#destroyed by mughals

[marzipanandminutiae]

“glorification of an imagined unified Western Traditional Culture as the single objective best culture is a fascist red flag” and “a lot of modern vernacular architecture is boring, actively harmful to the mental health of people who live around it, destroying older buildings that had more personality, and shoddily built + as bland as possible for the ever profit-focused needs of capitalism” are concepts that can coexist

like. yes, be wary of Roman Statue Profile Pics decrying “modernity” on Twitter, but the idea that IKEAfying the world is somehow Progressive and if you don’t like it you MUST be far-right is just. bizarre

[h0bg0blin-meat]

Idk who needs to hear this but removing Mughal history from history textbooks completely to the point that the future generations wouldn't even KNOW who the Mughals were, is not the way to go.

You can't just distort history and remove a chunk of it. That's a very biased way of viewing something that actually happened not even 500 years ago. History is not fiction. You can't remove the existence of real people.

When you remove Mughal history, you also remove the good and bad they did. You remove the reason behind the beautiful blend of Indo-Islamic architecture, culture and art we see today, few of the things that have implied towards a sense of harmony amidst the religious chaos that reeked back in the day. But with that, you ALSO remove the massive destruction and looting of thousands of temples, the inhumane measures, laws and punishments they put up against non-Muslims, the struggles and sacrifices of the Hindus and other oppressed groups who protested against these atrocities oh-so-courageously. You remove their cries, their brave stories. You remove the valiant fights Shivaji, Maharana Pratap and their likes put up against these people. You remove the martyrs of the several genocides these guys (especially Babur) caused. You remove them all, because once there's no Mughals, who did these brave souls fight against?

Also why only Mughals? What about the Khaljis, Mamluks, Tughlaqs, Ghaznis and others? They committed way worse atrocities than the Mughals did tbh. So with that logic all of their histories should be wiped out? But that's almost like a 700-800-year-history-wipeout we're talking about (the dates might not be accurate). And that's not how it works.

Here's a better idea. Just... show their good and their bad, and just don't glorify them and their tyranny. We keep the struggles and the sour lives the suppressed groups lived under the rule of these dynasties, and maybe glorify the brave souls who fought selflessly against them. We show how they plundered any place of worship that wasn't a mosque (or Islamic in general), and treated the idols of these religions post-destruction. We can also include the non-Islamic kingdoms and kingdoms that stood still and strong despite the invasions, like the many Hindu kingdoms in the south, then the Ahom dynasty and a few other small kingdoms in the northeast, etc. We can bring lesser-known and highly underrated non-Islamic kingdoms into light too in this process, and how they dealt with these invaders. (Half of these points are already depicted in the existing textbooks, or... atleast the textbooks *I* studied back in school, but I think they get kinda overshadowed by the subtle glorification of these invaders)

These are the solutions I'd provide. If anyone has anything to add, please do, or if yall have better solutions, pls lmk. But removing a huge chunk of history just out of pure hate and revenge like this is NOT the way to go about in the field of history LMFAO. It's the same as how that one biased historian recently claimed that no Hindu temples were destroyed by the Islamic invaders.

[euph0synee]

bro oh my god it's so fucking frustrating how everyone even the many hindus themselves have forgotten the actual torture and horrors inflicted on Hindus by the islamic invaders.

like genuinely why? if people's hate towards Israel for what it's doing to Palestine and Jews hate for N*zis Justified then why is Hindu people's hate and dislike for islam gets everyone squirming in their seats?

like Israel deserves hate because they're so cruel and bad !! N*zis deserve hate for what they did to Jews because it was cruel and bad !!

and just like that Mughals deserve hate for the oppression, torture and horrors they inflicted on hindus for more than 500+ years right? RIGHT? wrong because the moment a Hindu or anyone for a matter of fact raises this issue and expresses their dislike they get absolutely teared down to shreds by others as if he has committed the biggest sin. why? why are we not allowed to hate islam and islamic invaders when they had quite literally forcefully entered India, Killed hindu men, kidnapped their wives and r*ped them making them their sex slaves not even leaving a corpse alone and it got so bad that hindu women had to start Jauhar/sati and chose to burn themselves just to be safe from these disgusting pigs, slaughtered cows in front of temples, destroyed hindu temples and idols then stepped on it, forcefully converted the hindus, fed hindus beef forcefully, killed so many you g hindu kings and princes and so much more and this horrendous torture continued till the last reigning mughal emperor.

and after all of this i still see so many muslims cursing hindu gods in the most nasty way possible and saying such disgusting things it makes me shivers and let's not forget about the hindus that are being killed in Pakistan and Kashmir and all of this why? just because hindus started doing exactly what muslims were doing to them? just because they started fighting back?

so tell me why? why is the hatred and dislike of hindus not justified but the hatred of muslims is justified? tell me why even so many hindus are protesting for palestine and standing against Israel but the moment a hindu says anything about islam these same people along with muslims and all start attacking them cancelling them but they go quiet when a muslim does the same thing?

it is a genuine question. i just want to know why do people still defend mughals while throwing the sacrifice and torture hindus had to go through under the bus?

[hindulivesmatter]

Resources to learn more about Hinduphobia, and Hindu culture.

Making a masterpost about this because I'm getting a lot of asks for it. The list will be updated!

Books to read:

Not Without My Daughter by Betty Mahmoody. This is the memoir of a woman stuck in Iran and how she has to illegally sneak out with her daughter. It doesn't focus on Hinduphobia but it does highlight the violence perpetuated by Muslims to women. This is a true story and a movie has also been made on it. Also, I just need to appreciate how well it's written, I was on the edge of my seat the whole time.

