The Long Shadows of Hindu Kush

Asoka became Budhist after witnessing the battle of Kalinga. He spread Budhism. It seems that without much success amongst the masses. Mauryas were Hindus.

HinduKush means Hindu Killer. The Hindu slaves on their way to the markets in foreign lands perished here in numbers. Thus the name Hindu Kush.

Very interesting summary. Can you give any proof that Punjabi Hindus/Sikhs still live there? I would have though by now everyone would simply start to follow the majority religion.

Temporal # 12

(what is the current status of the durand line? )

The matter has yet to be resolved. Even our creation the Taleban refused to accept it. Afghans say that this treaty was between the British of United India and Afghanistan.

The Mughals had ceded West of Indus to Afghans. And, historically, Indus was considered a boundary of Hindu Kush.

In fact, all areas falling in Pakistan were considered outposts of South Asia. Babar kept roaming in these areas for 4 years but his victory is taken from the date he won at Panipat.

nhk

Temporal # 12

(what is the current status of the durand line? )

The matter has yet to be resolved. Even our creation the Taleban refused to accept it. Afghans say that this treaty was between the British of United India and Afghanistan.

The Mughals had ceded West of Indus to Afghans. And, historically, Indus was considered a boundary of Hindu Kush.

In fact, all areas falling in Pakistan were considered outposts of South Asia. Babar kept roaming in these areas for 4 years but his victory is taken from the date he won at Panipat.

nhk

Thamizon # 18

(Can you give any proof that Punjabi Hindus/Sikhs still live there?)

Sikhs are very much there (and also at Peshawar) doing business. Some have recently returned back to Kabul after the Taleban were ousted.

I recently read somewhere that one last remaining Jew in Kabul has decided to leave for Israel.


nhk

Re: # 15

``Maybe dispersal and westward migration of Gypsies from then North/Northwest India was a result of that! ``

I don`t think so. They would have moved eastwards not west, in case of fleeing an invasion. Hindu Kush refers to those emaciated, tired helpless slaves who were taken to slave bazaars of Samarqand/far west. It was a common practise among Islamic invaders eg Greek, Kievian Russ. Ironically indian textbooks are silent about these massacres.

nhk,

You are like a sage of chowk, who regularly enlightens us with wisdom and fascinating tales.

After reading your article, I started wondering why Pakistan has named its missiles as Ghori, Ghazni and Abdali. None of them were of Pak origin. OTOH, they must have slaughtered the forefathers of present Pakis, as they were on their murderous path. Are people so blind of hate that they don`t see it or refuse to accept it. You comment about Bulleh Shahs description of Abdalis atrocities, and still punjabi majority pakis honor him? was there any punjabi muslim who ever became a ruler, all i know is Ranjit Singh being the only feared Sher-e-Punjab. Sikhs would have been a minority with muslim punjabis being a majority still the Sikhs ruled the region how do muslim punjabi view it? Is he accorded his place in history.

Netizen # 22

(After reading your article, I started wondering why Pakistan has named its missiles as Ghori, Ghazni and Abdali)

I think this realization is now gradually seeping in, even in the Punjabis. The people who named them had only read the state-sponsered History Books. An effort is also being made to re-write the history in its correct context.

Taxila is just a stone`s throw from Islamabad. They could have named Islamabad as Taxila; and the city could have been suddenly enriched by a 2000 year old history.

nhk

Indeed a very good read.

Finally a break from the crapy stupid political articles.

It is so heartening to read anything that acknowledges certain merits of the Vedic civilization.

It just amazes me that a vast subcontinent that India is and that which has been repeatedly assailed, still managed to produce excellence in atleast three aspects: cuisine, music, and abstraction. In fact, this gets more and more evident as one goes south. People there enjoy indulging in those three and are so immune and also passive to the harsh conditions of life. But I would also ascribe this as a reason to the slow material progress we have managed to make so far. I wonder what the people living in say, Balochistan, would think of South Indians had they been part of India still.

