A review of the book 'The Hindus of Hindustan: A Civilizational Journey' written by Dr. Meenakshi Jain.
Notwithstanding the views of a section of historians and literati, spiritual, religious, and cultural continuity in India goes back many millennia. Identification with, and adoration of, the land was expressed in the sixty-three verses long Prithvi Sukta of the Atharva Veda, described as the first “national song” in the world. Veneration of the land remained a recurrent theme in sacred literature.
Kautilya, in the Arthasastra, articulated the ideal of political unification, when he said that from the Himalayas to the seas, the land should have one ruler. That ideal was accompanied by a consciousness of cultural union.
Rulers of foreign origin, who ruled over parts of the north-western regions for significant periods, wholly immersed themselves in the spiritual traditions of the land. Ancient lawgivers facilitated the assimilation of foreign groups within the capacious embrace of Indian civilization. Things took a dramatically new turn with the advent of a new group of invaders in the eighth century CE.
The book highlights the underlying features of Indian civilization, that were manifest from its founding moments, and that remained unchanged over the millennia.
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Coming up: A review of the book 'The Hindus of Hindustan' written by Dr. Meenakshi Jain.
Namaste Friends. My name is 'Shinil Subramanian Payamal' and you are listening to the Historylogy podcast.
Before I proceed, a full disclosure: This book was bought with my own money and not been provided to me by the author or publisher.
Little bit about the author:
Dr. Meenakshi Jain is a historian interested in cultural and religious developments in ancient and medieval India. Her recent publications include Vasudeva Krishna and Mathura (2021); Flight of Deities and Rebirth of Temples (2019); The Battle for Rama: Case of the Temple at Ayodhya (2017); Sati: Evangelicals, Baptist Missionaries, and the Changing Colonial Discourse (2016); and Rama and Ayodhya (2013); The India They Saw: Foreign Accounts of India from the 8th to mid-19th Century, 3 volumes, (2011); and Parallel Pathways (2010).
In 2020, she was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India for her contribution in the field of literature and education.
Let me read what is written on the inside flap of the book cover:
Notwithstanding the views of a section of historians and literati, spiritual, religious, and cultural continuity in India goes back many millennia. Identification with, and adoration of, the land was expressed in the sixty-three verses long Prithvi Sukta of the Atharva Veda, described as the first “national song” in the world. Veneration of the land remained a recurrent theme in sacred literature.
Kautilya, in the Arthasastra, articulated the ideal of political unification, when he said that from the Himalayas to the seas, the land should have one ruler. That ideal was accompanied by a consciousness of cultural union. Paithinasi, reputed author of a work on dharma sastra belonging to the Atharva Veda, stated that dharma stood on four legs (i.e. it was fully developed) from the Himalayas to Kanya Kumari.
Evidence of continuity of religious beliefs and motifs could be traced to the late Upper Palaeolithic (c. 9000-8000) site of Baghor I (Sidhi district, Madhya Pradesh), to the celebrated Indus Valley Civilization, and well thereafter. Rulers of foreign origin, who ruled over parts of the north-western regions for significant periods, wholly immersed themselves in the spiritual traditions of the land. Ancient lawgivers facilitated the assimilation of foreign groups within the capacious embrace of Indian civilization. Things took a dramatically new turn with the advent of a new group of invaders in the eighth century CE.
The book highlights the underlying features of Indian civilization, that were manifest from its founding moments, and that remained unchanged over the millennia.
Some of the things you will learn after reading this brilliant book:
- From the list of rivers mentioned in the Rigveda, it was apparent its composers were familiar with the land of the seven rivers; north-west India and Punjab.
- Panini who lived around the 6th century BCE and his considerable knowledge of ancient geography of India.
- Jain cave inscriptions in the Tamil-Brahmi script, dated to the 3rd century BCE, attesting to the presence of Jain monks in the region around Madurai.
- The Ramayana, Mahabharata and the Puranas contained a wealth of information on the geography of India.
- As per current understanding, by 500 BCE at the latest, all parts of the subcontinent were known. In Buddhist literature, the name Jambudvipa has been used to refer to this territory extending from the Himalayas in the north to the sea in the south.
- Later confirmation that ancient Indians had a precise knowledge of the shape and size of their country came from the accounts of the Greeks who accompanied Alexander.
