1Shiva
2004-11-08 02:24:34 UTC
Below is an editorial (September) rant from a Paki newspaper. The
question is, whether or not to destroy the tomb of a murdering
swine-Muslim called Aurangzeb. The answer is quite clear: Destruction
and desecration of this animal's bones, is a light-hearted past-time,
compare to what this little piece of animal-doo-doo did in India.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tomb under threat
S. M. HALI
Hard-line Hindus plan to tear down the controversial tomb of the 17th
century, of Moghul Emperor Aurangzeb Alamgir's Muslim general Afzal
Khan, in a grim echo of the 1992 razing of a mosque that sparked some
of India's worst religious riots. Afzal Khan, an envoy of the Moghul
monarch met Shivaji to initiate peace talks on the hillock where the
tomb - and the ruins of Shivaji's Pratapgadh fort - now lies.
The general met Shivaji, but the king, who had deceitfully hidden a
dagger in his sleeve, stabbed him and buried Afzal Khan where he fell.
A statue of Shivaji now also stands on the hill and a right-wing Hindu
political party is named after him - the Shiv Sena, or Shivaji's army.
Vyankatesh Abdeo, a leader of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), which
started the campaign, declared that "We will climb the hill and
demolish his tomb."
The campaign organizers say they will bring 30,000 people to the site.
But police have pledged to stop them from damaging the tomb and to
prevent any violence. Muslims consider the tomb holy, and for years,
several have traveled there. But a year ago authorities closed off the
site because of the controversy.
Organizers of the campaign against the tomb have not explained why
they are moving to destroy it now, after years of controversy. Feroze
Mithiborwala, a convener of the Muslim Youth of India, commented:
"They are trying to build a momentum before elections. This shows that
there is total bankruptcy of ideas for right-wing parties in the
country." The renewed controversy comes as radical Hindu groups have
run alarm bells over census data released this week that appeared to
show a jump of almost 33 percent in the number of Muslims between 1991
and 2001.
Radical groups have long warned that higher Muslim birth rates could
eventually threaten India's Hindu majority - more than 80 percent of
the population. But the new figures were skewed by the inclusion of
Jammu and Kashmir, India's only Muslim majority state, in the 2001
census after it was left out in 1991 because of separatist violence.
Census officials on Thursday revised the growth rate to just over 29
percent, when adjusted for Kashmir.
The growth rate for Hindus was 20 percent over the same period.
India's long and varied history has left hundreds of places across the
country where Hindu and Muslim holy sites stand side by side,
sometimes triggering bloody conflicts.
In 1992, Hindu hardliners defied a court order and razed a 16th
century mosque which they said stood on the birthplace of the Hindu
lord-god Ram in the northern town of Ayodhya. That triggered India's
worst religious bloodshed since independence, killing about 3,000.
Vishwa Hindu Parishad Working President Ashok Singhal has tried to
justify the Gujarat riots. He gave a clean chit to Narenda Modi by
justifying the violence in the state following the Godhra carnage
saying it "had the blessings of Lord Rama". It may be noted that the
Gujarat carnage has been readmitted for hearing in Gujarat courts.
Mr. Singhal reiterated that the VHP would not rest and prepare for
any sacrifice' till the Ram temple in Ayodhya was built. The Sangh
Parivar hopes to garner votes by threatening to demolish Afzal Khan's
tomb atop Pratapgadh fort in Satara district this Sunday. "We had
given an ultimatum to the state Government that if it did not demolish
the objectionable construction then the job would be done by VHP and
Bajrang Dal activists", VHP International General Secretary Praveen
Togadia told reporters at Pune.
"Pratapgadh fort was a heritage that belonged to Chhatrapati Shivaji
and the unlawful construction at the tomb of a traitor was nothing but
an insult to every nationalist," the VHP leader said. Togadia also
attacked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for his delayed pronouncement
that Veer Savarkar was a freedom fighter.
So far Shivaji has the status of an icon only in Mahrashtra. Hindutva
followers remember him for being the founder of Hindu rule in
opposition to the tyrannical Muslim rule (Hindu Padpadshahi). After
Gujarat riots and rise of Moditva (most rabid Anti-Muslim politics)
Mr. Togadia of VHP has been going round proclaiming that now their
politics is going to take up project Hindu Padpadshahi of Shivaji',
in an effort to consolidate Hindu society.
A sad part of Shivaji's episode is that he was aided and abetted by
Muslims. When Shivaji was imprisoned in the Agra fort, his trusted
Muslim Lieutenant, Madari Mehtar assisted him escaping from the Agra
Fort. In his encounter with Afzal Khan, Shivaji was tipped off by a
Muslim Rustame Jaman. It has been meticulously documented as to how he
had a strong presence of Pathan soldiers in his army. Not only that,
many of his generals were Muslims, Darya Sarang was chief of armour,
Ibrahim Khan and Daulat Khan were prominent in his naval division,
Ibrahim Khan was chief of his cannon division. His confidential
secretary was Maulana Haider Ali.
It will be unfortunate if BJP and its allies carry out their heinous
task of demolishing Afzal Khan's tomb. Hindus have to accept the fact
that they cannot change the annals of history. They suffered defeats
at the hands of Babur and so many other Muslim rulers. Would they now
go about desecrating their tombs too and declaring them traitors? This
act of belligerence is nothing short of savagery and barbarism.
