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Here is a lesson from history to understand why.
Source: The Daily Bhaskar
According to a recent report, India has been named the most racist country in the world.
It is said that one's future is determined by where he is born. In India, geography is destiny.
Right from desert to savannah and rain forests, from the roof of the world to coastal swamps and tropical islands, each location has its own language, culture, and traditions.
Approximately 50% of Indian people said that they would not be comfortable with neighbors who were of different cultures, ethnicities, or races than themselves. These races are not international, but in-house.
Because of its geographic location, India was a natural trade route and also an easy target for invaders from all directions. These range from Aryans, the Persians, Greeks under Alexander the Great, the Hephthalites (or White Huns), the Turks, Mongols, Mughals, the Portuguese, and finally, the British.
It was then that India witnessed the emergence of two alternate religions — Buddhism & Jainism. Both these religions believed and propagated non-violence, good social conduct, charity & generosity. they emphasized that true happiness does not lie in materialism or the performance of rituals.
This was the first point of contact of Indian citizens with Persians, even though, the Aryans, the first invaders belonged to the same racial stock. They spoke the same language and followed the Vedas.
The Indo-Iranian contact lasted for about 200 years even after Greece defeated Persians to take control.
The Kharoshti script was brought to northwest India by the Persians. It was later used to inscribe inscriptions of Ashoka during his rule.
However, his army was exhausted after years of battles and refused to fight. Alexander was forced to retreat in 326 BCE. On his way back, he died at Babylon in 323 BCE aged 32.
Alexander’s invasion augmented political unification in northern India under the Mauryas which enabled an easy expansion of the Mauryan empire.
It opened up routes by land and sea to establish trade between India and Greece.
The Greek invaders have mentioned the prevalence of the Sati system and the sale of girls at marketplaces by poor parents.
It was during this time that the Huns’ — a nomadic people from Central Asia, Caucasus, and Eastern Europe invaded. They were called ‘Huna’, in Sanskrit.
The Huns showed excellent horsemanship, were expert archers, and overthrew the Guptas. They persecuted Buddhists and burned all monasteries.
They ruled Northwest India, including parts of Punjab, Rajasthan, Kashmir, eastern Malwa, and a large part of central India for 30 years.
Chinese sources indicate that they practiced Polyandry, where two brothers would have only one wife.
Led by ruler Genghis Khan, the Mongols invaded India several times to plunder her wealth. Followers of Ong Khan, the adopted father of Genghis Khan were Nestorian Christians.
In the first 100 years, the Mongols allowed complete religious freedom, until the reign of Timur the Lame — the in-law of a direct descendant of Genghis Khan.
He ordered Hindus and Muslim prisoners to be separated and put all non- Muslims to death. 10,000 prisoners were liquidated in one day.
The universe knew that Babur, the Turk, was a born leader. Babur’s father died after a building where he was feeding pigeons collapsed.
Babur was 12 at that time and had to step into his father’s shoes and take control of Ferghana. He had great ambition but was young and weak.
Initially, the Rajputs supported the Mughals in defending a common foe — Ibrahim Lodi. However, when he understood that Babur was here to conquer and settle, they withdrew help.
Since then, the Mughals lost many battles against the Rajputs but treated people fairly nevertheless.
Their fairness caused Marathas, Rajputs, Indian Muslims, Iranians, Afghans, Turkish nobles to join their clan.
Jahangir commanded Guru Arjan, the fifth Guru, to make certain changes to the Sikh holy text. He denied and Jahangir executed him.
This is when Sikhs got together to protect their faith. Thereafter, Emperor Aurangzeb used force to make his subjects accept Islam, despite the fact the Quran forbids forced conversions.
Even though Portuguese rule in India is said to be between 1505 to 1961, Portuguese colonialism outlived its English counterpart, however, it did not cause any real damage.
The Portuguese spread Catholicism in the west and east coast. Saint Thomas, who is accredited to bring Christianity to India did it during the Portuguese colonization.
The Dutch emerged more successful in Indonesia and kept the valuable spice trade industry. The English kept the textile industry in India.
