1. FESTIVALS: Thaipoosam Kavadi Festival in Seychelles - Devotees of the Hindu deity Bhagwan Muruga flocked into the streets of the nation’s tiny capital, Victoria, on the main island of Mahé on February 3 to partake in the colourful event to the fascination of onlookers. The Seychelles, with its population of 90,000, has a small minority (around four percent) of permanent Bharatiya inhabitants.
The Hindu Kovil Sangam, the local religious organisation for most Hindus in the country, invited the public to participate in the procession, which ended off at the Navasakthi Vinayagar temple dedicated to Lord Muruga, the warrior deity followed primarily by Hindus of Tamil origin.
On the morning of the festival, male devotees shaved their heads and proceeded along the narrow streets of Victoria lined with onlookers while carrying various types of kavadi. The simplest type of kavadi is a pot of milk, but they commonly entail elaborate and colourful frames pulled or balanced by means of skewers or hooks pierced into the flesh. When the procession finally arrives at the temple, the devotees offer pots of milk to anoint Lord Muruga and to pray for his blessings. After the anointing, special prayers were performed and a vegetarian lunch was shared with the public on the newly-purchased plot of land behind the temple where the Hindu Kovil Sangam intends to build a cultural centre. -goTop
2. ONENESS IN DIVERSITY: At the time when Islamic jihadis and church-funded outfits are seen promoting intolerance and terrorism across the world, the four-day conglomeration of Elders representing 73 different ancient cultures and traditions of the world in historic city of Mysuru from February 1 to 4 was an important step to save the world from destruction and to promote peace and tolerance. The theme of the conference was “Universal Wellbeing: Sustaining Nature, Culture and Communities”. More than 300 delegates from 40 countries across the globe participated in the conference, organised by International Centre for Cultural Studies (ICCS). Organised with the prime moto Mitakuye Oyasin (We are all related), it was the fifth conference since the year 2003 when the first such conference was organised in Mumbai.
The participating ancient cultures accept diversity and believe in universal peace. Since some ancient cultures are experiencing extreme challenges in their homeland, the Conference was an opportunity for them to highlight their problems before a world forum. The success stories of some of the cultures, like the Maoris of New Zealand, and other ancient cultures from European, African, South American, North American, and Asian countries were also deliberated upon. Over multiple millennia these ancient cultures have developed sophisticated systems that have been expressed through social structures, language, art, science and Nature. Discussion was held and efforts were made to find new ways to strengthen these systems during the conference. The theme of the conference was ‘Universal Wellbeing’ and it aimed at sustaining nature, culture and communities.
Inaugurating the Conference at Ganapathi Sachchidananda Ashram of Mysuru on February 1 the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) Sarsanghachalak Shri Mohan Bhagwat stressed the need to preserve nature and culture to achieve universal wellbeing. “The world has strived to achieve universal good through a contract scheme during the last 2000 years i.e. I benefit you only if you benefit me and if you don’t benefit me, I will destroy you. When there is a contract, diversity is an inconvenience and uniformity is most favoured. The living of diversity together is not on the basis of contract but on the basis of acceptance. Modern concept of life suggests that we need to tolerate each other. But our ancient traditions with vast experience said we need to accept each other not just tolerate. Utility is not the basis for acceptance. Different traditions look different but they are one. Oneness is the absolute truth and the permanent reality. Our traditions say we need to sustain everything, accept all nature and every other traditions,” Shri Bhagwat said.
He said “Universal Wellbeing” is universally accepted word, but it seems that the world is yet to realise that there can be no other way unless this is universal. If one believes this, we will strive for the universal wellbeing. Universe consists of many things apparently but they are all inter-related. The state of one thing affects the state of every other thing in the universe. This is what our ancient traditions tell us and is also what the modern science has discovered, that everything is connected. An event at one place has its ramifications at remote places in the universe, he added.
He further said the ancient traditions of the world must have gone through the experience of living together by accepting each other. This universe is one whole organism and not different parts. Hence well-being is universal and everybody has to take care of everyone else and everything else. “The universe is a single organism and to have universal wellbeing we need to co-exist as one. We need to develop the attitude of acceptance. Diversity is to be celebrated and not to be opposed. No one should be subjected to persecution and discriminated against because of their different attires or different ways of worship and dissimilar traditions. All this must co-exist together and find a way to take everybody along with us,” he added.
