The tale for Hindus of Bharat can be argued in the vein of the fable of the bundled sticks - united we stand, divided we fall. Much like the sticks, unity has come sparingly among the Hindus of this nation over the course of time without an overarching paternal authority. Constant bickering and tussling for power among the various ruling houses of the subcontinent have repeatedly opened up gaps that could then be utilized by vested interests.

While most of the foreign invaders of the ancient era such as the Kushans, Sakas and the Yavanas would assimilate into the culture of the land after some brief stay, the same could not be said for those that followed the belief of Abrahamic creeds afterwards. The once glorious civilisation is still limping from centuries of the cultural rot that manifested in these cultural calamities and now seeks to undo her very identity.

Time and time again, these elements have been able to capitalise on the fickle nature of many Hindus who would arguably put their personal interests above civilisational necessity. A notable example might be “Jagat Seths”, a Punjabi Khatri banking family situated in Bengal who were speculated to be wealthier than even the British crown. The East India Company’s crucial victory over Siraj-ud Daulah at the Battle of Plassey was financed by the tycoons, paving the way for the European crown to capture the lucrative Bengal region. The British victory over the Muslim ruler of Bengal came merely six years after the defeat of the Marathas in their ill-fated attempt to liberate the resource-rich Bengal from the yoke of the centuries-long foreign subjugation. It is safe to argue that the history of Bengal and India as a whole might have been drastically different had the Seths opted to aid the Marathas instead during the tumultuous period.

In contemporary times, one can look into the sad plight of the Sindhi Hindu community who were forced to vacate the land of their ancestors. Misguided Hindu leaders such as Purushotamdas Thakurdas and Jethmal Parsram Gulrajani advocated for the separation of Sindh from the greater Bombay province on grounds to safeguard the Sindhi identity despite knowing that the region would have a strong Muslim majority. They did not pay heed to the repeated warnings of the Hindu Mahasabha who foretold the consequences of their poorly thought decisions and requested them to take a pragmatic approach. Much to their horror, the very land they demanded would slip from their hands during the ensuing chaos of 1947, merely a decade after Sindh was severed from the Hindu majority Bombay Presidency.

On the other side of the nation, seeds for the present demographic conundrum in Assam were being sown. While the British can be attributed to having started the mass importation of Bengali Muslims (largely from Mymensingh) into the fertile Brahmaputra valley, local landlords and intellectuals in their greed to receive more revenue legitimised their colonisation of virgin tribal tracts. Notable Assamese play right Jyoti Prasad Agarwala (who was of Marwari provenance) penned the term “Na-Axomiya” (neo-Assamese) for the Bengali Muslim migrants that settled into the riverine belts of the Brahmaputra. Merely a few decades in, the demography of places like Nagaon and Goalpara looked more akin to East Bengal rather than Assam itself. His argument that simply adopting the lingua franca of the region would help in harmonious assimilation falls flat today as natives of the areas they colonised have been forced to emigrate elsewhere or languish in misery.

Down South in present-day Kerala, the squabble between the Samoothiris of Kozhikode (Calicut) and the kings of Kochi (Cochin) laid the groundwork for Abrahamic elements to strengthen their presence. Kochi’s ruler Unni Goda Varma’s ill-thought alliance with the Portuguese brought in great devastation to the cultural fabric of the Hindus in the kingdom. Rapid conversion to Christianity by European and local Christian missionaries chipped away at the majority of the Hindus causing them to fall to 71.52% in 1881 and subsequently 63.41% by 1941. The neighbouring British district of Malabar which contained most of present-day Northern Kerala saw Hindus recede from 72.4% in 1872 to 63.08% by 1941 likewise.

Further South, the kingdom of Travancore would also open up to European influence resulting in missionaries having a free run. Rani Gowri Parvathi Bayi’s decision to educate her subjects in 1817 would be commendable if not for her ill-advised decision to hand over the administration of teaching to Christian missionaries. With the bureaucracy under their grip, Hindus would collapse from 83.0% in 1820 to 60.5% by 1941 while Christians grew from 12.4% to 32.3% changing the entire demographic characteristic of the region that houses Shree Padmanabhaswamy. The Northern part of Travancore (which corresponds to parts of Idukki, Ernakulam and all of Kottayam) already had a parity between the Christians and the Hindus by the time independence rolled in.

In retrospect, the highly tolerant nature of the royals of Kerala set the ground for missionaries such as Thomas of Cana (who received grants from Cheraman Perumal in 345 AD) and Sapir Iso Maruwan (granted rights by Venad king Aiyan Atikal Thiruvadikal in 825 AD) to expand their faith with their ardent zeal among the gullible natives. A notable example of a similar blunder was the queen of Kollam who not only rebuilt demolished churches in 1516 but also permitted her citizens to convert to Christianity in an effort to woo the Portuguese for a greater hand in the lucrative spice trade.

Over and over again, we have come across the grueling struggle to weave together Hindus who tend to revert back to their fickle ways and start bickering amongst one another. The treacherous nature of many individuals can be found abundant in the pages of our history, the consequences of which we continue to suffer to this day. While minorities rush to speak up on matters that may or may not pertain to them even remotely, a large segment of the Hindu population continue to lack the civilisational conscience to foresee the greater picture.

A mere promise of freebies can alter the support of an individual or a community at large, leaving the government vulnerable to losing power. Thus, it comes as no surprise that the government is forced to tread carefully regarding populist measures as retaining power at any cost becomes the precursor to pushing through for future reforms.

Image of Maratha Empire following the failed Battle of Burdwan, 1747 provided by the author.