- The Brahmi script is the mother of all scripts in India.
- The Kavyamimamsa, composed by Rajasekhara in the 10th century CE, discussed the geographical five divisions of India.
- The Mahabharata called the land north of the seas and south of the Himalayas as Bharata i.e. “where the descendants of King Bharata live.”
- The term Aryavarta was first used by Patanjali to denote the home of sistas (the cultured elite), where right speech and right conduct prevailed.
- The Manusmriti detailed the spread of cultural ideal from brahmavarta, the land between the divine rivers Sarasvati and Drishdvati, which was created by the gods themselves.
- Early on in India’s civilizational journey, the concept of dharma acquired centrality in “culture, religion, and philosophy”, though the word itself was untranslatable.
- The period from 500 BCE to 500 CE witnessed a great influx of foreign groups into the subcontinent.
- John Marshall’s Mohenjo-Daro and the Indus Civilization, set the seal “on the indigenous Indian roots and character of this civilization.”
- The ancestry of Lord Rama and the Chalukyas.
- The singular role of Sanskrit which was accepted and revered by all adherents of Hinduism alike.
- The Buddhist caves excavated in western India.
- The Ramayana becoming “a manual of morals” to instruct a people, and acquiring the stature of “a national code.”
- The movement of the Mahabharata from the Kuru-Pancala region to Tamil Nadu, and thence on to Kerala. Also, the Brahmins being the human agency that brought Sanskrit texts ─ oral or literate ─ to peninsular India.
- Christian missionaries, from the 17th to the 19 century, taking to the study of Tamil with a view of gaining converts.
- Ancient India encountered many groups of foreigners, some of whom ruled parts of the north-western regions of the country amongst such people were ancient Iranians. The next group were the Greeks/Yavanas.
- The Agni Purana used the word Mleccha to indicate strange dynasties which established kingdoms in India after the death of the Kushan king, Vasudeva. The term then meant the Muhammadans who came to India about the 9th century. The term ‘Mleccha’ was used by Ksemendra to mean especially “the Muhammadans who disturbed the peace of India by attacks and massacres.”
- The advent of Islam has a separate section. It covers the first Arab naval expedition undertaken in 636 CE which aimed at the conquest of Thana near Bombay. Followed by the campaign of Muhammad Bin Kasim to conquer Sindh in 712 CE.
- A separate chapter dedicated to Mahmud Ghaznavi and Muhammad Ghori which shows the end of Hindu Shahis.
- Why early foreigners became part of the Indic-fold and not the later ones e.g. an Iranian priestly class, the Maga who were known as Maga Brahmins and credited with the introduction of a form of Sun-worship.
- How the Delhi Sultanate came into being in 1206 CE followed by the Mughals which also deals with the imposition of Jizya and how Persian became the sole language of administration. Followed by the birth of Urdu. And the silence on marriage of Rajput princesses to Akbar and the Mughal sources are also silent on Mughal-Rajput marriage alliances.
There are a few typos in the book and a blooper on page 269 where the Treaty of Purandar is mentioned as Treaty of Porbandar. I am sure this will be rectified in the next reprint.
Conclusion: Dr. Meenakshi Jain’s latest book is a must-read not only for Indic people seeking to rediscover the truths of their identity and history, but also for those who think everything Hindu came from colonial map-making and Nehruvian and Left history-writing. If you want to read facts without any ideological biases, Jain is the one to be read.
This book is beyond any ratings but nevertheless, I give it 4.75/5. The actual number of pages of the book is 287 which includes 40 colour plates followed by 22 pages dedicated to references. The print quality is excellent and easy to read. The book has been published by Aryan Books International and is available on their website www.aryanbooks.com at a discount of Rs. 200/- at Rs. 795/- instead of the printed price of Rs. 995/-. It is also available at a slightly higher price on Amazon India and Flipkart. I will provide all the respective buy links in the show notes along with the link to the launch event video of the book.
Last but not the least, thank you for spending your valuable time listening to this book review. Really grateful. Please don't forget to subscribe to the Historylogy podcast on your favourite podcasting app and also feel free to leave a review. Also, please check historylogy.com for all previous episodes. Thanks and looking forward to hearing from you. Jai Hind! Vande Mataram!