Indian History
Lahore, Pakistan, was founded by Loh (Lav), the son of Lord Rama and there is a temple in Lahore fort dedicated to him. After being closed for many years, the dungeons of Lahore fort and the temple are going to be opened for public.
The temple was named after Loh, a Hindu prince, the founder of Lahore and one of the two sons of Rama, the hero of Ramayana. Kush, Rama
Rajan R has images of two British newspapers, one when Bush was re-elected and one few days back. This is related to the war in Iraq which is now transforming the middle east.
Update: Women in Kuwait demand rights
Subhash Kak has a new article in Rediff which, based on the findings of an Oxford University scholar Stephen Oppenheimer, says that
Oppenheimer concludes with two extraordinary conclusions: ‘First, that the Europeans’ genetic homeland was originally in South Asia in the Pakistan/Gulf region over 50,000 years ago; and second, that the Europeans’ ancestors followed at least two widely separated routes to arrive, ultimately, in the same cold but rich garden. The earliest of these routes was the Fertile Crescent. The second early route from South Asia to Europe may have been up the Indus into Kashmir and on to Central Asia, where perhaps more than 40,000 years ago hunters first started bringing down game as large as mammoths.’
This synthesis of genetic evidence makes it possible to understand the divide between the north and the south Indian languages. It appears that the Dravidian languages are more ancient, and the Aryan languages evolved in India over thousands of years before migrations took them to central Asia and westward to Europe. The proto-Dravidian languages had also, through the ocean route, reached northeast Asia, explaining the connections between the Dravidian family and the Korean and the Japanese.
Perhaps this new understanding will encourage Indian politicians to get away from the polemics of who the original inhabitants of India are, since that should not matter one way or the other in the governance of the country. Indian politics has long been plagued by the Aryan invasion narrative, which was created by English scholars of the 19th century; it is fitting that another Englishman, Stephen Oppenheimer, should announce its demise. [The cradle that is India]
To see an animated version of human migration, visit the site of the Bradshaw Foundation. The theory that India was the cradle for all non-African people will be pretty hard to digest for many people.
Professor Zemaryali Tarzi has made it his life’s mission to find the third reclining Buddha at Bamiyan. Information about this reclining Buddha comes from the notes of Huen Tsang, who traveled to India as well.
To some, the search is a quixotic one. If the ancient Chinese pilgrim is to be believed, the sleeping Buddha is almost as long as the Eiffel Tower is tall. How could such a monumental structure disappear underground, some ask, and how could it be salvageable if it still exists?
Tarzi has possible answers: The statue could have been deliberately buried centuries ago by devotees to protect it from invading Muslim armies, or it could have been covered after a major earthquake. But more important, his team has begun uncovering at the site clay figures and sophisticated structures that lend support to his grand theory.
Last summer, the dig uncovered a wall that Tarzi is convinced is part of the ancient monastery that housed the huge statue. Excavators have also discovered several dozen sculptures of Buddha heads and other statue fragments, some dating to as far back as the 3rd century — when Bamian was growing as a Buddhist center. At the very end of the digging season, Tarzi found evidence as well of what he believes may be part of a huge statuary foot.
He is aware of the professional skepticism surrounding his quest — some have said the reported size of the structure has been misunderstood, while others suggest that the reclining “statue” may have been an outcropping of rock that reminded the religious of a sleeping Buddha — but he insists the evidence is clear. [Afghan Archaeologist Seeks Sleeping Buddha]
During the weekend, I met Nadia Tarzi, daughter of Zemaryali Tarzi, the archaeologist mentioned in the above story. She has now started the Association for the protection of Afghan Archaeology which aims to raise awareness of Afghan Culture.
I asked her if the only information for this Buddha was from Huen Tsang and she said that’s the only one they know. Huen Tsang was very accurate in his descriptions about the standing Buddhas and their dimensions and hence they believe the reclining Buddha should exist as well. For example, here at Varnam we have reported about the findings at Sirpur which was described in the writings of Huen Tsang. But Nadia Tarzi would like to know if there are any other ancient works which mention this Buddha.
