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Hindu Kush History
22nd Nov 1998 rsharma4 @ix.netcom.com
before dismissing this as merely a politically -charged ranting of rss
propaganda, please read this. you may learn something... it is quite
interesting and informative...
This is a major update to the article on the Hindu Kush.
All the Encyclopedias and National Geographic agree that Hindu Kush
region is a place of Hindu genocide (similar to Dakau and Auschwitz). All
the references are given. Please feel free to verify them.
HINDU KUSH MEANS HINDU SLAUGHTER
ABSTRACT
All Standard reference books agree that the name 'Hindu Kush'
of the mountain range in Eastern Afganistan means 'Hindu Slaughter'
or 'Hindu Killer'. History also reveals that until 1000 A.D. the
area of Hindu Kush was a full part of Hindu cradle. More likely, the
mountain range was deliberately named as 'Hindu Slaughter' by the
Moslem conquerors, as a lesson to the future generations of Indians.
However Indians in general, and Hindus in particular are completely
oblivious to this tragic genocide. This article also looks into the
reasons behind this ignorance.
21 References - (Mainly Encyclopedia Britannica & other reference books,
National Geographic Magazines and standard history books)
INTRODUCTION
The Hindu Kush is a mountain system nearly 1000 miles long and 200
miles wide, running northeast to southwest, and dividing the Amu Darya
River Valley and Indus River Valley. It stretches from the Pamir Plateau
near Gilgit, to Iran. The Hindu Kush ranges mainly run thru Afganistan and
Pakistan. It has over two dozen summits of more than 23,000 ft in height.
Below the snowy peaks the mountains of Hindu Kush appear bare, stony and
poor in vegetation. Historically, the passes across the Hindu Kush have
been of great military significance, providing access to the northern
plains of India. The Khyber Pass constitutes an important strategic
gateway and offers a comparatively easy route to the plains of Punjab.
Most foreign invaders, starting from Alexander the Great in 327 BC, to
Timur Lane in 1398 AD, and from Mahmud of Ghazni, in 1001 AD, to Nader
Shah in 1739 AD attacked Hindustan via the Khyber Pass and other passes in
the Hindu Kush (1,2,3). The Greek chroniclers of Alexander the Great
called Hindu Kush as Parapamisos or Paropanisos (4). The Hindu name of the
Hindu Kush mountains was 'Paariyaatra Parvat'(5).
EARLY HISTORY OF HINDU KUSH REGION (UP TO 1000 AD)
History of Hindu Kush and Punjab shows that two major kingdoms of
Gandhaar & Vaahic Pradesh (Balkh of Bactria) had their borders extending
far beyond the Hindu Kush. Legend has it that the kingdom of Gandhaar was
established by Taksha, grandson of Bharat of Ayodhya (6). Gandhaar's
borders extended from Takshashila to Tashkent (corruption of 'Taksha
Khand') in the present day Uzbekistan. In the later period, Mahabharat
relates Gaandhaari as a princess of Gandhaar and her brother, Shakuni as a
prince and later as Gandhaar's ruler.
In the well documented history, Emperor Chandragupt Maurya took
charge of Vaahic Pradesh around 325 BC and then took over Magadh.
Emperor Ashok's stone tablets with inscriptions in Greek and Aramaic
are still found at Qandahar (corruption of Gandhaar?) and Laghman in
eastern Afganistan(3). One such stone tablet, is shown in the PBS TV
series 'Legacy with Mark Woods' in episode 3 titled 'India: The
Spiritual Empire'. After the fall of Mauryan empire, Gandhaar was
ruled by Greeks. However some of these Greek rulers had converted to
Buddhism, such as Menander, known to Indian historians as Milinda, while
some other Greeks became followers of Vishnav sects (Hinduism)(7). Recent
excavations in Bactria have revealed a golden hoard which has among other
things a figurine of a Greek goddess with a Hindu mark on its forehead
(Bindi) showing the confluence of Hindu-Greek art (8). Later Shaka and
KushaaN ruled Gandhaar and Vaahic Pradesh. KushaaN emperor Kanishka's
empire stretched from Mathura to the Aral Sea (beyond the present day
Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Krygzystan)(9). Kanishaka was a Buddhist and
under KushaaN influence Buddhism flourished in Gandhaar. Two giant
sandstone Buddhas carved into the cliffs of Bamian (west of Kabul) date
from the Kushan period. The larger Buddha (although defaced in later
centuries by Moslem invaders) is about 175 ft tall (10,11). The Kushan
empire declined by 450 AD. The Chinese traveller Hsuan-Tsang (Xuan-zang)
travelled thru the region in 7 th century AD and visited many Buddhist
religious centers (3) including Hadda, Ghazni, Qonduz, Bamian (3,10,11),
Shotorak and Bagram. From the 5 th thru 9 th cenury AD Persian Sasanians
and Hepthalites ruled Gandhaar. During their rule Gandhaar region was
again influenced by Hinduism. The Hindu kings (Shahiya) were concentrated
in the Kabul and Ghazni areas. The last Hindu Shahiya king of Kabul,
Bhimapal was killed in 1026 AD. The heroic efforts of the Hindu Shahiya
Kings to defend the northwestern gates of India against the invaders are
described by even al-Biruni, the court historian of Mahmud of Ghazni (12).
