A Wake Up Call By a Pakistani Lady Scholar – Ram Kumar Ohri, IPS (Retd) In a landmark confession of truth an enlightened Muslim intellectual, Fauzia Syed, declared during a discussion on a T V channel that all Pakistani and Bangladeshi Muslims are essentially Hindus, and that in rare cases, they might be Buddhists. The lady activist lamented that a lot of Muslims, mainly Pakistani and Bangladeshi, have a hard time accepting the fact that their ancestors were Hindus who were converted by force of sword to Islam. The gutsy lady said this in a live television show while responding to the argument of a radical Muslim preacher of Pakistan, Zaid Hamid.
Her bold assertion of the truth is a clarion call to Hindus to wake up from slumber and re-educate and enlighten the Muslims of the sub-continent about their ancestry and massacres of their forefathers. Unfortunately till now no Hindu has responded to her wake up call.
Explaining her viewpoint lucidly, Fauzia said that most Pakistani Muslims have a belief that they are the offsprings of the Muslim invaders who came attacking the sub-continent from Muslim lands. But that is an unalloyed falsehood. Any person having a hint of common sense would know that the ancestors of more than 99 percent Pakistanis were Hindus. Unfortunately the Pakistan does not want to admit the bitter truth, nor are the Pakistanis prepared to hear it, she averred.
One simply marvels at the extensively propagated falsehood that Pakistani Muslims are progeny of the Arab or Turk invaders. Equally dumb is the assertion that the forefathers of today’s Muslims in Pakistan and India were converted by Sufi Saints. Anyone who reads the history of the sub-continent objectively know that lakhs of Hindus were killed and forcibly converted by Muslim invaders on pain of death. The deep blood relationship between the Muslims and Hindus of the ub-continent is further reinforced by the fact that many surnames like Cheema, Bajwa, Ghakhar, Sethi and also Sehgal (or Saigols) are common to both communities.
Among other things, Fauzia pointed out that it is not wrong to call Pakistan a terrorist State because it has been sheltering terrorists for a long time. The truth was exposed when Osama bin Laden was killed in Pakistan by the United States.
It is indeed a sign of the dumbness of Hindu society that the bold human rights activist has not been invited to speak in India and interact with the intellectuals, media analysts and common citizens about her incontrovertible true statement on a Pakistani T V channel. In any case, the matter deserves focused attention of the Hindu intelligentsia. It is not late even now to invite Fauzia Syed to India for a meaningful ‘samvad’ at the India International Centre, New Delhi and then to make her address the Indians in various parts of the country. The opportunity should not be missed and Fauzia Syed must be invited to India for sharing her views with Hindus and Muslims of India. The failure of Hindu society in ignoring the bold and truthful assertion by Fauzia Syed confirms that we continue to be somnolent.
Massive Hindu Footprints in Pakistan and Afghanistan An honest reappraisal of the common heritage of India and Pakistan will totally support the version of Fauzia Syed. For centuries geographically as well as politically Bharat, i.e., India, included the entire land mass from Bactria (known as Vaahic Pradesh), the entire Afghanistan, the present day Pakistan, today’s Bharat (i.e., India) and whole of Bangladesh.
Gandhara is the Sanskrit name of an ancient kingdom, located in parts of modern-day northern Pakistan and eastern Afghanistan. Its main cities were Purushapura (i.e., modern Peshawar), Pushkalavati and Takshashila (modern Taxila). The kingdom of Gandhara finds mention in the Rig Veda. It lasted from the early 1st millennium B C to the 11th century A D. The boundaries of Gandhara continued to change throughout history. Sometimes the Peshawar valley and Taxila were collectively referred to as Gandhara and sometimes the Swat valley (Sanskrit: Suvāstu) was also included in Gandhara. The heart of Gandhara, however, was always the Purushapura valley. According to the Hindu tradition enshrined in Rigveda and Puranas, the cities of Takshashila and Pushkalavati (located in Pakistan) were named after princes Taksha and Pushkara, two sons of Raja Bharata, the illustrious brother of Lord Rama. Gandhara has been frequently mentioned in the epics of Ramayana and Mahabharata, too. The kingdom had played an important role in the Mahabharata war. The later day ruler of Takshashila, Ambhi Kumar, a contemporary of Alexander and Raja Porus, was the ruler of Gandhara at that time. He claimed to be a direct descendant of Raja Bharata of Ramayana fame. It is said that Lord Rama consolidated the rule of the Kosala Kingdom over the whole of the Indian peninsula and his brothers and sons ruled most of the sixteen Janapadas (i.e., 16 States) of Bharat Varsha.
