Subject: [world-vedic] Marxist R.Thapar Admits to India's Ancient Glory Date: Sat, 16 Feb 2002 10:19:57 -0000 From: In the News Reply-To: vediculture@yahoogroups.com To: vediculture@yahoogroups.com INDIAN HISTORY IS FULL OF ROMANCE AND WONDER! There is a controversy about everything in India. Garrulous, argumentative and noisily assertive, Indians can wax eloquent on the simplest of causes. The latest example of this national pastime of arguing has been the recent changes in history textbooks by the BJP- led National Democratic Alliance government. Murli Manohar Joshi, with his RSS links, has been vociferously accused of 'saffronising' the teaching of history in Indian schools because of the new windows introduced on the Vedic period. However, listening to the riveting exposition of ancient Indian history offered by scholars like Romila Thapar, one truly wonders if modern Indian children know enough about the glory of India long before either the Moghuls or the Europeans landed on its coasts after 1000 AD. If only to become familiar with India's early history, which shows the true spirit of the Indian civilizations, the early millenniums must be studied by all those who want to understand the eternal and limitless nature of Indian culture. The first millennium of the Gregorian era, according to Thapar, was a golden age of Indian art, science, learning and scholarship. With burgeoning trade, which brought about an import and export of all kinds of goods, India developed a diverse civilization, which was open to new ideas and new influences. Great temples were built in this era. Wondrous cave shrines were constructed, with immortal sculptures and frescoes contributed by Buddhist, Hindu and Jain artists, working side by side, in the same caves. Roads and sea routes, transport and trade were developed. Art and culture flourished and worldwide communication links were forged long before either the Moghuls or Europeans set foot on the soil of India. "Peninsular Indian kingdoms of the Cheras, Pandyas and later the Chalukyas, Rashtrakutas, Pallavas and Cholas had highly developed ports, says Thapar, "India was known for its trade with the Roman and Greek empires and ports in the Mediterranean area. Ports like Bharukachcha - now Broach - Kalyan and Sopara on the West Coast of India conducted continuous trade with Romans and Greeks as well as Jews and Arabs from the Middle East to the Mediterranean. Alexandria too was a busy port. Because of the trade, mainly in spices (pepper) and fine textiles, Greeks, Arabs and Jews came to India and often made settlements here to permanently live in this country. These visiting traders who made the Indian peninsula their home, found that Indian society of those years was curious, anxious to learn about the world and open to a free exchange of knowledge. Greek and Arab writers came to India and experienced for themselves the openness of the Hindu and Buddhist societies and wrote copious diaries or records about their visits to the various kingdoms and cities. They found that Indian society was roughly divided into several classes. These were - Scholars and philosophers, cattle tenders and herdsmen, agriculturists, soldiers, artisans and counselors. They recorded that almost 120 shiploads of goods came from various destinations to India at the end of the monsoon - which was even then the vitally important season for the people of India. The ships brought in a cargo of gold, silver, wine, oil, porcelain and horses as well as other goods. After two months, when the winds were clement, the ships returned home with a huge cargo of spices (pepper), textiles, timber (teak and sandalwood), apes and peacocks. "The visiting chroniclers also wrote about the ascetic sects of India, the many gods the Hindus worshiped and the prevailing freedom of thought which even included a place for atheism. Many scripts were used by this early society. Inscriptions, books and palm leaf manuscripts were written in Brahmi, Tamil and Prakrit. Many of them recorded that the rich among the visiting traders gave ample endowments for the building of caves and temples and supported architects, sculptors and artisans in their magnificent efforts. Of particular importance is the reference to the Karla caves near Lonavala in Maharashtra which seem to have received sizable donations from so-called Yavanas who were so highly impressed with Buddhism that some of them even practiced the religion. The Karla caves have the single largest rock cut hall among all caves in the world. The Yavanas stayed on and mingled in Indian society so well, that to date, people of the West Coast in India are known to have Greek blood in their families. "The Yavanas of those ages were divided into two categories: 1. The Greeks 2. Other Mediterranean visitors. Through these visitors and their active participation in India's religious and social development, the Indian scholars' knowledge of astronomy, mathematics and medicine reached many a Mediterranean civilizations. The writings they have left behind are a mirror to our early past, which absorbed influences from all areas of the world. "Excavations in various sites in peninsular India have shown that a huge number of gold coins were brought in by ships for the ongoing trade," says Thapar, "Temple funds, it is reported, were used for importing 10,000 horses a year from Arabia. These horses were used for transport, travel, war and for ceremonial rituals. Several references to these historical events and the family life of traders and tourists have been recorded in the Jeniza letters, which were found in a synagogue in Cairo, Egypt in recent years. "Later, from 500 AD, the Roman Empire began to lose its glory and splendor. Other trade routes developed. Busrah and Constantinople became busy ports. The Chalukyas and the Rashtrakutas even appointed Arabs as their administrators for their far-flung provinces. Chroniclers like Al Beruni came to India and left a valuable window to the past for us to study. Islam slowly came to India with several sects like the Khojas and Bohris seeking settlements here. India became the treasury of the world with its jewels, textiles, rich agriculture and highly developed knowledge systems. The trade route to the Far East - especially China - opened up and many ships from the West and the Arabian countries traversed from Western ports to the ports of China via India. "It is important that students in modern India should be exposed to all aspects of Indian history. I am not denigrating the study of the Vedic past. I insist that history and the available knowledge has to be assesses in a total historical context. This context has to be a scientific, rational inquiry," says Thapar. Obviously, correct knowledge of the past is not possible without correct insights and research. Indian students today, who show such an abysmal lack of knowledge and awareness of Indian history, should be required to delve into the past and learn about India's ancient and rich civilization and its development till the modern age. Only then will they get a correct, balanced perspective on their country. This article is based on Prof. Romila Thapar's Vasant Sheth Memorial Lecture for 2002 in Mumbai.