When the poles meet…

In times when religion is often at the centre of every controversy, let’s rewind to days when battles were political and boundaries of empires had little to do with faith

September 25, 2015 06:31 pm | Updated 09:57 pm IST

Portrait of M.S. Golwalkar Photo Sushil Kumar Verma

Portrait of M.S. Golwalkar Photo Sushil Kumar Verma

Just as space for debate and dissent is being encroached upon in our society, there are some old school proponents of pluralist society who keep reminding us of our shared past; of the days when battles were political and boundaries of empires had little to do with religion. A seminar was organised with similarly laudable intentions in Noida recently, where against the background of the Aurangzeb Road controversy and the consequent debate about ‘Good Muslim-Bad Muslim’ in the media, an attempt was made at finding commonalities in our society.

“Rather than talk of the Quran in one hand and the sword in the other, it is important to see the complete picture,” a speaker advised. And the audiences nodded. “The Quran in one hand and computer in the other,” someone quipped from the audiences, arousing giggles.

“Look at Malik Mohammed Jayasi and Ras Khan,” the speaker continued. The audiences began to look at the pamphlets they had been handed on entry, and sat engrossed. They had read about both of them in school, but had somehow managed to forget them even though they remembered all about Ghazni, Ghori and the rest. The pamphlet reminded them of Jayasi’s Padmavat and Khan’s Krishna dohe. That is, unfortunately, also the moment, the first murmur of dissent started. With it came an inability, rather, unwillingness to see anything from a fresh perspective. The world was all about Ghaznis, the Ras Khans were an exception, a young man claimed, loud and angry. He was soon calmed down.

Another speaker took over. A historian by choice, he talked at length about the reigns of Akbar and, you guessed it, Aurangzeb. He argued, rather persuasively, that the Chittor battle between Akbar and Rana Pratap had nothing to do with religion, and all to do with political ambition. Likewise, Shivaji’s fight with Aurangzeb was just another territorial clash. “Shivaji’s forces had Muslims in several key positions. Likewise, Aurangzeb had Rajputs in positions of authority,” he argued. The talk, as it turned out, was too much for many to take. Brought up on clear notions of ‘we’ and ‘them’, this attempt to see history beyond watertight compartments of Hindu rulers, Muslim rulers, Christian rulers, was not what they had bargained for. ‘Brave Shivaji did not need the support of Muslims in his fight with gaddar,” they fumed on their way out.

Their objections, angry and repetitive, however, sent me in search of answers beyond what I had heard about Hindu generals/Muslim generals in Mughal/ Maratha armies. First I read about Irfan Habib’s quite cogent views on Bhagwan Dass and Man Singh fighting Rana Pratap on behalf of Akbar. If such strongmen of the Rajputs were fighting on behalf of the Mughal emperor, it could not have been a dharm yudh, I reasoned. Habib’s views, however, have been known for a long time. I needed to know more. And from other sources.

The answer came from the unlikeliest quarter: Madhav Sadashiv Golwalkar’s age-old book “Bunch of Thought”. The book is not easily available off the shelf but the thoughts are. So, I decided to dig a few. The reason could be different but imagine Habib and Golwalkar being on the same page! But that is exactly what I discovered as I sat down reading Golwalkar’s work, tedious and challenging, as it is.

In the chapter, ‘The Nation and Its Problem’, Golwalkar wrote, “The Muslims enjoyed perfect freedom and equality in the powerful Hindu empire under the Vijaynagar Kings or in the Punjab under Sikh heroes. The latest Hindu Power, which rose under the great Shivaji, too, did not discriminate against Muslims on the score of religion.

“To cite a few instances, the naval chief of Chatrapati Shivaji, Darya Sarang, was a Muslim, and two of his main lieutenants were Ibrahim Khan and Daulat Khan. At the time of the grim encounter with Afzal Khan, out of the ten trusted bodyguards who accompanied Shivaji, three were Muslims. Again, the 18-year old lad who accompanied Shivaji to Agra and who played a key role in the thrilling escape of Shivaji from the grip of Aurangzeb was Madari Mehtar, a Muslim. Countless instances are there of Shivaji gifting land and annual grant to masjids and dargahs. He even made arrangements for the offering of worship according to Islam to the tomb of Afzal Khan on Pratapgad. Even the most fanatic Muslim chroniclers of those times have noted with admiration that Shivaji treated with utmost respect their Koran, masjids and dargahs, their holy men and their womenfolk.”

A little later in the book, Golwalkar indirectly questions the division of history into religious segments. He writes, “Even later on, on the battlefield of Panipat in 1761, in the crucial struggle for the survival of Swaraj, the key position of the Artillery Chief on the side of the Hindus was held by Ibrahim Gardi, who ultimately fell fighting on the battleground.”

So be it Akbar versus Rana Pratap or Aurangzeb versus Shivaji, dharm yudh was not quite on their mind. Territorial supremacy yes, pursuit of glory, maybe. But a crusade? Never. Habib has always said that. Turns out even Golwalkar said the same.

Here are some moments of peace and quiet.

The author is a seasoned literary critic

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