NHK,

Excellent Article!! You missed out a few things though. You did not mention the Hindushahi dynasty that ruled Kabul and Peshawar at the time of Ghaznavi. The king of Kabul was Raja Jaipal, who was defeated by Ghaznavi. His son Ananadpal setup his kingdom from Peshawar. Anandpal organized a large Rajput confederacy all over modern day Pakistan, to fight against Ghaznavi but lost yet again. Earlier to the Hindushahis, the Gupta dynasty also had an influence in this region.

In more recent times, the Sikhs controlled Peshawar and even Kabul for a while. In fact, the Sikhs even captured Ghazni town. The door of the Somnath temple that were hauled away by Ghaznavi, were recovered back by the Sikhs from Ghazni and taken back to India.

Nazar Saab,

As usual, a good read!

Trivia:

``the average the average`` in first para needs editing

``doze`` in fifth para should be dose

My request is to work out an arrangement with Chowk staff so that your articles are published only during the weekend. Otherwise, the temptation of interacting gets the better of the sense of duty :-)

Amit # 26

I should have mentioned Hindushahi Dynasty of Jaipal. A very valid observation. I had jotted it down but just missed out. I feel this is a major miss - the influence of Hinduism in the Hindu Kush.

Keeping a track of over 22 invaders, one tends to get confused.

About the Sikhs recovering the Somnath doors from Ghazni is another interesting detail that I did not know.

nhk

``His nemeses was Chandra Gupta, a khatree from Taxila, who unified South Asia and captured the Hindu Kush introducing Buddhism. ``

There have been three ChandraGuptas in Indian History. CG Maurya, CG-I of Gupta dynasty and CG-II (CG-I`s grandson also known as Vikramaditya). The famous Vikram and Betaal stories are woven aroind CG-II`s person, who was considered a very wise ruler.

CG Maurya captured Magadha under the tutelage of Chanakya, his Brahmin advisor. Legend has it that Chanakya was riled up by the discourtesy shown to him by Nanda ruler of Magadha. So, he vowed to not tie his `Shikha` till he had seen the last of Nandas. It is improbable that his protege would convert to Buddhism while Chanakya was prime-minister. And Chanakya it was, as is attested by contemporary Greek documents about `Sandrokottus`. Please read the interesting story of how William Jones solved the riddle of first pan-Indian ruler of India!

There are many views about his caste ranging from Brahmin to so-called lower caste. The question of CG-I`s caste has not yet been resolved. Though, this is the first time I`ve heard that he was Khatri. I`m curious to know the source of this information.

There is a school of thought that believes CG Maurya converted to Jainism and ended his life in Karantaka by starving himself to death. If I get it, I`ll post a link during the weekend.

Rahulmal # 17

I agree there are some editing mistakes. There are other mistakes like extra `ands`, one `not` missing and some sentences which could be further simplified and made more direct.

Condensing 3000 years & handling over 22 characters, even I got fed up in the end; and let it go.

nhk

Re:NHK#28

You wrote, ``Keeping a track of over 22 invaders, one tends to get confused.``

It is amazing that the Afghans and Pashtuns have been able to endure so many invasions all through their history. Sometimes we Indians tend to think that we are the only victims of history :-), but our experiences are dwarfted by the experiences of the people in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

One thing that has always amazed me is that the Hindukush mountains could never provide an adequate defence to South Asia. On the North and North-east, the Himalayas provided a strong buffer against China. However, in the North-west, the invading armies would always be able to exploit the mountain passes like the Khyber pass to invade South Asia. Also, one would think that after a few invasions, people in South Asia would sit up and notice their vulnerability to these Passes and do somthing to protect themselves such as put up barriers, walls etc like the Chinese. However, I have never heard of any South Asian ruler providing any kind of defence to these passes. Even invaders who came via these passes forgot about their own arrival, until the next wave of invaders came in to subjugate them!! Just shows that the Chinese are any day smarter than us desis :-).