AS WE NOTED in an earlier episode, Parāvartana or Ghar-Wapsi became difficult as Muslim rule spread wider and penetrated deeper into Hindustan. Yet, some sporadic initiatives of Parāvartana kept occurring at random. We can cite two examples here.
The first took place in the grand city of Vijayanagara in the aftermath of the Bahmani-Vijayanagara war that concluded in 1398 CE.
The Bahmani ruler Tajuddin Firuz had rounded up thousands of Hindus in the vicinity of Vijayanagara, forcibly converted them, raped their women and held them as hostages, thereby forcing Harihara II to surrender. His blackmail worked. Harihara II agreed to a treaty, which included the release of these hostages upon payment of ten lakh honnu (gold coins).
After they were released, a mass Shuddhi ceremony was conducted in which the converted Hindu men and women were readmitted to the Hindu society. This rather rare episode has largely been overlooked even by the authentic scholars of Vijayanagara history.
The next notable instance of Parāvartana occurs a century after the collapse of the Vijayanagara Empire. The grand Maratha Empire seeded by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaja was the theatre of this action. Let’s read P.V. Kane’s words in this matter:
“…during the time of the Maratha domination, learned Brahmanas of holy places like Paithan, Nasik and Karad were consulted in religious matters by the king or his minister, that the holders of the gadi of Sankaracharya at Sankeshwara and Karavira and other seats were also rarely consulted in these matters…[of] restoring men to their castes…
“…Shivaji, the great founder of the Maratha Empire, established a council of eight ministers, viz. Mukhya Pradhana, Amatya, Saciva, Mantri, Senapati, Panditarao, Nyayadhisha and Sumanta. The jurisdiction of the Panditarao extended over all religious matters…There are letters which show that the Panditarao convened meetings of learned brahmanas and with their approval declared prayascitta in the case of a [Hindu] who had been forcibly converted by Mahomedans and who was thereafter restored to [his] caste.”
The next great epoch of Shuddhi occurred with the timely arrival of Swami Dayananda Saraswati. Today, the Arya Samaj is not even a pale shadow of its former self but at its peak, it stood as a powerful bulwark, warding off multiple threats to the unity, solidarity and safety of the Sanatana society. No less a stalwart than Sita Ram Goel, who began as an Arya Samaji, but later became its bitter critic, declared his repentance as follows:
It was years later when I read Sri Aurobindo, Bankim, Tilak, Dayananda that I bowed, in repentance and renewed reverence, before that fearless lion of a man who tried his best to rescue and revive the Vedic vision among the Hindus. A true understanding and appreciation of the crucial cultural role which the Arya Samaj played at a critical juncture in our national life dawned on me simultaneously.
Among the Arya Samaj’s manifold exemplary works, the Shuddhi movement perhaps occupies the top slot. Even in the time it flourished, the Arya Samaj was truly revolutionary; this was also the secret of its success.
Swami Dayananda’s most illustrious disciple, Swami Shraddhananda’s mass Shuddi campaigns unnerved the Muslim clergy throughout northern India and in response, they did what they always do in such cases — Swami Shraddhananda was brutally murdered on his bed in his own home by a bigot brainwashed by Mullahs.
Regrettably, no successors of Swami Shraddhananda’s stature emerged to carry his blazing torch forward. That arguably, was the last such mass Shuddhi movement measured on the scale of success and spread.
Swami Shraddhananda’s assassination sent a blood-soaked message of dissuasion to other Hindus who potentially wanted to emulate his path.
In a parallel development, Mohandas Gandhi’s star had soared to great heights by that time. His ascent was dipped in the blood of thousands of Hindus including Swami Shraddhananda; it must have taken undiluted heartlessness on Gandhi’s part to declare that he would work for the remission of the death sentence of Abdul Rashid, Shraddananda’s murderer. The conclusion is inescapable — Muslim appeasement, and not the safety of the Hindu society was topmost on the phoney Mahatma’s nonviolent mind. Thus, he singlehandedly succeeded in halting and undoing whatever successes that the Shuddhi movement had achieved so far.
However, to the credit of both the Arya Samaj and other Hindu organisations, the movement persists till date; only its form has altered. Our heartfelt gratitude should go out to them given the brutal odds that they are battling on multiple fronts.
The next episode will mention some recent instances of how Parāvartana is taking place in different realms helmed by Hindus working in various fields.
To be continued
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