Brewing rivalries, conflicts, and more significantly the recent terror attacks have brought with world to a bind. Samuel Huntington’s “The Clash of Civilisations”, is no longer an event of a distant past. It is happening now and the threat is imminent. People, especially, Indians who are lulled into complacency are suddenly jolted. This new reality has further stoked the latent surge of a Hindu awakening. Battling to fight the war of narratives that continue to undermine the antiquity and most importantly the continuity of Bharatiya civilization, a conscionable attempt to decolonise the discourse has picked up pace.

More than ever, there has been a new interest in getting connected to the roots and deciphering the antiquities of the civilisational values that they hold dear. Catering to the dharmic quest for unvarnished facts Padma Shri Meenakshi Jain through her prominent scholarly works- Rama and Ayodhya, The Battle for Rama: Case of the Temple at Ayodhya, Sati: Evangelists, Baptist Missionaries, and the Changing Colonial Discourse, Flight of Deities and Rebirth of Temples: Episodes from History; Vasudeva Krishna and Mathura have broken the stranglehold of partisan historiographies which not only dominated the academics but the discourse. Through her latest book- “The Hindus of Hindustan: A Civilizational Journey”, Dr. Jain did a splendid job of providing clarity to the much-debated concept of national unity.

Setting the context, The Preface of the book starts off by saying- “During British rule, Colonial administrator/ scholars, confronted with the vastness and diversity of the country, declared “there is not, and never was an India or even any country of India possessing, according to European ideas, any sort of unity, physical, political, social, or religious; no Indian nation, no ‘people of India,’ of which we hear so much”” (Strachey, 1911;5).

Ironically for eons though Indians continued to pay an ode to the antiquity and geography of Bharat through the customary chanting of the Sankalpa and the purification mantra- “Gange cha Yamunechaiva Godavari Saraswati Naramade Sindhu Kaveri jalesmin sannidhin kuru” every day, the trusted Indian cultural sepoys of the colonial masters who were driven out close to eight decades ago prattle the whimsical Winston Churchill’s remarks of “India is merely a geographical expression”.

 As has been her wont, Dr. Jain who has clinically dismantled the concocted myth of Rama Janmabhoomi in her current work, shreds the deliberate propaganda of “India is a geographical construct” with undisputable facts. Tracing the references to India, Dr. Jain cites the 63 verses of Prithvi Sukta, the first national song of veneration in Atharva Veda, Panini, Katyayan, Patanjali, the Mahagovinda suttanta, the oldest section of Tripitikas where Bharat was described as Maha Prithvi. The shape of Bharat was likened to a bullock cart- rectangular in the north and conical in the south.

The Indian epics-Ramayana, Mahabharata and the Puranas have an immense wealth of information about the geography of the country like rivers, mountains, forests deserts, etc. The Puranas also talk about the division of India into nine portions (Nava Khanda), an idea that was adopted by ancient astronomer Parasara. Varahamihira’s Brihat Samhita actually provides topographical details of these divisions. The 10th-century work, Kavyamimamsa of Rajasekhara divides India into five divisions- Madhyadesa, Udicya, Pracya, Dakhsinapatha, and Aparanta these are identical to the Bhuvanakosa chapters of some Puranas. In fact, the “Five Indies” concept of Chinese can be traced to this division of India. Even Kalidasa’s Kumarsambhavam and Meghaduta are replete with geographical descriptions of India.

A common comprehensive term of ‘Jambudvipa’ is found across all these venerated sources-used for the territory extending from the Himalayas in the north to the sea in the south. Alexander’s historians who chronicled his confrontation with King Porus note that ancient Indians had precise information about the size and shape of their land. These observations are preserved in the writings of Eratosthenes (276 BCE-194 BCE), Strabo (64 BCE- 21 BCE) and Arrian (86 BCE-160CE). Two thousand years later, Alexander Cunningham concurring with Greek historians wrote, “they (ancient Indians) had a very accurate knowledge of the form and extent of their native land”.

