Aram

Pardon my English.

After reading Aavarana, the question that arose in me was why the Hindus were unable to defend themselves against the Muslim onslaught and why they endured the Muslim rule for 700 years.

As Bhyrappa suggested in last Sunday's book release function (Aavaranada Avalokana), I put my question to Shri Navaratna S. Rajaram (phone: 080 - 26579985) who answered me satisfactorily.

He said, " It is not correct to say that Muslims were successful in India. Hinduism could never be completely annihilated. Muslims were successful in complete victory and subsequent total domination in countries like Egypt, Turkey, and Iran where prior to their invasion, different cultures existed. However, in India Muslims are still a minority. One of the main reasons for the Muslims' conquest and rule was the prevalent Buddhism in Bihar and Bengal. So, in these areas, Muslims could easily establish themselves. The Buddhists lacked the kshaatra teja and therefore were easily overtaken.

This premise supports my own unrelated argument that one should not be too good (like the Buddhists) and that in order to survive and remain independent we need to know how to safeguard ourselves.