A princess of the king of Gandhara, named Gandhari, was married to Hastinapur’s blind king Dhritrashtra of Indraprastha. As highlighted in the historical epic Mahabharata, she was the mother of prince Duryodhana and other Kauravas. Her brother Shakuni the prince of Gandhara exercised considerable influence on the Kaurava prince Duryodhana and played a key role in the battle at Kurukshetra .
The Gandhara region was the birth place of two eminent Hindu scholars Panini, the reputed author of the Sanskrit grammar, ‘Ashtadhyayi’, and Acharya Chanakya who wrote ‘Arthashastra’. The two famous scholars of Sanskrit lived in the glorious intellectual environment of Gandhara. Though ignored by Pakistanis, both of them are honoured for their knowledge and wisdom worldwide. From the begining of the 5th century onwards till 1000 A D. the famous Shahiya dynasty ruled over Kabul and Gandhara. The capital of the Shahiya rulers used to be Kapisa a city close to present day Kabul, nearabout today’s Bagram airport. As early as AD 424, the prince of Kapisa was known as Guna Varman. Traditiionally the name ending “Varman” is used after the name of only Kshatriyas.1 Thus the lineage of the rulers whom Hiuen Tsang refers to in his chronicles were an extension of the Kshatriya dynasty of Shahiyas to whom this Guna Varman of Ki-pin of Kapisa belonged. The Kshatriya dynasty of Shahiyas of Kabul was already well established in Gandhara region when Hiuen Tsang visited it in the 7th century. He was identified as Shahi Khingala. His name has also been found in an inscription in Gardez town of Afghanistan. Shiva worship Was Widespread in Afghanistan Before the rise of Ghaznavid freebooters, the entire region was adorned with hundreds of Shiva temples.
The kingdom of Gandhara used to reverberate with chants of Shiva and Shakti and prayers to them. Archaeological excavations in Gandhara region conducted by Sir Estine (an East India Company official) led to the recovery of several shrines and inscriptions of the ancient Hindu glory. He authored four books on Shiva worship featuring photos of the celebrated icons found in the region. Many inscriptions eulogizing Hindu Gods and Goddesses were discovered in the area. The photos in Sir Estine’s books show a Sun Temple and a statue of Ganesha, too.2 When Hindu Shahiya Rulers Humbled Caliphs The land mass around Ghazni, especially the highlands of Kandhar along the upper water of Helmund (Sanskrit name Setumant) was once known as Zabulistan. It was ruled by Hindu kings who bore the title ‘Shahiya’ or Shahianushahi, from which the later day Persian title ‘Shahanshah’ was derived. Shahiya rulers were sun-worshipping Kshatriya Hindus. .
The Arab army, enthused by religious zeal and driven by the cupidity of rapid conquests invaded Zabulistan a number of times during the rule of early caliphs like Usman, Ali and Muaviyya. In 661 AD an Arab army, under the command of Ubaydullah attacked the Shahiya kingdom of Zabulistan. But his army was routed by the Shahiya warriors and the Arab commander was captured. Thereupon another Arab general, Yazid Ibn Zujad, was sent with a stronger army to relieve the Muslim army. But Ibn Zujad was also defeated. Ultimately the frustrated Muslims entered into a negotiation with the Hindu king of Zabulistan called king Pranatpal Shahiya, whom the Arab chroniclers used to call Rutbil. In terms of the settlement, the Caliph’s envoy promised never again to invade Zabulistan and also paid a fine of seven lakh dirhams as compensation for attacking Zabulistan. After that defeat of Arabs there was no invasion of Zabulistan for nearly 15 years. However, in 695 AD , Hajjaj, the Caliph’s governor of the erstwhile empire of West and Central Asia sent another general named Abdullah to conquer the kingdom of Zabulistan. In 698 AD the Muslim general penetrated deep into Zabulistan without facing much opposition from the Shahiyas. In the heartland of Zabulistan, a pitched battle took place between the Arab soldiers led by Abdullah and Shahiya troops. Finally Abdullah was defeated and forced to enter into a treaty with Shahiya rulers. But neither the Hajjaj, nor his master, the Caliph of Baghdad, approved the treaty. Abdullah was dismissed from army service.
