Hindutva Myths Presented as Historical Facts:
Indigenous Dravidian Civilization versus Aryan-Vedic Invasions of India
ਪੜਿਐ ਮੈਲੁ ਨ ਉਤਰੈ ਪੂਛਹੁ ਗਿਆਨੀਆ ਜਾਇ ॥੧॥
Just reading []]researching to prove own prejudices] does not remove ego-centric filth go and ask the wise ones. (SGGS Ang 39)
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Not Aryan but Dravidian were the indigenous ethnic peoples, languages and cultures of India.
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India should celebrate its independence from 1947 onwards won by unity of Indian diversity. India should safeguard its democracy secured by a secular Constitution.
The contrast could not be sharper: derawadi literature portrays fact-based Sikhi revolution of Guru Nanak in the 15th century as miracles-based &ndash karamaati - fiction meanwhile, Hindutva is re-inventing ancient mythology of the dark ages as science-based historical fact! Great Sikh sacrifices of yesterday for the freedom of the people of the Indian sub-continent are being distorted and denied while mythical gods of Aryan Vedic lore have become the new heroes of India. The distinction between fact and fake has been lost in Indian NCERT history taught in schools. In this context, we are reminded of timely warnings by those like Romila Thapar, an expert in ancient history, about Hindutva Attempts To Distort Indian History.
For example, Thapar believes that proving Aryans to be indigenous to India is crucial for the Hindutva forces to defend their []]Nazi] ideology but historical findings do not tend to support that notion&hellip.Harappan []]Dravidian] culture was far more extensive than the early Vedic civilisation, predated the Vedic-civilisation, and excavations at various post-Harappan sites have revealed a presence of interface of a number of cultures rather than a single culture conforming wholly to Vedic society&hellipAryans being indigenous to India is basic to Hindutva history which denies migrations. They deny genetic evidence.
Another scholar Irfan Habib believes that the Aryan question is being treated like the Nazi Germans who idolised the Aryans. RSS feel it is great to be an Aryan. Why is it not great to be a Dravidian? It&rsquos just a Nazi idea transported to India.
The Ram Mandar opening controversy as brought out through Indian TV and social media shows how the highly politicised research processes are used to legitimise myth as historical fact. The language used sounds research-based, authentic, scholarly and convincing: that mythological characters in the Vedic literature were real. That they did exist thousands of years ago. They were born, lived like humans but had unlimited powers. So, the Indian sub-continent was one great Indic culture which worshipped real life avatars of Vishnu i.e. Ram and Krishan.
Indian secularism and, therefore democracy, is facing the greatest challenges. Hindutva Politics has highjacked Indian history and the distinction between fake and fact has been lost. Rebuilding temples on the sites of existing mosques at Ayodhya, Varanasi (Kashi), and Mathura has long been on the agenda of the Hindutva forces. Such demands are not restricted to only these temples. In the 1990s, Hindu nationalists identified several such sites in every Indian state.
As in any other country with ancient habitations, there are thousands of mounds where there were primitive settlements. Thousands of buildings and new religious places have been built on the top of these old sites. Yet, Indian state administrations are not slow to implement court decisions based on the Archeological Survey of India (ASI) reports which would have no problem finding ruins of older structures beneath those built later!
The topic will continue well beyond the 2024 General Election.
Gurmukh Singh OBE
Principal Civil Servant ret&rsquod