The Need To Protect India's Composite Culture, Social And Communal Harmony

By S. Arshad, New Age Islam 21 May 2025 Sufi-Saints Strengthened The Composite Culture Of India MAIN POINTS: 1. India is the mother of all civilisations. 2. Adam, the first man on earth descended in this region. 3. Manu, the first man according to Hindu scripture belonged to India. 4. Gautam Buddha propounded a new philosophy in India. ----- The oldest geographical region of the world which was called Bharatvarsh in ancient scriptures; Hind by the Arab travellers and India by the European travellers is the seat of the oldest civilisation on earth. It would rather be more appropriate to call it the cradle of human civilizations. According to the Abrahamic traditions, Adam, the first man on earth, descended on the mountain of Sri Lanka, an island once a part of the Indian region. According to the Hindu scriptures, Manu, the first man on earth also belonged to India. He propagated dharma and taught man moral values. In later ages, various ethnic, linguistic and religious communities came to India in search of a better life and habitat and settled here. The Aryans, the Greeks and the Mongols made India their home and assimilated into its soil. During the period before the Christ, Jews and Christians from the middle east came to India due to political and economic tribulations and settled here. The founder of Buddhism, Gautam Buddha propounded a new philosophy of Ahimsa ( non-violence) and Karma which made India a more hospitable region on earth. Christianity also left a deep imprint on the religious and cultural fabric of India with its message of love and compassion for all. Some historians even believe that Jesus Christ spent a few years in Kashmir of India. In 2020, a big and 3 to 4 tonne heavy stone Nestorian Cross was unearthed in Gilgit-Baltistan in north India. The Cross is 1200 years old. The Cross gives an idea of the antiquity of Christianity in the Indian region. Towards the 8th century, the Muslim rulers followed the Muslim traders. They not only united the Indian region but also gave birth to the concept of the Indian nationality. They contributed to its economic progress so immensely that India came to be known as the Golden bird among the global community. They also strengthened the composite culture of India by promoting harmony and brotherhood among the Indians. Thanks to the assimilation of different languages, cultures and ethnicities, India turned into a multicultural region where people of different religions and races lived in peace and harmony. The Sufis and saints also played an important role in enriching and strengthening India's century old composite and syncretic culture. They spread the teachings of love, brotherhood, tolerance and respect for other religions inherent in all the religions through their sermons and poetry. They strived to build a society where there would be no discrimination on the basis of caste, race and religion and people would not commit violence in the name of religion. These sufi-saints urged their followers not to criticise the practices and beliefs of others. We find this policy of tolerance and non-violence among the saints since the olden times. For example, the 12th century saint poet of Nath Panth, Gorakh Nath says in his verses: Nath Kahe Sun Ho Re Udhav, Jag Me Aise Rehna Ankhi Dekhiba, Kane Suniba Mukh Thay Kachhu Na Kahna Nath Kahe Tum Aapa Rakho, Hath Kari Baad Na Karna Ye Jag Hai Kante Ki Bari Dekhi Dekhi Pag Dharna (Nath says, O yogi, this should be your behaviour in the society: See and hear but do not open your mouth when someone makes an unsavoury comment against you. You should not lose your temper and pick a quarrel. This world is like a thorny path. Tread with caution.) Gorakh Nath preaches to his followers not to make provocative remarks against others as followers of different faiths live in the society. One should respect the beliefs of others. And if someone criticises you, you should observe restraint and should not enter into a confrontation with him. Other Sufis and saints also followed this principle of tolerance and respect for others. They urged their followers to abstain from practices that may disturb social harmony and spread hatred between different communities. When the British rulers tried to drive a wedge between the Hindus and the Muslims during India's freedom movement, the thinkers, poets and writers of India made the people aware of the conspiracy of the foreign rulers and reminded them of their centuries old tradition of tolerance, communal harmony and peaceful co-existence. They called Hindus and Muslims two flowers of the tree of India or two eyes of a beautiful bride. The great Muslim thinker and author, Sir Syed Ahmad Khan likened India to a beautiful bride and Hindus and Muslims to her two eyes and said that with one defective eye, the bride would lose her beauty. Similarly, the great Bengali poet and Nobel laureate of the 20th century, Rabindranath Tagore also advocated for a complete harmony between the majority and minority community. He considered both the communities equally important for the progress of the Indian society. In his poem, 'Where the mind is without fear', he envisages a society where all the communities have equal opportunities to get education and to progress and live without fear and are treated with dignity. He says: Where the mind is without fear And the head held high Where knowledge is free Where the world is not broken into fragments by narrow domestic walls Where words come out from.the depth of truth Where tireless striving stretches its arms into perfection Where the clear stream of reason Has not lost its way into the dry desert sand of dead habit Where the mind is led forward by thee into ever widening thought and action into that heaven of freedom, my father, let my country awake. Before Tagore, the Bengali revolutionary poet and saint Lalan Fakir had also dreamt of a society free of communal and caste based divisions. He said, Emon Manab Samaj Kobe Srijan Hobey Je Din Hindu, Mussalman, Baudh, Khristan Jati Gotra Nahi Rabey (When will a human society come to reality When Hindu, Musalman Buddhist, Christian, caste and race will cease to exist?) The great Bengali poet of the 20th century Qazi Nazrul Islam took the tradition of brotherhood and communal harmony forward in his poems. In one of his poems, he says: Mora Eki Brinte Duti Kusum Hindu Mussalman Muslim.Tar Nayan Moni Hindu Tahar Pran. (We are two flowers on a branch, Hindu Mussalman. Muslims are its eyes and Hindus its life.) Urdu poetry right from its early period to the 21st century is replete with poems glorifying Indian culture, religions and religious personalities. Urdu poets, both Hindu and Muslim have promoted communal harmony, tolerance and respect for other religions. For example, Iqbal wrote poems glorifying Shri Ram and Guru Nanak ji. He calls Shri Ram the imam of all Indians and calls Guru Nanak Dev ji 'Mard-e-Kamil'( Prushottam). For Shri Ram, Iqbal says: Hai Ram Ke Wajud Pe Hindustaan Ko Naaz Ahl-E-Nazar Samjhte Hain Unko Imam-E-Hind (India takes pride in Shri Ram. The learned men regard him as the spiritual leader of India). About Guru Nanak ji, he says, Phir Uthi Akhir Sada Tawheed Ki Punjab Se Hind Ko Ek Mard-E-Kamil Ne Jagaya Khwab Se (Then at last the voice of oneness of God rose from Punjab. An ideal man awakened India from its deep slumber.) Through these poems, Indian poets of all languages preached to the people respect for all religions and religious personalities and stressed on the protection of the precious cultural heritage of India because the centuries old composite culture is India's identity and India draws respect and admiration from the world for this composite culture. Today, when the enemies of India within and outside are trying to destroy India's composite culture and its age old traditions of communal harmony, tolerance and brotherhood by spreading hatred and causing violence and riots, it is the duty of every true Indian to remind the people of their true common history and common legacy and save our composite culture from religious fanatics and evil forces. ----- S. Arshad is a columnist with NewAgeIslam.com. URL: https://www.newageislam.com/interfaith-dialogue/india-composite-culture-communal-harmony/d/135603 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism