As an American and an outsider to Indian politics (although I have studied Indian history and been to India many times), I am puzzled by Shyam's statement that "Mr. Pande is a known leftist, which makes him pro-Muslim (or anti-Hindu) by default." Leaving aside Mr. Pande's actual views, why would it appear that a leftist orientation (and does that mean Communist or what?) would be pro-Muslim or anti-Hindu? Islam seems like a pretty conservative ideology to me as an outsider, and in former times India was aligned with the USSR against a pro-US Pakistan. So I don't understand why leftist is considered equivalent to pro-Muslim. Can someone explain this to me? Thanks in advance. David Phillips San Francisco -----Original Message----- From: india-royalty-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:india-royalty-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of Epicure Sent: Wednesday, March 19, 2008 4:54 AM To: india-royalty@rootsweb.com Subject: [INDIA-ROYALTY] Aurangzeb of Delhi Dear Mr Pabitra Saha, There is a constant atempt to whitewash the 'sins' of the Mughals, and this is one of those numerous attempts. The possibility of tampering with Hindu beliefs is all the more because they have never appeared in a collective manner against any statement or aggression against them. The said Mr. Pande is a known leftist, which makes him pro-Muslim (or anti-Hindu) by default. Would anyone ask Mr. Pandey to provide any substantial, tangible evidence to support his hypothesis? And justification has he coined for Mathura? Best wishes! SHYAM ----- Original Message ----- From: "pabitra saha" <pksaha000@yahoo.co.uk> To: "royalty" <INDIA-ROYALTY-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Wednesday, March 19, 2008 10:37 AM Subject: [INDIA-ROYALTY] Aurangzeb of Delhi I was recently given this detail. Can anyone confirm this? "One of the greatest charges against Aurangzeb is of the demolition of Vishwanath Temple in Banaras (Varanasi). That was a fact, but Dr. Pande unravelled the reason for it. "While Aurangzeb was passing near Varanasi on his way to Bengal, the Hindu Rajas in his retinue requested that if the halt was made for a day, their Ranis may go to Varanasi, have a dip in the Ganges and pay their homage to Lord Vishwanath. Aurangzeb readily agreed. "Army pickets were posted on the five mile route to Varanasi. The Ranis made journey on the palkis (palanquins). They took their dip in the Ganges and went to the Vishwanath Temple to pay their homage. After offering puja (worship) all the Ranis returned except one, the Maharani of Kutch. A thorough search was made of the temple precincts but the Rani was to be found nowhere. "When Aurangzeb came to know of this, he was very much enraged. He sent his senior officers to search for the Rani. Ultimately they found that statue of Ganesh which was fixed in the wall was a moveable one. When the statue was moved, they saw a flight of stairs that led to the basement. To their horror they found the missing Rani dishonoured and crying deprived of all her ornaments. The basement was just beneath Lord Vishwanath's seat." The Rajas demanded salutary action, and "Aurangzeb ordered that as the sacred precincts have been despoiled, Lord Vishwanath may be moved to some other place, the temple be razed to the ground and the Mahant (head priest) be arrested and punished." ( Pande, Bishma Narain, Islam and Indian Culture, Khuda Bakhsh Oriental Public Library, Patna, 1987)." with best wishes, pks --------------------------------- Rise to the challenge for Sport Relief with Yahoo! for Good ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to INDIA-ROYALTY-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to INDIA-ROYALTY-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message ___________________________________________________________________________ This e-mail message is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply e-mail and destroy all copies of the original message. Thank you. Farella Braun + Martel LLP