A Tale of Two Peoples

re: jagdeep #6

Though I am glad that the Muslim head did not receive help from the Sikhs, which ultimately led to the downfall of the old imperial order and established a British imperial order, I think it would be untrue to say that ``because the rest of India did not help them [Sikhs] during their (1840s) wars against the Brits so they reciprocated accordingly``. If that was the case, the Sikhs would not be so ruthless in quelling the rebellion in Delhi. They zealously supported the British policy of cleansing Delhi of rebels, especially Muslims.

regards,

Kabuli

A lot is being written about the IT revolution. How it is going to solve all our problems, all we need is some bright, enterprising, brave .. young men and women. And in this euphoria what is being lost ( deliberately perhaps) is attention to the real causes for all this misery, poverty and oppression. This is not new. When I was a school boy there was the ‘green revolution’ which was going to abolish hunger, then there was the ‘nuclear power’ which was to abolish pollution and provide cheap energy to everyone. And the mantra for today is IT. But in reality things have been going from bad to worse for the vast majority. What must be kept in mind is that IT can help implement the solutions but cannot provide the solutions to the ills of the society.

PS: The common belief among the punjabis (sikhs in particular) for helping the Brits during 1857 is not because of `muslim as head` or not trusting `hindustanis` but because the rest of India did not help them during their (1840s) wars against the Brits so they reciprocated accordingly. As simple as that.

Ashim,

Coming to the historical part. After having read many articles and books on sepoy mutiny/Independence war, I got the feeling that one of the biggest blunders was to install Bahadur Shah as the Emperor. He was a weak man, in the dusk of his life, he could not have laid a foundation for anything.This was due to the fact that the fighters had no vision, no plan.

It has also been sighted by many ``secularists`` as an example of Hindu-Muslim unity.

Punjabis did not participate in the war. Not only that, they leaked a lot of vital information.

And openly sided with the british. I believe there always existed a sort of distrust and antagonism between them and the hindustanis(as they were referred or called themselves)

One of the reasons for this was, Punjabis were in awe of the British might and practically anything British. They were also beneficiaries of

calculated british magnanimity. You can verify these facts. I have read it a long time ago, so i do not remember the books. But in britanica.com`s history section you will find some good information on the 1857 events.

An interesting anecdote about the 3rd battle of Panipat.

It seems when the two armies were camping , Ahmad Shah noticed many columns of smoke in the Maratha camp. He called his general and enquired about it.

He was told that the Maratha Army was divided along the lines of castes because of which the higher castes would not eat with the lower castes.Hence each group of caste was preparing it`s own food.

Ahmad Shah is then believed to have said that in such a scenario the battle was already won.

Pullu

RE: ASHIM

Very Informative. I have a question: is ``Mahar`` a prefix for the word ``Maharastra``?

Nice read...didn`t Mahars also fight for Sivaji...please correct me if I am wrong.

regards,

Kabuli

Ashim,

I agree with you totally. It is a matter of opportunities. There are communities in India who have been, irrespective of who ruled whom, always exploited and denied basic rights.

But then the Mahars could see the light shown by the Britishers. Now that we are the masters of our own destiny, has any dalit community got anything besides empty slogans? Hopping from one party to another; creating new parties,New Gods and making fools out of them once again.

What have we given them save hatred? Answer to a large extent does lie in the economy.

Next to my house stays a Dalit Family. Extremely rich and well connected politically, our man is a very humble person. Lends his ear to everybody and tries to solve their problems.

Brahmin,Rajput,Bania et. all salute him many times a day. This man`s daughter is seen in all houses, chatting and laughing, and is even in love with a Brahmin boy. Nobody`s complaining; this in a very conservative society.

What I mean to say is, it is possible. But...!

From close,India stinks. Our crab mentality

continues, history or no history.

I don`t know how IT is going to help the poorest and the weakest. Those who have never been to school, those who struggle to keep their head high and cannot even comprehend their purpose of existence.

Education my friend, education to get their basic human dignity, rest everything will take care of itself. Many revolutions have passed them and without all these, even IT would go by.

Sometimes I feel the situation in Bihar is a silver lining..last resort to dignity...on a contrary thought, voilence can bring victory, can it bring love?

Pullu