Indian by the moderator, Garvit Vij, Dr Ashutosh Jha answered, “In our country, identity is not only on the basis of geographical boundaries or religion. Our country's identity is multi structural and multilayered, be it language, clan, identity on the basis of some cultural moorings. As far as Akbar is concerned, definitely he was not an Indian when he was born here. All his ancestors came from abroad. But when he became the Baadshah (Emperor) of India, ruled here for many years, married Indian women, especially Hindu females, and along with that when he started the concept of Din-I-Illahi to find a mid-way, I believe he became Indian at that time.”

But, it’s really unfair to call Akbar the true Indian emperor like he is called in movies and mainstream media because he didn’t rule the entire country. The areas under his rule included present-day Gujrat, Punjab, Balochistan, Kashmir, Orissa, Sindh, Qandahar, Khandesh, Bihar, Bengal Kabul and a small portion of Deccan. Thus calling him “Azim-O-Shan Shehenshah” is a bit of exaggeration as he was not the sole emperor of India. Other rulers like Rana Pratap proved a tough competition to Akbar’s rule because they wisely choose to fight gorilla war in the Hills and forests of South Rajasthan wherein Mughal outposts were attacked, Mughal forces travelling towards Gujarat were harassed, caravans coming from western parts were raided, areas occupied by Mughal village when burnt, wells were blocked etc. From the hills in forests of Aravali and Kumbhalgarh range, Rana Pratap raged his lone battle against the expanding Mughal Empire.

Building up to the question of the right representation of facts in history and how it is distorted by historians due to their agendas, the debate brings into perspective how facts are meddled with, voices are muzzled and history is changed like in the case of Akbar where he is represented as the most just and great emperor. Historical accounts of travellers and other writers showing his true personality are often ignored not only by historians but also by directors and producers who make films and TV serials with incomplete information, leading to the creation of a fake narrative.

But, that is why we need to debate the facts and create narratives. Debating Narratives does that!

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