Most Authentic History of Attacks on India from 636 AD: Hindus Killed in Millions

Wounds of the past continue to haunt the people. Without understanding the past, one can never fully understand the present. Therefore, we make an attempt to see a brief history of attacks on India- all done by foreigners. The aggressive design against India initiated in 636-37 AD by the Arabs and later on carried further by the groups from the Middle East, has been continuing intermittently for centuries. These attacks started within 14 years of the birth of Islam in AD 622, and within 4 years of the death of the Prophet of Islam in AD 632.

The Godhra carnage of 27th February, 2002 is not a product of the Ayodhya movement, or the Babri mosque demolition on 6th December, 1992. There may be more Godhras in store. India has been bleeding from a thousand wounds. Belgium based world famous scholar, Dr. Koenraad Elst (b. 1959) has written: “You wouldn’t guess it from their polished convent-school English, their trendy terminology, or their sanctimoniousness, but the likes of Romila Thapar, Irfan Habib or Gyanendra Pandey have blood on their hands. The wave of Muslim violence after the Ayodhya demolition (and the boomerang of police repression and Shiv Sena retaliation) was at least partly due to the disinformation by supposed experts, who denied that the disputed building had a violent iconoclastic prehistory, and implied that Hindus can get away with concocted history in their attacks on innocent mosques. This disinformation gave Muslim militants the sense of justification needed to mount a ‘revenge’ operation and to mobilize decent Muslims for acts of violence, which they never would have committed if they had known the truth about Islam’s guilt in Ayodhya”. (Source: “BJP vis-à-vis Hindu Resurgence” by Dr. Koenraad Elst, Voice of India, 1997).

Many Muslims genuinely believe that Islam spread in India due to Sufi saints and that Muslim rulers were tolerant or else the whole of India would have converted to Islam. Of course, this is wrong. Swami Vivekananda (1863-1902) said: “Hindu population as quoted by Farishta, one of the earliest Muslim historians, was 60 crores (i.e. 600 million) and today we are only 20 crores (i.e. 200 million)”. (Complete Works, Vol. 5, p. 233). Former editor of The Indian Express, Magsaysay award winner, and ex-Disinvestment Minister of India, Arun Shourie (1941-) also quoted Swami Vivekananda as saying this in an article written on 31 January 1993 which can be read here.

According to Wikisource this is also mentioned in a letter written by Swami Vivekananda to Miss Mary Hale on 30th October, 1899 recorded in his Complete Works, Volume 8, Epistles- Fourth Series CXLV.

Well-known historian, Dr. K. S. Lal (1920-2002) has written in his book Growth of Muslim Population in India that according to his calculations, the Hindu population in India declined by 80 million from AD 1000 to AD 1525, perhaps the biggest ever holocaust in human history. This does not mean a mere 80 million killings. Some estimates put the number of Hindus killed in India as 280 million while Swami Vivekananda opined that the number was more than 400 million (Hindus reducing from 60 crores to 20 crores). The point is, many Muslims even today believe themselves as victims and deny the crimes committed by Muslims against others. For example, a shockingly large number of Muslims including well-educated, well-to-do people genuinely believe that 9/11 attacks on USA were done by Jews to make USA target Muslims, or by the USA Government itself. Same is the case with Godhra and many other cases like 26/11, where many simply deny that Islamic fanatics did these crimes and genuinely believe it.

We must quote only authentic sources to make our point clear. Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan has compiled Indian history in 11 volumes and the project was financed by the Jawaharlal Nehru Government (who no one can ever accuse of being ‘communal’). The chief editor is world- famous historian, the late R.C. Majumdar (1888-1980), who was Vice-President of the International Commission set up by UNESCO for the history of mankind and is one of the most respected historians. The Volumes on Indian history are contributed by many eminent historians, including those from the then East Pakistan (Bangladesh) and West Pakistan. To see the past, we simply quote Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan’s The History and Culture of the Indian People. It is hoped that these authentic quotes make everyone (Indian Muslims included) realize the truth of Islam’s spread and atrocities on Hindus.

