New Delhi: An opinion piece from Counter Currents, written by retired Delhi University professor Shamsul Islam, challenges dominant Hindu nationalist narratives around temple desecration in India. The article responds to recent speeches by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Somnath Swabhiman Parv and by National Security Advisor Ajit Doval at a youth dialogue in Delhi. Both speeches framed Indian Muslims as historical aggressors and linked present day Muslims to medieval rulers with Muslim names.
Islam argues that such claims flatten history and convert complex past events into tools for present politics. He notes that Somnath Temple was attacked in 1026 by Mahmud Ghaznavi. He also highlights an often ignored account from RSS ideologue M S Golwalkar, published in 1950, which stated that local Hindu chieftains actively aided Ghaznavi’s campaign. This detail disrupts the idea of a simple Hindu victim versus Muslim aggressor narrative.
The article further cites Swami Dayananda Saraswati, who described failures and delays by temple defenders rather than heroic resistance. Islam extends his critique beyond Somnath. He documents how Buddhist and Jain sites faced destruction or conversion at the hands of Hindu rulers and religious leaders. References include Swami Vivekananda, Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, and accounts of Buddhist monasteries turned into Hindu temples after shifts in political power.
Islam also recalls atrocities committed by Maratha armies against Bengali Hindus in the eighteenth century, using eyewitness accounts recorded by historian Jadunath Sarkar. He points to census data from 1871 to show that despite centuries of Muslim rule, Hindus remained the majority, challenging claims of systematic religious annihilation.
The article urges readers to reject fear driven history and to confront uncomfortable truths within all traditions. It warns that selective memory and calls for revenge risk deep social harm and distort India’s plural past.