The timeless Bharat civilisation has been extensively referred to in Vayu Purana, Markandeya Purana, Vishnu Purana, and Matysa Purana and the first inscription with the word Bharadhvarsha was traced to the 2^nd century BCE in Hathigumpha.  Hence, the mischievous and ill-conceived propaganda of Bharatvarsha being a ‘physical reference’ is totally misplaced and holds no ground.

The book also excellently encapsulates another astounding feature of Indian civilisation which is the continuity of cultural practices- worship of Shiva, mother goddess, trees, fire altars, the use of earthen ladles for yagnas, construction of ritual tanks adjacent to Hindu temples, worship of pillar or Skambha and certain yogic postures. This Vedic Skambha which is the cosmic pillar and Yupa or sacrificial place has extended to become Chakra Stamba, Garudu Stamba, and later into venerated Stupas of Buddhism and Jainism as well. Gradually the co-existence of different faiths became the defining feature of Indian civilisation.

This continuity is more pronounced in agricultural practices like the plantation of mustard in the North-South direction alongside horse gram in the East-West direction, the method of pounding grain, household chores, the use of carts and the curved beam of plough share, an iconic feature of Harappan times.  

With kings extending benefactions to all faiths, the sacred structures of various faiths existed and blossomed across the vast expanse of the country. Udayagiri, Deogarh, Badami Caves, Ellora Caves, Khajuraho etc. stand as a testament to peerless syncretism. There was no trace of any imposition of foreign faith on the indigenous populace. The foreign rulers embraced the native faiths and became an integral part of Indian society.  

The Ancient Indian lawgivers have facilitated the Indianization of immigrants. The admittance of immigrants and their communities into Indian society was illustrated in Nyaya Sutras of Gotama Aksapada (dated between 6^th BCE and 2CE), Vatsyayana’s Nyaya Darsana and Gargi Samhita. Interestingly, the assimilation is subject to “the acknowledgment of the accomplishments of foreign groups in various branches of science”.

Bharat is traditionally known to be a land where people have been connoisseurs of knowledge. Instructively, expertise in specific fields of knowledge or science becoming the basis for admittance of foreign rulers speaks volumes of the progressive outlook of ancient Indian society, its rare scientific temper that bestowed the highest emphasis on knowledge acquisition. This singularly destroys the warped Nehru-Marxist narrative of Indian society being orthodox, inflexible and xenophobic.

The foreigners which included Greeks (Yavanas), ancient Iranians, Kushans, Sakas (Scythians and Parthians), and the Huns embraced Indian faiths and their cultural and spiritual practices completely. But things changed dramatically with Islamic invasions in the 8^th century. Repugnance towards foreigners increased with the desecration of temples, forced imposition of alien faith, killing of priests, and breaking of idols. The Arab and Turkish invasions ruined the prosperity and people were forced to flee to safer regions.  

The book laid out in 19 chapters has two major sections titled – The Making of Early India and The Advent of Islam. Each of the chapters is standalone making the book an easy read. What certainly stands out are chapters 18 and 19 which shed light on why early foreigners became part of Indian society and not the later ones. These break into smithereens the carefully constructed discourse of extolling the Muslim invaders and the ignominious depiction of India as an uncultured society.

Replete with generous doses of primary and secondary sources of authentic references, the book can be an important starter for any enthusiastic dharmic reader genuinely interested in the time travel of Indian Civilisation. What sets the book apart is the continuity and connection between the Harappan and Vedic civilisations which it brings to the fore. Packing together several important milestones, etched with stories of Hindu resistance and the valiant efforts of the Hindu confederacy to repel the marauding Muslim invaders to the heavy influence of dharma sastras on Kurral, the book is a treat for history buffs.

This scholarly treatise expertly rebuts the jaundiced narratives and coloured perspectives that systematically denied the ancient Hindu civilization its due place.

Published by: Aryan Books International, 2023

Pages: 318, Price: Rs 995

Image source: News18