The chronology that follows is incomplete but indicative-

1. 636 AD – Arabs attacked Thane, near Mumbai

2. 643 AD – Arabs invaded Debol at the mouth of the Sindh

3. 660 AD – Arabs invaded Sindh

4. 661-680 AD – Arabs sent six expeditions against Sindh

5. 661-680 AD – Arabs sent expeditions against Kabul and Zabul

6. 685 AD – The Arabs killed the king of Zabul

7. 699 AD – The Arabs ravaged Zabul

8. 712 AD – Muhammad-bin-Qasim slaughtered many Hindus, killed King Dahir and captured Sindh and gave settlement to 4000 Muslims

9. 724-738 AD – The Arabs sent several expeditions against Gujarat, Jaisalmer, Jodhpur, Broach, Malava, Vallamandal, Ujjain

10. 739 AD – The Arabs invaded Kathiawar

11. 776 AD – The Arabs sent expedition against Barda, near Porbandar

12. 948 to 963 AD – Alptigin of Ghazni plundered Punjab several times

13. 977-997 AD – Subuktigin of Ghazni plundered Punjab several times and carried immense wealth and killed many Hindus and converted many Hindus of Peshawar. Jaipal was the King at that time.

14. 998-1030 AD – Mahmud of Ghazni carried out several invasions, looted immense treasure, killed many Hindus and converted many Hindus

15. 1000 AD – Mahmud of Ghazni seized some parts near Peshawar

16. 1001 AD – Mahmud of Ghazni attacked the kingdom of Jaipal, slaughtered many Hindus, captured Jaipal and collected 250000 dinars and 25 elephants as ransom

17. 1004 AD – Mahmud of Ghazni invaded Bagi Ray’s kingdom Bhatiya, plundered Bhatiya and converted many Hindus

– Mahmud of Ghazni attacked Anandapal; in a battle near Peshawar; Anandapal was defeated

18. 1007 AD – Mahmud of Ghazni attacked Sukhapal and plundered 400000 dirhams

19. 1008 AD – Mahmud of Ghazni attacked Anandapal. 20000 Hindus were killed. Bhimnagar (=Nagarkot=Kot Kangra) was laid waste and looted its treasury which consisted of 70,000,000 royal dirhams, 700400 mands of gold and jewellery & precious stones; clothes and garments

20. 1009 AD – Mahmud of Ghazni attacked Narayanpur in Rajputana, broke many idols, killed many Hindus and took booty

21. 1010 AD – Mahmud of Ghazni attacked Multan and killed a large number of Hindus

22. 1010 AD – Anandapal had to agree to send Mahmud of Ghazni annually 50 big elephants laden with valuables and 2000 men to serve the court of Ghazni

23. 1011 AD – Mahmud of Ghazni invaded Thaneswar, plundered and broke a large number of idols

24. 1013 AD – Mahmud of Ghazni attacked Nandana, killed many Hindus, captured booty and a host of elephants

25. 1014 AD – Mahmud of Ghazni attacked Kashmir, took many Hindus as prisoners and converted many Hindus to Islam

26. 1015 AD – Mahmud of Ghazni attacked Lokhot, a hill-fort in Kashmir

27. 1018 AD – a. Mahmud of Ghazni crossed the five rivers of Punjab and crossed Yamuna on 2 December 1018. The king of Baran (Bulandshahar) surrendered and paid 1,00,000 dirhams and 30 elephants.

b. Mahmud of Ghazni attacked Mahaban in Mathura and killed nearly 5000 Hindus. The king Kulachand killed his wife first and then himself.

c. Mahmud of Ghazni plundered Mathura and captured idols of pure gold weighing 98,300 miskals. The idols of silver numbered 200. He ordered to burn all temples and the houses. Mathura was pillaged for 20 days.

d. Mahmud of Ghazni plundered Kanauj. King Rajyapal fled. The Hindus were slaughtered. Kanauj had 10,000 temples. The idols were destroyed.

e. Mahmud of Ghazni attacked and devastated Mung, near Kanpur. Many Hindus were killed and all valuables taken.

f. Mahmud of Ghazni attacked Asni, near Fatehpur. Its ruler, Chandrapal, fled. The Hindus were slaughtered.

28. 1019 AD – Mahmud of Ghazni attacked & plundered Sharva, near Saharanpur. Its ruler, Chand Rai, fled. The booty of gold, silver and pearls worth 30,00,000 dirhams and many elephants were captured. A large number of Hindus were taken as slaves and sold at Iraq’s Khurasan. In January 1019 Mahmud of Ghazni returned to Ghazni with 20,000,000 dirhams, 53,000 prisoners and 350 elephants.

29. 1020 AD – a. Mahmud of Ghazni attacked the Chandella kingdom of Vidyadhar near Yamuna. The Hindu Sahi kingdom was completely ravaged. Vidyadhar and Trilochanpal fled.

b. Mahmud of Ghazni attacked and plundered Bari, the Pratihar capital. Bari was razed to the ground.

c. Mahmud of Ghazni chased the Chandella King Vidyadhar. Vidyadhar fled. He captured a huge booty and 580 elephants.