Soon thereafter once again the Arabs invaded Zabulistan. This time a new general Abu Bakrak, was provided with 40,000 strong army and instructed to invade Zabulistan. He was told not to return, until he had either completely subjugated and destroyed the Shahiya kingdom of Zabulistan. The Arab army was badly defeated once again and compelled to enter into a treaty with Shahiyas according to which the Arabs were forced to pay a fine of five lakh dirhams to the Shahiyas.4 [Source: Ibid ] The Arab general Abu Bakrah, also agreed to give his sons as hostages to the Shahiya king of Zabulistan. Thus the Rajput dynasties of Gandhara region (comprising parts of the present-day Afghanistan-Pakistan) successfully repulsed several Muslim military expeditions for nearly four centuries, i.e., from the middle of the 7th century to the end of the 10th century. Their fight against the savage invaders is an unsung saga of rare heroism. Ultimately the unending internal squabbles and mutual hostilities between the Hindu rulers of the region proved to be the undoing of the Shahiya rulers against invaders. Till the year 980 A.D. the Gandhara was a Hindu majority area.
Then Sabuktagin, a chieftain from Ghazni invaded it and defeated and overthrew the ruling Hindu king , Jayapal Shahiya in 1001. A scholar of Islamabad University Professor Abdul Rehman has authored two books on the archaeological findings which recalled the glory and prosperity of those times. The reign of two Hindu rulers “Kusham” and “Kidara” lasted for fairly long periods.5 During their rule a number of Shiva temples existed not only in Afghanistan but in several other regions, too. Uzbeksthan and Tajiksthan formed part of the Hindu kingdom in those times. Tashkent is reported to have one of those ancient Shiva temples standing even today.
Professor Rehman states that the Bukhara region was known as “Shahi Vihar” in ancient times and ruled by a Hindu king. When the Muslim army invaded that kingdom its queen travelled to Kashmir to seek military help. Arab chroniclers referred to her as ‘Khatoon’ which means a ’woman’. Kalhan, the renowned historian of Kashmir has mentioned that the army of the then Hindu ruler of Kashmir had defeated a vast army of the Arab Khalifa Mamoon whose headquarters was in Baghdad. By that time Bukhara had already been captured by the Muslims. Kashmir, however, remained unconquered.
The account of Alberuni’s travel contains many details of the Hindu footprints in Afghanistan. He also mentions the Hindu king, Khingala, whose coins bore the imprint of Shiva. History of Gandhara mentions another Shiva temple in Gardej town, which was plundered by Arab invaders.6 Kabul Temple Destroyed and Replaced by Mosque The place where Kabul’s main mosque stands today was the site of an ancient Hindu temple and the story of its capture is kept alive in the Afghan legend which describes the Islamic hero Sabuktagin who fought with swords in both hands . He destroyed the temple and built a mosque in its place. Retreat of Shahiyas After several setbacks in battles with invaders, the Shahiyas shifted their capital from Kabul to Udbhandapura (modern Hund) in today’s NWFP. Sabuktagin’s son Mahmud Ghazni, kept up attacking the Indian sub-continent incessantly forcing the and captured Shahiyas to their capital to Lahore and later on to Kangra in today’s Himachal Pradesh.7
The significance of an inscription found in Gandhara region telling the story of the Shahiya ruler Veka and his devotion to lord ‘Shiva’, was mentioned by a leading epigraphist and archaeologist, Prof. Ahmad Hasan Dani of Qaid-E-Azam University of Islamabad, at the Indian History Congress in Islamabad.8 Prof. Hasan Dani further added that there was an inscription on a stone in the town called “Mazar-i Sharif which referred to the Shahiya ruler Veka. The inscription, with eleven lines written in “western Sarada” style of Sanskrit of 10th century AD, had some spelling mistakes. As the stone is slightly broken at the top left corner, in the inscription the first letter `OM’ was missing”, observed the Pakistani scholar, Prof. Dani. According to the inscription, the Hindu ruler Veka had built a temple of Shiva showing him in embrace with his consort Uma. Prof. Dani said the inscription gives the name of the king as Shahi Veka Raja and bestows on him the qualification of `Iryatumatu Ksanginanka’. He appears to be the same king who bears the name Khingala or Khinkhila – a Shahiya ruler.