He said the Conference is not a one-off event organised due to temporary enthusiasm, it is a continuing process where people come together to seek sustenance of ancient tradition and ways to cohabit. “Due to the enhanced participation, there is an awareness about the need to sustain ancient cultures today. We need to find ways to utilise this awakened awareness. The coming together of the ancient traditions can provide the basis for the wellbeing of the universe. The ancient traditions are an experience and we need to re-live this experience through acceptance and not through a contract. Our lives are not for our selfish interests. It is for the contribution towards universal wellbeing,” he said exhorting the participants to apply mind and translate the conclusions into deeds and seek ways to find universal well-being. He assured full support of Sanatan Bharat in sustaining the ancient culture and traditions.
Presiding over the inaugural session Shri Ganapathi Sachchidananda Swamiji said when people usually travel to a city, they only see a zoo, a museum or a tourist place. But they need to know the habits, culture and traditions of the local people and try to know more about them. “We should gain from each other’s experience and learn from different cultures. More such conferences should be conducted so that we learn from various traditions. Our native traditions and cultures are a must in today’s world to safeguard our identity,” he added.
Dr B Suresh, Vice Chancellor of JSS University, Mysuru speaking at the valedictory session observed that people are more engaged in social media rather than socialising and it may affect inter personal relations. He called upon the intellectuals to share their knowledge free of cost to deserved students or those interested in the subject so that society gets benefitted in a big way.
Elizabeth Araujo, Mayan Elder, Guatemala, mentioned that she attended all the five conferences and look forward to attend the future conferences too. President of ICCS New York Dr Shekhar Patel,, Spiritual leader of Romuva Lithuanian Ancient Religion Community Inija Trinkuniene, and Saumitra Gokhale also shared the dais.
The Conference began with the chanting of Vedic mantra Samgachchhadhvam, Samvsadadhvam…. and lighting of the lamp by the elders of different cultures. Datta Vijayananda Swamiji also graced the dais. ICCS president Shekhar Patel appraised the gathering of the objectives of the Conference. Vishwa Vibhag functionaries Shyam Parande, Dr Shankarrao Tattwavadi, Ravi Iyer, Dr Yashwant Pathak of ICCS, Prant Sanghachalak M Venkatram, Prant Pracharak Mukunda, senior Sangh Pracharaks Mai Cha Jayadev and Chandrashekhar Bhandary, and many prominent social, religious enthusiasts were also present on the occasion.
On February 1 morning, an attractive procession of the delegates from world over in their ethnic attire was held in Mysuru near the Royal Palace area. It was well received by the public of the city.
The Conference concluded on February 4. Union Minister of Tribal Affairs Jual Oram informed the gathering about the research being conducted to safeguard the tribal languages that do not have a script of their own and are on the verge of extinction. He also said research is going on towards building a library for the tribal languages.
A delegation of Yezidi community called on RSS Sarsanghachalak Shri Mohan Bhagwat in Mysuru on the eve of February 1. The delegation discussed about their nature of prayers and the similarities with the Hindu culture. “We have our ancient cultural routes with India. It was a friendly meet with RSS Chief,” said a member of the delegation.
The Yazidis are a Kurdish ethno religious group, living in Ninveh province of Kurdistan, whose syncretic ancient religion Yazidism is linked to Zoroastrianism and ancient Mesopotamian religions. Their communities in Armenia, Georgia have been in decline since the 1990s as a result of significant migration to Europe, especially to Germany. The bulk of the Yazidi population lives in Iraq as an important minority community. -goTop
3. HINDUSTHAN IS A HINDU RASHTRA, and there is a need to organize all Hindus in the country, said RSS Sarasanghachalak Shri Mohan Bhagwat addressing a gathering of swayamsevaks in Ghaziabad on February 8. Quoting famous poet Rabindranath Tagore, he said whenever there will be conflicts among Hindus and Muslims, “a middle-path will emerge and that path will be of Hindutava.”
“No volunteers organization in the world had to face such a long and bitter opposition as we faced in our own country. We had to move forward under very difficult circumstances,” he added.
There was a time when there was no acceptance for the ideology of the Sangh either in the country or in other parts of the world but “this is a very favourable time for the Sangh,” he said. While asking the gathering to respect diversity, he said that “the idea of Hinduism is the only idea in the world which brings all together”. -goTop
4. HINDUTVA HAILS EQUALITY: “Hindutva is a way of life which has a long and rich history of socio-cultural values and teachings; thus it has the power and ability to become a role model for the world at the time when every other country, religion and entity feels insecure due to the race of making money and armament,” said RSS Sarasanghachalak Dr. Mohan Bhagwat, addressing the massive congregation of saints and tribals on the occasion of ‘Maa Narmada Hindu Sangam’ on February 10 at the holy bank of river Narmada in Maheshwar, near Khargone, Madhya Pradesh. Various tribal cultural groups from across the state and other adjoining areas attended the event and showcased their rich heritage and culture through various art forms, folk songs, psalm and traditional dances.