The writer is a retired Group Captain, currently a free lance
columnist
question is, whether or not to destroy the tomb of a murdering
swine-Muslim called Aurangzeb. The answer is quite clear: Destruction
and desecration of this animal's bones, is a light-hearted past-time,
compare to what this little piece of animal-doo-doo did in India.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tomb under threat
S. M. HALI
Hard-line Hindus plan to tear down the controversial tomb of the 17th
century, of Moghul Emperor Aurangzeb Alamgir's Muslim general Afzal
Khan, in a grim echo of the 1992 razing of a mosque that sparked some
of India's worst religious riots. Afzal Khan, an envoy of the Moghul
monarch met Shivaji to initiate peace talks on the hillock where the
tomb - and the ruins of Shivaji's Pratapgadh fort - now lies.
The general met Shivaji, but the king, who had deceitfully hidden a
dagger in his sleeve, stabbed him and buried Afzal Khan where he fell.
A statue of Shivaji now also stands on the hill and a right-wing Hindu
political party is named after him - the Shiv Sena, or Shivaji's army.
Vyankatesh Abdeo, a leader of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), which
started the campaign, declared that "We will climb the hill and
demolish his tomb."
The campaign organizers say they will bring 30,000 people to the site.
But police have pledged to stop them from damaging the tomb and to
prevent any violence. Muslims consider the tomb holy, and for years,
several have traveled there. But a year ago authorities closed off the
site because of the controversy.
Organizers of the campaign against the tomb have not explained why
they are moving to destroy it now, after years of controversy. Feroze
Mithiborwala, a convener of the Muslim Youth of India, commented:
"They are trying to build a momentum before elections. This shows that
there is total bankruptcy of ideas for right-wing parties in the
country." The renewed controversy comes as radical Hindu groups have
run alarm bells over census data released this week that appeared to
show a jump of almost 33 percent in the number of Muslims between 1991
and 2001.
Radical groups have long warned that higher Muslim birth rates could
eventually threaten India's Hindu majority - more than 80 percent of
the population. But the new figures were skewed by the inclusion of
Jammu and Kashmir, India's only Muslim majority state, in the 2001
census after it was left out in 1991 because of separatist violence.
Census officials on Thursday revised the growth rate to just over 29
percent, when adjusted for Kashmir.
The growth rate for Hindus was 20 percent over the same period.
India's long and varied history has left hundreds of places across the
country where Hindu and Muslim holy sites stand side by side,
sometimes triggering bloody conflicts.
In 1992, Hindu hardliners defied a court order and razed a 16th
century mosque which they said stood on the birthplace of the Hindu
lord-god Ram in the northern town of Ayodhya. That triggered India's
worst religious bloodshed since independence, killing about 3,000.
Vishwa Hindu Parishad Working President Ashok Singhal has tried to
justify the Gujarat riots. He gave a clean chit to Narenda Modi by
justifying the violence in the state following the Godhra carnage
saying it "had the blessings of Lord Rama". It may be noted that the
Gujarat carnage has been readmitted for hearing in Gujarat courts.
Mr. Singhal reiterated that the VHP would not rest and prepare for
any sacrifice' till the Ram temple in Ayodhya was built. The Sangh
Parivar hopes to garner votes by threatening to demolish Afzal Khan's
tomb atop Pratapgadh fort in Satara district this Sunday. "We had
given an ultimatum to the state Government that if it did not demolish
the objectionable construction then the job would be done by VHP and
Bajrang Dal activists", VHP International General Secretary Praveen
Togadia told reporters at Pune.
"Pratapgadh fort was a heritage that belonged to Chhatrapati Shivaji
and the unlawful construction at the tomb of a traitor was nothing but
an insult to every nationalist," the VHP leader said. Togadia also
attacked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for his delayed pronouncement
that Veer Savarkar was a freedom fighter.
So far Shivaji has the status of an icon only in Mahrashtra. Hindutva
followers remember him for being the founder of Hindu rule in
opposition to the tyrannical Muslim rule (Hindu Padpadshahi). After
Gujarat riots and rise of Moditva (most rabid Anti-Muslim politics)
Mr. Togadia of VHP has been going round proclaiming that now their
politics is going to take up project Hindu Padpadshahi of Shivaji',
in an effort to consolidate Hindu society.
A sad part of Shivaji's episode is that he was aided and abetted by
Muslims. When Shivaji was imprisoned in the Agra fort, his trusted
Muslim Lieutenant, Madari Mehtar assisted him escaping from the Agra
Fort. In his encounter with Afzal Khan, Shivaji was tipped off by a
Muslim Rustame Jaman. It has been meticulously documented as to how he
had a strong presence of Pathan soldiers in his army. Not only that,
many of his generals were Muslims, Darya Sarang was chief of armour,
Ibrahim Khan and Daulat Khan were prominent in his naval division,
Ibrahim Khan was chief of his cannon division. His confidential
secretary was Maulana Haider Ali.
It will be unfortunate if BJP and its allies carry out their heinous
task of demolishing Afzal Khan's tomb. Hindus have to accept the fact
that they cannot change the annals of history. They suffered defeats
at the hands of Babur and so many other Muslim rulers. Would they now
go about desecrating their tombs too and declaring them traitors? This
act of belligerence is nothing short of savagery and barbarism.
The writer is a retired Group Captain, currently a free lance
columnist