According to Prof. Hasan Dani king Khingala might have been an ancestor of the Shahiya ruler Veka Deva. His coins have been found in Afghanistan and isolated regions of northern Pakistan . Both the evidences of the inscription and the coins suggest that Veka or Vaka should be accepted as an independent ruler of northern Afghanistan. Thus we find another branch of the Shahiya rulers in northern part of Afghanistan beyond the Hindukush. King Veka is said to have conquered the earth, the markets and the forts by his eight-fold powerful forces, suggesting that he must have himself gained success against the Arab rulers of southern Afghanistan, pointed out Prof. Dani.
The learned Pakistani Professor further stated that going by the findings it seemed that during the rule of the Shahiya ruler Bhimapala there was a break in the dynasty – one branch, headed by Jayapala, ruled in Lamaghan and Punjab, while another branch, headed by Veka, ruled in northern part of Afghanistan. He felt that the northern branch must have come to an end by the conquest of Alptigin in the second half of tenth century AD, he concluded. Jayapala was the last great king of the Shahiya dynasty.
His empire extended from west of Kabul to the river Sutlej. However, this expansion of Gandhara kingdom coincided with the rise of the Islamic empire of Ghaznavid ruler, Sabuktigin. After being defeated by Sabuktigin and then by Mahmud of Ghazni in the Kabul valley in the year 1001 Jayapala committed suicide due to the shame of not being able to defend his kingdom.
Thereafter Anandapala, son of Jayapala, moved his capital from Kabul to Nandana in the Salt Range of Punjab, i.e., today’s Pothohaar region of Pakistan. In 1021 the last king of the Shahiya dynasty, Trilochanapala, was assassinated by his own troops. Subsequently, some Shahiya princes moved to Kashmir, as mentioned by Kalhana in his famous tome, Rajtarangini. To sum up, both Pakistan and Afghani Muslims have a millennia-old blood relationship with Hindus of Bharat, as highlighted by Fauzia Syed.
There are copious references to Gandhara, now known as Kandhar, in the Vedas and Samhitas. When we go back to the era Mahabharata, we find that the Gandhara kingdom included the Swat and Kabul valley and Purushpura, i.e.. the city presently known as Peshawar. The famous queen Gandhari, wife of King Dhritarashtra who ruled over Hastinapur, was the daughter of the ruler of Gandhara. Her brother, Shakuni, was an ace dice player and a dicey crook. He was one of the dramatis personae of the battle fought between Pandavas and Kauravas both of whom belonged to the Kuru dynasty of Kshatriyas .
During its turbulent history Afghanistan has witnessed many religious and political changes. The biggest change in the civilisational ethos of Pakistan and Afghanistan has been their traumatic journey from being the pillars of two pacifist civilization like Hinduism and Buddhism to the violent cult of Islamism. Many left over and damaged monuments testify to the indelible influence of Hindu culture in the present-day Pakistan and Afghanistan. In 645 A D, when Chinese pilgrim Hiuen Tsang was passing through the Uttarapatha, Udabhandapura was the place of residence as well as secondary capital of the emperor of Kapisa which then dominated more than ten neighboring states including Lampaka, Nagara, Gandhara and Varna (Bannu). About Gandhara, the pilgrim wrote that its capital was Purushapura, but the royal family was absent. The towns and villages were desolate and the inhabitants were very few. It seems that under pressure from Arabs in the west and the Turks in the north, the kings of Kapisa had left their western possessions in the hands of their viceroys and moved over to Udabhandapura.
