In a recent speech to young Hindus in New Delhi, the Indian National Security Advisor Ajit Doval urged his audience to "avenge history". He talked about the looting and destruction of Hindu temples and many centuries humiliation suffered by Indians. Though he did not specifically say it, there was no doubt in the minds of his audience that he was talking about invaders like Mahmud of Ghazni, an Afghan Muslim ruler, who is said to have destroyed a Hindu temple in Somnath.
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| Indian Prime Minister Modi (Left) with NSA Ajit Doval |
Anti-Muslim rhetoric like Doval’s has made Indian Muslims fear for their lives. It has also put India among top countries with greatest likelihood of mass atrocities, and raised security concerns among India’s neighbors. In its latest warning, the US Holocaust Museum has put three countries scoring higher than India. Myanmar holds the top spot, followed by Chad and Sudan. However, many high-ranking nations including Myanmar and Sudan are already dealing with ongoing mass killings, making India’s position particularly noteworthy as a potential new flashpoint.
For those interested in real history, it is important to understand that eminent Hindu Indian historian Romila Thapar has rejected the Hindu-Muslim framing of the destruction of Somnath. In her book "Somatha", she challenges the simplified story of purely Hindu victims and Muslim invaders, focusing on local Indian sources such as inscriptions, merchant biographies and court epics to reconstruct events. Other sources indicate that several Hindus, including Hindu generals, were part of Ghaznavi's army. Some sources also cite that Arab Muslim traders who had settled in Gujarat during the 8th and 9th century died to protect the Somnath temple against Ghaznavi's Army.
Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb, demonized by Hindu Nationalists, employed several high-ranking Hindu generals, most notably Raja Jai Singh I (of Amber) and Maharaja Jaswant Singh (of Marwar), who served as powerful mansabdars (military commanders) and held significant administrative posts, commanding large forces and participating in key campaigns against rivals like Shivaji Maharaj and Dara Shikoh.
Shivaji Maharaj, held by the Hindu Nationalists as an icon of Hindu resistance against Muslims, was crowned as the king despite opposition from local Brahmins. He had several Muslim generals in his army. In fact, he employed people of all castes and religions, including Muslims.
Hindu kings often attacked and looted temples built by other Hindu kings for the wealth stored inside the idols. Just three years before Ghaznavi's raid on Somnath in 1022, a general under Rajendra I, Maharaja of the Chola empire (848–1279) marched 1,600 kilometers north from the Cholas’ royal capital of Tanjavur. Chola warriors defeated Mahipala, maharaja of the Pala empire (c.750–1161), who was the dominant power in India’s easternmost region of Bengal. The Chola's celebrated their victory by carrying off a bronze image of the deity Shiva, which they seized from a royal temple that Mahipala had patronized. In the course of this long campaign, the invaders also took from the Kalinga Raja of Orissa images of Bhairava, Bhairavi and Kali. These, together with precious gems looted from the Pala king, were taken down to the Chola capital as war booty. This raises the question: Why is Mahmud Ghaznavi demonized but not Rajendra Chola's plunder of Hindu temples?
The real history contradicts Doval's assertion that Hindus have never invaded others, ignoring the fact that an unprecedented number of people were killed in the Kalinga massacre by emperor Ashoka. He also did not mention how the Buddhist and Jain temples were destroyed and Hindu temples built on their ruins. nor did he acknowledge the long-running and ongoing oppression of Hindus by Hindus in the name of caste.
Ajit Doval does not appear to be a serious man worthy of holding the sensitive office of India's national security advisor. He has no sense of history, nor does he understand how damaging his speech is for a diverse country like India. By parroting the divisive Hindutva narrative, Doval has alienated not only Indian Muslims but also India's neighbors. He is a total failure. India's failed national security policy is hurting India and Indians more than anyone else.
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