Describe the condition of Pandits and Muslims in Kashmir before the Treaty of Amritsar and the changes that took place after the Treaty was implemented. In what ways have forces external to Kashmir contributed to the conflict in the region during the colonial and post-colonial periods?
The argument can be sustained that external forces have significantly contributed to Kashmir conflict for hundreds of years, within which the post-Treaty of Amritsar period is a relatively small potion. From the rise of the Islamist tyrant to the Kashmir throne in 1349, the region has been locked in various, seemingly indeterminate conflicts where the regional political players may change, but underlying, fundamental and irreconcilable religious tension is the single unifying historical thread (Zutshi, 2004). The Pandits and Muslim interplays both prior and post Treaty are explored against this backdrop.
Given the long Kashmir past has marked the region as a place where conflict is the norm, there is no surprise that the Kashmir continues to be a lightning rod for the entire region. It is the proposition that contributes to the examination of how external forces have exerted significant, and largely negative influences over the Kashmir to the present day.
1. Pandits and Muslims
The Pandits are the inheritors of the most ancient Hindu Brahmin traditions. The Pandits recognize the vedas, ancient Sanskrit sources of Hindu wisdom, as their core religious authority (Bose,1997). There is little wonder at why the Pandits and Muslim people might be natural antagonists. Each faith believes its followers to be part of a true world religion, where the message is eternal and sustaining. Where Islam professes its rigid adherence to All...
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Zutshi, Chitralekha. (2004). Languages of Belonging: Islam, Regional Identity, and the Making of Kashmir. New York: Oxford University Press
...o de-essentialize and de-Orientalize religious system of Islam, and instead locate it as part of a historical discursive tradition where practices were contested and in flux. This challenges notions of what authentic religious practices are in Theravada Buddhism, and in doing so expands an understanding of what forms can take. For this reason, the work is useful, and highly recommended for an aspiring religious or anthropological scholar.
1.) Intro: I decided to focus my Religious Ethnography on a friend whom I recently have become close with. Adhita Sahai is my friend’s name, which she later told me her first name meant “scholar.” I choose to observe and interview Adhita, after she invited me to her home after hearing about my assignment. I was very humbled that she was open to this, because not only was it a great opportunity for this paper, but it also helped me get to know Adhita better. I took a rather general approach to the religious questions that I proposed to the Sahai family because I didn’t want to push to deep, I could tell Hinduism is extremely important to this family. Because this family does not attend a religious site where they worship, I instead listened to how they do this at home as a family instead.
This investigation seeks to discover whether or not the Sepoy revolution in 1857 had a sufficient impact on India’s rise to independence and separation from the British Empire. The Sepoy revolution was a revolution of the Sepoy soldiers in 1857, and complete independence from the British Empire was not achieved by Indians until 1947. Therefore, did the Sepoy revolution catalyze their rise to independence, or was independence inevitable? The impact of the Sepoy Revolution will be found by looking at the effects of the Sepoy revolution and determining whether or not they were key factors in the rise to independence. A variety of sources will be used.
...ng religion and foreign to the people of India, yet there is a defied truth that Islam’s spread peacefully throughout India with the alliances formed between the Indian people, the Turks, and the Mongols. The encounters that the ancient Indian people had to endure with the Turks, Mongols, and Islam have had the most memorable impact and impression on Indian culture and other societies throughout the east. Ancient Indian history is often overlooked within our society, but perhaps there should be a second look at how the Indian people have became who they are today, what attributes that have given society, and what pandemonium they have overcame as a civilization to stay in existence and stand against the test of time.
Hindus, a.k.a. Hindus, Milton. F. Scott Fitzgerald: An Introduction and Interpretation. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1968. Matterson, Stephen.
India is the center of a very serious problem in the world today. It’s a very diverse place with people from many different religious backgrounds, who speak many different languages and come from many different regions. They are also separated economically. Two of the country’s religious sects, Muslims and Hindus, have been in conflict for hundreds of years. Their feelings of mistrust and hatred for each other are embedded in all those years and will not leave easily. What’s most disturbing is that there seems to be no plan for reconciliation available. There are numerous reasons for this conflict.
