Cardinal rules of discourse on Indian secularism:
- Icons of secularism are: Ashoka, Akbar, Nehru & dynasty ( just 3
in documented history of 2,300 years)
- Anyone who parrots these names can be accommodated
in this exclusive club
- Anyone who can abuse Hinduism can also get
this coveted membership
- Indian history does not have any other icons
of secularism especially if he happens to profess Hinduism, Sikhism etc.
Check this article which says- “The
Indian analogue of B, or diversity model, draws on a tradition of thought and
sensibility which goes far back in history, to Akbar and Ashoka. This
has had an impact on our attempt to define our diversity model.”
Or in the words of Romila Thapar- “This
is not of course the same as what is sometimes described as the Indian
definition of secularism, namely, the co-existence of all religions. Rulers in
the past that supported this idea, such as the two who are always quoted — Ashoka and Akbar are spoken of as providing a kind of prelude to secularism.”
This has done great injustice to
heroes of our history who are real seculars in their own way. We look at life
of Sher-e-Punjab Ranjit Singh. His empire was made of Punjab (both Indian and
Pakistani side), Jammu, Kashmir, Ladakh.
Following are some facts about Ranjit
Singh as mentioned in “Empire of the
Sikhs The Life and Times of Maharaja Ranjit Singh” by Patwant Singh.
- 1. He made Persian the official language of the
Lahore Durbar. Although he did not know it at this age – the only other
language he knew besides his own was Gurmukhi – he was as attracted to Persian
as he was to Urdu, Kashmiri, Sindhi and many other regional languages
- 2. Ranjit Singh made a far-sighted move at the
very outset of his reign. He ensured that the religious and social festivals a
multicultural society like India observes throughout the year should be
celebrated by people of all beliefs. He was convinced that this would provide
the necessary impetus to the secularism to which the Sikhs subscribed. And so
he made it a rule that his senior ministers, governors and eminent citizens,
including himself, should try to attend as many of them as they could
- 3. His aim of creating a spirit of communal
harmony was convincingly conveyed by the pomp and gaiety that attended Muslim
religious days. Ranjit Singh ‘celebrated the Muslim festivals of Id with the
same enthusiasm as he showed for Holi and Dussehra
- 4. There were no forced conversions in his reign,
no communal riots, no language tensions, no second-class citizens. Any talented
man could come to the court and demand his due
- 5. Christmas was also joyfully celebrated, and
Ranjit Singh’s Lahore Durbar would send big hampers of fruits, sweets, wine and
other presents to Europeans living in the Sikh kingdom
- 6. Muslim religious laws would be allowed to
cover Muslims, and Qazis (judges ruling in accordance with Sharia, the Islamic
religious law) would preside over their courts. Nizam-ud-Din was made the head
Qazi of Lahore. Nor was the role of muftis (Muslim scholars who interpret the
Sharia) overlooked.
- 7. It was also decreed that mosques would
continue to be supported by the state. In acknowledgement of the fact that
Muslims were in a majority in the capital city of Lahore, he appointed Imam
Baksh as its chief of police, who in turn was given a free hand to designate
persons of his choice to senior positions in the force.
- 8. The overarching authority in religious matters
relating to Muslims as a whole was vested in Nizam-ud-Din who had the final say
in religious disputes among members of his faith. He in turn was advised by
Mufti Mohammed Shah and Mufti Sa’dullah Chishti
- 9. In a later cabinet, in which Hindus, Muslims
and Dogras (hill Rajputs from the Jammu area) predominated, the prime
minister’s portfolio was given to a Hindu Dogra, Dhian Singh, and three of the
most important portfolios to Muslims: Fakir Azizuddin was foreign minister,
Fakir Nuruddin home minister and Fakir Imamuddin custodian of the treasury at
Amritsar
- 10. Even Akbar who was the most liberal of the
Mughal Emperors, who thought so much of expedient considerations, did not go as
far as Ranjit Singh did. Whereas Ranjit Singh gave the highest positions, such
as prime ministership, foreign ministership, etc., to members of other
communities, Akbar could not go beyond associating one or two non-Muslim
ministers with his court which thus predominantly remained Muslim in character
and composition
- 11. His coinage reflected his secularism. The
script was in Persian, the legend was of the Sikh faith, the dates followed the
Hindu calendar established by King Vikramaditya, the Vikramditya Samvat, in
which VS year 57 corresponds to AD 1
One story from “Ranjit Singh: Maharajah Of The
Punjab” by Khushwant Singh-
“a calligraphist
who had spent many years making a copy of the Koran and had failed to get any
of the Muslim princes of Hindustan to give him an adequate price for his
labours turned up at Lahore to try and sell it to the Foreign Minister, Fakeer
Azizuddin. The Fakeer praised the work but expressed his inability to pay for
it. The argument was overheard by Ranjit Singh who summoned the calligraphist
to his presence. The Maharajah respectfully pressed the holy hook against his
forehead and then scrutinized the writing with his single eye. It was impressed
with the excellence of the work and bought the Koran for his private collection.
Sometime later Fakeer Azizuddin asked him why he had paid such a high price for
a book for which he, as a Sikh, would have no use. Ranjit Singh replied: 'God
intended me to look upon all religions with one eye; that is why he took away
the light from the other.’
The story
explains how Ranjit Singh was able to unite Punjabi Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs
and create the one and only independent kingdom in the history of the Punjab.
Here is a
Ted Talk given by Mr Fakir Syed. He comes from a distinguished family from the
City of Lahore. His ancestors were members of the Lahore Darbar of Maharajah
Ranjit Singh.
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