The reason why Udabhandapura was selected in preference to Peshawar could be that a new city was founded by the Shahiyas rulers for strategic reasons, anticipating more raids by Muslim invaders. Kalhana , the well known author of Rajatarangini (written in AD 1147–49), paid a glorious tribute to the valour of Shahiyas. He wrote, “To this day, the appellation Shahi throws its lustre on a numberless hosts of Kshatriyas abroad who trace their origin to that family”.
According to the well known Muslim historian and traveller, al Idrisi (AD 1100-1165/66) till as late as the 12th century, a contract of investiture for every Shahi king was performed at Kabul and that there the ruler (a Muslim) was obliged to agree to certain ancient conditions which completed the contract. In his chronicle, Tabaqát-i Násiri, Minhaj ad-Din bears eloquent testimony to the powerful political stature of Maharaja Jayapala Shahi by recording that “Jayapála was the greatest of all the Ráis (kings) of Hind…” Paying a fulsome tribute to Jayapala Shahiya the well known historian Prof. R.G. Misra wrote : “(He) was perhaps the last Indian ruler to show such spirit of aggression, so sadly lacking in the later day Rajput kings.”9 The horrendous narrative of the mass slaughter of Hindu forefathers of the present-day Pakistan by Muslim invaders highlighted by Fauzia Syed, is indeed a tragedy too deep for tears. Savagery was the most common method used by the Islamic raiders to terrorise and subjugate the Hindu soldiers and peasantry by en masse slaughter of the menfolk and building towers of the heads of decapitated Hindus of both Pakistan and India.
Additionally, in accordance with the Quranic injunctions the Muslims used to carry away the womenfolk of the Hindu forbears of Pakistani Muslims to humiliate those who stood up to fight them. Throughout their attacks on Hindus, the Muslim buccaneers made extensive use of savagery as a ‘force multiplier’. The well known British traveller, Peter Mundy, was a witness to the barbaric killings and beheadings of thousands of innocent Hindus by Jehangir’s troops .
As mentioned in the book, The Travels of Peter Mundy in Europe and Asia 1608-1667, during his journey from Agra to Patna and beyond he saw numerous towers of decapitated heads of the Hindus.10 The enormity of the Muslim savagery was so massive that during his four days journey from Agra to Patna in 1632 Peter Mundy had seen nearly 200 towers on which a total of about 7000 heads had been fixed by Muslim commanders of Jahangir. During his return journey four months later, Mundy further noticed that another 60 minars displaying 2000 to 2400 heads had been added and that the erection of new ones had not yet stopped.11 All these beheadings and building of towers of Hindu heads were done by Jahangir’s favourite commander Abdullah Khan’s force of 12,000 horsemen and 20,000 foot soldiers.
They butchered all Hindus, destroyed all towns in the Kalpi-Kanauj area and took their wives and children as slaves after immortering the heads of their men. In doing so they acted in accordance with the doctrine of winning war “by instilling terror” into the hearts of the enemy, as emphasised in Verse 8.12 (Surah Anfal) of the Quran and cited by retired Pakistani Brigadier S.K. Malik in his strategic book, The Quranic Concept of War. 12 It is true that before Islamic invasions Bharat was not a zone of total peace.
There were multiple wars fought by Hindu princes between themselves. But while battling with each other the Hindus always observed some time-honoured conventions laid down in their religious scriptures. The Brahmins and the Bhikshus were never killed, temples never touched and no women was allowed to be violated by soldiers. The non-combatant civilians were never killed.
Abandoning of dharma and honour for seeking victory in war was frowned upon and penalized. But Islamic invaders came with a different code of conduct and style of waging war, based on the Islamic scriptures which commanded them to fall upon the helpless civil population, both before the victory and after the victory. It encouraged them to sack and burn down villages. The Brahmins were the prime focus of their campaigns for mass murders and conversion to Islam.