Related Links: Along Huen Tsang’s path, Buddha’s Foot
When neocons suggested that the Middle East could use some democracy, this was dismissed as an impossible task by everyone. But here is what’s happening
The most extraordinary event of all, of course, is Iraq’s Jan. 30 election, when 8 million voters cast ballots despite insurgent bombs and bullets. Weeks earlier, Palestinian voters had trooped to the polls to elect a successor to Yasser Arafat. They chose Mahmoud Abbas, who proclaims his desire (sincerely or not) to end the armed struggle against Israel. Then, on Feb. 10, Saudi Arabia held its first-ever municipal elections. Only men could vote, but this was still a crack in the hitherto absolute authority of the royal family.
Now, in Egypt, Hosni Mubarak has suddenly pledged to hold a multi-candidate election for president this fall. Will he allow a genuine contest? That opposition leader Ayman Nour remains in jail is hardly encouraging. But something significant has happened when the pharaoh feels the need to proclaim, “Egypt needs more freedom and democracy.” [Neocons May Get the Last Laugh]
Besides this people in Lebanon are now demanding that Syria withdraw immediately. Even the Arab media is reporting this as positive news
In a widely noticed interview, Walid Jumblatt, the leader of Lebanon
Thieves in California now know what thieves in India knew all the time – the Gold obsession of Indians. Even the most secure places to hide gold, like the kitchen are no longer safe.
The burglars break into homes while families are out socializing on Friday and Saturday nights. They know where to look, and they waste little time: They grab the cash and the gold jewelry and split.
Some of the families were gone for only an hour, some for the evening.
Since December, the homes of at least 14 Indo-American families have been burglarized on weekend nights in Silicon Valley. The families fear they are being targeted because of their preference for 22- and 24-karat gold jewelry.
Police in some of the communities, including San Jose and Sunnyvale, said they have yet to see a trend of Indian homes being burglarized. But in interviews with the Mercury News, five of the victims said they are now so afraid, they don’t want their names used. They all expressed concern that different burglars would come for what was left behind the first time: laptops, camcorders and digital cameras.
`They ransacked the master bedroom and found jewelry in every place in my house where I had it,” said the man, a Santa Clara resident. “It looks like they know where to look. There are some subcultures in India where it’s pretty common to hide jewelry in the kitchen, and these burglars are also looking in kitchens.”[Burglaries raising fear]
Few days back we reported on the attempts by Communists to get foothold into the Muslim community in Kerala. Now since Communists are the protectors of minorities around the world, you would think that Muslims would flock around the Communist leaders. But what really happened is hilarious. Pamphlets have surfaced a) banning members of Muslim community from marrying a Communist b) denying burrial of Communist Muslims in mosque premises.
The pamphlet titled `Malappurathinte Mannum Manassum’ (The soil and soul of Malappuram) issued in connection with the IUML Karuvarakkundu Panchayat meet here, also directs the party workers that the body of a Muslim member, who dies as a communist, should not be allowed to be buried on the mosque premises.
It is mentioned in the pamphlet that both this warnings are based on a `fatwa’ issued earlier by the Arabian Islamic scholar Dr. Yusuful Kardavi.
“Giving daughter’s hand in marriage to a communist or giving the ancestral share of property to a communist follower in the family, cannot be justified according to the Islamic views,” reads the pamphlets.
The pamphlet sarcastically points out that those who are out to paint the district red and propagate communism in the community, are unfortunately unaware of the grave religious implications of the issue. [IUML ‘fatwa’ forbids marriage with communists]
Looks like the photo of Yasser Arafat at the Communist meeting did not do any good.
When Huen Tsang visited India in the 7th century, he wrote about a king in Maharashtra who was able to ‘treat his neighbors with contempt’. He called the king ‘Pu-lo-ki-she’ aka Pulakesin II. According to Huen Tsang, even Harsha could not put a dent in his ambitions.
Pulakesin II belonged to the Chalukya dynasty which hailed from Karnataka and within a few generations had established a kingdom with its capital at Vatapi (now Badami). To celebrate their successes, they built a series of temples. One of the temples built at Aihole had the date equivalent to 636 AD, making it one of the oldest dated temples in India.
Another one, the Jogulamba Devi temple at Alampur was attacked by Muslims in 1390 AD. The local people put a good resistance, killed the invaders and moved the idol to a nearby temple, but the temple was razed to the ground. Now, after 615 years that temple has been reconstructed.