“Since ancient times, we have four gems in our society Sant, Pant, Mantra and Granth. We should follow the footsteps of saints and try to adopt their teachings, messages and morals in our day to day life,” added Mohan Bhagwat. Sarsanghchalak further said that Hinduism does not believe in forcing others to replicate their path but at the same time believes in protecting and safeguarding its own interests and beliefs.
He said that the Hindu philosophy accepts and treats this universe as one family with the highest spiritual message for the world. Therefore, the entire world is looking with hope towards Bharat which can be achieved only with making Hindu society strong, organized and vibrant. -goTop
5. BHARAT AND HINDUS ARE INSEPARABLE, said RSS Sarakaryavah Suresh alias Bhayyaji Joshi addressing the massive gathering of Hindus at the Virat Hindu Samajotsava organized to commemorate 50th anniversary of Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) in Bengaluru on February 8. “Bharat is a sacred land and it is fortunate to be born as Hindu in this land. Through the many upheavals the Hindus and their motherland Bharat have survived. It was now upon them to see that this tradition continued for the posterity,” he added. Invoking Swami Vivekananda, Bhayyaji Joshi said if ‘dharma’ was preserved and sustained in Bharat, it would remain in the world. Therefore, this is the responsibility of Hindus to preserve and protect Dharma for the betterment of the harmonious world and humanity.
Dharmashtala Darmadhikari Shri Veerendra reminisced about the glorious past of this nation and the difficulties it faced. Ramaratna, president of VHP “matru shakti”, briefed the gathering about the activities of the VHP women’s wing. Beli Matha’s Shivarudra Swamiji highlighted the noble work done by VHP in uniting the Hindu society in the last 50 years.
6. PRESENTATION ON HIDDEN WORK OF BHASKARACHARYA: To commemorate 900th birth anniversary celebrations of Bhaskaracharya’s contribution to Maths and astronomy, a two day workshop was organized in Chennai by Vignana Bharati in co-ordination with Prof. K V Sarma Research Foundation, Chennai along with P S Educational Society, IIT Bombay, Vivekananda Educational Society, Chennai. Around 60 teachers, and eminent persons in different fields attended the workshop. Several papers and presentations were made on topics like planetary model of Bhaskaracharya, method of solving an indeterminate equation – kuttaka of Lilavati, Bijaganita of Bhaskaracharya, vargakarma problems in Lilavati Sri Jayakumar, Akhil Bharatiya Secretary General of Vignan Bharati gave a concluding speech. -goTop
7. Nemade wins Jnanpith Award: Marathi writer Bhalchandra Nemade on February 6 was named for the 50th Jnanpith Award for the year 2014. The poet-novelist was born in 1938 in the village of Sangvi in Maharashtra. Jnanpith award is one of the prestigious literary awards in the country. The name of award is taken from Sanskrit words Jnana and Pitha (knowledge-seat). -goTop
8. A SINGLE VISA FOR BRITAIN AND IRELAND: Bharatiya tourists can now visit Britain and Ireland on a single visa. British-Irish Visa scheme was formally launched by British home secretary Theresa May and the Irish minister for justice and equality, Frances Fitzgerald, last October and has come into effect from February 10. Those using the scheme will need to travel to the country that issued their visa first, before being able to travel onto the other country. -goTop
9. BHARATIYA-AMERICAN RESEARCHER GETS $500,000 SCIENCE FOUNDATION AWARD: Gurpreet Singh, an assistant professor of mechanical and nuclear engineering at Kansas State University, has received a $500,000 National Science Foundation Career award for his research on nanosheets. The prestigious award will help Singh organize educational activities for high school students and teachers. He received the award for his research on “Scalable liquid exfoliation processing of ultrathin two-dimensional metal dichalcogenides nanosheets for energy storage devices.” He will use the award to develop ultrathin metal sheets that can help produce better rechargeable batteries, supercapacitors and catalysts. -goTop
10. PRESIDENT, DON’T PREACH - Obama doesn’t need to teach tolerance to India
Mr Barack Obama's recent comments on religious intolerance in India are typical of America's moral policing tendencies and expose that country's double standards on the same values that it preaches to the world. Generally speaking, the most suitable way of dealing with such unnecessary commentary that has almost no impact on ground realities (no, shrill debates in television studios do not count) is to ignore it altogether. However, when the President of the United States takes potshots at your country on two separate occasions in a span of 10 days, it merits a strong rebuttal.