Aavarna by  S. L. Bhyrappa. This book basically details how Hindu history was derailed and destroyed by Mughal invaders, specifically Aurangzeb, the plot is fictional but the history is real.

All Religions Are Not the Same by Sanjay Dixit. This is a new book and I've just ordered it actually. It discusses the differences between religions and how secularism affects that.

Why I Killed Gandhi by Nathuram Godse. Includes the testimonial of the man who killed Gandhi. I'm about to read this book and I'm excited. Don't be fooled by the one-star reviews.

Hindus in Hindu Rashtra by Anand Ranganathan. Illustrates 9 examples of the hypocrisy of the current government when it comes to legalities and laws concerning Hindus.

Some people you can follow on Twitter are Dr Anand Ranganathan, The Skin Doctor, and VivanVatsa. They're all well-read on Hinduphobia and/or Hindu history.

A fantastic account on Instagram called vrindkavi posts amazing comics on Indian history and mythology.

Blogs you can follow for awareness, and learning about Hinduphobia/Hindu culture:

@rhysaka (debunking common myths, awareness, politics/geopolitics, news, culture)

@mrityuloknative (debunking common myths, awareness, politics/geopolitics, news, culture)

@main-agar-kahoon (debunking common myths, awareness, culture)

@yato-dharmastato-jayah (history and explanations, culture)

@forgotten-bharat (amazing for the history of ancient India, and culture)

@kailash-se-birha (culture, awareness)

@aranyaani (debunking common myths, awareness, politics/geopolitics, news, culture)

Interesting masterposts from other blogs:

Booklist to learn more about Hindu History by @mrityuloknative

The Ayodhya Masterpost by @mrityuloknative

Some important Hindu literature:

Mahabharata This is classified as an Itihasa text. It deals with a war between 2 royal factions and is a vehicle for describing the activities of the Avatar Krishna.

Ramayana This is also an Itihasa text. It provides the biography of Lord Rama who is considered an Avatar of Vishnu.

Bhagavad Gita This is an important text of the Vedanta school and is treated separately although it is part of Mahabharata. It provides a coherent summary of Vedanta.

Srimad Bhagavatam This is a Purana and provides a biography of Lord Krishna. This is an important text for the Vaishnava sect of Hinduism.

Shiva Purana and Linga Purana These Puranas provide the biography of Lord Shiva and are important texts for the Saivite sect of Hinduism.

Chandi or Devi Mahatmyam This is an important text for Saktas who worship Sakti or Devi. This text is really part of the Markandeya Purana.

But really, the best way to combat Hinduphobia, is to learn about our history and culture, because if you know the truth, you won't fall for the twisted narrative being peddled by the media today. If you've got to the end of this, thank you for educating yourself and learning about us.

[hindulivesmatter]

Exhibit 97

Arab colonialism generally adheres to the same blueprint of land theft, displacement, and genocidal violence. When Islam plants a mosque somewhere, it believes this is conquered land and it's theirs forever, no matter what Temple or Church it builds on top of.

What sets it apart, however, is that it also attempts to project its own abuses onto its victims.

Rather than acknowledge their glaringly obvious 1400-year uber-colonial history, they will invert perceptions of history and reality in an attempt to self-indigenize.

They then usurp the cultures, stories, and legacies of indigenous peoples for themselves (but only the convenient parts - you'll never see Palestinians claim Judas) and disenfranchise the people they stole it from.

They will furiously deny that their ancestors were, in fact, colonizers who conquered their way on land on which they now occupy. Instead, they will frame themselves as native peoples who simply embraced Arab identity/converted to Islam, while the actual indigenous peoples are framed as nothing more than a pathetic band of rejects and cosplayers whose ancestors either never lived on the land to begin with, or were rightfully cast out (or have been cast out for so long that they have lost all right to return).

I can think of few other colonizers that do this. And because this behavior deviates from what we typically understand as "baseline colonialism", it becomes immeasurably harder to identify and more complex to counter.

[reveriedraffs]

I think i know why Christian was set to Marry Devi... (My theory i uploaded on reddit was removed by the admin idk why?)

It was bugging me from the moment when Christian said that he wanted to marry Devi from the very beginning although dozens hid this fact from her to spar her to get married to Christian. But why he wanted to marry her? Christian didn't know Devi and the latter came way before Devi met Ian. so what was he insisted to marry on marrying and devi only. also if it was because he show her portrait then he could've remember her when they meet for the first time.

After thinking about it so much i couldn't come to theory or connect the dots that not until i was sitting with my dad watching the news (I am Indian btw) and suddenly the news was talking about the most famous and precious jewel of india "Kohinoor" i am not sure how many of you know about this but this diamond it very "precious", "Priceless" and "CURSED" yes this diamond is "cursed" it was called cursed because of that soley diamond in the past war has fought for 500 years or more. and it has killed everyone who tried to posses that diamond the biggest empire has collapsed because of this mere diamond although it's not a mere diamond. because in reality, this diamond belongs to the gods.

The Koh-i-Noor Diamond isa a 186-caratt diamond with a curse affecting only men. According to folklore, a Hindu description of the diamond warns that “he who owns this diamond will own the world, but will also know all its misfortunes. Only God or woman can wear it with impunity.” Throughout history, the gem traded hands among various Hindu, Mongolian, Persian, Afghan and Sikh rulers, who fought bitter and bloody conflicts to own it. Every prince whohadf the diamond would ultimately lose his power if not his life. For over 500 years the stone changed hands in gruesome battles and vicious coups.

