History Archive

A lot has been written about the expulsion of Hindus from Bangladesh, from the Kashmir valley, Hindus and Sikhs from Pakistan, and so forth, but very little has been written about the expulsion and killing – termed missing here – of the Hindus, and Sikhs from regions of Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir.

“The Queen’s Daughters in India” written by Elizabeth W. Andrew & Katharine C. Bushnell in 1898 uncovers a tragic truth of the British rule in India. The book exposes British’s exploitation of Indian women who were used as sex slaves for the soldiers of the British Military.

Mahatma Gandhi, also known in India as the ‘Father of the Nation was born into a Gujarati Hindu Modh Bania family in the coastal town of Porbandar. Gandhi completed his education from England and from there went to South Africa to practice law.

The world history recorded March 25, 1971 black night as a rare case when the military of a country launched a sudden brutal assault on sleeping civilian population of the same country the way Pakistani army did under the infamous Operation Searchlight, as they called it.

There are certain moments in the cultural and political life of a nation when the national flag comes into prominence. Every Indian is aware that the Prime Minister unfurls the national tricolor from the ramparts of the Red Fort every Independence Day on August 15, and indeed the observance of January 26th as Republic Day goes back to 31 December 1929, when Jawaharlal Nehru hoisted the flag of the Indian National Congress, gave a call for purna swaraj, and asked people to observe January 26 as independence day.

History, they say, is written by the victor. In India’s case, history has been largely written by leftists who have often twisted facts and events to either demonize figures who don’t fit into their blinkered narrative or to put the undeserving on lofty pedestals. One fine example of the latter is Mohammad ‘Allama’ Iqbal.

Vinayak Damodar Savarkar was a versatile personality who has been a source of inspiration for generations of Indians. He was a committed revolutionary, renowned freedom fighter, eminent political thinker, devoted social and religious reformer, prolific writer and poet, and a rationalist philosopher. He was, as the epithet aptly describes, a brave and die-hard patriot. His love for the Motherland runs through all facets of his personality - from a valiant freedom fighter, to enthusiastic social reformer, to prolific writer, to fiery orator.

Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s first prime minister and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, its first deputy prime minister were two towering figures of India’s anti-colonial freedom movement. Both were Mahatma Gandhi’s closest associates and wielded enormous influence within the Congress Party. But their worldviews differed widely, which reflected in their contrasting attempts to shape the trajectory of the freedom movement, the Indian constitution, issues related to integration of the reluctant princely states, and matters relating to combating communal violence.

History, it is said, is written by the victor. What is to be inferred, is that history is written by the loyalists of the victor. By court jesters and poets who write ballads in praise of the emperor. Unfortunately, our politicians and their voguish history is no better.

Within his homeland, Winston Churchill’s colossal contribution to saving his people from Hitler eclipses all else, and he is widely regarded as the greatest Briton of all time. But, could a man applauded for his courage in standing up to Adolf Hitler have had such contempt for another race that he did not change policies that led to starvation and death of at least three million? The man was Sir Winston Churchill and the famine that killed millions was in India in 1943.