India, it’s time to let go of the past and move on

Indian history has always been a fascinating subject. Empires have risen. Empires have fallen. There are more than 5,000 years of intrigues, plots, murders.

There are more than 5,000 years of art, culture, dance and music. From the north to the south, east to west, history has been varied.

Even to this day, as the landscape changes from the mountains to the plains, from the desert to the marshes, the language, cuisine, culture, music and dance change.

That is India — down the ages. A land of complexity; at times easy to comprehend; at times schizophrenic.

If one were to condense 5,000 years into a single paragraph, there would be highlights. There was the Indus Valley Civilisation. The Vedic period. The two glorious empires – Mauryas and Guptas. The mighty Marathas, the brave Rajputs and the courageous Sikhs.

The south boasted of the pomp of the Cholas and the Cheras. Then there were the raids of the two Mahmouds – Ghori and Ghazni. The Khiljis, the Tughluqs, the enterprising Mughals.

Then came the Portuguese and the British. India became home to many religions: Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism. The Christian missionaries arrived. And then came Islam.

The land became an amalgamation of cultures, religions, cuisines and languages. Easy for an Indian to understand — perhaps a bit puzzling to the outsider.

The British came as traders to exploit India’s vast natural resources, draining them steadily as they established an empire and stayed 300 odd years, reducing the land to grave poverty.

And while they were there, they pursued a pernicious policy: divide and rule. Indians have always been God-fearing and religious. That is an ethos.

The British tapped into that, playing the Hindus against the Muslims, leading to the Partition of the subcontinent in 1947 into India and Pakistan.

Millions were massacred and tortured in the riots that broke out as millions crossed over the borders to make their new homes. The pain is yet to heal.

The scars still run deep. Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Buddhists, Jains and other faiths began a new life in the land that is India today. The spectre of the violence of Partition haunted the country. But in that unease came amity, cross-cultural interaction, a blending of art and culture.

Pernicious road to power

There was the Congress party and several others, eyeing political power to transform the country into a developed nation. And then came the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). It promised a lot. The poverty that the British created could not be cured by the Congress.

The BJP said it was the antidote for all the ails the Congress had dumped on the country. Only the policy it pursued to the road to power was pernicious. That divide and rule ruse of the British was brought into play once again.

India is the land of Hindus. The Muslims came as conquerors. The Christians came only to convert Hindus. The scars of history were cut open. The BJP emerged victorious.

The promised reforms did not re-energise a turgid economy. The grand design called demonetisation is a flop. The Goods and Services Tax is being labelled a farce. The BJP is on a sticky wicket.

But then there’s Indian history to whip up sentiment when all else fails. The barbarity of Alauddin Khilji who ruled in the mid-13th century is being tom-tomed. Aurangzeb was a baiter of Hindus too.

He ruled 400 years ago. The Taj Mahal, built by emperor Shah Jahan to entomb his favourite wife Mumtaz Mahal in 1653, one of Seven Wonders of the World, according to senior BJP leaders, is the handiwork of a traitor.

The Taj Mahal is not part of Indian culture. In fact, it is a blot.

Schizophrenia.

Enter historians and other scholars, sitting in another corner of the world, into this ridiculous debate and engage with all those suddenly preoccupied with India’s past; those trolls who have little else to do but spread hate.

The flame of hate is further fanned as these historians and scholars claim scholarship over religion, the concept of freedom, Aurangzeb’s Hindu policy and whether he performed the sun salutation or Surya Namaskar in Yoga.

Seriously?

No, they clarify, it wasn’t Aurangzeb. The culprit was Akbar. He performed the Sun salutation.

These scholars also shed light on the Taj Mahal, probably unknowing that India has had historians down the centuries, recording every event with the meticulousness of the artisan who built the ode to love.

India has historians today too.

They know their subject all too well and place it in the context of the culture of the country. They talk of India’s syncretic culture.

The debate on social media triggered by these scholars perched in another land gets nasty and this spills on to society, creating divisions that the country does not need.

Rich, intriguing history

The historian and scholar sit snug, savouring the poison their scholarship has spread, watching followers flock to their accounts to trade barbs on Aurangzeb, the Taj Mahal and sundry ‘traitors’.

By all means study the history of India as a subject. It is intriguing and rich. But do not claim scholarship because you have lived in India for a few years.

You do not know the land. The ethos. The culture. You do not know the fabric of the land.

Do not inject poison into a land that is seeing polarisation.

India has paid a massive price because of the divide and rule policy. History stands testimony to it. These scholars, strangers to the land, are just furthering their own interests, gaining what they perceive is legitimacy to their work.

Theirs is an evil game, meant to break society and create divisions, giving them fodder to build their careers and portfolios. Or are they pushing an agenda on behalf of someone else or some entity?

Historians have a crucial role to play in India today: highlight her synthesis down the ages. The blending of cultures. India must pull together to combat poverty, illiteracy and poor healthcare.

There are many more issues at hand. Alauddin Khilji and Aurangzeb are long gone. Probably resting in peace by now. It’s time to move on.

You cannot live in the past.