11-02-2005, 03:43 AM
[Most of us who start to study the History of our people, the Jats, run into a dead end, there is no mention of them in history texts or if there is, it is only in the passing.
Or we suddenly appear around the time of the Islamic invasion in lower Sindh( now Pakistan).
The History and Culture of the Indian People, (HCIP) is basically an excellent and comprehensive history of India, Complied in the early fifties by a group of dedicated historians. (Inexpensive at Rs 150 a copy the prices have not changed for 15 years- a recommended series for every house)
Yet even there for example in HCIP, vole III, there are only 2 references to the Jats .It is, as we did not exist.
Various historians have commented on this, Desraj (1934), Joon (1934) Dahiya, (1982) Pauria, and (1993) Ahlawat (1988)
To me this was also quite a surprise.
Even he, the learned Professor is silent, for his preceding chapter covers the Jat emperor Harshvardhan of Kanauj, but he is not refereed to as a Jat.
So it is with some interest I came across (his) Prof. R C Majumdar's comments Page 174, in his "Chapter of Northern India during A.D.650-750"
Ravi
*************
In Volume III, the Classical Age Professor R C Majumdar writes
" We may now critically review the main incidents narrated above in connection with the early Muslim raids on the western borderlands of India. It is well known that only four routes are open to a hostile army operating against India from the west. One way is by the sea, and the other three lies roughly speaking through Chiba Pass, Bolan Pass and the Makran coast. From the very commencement, we find the Arabs endeavoring to penetrate into India through every one of these routes. The early naval raids against Thana, Broach and Debal, and subsequent raids in the same direction, mark their vain efforts to reach India by sea. Of the land-routes, the Khyber Pass was guarded by Kabul and Zabul while the Bolan Pass was protected by the brave Jats of Kikan or Kikanan.
The long-drawn struggles of the Arabs with these powers, narrated above, mark their steady but fruitless endeavours to enter India through the two great passes. The hardy mountaineers of these regions' backed by the natural advantage of their hilly country, offered stubborn resistance to the conquerors of the world, and though often defeated, ever refused to yield.
<b> IF THERE HAD BEEN A HISTORY OF INDIA WRITTEN WITHOUT PREJUDICES AND PREDILECTIONS, </b>the heroic deeds of these brave people, who stemmed the tide of Islam for two centuries, would certainly have received the recognition they so richly deserve."
Or we suddenly appear around the time of the Islamic invasion in lower Sindh( now Pakistan).
The History and Culture of the Indian People, (HCIP) is basically an excellent and comprehensive history of India, Complied in the early fifties by a group of dedicated historians. (Inexpensive at Rs 150 a copy the prices have not changed for 15 years- a recommended series for every house)
Yet even there for example in HCIP, vole III, there are only 2 references to the Jats .It is, as we did not exist.
Various historians have commented on this, Desraj (1934), Joon (1934) Dahiya, (1982) Pauria, and (1993) Ahlawat (1988)
To me this was also quite a surprise.
Even he, the learned Professor is silent, for his preceding chapter covers the Jat emperor Harshvardhan of Kanauj, but he is not refereed to as a Jat.
So it is with some interest I came across (his) Prof. R C Majumdar's comments Page 174, in his "Chapter of Northern India during A.D.650-750"
Ravi
*************
In Volume III, the Classical Age Professor R C Majumdar writes
" We may now critically review the main incidents narrated above in connection with the early Muslim raids on the western borderlands of India. It is well known that only four routes are open to a hostile army operating against India from the west. One way is by the sea, and the other three lies roughly speaking through Chiba Pass, Bolan Pass and the Makran coast. From the very commencement, we find the Arabs endeavoring to penetrate into India through every one of these routes. The early naval raids against Thana, Broach and Debal, and subsequent raids in the same direction, mark their vain efforts to reach India by sea. Of the land-routes, the Khyber Pass was guarded by Kabul and Zabul while the Bolan Pass was protected by the brave Jats of Kikan or Kikanan.
The long-drawn struggles of the Arabs with these powers, narrated above, mark their steady but fruitless endeavours to enter India through the two great passes. The hardy mountaineers of these regions' backed by the natural advantage of their hilly country, offered stubborn resistance to the conquerors of the world, and though often defeated, ever refused to yield.
<b> IF THERE HAD BEEN A HISTORY OF INDIA WRITTEN WITHOUT PREJUDICES AND PREDILECTIONS, </b>the heroic deeds of these brave people, who stemmed the tide of Islam for two centuries, would certainly have received the recognition they so richly deserve."