Emperor Akbar's Pilgrimage To Vaishno Devi

To this day, there is a Bhajan (worship song) sung by many Punjabis that contains the following couplet:

Naange naange pair Akbar Aayo (Akbar came barefoot)

Mata ko sone ki chhatri Chadhaayo (And offered a golden umbrella to the Mother)

The reference is to Emperor Akbar who undertook the pilgrimage to Mata Vaishnodevi's shrine barefoot and offered a golden umbrella.

Remember that Akbar was a Mughal Emperor. He walked barefoot to a Hindu shrine and made an offering. Internalize this.

Now, read Pre-Mughal history and clearly understand the following: Even Hindu kings were busy fighting with each other and invading kingdoms. This land has seen the Gupta Dynasty, the Maurya Dynasty - how do dynasties form but with large scale wars and invasions? There were also religious angles to Hindu kings fighting with each other: Shaivite kings (worshippers of Shiva) often went to war with Vaishnavite kings (worshippers of Vishnu) - and yes, the deity in the temple of the vanquished was replaced with the deity of the victor. How is this any different from Muslim kings coming to fight with Hindu kings? It's exactly the same thing!

The plain truth is this: Earth has seen a lust for power and conquest for thousands of years - and it has never given anyone anything. The intelligent way forward is for all of this to simply stop and people live together peacefully with each in a spirit of equality and freedom of religion. That is the only intelligent way forward.

Stay alert! Very alert! Do not let politicians create nuisance and trouble between different religious faiths! No politician ever suffered for a day in religious violence - it's always the common man, you and me, who suffers. Always.

Insist on politicians talking about Education, Healthcare, Job Creation, Law & Order, National Defense and Foreign Policy. Make them commit to well thought out plans to make progress in these sectors. Else, don't give them your vote. That's it.

(Note: As you reflect on the post above, bear in mind that I have supported the present government every time they acted to cancel minority appeasement freebies (Haj Allowance, PM Iftar Parties, Triple Talaaq, Article 370 - Kashmir lost the moral right to ever demand anything in January 1990). But from 2019 to 2024 their speeches and IT Cell actively spread hatred against ordinary Muslim citizens. Not only can this not be allowed, it is fundamentally nonsensical. To understand this better, I invite you to read: Strike a Pause: Why Push Away Muslims? (strike-a-pause.blogspot.com))