… that in some hindu communities in the Indian Punjab, the eldest son in the family converts to Sikhism (and joins the army?) to emphasize the fact that no matter what the individual’s religion is, his motherland comes first?
Just read about it in the uni paper and found it interesting.
I've heard that before from Hindu sources, but it probably dates back to Mughal era. Why they needed to convert to join the army is a bit puzzling though.
i dont know about that, but i know of a similar anecdote.
in kerala (a coastal state in south india), when the portuguese colonists tried to launch a naval attack on the kingdom of kozhikode, the king's navy lead by Kunjali Marakkar (a muslim) defeated the strong portuguese attack. after this, it became customary for the kings of kozhikode (the samuthiris/zamorins) to have a predominantly muslim navy, and hindu families had their eldest sons convert to islam and join the navy.
if you look at the history of the subcontinent, there are several instances of religion not coming in the way of patriotism. when maharaja ranjeet singh ruled over punjab and parts of whats now NWFP and baluchistan, his army was predominantly muslim. and with this loyal army, he conquered kabul and the panjsher valley.
religious differences existed, and the british played their divide and rule games well - and the right-wingers took their cue pretty well.
Well the divide and rule excuse was fine up until recently, but now I would say it's time to take responsibility for our own actions. Why not look for co-operation on a smaller level, i.e. trade, sport, diplomacy etc, like everybody else, first and worry about religions and boundaries later?
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Well the divide and rule excuse was fine up until recently, but now I would say it's time to take responsibility for our own actions. Why not look for co-operation on a smaller level, i.e. trade, sport, diplomacy etc, like everybody else, first and worry about religions and boundaries later?
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It's high time we do!
Xtreme, if it is a symbolic act (and if indeed it has happened) then it wouldn't be of any significance at all, if they didn't join the army. I mean why'd anyone just convert to some other religion for no apparent reason?
Queer, did people of faiths other than Hinduism also converted to other faiths, or just hindus followed this practice? From an Islamic point of view, such a conversion is totally impossible.
Such a practice seems highly unlikely nowadays with so many religious zealots present in all faiths and the abundance of hatred around. What amazes me is the fact that such a practice (seemingly) totally negates the importance of one's faith.
well in japan shinto and bhudism is practied side by side.
eastern people view religen in different non-regid non-dogmatic way.
it nothing wrongfor indians to pray before muslim saint grave
as i have seen many times.
is it?