The kingdom of Golconda(current day state of Telengana,India), The khilji Empire,The Tughlaq Empire,The Lodhi Empire,The Mughal Empire,The Maratha Empire,The kingdom of Persia,The Durrani Empire,The Afghan Khanate,The Sikh Empire all collapsed one behind the other while owning the Koh-i-noor Diamond.The height of the curse can be seen in the fact that even World level Empires crumbled below the weight of the curse.The British East India company owned the Jewel since the Annexation and Disbandment of the Sikh Empire. But only 7–8 years following the looting of the jewel,the revolt of 1857 literally destroyed the east IndiaCompanyy from its roots.

Historical records indicate the diamond was acquired by the British in 1849 and given to Queen Victoria in 1850. To heed its legend, the diamond has since only been worn by women, including Queen Alexandra of Denmark, Queen Mary of Teck and the late Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother, wife of King George VI.

In 1936, the stone was set into the crown of the wife of King George VI, Queen Elizabeth (later known as the Queen Mother). The British Royal family was aware of the Curse of the Koh-i-Noor, and from the reign of Queen Victoria the Kohinoor diamond has always gone to the wife of the male heir to the British throne

Currently, it is set as one of the jewels within a British monarchy crown that is kept at the Tower of London Jewel House.

I am telling you the whole story because?

here is the dots to this theory:

Sharma owns the mines for gemstones, diamonds, and crystals not only in Bengal but in very different places on all over India.

Devi's brother died while trying to save the bride.

Those who came to kill people talked about letting "Women alive and killing all the men" A simple person may think they said it to use them later on. if so then why was Rati killed?

Devi becomes the heir of the Sharma household, and Kamal insists on making Devi the heir why? i understand that is because Kairas was his best friend but he could've easily let Devi's uncle become the heir.

For some reason Kamal agreed to marry off Devi to Ian suddenly? like that man fought for 5 years against everyone then why did he turn his back suddenly?

Also I personally thin Ian chose devi for specific reasons too, like right now she is the head of Sharma's house but even when she wasn't he wanted to marry her and only her.

The Koh-i-noor might be found on devi's mine. as it holds the power of god and specifically it is cursed. As it said that "Only God or Woman can wear it with IMPUNITY" where Impunity simply means exemption from punishment or freedom from the injurious consequences of an action.

Or Devi personally is or is the koh-i-noor itself. Or Maybe British knew about the diamond and it's real power. They have stole diamonds from Taj Mahal too but they knew that the diamond who belongs to god holds its own power so they might need someone for that. Devi. Not only she is related to Maa Kali, she is girl and if they choose Devi and then found diamond form her mine then they can ask her to give it to them as in original i mean in reality that's how the koh-i-noor to the queen, they manipulate the royal family livin' in the England making them into thinking it was a simple diamond was given to the queen but in reality it was more then that!

I think they knew about the mines or something similar related to it.

[forgotten-bharat]

Let's talk about the idolized Aurangzeb. What he did and why is he considered great?

We will be focusing on the destruction of temples and hindu genocide done by him to debunk claims deny that this.

By the order of Aurangzeb (1645 AD) according to Mirãt-i-Ahmadî, Temple of Chintaman situated close to Sarashpur (Gujarat) and built by Sitaldas jeweller was converted into a mosque named Quwwat-ul-lslam (might of Islam) (1645 AD.) A cow was slaughtered to 'solemnize' the 'ceremony'.

Slaughtering a cow was a heinous choice, cow being one of the holiest animal in Hinduism. As well as, Hinduism prohibits animal slaughter, to do it right where their place of worship used to be where now stands a Mosque was simply to mock and destroy the souls of the indigenous population. The Pandits and Cows were always their main targets.

This was done before he even became the king, he was just a prince at this point.

When he became the king he sent Mir Jumla on an expedition to Cooch Bihar. Mir Jumla demolished ALL temples in that city and erected mosques in their stead. The general himself wielded a battle-axe to break the image of Narayana.

Mirãt-i-Ahmadî continues, In 1666 AD, he ordered the faujdar of Mathura to remove a stone railing which had been presented by Dara Shukoh to the temples of Keshav Rai. He explained: “In the Muslim faith it is a sin even to look at a temple and this Dara had restored a railing in a temple!”

You can still argue that Islamic Colonization simply had a political motif and not a religious one, if that would have been the case, none of the indigenous people would have been harmed, none of them would have been forcefully converted, their heritage would not have been destroyed right in front of their eyes, their schools and texts would have been burned. This is downright evil and was done in the name of Allah by all the Mughal tyrants.

“The richly jewelled idols taken from the infidel temples were transferred to Agra and placed beneath the steps leading to the Nawab Begum Sahib's (Jahanara's) mosque in order that they might be “pressed under foot by the true believers”. Mathura changed its name into Islamabad and was thus called in all official documents.”

In the same year, Sita Ram ji temple at Soron was destroyed as also the shrine of Devi Patan at Gonda. News came from Malwa also that the local governor had sent 400 troopers to destroy all temples around Ujjain.

According to Muraqat-i-Abul Hasan, civil officers, agents of jagirdars, karoris and amlas from Cuttack in Orissa to Medinipur in Bengal were instructed as follows:

“Every idol house built during the last 10 or 12 years' should be demolished without delay. Also, do not allow the crushed Hindus and despicable infidels to repair their old temples. Reports of the destruction of temples should be sent to the court under the seal of the qazis and attested by pious Shaikhs.”

(1672 AD) several thousand Satnamis were slaughtered near Narnaul in Mewat for which act of 'heroism' Radandaz Khan was tided Shuja'at Khan with the mansab of 3000 and 2000 horse.