30. 1021 AD – a. Mahmud of Ghazni attacked Qirat and Nur and forced the Hindu rulers to embrace Islam. Their temples and idols were destroyed.

b. Mahmud of Ghazni attacked Lohkot, in Kashmir.

31. 1021-22 AD – Mahmud of Ghazni again launched an attack on the Chandella Vidyadhar. He attacked Gwalior and Lakangara.

32. 1024 AD – Mahmud of Ghazni started to attack the Somnath temple. On the way, he ravaged Ludrava, Anahillapataka, Mundur, Dewalwara etc. The Chalukya king Bhim I fled.

33. 1025 AD – He reached Somnath in January 1025. More than 50000 Hindus were killed. The booty was worth 20,000,000 dirhams. The temple was razed to the ground.

34. 1027 AD – Mahmud of Ghazni attacked Jats, killed thousands of them, plundered their wealth. He died in AD 1030.

35. 1034 AD – Ahmad Niyaltigin plundered Banaras and carried away immense booty

36. 1036 AD – Mahmud’s son Masud attacked Hansi, Sonpat and the kingdom of Ram Rai.

37. 1178 AD – Muhammad Ghuri attacked Gujarat and plundered Nadol

38. 1191 AD – Battle of Tarain. Ghuri attacked Prithviraj- and was routed

39. 1192 AD – Second battle of Tarain. He again attacked Prithviraj. One lakh Hindu soldiers lost their lives. Prithviraj was killed. Temples were demolished. Ghuri left behind his fanatic general Qutubuddin Aibak to look after the affairs of India.

40. 1193 AD – The battle of Chandawar. Muhammad Ghuri killed Jayachandra; plundered Asni and Banaras.

41. 1194 AD -Qutubuddin Aibak ousted Hari Raj and captured Ajmer, demolished 27 temples

42. 1195 AD -Muhammad Ghori attacked Bayana and Gwalior

43. 1196 AD – Qutubuddin slaughtered 50,000 Rajputs and enslaved 20,000

44. 1197 AD – Qutubuddin invaded Gujarat

45. 1200 AD – Muhammad Khalji plundered Magadha; slaughtered Buddhist monks of Odantapuri Vihar

46. 1205 AD – Qutubuddin and Muizzuddin in the battle between Jhelum and Chenab killed Khokars and enslaved many others

47. 1233 AD -Iltutmish captured Bhilsa and plundered Ujjain

48. 1296 AD -Alauddin Khalji invaded Devagiri of Maharashtra

49. 1296 to 1316 AD – His discriminatory regulations ruined the Hindus

50. 1305 AD – Alauddin invaded Malava

51. 1309 AD – His general Malik Kafur invaded Warangal

52. 1310 AD – Pandya kingdom invaded- immense booty and 250 elephants were captured

53. 1325 AD – Muhammad Tughlaq ruined Kakatiya, Yadava, Hoysala and

54. 1351 AD – Pandya dynasties of the South Nagaya Gauna, Harihar, Bukka were forced to embrace Islam

55. 1361 AD -Firoz Tughlaq slaughtered nearly one lakh Hindus near the Chilka lake.

56. 1362 AD – Muhammad Shah defeated Telangana king Vinayaka Deva and killed him with barbarous cruelty

57. 1458 to 1511 AD – Mahmud Begarha held Hindus of Gujarat in thrall

58. 1467 AD – He invaded and plundered Girnar

59. 1469 AD – He attacked Junagadh and forced Mandalika to embrace Islam

60. 1482 AD – Malik Sudha killed many Hindus of Champaner

61. 1483 AD – Mahmud Begarha plundered Champaner and killed and converted Hindus

62. 1527 AD – Babur defeated Rana Sangram and killed him and Rajputs

63. 1528 AD– Babur defeated Medini Rai, killed Hindus in Chanderi

64. 1565 AD – In Talikota, alliance of 4 Muslim kings defeated Vijaynagar king Rama Raya and thousands of Hindus were killed

65. 1568 AD – The battle of Chitor: Akbar defeated the Rajputs and ordered massacre of 30,000 non-combatant Hindus

66. 1663 AD – The Bijapur Sultan plundered Tirucherapalli

67. 1665 AD – Aurangazeb imposed taxes on Hindu traders

68. 1669 AD – He ordered demolition of schools and temples of Hindus. Many temples were demolished-including Kashi, Mathura and Patan Somnath