By 1720, the British East India Company not only overtook its Dutch rivals but realized that it had the power to overcome smaller Indian kingdoms by setting them against each other — The Divide and Rule policy.
They continued the history of pitting Hindus against Muslims. They studied the religious texts and used their flaws to divide the people on the basis of skin color, caste, culture, and appearance.
This helped them take control, segregate and rule a growing population that otherwise would have been impossible to manage. Their attempts paid off and led to the creation of Pakistan and the partition of Bengal in 1905.
Texts from the Rig Veda further confirmed this claim:
Vedic Gods are also described as being light in color.
Black Kanva, the poet of hymns, and singer of the Dirghatamas was dark-skinned. This shows that not all the dark-skinned people were Sudras doing menial jobs.
The Aryans allegedly followed this system. They organized themselves into three groups. The first group, the warriors, were called Kshatriyas. The second group comprised of priests called Brahmanas. The third groups were farmers and craftsmen — Vaisyas.
The Aryans who conquered and took control over parts of north India subdued the locals and made them their servants — The Sudras.
The fifth castes were the Dalits or untouchables, who would do the downtrodden jobs.
In addition there were Jatis which classified people of an inherited business into a community that stuck together. When people of one class married into another, further diverse Indians were created.
Sir Herbert Hope Risley classified the Indian population on the basis of anthropometric measurements.
According to him, the three principal racial types were the Dravidian, the Indo-Aryan, and the Mongoloid, who mingled together to create 5 more such groups.
Upper caste people have lighter skin and medium height. Lower caste people are darker with Caucasian features.
Gujaratis, Marathis, and Konkanis are Indo-Aryan speakers while Kannadigas, Telugus, Tuluvas, Malayalis, and Tamils are Dravidian speakers.
Upper caste / Elite people in these areas are generally wheatish, oval faced and have thin lips. Peasant caste people are usually darker and have fuller lips.
Dravidian-speaking Paniya women of South India are very dark, small-headed, and with sunken eyes.
The early Aryans who came and built the modern cities of Mohenjodaro and Harappa did not cause any damage.
The British rule removed some social evils, established trade, and built modern infrastructure, but also created a permanent rift between the people.
To this day, fair skin is considered supreme. Dark-skinned people within the country and from outside are subject to racism.
The ‘Golden bird’ during those golden times has damaged its wings and rotates in a vicious circle of hatred, racism, and pain.
‘The Crown of Jewels’ now shamelessly cries devoid of all of its jewels. Civilized, greedy ‘bees’ from the world over stuck them to their honey-smothered wings and flew away.
Sources
More in Lessons From History about India
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Source: The Daily Bhaskar
According to a recent report, India has been named the most racist country in the world.
It is said that one's future is determined by where he is born. In India, geography is destiny.
Right from desert to savannah and rain forests, from the roof of the world to coastal swamps and tropical islands, each location has its own language, culture, and traditions.
Approximately 50% of Indian people said that they would not be comfortable with neighbors who were of different cultures, ethnicities, or races than themselves. These races are not international, but in-house.
Because of its geographic location, India was a natural trade route and also an easy target for invaders from all directions. These range from Aryans, the Persians, Greeks under Alexander the Great, the Hephthalites (or White Huns), the Turks, Mongols, Mughals, the Portuguese, and finally, the British.
The Aryans
The Aryans were fair-complexioned warriors that first appeared in northern India about 1500BCE. They are credited with the composition of the Vedas — a body of texts that form the code of conduct for Hindus to date. There are several theories associated with the Aryans.- Central Asian Theory — This theory propounded by Prof. Max Muller, a German scholar of comparative languages said that the Aryans originally lived in Central Asia and spoke a language similar to Sanskrit.
- European Theory — Sir William Jones, Giles (Hungary), Shroeder (France), Morgan (Western Siberia) said that the Aryans came from Europe. They came to this conclusion due to similarities between Sanskrit and European languages. For example, the Sanskrit words Matri and Pitri are similar to the Latin Mater and Pater.