India has been home to a vast and diverse population for centuries, and its tolerance record remains unparalleled in the world. Of course, the country has suffered religious violence in its history — for example, thousands were killed in communal conflagrations across India even during Mahatma Gandhi's time (and therefore, it's unlikely that the father of this nation would have been “shocked” by supposed “acts of intolerance” today). And there is also no denying that some of these social challenges remain till date. However, to build a case of religious intolerance against India today, using what can only be described as isolated incidents, is disingenuous.
What makes the situation even more hypocritical is that the US does not seem to hold either itself or its allies to the same standards that it sets for India. Had that been the case, Mr Obama would have known that America has no moral authority to preach tolerance to the world given how blacks in the US are still discriminated against, and brown folks victimised in hate crimes, not to mention the shameful history of white supremacist movements. Mr Obama's taunts also strike a jarring note when one considers the backdrops against which they were delivered.
His first comments came right before he flew to Saudi Arabia, where there is, legally, no religious freedom or tolerance — and yet that country is one of America's closest allies.
His second comment was delivered at the National Prayer Breakfast which was attended by the Dalai Lama, who has been living in India since 1959. Notably, the second reference to religious intolerance in India was pegged to references to the Crusades and the Inquisition. This was to underscore the larger point that the blood curdling jihadi violence we see today is “not unique to one group or one religion”. This is a deeply problematic correlation. First, there is simply no ‘Hindu' comparison to the Christian Crusades or jihadi terror as we know it today. Second, even the Crusades happened several thousand years ago while Islamist terror threatens us today — that the President's views are blinkered by his pseudo-Liberal need for moral equivalence, where there is none, is disappointing.
It is also important to understand the politics that has played into Mr Obama's comments. In this case, the role of advocacy groups and official forums which deal with religious affairs and have much clout in Washington, DC, cannot be ignored. It is no coincidence that the US Commission for International Religious Freedom, which was instrumental in the blacklisting of Mr Narendra Modi after the 2002 Gujarat violence and believes that religious freedom in India is comparable to that in Afghanistan and Turkey, welcomed the President's remarks. — Editorial, Pioneer, February 9, 2014. -goTop
11. 18th-century sword reveals BHARATIYAs' craftsmanship: Scientists and conservationists from Italy and the UK collaborated to study a curved single-edged sword called a `Shamshir'. The study, led by Eliza Barzagli of the Institute for Complex Systems and the University of Florence in Italy, looked at the 75-centimeter-long sword from the Wallace Collection in London. It was made in Bharat in the late 18th or early 19th century. The sword's design has a Persian origin, from where it spread across Asia and eventually gave rise to a family of similar weapons called scimitars, forged in various Southeast Asian countries. The carbon content of at least 1% shows it is made of wootz steel. Barzagli's team reckons that the craftsmen of this particular sword allowed the blade to cool in the air, instead of plunging it into a liquid. "Ancient objects are scarce, and the most interesting ones are usually in excellent state. Neutron diffraction techniques provide an ideal solution to characterize archaeological specimens made of metal when we cannot or don't want to sample the object," said Barzagli. -goTop
12. PIO wonderkid working on new product for blind: A 13-year-old Bharatiya-origin boy, who invented a low-cost portable Braille printer, says he is currently working on a "pretty cool" new idea for a product which will again be useful for millions of visually impaired. Shubham Banerjee, an eighth-grade student in Santa Clara, California, is receiving rave reviews and valuable support from experts and prestigious companies for his printer Braigo, which he had recently developed using Lego Mindstorms EV3, a robotics kit.
