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...
16
Ignited PensUnsung Heroes of the
Nationalist Movement
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09
Ignited PensKashi & The Nationalist Movement
02Editorial
The Right History...
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
The Right History...
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
+917428522756 (WhatsApp)
Come forward and mail us your pieces at
Ign
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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
Illustration by Kripi Singh
A Naga Sadhu
04
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.
06
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
Illustration by Kripi Singh
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
Illustration by Kripi Singh
A still from Banaras
12
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.
Illustration by Kripi Singh
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
Illustration by Kripi Singh
16
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
18
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
Illustration by Kripi Singh
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.
22
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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