- Theory of North Pole/Arctic Theory — According to Bal Gangadhar Tilak, a nationalist, teacher, and independent artist, the Northern Arctic
region was the original home of the Aryans. The Rig Veda provides references suggesting that Aryans lived in a place with harsh winters where long days and nights of six months each are found. - Tibet Theory — Swami Dayanand Saraswati propogated that Tibet was the original home of the Aryans with reference to the Vedas and other Aryan texts.
- Indian Theory — Scholars Dr. A.C Dass, Ganga Nath Jha, Sri L.D Kalla, Sri D.S Trivedi acknowledged the Aryans to be residents of the Sapta Sindhu. This region stretched from the river Indus, reaching up to the Saraswati river. Kashmir and Punjab were also under this region. The river hymns in the Rig Veda mention the names of the rivers of this region. The flora and fauna mentioned are mostly similar to the Himalayan region.
Buddhism and Jainism
In the sixth century BCE, great scholars like Confucius in China, Zoroaster in Iran, Parmenides in Greece criticized the Vedas and their fanaticism.It was then that India witnessed the emergence of two alternate religions — Buddhism & Jainism. Both these religions believed and propagated non-violence, good social conduct, charity & generosity. they emphasized that true happiness does not lie in materialism or the performance of rituals.
The Persian Invasion
Cyrus, the founder of the Achaemenid Empire in ancient Iran invaded the North-Western front of India in 550 BCE.This was the first point of contact of Indian citizens with Persians, even though, the Aryans, the first invaders belonged to the same racial stock. They spoke the same language and followed the Vedas.
The Indo-Iranian contact lasted for about 200 years even after Greece defeated Persians to take control.
The Kharoshti script was brought to northwest India by the Persians. It was later used to inscribe inscriptions of Ashoka during his rule.
The Greek Invasion
Alexander the Great marched into northwest India after conquering Iran in his quest for wealth. His goal was to establish an eastern empire.However, his army was exhausted after years of battles and refused to fight. Alexander was forced to retreat in 326 BCE. On his way back, he died at Babylon in 323 BCE aged 32.
Alexander’s invasion augmented political unification in northern India under the Mauryas which enabled an easy expansion of the Mauryan empire.
It opened up routes by land and sea to establish trade between India and Greece.
The Greek invaders have mentioned the prevalence of the Sati system and the sale of girls at marketplaces by poor parents.
The Hun Invasion
The Gupta Dynasty ruled in the Golden Age of India, marked by extensive inventions and discoveries in science, technology, engineering, art, dialectic, literature, logic, mathematics, astronomy, religion, and philosophy.It was during this time that the Huns’ — a nomadic people from Central Asia, Caucasus, and Eastern Europe invaded. They were called ‘Huna’, in Sanskrit.
The Huns showed excellent horsemanship, were expert archers, and overthrew the Guptas. They persecuted Buddhists and burned all monasteries.
They ruled Northwest India, including parts of Punjab, Rajasthan, Kashmir, eastern Malwa, and a large part of central India for 30 years.
Chinese sources indicate that they practiced Polyandry, where two brothers would have only one wife.
The Mongol Invasion
The Mongols were a nomadic tribe that lived on the plains of Central Asia from the Ural Mountains to the Gobi Desert.Led by ruler Genghis Khan, the Mongols invaded India several times to plunder her wealth. Followers of Ong Khan, the adopted father of Genghis Khan were Nestorian Christians.
In the first 100 years, the Mongols allowed complete religious freedom, until the reign of Timur the Lame — the in-law of a direct descendant of Genghis Khan.
He ordered Hindus and Muslim prisoners to be separated and put all non- Muslims to death. 10,000 prisoners were liquidated in one day.
The Mughal Invasion
Babur was born in 1483 in Uzbekistan. On his father’s side, he was a descendant of the great Turkish Mongol ruler Timur. On his mother’s side, he was a descendant of Genghis Khan, the first Emperor of the Mongol rule.The universe knew that Babur, the Turk, was a born leader. Babur’s father died after a building where he was feeding pigeons collapsed.
