To Raqib: continuation of reply, French school teaching etc.
Reader comment on article: The Pope and the Koran
in response to reader comment: Fact not self beleive

History

Several authors have identified how the writing of history in Pakistan has beensystematically distorted to foster an artificial identity and ideology. The entire focus of this effort is directed towards proving the historical differences, enmities and differences betweenMuslims and Hindus and the righteousness of the Muslims as opposed to the cunning,deceit and cruelty of Hindus. A further objective is to establish in the child's mind that there has never been any period of amity or intermingling between the peoples of these religions since that is to be made the basis for justifying the demand for Pakistan.

To establish this identity history was rewritten to omit entire epochs of our past. For instance the textbooks written till 1961 contained detailed accounts of the ancient Hindu mythology and the Hindu and Buddhist dynasties that ruled the area which is now Pakistan. However, later textbooks entirely omit these ancient periods (e.g. Mauriya dynasty, Ashoka, etc.) while some make a brief reference to the Buddhist period (See e.g. Social Studies, Class-VI). This omission of a very important period of the history of this land besides being intellectually dishonest has had the effect, probably deliberate, of inculcating in children a sense of alienation from their Hindu neighbors in India as if we have never been part of a common history or sharedhistorical experience.

After some brief descriptions of ancient societies (Moen Jo Daro and Harrappa , pre-Hindu) history makes an abrupt jump to the advent of Muslims (Mohammed Bin Qasim). In an attempt to present Muslims as always acting for noble purposes and not motivated by desires of conquest and domination, the Arab's conflict with the rulers of Sindh is presented as a response to the attack on a pilgrim ship.

This selective portrayal hides the many previous attacks by the Arabs on the Makran-Baluchistan area which were repulsed by the local rulers. There is no attempt to link these conflicts with the actual political and economic motivations e.g. the control of trade routes, expansion of empires etc. that were prevalent in that period.

By omitting a critical and honest discussion of these factors and by glorifying and romanticizing these conquests the student is deprived of learning about the forces and dynamics that shape history, in particular those that have shaped the destiny of our own land. Somewhat similar comments can be made with regard to the advent of later Muslim rulers such as Mahmud Ghaznavi, Mohammad Ghauri and later on the Mughals and finally Ahmad Shah Abdali. Rather than discuss objectively the motivations behind the invasions and the reasons why the invading powers were in general able to subdue local resistance, all these events are covered under the panoply of Islam versus Hinduism. The triumph of every adventurer becomes the triumph and glory of Islam.

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