"Don't do something that someone's already done before. Do something original and something that helps the society," he said over phone from California. "Anyone can build something to help people. Whenever you get a chance, really go out and help people," he said. A good idea can "come from anywhere", Banerjee said, pointing out that he started out on the printer using the Lego blocks and figures. He said he was shocked to learn that braille printers cost over US $2,000. -goTop
13. Barack Obama picks Bharatiya for key post: US President Barack Obama has appointed top Bharatiya-American executive Ajay Banga a member of the advisory committee for trade policy and negotiations. “The talent and expertise these individuals bring to their roles will serve our nation well. I am grateful for their service, and look forward to working with them,” Banga, an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, is the president and CEO of MasterCard since 2009. -goTop
14. SHRI VISHWA NIKETAN: Pravas: Shri Saumitra Gokhale, Vishwa Vibhag samyojak is visiting Malaysia and Singapore. Dr. Ram Vaidya, sah samyojak will visit Ghana and Nigeria. Visitors: Dr. Yashwant Pathak & Dr. Radheshyam Dwivedi, USA. -goTop
THOUGHT OF THE DAY: Like spirituality, organization of the Nation has also been my inclination from early days. I believe that I would be in a better position to achieve it successfully being a part of the Sangh. Hence, I have dedicated myself to the activities of Sangh. In the light of the insight and practical approach of Swami Vivekananda, I think my decision is appropriate.— Shri Guruji M.S.Golwalkar. -goTop
JAI SHREE RAM
A PEEP INTO
AFGHANISTAN’S HINDU PAST
DR. BIKRAM LAMBA
It is commonly known that while the British, the Russians- both the Tsar and present communist regimes-, and the US met their Waterloo in Afghanistan, it was destined that the then King of Punjab in India could win and establish his rule there.
Ganesha—May be it was a throwback to history, since Afghanistan has traditionally been a Hindu Kingdom. The year 980 C.E. marks the beginning of the Muslim invasion into India proper when Sabuktagin attacked Raja Jaya Pal in Afghanistan. Afghanistan is today a Muslim country separated from India by another Muslim country Pakistan. But in 980 C.E. Afghanistan was also a place where the people were Hindus and Buddhists.
The name “Afghanistan” comes from “Upa-Gana-stan” which means in Sanskrit “the place inhabited by allied tribes”. This was the place from where Gandhari of the Mahabharat came from, Gandhar whose king was Shakuni. Today the city of Gandhar is known as Kandahar. The Pakthoons are descendants of the Paktha tribe mentioned in Vedic literature.
Till the year 980 C.E., this area was a Hindu majority area, till Sabuktagin from Ghazni invaded it and displaced the ruling Hindu king – Jaya Pal Shahi. Shiva worship was widespread in Afghanistan. There was a time when the entire region was replete with hundreds of Shiva temples celebrating Shiva – Parvati worship and abuzz with Shiv chants, prayers, legends and worship.
Archaeological excavations in this region conducted by Sir Estine (an East India Company official) led to the recovery of uncountable shrines and inscriptions. He has authored four books on that topic featuring photos of icons, icons and inscriptions discovered. The photos show a sun temple and a Ganesha statue too. An Islamabad University professor Abdul Rehman has authored two books on those finds recalling the glory and prosperity of those times.
Regimes of two Hindu rulers “Kusham” and “Kidara” lasted for fairly long periods. During their rule a number of Shiva temples were not only in Afghanistan but in other West Asian regions too. Uzbekistan and Takzikistan formed part of the Afghan kingdom in those times. Tashkent has one of those ancient Shiva temples standing even today.
Professor Abdul Rehman states that Bukhara region was known as “Shah Vihar” in ancient times. It was ruled by a Hindu king. When Arabs invaded that kingdom its queen traveled to Kashmir to seek military help. Arab chronicles mention her as ‘Khatoon’, meaning ’Woman’.
Shiva “Kalhan“, the ancient Hindu historian of Kashmir has mentioned that the army of the then Hindu ruler of Kashmir had a battle with a vast army of the Arab Khalifa Mamoon whose headquarters was Baghdad. At that time Bukhara had been under Muslim rule. He had invited a number of leading Hindu experts to Baghdad. An Ayurvedic practitioner of Varansi (alias Benares) had treated the Khalifa for some ailment afflicting the latter. In those days it was Hindu Ayurvedic practitioners who were eagerly sought by Arab patients. A number of Arabs had translated Sanskrit Ayurvedic texts into Arabic. A list of those translated Sanskrit texts appears in a Volume known as al “Frisht“.
Baku (capital of the Azerbaijan region) known for its underground petroleum yields has still an ancient Hindu temple of the Divine Flame generated by the subterranean petrol and gas). During the Czar regimes in Russia, a Punjabi priest officiated at that temple. The walls display some religious stanzas written in Punjabi Gurumakhi script. The market there also had Hindu merchants. Nearby was a locality too of Hindu inhabitants. Baku in Azerbaijani language actually signifies a Goddess. Therefore, obviously Baku derives its name from a very ancient Vedic Goddess temple there.