During the Cold War, many regional conflicts occurred and were noted as the significant battles which later led to decolonization. One of the regional conflicts were India and Pakistan fighting for their independence. In 1947, India was released under Great Britain’s control and gained its independence. However, the country was divided between Muslims and Hindus, which share different religions. Muslims wanted church and state to become unified while Hindus wanted a separation of these two establishments. Since these two ethnic groups disagreed, it was difficult to create a new government. Therefore, India was divided into two nations: India for the Hindus and Pakistan for the Muslims. Hindus and Muslims were racing to the border in order to get to their nation state which led to killing 500,000 people due to rioting. Although, Mohandas Gandhi, an Indian National Congressman, wanted to obtain peace between these two religions. Pakistan refused the H...
Most people in the world derive their religious beliefs and traditions from their parents and peer influences. From a religious point of view, “There are many definitions for the term ‘religion’ in common usage. [Broadly defined], in order to include the greatest number of belief systems: ‘Religion is any specific system of belief about deity, often involving rituals, a code of ethics, and a philosophy of life’” (Robinson, 1996). However, in examining Hinduism, it is difficult to label the practices as a religion. This paper will expound upon the Hindu traditions, taking into account the characteristics of sacred elements, their meaning, and significance.
There is a distinct difference between popular Indian nationalism, that is the nation believing in a state independent of Britain, and Indian nationalist movements, for example the Muslim League or the Hindu revivalist movement. These movements fought for independence but were far more religiously orientated and were fighting in their own interests. Although Indian nationalism initially found expression in the Mutiny of 1857, its deve...
The two groups were fighting for control over the province of Kasmir, which is a valley in the northern part of India and is part of the state of Jammu and Kashmir. They both want this piece of land because, since Muslims and Hindus were split apart, they feel the need to be more powerful than each other and take control of this beautiful piece of land. In 1947 this state was considered an independent country and the Marahaja, who was the ruler of India, made it so that India and Pakistan remained neutral. While India stuck to this agreement Pakistan attacked Jammu and Kashmir because they wanted control of it, which forced the Marahaja to escape to India. The Marahaja asked the people of India to help get rid of the Pakistanis who were attacking them and, if they did, he would make Jammu and Kashmir a part of India. The people of India got rid of most of the Pakistani attackers, but a large area that was hard to reach was still controlled by them. Since India wanted to stop the fighting, they ended up leaving the Pakistanis to have a large area, but India had an even larger area. The fighting ended in 1949 and, since other powerful states didn’t ask Pakistan to withdraw it’s troops from a state that had became a part of India, India called the United Nations and told them that Pakistan had attacked a neutral state that had became a part of India, so they should withdraw their soldiers. The United Nations agreed with this and also wanted India to ask the people of Jammu and Kashmir if they wanted to be part of India or Pakistan. The Prime Minister of India asked the people if they wanted to be part of India or Pakistan through a process called referendum or plebiscite, which is basically a vote. A plebiscite couldn’t be made because Pakistan didn’t want to give up Jammu and Kasmir, and since many powerful countries didn’t force them to withdraw their troops
McLeod, W. H. (2000). Exploring Sikhism: Aspects of Sikh identity, culture and thought. New Delhi: Oxford University Press.
“India and Pakistan: Tense Neighbours.” BBC. N.p., 16 Dec. 2001. Web. 15 May 2011. .
Nicholas B. Dirks. (2011). Castes of Mind: Colonialism and the Making of Modern India. Princeton University Press
Kenneth Jost. 2005. “Understanding Islam.” Annual Editions: Anthropology 11/12, 34th Edition. Elvio Angeloni. New York: McGraw-Hill Higher Education.
...shown through Lenny’s point of view. Prior the partition, Lahore was a place of tolerance that enjoyed a secular state. Tension before the partition suggested the division of India was imminent, and that this would result in a religious. 1947 is a year marked by human convulsion, as 1 million people are reported dead because of the partition. Moreover, the children of Lahore elucidate the silences Butalia seeks in her novel. The silence of survivors is rooted to the nature of the partition itself; there is no clear distinction as to who were the antagonists. The distinction is ambiguous, the victims were Sikhs, Hindus, and Muslims, and moreover these groups were the aggressors, the violent. The minority in this communal violence amongst these groups was the one out-numbered. This epiphany of blame is embarked in silence, and roots from the embodiment of violence.