The Jogulamba temple was reconstructed at the same place where it stood. The temple was rebuilt in the same way it was described in the `Rasaratnakaram’ of Nityanatha Sidha of 12th century AD. Sankaracharya was believed to have installed `Sri Chakra’ at Jogulamba temple, which is not available now.
Since the Alampur temple complex was declared a heritage site, the supporters of Jogulamba temple had a difficult time to convince the Archaeological Survey of India and the State Government to revive the temple.
The temple was designed to match the Chalukyan architecture so that the new temple would fit into the group of temples.[Jogulamba Devi temple at Alampur rebuilt after 615 years via IndiaArchaeology]
Related Links: Pictures from Alampur
Two of our prominent Communist leaders visited Pakistan recently and they asked the dictator there to release some Indian prisoners. According to the report in Dawn, the President gestured to one of the aides to set them free.
Such scenes were common in historical movies where the King would nod at one of the ministers and someone would die or be freed. Now we don’t have to pay money to Netflix to watch such movies, a visit to Pakistan is sufficient. The report also says that the Communists were charmed by Musharraf and appreciated his sincerity and commmitment. They also indicated that Musharraf is the right man for the peace process.
Now here are two people from the largest democracy of the world, paying obeisance to a dictator, a man who was the architect of the Kargil war against India and a man who just recently called India his arch enemy. But these insults do not matter to us anyway since we are being magnanimous and signing off blank sheets of paper that Pakistan is placing in front of us.
Now at this point did the Communists ask Musharraf to a) restore democracy b) destroy his nuclear arsenal c) protect minorities ? During the meeting, Musharraf also demanded that India show more flexibility in Kashmir (read: Hand Kashmir over to Pakistan). Did the Communists ask Musharraf to end the a) atrocities in Balochistan b) stop sending terrorists to India. We don’t know. But what we know is that they said that they don’t want India to be a superpower.
Also Read: The Only Fatherland, Communist, We are anti-national as well
For Malayalis Kunhali Marakkar was the brave commander of the Zamorin’s Navy, who fought against the Portuguese. The story is that the Muslim Marakkar dynasty fought against the Europeans for almost hundred years. But now there is new research suggesting that a) Marikkars were not of Arab descent, but instead were of Tamil origin b) he could be a myth
According to Dr. Ochanthuruth, “the traditional view of Kunhalis as patriots supporting feudal lords like the Zamorin needs to be corrected.
In the light of Kunhali Marikkar’s own actions and Shayk Zaynuddin’s statements, it is clear that they wanted an Islamic Principality in their own Malabar. (Shayk Zaynuddin was an Arab scholar who lived in Ponnani).
“After 1600 when the Kunhalis were almost silenced by the Zamorin through a political operation with the help of the Portuguese, the Muslim religious leaders in Malabar elevated Kunhali Marikkar as a cult figure for having attempted to unite the Muslims belonging to different ethnic groups and established their identity on the basis of an Islamic dream as visualised by Shayk Zaynuddin.
“This is the starting point of Muslim fundamentalism and communalism in South Malabar, later described by Ines and Evans as “fanatic zone,” he says in his paper presented at an international seminar on `The Portuguese and Kunhali Marikkars – myth and reality’.
“My attempt in this paper is to trace the truth about the origins, growth and struggles of the Marikkar family. Most of the Portuguese sources treat the Marikkar as enemies. Shayk Zaynuddin, an Arab scholar of Ponnani, in his Tuhfat-ul Mujahidin, states that the Marikkars had turned against the Portuguese only by 1524.
According to Dr. Ochanthuruth there is a big gap in historiographical literature about Kunhali Marikkar from 16th to the present century. Till the publication of Malabar and the Portuguese in 1929 by Sardar K.M. Panikkar, there was no serious writing on the Kunhali Marikkars except a few ballads.
Dr. Ochanthuruth’s views contradict the opinions of well-known and highly rated historians Sardar K.M. Panikkar, A.V. Krishna Ayyar and O.K. Nambiar.
He also questions claims that Marikkars were Mappila Muslims (Mappilas are children of Arabs married to Malabar women), and contends there is no evidence to support the belief that Marikkars lived in Pantalayani – Kollam, then in Tikkodi and then in Kottakkal, which was their last headquarters.
“Available evidence suggests Marikkars were of Tamil origin and many of them were Parathava converts from Coramandel,” Dr. Ochanthuruth claimed. [Kunhali Marikkars: myth and reality]