WE LET INVADERS INVADE US !

I have always believed that the spirit of one’s home cant be compromised until a member of the house is either directly or indirectly associated with the compromise.

Take an extramarital affair. It has to be the dissatisfied party who brings the 3rd entity into the troubled relationship. In my home state, a practice that is still prevalent is to invite the local political party workers from the local club to sort out domestic issues. Damn!

In between two conflicting neighboring nations, a bigger nation from nowhere comes in to mediate on the request of one of the nations and establishes military camps in the region while pretending to drive some peace treaty. Instead, they dig out resources and control domestic politics and policies.

So when we say that our nation has been plundered and looted by invaders, I don’t deny the invasions and plunders. I don’t deny that our history and culture have been carefully destroyed. I don’t deny that we need to relook at our history.

But first, I have one question. How on earth did these invaders come in? You try entering my home without consent - either you die or I die. There’s no compromise there!

Ok, first, I’m no historian and a school dropout who picked up some conventional education later to realize that I was not wrong when I walked off from school. It’s your choice to consider or not to consider the points I’m laying out. I am sharing my personal observations only.

1. Alexander, the Macedonian, killed his family members and crushed any opposition that came his way to conquering the world. Did I forget that the guy thought he was some kind of God?

And while he and his army were marching toward India, the subcontinent was divided into smaller kingdoms that were conflicting with each other. Chanakya, a Professor at Takshila University, was aware of the danger.

And more than that he knew that King Ambhi was helping Alexander to invade the sub-continent. Possibly, Alexander couldn't have come so far without the help of King Ambhi?

Chanakya not only established the first Muryan Emperor but also got the conflicting kingdoms to come together to fight the invaders. Macedonian literature talks of how Alexander defeated Porus and gave him back his kingdom making the former look benevolent, kind yet powerful.

The truth that is emerging nowadays is that Porus or Purushottam crushed the Macedonian army with his battle elephants. He trapped Alexander to cross the Jhelum, surrounded him, and crushed the invaders. Puru lost his son in the battle. The Not-So-Great Alexander had to run away, as I understand…….but died before he could reach home! Malaria? Injury?

Alexenders’s beloved horse, Bucephalu as ancient accounts state died after the Battle of the Hydaspes / Jhelum in 326 BC, in what is now the modern Punjab Province of Pakistan, and is buried in Jalalpur Sharif outside of Jhelum, Punjab, Pakistan.

2. If someone tells me that Mr. Babur and his army with muskets attacked without the help of locals, it will fail my personal logic. How can a small piece of army come and conquer a land as large as our sub-continent?

We were never collected together as a single nation. We were only conflicting with each other to maintain the respective sovereignty of each kingdom. And whenever we felt weak against a possible threat, we quickly made friends with invaders to save our own ass …..!

Mughal Emperor called Jahangir who was, in any case, ruling a land that was not fundamentally his, allowed a third party i.e. Brit traders to come in and trade against a small amount of tax.

The British landed on the Indian Subcontinent at the port of Surat on August 24, 1608 AD for the purpose of trade, but after 7 years British got royal Farman to establish a factory at Surat under the leadership of Sir Thomas Roe (Ambassador of James I).

It’s like a rogue intruder who cares two hoots to sublet a property that is not his. This let the English set their foot on the subcontinent.

But the crucial yet simple point is, how could these traders spread across without the collaboration and connivance of locals; and gradually take over the mental freedom of the people of the sub-continent?

3. 1857 - Sepoy Mutiny began to fail as our own skin was fighting against each other. Every musket that was fired had the finger of a local working with the East India Company

4 Jalianwlala Bagh - A large group of innocent people that comprised children, old, and women were brutally massacred by General Dyer on the day of Baisakhi. But who fired the incessant bullets at the order of the brutal General? The fingers behind the triggers were ours.

5. 1757 - 1st Battle of Plassey. The outcome of the battle was the beginning of the British Empire in the sub-continent.

Siraj Ud Dullah came from the lineage of Mughal Governors in Bengal. His HQ was Murshidabad.

Karnasuvarna (situated in modern-day Murshidabad District) was the center of power from as early as 7AD and later was ruled by a powerful dynasty called the Sena or Sen by Kings like Ballal Sen, Lakshman Sen.

Then there was the Deb dynasty. The Pal dynasty. I mean, how did the Mamluk Sultanate, the Khalji dynasty, the Turko-Indian Tughlaq dynasty, the Sayyid dynasty, and the Lodi dynasty who ruled Bengal for over 320 years take over such a strong point of power that essentially belonged to Bengal?