(1675 AD) Guru Tegh Bahadur was tortured to death for his resistance against the forcible conversion of the Hindus of Kashmir. The destruction of gurudwaras thereafter is a well-known story which our secularists have succeeded in suppressing because the Akali brand Sikhs have been forging ties of friendship with Islam as against their parent faith, Hindu Dharma.

Mirãt-i-Ahmadî goes ahead: “On 6th January 1680 A.D. Prince Mohammad Azam and Khan Jahan Bahadur obtained permission to visit Udaipur. Ruhullah Khan and Yakkattaz Khan also proceeded thither to effect the destruction of the temples of the idolators. These edifices situated in the vicinity of the Rana's palace were among the wonders of the age, and had been erected by the infidels to the ruin of their souls and the loss of their wealth”. Pioneers destroyed the images. On 24th January the king visited the tank of Udayasagar.

His Majesty ordered all three of the Hindu temples to be levelled with the ground. On 29th January Hasan AN Khan made his appearance' and stated that “172 temples in the neighbouring districts had been destroyed.” His Majesty proceeded to Chitor on 22nd February.

Temples to the number of 63 were destroyed. Abu Tarab who had been commissioned to effect the destruction of idol temples of Amber, reported in person on 10th August that 66 temples had been levelled to the ground.’ The temple of Someshwar in western Mewar was also destroyed at a later date in the same year. It may be mentioned that unlike Jodhpur and Udaipur, Amber was the capital of a state loyal to the Mughal emperor.

Khafi Khan records in his Muntakhab-ul-Lubab: ‘On the capture of Golconda, the Emperor appointed Abdur Rahim Khan as censor of the city of Haiderabad with orders to put down infidel practices and innovations, and destroy the temples and build mosques on the sites.’ That was in 1687 AD. In 1690 AD, he ordered destruction of temples at Ellora, Trimbakeshwar, Narasinghpur, and Pandharpur.

Aurangzeb also destroyed, Kashi Vishwanath Temple in Kashi, Uttar Pradesh - which considered as the most scared hindu temple and land.

In 1698 AD, the story was repeated at Bijapur. According to Mirat-i-AhmadT: 'Hamidud-din Khan Bahadur who had been deputed to destroy the temples of Bijapur and build mosques there, returned to court after carrying out the order and was praised by the Emperor.' As late as 1705 AD, two years before he died, 'the emperor, summoning Muhammad Khalil and Khidmat Rai, the darogha of hatchet-men' ordered them to demolish the temple of Pandharpur, and to take the butchers of the camp there and slaughter cows in the temple.' Cow-slaughter at a temple site was a safeguard against Hindus rebuilding it on the same spot.

The saddest part is, all of this information, the bloodiest part of Indian History is never shown to the people, they grow up learning, Mughals were great emperors that built great things. When none of that holds any ounce of truth. It should be said without any censorship, these tyrants destroyed the culture, tradition and religions of India.

With all this information, if you're still defending these tyrants, if you still "want them around", if you still insist "it wasn't that bad", you absolutely do not care about "human rights", every activism you take part in is just performative. And I do not respect you or your opinion on any social issue.

[krsnaradhika]

hii i saw your amazing post on the ram mandir thing and i had to know your thoughts on this. i post about hinduphobia a lot, genuinely to spread awareness, and its a serious thing. i just saw a post by this person called tiredguyswag talking about how hinduphobia isn't real. its a real longass rant. i wanted to know what your thoughts were on it, and if you could debunk anything they were saying as false. ty!

Thank you so much for the appreciation <3 Every supporter counts. We will fight against this Hinduphobia, and we will emerge victorious!

I did go through the blog of this guy and honestly, this hellsite is exhausting. So are the hinduphobes and leftists. I might just exit someday because they do not deserve my energy.

To all the ones saying Hinduphobia does not exist— what was the Godhara train arson? What happened to the Kashmiri Hindus? What happened to the Brahmins of Pune post MK Gandhi's assassination? What happened to the Sikhs of Punjab after Indira Gandhi's killing? What was the emergency prior to that incident? What was that which happened to the 9 and 7 year old boys of Guru Gobind Singh ji? What happened to Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj? What was the destroying of temples and deracination of our Gurukulas? What was all that money and artifacts stolen from our country, has it not robbed the golden sparrow? What was the voluntary faulty translation of the Vedas and Puranas so that Hindus themselves believe that their culture is maligned? THERE'S NO HINDUPHOBIA? LOOK AT PAKISTANI HINDU GIRLS BEING FORCIBLY CONVERTED AND RAPED! The Mughal India holocaust! The ncert has the fucking guts to teach little minds that Aurangzeb protected and built new temples! And what's their source? They have none. No files. Nothing at all to support their claim, and yet they have been teaching it for god knows how much time. But we do have Babur himself writing in his book that he hated Hindus, called us pigs and what not. We have evidences that they raped our women, murdered our men, the children weren't foreign to their brutality. The invaders looted the Somanatha multiple times, broke the floating Shivalinga. They took away Ayodhya, Mathura, Kashi and so many other temples. Some shitheads have their asses in fire when they're seeing us celebrate the Rama temple. Y'all wouldn't be having a meltdown had the other side won the case. Y'all should rot in hell. You have no concept of country and social harmony, no global brotherhood, all your liberalism reduces to ashes when you see Hindus being happy for once. We have been killed for being idol-worshippers, and our fault is that we don't cease to exist.

They say we blame invasions for everything bad that has happened to us, but remember that we were the golden sparrow without them.

[yunnierights]

What is this erasure of history? The frikkin frick? The culture that wrote books like Natyashastra and countless dramas to enact on stage, the culture where the entirety of one of the four great scriptures is dedicated to music, that culture would think singing and dancing is inappropriate?