The temples and monasteries were special targets of pillage and destruction. Those whom they did not kill were taken to Ghazni and Baghdad for sale as slaves. Savagery Used For Creating ISIS Caliphate There is a saying that the proof of pudding is in eating thereof. In recent years the creation of the caliphate by the ISIS has been facilitated by unremitting recourse to savagery.
We must understand that the self appointed Caliph. al-Baghdadi, has been implementing the guidelines enunciated by Abu Bakr Naji in his violence promoting tome, Management of Savagery. Interestingly, the widespread recourse to terrorise the non-Muslim population advocated by Abu Bakr Naji in his tome, Management of Savagery, by beheadings of kaffirs and abduction of the Christian and Yazidi women for sex-slavery are two prominent examples of the savagery unleashed by the storm-troopers of the IS caliphate. These have been borrowed from tactics used in medieval times as prescribed in their scriptures.
The beheadings on camera displayed in videos are no different from the practice of building towers of the heads of captured kaffirs. According to Abu Bakr Naji “the administration of savagery has been established in our Islamic history various times. The first example of it was the beginning of the Islamic state in Medina”13 Apart from the numerous instance of the left over remnants of numerous dilapidated archaeological monuments and temples cited above, a brief documentation of the Hindu heritage in Pakistan are given below.
So widespread and intense was the grip of Hindu religion and culture across today’s Pakistan and Afghanistan that despite the unprecedented destruction and plunder of Hindu temples in the two countries for one thousand years, innumerable footprints of Hinduism remained scattered all over the region. Some of these are highlighted below. 1.Katas Raj Temple Katas Raj is a complex of sacred temples situated in Chakwal district of Punjab in Pakistan. Located in the salubrious Salt Range the temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva.
The temple is said to have existed since the era of Mahabharata. It is believed that the five Pandava brothers had spent four years of their exile at this holy place. Located at a distance of 25 kms from Kalar Kahar is this serene abode of Gods where Maha Shivaratri is celebrated every year. Pilgrims from various parts of India and Pakistan come to Katas Raj for worshipping Lord Shiva. The Katas complex is built around a sacred pond. According to Hindu folklore the pond was formed by a tear shed by Lord Shiva after the death of his wife, Parvati – also known as Sati. According to folklore when Sati died, Lord Shiva, overwhelmed by grief cried so much that his tears created two sacred ponds, one at Pushkar in Rajasthan (India) and another in today’s Pakistan at Ketaksha which in Sanskrit means ‘the raining eye’. It is from the Sanskrit nomenclature of raining tears that the word ‘Katas’ has been derived. Six sacred temples are located in the Katas Raj complex.
The biggest temple is of Lord Shiva . The second temple is of Ganesh. The third temple is of Shivalingam (the God of Fertility), and the fourth is of Kali Mata. The fifth temple is of Goddess Paravati (consort of Lord Shiva) and the sixth belongs to Goddess Lakshmi. There are also many other shrines and temples in Katas Raj complex. A temple of Sri Ram Chandra is situated to the east of the Haveli of Hari Singh Nalwa who used to stay here during his battles against invaders A temple of Hanuman is located on the western extreme of a rectangular enclosure. The temples are spread across the whole expanse of Salt Range – from Mari on the west to near Jhelum river in the east. It is said that Al Beruni also spent some time at Katas Raj to learn Sanskrit in a University of Languages which existed in the Katas Complex at that time. During his stay at Katas Raj and Nandana Fort Al Beruni wrote his famous tome, ‘Kitab-ul-Hind’ which explains the religion and the scientific knowledge and customs of the Hindus. Katas Raj is held in high esteem as a sacred place by other faiths, too. Paras Nath Jogi, the first Tirathankara of the Jain community lived in Katas Raj and breathed his last in the sacred complex. Guru Nanak also visited Katas Raj on the first day of the month of Baisakh. The site of the Guru’s sojourn is known as Nanak Niwas.
