These invasions of India by Muslims were as much invasions of India as they were wars among the Muslims themselves. This fact has remained hidden because the invaders are all lumped together as Muslims without distinction. But as a matter of fact, they were Tartars, Afghans and Mongols. Muhammad of Ghazni was a Tartar, Mahommed of Ghori was an Afghan, Taimur was a Mongol, Babar was a Tartar, while Nadirshah and Ahmadshah Abdalli were Afghans. In invading India, the Afghan was out to destroy the Tartar and the Mongol was out to destroy the Tartar as well as the Afghan. They were not a loving family cemented by the feeling of Islamic brotherhood. They were deadly rivals of one another and their wars were often wars of mutual extermination. What is, however, important to bear in mind is that with all their internecine conflicts they were all united by one common objective and that was to destroy the Hindu faith” — Dr Babasaheb B R Ambedkar, Pakistan or The Partition of India, Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar – Writings and Speeches Vol. 8, pg 57, Dr Ambedkar Foundation, New Delhi, 2014NSCN-IM) on August 3, 2015
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath while announcing the new museum in Agra raised a pertinent question about the legacy of Moghuls and took a stand that the symbols of colonialism would not have any place in Uttar Pradesh. As expected, the secular intellectuals were taken aback. They have problems with naming the museum with Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, as invoking the idea of ‘Hindavi Swarajya’ itself has been a communal idea for them. As usual with their skewed sense of history based on colonial myths, they started giving citations about the heroics of the Mughal era from their own sources, claiming them to be the heritage of Bharat. This episode has allowed us to look at our history with an open mind and historical documents.
First of all, to name a historical museum with Shivaji Maharaj need not have his connection with Agra. His miraculous escape from the custody of Aurangazeb in Agra and heroic journey of around thousand miles to reach his capital Rajgarh is inspirational enough to understand his influence, but for pseudo-historians that was a minor connection. The same righteous King of Swarajya inspired common masses to continue the fight even after 200 years of his death makes Shivaji Maharaj a national figure. The people who see our history from the colonial prism will find it difficult to understand.
For the secularists, the assertion that Mughals are not our heroes is the real problem. The heritage they see in the Moghul era is the sole source of their communal secularism. While doing so connecting all Bharatiya Muslims with the Mughal identity is the biggest injustice they do with Muslims. Knowing very well that Mongols, Turks, Afghans were fighting among themselves, and as Dr Ambedkar explained, “They were all united by one common objective, and that was to destroy the Hindu faith”. Who were the first victims of this forged unity? – The present-day Muslims of Bharat. It was their ancestors who faced the sword of forced conversion. In turn, this process sowed the seeds of pan-Islamism among Muslims and damaged the real assimilative culture of Bharat.
The Moghuls never believed in the existence of multiple faiths which was a cornerstone of Bharat. The non-Bharatiya ideas like conversion through force and temple destruction have been the only legacy they have left for us. A series of historical documents reveal these facts which secularist chose to neglect. Massacres during the Khilafat or the Partition were the part of the Mughal legacy, which we certainly cannot celebrate.
Even the Arabastan, where Islam originated, is making necessary reformation internally. The peace deal of various Islamic countries with Israel is the sign that with the external world also they want to move on. Unfortunately, the secular intellectuals of Bharat, for the sake of their agenda, continue to make heroes out of Baburs and Aurangzebs and do not allow Muslims to embrace Dar Shikohs and APJ Abdul Kalams with open arms. It is for the Muslim society and leadership to decide whether to be part of the ever-evolving, diverse and assimilative idea of Bharat or to live in the illusion of so-called Caliphate by connecting themselves with Mughals. For the common Bharatiyas, irrespective of religion, bigoted, intolerant, murderous Mughals are certainly not heroes or part of our heritage.
@PrafullaKetkar
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