It we're the mughals who actually reduced our traditional dance forms like Kathak a form of entertainment suitable for the entertainment of the lecherous courtesans and Nawabs when it originally started as a means of worship and story telling.

I AM SO TRIGGERED RIGHT NOW-

Just heard my chhoto mashi say some dumb people told her ancient Indians used to see dancing and singing as bad and ashleel and it was the Mughals that made it good and something praise able 💀💀💀

GURL WHAT ARE YOU ON-

[mariacallous]

Shafiq Bagwan was hanging out with a few friends in his village of Hasnabad, which is in the Maharashtra state in western India, when he opened Instagram on his phone and saw that his younger brother Taufiq had posted an update. When he clicked on it, his heart fell.

Taufiq, who is 18, had posted a picture of a 17th-century Mughal emperor, Aurangzeb, with a description of him as “the father of Hindu nationalists.”

“I immediately called him up and ordered him to delete the story,” Bagwan says. “I got scared for him, and I hoped that nobody had seen it.” It was too late. The next day, June 20, Taufiq was arrested and charged with“deliberate and malicious intention of outraging the religious feelings.”

Taufiq had been caught up in an online crusade, initiated by Hindu nationalists in Maharashtra, who have taken it upon themselves to police social media for anything, no matter how tenuous, they can spin as offensive to Hindus. These groups, which appear to have links to local government and law enforcement, are turning Instagram and WhatsApp into hostile spaces for Muslims, who face harassment and arrest for seemingly innocuous posts. It’s another demonstration of how the Indian internet is coming to mirror the Hindu nationalist slant of politics under the government of Narendra Modi.

“What has happened offline has happened online,” says Osama Manzar, founder of the Digital Empowerment Foundation, an NGO. “The attitude remains the same. Social media is just another tool to subjugate.”

Aurangzeb died more than 300 years ago, but he’s recently become something of a protest symbol for Muslim youth in Maharashtra. During his rule, which lasted from 1658 to 1707, he expanded the Mughal empire across much of the Indian subcontinent. To some Hindus, he’s a tyrannical figure who imposed discriminatory taxes and destroyed temples and who was resisted by Shivaji, another warrior king who is revered in Maharashtra.

With tensions between communities running high, Aurangzeb has become an emblem for both the Hindu majority and its 13 million Muslims, who make up around 12 percent of the population of the state.

��Aurangzeb, a Muslim ruler, is just a political tool to target today’s ordinary Muslims,” says Surendra Jondhale, a professor in the department of politics at the University of Mumbai. “The right-wing groups have used Shivaji versus Aurangzeb—a battle between two kingdoms—to propagate a Hindu versus Muslim binary.”

In February 2023, led by Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party, the union government renamed the city of Aurangabad in Maharashtra—named after Aurangzeb—to Sambhaji Nagar. In rallies that followed the renaming—and which were attended by members of the BJP—T Raja Singh, a party member and (currently suspended) lawmaker, said that any Muslim unhappy with the name change would be considered a traitor.

The BJP has been widely accused of stoking religious tensions across India, and of promoting a Hindu identity for India that runs contrary to the country’s founding principles of religious pluralism.

In response to often brazen hate speech and discrimination from public figures, young Muslims have adopted Aurangzeb as a symbol of defiance. “It comes from a place of angst and humiliation, where the Muslims are continuously being provoked,” says Imtiaz Jaleel, a lawmaker from Aurangabad. “Under normal circumstances, I don’t think the Muslims even think about Aurangzeb.”

But posting the former ruler’s picture often elicits serious consequences. Right-wing Hindu groups, which have been publicly supported by members of Modi’s BJP, have been keeping a close eye on Muslims’ social media posts, claiming that even a photograph of Aurangzeb hurts their religious sentiments.

This is what happened to Taufiq, who, Shafiq says, doesn’t understand English and so wasn’t aware of what was written alongside the image he posted. But before he had time to delete the story, someone in his village had taken a screenshot.

Rupesh Rathi, 40, works in Hasnabad for Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a parent organization of BJP. He says that ever since Aurangabad was renamed, these situations have become more prevalent. “A Hindu friend of Taufiq in the village saw his story, took a screenshot, and sent it to me,” says Rathi. “After that, some seven or eight of us had a discussion on what to do about it.”

The consensus was to file a complaint. “Everybody found it objectionable,” Rathi says.

Armed with those screenshots, some 20-25 people turned up at the local police station and filed a complaint against Taufiq. Gradually, more people from the neighboring villages joined in, and the mob grew to over 100 people. The police were “extremely cooperative,” Rathi says. “We were assured that there will be a proper investigation into this. There were four or five more Muslim boys that had uploaded that status. As a result of the complaint, they deleted it.”

When authorities arrested Taufiq, they confiscated his phone so they could investigate who else might have circulated his post.

Shafiq bailed Taufiq out. The charges are still pending. Shafiq says his brother is scarred by what happened. “He is just 18,” Bhagwan says. “His health deteriorated quite a bit after the incident. He is still shaken because of the hostility with which he was targeted. The matter could have been resolved within the village.”

At least 13 similar cases in Maharashtra have been reported in the national media over the past four months.

Shirish Inamdar, a former deputy commissioner of police in Maharashtra’s intelligence department, says he thinks the police aren’t acting fairly, but that the cases reflect the state’s politics. Until June 2022, Maharashtra was ruled by a coalition government of three regional parties, but a year ago the BJP poached 40 of the lawmakers from one of the parties in the ruling coalition and came to power in the state. Ever since, Inamdar says, the persecution of Muslims has increased. “The local police do it to save their own skin,” he says. “The powers that be have told the police to register as many cases and vitiate the atmosphere.”

