Morning Musings - Sikhs continue to be a minuscule minority
Till the British ruled India, history taught in schools only glorified them and the Mughals who obviously the Brits could not have wiped out from the history books.
Thereafter, the Anti-Sikh mindset of the Congress which ruled India for a long time after partition prevented Sikh History from coming into the text books. The stand of RSS (BJP) needs no mention. This coupled with the fact that the Sikhs, who inspite having a distinct Identity and doing larger than life deeds, unfortunately could not create an Identity of their own majorly because they were always a minority.
Even the state Governments in Punjab were too busy looting the state and possibly felt ashamed looking over their shoulders to see the Sikh Gurus or the other great Sikh Generals glaring at them as them emptied the exchequers.
So how could Sikh history have entered text books in schools.
Surprisingly, as per my knowledge, the only mention Sikhs find in Indian history books is mention of Guru Nanak in the “Bhagti Movement of India” taught in Class 7. Which is truly a joke.
I can assure you the even the majority of the modern day Sikhs wouldn’t know the names of the 10 Sikh Gurus other than Guru Nanak Dev Ji and Guru Gobind Singh Ji and possibly Maharaja Ranjit Singh….knowing the likes of other greats like Banda Bahadur or Nawab Kapur Singh Virk or Jassa Singh would be a far cry.
Take World War 2, for instance. We talk about Hitler killing the Jews, the Holocaust, Pearl Harbor, etc. etc. But no one actually condemns the Nuclear Bombings on Japan. We actually praise America for ending the war.
Would it have been the case if the Axis had won World War 2?
As the old African proverb goes, “Until the lions have their own historians, the history of the hunt will always glorify the hunter."
Just some random thoughts......
Thereafter, the Anti-Sikh mindset of the Congress which ruled India for a long time after partition prevented Sikh History from coming into the text books. The stand of RSS (BJP) needs no mention. This coupled with the fact that the Sikhs, who inspite having a distinct Identity and doing larger than life deeds, unfortunately could not create an Identity of their own majorly because they were always a minority.
Even the state Governments in Punjab were too busy looting the state and possibly felt ashamed looking over their shoulders to see the Sikh Gurus or the other great Sikh Generals glaring at them as them emptied the exchequers.
So how could Sikh history have entered text books in schools.
Surprisingly, as per my knowledge, the only mention Sikhs find in Indian history books is mention of Guru Nanak in the “Bhagti Movement of India” taught in Class 7. Which is truly a joke.
I can assure you the even the majority of the modern day Sikhs wouldn’t know the names of the 10 Sikh Gurus other than Guru Nanak Dev Ji and Guru Gobind Singh Ji and possibly Maharaja Ranjit Singh….knowing the likes of other greats like Banda Bahadur or Nawab Kapur Singh Virk or Jassa Singh would be a far cry.
Take World War 2, for instance. We talk about Hitler killing the Jews, the Holocaust, Pearl Harbor, etc. etc. But no one actually condemns the Nuclear Bombings on Japan. We actually praise America for ending the war.
Would it have been the case if the Axis had won World War 2?
As the old African proverb goes, “Until the lions have their own historians, the history of the hunt will always glorify the hunter."
Just some random thoughts......
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