Nice compilation. But subject matter being dating, find it quite disappointing to see Rig Veda being dated as 1000 BCE. Surely Vedas predate the Mahabharata and Ramayan and to there are so many studies dating our Itihasa as approx 7000 BCE ( Ramayana) and Mahabharata as approx 3000 BCE...
Thank you for reading. I understand your argument; as mentioned clearly in my disclaimer, I rely on commonly accepted academic dating - and have hence mentioned "at least by 1000 BCE".
I could certainly have been earlier, but there is a lack of scientific evidence at present to conclusively establish a date for many ancient prayers.
Nice post! I should say the syncretism of medieval Sufis is overstated. Aurangzeb was one. IIRC, Andre Winks, in his Making of the Indo-Islamic world, mentions that it were the Sufis who led to destruction of pagan/native shrines in the Deccan and building dargahs etc.
Yes, but even within Sufis, there were many kinds. There were destroyers of kafirs, as well as assimilators. They were also important in the development of the economy those days, as they often mobilized large groups of people for agriculture and labour. In fact, Eaton covers this brilliantly in his book "The Rise of Islam and the Bengal Frontier".
I haven’t read Eaton, though he’s on my shelf. One of these days. Andre Winks does disagree with Eaton about the spread of Islam on the frontiers. He says while Eaton’s theory holds true in Bengal, it doesn’t on the Indus periphery (the first portion of the book serves as an argument as to why that’s the case).
Not disagreeing that there was a syncretic Indo-Islam culture though, as can be seen in Hindustani music, for example. Just that the Sufis modern reputation is quite at odds with their behavior in the past in North India and the Deccan.
Nice compilation. But subject matter being dating, find it quite disappointing to see Rig Veda being dated as 1000 BCE. Surely Vedas predate the Mahabharata and Ramayan and to there are so many studies dating our Itihasa as approx 7000 BCE ( Ramayana) and Mahabharata as approx 3000 BCE...
Anant
Thank you for reading. I understand your argument; as mentioned clearly in my disclaimer, I rely on commonly accepted academic dating - and have hence mentioned "at least by 1000 BCE".
I could certainly have been earlier, but there is a lack of scientific evidence at present to conclusively establish a date for many ancient prayers.
Nice post! I should say the syncretism of medieval Sufis is overstated. Aurangzeb was one. IIRC, Andre Winks, in his Making of the Indo-Islamic world, mentions that it were the Sufis who led to destruction of pagan/native shrines in the Deccan and building dargahs etc.
Yes, but even within Sufis, there were many kinds. There were destroyers of kafirs, as well as assimilators. They were also important in the development of the economy those days, as they often mobilized large groups of people for agriculture and labour. In fact, Eaton covers this brilliantly in his book "The Rise of Islam and the Bengal Frontier".
I haven’t read Eaton, though he’s on my shelf. One of these days. Andre Winks does disagree with Eaton about the spread of Islam on the frontiers. He says while Eaton’s theory holds true in Bengal, it doesn’t on the Indus periphery (the first portion of the book serves as an argument as to why that’s the case).
Not disagreeing that there was a syncretic Indo-Islam culture though, as can be seen in Hindustani music, for example. Just that the Sufis modern reputation is quite at odds with their behavior in the past in North India and the Deccan.