Inamdar says the cases filed against Muslims over social media posts are unlikely to succeed in a court of law. “Everybody knows that,” he says. “But the cases drag on, and it becomes a blot on the person’s record. They have to appear for court dates, they have to spend money on the lawyer. The process becomes the punishment.”

Madhav Bhandari, vice president of Maharashta BJP, defended the police, saying that “police cases over social media posts have happened under previous governments too” and that he also believes pictures of Aurangzeb “hurt religious sentiments in Maharashtra.” He adds: “Everybody is entitled to be proud of their religion.”

Prateek Waghre, policy director of the Internet Freedom Foundation, an NGO, says that this kind of campaign is a form of lateral surveillance of minorities, where people have to be constantly alert for anything that could be exploited to attack them. “It points to broader societal issues, where there aren’t too many degrees of separation between people reporting Instagram or WhatsApp updates and the ones being reported,” he says. “Many of them are on their contact lists. There is also a possibility of watch lists being maintained. It is scary.”

Since Modi became prime minister in 2014, there has been a notable increase in hate speech across the country, with Hindu nationalist groups calling for the mass rape of Muslim women and the extermination of the community. The RSS and other groups affiliated with the BJP have fueled unfounded conspiracy theories, including the “love jihad,” which alleges that Muslim men are seducing Hindu women en masse and converting them to Islam. There have been multiple incidences of assaults on minorities, and even lynchings.

“There will be people dismissing these as isolated events and saying there are only so many cases in a country of a billion people,” Waghre says. “But the ripple effect is hard to ignore and also hard to measure. It impacts people’s minds and their behavior.”

In Maharashtra, the campaign has widened the divisions between communities.

In June, police filed a case against a 14-year old Muslim boy in the central region of Maharashtra over an Instagram photograph of Aurangzeb. His parents are small farmers, and his uncle is a tailor in the village. “He is just a kid,” says the uncle, who WIRED is not identifying to protect the boy’s privacy. “He even made an apology video and promised to not do it again. He deleted his Instagram account and is scared to join back. But still a case was filed against him. We had to pay a lot of money for a bail bond in court to avoid arrest. This can potentially ruin or jeopardize his career. Is this where we want to head as a society?”

The boy’s Instagram post was reported by a young man living nearby who was working for a radical right-wing group. In the complaint, he said the photograph “hurt his religious sentiments.” The police charged the 14-year-old with “deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs” and “intention to incite offense.”

The uncle says that over four decades of living in the village, where he has developed relationships with people across communities, this is the first time he has felt exposed. “I have participated in Hindu festivals, I have very close Hindu friends,” he says. “But the politics of the state has ruined everything. Is there a ban on sharing pictures of figures from history?”

[metamatar]

anytime i talk about mosques being destroyed people bring up the claim that muslims destroyed a lot of temples first and its just taking the land back. what should i say?

these people are not actually arguing with you in good faith, the discursive move to make is to sidestep factual realities about history, ownership and oppression that people get from their own dubious sources and jump straight to appeals to a different set of moral claims. this would look like: so you want modern hindus to behave as badly as you said ancient mughals were? shouldn't we try to worship side by side instead, like people did at mathura for centuries? you want india to fall into an endless cycle of revenge fueled riots? you're the real anti nationalists! etc.

[beta-lactam-allergic]

I watched the ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Commission, to avoid confusion with other news agencies with same abbreviation) coverage of the opening of the Ram Mandir tonight (22nd January 2024).

The ABC coverage did not once mention that Ram Mandir is built on the site Hindus believe to be the birthplace of Rama. That this site is one of the most sacred sites in Hinduism.

If I had not followed this story over several years through other sources & just got my insight from that one news story, I would be under the impression that rabid Hindus destroyed a mosque for no reason & built a Hindu Temple on top of the mosque site for no reason other than to hate on Muslims. People who watch that story with no prior knowledge will be under the impression that the Babri Masjid mosque was built on a completely greenfield site. They would have no idea that it was built on the site of a pre-existing Temple to Rama. That the Mughal Empire destroyed an actively used Temple for the religion that their native subjects practiced, so as to put a structure of their own introduced faith on top of that site.

The way the ABC framed that story wasn't balanced. They could have mentioned the sites sacredness to Hinduism whilst still talking about the riots that killed thousands started by Hindus. Neither Hindus nor Muslims were saints in this, nor were either wholly bad, but you wouldn't know that from the way the story was framed.

[theopulenthq]

WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND….

Nothing stays hidden forever. Especially not during rounds of assassinations, and several world leaders tucked under one roof. As an uneasy civility settles in Lal Qila, those at the helm of power decide to assert their effectiveness. In an effort to re-establish their command of Lal Qila and curry favor with those affronted by the memoriam, the Mughal Empire (in collaboration with Madagascar) revealed the findings of their investigation in the grand hallway of an early morning, before breakfast was even served. The following list was revealed to name these individuals as the most suspicious within the court - and their reasoning why.

Egypt’s bookkeeper, Emine Bulut, is not as she seems. Many suspect that she is, in fact, working with the Perisa to investigate the Turkish royal family and may have other experience in espionage. 

Thailand needs to look within its own ranks. It’s been found that military commander, Kinsey Gladwin, is tied to the English forces.

The loyalties of those under the French flag cannot be trusted, fortune teller Delphine Baudelaire’s loyalties are debatable.

Correspondence highlighting Regent Sultan Rostam’s distrust in his family, suspecting them of contributing to his husband’s death. 

