Historians: Mythistory, Historical myths and Historiography in India

By Veda Prakash

 

The Communist historians posing as “master of all arts”: K. N. Panikkar¹, the rabid communist and Red Parivar fundamentalist has been out with his brigade and arsenal to attack the noble subject of history and historiography with professionally biased, ideologically corrupted and historically perverse duplicity. He follows Romila Thapar² sincerely and faithfully without any historical sincerity, epistemological honesty and historiosophic faith, though, in his determination to write about politicization of history. Now, his new venomic dosage has poured in the form of “Myth, history and politics” with due accommodation in the propagandist communist mouth-piece of “Frontline”³.

 

Suraj Bhan⁴, the Babri-archaeologist says, “Government should have stood by ASI”. Earlier, the eminent historian, Romila Thapar had the audacity of questioning the so-called “Hindutwa judgment” and declared, “We will file appeal in the Supreme Court”. But nothing happened.

 

Ø      So why these retired, senile, old-aged historians off and on, come out and roar and sleep like this?

Ø      Why they want to pretend to be “master of all arts or subjects”?

Ø      Are they really sincere in pursuing such path or just write something, get money and keep quite?

 

Indians are forced to study them carefully for their exhibited behaviour⁵ (shouting, fighting and beating during the business sessions of IHC, SIHC etc), eccentric statements and claims (that we would appeal to Supreme Court) and occasional explosive writings (as appearing in the Hindu, Frontline, EPW, Murasoli etc). What is right or wrong with them?

 

Politicization of Ayodhya – the Myth and Reality: While the people of Ayodhya have started cursing BJP and Sangh Parivar for forsaking the issue, the Red gang at Faizabad tried to interpret differently⁶. But the local people who have been living there for thousands of years do not believe the communists. At one time, they have even driven away them and warned that they would not vote for them again (ironically, the people of Faizabad in which Ayodhya is situated elected Communist).

 

Had they known that these communist historians are propagating another myth that “Ayodhya” was in Afghanistan⁷, even local Muslims would have thrashed them out for “talibanization of Indian history”⁸. The people of Ayodhya have been angry with politicians, ideologists and government, as they have been disturbed, troubled and harassed by them always. Whenever, any problem is there, they land down to get sensational news and disappear.

 

But the continuing tradition, age-old worship, people participation in the festivals, fairs and celebrations have been curtailed by the government under the guise of security. So why the Red Parivar (Communists of all sorts), the Black Parivar (the atheist-politicians of all sorts) and the Green Parivar (not elsewhere specified) want to remember Rama?

 

The local Hindus and Muslims blame all, as they have lost their land, the traditional places of festivals and fairs, terribly disturbed by the police and security forces, as they could not carry out their routines, periodic festivals and fairs. Tourism, fairs and festivals only bring money for livelihood there. As they live on such fairs and festivals and now they are restricted and even banned, thousands of people of Ayodhya have been affected greatly. Their grievance has been two-fold –

 

1. As BJP and Sangh Parivar forgotten Rama and Ayodhya, the people coming to Ayodhya has stopped and


2. because of government restriction, terrorist attack etc., the strength of tourists coming there has also dwindled down.

 

They, painfully express that nowadays, people are afraid of Ayodhya, because of the politicization. Have historians noted this point? The mythologization of history of Ayodhya has only brought harm to the people and not any benefit. The fight of archaeologists⁹ at WAC-3 only exposed the Communal, fundamentalist, fanatic, ideologically oriented archaeologists and not any real archaeologists who work for the benefit or welfare of Indians.

 

Now, the Politicization of Rameswaram: The same thing has started happening at Rameswaram and the sacred spot Sethu-samuthram. For thousands of years, the Hindus have been faithfully going there coming from extreme north and north-west and even from foreign countries to have holy-dip at the Dhanuskoti. On every auspicious day, there would be lakhs and thousands of people gathering there to carry out their duties without any publicity.  It is not myth that every place, spot and even stones and earth there are named after Ramayanic characters, episodes and happenings, as no historian or mythologist has taught them to do so.

 

Ø      If there is no Rama and Ramayana, where is Rameswaram?

Ø      Can these archaeologists and historians could find or suggest another name for this place?

Ø      How the engaged responsible scientists and others without consciousness, honesty and integrity, mention as “Adam-bridge” now in official documents and writings even in the science journals¹⁰?

Ø      Then, why can’t they change the name to Adam-samuthram Project instead of Setu-samuthram project?

