Buddhists and others, wasRe: RAJARAM EPISODE

[P. Anand]

Samar Abbas <abbas at IOPB.RES.IN> wrote:
>To:INDOLOGY at LISTSERV.LIV.AC.UK
>Date:Mon, 2 Oct 2000 12:25:06 +0530
><Subject: Re: RAJARAM EPISODE



 Just because a book says something does not make it
 true. You may even find books arguing for a flat-earth
 or alien-abduction.

   Suggesting that a book praised at an avowed
 anti-Hindu site is exhaustive and more believable
 without any strong evidence
 may be indicative of an anti-Hindu world-view.

   Since you suggest that Muslims' interaction with
 Buddhists in India would have been better than with
 "bad" Hindus, here is what three authors have to day
 about Muslim-Buddhist interaction in India:

   1) Bhikshu Sangharakshita in the chapter "Buddhism", in
      the book "A Cultural History of India", ed. A. L.
      Basham, page 99.

    "When these centres - Nalanda, Vikramasila,
     Odantapuri, and others - were destroyed by the fury of
     the Muslim invader, and the native kings who might have
     sponsored their restoration were replaced by rulers with
     an uncompromising and alien faith, Buddhism quietly
     disappeared."

  2) Romila Thapar, "A History of India", page 263-264.

     "The coming of Islam was the final blow. Buddhism and
     Islam, both being institutionalized, proselytizing
     religions, attracted the same potential following.
     This led to a strong antagonism between the two
     and the attacks on the monasteries resulted in an
     exodus of Buddhists from eastern India to south-east i
     Asia. Islam found its largest following in previously
     Buddhist areas of India, the north-west and the east."

  3) A. L. Basham, "The Wonder That Was India", page 266.

     "In the first rush of the Muslim advance down the Ganges
      Nalanda and other great monasteries of Bihar were sacked,
      libraries were burnt, and monks were put to the sword.
      The survivors fled to the mountains of Nepal and
      Tibet, and Buddhism in India was dead."


    The page nos are from the copies of the books that I have.
  Some editions may have different page numbers.


 :- Pankaj

> On 2 Oct 2000, nanda chandran wrote:"Without ... brahmins ...it is
> > doubtful whether [ Buddhism & Jainism ] would have survived,developed
> > and matured into the force that they are today.
>
>  The Rajaram episode has once again brought forth the much-discussed topic
> of Hindu-Buddhist conflict. However, all dispute on this topic can now
> be put to rest, with the most detailed book ever devoted to this question
> having been published : -
>
>    `Decline and Fall of Buddhism' by Dr. K. Jamanadas,

>     http://dalitstan.org/books/decline/
>
>  It seems the fall of Buddhism led to virtually all problems of modern
> India (quotations from the book):
>
>   FALL OF SCIENCE: " Science was on zenith in Buddhist India and ...
>   Brahmins purposefully caused its fall to uphold their own supremacy
>   after the fall of Buddhism."
>
> Thus, illiteracy, poverty and decline of science resulted from the fall of
> Buddhism.
>
>   LANGUAGE PROBLEM: "After the fall of Buddhism, Brahmanism not only
>   divided the people into numerous castes ... but also divided the whole
>   country into small segments ...on the basis of language."
> The present situation of conflict between states on the basis of language
> and consequently secessionism, is hence also due to fall of Buddhism.
>
>   FOREIGN INVASIONS: "the assimilation of foreigners into Indian
>   society took place not because of Brahmanism but because of the tenets
>   of Buddhism which preached equality, liberty and brotherhood"
>
> This explains why assimilation did not take place after the 8th century.
> So Portuguese and Muslims were not assimilated.
>
>   HINDU-MUSLIM CONFLICT: "Hindu Muslim Conflict would not have been
>   there if Buddhism was alive at the time of Muslim invasion."
>
> Because Muslims would have been assimilated if Buddhism existed.
>
>   NON-ASSIMILATION OF MUSLIMS: "because of the decline of Buddhism
>   in India after the tenth century A. D., the mass of early medieval
>   early Islamic followers in India could not be assimilated and digested
>   by Indian Society."
>
> This is a suitable explanation for why the Parthains, Sakas, etc. were
> assimilated but not the Muslims.
>
>   FOREIGN INVASIONS:
>   "The north-western region of India was the gateway of all invaders and
>   here it was that the Brahmans had one of their most important
>   strongholds for many centuries, holding constant communication with
>   foreigners such as the Greeks, the Turks, the Scythians, the Chinese and
>   the Huns."  [  http://dalitstan.org/books/decline/decline03.html ]
>
> This is the reason why so many waves of outsiders continued to invade
> India.
>
>   STATUS OF WOMEN: The status of women was high in the Buddhist age, but
> decline along with Buddhism until finally, Sati, Dowry, etc. were
> assimilated but not the Muslims.
>
>   FOREIGN INVASIONS:
>   "The north-western region of India was the gateway of all invaders and
>   here it was that the Brahmans had one of their most important
>   strongholds for many centuries, holding constant communication with
>   foreigners such as the Greeks, the Turks, the Scythians, the Chinese and
>   the Huns."  [  http://dalitstan.org/books/decline/decline03.html ]
>
> This is the reason why so many waves of outsiders continued to invade
> India.
>
>   STATUS OF WOMEN: The status of women was high in the Buddhist age, but
> decline along with Buddhism until finally, Sati, Dowry, etc. were
> re-introduced.
>
>   KULINISM: "How this was created to increase the population
>   who would be willing to accept the supremacy of Brahmins."
>
> Likewise, Devadasism, Dowry, Sati, Sambandhamm Kashmir etc. are discussed
> in great detail, and shown to be the result of the fall of Buddhism.
> Virtually all civilization of ancient North India (barring the indigenous
> Dravidian cultures of the South) was apparently the creation of Buddhists.
>
> Samar
>


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