150 Years: Recounting Untold History

Re: # 7 Mr. HP! You are free to enjoy your freedom of expression. You are requested to point out the historical inaccuracies as you stated in your response. Of course it would highly appreciable to see some references in support.

I enjoy reading all those kitta-mitta and remember I am not a good writer I just try to convey what I feel from inside. It is encouraging to see that some LEARNED people like you find it fit to comment.

Have a nice day
Wassalam
MB Qasmi

I was kind of surprised at the glorification of Shah Waliullah as a freedom fighter and references to Arun Shouri etc. Then I looked at the author’s bio and he is an Indian Muslim.

So I don’t blame him for claiming that Shah WaliUllah was not only a freedom fighter but also was the first to claim ``labour is the real source of wealth”. If he did, then he was completely wrong. Labor is not the source of wealth. Marx’s pov was that the wealth is created by exploiting the labor which is just one cog of production. The source of wealth is controlling the means of production and labor is just one element in the creation of wealth. Labor is not the source. Marx’s idea was to enable the labor to control the means of production and remove wealth from the tiny capitalist class.

There are many historical inaccuracies in the article. What do you expect from a graduate of Deoband?

Anyway, the Sepoy mutiny or the war of independence whatever the name is more romanticism than the real thing. So far, whatever analysis I have read of the 1857 war, Karl Marx analysis still stands out.

Before I read the article I read these comments from Stuka. His comments actually made me read the article.

#1 by stuka
“The 1857 revolt was led by backward looking obscurantist. The British did us a favor by crushing it. I would much rather that India achieve independence as it did through a mass movement rather then led by elitists nobles and feudals.”

What a bogus comment and shows the slavish attitude which unfortunately is a common disease amongst the Indian posters on this site. If we go by Mr. Stuka’s reasoning, the whole world should still be a slave of the western masters. White Masters are still progressive and obscurantists still rule the third world countries.

In 1630, when the lovesick Shah Jehan was building a monument for his wife and the mother of his fourteen children, in England they were talking about the civil liberties, prisoner’s rights and were trying to establish a judicial system which could accommodate the common man. They needed the common man to help them usher in an age of Economic and Industrial revolution. Until the common man in the European countries joined forces with the European upper-class, the colonial expansion did not start.

When the common man in India or many other countries joined the struggle to regain their countries, he looked for whatever leadership was available. The problem with the common men wherever and whatever they are, Gora or Kala, is the same. They cannot lead. They have to look at the middleclass or the upper-class to provide them the leadership. Even the greatest common man revolution in Russia was led by some from the middleclass.

The leadership available to the common men in 1857 in India was the usual middleclass or the upper class of the Indian society. And who were those upper and middleclass? They were the Raja, Maharaja or the Nawabs. Some sought guidance from religion. Typically for Muslims of India, religion was the biggest uniting force- unfortunately it still is. The religious leaders were the Muslim middleclass of the Indian mutiny.

Mr. Stuka calls them obscurantist. The question is: were they just obscurantist or were they the revolutionaries from a moribund society which was culturally and politically stagnant for more than three hundred years?

What a Visionary Article!

This article have opened my eyes and I have learned so much more about these brave souls................I am glad that this article was published here on chowk, where all I see is hatred against Pakistani Muslims............

well i did a scan of the article but one thing i did read was about sikh princes `betraying` the efforts of the sepoy mutiny...i would like to add Sikhs never looked upon those sepoys with great regard becuase the british used those same sepoys to help outnumber and fight the Sikhs in the two sikh-anglo wars..so the sikhs really didnt care for their rebellion and never really were interested in helping those same sepoys....

i dont know if thats a great excuse or not, im very much against the divide and rule policy, and if anyone could stand up to the british it was India united, but its really a shame, and its a bigger shame that british manufactured religious hatred to the level of partition... maybe one day all will see beyond this and unite once again..imagine a united punjab and bengal once more

Dear writers
Thank you for giving us an excellent read. This article is so far the best article on Front page.

Tipu Sultan,Sahah Waliullah,Sir Syyed Ahmed Khan,Syed Ahmed shaheed....

All these men are great Muslim heroes with strong characters,charismatic personalities with unique blend of bravery and intelligence who were/are/will always be inspiration for the rest of the world and for Pakistani Muslims exclusively.

All of them defeated their enemies singlehandedly....

I wish to include Quaid_E-Azam( Mohd Ali Jinnah`s name) on the top of this list.............who was indeed our hero and saint.....

Thank God India was partitioned in 1947. Otherwise what we are witnessing in Pak would have scared us in the eyes today.

Samar

Fat Mullahs and even fatter Fatwas.

Wah Wah Qasmi sahib. Amaan learn something from our predicament from Islamo-fascism before launching this far flung Musalmaan heroes from the Past.

It is so sad that you mixed a forward thinker Sir Syed with bunch of moronic Mullahs. The Mullahs of Hind (Indian subcontinent) have consistently played the most dubious, and divisive role throughout the history. Sure they got some leverage when it comes to spreading anarchy. Thanks to the modern politics, they were almost dead.

It was Gandhi`s mistake to resurrect politically dead Mullahs and thus bringing bearded havoc to the ordinary masses of Indian subcontinent. Poor Gandhi was so simple or ignorant that he won`t listen to protestation of Lala Lajpat Rai, or Jinnah, or Ch. Zafar Hussain. These eminent politicians warned Gandhi not to invite these Mullahs into Political disco party.

But Gandhi didn`t listen. The result was the terrible destruction of the political discotheque and these mean Mullahs even stole the big shiny ball of poor Gandhi.

Azad and other Congressi Mullahs were all on the take from the ``big bad`` Hindu businessmen. And so were the Johar brothers.

However the UP Muslims have a tendency to ignore all that Mullahtic fanaticism and start singing qawwali of one Mullah or the other.

Heck you don`t have to go back 150 years. Just see what this Mullah Lal Din of Lal Masjid is doing right now burning videos and launching attacks using those stick wielding Ninja turtles.

Or let`s see what the Mullahs did to the poor minorities of Pakistan. Mullah Mawdoodi`s attack on Pakistani-Ahmadis, and later attacks on Pakistani-Shias (from Karachi to Parachinar), and death to so many Pakistani-Christians are clearly proof that Mullahs just know one thing. Anarchy, looting, and burning.

So Qasmi sahib, you are fully entitled to live in Mullah`s paradise (read fools Jannat). However do not expect the rest of us to follow you. As you may be a staunch Mullah but you ain`t no Pide Piper.

The 1857 revolt was led by backward looking obscurantists. The British did us a favor by crushing it. I would much rather that India achieve independence as it did through a mass movement rather then led by elitists nobles and feudals.