Copies of records of controversies related to the Qajar family previously thought to be all destroyed, found in the Sultana Arshiya of Persia’s belongings along with proof of the destruction of other documents.

Some suspicion is thrown towards Ethiopia - their interview scrolls were mysteriously disposed of, and it would seem their rooms were not searched as deeply by the French military as other courts. When pressed, both sides of the conflict admit that they have nothing on Ethiopia, and perhaps it is this lack of information that has left them under closer scrutiny. 

Not ones to be outdone, the vengeance of Thailand is never far behind. The findings of France’s search within the royal apartments and chambers are brought to light by sundown of that same day. Within the very same grand hallway, they call upon those in residence to reveal the following findings, attempting to further destabilize the Mughal Empire.

Evidence of foul play is brought to light against the Dowager Duchess Tatiana Kanto around the death of her ex-husband.

Letters exchanged between the Emperor Kaito of Japan and King Elias of Germany detailing Japan’s secret financing of Germany to ward off China’s motives.

The relationship between the Empresses and their lover is on thin ice, with Empress Eesha seen scheming with her lover against Empress Rashmi.

Growing unrest among the leadership in Scotland, with Commander Cailean suspected to be working with rebellious forces against the Stuart’s. Perhaps they have something to do with the King’s absence?

The Crown Princess of Germany, Eleanor Hatzfeld, is actively planning to overthrow the King and secure herself and her (unknown) lover on the throne.

Amidst the scandal and gasps, kingdoms with their own burning suspicions take the opportunity to reveal their own discontent. Sound floods the grand hallway as accusations are thrown every which way, but one voice was heard loudest. It is the Prince of China, Angelo Tolentino, who steps up to reveal what treason and theft lies within the Chinese Empire. Financial papers showing funds exiting the Emperor of China’s trust with the Princess Kai-Ming of China’s handwriting reveal Kai-Ming to be a suspect in this fight.

Meanwhile, those under the Ortiz’s employment call out the Bonaparte’s growing formidability and glory. Members of the Bonaparte family have been reunited at Lal Qila, and with so many of its former royals finding success and influence… Many Spanish courtiers speculate that they would be better placed to rule than the Ortiz’s. Screaming, fighting, and a perfect Spring storm befalls Lal Qila.

In the five days that follow amidst the rainstorm, the aftermath of spilled motives and agendas plague Lal Qila. What began as a step forward in the investigation instigated a greater divide between the two sides. Fortunately, saner heads prevail. Unperturbed by the revelations; Baron Hugo Von Galen, Viscount Maximilien Gauthier, and Princess Yifei Qing come together to bring reason and calm to Lal Qila. It is apparent that both sides are too consumed by grief and ego to lead the investigation. 

The three strike a plan; a council, run by kingdoms famed for their neutrality, shall lead the investigation forward. Untouched by the drama of the murders, and having notoriety for each going several years without war or exception strife, and the long-standing alliances with most Kingdoms in attendance. The choice of who to bring in to act as the facilitator is simple. The three peacekeepers appeal to the rulers from all sides, until a wary agreement is made and treaties are signed.

Not long after, the ships of Norway and Brazil land at the Mughal Empire’s coast. A sigh of relief can be heard through the halls as everyone comes around to the idea of peace… but who knows what hurt feelings fester beneath the new information brought to lie. Once a secret is told, it can never be untold, and now some may pay the price for their sins. 

Welcome Norway and Brazil to the Opulent HQ! Below the cut you can find additional information.

IMPORTANT! PLEASE READ! The investigative council, manned by the royal advisor of Norway and the commanding officer of Brazil, will consist of one muse per mun to be placed on the council. These muses, selected by each mun, will be given choices periodically to vote on that will change the course of future plot drops. More information, including the submission form for the muse you choose to put on the council, will be coming shortly. NOTE - your muse does not have to be a royal to be placed on the council! Ideally, we hope to see a variety of classes, countries, and personality types on this council.

Due to the sensitive nature of many secrets, some muns/muses did not get a feature (or as heavy of one), but these have been noted and will get recognition in the next plot drop!  

The muse count has been lifted to 8 muses per mun, but be mindful that the 1 week wait between muses is still in effect! That means if you apply for your 7th muse, you must wait a minimum of 1 week from acceptance to take on your 8th and final muse. 

Please visit our KINGDOM PAGE to read up on our newest arrivals to the group - Norway and Brazil! 

You do not need to end or adjust threads to stay in line with the timeframe, but you can if you want! Otherwise, all new threads must take place either within the events of the plot drop (including the 5-day rainstorm after the spilling of secrets) or afterwards. If you have any questions on this, don’t hesitate to reach out!

We understand that this may create a LOT of interpersonal drama. Please feel free to reach out to us if you want to let us know any big changes for your character, or to suggest how to implement any ideas for further drama, especially relating to the secrets that were revealed. We want to work with you to make your ideas come true!

[buzz-london]

Price Yakub Tucy, descendant of the last Mughal emperor, Bhadurshah Jaffar, sent a letter in 2018 to outline his efforts at reconciliation.

He accepted that his ancestors destroyed the Rama temple and it should be restored to the Hindus. He asked the muslim team contesting the court case to withdraw their case and recocile with the Hindus. Price Yakub even promised to send a golden brick to promote harmony and unity.