Ø      With such mind-set, have they any morality or moral right to sit in the Committee?

 

But now, the politicians, engineers, workers and others have landed in gangs and started disturbing, troubling and harassing the locals. Not only the pilgrims even the locals have been annoyed by their behaviour and activities.

 

If Rama is not there, there is no Rameswaram. But the historians, politicians and the non-believing atheist evidently anti-Hindu have been out to attack the innocent Hindus. Still millions of Hindus do not know that their monument has already been subjected to demolition in the name of progress, project, and money-making political contracts where more than 2500 crores are involved.

 

So now, it has been the atheist DMK who wants to be in power blackmailing and extracting from the Congress, who are ironically supported by the very Communist crones of treachery. The political power brokers have ganged together under the guise of bastardized alliance burying their ideologies only with the aim of amassing crores through commissions, contracts and postings. They do not have anything for India, or anything connected with India. Why then, they have ganged together to rule? So the intention has been very clear to loot the people under the name of pseudo-secularism, political fundamentalism and alliance gangsterism.

 

So their slaves and agents of historians, paid-writers and pert-journalists have no other business from their slumber, but suddenly wake up and start writing about Rama, Ramayana etc., in the accommodative papers and journals. Why the duplicity? And what these historians talk and write about?

 

Filing and withdrawal of Affidavits: An “affidavit” has been a sworn statement submitted to any legal or quasi-judicial; forum by the applicant or respondent in the involved case or dispute with usual appendage, “I do hereby solemnly affirm and say that the statements contained in the foregoing petition are true to my knowledge”. Generally, a lawyer or advocate would draft it taking facts from their client. After approval of the client, it would be vetted by the senior advocate and filed on the judicial forum. What is the role of historians or archaeologists here that too, not connected with the case? If there has been any legal lacuna or deviation, even if one is not advocate or party, it can be pointed out for rectification.

 

Remember the affidavit and petition filed by one Chandamal Chopra¹¹ in Calcutta High Court on June 18^th, 1985 – popularly known as “Calcutta Quran petition”? Why these Communist historians were sleeping when it happened from their citadel? Even though, the petition and review petition filed by Chandamal Chopra was dismissed by the Judge Bimal Chandra Basak, the Court documents tell the history.

 

Take another classical case of Sri Ramakrishna Mission claiming minority status¹² in the very same Calcutta High Court! What happened? Yes, the so-called Hindutwa Mission found by the communal Swami Vivekananda was declared as minority Institution by the Calcutta High Court! What these historians were doing at that time? Where Romila was roaming, Panikkar was poking or prowling upon and Suraj was snoozing? The affidavits did not bother them? They did not know the history or fooling the people of India?

 

Why “the only nationalist newspaper”,  “The Hindu” and the communist “Frontline” did not come out with articles questioning the affidavits, history, faith, myth, fusion etc., involved in the above cases? Why archaeologists like Suran Bhan did not come out to rescue archaeology or history or at least to suggest the government, as he doing now?

 

Why historians are sleeping and awakening suddenly? If these historians are committed to the historical cause with historicity in their minds, they should be consistent with every similar issue. They should be conscious, vigil, and awakened all the times and come out with their articles in The Hindu, EPW or frontline. But, they are active only when “Rama” is involved.

 

Ø      Why can’t their historical consciousness and historical thinking question the historicity of Jehovah, Allah, Jesus, Christ, Mary, Mohammed, Fatima and their connected events and happenings? ¹³

Ø      Location of their places of birth, so-journ and death?

Ø      Archaeology of such places? ¹⁴

 

As India is a secular state and the festivals of them are imposed on majority Hindus, all Indians have every right to know why Christmas, Easter, Miladi-nabi, Bakrid, and other festivals are celebrated¹⁵. The Hindus and true-secularists are bewildered and perplexed as to why the Muslims and Christians are greeted whenever their festivals are celebrated? Or their gods days of birth and death are celebrated, whereas that of others, particularly, the Hindus are neglected?

 

Ø      Why myth, history, faith, fusion etc., work differently here?

Ø      Why this variance in the approach of historians?

Ø      Is it historically allowed or hysterically followed?

Ø      Why methodology differs?

Ø      Why scientific temper in history fails?

Ø      Why secularism too stops working?

Ø      Why multivocal existence, folklore tradition, narrations of Bibles, Quarans etc., are not talked about?

Ø      If myth represent reality but represent it symbolically and metaphorically yet masking reality, why such myths are not told to secular Indians?

 

Thus, it is evident that these archa

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