On 21 June 1757, Clive arrived on the bank opposite Plassey, in the midst of the first outburst of monsoon rain. His army amounted to 1,100 Europeans and 2,100 sepoy troops, with nine field pieces. The Nawab had drawn up 18,000 horses, 50,000-foot, and 53 pieces of heavy ordnance, served by French artillerymen.

Siraj-Ud-Daulah's army with 50,000 soldiers, 40 cannons, and 10 war elephants was defeated by 3,000 soldiers of Robert Clive? The battle ended in 11 hours and Siraj-Ud-Daulah fled from the battle post his defeat to be executed later. According to Robert Clive, 22 men died and 50 were injured within the British troops.

How did Siraj lose? And who were the 2100 sepoy troops? Who was Nabakrishno Deb and Jagat Seth / Chands? Did they all connive with Clive and his gang to overthrow the Nawab? Thus leading to the beginning of the British Raj in India.

In the 1750s, Jagat Seth’s entire wealth was estimated to be 14 crores. Seth was extremely influential in financial matters in Bengal and had a monopoly on minting coins there. Seth was the mastermind.

The Nawab had asked Seth to fill the coffers with millions as tax from the Brit traders which he refused. There’s another story that Siraj wanted Seth to give money to wage war.

An enraged Siraj had slapped him in the open court. Seth, a Marwari trader from Rajasthan, vowed to take revenge. He took advantage of people being tired of Siraj’s tyranny and the British looking for an opportunity to take revenge for the massacre by Siraj of modern-day Fort William in Kolkata.

Seth bribed Cilve who in turn trapped Mir Jafar and the consequences happened. Mir Jafar, in his position as the paymaster of the Bengal army, was prepared to siphon off significant amounts of money (2.5 crore rupees then, £325 million today) for help in the removal of the Nawab.

After Siraj Ud Daulah's defeat and subsequent execution, Jafar achieved his long-pursued dream of gaining the throne and was propped up by the East India Company as a puppet Nawab. Jafar paid Rs. 17,700,000 as compensation for the attack on Calcutta to the company and traders of the city. In addition, he gave bribes to the officials of the company. Robert Clive, for example, received over two million rupees, and William Watts received over one million.

Where did all the money come from? Shiraj’s treasures? Common people’s looted money by the tyrant Nawab?

Jafar's paternal grandfather was Syed Husayn Tabatabaei, who migrated from Najaf in Iraq but Jagat Seth and Nobokrishno Deb were Indians.

The French did try to support the Nawab but where the heck did the French come from in the heart of Bengal? How could they be involved in a military battle in a distant land that is not theirs?

Nobokrishbo Deb was a close confidante of Robert Clive. It's said that he invited the Brit gang to his palace and sacrificed a bull, got nautch girls to dance, and partied over alcohol with Clive & European friends at the first Company’s Pujo or the first public Durga Puja.

6. Even in Akbar’s battle against Maharana Pratap, the general was also from the sub-continent. And no ! Akbar in my logic was not an Indian. Why? If the Brits after 200 years of looting our country were colonists who had forcefully occupied this land; Akbar was the 3rd generation of Mughal who had invaded our country. Both invaded India !!!!!

Like Judas betrayed Jesus, there are so many fingers that have caused the death of millions so that they could get some favors from the invaders. Be it the Mughals, the Brits, or anybody.

Why were the surviving sepoys of Jalianwala Bagh not put on trial?

INA soldiers, later in history, were put on trial at the Red Fort which echoed continuous firing? Which Indian betratyed ?

We need to accept one fact the problem lies in our DNA. Time and again, we have sucked up invaders for our personal gains. And it's we who have let these puny armies come and invade and rule a land as resourceful as ours?

It’s time we look inwards instead of finding faults outside. We have let people loot us. Simple !!

I end my observations with a repeat protest. Why are we still a British Commonwealth? These are the people who looted and destroyed our history too like the Mughals……. So why the fuck ??

We need a Chanakya and a reason like Alexander’s invasion to unify the country in our heads first! The latter we have in tons but do we have a Chanakya?

And please, I’m no political activist with colorful leanings. Above is my personal study and opinion. I don't care about politics till the time I decide to join it……which will not happen in the near future!

But I’m a concerned Indian for sure. A concerned father and a husband who wants a proud, peaceful, and prosperous subcontinent for his family.

Cheers!

Photos sourced from the internet. I don't claim copyright.