Forget Padmaavat, Muslim rulers have been wrongly portrayed as barbarians by right-wingers, says Ram Puniyani

Ram Puniyani talks about how conflicts are manufactured and how our distorted history leads is an excuse extremists use to create conflict
Historian Ram Puniyani invoked the Padmaavat example to show that in our present days, how dangerous our wrongly accounted history can be
Historian Ram Puniyani invoked the Padmaavat example to show that in our present days, how dangerous our wrongly accounted history can be

The movie Padmaavat released a disclaimer stating that none of their characters were based on real people. Sure, Padmavati wasn't but Alauddin Khilji was. Anyone who has watched the film will tell you that Ranveer Singh did a great job of portraying the barbaric, demonic, lustful Khilji. But how was Khilji like in real life? "Like any other power-hungry king of those times. But he was in no way demonic or barbaric or raped any women, in fact, he did a lot to reform the tax laws in the kingdom to help the people in his kingdom," explained Ram Puniyani, civil society activist, orator, writer and medical researcher.

Puniyani was speaking at the Conflict and Peace Conference organised by the Department of English, Women's Christian College, Chennai. Puniyani invoked the Padmaavat example to show that in our present days, how dangerous our wrongly accounted history can be. "The sad thing is, not just films but in history, as well, Muslim leaders are painted as being people who came, conquered, looted the land, dishonoured the women, were barbaric and uncivil. History had been distorted by the British and now many Hindu extremists groups choose to harp on this narrative because it works to their advantage," he explained.

The sad thing is, not just films but in history, as well, Muslim leaders are painted as being people who came, conquered, looted the land, dishonoured the women, were barbaric and uncivil. History had been distorted by the British and now many Hindu extremists groups choose to harp on this narrative because it works to their advantage

Ram Puniyani, civil society activist, orator, writer and medical researcher

Puniyani said that several kings who have fought to conquer different parts of the country have done it to gain power, but religion was never a motive, "Khilji had a Hindu man leading his army, so did Akbar. Rana Pratap Singh, on the other hand, had a Muslim man who was at the forefront and the case is the same with Chhatrapati Shivaji. The Muslim and Hindu kings collaborated on some wars. They wanted only the best people in their armies, the religion of these men never mattered. This is enough to understand that wars were motivated by power and NOT by religion."

Then how did we end up with a narrative that tells us that the Muslims were "attackers" and looted the country? "The British looted this country, they came, took the wealth and went back to their country. The Muslims came, made this their home and ruled the people in their kingdoms like any king would. We have this narrative because at some point it benefitted the British to promote such an angle. In the case of Padmaavat, the fact is that Khilji did want to capture the kingdom but he did not attack any women. The poets in the court did, however, did make up a story about a queen called Padmavati who Khilji had set his eyes on. The jesters and singers in the kingdom then began to sing it like a ballad. The British chose to turn this story into facts," he said. 

The British looted this country, they came, took the wealth and went back to their country. The Muslims came, made this their home and ruled the people in their kingdoms like any king would

Ram Puniyani, civil society activist, orator, writer and medical researcher

During the last phase of the freedom struggle, Puniyani said that Indian society was divided into two groups — the Indian National Congress and the Hindu Maha Sabha, which has now metamorphosed now the RSS, "There were many landlords who lost their lands to the British or had to give up their property for equitable distribution - most of these people came together under the Hindu Maha Sabha. The liberals chose the Congress side, who were campaigning for an equal, casteless society. Since the Hindu Maha Sabha was very insecure about their riches, they chose to talk about how the Muslims plundered "their" lands, a narrative that the RSS continues to propagate," he explained.

He went on to give the example of how Tipu Sultan's name is repeatedly being tarnished over the last few years. "They accuse Tipu Sultan of forcefully converting the Brahmins and claim he was a bad ruler. Tipu's closest advisor was a Brahmin man and he is supposed to have been one of the greatest kings to rule India and he was perhaps the only king to have fought the British to safeguard our lands," he explained. It is the same with Aurangzeb, Puniyani said, "It is true he razed the Kashi Viswanath temple but it is also true that he donated lakhs of rupees to temples across the country throughout his rule."

They accuse Tipu Sultan of forcefully converting the Brahmins and claim he was a bad ruler. Tipu's closest advisor was a Brahmin man and he is supposed to have been one of the greatest kings to rule India and he was perhaps the only king to have fought the British to safeguard our lands

Ram Puniyani, civil society activist, orator, writer and medical researcher

Recalling how history has been distorted to show the Muslim community as having attacked Hindus to forcefully convert them, Puniyani said, is to show how conflict can be manufactured. "More often than not conflict is manufactured. By using wrong facts, there is a group that is manufacturing conflict, we should we wary of them. It is happening to us right now," he warned.

Speaking about the beef ban, Puniyani said that Vivekananda himself said beef was freely consumed during the Vedic times but as people took up agriculture, people chose to use cows for the fields.

"While drafting the constitution, Gandhi was advised to ban cow slaughter but despite being a staunch Hindu, he refused it and said this country was not Hindu. Today, our country's Muslims say they don't mind giving up beef but where has our tolerance gone? Where us our belief in equality gone?" he questioned. "A Hindu man killed Gandhi. This goes to show again that war and terrorism are not about religion, it is about power. Not just in India, this can be compared to the global scenario as well. The place that suffers from the most terrorism is the Middle East and the people who die the most from terrorism are Muslims. The place that has the most oil is also the Middle East. The connection is so apparent. Here again, the conflict was manufactured. By who? The United States of America. That is where our Islamaphobia comes from too," he explained.

So how can we prevent this manufactured conflict? By seeking the truth, finding it and standing by it, Puniyani says, "We have to throw light on facts and we cannot let hate take over us. We cannot allow hate-mongers to influence us. Our constitution is the holiest book in our country and we should vow to stand by what it says." He added.

"I am not against religion. Hindutva is not the same as Hinduism. There is morality in every religion and we must appreciate that, but there is also religious fundamentalism that is creating conflict. We as a society, have to come together to fight this. We have to engage in conversation, we have to take to the streets to protest and we have to strive to do better as citizens," he said. 

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