As the first Mughal, Babur's hold on India was
tenuous and he actively sought alliances with Hindu rulers of small
states against the pathans whose sultan he had just defeated. That
affinity continued during the entirety of Mughal rule and one
manifestation was frequent intermarriage with Rajputs.
Several emperors had Hindu mothers including Shah Jahan the builder of
the Taj Mahal. In the end, Babur's fears were
warranted because Sher Shah Suri did marshal those pathan forces and
throw out his son Humayun, the second Mughal ruler. It was only Sher
Shah's untimely death during the capture of Kalinjar (a Hindu fort then held by Raja Kirat Singh) that made Humayun's return possible.
The
destruction of the mosque was a historical wrong if ever there was one,
but then Mr. Modi has never been bothered by history. He is also not
bothered that his party's fairy-tale revision of school history books
is a scandal. For similar reasons, Indian history on Wikipedia is too
frequently tarnished, requiring verification from other sources to be
properly informed.
The
wrongs of communities, just as the wrongs of war, can lead to
repercussions unanticipated and cataclysmic. Yugoslavia is an example
in living memory. Clearly, any ruler of a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural
country contemplating a path of communal dominance must take note
before he is hoisted with his own petard.
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