Babur was 12 at that time and had to step into his father’s shoes and take control of Ferghana. He had great ambition but was young and weak.
Initially, the Rajputs supported the Mughals in defending a common foe — Ibrahim Lodi. However, when he understood that Babur was here to conquer and settle, they withdrew help.
Since then, the Mughals lost many battles against the Rajputs but treated people fairly nevertheless.
Their fairness caused Marathas, Rajputs, Indian Muslims, Iranians, Afghans, Turkish nobles to join their clan.
Sikhism
The Mughal Empire came to power in India during the life of Guru Nanak. While Emperor Akbar was tolerant of the Sikhs, Mughal Emperor Jahangir saw the Sikhs as a threat because they had supported an unsuccessful contender to the throne.Jahangir commanded Guru Arjan, the fifth Guru, to make certain changes to the Sikh holy text. He denied and Jahangir executed him.
This is when Sikhs got together to protect their faith. Thereafter, Emperor Aurangzeb used force to make his subjects accept Islam, despite the fact the Quran forbids forced conversions.
The Portuguese Invasion
The Portuguese were the first Europeans to come to India to conquer the ‘Jewel of the Crown’, and the last ones to leave.Even though Portuguese rule in India is said to be between 1505 to 1961, Portuguese colonialism outlived its English counterpart, however, it did not cause any real damage.
The Portuguese spread Catholicism in the west and east coast. Saint Thomas, who is accredited to bring Christianity to India did it during the Portuguese colonization.
British Rule
To challenge Portuguese dominance of the oceans, both the English and the Dutch floated their own private stock companies to fund their trading expeditions in 1600 and 1602 respectively.The Dutch emerged more successful in Indonesia and kept the valuable spice trade industry. The English kept the textile industry in India.
By 1720, the British East India Company not only overtook its Dutch rivals but realized that it had the power to overcome smaller Indian kingdoms by setting them against each other — The Divide and Rule policy.
They continued the history of pitting Hindus against Muslims. They studied the religious texts and used their flaws to divide the people on the basis of skin color, caste, culture, and appearance.
This helped them take control, segregate and rule a growing population that otherwise would have been impossible to manage. Their attempts paid off and led to the creation of Pakistan and the partition of Bengal in 1905.
The Aryan Invasion Theory
Welsch pathologist Sir William Jonas (I 1746- 94 CE) tried to establish a correlation between Sanskrit and other European languages and succeeded in creating a myth — that the light-skinned Aryans attacked the dark-skinned indigenous people ( The Dásyu) because of skin color. This is known as the Aryan Invasion Theory.Texts from the Rig Veda further confirmed this claim:
The Vedas extolled light-skinned warriors as in favor of the Gods and the Dasus- the Dravidians, as ruthless and evil.
Vedic Gods are also described as being light in color.
The ancient texts also revered dark-skinned ‘heroes’ like Krishna who led the Yadava tribe, and Trasadasyu, the dark-complexioned leader of the Dasyus.
Black Kanva, the poet of hymns, and singer of the Dirghatamas was dark-skinned. This shows that not all the dark-skinned people were Sudras doing menial jobs.
The Caste System
The British exploited the prevalent caste system which attributed that the limbs of one primeval man — Brahma, segregated men into different classes by birth. From his head to his feet protruded men who moved from the uppermost to the lowest castes.The Aryans allegedly followed this system. They organized themselves into three groups. The first group, the warriors, were called Kshatriyas. The second group comprised of priests called Brahmanas. The third groups were farmers and craftsmen — Vaisyas.
The Aryans who conquered and took control over parts of north India subdued the locals and made them their servants — The Sudras.
The fifth castes were the Dalits or untouchables, who would do the downtrodden jobs.
In addition there were Jatis which classified people of an inherited business into a community that stuck together. When people of one class married into another, further diverse Indians were created.
Difference in Appearances
Because of the continuous penetration of new racial elements and their mingling, Indians differ in color, stature, and language.Sir Herbert Hope Risley classified the Indian population on the basis of anthropometric measurements.
According to him, the three principal racial types were the Dravidian, the Indo-Aryan, and the Mongoloid, who mingled together to create 5 more such groups.
