The Maratha Empire was the first recorded instance in the world to have abolished slavery. As Megasthenes noted, “Indians don’t keep slaves and no Indian is ever a slave”. But the situation changed dramatically with Islamic invasions. The Marathas banned the taking of slaves.
The Portuguese word “caste” referring to racial purity of the invading race in a colony was practiced thoroughly by Turkish imperialists in India. Whether the Delhi Sultanate or the Mughal Empire, the huge majority of officials were not Indians, but born and bred Central Asians.
This essay by @authorAneesh demonstrates that the Mughal nobility consisted of:
1) 12% Hindu Munsebdars
2) 15% converted Indian Muslims or Shaikhzadas
3) The rest 73% born and bred foreigners: Turks, Persians, Afghans .. so called Ashraf caste Muslims.
indiafacts.org.in
1) 12% Hindu Munsebdars
2) 15% converted Indian Muslims or Shaikhzadas
3) The rest 73% born and bred foreigners: Turks, Persians, Afghans .. so called Ashraf caste Muslims.
indiafacts.org.in
Apart from Turki slave raiders, the Portuguese and other Europeans also snatched and sold Indians as slaves. One famous instance is the founder of Yale university, Elihu Yale who got his wealth from the trading of Indian slaves. The Marathas banned this slavery. That is #Hindutva
The superior caste of the foreigner Ashraf Muslims held the inferior caste of Indian Muslims (even kings, see below) under deep contempt. This is the very definition of caste system. We can understand how it operated from the chronicles of Muhammad Hazin, raider with Nadir Shah.
In order to understand the #Hindutva movement, one must first realize that the word “Hindutva” is a trivial variant of the word “Hindu”: it means “Hinduness”. Looking for who coined this first is as absurd as looking who first said “Britishness” or “Americanness”. It is trivial.
We must ask why the emphasis on “Hinduness” even had to be made. It is a direct consequence of the colonization of India by foreigners who were extremely hostile to Hindu Dharma - whether Turks or Europeans. The “Hinduness” needed to be revived when it was persecuted by Mlecchas.
In the sense of Hindu liberation, the first clear formulation of Hindūtva is by Vidyāraṇya Swāmi who played pivotal role in the creation of the Vijayanagara empire. He reverted Hindūtva (Hinduness) of the founders Harihara Rāya and Bukka Rāya by converting them back from Islam.
It is important to realize that Hindūtva (Hinduness) is a religious movement and thus inseparable from Hinduism as a religion. This is clear in the image of Vidyāraṇyaswāmi, who is a pivotal Hindu scholar who authored Sarvadarśanasaṃgraha (the compendium of all Hindu Darśanas).
Even the Marāṭha Empire, which saw itself as successor to Vijayanagara and Hindu Rajput empires, was inspired and guided by a Hindu saint - Śrī Samartha Rāmadāsa. So the political expression of Hindus for a free sovereign country (Hindavī Svarājya) is inseparable from Hinduism.
How can Vidyāraṇyaswāmi and Samartha Rāmadāsa be separated from Hinduism? They can't be. Hindūtvaṃ cannot be separated from Hindū Dharma (Hinduism), despite what the racist and reactionary academia in the imperial metropolis of USA says. Hinduness is like Native Americanness.
This is a fair comment. Words in language are alive and meanings evolve over time. As Hindus, a word as basic as Hinduness/Hindutvaṃ is within our right to interpret. Not that of outsiders. I see Vidyāraṇya and Samartha Rāmadāsa as key Hindutva figures.
A good comparison is the word "Ārya". Can we leave it to Swāmi Dayānanda Sarasvatī who created Ārya Samāja? I disagree. Ārya Dharma is equivalent to Hinduism. I retain the right to claim the word Ārya. This native right didn't end with Dayānanda, it never even belonged to Hitler.
The Indology and "South Asia" scholarshave been clear who they want to delegitimize in "Dismantling Global Hindutva" and such conferences. It is Vidyāraṇyaswāmi and Sarvadarśanasaṃgraha: the Indic scholarly tradition. The brown faced native informants enable to cover up racism.
As Hindus, we must recognize the threat for what it is. It's a continuation of the colonial assault on our right to live the way we want- our Dharma. Today's Hinduphobia is legacy from times of Elihu Yale. Hence, Hindutvaṃ must be interpreted as the full gamut of Hinduness.(End)
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