According to a local researcher, during the glorious age of Gandhara kingdom scholars from Sri Lanka, Thailand and Burma used to visit the then Ketaksha University. The University had academies in Mathematics, Astronomy, Algebra, Sanskrit, Music and Politics. The University also attracted knowledge seekers from countries such as Babel, Nineveh, Greece, Japan and China. The scholastic importance of Katas Raj can be gauged from the fact that many scriptures like Rig Veda, Ramayana, Mahabharata and Upanishdas derived inspiration from Katas Raj.14 The well known historian, Dr. M.A. Stein, who visited the area in 1889 felt that the Chinese traveller Hieun Tsang truly loved the famous temple. A letter giving an account of the Katas Raj temple written by Hieun Tsang was published in the fourth volume of The Voyage Orientale Generale in the year 1890.15. Hinglaj Mata Temple in Balochistan There is a beautiful shrine of Maa Durga at Hinglaj in Balochistan. It is located in the Hingol National Park approximately 250 kms. from Karachi in Lasbela district of Balochistan. It was visited by Guru Gorakh Nath and Guru Nanak, too.
According to Hindu folklore the head of Goddess Sati had fallen at Hinglaj after Lord Vishnu dismembered her corpse when Lord Shiva angered by the death of his beloved wife started ‘Tandava Dance’. It is believed the Sati’s head fell at Hingula, presently known as Hinglaj. For the Hindus of the sub-continent it is the most important place of worship out of the 51 Shakti Peeths located in the sub-continent. The temple is held in high esteem and revered by many local Balochi villagers as ‘Nani Mata Mandir’. Incidentally, there is a temple of Kali Mata in Kalat, too. Many traces of the Hindus civilization and culture are also found in Kalat and Sevi (presently known as Sibi) region. It may be recalled that after India attained independence, the Khan of Kalat had expressed a desire to accede to India. But the absence of a contiguous border and long distance became two major obstacles. Similarly several rare pieces of sculptures, including innumerable idols in some old Hindu shrines in Bakhtiar Province of Afghanistan , several statues of folk dancers and calligraphic images were destroyed by the Talibans after citing Quranic injunctions, when they blew up the Bamiyan Buddhas in 2001.
Across Pakistan and Afghanistan scores of Hindu temples, mostly destroyed and dilapidated, are scattered even now some of which are listed below. 1. The temple at Mari-Indus, near Kalabagh in Punjab ; 2. The temple in Rawalpindi, Punjab ; 3. The temple in Sialkot, Punjab ; 4. The temple in Anarkali Bazaar, Lahore, Punjab ; 5. The temple at Tilla Jogian in Punjab ; 6. The temple in Takshashila (i.e.Taxila, Punjab) ; 7. The temple near Luddon, Vehari in Punjab ; 8. The Tomari temple in Gakhar Mandi, Gujranwala in Punjab ; 9. The temple in Malot, Punjab ; 10. The temple of Lord Shiva in Nandana Fort; 11. Shri Badoki temple in Gujranwala, Punjab ; 12. The temple in Saidpur Village near Islamabad, Punjab ; 13. The temple in Umarkot, Sindh ; 14. Kalka Cave Temple in Aror, near Rohri, Sindh ; 15. Sri Varun Dev temple, Manora Cantt, Karachi, Sindh; 16. Sadhu Bela Temple in Sindh ; 17. The temple in Thar, Sindh; and 18. The temple in Nagar Parkar, Sindh. 19. Raghunath temple in old Mirpur city in POK. 20. Shivalaya temple in old Mirpur city in POK.
