Muslims -- not a "problem"

[soumitra at ix.netcom.com]

You wrote: 
>
>Gary M Tartakov <tart at iastate.edu> writes:
>
>>point I was trying to make is that those who have converted to Islam 
>>have by and large done so because it satisfied their spiritual 
>>understanding and that those who are Islamic by birth are their 
>>descendants, not some sort of foreign element in the Indian 
population
>>or people converted through some spurious desire for material or 
>>political benefits or, in particular, by force of the Muslim invaders 

>>who did so much to bring the Islamic faith into India.
>
>I'm not at all sure with how much conviction one could make the above
>point. That Indian muslims or their ancestors converted to Islam
>voluntarily because of their spiritual needs and not through coercion
>is a popular view among muslims.  I did at one stage try to read up on
>this subject to find just how true it could be and I couldn't find any
>evidence to back this claim up.  On the other hand I did find several
>instances of forced conversion in the literature.  Note for example,
>even the persecution and massacre of "New muslims" (recent converts)
>by Mohammed Thuglaq because of his suspicion that they were feigning
>faith. This is documented by Ibn Bhatua, for example.
>
>Given a choice between torture and conversion, I doubt if many among
>us would choose the former.  We may even do so superficially, while
>retaining our deepest beliefs.  However, our children who grow up in
>this new faith will adopt it as their basic belief, a fact that is
>cunningly employed by missionary rulers.  This seems a much more
>plausible (to me) explanation of what could have happened.
>
>- &
>-- 
>Anand Venkt Raman                 Ph: +64-6-350-4186, 355-0062 (a/h)
>Dept of Computer Science          Fx: +64-6-350-5611
>http://fims-www.massey.ac.nz/~ARaman
> 
>
How I wish the world could be so easy , straight forward and 
one-dimensional....
Let me start with a often-occurring experience here in America . Many 
Americans ask me , how do you say that in Indian , how do you do that 
in Indian , How do you dress in Indian , so on and so forth . It took 
me time ans still takes me time to say THERE IS NOTHING UNIFIED CALLED 
INDIAN, NO PERSON CAN EVER SAY AND VOUCH ONE QUALITY ,GOOD BAD OR UGLY 
, CALLED INDIAN...
The story of conversion is not the same too throughout India. 

First of all if I am forced to take upon a religion I would carru out 
my rituals and worships in private and I would make sure that the kids 
hate the imposed religion , this has happened throughout the history , 
The African Catholics still carry on worshipping their own god .The 
Santhals after all going to their DIKU God still have the most porpular 
MARANGBURU worship and the festival . No one can stop them now 
Marangburu is being worshipped in the churches of Jharrkhand and 
extended Jharkhand.

I can site at least the example of BENGAL as a second point of 
opposition. BENGAL was alomst all Baudha before the Sen kingdom They 
came from KArnataka and then brought forth five Brahmins (who 
subsequently becase of this were ostracised by the Aryabarta, and five 
Kshatriyas from KAnauj-they subsequently were referred to as Rari KUlin 
BRAHmins and Kulin Kyasthas) they were given all the official power and 
the power to rule by their code -of-conduct .Budhhist influences were 
systematically curbed and destroyed by the Sens . All the local 
populace were put under occupation army and their rule , which 
obviously was torture .These populace were never getting any solace and 
succour from any other forces as there were no other state having 
buddhism as the state religion or the necessary force .After the Lakhan 
SEn's regime the Sen regime was kicked out by the pathans who were 
actually trying to gain a new area somehwat outside the Delhi influence 
.The local populace en-masse joined the muslim ranks to get rid off the 
rules of the serf-holders who were all progenies of the upper castes 
(still now in BEngal all the better-posts in everycase is being taken 
over by these progenies-I happen to be one of them).Thus we have the 
biggest muslim population in the South East Asia in one language .There 
is another class of people who converted themselves , they were the 
employees of the nwwabdom , these fair-skinned people were also from 
the North India originally and they due to their obsequiosity made 
themselves Muslims , these are the Sayids,Khondokars,KAjis and other 
higher "caste" Ashraf Muslims . Till long they used to converse in Urdu 
and Farsi at their homes , now they are all bengalees . This is in 
short the history of conversion (vide Haraporsad Sashtri and Nihar 
ranjan Roy) . Applying force cannot account for a majority of populace 
converting itself to Islam, after Murshidkuli khan came to power there 
is no proof of any forced conversion before 1947 East Pakisan . So the 
years of so-called Muslim rule in BEngal was much shorter and among 
thaose some deliberately wanted Hidnu Bhakti movement to flourish for 
simple political considerations of distancing themselves from the Delhi 
influence ..So let's us go deep itno details ....