1. Turko-Iranians
They comprise modern-day South Asian ethnic groups such as Pashtuns, Balochis, Brahuis, and Sindhis. Most of them speak Iranian languages such as Pashto and Balochi, in addition to Dravidian languages like Sindhi and Brahui. They are tall, dark, and small-headed.2. Scytho-Dravidians
They comprise the nontribal people of Southern and Western parts of India such as Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu.Upper caste people have lighter skin and medium height. Lower caste people are darker with Caucasian features.
Gujaratis, Marathis, and Konkanis are Indo-Aryan speakers while Kannadigas, Telugus, Tuluvas, Malayalis, and Tamils are Dravidian speakers.
3. Indo-Aryans
People of North-Western parts of India such as Punjabis, Rajasthanis, and Kashmiris have been classified as Indo-Aryans. They have medium brown skin, convex noses, and narrow faces.4. Aryo-Dravidians
Indo-Aryan speakers of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Bengal, and Sri Lanka (Sinhalese) have been classified as Aryo-Dravidians — a mixed population of Indo-Aryans and Dravidians.Upper caste / Elite people in these areas are generally wheatish, oval faced and have thin lips. Peasant caste people are usually darker and have fuller lips.
5. Mongolo-Dravidians
People of Assam and Eastern parts of Bengal have been classified as Mongolo-Dravidians. They mostly speak Indo-Aryan languages such as Bengali and Assamese. They are yellow-skinned, have round faces and straight noses.6. Pre-Dravidians
Modern-day Tribal populations of South Asia represent this group. They belong to more than one linguistic family. These people are dark, have broad foreheads and long skulls.Dravidian-speaking Paniya women of South India are very dark, small-headed, and with sunken eyes.
7. Mongoloids
There are more than 2 types of Mongoloids in the Indian Subcontinent. Most of them reside in North Eastern Parts of the subcontinent, such as Nagaland and Manipur. They mostly speak Tibeto-Burman languages.8. Negritos
Andaman islanders are considered Negritos. They are the only group who are related to ancestral South Indians without any ancestral North Indian ancestry.Then and Now
- Scholars of Hindutva have completely set aside the “Aryan Migration/Invasion Theory” and also alleged that the “Harappans were the Vedic people”.
- Recent excavations have proved that Aryans arrived in India much later (1500 BC) while Indian society has been divided into castes much before (around 7000 BC).
- The Aryans did migrate from the Indus Valley after their influence lessened to the South, but there is no reason to believe that it was to drive away dark settlers. It was most likely due to climate change, drought, and decline in trade between Mesopotamia (MIddle-East) and Egypt.
A Nation Devoid Of Lustre
The very fabric of the Indian people was threatened and altered numerous times. The British drilled into their heads that civilization could only be brought by the fair-skinned.The early Aryans who came and built the modern cities of Mohenjodaro and Harappa did not cause any damage.
The British rule removed some social evils, established trade, and built modern infrastructure, but also created a permanent rift between the people.
To this day, fair skin is considered supreme. Dark-skinned people within the country and from outside are subject to racism.
The ‘Golden bird’ during those golden times has damaged its wings and rotates in a vicious circle of hatred, racism, and pain.
‘The Crown of Jewels’ now shamelessly cries devoid of all of its jewels. Civilized, greedy ‘bees’ from the world over stuck them to their honey-smothered wings and flew away.
Sources
- https://www.toppr.com/bytes/timeline-of-indian-history/
- NCERT History textbooks Class VI to VIII
- The people of India, H.H Risley
- https://web.cocc.edu/cagatucci/classes/hum210/tml/IndiaTML/indiatml1.htm
- https://themuslimtimes.info/2014/11...e-of-the-most-diverse-countries-in-the-world/
- https://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/...dian-people-by-different-anthropologist/41839
More in Lessons From History about India
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- https://medium.com/lessons-from-history/the-point-of-no-return-776682850ab6
- https://medium.com/lessons-from-his...raped-and-ate-women-and-children-3238e42c7258
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