Don't distort the history (Mughal History)

Taj Mahal

If lie becomes the routine of a mass media, and its audience also starts doing blind believe on the productions of it, then no one can stop to the destruction of that poor nation. It has been found that on the mass media of the Pakistan, there are people who just try to degrade the Muslims’ heritage and in this regard they try their best to prove that the rulers of the sub-continent had been cruel, uneducated and uncivilized. Though there had been Hindu, Sikh and other rulers as well on the sub-continent but their angriness falls only on the Muslim rulers, especially on the Aurang zeib Alamgeer. He has been recorded as the most virtue, justice-providing kind Mughal-Emperor. If we want to exemplify the condition of those so called media intellectuals who are ashamed on their heritage and who are enjoying good seats in the mainstream, then the example comes in mind is; A guy who get settles in the city by the sacrifices of his poor villager parents. Once old parents visit him on some occasion but he tries to hide them from the friends. But when he fails in it, he introduces them, as “the servants from his village, came to ask some favor and will stay for a few days with him”.

Mosaic Art

Since some days, a so called public service message is being run by a big news channel of the Pakistani mainstream media. In the ad, history has been distorted towards the interest of the people mentioned above and the makers have shown that; when Europe was building Universities, research and thinking centers at there, the Mughal Emperors were busy in making Shalamaar Bagh and Taj Mahal here. We will discuss the historical evidences from the next paragraph but here a point to think is; how such wonders were possible to build without education, which are the samples of great architecture in themselves. If we get little deep, we will find that such architectures were impossible without the great command on at-least two social aspects; the experty in the science of architecture and the strong economic and financial conditions of the state. The available description of Taj mahal, Sheesh mahal, maqbra-e-Hamayun, Deewan-e-haas and shalamaar baag tells that the constructors of the buildings were touching the best knowledge of the geometry at the age. All the four minarets of the Taj Mahal were constructed ½ inch outward bowed so that the earth quake can’t cause the minarets to fall on the domes. An uneducated layman can’t lay the bricks in such pattern because there is science of mathematics at there. The Taj Mahal is standing at a 90 feet base in which 30 feet is sand.  This sand is to protect from the earth quake, so that the construction can stay at its position if shock shakes the building. All this need is the education of geometry and mathematics at there. The tiles are mosaic art, in which small colorful tiles were used to make the pictures and designs on the walls. This art can be seen in the 1KM long wall of Shahi Killa Lahore and Masjid Wazir Khan. The colors and making of that long lasting material needs deep knowledge of the chemistry which we are studying now a days in the contemporary universities. Same situation has been found in the fresco painting, the colors of which are still same as they had been 400 years ago. All the Mughal age constructions has been found with a special underground water supply and sewerage systems. The pipes of them were made with special clay that they are still in their real working conditions even after 400 years. The clay making technique was known as tera kotta. If we collect all the knowledge of construction in Mughal era and try to make a curriculum according to our current education system, we will find that a single construction will require numbers of PhDs in them. Now the simple Question is; Does all this possible in that Sub-continent, in which the illiteracy was at its peak and whose rulers were education-haters?? NO IT IS NOT!!!

By coming to the historical evidences about my points of the Mughal age, I will code only the western historians, because might be the ad-makers and their ideological fellows don’t like the locals/Muslim’s references. Will Dewrant is famous historian and philosopher of the west, he writes in his famous book (The Story of Civilization) about the Sub-continent that; “Every village was having school teachers, which were being paid by the Government. There were eighty thousand (80,000) schools in the Bangal only, much before the British came here. There was one school for every 400 people and the subjects in the schools were; Grammar, Arts and Crafts, Medicine, philosophy and Logic”. He codes in his another book (A Case for India) that; “Only in Madraas there were 1,25,000 centers where the education of medicine was being taught and free health facilities were available”. Major M.D. Basu wrote bundle of books on British rule and the Hindustaan of the Mughal era. He also codes by Max Mollar that; “There were 80,000 Madrisaas in Banghal only, before the British occupied India”. A tourist Alexander Hamilton came in India in the time of Aurang Zeib Alamgeer, and he codes; “There were 400 colleges of Arts in Thatta only”. Once major Basu writes; “The Education of science, philosophy, medicine etc. of a common Indian in the Mughal age was more than the elites, rulers and even than the Queen of the Great Britain. The report of the James Grant is memorable worthy in which he says; “The donations of the personal properties, for the educational institutes was introduced by the Muslims in the world”. “In 1857, when British occupied whole India, in a small district of Rohail Khand five thousand (5000) teachers were getting pays by the Government treasury”. All the above discussed areas were so far from the Delhi, Karachi, Lahore, Mumbai and Agra like big cities but the facilities for the education were so enriched. British and Hindu historians are agreed upon that the education was at its peak in the era of Aurang zeib Alamgeer. He used to pay equal salary to all the teachers without any discrimination, based upon the religion. Though it has been recorded that the secular Akbar practiced unequal salary distribution for the teachers in his rule. It was Aurang Zeib who donated the land to all the worship places (temples, churches, mosques etc.) and fixed the scholarships/salary for the priests and co-workers from the government treasury. There were three famous Hindu historians at Aurang Zeib’s time; Sajaan Roy Khatrri, Bheem Seen and Eishwar Daas, they all coded in their books Khulasat-ul-tawareeh, nus-ha dilkasha and fatoohat-e-Aalam Geeri respectively that; it was Alam Geer who 1^st time in the Indian history introduced regular medicine curriculum and added the books Tib-e-nabvi, tib-e-akbar, mafrh-al-qaloob, tareef-ul-amraaz and Mujurbaat-e-akbari in the courses of the medical colleges. All these books are almost equal to the current MBBS courses in the modern medical colleges. Hundreds of years back from the Aunrang Zaib Alamgeer, Feroz Shah built a hospital in Delhi named “Daar-ul-Shiffa”. Alamgir introduced another book later named; Tib-e-Feroz Shahi which also became the part of medical studies in the time. It has also been recorded that there were 100 hospitals in Delhi at the time of Alamgeer.

I can code thousands of such evidences from the history but the space is not allowing me to do it. All the researchers can visit Lahore Anar kali tomb and can see the census report of 1911 regarding the literacy rate of all the districts in Mughal period. It was 80% or more than that in all the districts and was more than anywhere on the earth at that time. But when Britain left India the literacy rate was just 10% here. The Banghal was conquered in 1757 and in next 34 years all the schools and colleges were turned into rubble. Then Lord Cornivolas opened 1^st separate religious school in 1781 and paved the way for new destruction in the India. Before of that in sub-continent there was no division in the religious or any other scientific school. In a single institute (Madrassa) there was education of Quran, Philosophy and of science at there.

Hmayun's Tomb

These are the votes of history but if the ad makers want to spread the lie then who can stop them? Abu-Jahal’s name was Umru Bin Hasham, he was very intelligent and educated that the people of Makkah used to call him; “Abu-Al-Hikam” means the father of wisdom. But Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said; he is not the Father of Wisdom but he is the Father of ignorance, “Abu-Jahal”. Modern age also have many of such Abu-Jahal around us.

Translation of: Orya Maqbool’s column.