69. 1679 AD – Aurangazeb reimposed jizyah tax on Hindus. Unable to pay this tax, many Hindus converted to Islam

70. 1704 AD – Fifth attack on Anandpur by Vazir Khan. Guru Govind Singh’s mother, brothers, followers were killed; his two sons bricked up alive in a fort wall and then beheaded because they refused to embrace Islam on 27 December 1704

71. 1708 AD – Two Pathan Muslims stabbed Guru Govind Singh- he died soon

72. 1715 AD – On Farukh-Siyar’s orders Abdur Samad Khan geared up to vanquish Sikh leader Banda. Many Sikhs were massacred

73. 1716 AD – Banda was brutally killed (Details too horrific)

74. 1739 AD – Nadir Shah of Persian entered Delhi. People of Delhi suffered terrible horrors. Their property looted, houses burnt, womenfolk raped, the men slaughtered. Three to four lakhs were killed, treasure worth 50 crores was plundered.

75. 1748 AD – Ahmad Shah Abdali’s first invasion of India

76. 1750 AD – His second invasion of India

77. 1751 AD – His third invasion of India

78. 1756 AD – His fourth invasion of India

79. 1759 AD – His fifth invasion of India

80. 1761 AD – His sixth invasion of India and the Third Battle of Panipat (on 14 Jan 1761) –in which the Hindus were crushed

81. 1764 AD – His seventh invasion of India

82. 1767 AD – His eighth invasion of India.

All these were foreigners’ attacks on India. But even after the end of the foreign Muslim rule and during the British rule there were numerous riots between Hindus and Muslims in India. In many of these riots before 1947 Hindus suffered far more than Muslims. Even Mahatma Gandhi had to acknowledge this. He is reported to have said:

“There is no doubt in my mind that in the majority of quarrels the Hindus come out second best. But my own experience confirms the opinion that the Mussalman as a rule is a bully, and the Hindu as a rule is a coward. I have noticed this in railway trains, on public roads, and in the quarrels which I had the privilege of settling. Need the Hindu blame the Mussalman for his cowardice? Where there are cowards, there will always be bullies…But I, as a Hindu, am more ashamed of Hindu cowardice than I am angry at the Mussalman bullying… “

The source quoted is “Hindu-Muslim Tension: Its Cause and Cure”, Young India, 29/5/1924; reproduced in M.K. Gandhi: The Hindu-Muslim Unity, p.35-36.

In 1921 in Malabar Moplahs committed horrible atrocities on Hindus thousands were killed and thousands converted. In 1926 Swami Shraddhananda was murdered by a man named Abdul Rashid. And in 1946, on 16 August was the Direct Action Day of the Muslim League, and this saw the great Calcutta killings. At the same time, horrible Naokhali riots were also seen.

The past is, never ever, far from the present. Hindus suffered horribly at the hands of foreigners for many centuries. This is just a brief summary. The horrid, lurid details of these events will make one’s hair stand on end.

The above post is an extract (slightly edited) from the book Gujarat Riots: The True Story by M D Deshpande.

Click here to buy the book.

References:

1. R C Majumdar : The History and Culture of Indian People; Vol. 3, p 167, p 168, p 169, p 170, p 172-73

2. R C Majumdar : The History and Culture of Indian People; Vol. 4, p 99

3. R C Majumdar : The History and Culture of Indian People; Vol. 5, p 2-5, p 5-22, p 54, p 61, p 71, p 78, p 93, p 11, p 112, p 120, p 121, p 123-124, p 188

4. R C Majumdar : The History and Culture of Indian People; Vol.6, p 15-16, p 23-25, p29, p 33-36, p 63, p 76-77, p 92-93, p 162-166, p 252

5. R C Majumdar : The History and Culture of Indian People; Vol.7, p 36-37, p 235, p 321, p 322-323, p 334, p 414-415, p 460,

6. R C Majumdar : The History and Culture of Indian People; Vol.8, p 93, p 123-125, p 127

7. R C Majumdar : The History and Culture of Indian People; Vol.11, p 360-361, p 436, p 748.

Disclaimer: The views expressed here are solely of the author. My India My Glory does not assume any responsibility for the validity or information shared in this article by the author.

Featured image courtesy: Glimpses Of History.

Related post: Nalanda: 9 Million Books Burnt in 1193 by Bakhtiyar Khilji.

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