Some excavated sites of the period include a major Hindu Shahiya temple
north of Kabul and a chapel that contains both Buddhist and Hindu images,
indicating that there was a mingling of two religions (3).
Islamic invasions on Afganistan started in 642 AD, but over the
next several centuries their effect was marginal and lasted only a
short time after each raid. Cities surrendered only to rise in revolt and
the hastily converted returned to their old religion (Hinduism or
Buddhism) once the Moslem armies had passed (3).
THUS TILL THE YEAR 1000 AD AFGANISTAN WAS A FULL PART OF HINDU CRADLE.
HINDU KUSH AND THE HINDU GENOCIDE
Now Afganistan is a Moslem country. Logically, this means either one
or more of the following must have happened:
a) original residents of Hindu Kush converted to Islam, or
b) they were slaughtered and the conquerors took over, or
c) they were driven out.
Encyclopedia Britannica (3) already informs us above about the
resistance to conversion and frequent revolt against to the Moslem
conqueror's rule from 8 th thru 11 th Century AD. The name 'Hindu Kush'
itself tells us about the fate of the original residents of Gandhaar and
Vaahic Pradesh during the later period of Moslem conquests, because HINDU
KUSH in Persian MEANS HINDU SLAUGHTER (13) (as per Koenraad Elst in his
book 'Ayodhya and After'). Let us look into what other standard references
say about Hindu Kush.
Persian-English dictionary (14) indicates that the word 'Kush'
is derived from the verb Kushtar - to slaughter or carnage. Kush is
probably also related to the verb Koshtan meaning to kill. In Urdu, the
word Khud-kushi means act of killing oneself (khud - self, Kushi- act of
killing). Encyclopedia Americana comments on the Hindu Kush as follows:
The name Hindu Kush means literally 'Kills the Hindu', a reminder of the
days when (Hindu) SLAVES from Indian subcontinent died in harsh Afgan
mountains while being transported to Moslem courts of Central Asia (15).
The National Geographic Article 'West of Khyber Pass' informs that
'Generations of raiders brought captive Hindus past these peaks of
perpetual snow. Such bitter journeys gave the range its name Hindu Kush -
"Killer of Hindus"'(10). The World Book Encyclopedia informs that the name
Kush, .. means Death ..(16). While Encyclopedia Britannica says 'The name
Hindu Kush first appears in 1333 AD in the writings of Ibn Battutah, the
medieval Berber traveller, who said the name meant 'Hindu Killer', a
meaning still given by Afgan mountain dwellers who are traditional enemies
of Indian plainsmen (i.e. Hindus)(2). However, later the Encyclopedia
Britannica gives a negationist twist by adding that 'more likely the name
is a corruption of Hindu-Koh meaning Hindu mountains'. This is unlikely,
since the term Koh is used in its proper, uncorrupted form for the western
portion of Hindu Kush, viz. Koh-i-Baba, for the region Swat Kohistan, and
in the names of the three peaks of this range, viz. Koh-i-Langer,
Koh-i-Bandakor, and Koh-i-Mondi. Thus to say that corruption of term Koh
to Kush occurred only in case of Hindu Kush is merely an effort to fit in
a deviant observation to a theory already proposed. In science, a theory
is rejected if it does not agree with the observations, and not the other
way around. Hence the latter negationist statement in the Encyclopedia
Britannica must be rejected.