Kenduj a province of Afghanistan was ruled by a king that had a Hindu prime minister. This is mentioned in history books. Albirruni’s travel account contains details of ancient Hindu Afghanistan. He mentions a Hindu king, Khingla whose coins bore the imprint of Shiva. The first ruler of that dynasty was Viahitagni.
History mentions a Shiva temple in Gardej township, which was plundered by Arab invaders. Khingla dynasty ruled the region from 666 to 843 A.D. From 843 to 850 A.D. a Brahmin Minister ruled the region. The Kalkaa community of Brahmins had acquired prominence in those times. They were later known as Kallers. A township of that name exists in Punjab. Prominent among them who find a mention in later history are Samantdev, Bheemdev, Jaipaldev, Anandpal and Trilochan.
Jaipaldev suffered a defeat in 1002 when Mohammed Gaznavi invaded Bharat Unable to bear that defeat Jaipaldev committed suicide. When Hsüan-tsang visited the region early in the 7th century CE, the Kabul valley region was ruled by a Hindu Kshatriya king, who is identified as the Shahi Khingal, and whose name has been found in an inscription found in Gardez.
The Hindu Shahi kings of Kabul and Gandhara may have had links to some ruling families in neighboring Kashmir and other areas to the east. The place where Kabul’s main mosque stands today was the site of an ancient Hindu temple and the story of its capture is kept alive in Islamic Afghan legend which describes the Islamic hero Sabuktagin who fought with a sword in every hand to defeat the Hindus and destroy their temple to put up a Mosque in its place. The victory of Sabuktagin pushed the frontiers of the Hindu kingdom of the Shahis from Kabul to behind the Hindu Kush mountains Hindu Kush is literally “killer of Hindus” – a name given by Mahmud Ghazni to describe the number of Hindus who died on their way into Afghanistan to a life of captivity.
Hindu temples in Afghanistan — After this setback, the Shahis shifted their capital from Kubha (Kabul) to Udbhandapura (modern Und in NWFP).
Sabuktagin’s son Mahmud Ghazni, kept up the attacks on the Shahis and captured Und. Subsequently, the Shahis moved their capital to sLahore and later to Kangra in Himachal. The recovery and significance of the inscription, telling a story of the Hindu ruler Veka and his devotion to lord ‘Shiva’, was told by leading epigraphist and archaeologist Prof Ahmad Hasan Dani of the Quaid-E-Azam University of Islamabad at the Indian History Congress. As per Prof Ahmad Hasan, “The date of 138 of present inscription, should be equal to 959 AD which falls during the reign of Bhimapala”, Dani said in a paper “Mazar-i Sharif inscription of the time of the Shahi ruler Veka, dated the year 138″.
The inscription, with eleven lines written in “western Sarada” style of Sanskrit of 10th century AD, had several spelling mistakes. “As the stone is slightly broken at the top left corner, the first letter `OM’ is missing”, he said
According to the inscription, “the ruler Veka occupied by eight-fold forces, the earth, the markets and the forts. It is during his reign that a temple of Shiva in the embrace with Uma was built at Maityasya by Parimaha (great) Maitya for the benefit of himself and his son”. Dani said “the inscription gives the name of the king as Shahi Veka Raja and bestows on him the qualification of `Iryatumatu Ksanginanka’…. and (he) appears to be the same king who bears the name of Khingila or Khinkhila who should be accepted as a Shahi ruler”.
Dani further said “he may be an ancestor of Veka deva. As his coins are found in Afghanistan and he is mentioned by the Arab ruler Yaqubi, he may be an immediate predecessor of Veka deva… Both the evidences of inscription and coins suggest that Veka or Vaka should be accepted as an independent ruler of northern Afghanistan.”
“Thus we find another branch of the Shahi ruler in northern part of Afghanistan beyond the Hindukush. Veka is said to have conquered the earth, the markets and the forts by his eight-fold forces, suggesting that he must have himself gained success against the Arab rulers of southern Afghanistan”. Dani observed that going by the findings it seemed that during the rule of the Hindu Shahi ruler Bhimapala there was a break in the dynasty – one branch, headed by Jayapala, ruled in Lamaghan and Punjab, and another branch, headed by Veka, ruled in northern part of Afghanistan. The northern branch must have come to an end by the conquest of Alptigin in the second half of tenth century AD”, he said.
India has now developed a highly constructive, imaginative reconstruction strategy for Afghanistan that is designed to please every sector of Afghan society, give India a high profile with the Afghan people, gain the maximum political advantage with the Afghan government, to become an indispensable ally and friend of the Afghan people in the new century. — Sanskriti, February 10, 2015. -goTop