[beardedmrbean]

[Huey Zoomer Anon]

I hope you have a good service but ya

When the FUCK we had media targeted for boys in recent memories that WASN’T based off an established ip in the west? https://x.com/author_pandp/status/1847291893492703616?s=46

Also the “inclusion” there fundamentally difference in boys media. Like say more authentic portrayals of non white cultures (not the infantilism way wokies been doing more AC like how Origins pointed out that Egyptians could be despicable as well) show that certain men just happen to be bisexual/gay. Understanding different pov

You know…what we were going with in the 90’s-00’s? The good media part of it

This Mughal Emperor is what I meant https://theprint.in/pageturner/excerpt/babur-fell-hopelessly-in-love-with-a-boy-called-baburi-roamed-love-sick-like-a-madman/1976258/

There sources saying that Babur was 17 when he fell over heels for Baburi. He also had military victories at 11-13. So he become a hopeless romantic after such is tbh a more accurate example of historical bi person that most modern media

Also another issues the people they hired have a FUNDAMENTALLY lack of empathy toward boys and the standard man. Like they think every guy is 500 fortune company ceo or an emotionally stunted fundamentalist. They also see boys as defective girls…I mean you been tumblr for years. You know if you were simply change the several rants tumblrlinas have towards boys to “Jews” people will finally see their bigotry.

Though given this…https://youtu.be/jLzYPbtklGs?si=Xc8w1mTQGp6jvgli

Also there this idea that boys in media were never able to show emotions…Johnny Quest shed a fucking tear in an episode when at the moment his dad was going to be killed in a human sacrifice.

Of course they saved Dr. Quest, but at the end of the day. While Johnny Quest can go on cool adventures. He still just a 11 year old boy.

Also it because Narcissists Marxists think that destroying media gears towards boys/men. Then they will change their perception on women…when in reality it pushed boys to the right more than any alt right shit

Seriously how the FUCK did Gen X and Millennials on the left have HUGE empathy gaps that the non insane Great Gen and Boomers work tooth and nail to prevent to avoid another Holocaust?

Seriously because as a zoomer, plenty of 80’s-90’s stuff played in syndication so I consume it. As well as using streaming services…how did all these people who grow up with now acts like SUPERVILLAINS towards boys and men who have no power while infantilizing the Hamas?

You know…what we were going with in the 90’s-00’s? The good media part of it

Like I said in DM, in the quest to make things gender neutral they've pretty much just castrated things, which is going to be a negative to anyone that enjoys the typical male type media, not just guys.

This Mughal Emperor is what I meant https://theprint.in/pageturner/excerpt/babur-fell-hopelessly-in-love-with-a-boy-called-baburi-roamed-love-sick-like-a-madman/1976258/

There sources saying that Babur was 17 when he fell over heels for Baburi. He also had military victories at 11-13. So he become a hopeless romantic after such is tbh a more accurate example of historical bi person that most modern media

Looking through that, and at the guy, I bet that's not a popular story in Islamic circles, good way to get a fatwa put on you writing something that paints a islamic emperor as anything but straight.

Of course they saved Dr. Quest, but at the end of the day. While Johnny Quest can go on cool adventures. He still just a 11 year old boy. Also it because Narcissists Marxists think that destroying media gears towards boys/men. Then they will change their perception on women…when in reality it pushed boys to the right more than any alt right shit

For the number of college degrees people claim to have they really are kinda stupid about basic human behaviour and psychology, got people that seem to think the 'whipped dog method' is actually a good one and won't end with the dog finally ripping someone throat out.

Seriously how the FUCK did Gen X and Millennials on the left have HUGE empathy gaps that the non insane Great Gen and Boomers work tooth and nail to prevent to avoid another Holocaust?

Mystery for the ages, likely in the realm of 'had things too good for too long and privilege feels like a entitlement as a result' at least for some.

Seriously because as a zoomer, plenty of 80’s-90’s stuff played in syndication so I consume it. As well as using streaming services…how did all these people who grow up with now acts like SUPERVILLAINS towards boys and men who have no power while infantilizing the Hamas?

I'd say for that, you managed to get lucky even if you didn't get so lucky with other bits.

[hindulivesmatter]

Hi there! Do you have any resources you would recommend for non-Hindus who want to learn more about how to recognize and combat Hinduphobia?

Hi! Thank you for asking! There are some very eye-opening books and people that discuss Hinduphobia and I'm glad you asked.

Not Without My Daughter by Betty Mahmoody. This is the memoir of the woman stuck in Iran and how she has to illegally sneak out with her daughter. It doesn't focus on Hinduphobia but it does highlight the violence perpetuated by Muslims to women. This is a true story and a movie has also been made on it. Also I just need to appreciate how well it's written, I was on the edge of my seat the whole time.

Aavarna by  S. L. Bhyrappa. This book basically details how Hindu history was derailed and destroyed by Mughal invaders, specifically Aurangzeb, the plot is fictional but the history is real.

All Religions Are Not the Same by Sanjay Dixit. This is a new book and I've just ordered it actually. It discusses the differences between religions and how secularism affects that.

Why I Killed Gandhi by Nathuram Godse. Includes the testimonial of the man who killed Gandhi. I'm about to read this book and I'm excited. Don't be fooled by the one-star reviews.

Some people you can follow on Twitter are Dr Anand Ranganathan, The Skin Doctor and VivanVatsa. They're all well-read on Hinduphobia and/or Hindu history. Anand Ranganathan also has published books on Hinduphobia, like Hindus in Hindu Rashtra.

Tagging @magic-coffee and @lil-stark because I know they'll have more resources.

But really, the best way to combat Hinduphobia, is to learn about our history and culture, because if you know the truth, you won't fall for the twisted narrative being peddled by the media today.

If you do want to learn about Hindu culture, personally I'd suggest reading the Mahabharata (an abridged version if you can find it) because its a very important epic of ours, and it's also fairly entertaining to read.

Hope this helps!