IT IS SIGNIFICANT THAT ONE OF THE FEW PLACE NAMES ON EARTH THAT
REMINDS US NOT OF THE VICTORY OF THE WINNERS BUT RATHER THE SLAUGHTER OF
THE LOSERS, CONCERNS A GENOCIDE OF HINDUS BY THE MOSLEMS (13).
Unlike the Jewish holocaust, the exact toll of the Hindu genocide
suggested by the name Hindu Kush is not available. However the number is
easily likely to be in millions. Few known historical figures can be used
to justify this estimate. Encyclopedia Britannica informs that in December
1398 AD, Timur Lane ordered the execution of at least 50,000 captives
before the battle for Delhi, .. and after the battle those inhabitants (of
Delhi) not killed were removed (as slaves) (17), while other reference
says that the number of captives butchered by Timur Lane's army was about
100,000 (18). Later on Encyclopedia Britannica mentions that the
(secular?) Mughal emperor Akbar 'ordered the massacre of about 30,000
(captured) Rajput Hindus on February 24, 1568 AD, after the battle for
Chitod' (19). Another reference indicates that this massacre of 30,000
Hindu peasants at Chitod is recorded by Abul Fazl, Akbar's court historian
himself (20). These two 'one day' massacres are sufficient to provide a
reference point for estimating the scale of Hindu genocide. The Afgan
historian Khondamir records that during one of the many repeated invasions
on the city of Herat in western Afganistan, 1,500,000 residents perished
(11).
Since some of the Moslem conquerors took Indian plainsmen as
slaves, a question comes : whatever happened to this slave population? The
startling answer comes from New York Times (May-June 1993 issues). The
Gypsies are wandering peoples in Europe. They have been persecuted in
almost every country. Nazis killed 300,000 gypsies in the gas chambers.
These Gypsies have been wandering around Central Asia and Europe since
around the 12 th Century AD. Until now their country of origin could not
be identified. Also their Language has had very little in common with the
other European languages. Recent studies however show that their language
is similar to Punjabi and to a lesser degree to Sanskrit. Thus the Gypsies
most likely originated from the greater Punjab. The time frame of Gypsy
wanderings also coincides early Islamic conquests hence most likely their
ancestors were driven out of their homes in Punjab and taken as slaves
over the Hindu Kush.
The theory of Gypsie origins in India was first proposed over
two centuries ago. It is only recently theta linguistic and other
proofs have been verified. Even the Gypsie leadership now accepts
India as the country of their origin.
Thus it is evident that the mountain range was named as Hindu
Kush as a reminder to the future Hindu generations of the slaughter
and slavery of Hindus during the Moslem conquests.
DELIBERATE IGNORANCE ABOUT HINDU KUSH
If the name Hindu Kush relates such a horrible genocide of Hindus,
why are Hindus ignorant about it? and why the Government of India does not
teach them about Hindu Kush? The history and geography curriculums in
Indian Schools barely even mention Hindu Kush. The horrors of the Jewish
holocaust are taught not only in schools in Israel and USA, but also in
Germany. Because both Germany and Israel consider the Jewish holocaust a
'dark chapter' in the history. The Indian Government instead of giving
details of this 'dark chapter' in Indian history is busy in whitewash of
Moslem atrocities and the Hindu holocaust. In 1982, the National Council
of Educational Research and Training issued a directive for the rewriting
of school texts. Among other things it stipulated that: 'Characterization
of the medieval period as a time of conflict between Hindus and Moslems is
forbidden'. Thus denial of history or Negationism has become India's
official 'educational' policy (21).
Often the official governmental historians brush aside questions
such as those that Hindu Kush raises. They argue that the British
version is the product of their 'divide and rule' policy' hence their
version is not necessarily true. However it must be remembered that the
earliest reference of the name Hindu Kush and its literal meaning 'Hindu
Killer' comes from Ibn Battutah in 1333 AD, and at that time British were
nowhere on the Indian scene. Secondly, if the name indeed was a misnomer
then the Afgans should have protested against such a barbaric name and the
last 660 plus years should have been adequate for a change of name to a
more 'civil' name. There has been no effort for such a change of name by
the Afgans. On the contrary, when the Islamic fundamentalist regime of the
Mujahadeens came to power in 1992, tens of thousands of Hindus and Sikhs
from Kabul, became refugees, and had to pay steep ransom to enter into
Pakistan without a visa.
