Skip to main content

Posts

Showing posts from February, 2016

Princess of Bhambhore

Sindhi Girls in Traditional Attire Imād ad-Dīn Muḥammad ibn Qāsim ath-Thaqafī (695 – 715) was an Umayyad general who invaded India from Damascus and conquered the Sindh and Multan region of Punjab along the Indus River (now a part of Pakistan) for the Caliphate. This invasion of Sindh in 711 was the sixth Arab invasion of Sindh. Five earlier attempts were routed with great loss of Arab life and investment. The desire to extend the Caliphate to India was motivated by two reasons: "Jehad" mission to conquer India and impose Islam in the region Control the sea trade route via the strategic ports of Sindh Mohammad Bin Qasim in Sindh Chachnama The  Chach Nama  is the oldest chronicles of the Arab conquest of Sindh. It was translated in Persian by  Muhammad Ali bin Hamid bin Abu Bakr Kufi  in 1216 from an earlier Arabic text believed to have been written by the Thaqafi family (relatives of Muhammad bin Qasim). Chach Nama  is an historic document that recoun

When Sikhs Rescued Maratha Women

Third Battle of Panipat The Third Battle of Panipat took place on 14 January 1761, at Panipat, about 60 miles north of Delhi between Maratha and the King of Afghanistan, Ahmad Shah Abdali , supported by two Indian Muslim allies—the Rohilla Pathans  of the Ganga-Jamuna Doab, and Shuja-ud-Daula , the Nawab of Awadh . The battle is considered one of the largest and bloodiest fought in the 18th century with the largest number of fatalities in a single day. Ahmad Shah Abdali leading the Jehadi Army of Afghans Slaughter of Marathas The Marathas, under the command of Sadashiv Rao Bhau , responded to Afghan invasion by gathering an army of between 45,000–60,000, which was accompanied by roughly 100,000 non-combatants, a number of whom were family members desirous of making pilgrimages to Hindu holy sites in northern India. Slaughter of Marathas in Panipat The forces led by Ahmad Shah Durrani (Abdali) came out victorious after destroying several Maratha flanks. Most of Maratha le

Pakistani Punjabi Muslims

Punjabis from Pakistan Punjab was known as Aryavrata , the heartland of Indo-Aryans who wrote Vedas and defined India. It was also known as " Sapta-Sindhu " or the land of seven rivers - Sindh , Jhellum , Chinab , Raavi , Beas , Satluj , and Sirsa or Saraswati. The Punjabi culture starts from Haryana near Delhi through the heartland of Malwa, Doaba, and Majha in Eastern Punjab, India, and continues in the West Punjab regions of Lahore, Gujranwala, Multan, and Rawalpindi in NW Frontiers. The scene in a village is identical whether you are in Ambala, Batala, Sandal-Bar, or Mianwali. Punjab Village - painting by Harvinder Singh Sons of the Same Mother The villages are Hindu in Haryana, Sikh in East Punjab, and Muslims in West Punjab. But demographically, these villages are composed of virtually homogeneous inhabitants coming from literally identical demographic groups - Khatri, Pundit, Rajput, Arora, Jatt, Goojar, Tarkhan, Arrains, Saini, Banias, Jhinwar, Chamar,

Mistaken Identity and Liberal Sikh Mindset

Definition: po·lit·i·cal cor·rect·ness " The avoidance, often considered as taken to extremes, of forms of expression or action that are intended not to offend or disadvantage a person or a group. "  In the US, the term is used to signify the modus operandi of the Left-wing political activists who are unwilling to state the obvious constrained by the " political correctness ".  The American politics can be measured between the left wing and right wing philosophies.   Left vs. Right Wing Politics in US T he parallels are obvious in the Indian political scene. The Congress party claims a socialist agenda while the BJP presents a conservative approach. The Congress Party has historically been aligned with the Communist Party of India and the Soviet Union,  Left vs. Right Wing Politics in India So how does these term apply to the Sikhs? Do we have a left wing and a right wing among us? Do the Sikhs also suffer from the " political correctness