Several statues of Hindu Gods and Goddesses and ancient artefacts are preserved in the museums of Pakistan. One prominent statue of Pawanputra Hanuman is kept in the Lahore Museum. In the National Museum of Uzbekistan at Tashent there is well sculpted head of Lord Shiva. Proof of Islamic Savagery Available in Delhi In Delhi there is an ancient monument in Hauz Khas area called ‘Chor Minar’ built by Alauddin Khilji. The story behind this monstrus monument is as bizarre as the name itself. Chor Minar, quite literally means “the tower of thieves” where the severed heads of the captured thieves were displayed. The Islamic tradition of terrorizing Hindus was ruthlessly followed during the reign of Khiljis and subsequent Muslim rulers. It was practiced in the guise of curbing the crimes of theft and robbery. Situated in the posh area of Hauz Khas in Delhi is a spooky minaret built in the 13th century . Surrounded by lush manicured grass, the tower of the beheaded thieves stands right in the centre of a platform. The most astonishing feature of this structure is the eerie sight of the well-demarcated holes in the wall, preserved meticulously by the Archaeological Survey of India. Legend says that spikes carrying the heads of the slaughtered thieves (presumably the vagrant Hindus dispossessed by the invaders) captured under Alauddin Khilji’s rule were placed in each hole for public view to instill terror into their hearts. Some historians, however, claim that the decapitated heads of Mongol invaders defeated and captured by Alauddin Khilji, too, were displayed on Chor Minar. In either case the prime intention of the Muslim ruler was to terrorise the citizens of Delhi. The remnants of the well-maintained infamous minaret can be seen even today in Hauz Khas area as a bizarre symbol of Islamic savagery. In this context attention may be dawn to the fact that a Persian dictionary titled Lughat-e-Kishwari (titled Majmua Alfaz-e-Zaroori), published in post-independence India in Lucknow in 1964, describes the meaning of Hindu as ‘chor (thief), dakoo(dacoit) and a raahzan (waylayer), and ghulam (slave)’16 .
It is important to note that an Indian Muslim scholar had the temerity to publish this Urdu dictionary (i.e., Lughat-e-Kishwari) in post-independence days shows utter pusillanimity of the Hindu leadership. No Hindu leader or scholar had the guts to question the deliberate provocative insult heaped on the majority community during the era of sham-seculalrism! Also there is another Urdu dictionary by Moulvi Ferozuddin, the Urdu-Feroze-ul-Laghat in which on page 615 (part 1) the meaning of the word Hindu is given in Turkish as Chor, Raahzan and Lutera (i.e., looter) in the Lughat. According to this dictionary the word Hindu means ghulam (slave), or barda (an obedient servant), siah-faam (black complexioned).17 [Source: Ibid] The description of Hindus as thieves, mentioned in the two Urdu dictionaries published after independence right here in India, requires in-depth research to ascertain whether Hindus were really called and treated as thieves by the Muslim rulers! The indescribable savagery of the Muslim invaders unleashed against Hindus of the sub-continent was highlighted by the well known historian, Will Durant, in his book , The Story of Civilization, in the following words18 : “The Mohammadan conquest of India is probably the bloodiest story in history. It is a discouraging tale, for its evident moral is that civilization is a precarious thing, whose delicate complex of order and liberty, culture and peace may at any time be overthrown by barbarians invading from without or multiplying within.”
Thus, the bold assertion of Fauzia Syed that the Hindus of Pakistan, nay of the entire sub-continent, were forcibly converted to Islam by sword is absolutely correct. It is time that the gory narrative of the slaughter of Hindu forbears of today’s Pakistani Muslims is brought out of closet and debated publicly by inviting the braveheart lady scholar to India. References : 1. Source: Wikipedia, the international encyclopedia. 2. Subodh Kapoor, IndiaDivine.org website 3. Ganeshi Lal Verma,Hindu king of Zabulistan who compelled Caliphs to pay tribute, posted on Nov., 13, 2007, by afghanhindu on https://www.facebook.com/hindu-king…caliph…paycaliphs-tribues/101529 4. Ibid
5. Subodh Kapoor, IndiaDivine.org. website, May 9, 2014. 6. Ibid. 7. Ibid. 8. Ibid. 9. Ibid. 10. Ibid. 11. Source: Wikipedia, the international encyclopedia. 12. Chach Nama of al-Kufi, cited by Elliot & Dowson, Vol. 1, p.164. 13. Ibid, p. 173. 14. Ibid, pp. 172-173 15. Source: https://wondersofpakistan.wordpress.com 16. Ibid. 17. Source: Wikipedia, the international encyclopedia. 18. Will Durant, The Story of Civilization, Part I, p.459]
Copyright @ Ram Kumar Ohri
Source: WHN Media Network
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