In the last 46 years the Indian Government also has not even
once demanded that the Afgan Government change such an insulting and
barbaric name. But in July 1993, the Government of India asked the
visiting Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra to change its name because the
word Jerusalem in its name is offensive to Moslem Fundamentalists.
CONCLUSION
It is evident that Hindus from ancient India's (Hindustan's)
border states such as Gandhaar and Vaahic Pradesh were massacred or
taken as slaves by the Moslem invaders who named the region as Hindu
Kush (or Hindu Slaughter,or Hindu Killer) to teach a lesson to the
future Hindu generations of India. Unfortunately Hindus are not aware of
this tragic history. The Indian government does not want the true history
of Hindu Moslem conflicts during the medieval ages to be taught in
schools. This policy of negationism is the cause behind the ignorance of
Hindus about the Hindu Kush and the Hindu genocide.
COMMENTS & FUTURE WORK
Although in this article Hindu Kush has been referred to as
Hindu slaughter, it is quite possible that it was really a Hindu and
Buddhist slaughter. Since prior to Moslem invasions influence of
Buddhism in Gandhaar and Vaahic Pradesh was considerable. Also as the huge
175 ft stone Buddhas of Bamian show, Buddhists were idol worshipers par
excellence. Hence for Moslem invaders the Buddhists idol worshipers were
equally deserving of punishment. It is also likely that Buddhism was
considered an integral part of the Hindu pantheon and hence was not
identified separately.
This article barely scratches the surface of the Hindu genocide, the
true depth of which is as yet unknown. Readers are encouraged to find out
the truth for themselves . Only when many readers search for the truth,
the real magnitude of the Hindu genocide will be discovered.
REFREENCES
1. Encyclopedia Britannica, 15 th Ed, Vol.5, p.935, 1987
2. Encyclopedia Britannica, 15 th Ed, Vol.14, pp.238-240, 1987
3. Encyclopedia Britannica, 15 th Ed, Vol.13, pp.35-36, 1987
4. The Invasion of India by Alexander the Great (as described by
Arrian, Q.Curtius, Diodoros, Plutarch & Justin), By J.W.McCrindle,
Methuen & Co., London, p.38, 1969
5. Six Glorious Epochs of Indian History, by Veer Savarkar, Savarkar
Prakashan, Bombay, 2nd Ed, p.206, 1985
6. Chanakya - a TV series by Doordarshan, India
7. Encyclopedia Britannica, 15 th Ed, Vol.21, pp.36-41, 1987
8. V.Sarianidi, National Geographic Magazine, Vol.177, No.3, p.57,
March 1990
9. Hammond Historical Atlas of the World, pp. H4 & H10, 1993
10. W.O.Douglas, National Geographic Magazine, vol.114, No.1,
pp.13-23, July 1958
11. T.J.Abercrombie, National Geographic Magazine, Vol.134, No.3,
pp.318-325, Sept.1968
12. An Advanced History of India, by R.C.Majumdar, H.C.Raychaudhuri,
K.Datta, 2nd Ed., MacMillan and Co, London, pp.182-83, 1965
13. Ayodhya and After, By Koenraad Elst, Voice of India Publication,
p.278, 1991
14. A Practical Dictionary of the Persian Language, by J.A.Boyle,
Luzac & Co., p.129, 1949
15. Encyclopedia Americana, Vol.14, p.206, 1993
16. The World Book Encyclopedia, Vol.19, p.237, 1990
17. Encyclopedia Britannica, 15 th Ed, Vol.21, pp. 54-55, 1987
18. An Advanced History of India, by R.C.Majumdar, H.C.Raychaudhuri,
K.Datta, 2nd Ed., MacMillan and Co, London, pp.336-37, 1965
19. Encyclopedia Britannica, 15 th Ed, Vol.21, p.65, 1987
20. The Cambridge History of India, Vol.IV - The Mughul Period,
by W.Haig & R.Burn, S.Chand & Co., New Delhi, pp. 98-99, 1963
21. Negationism in India, by Koenraad Elst, Voice of India Publ,
2nd Ed, pp.57-58, 1993
23rd Nov 1998
Vani Murarka @manaskriti.com
