A Hindu soldier and a Muslim poet show how religious identities overlapped in 19th-century India
A scholar of India explores how two 19th-century memoirs portray a land where different religious identities coexist.
In 1947, India achieved independence and adopted a constitution that championed religious diversity and pluralism. However, recent years have seen a rise in hate speech targeting religious minorities, accompanied by incidents of religious and communal violence. India, home to the world's third-largest Muslim population, is one of the most religiously diverse nations globally, alongside a substantial Hindu majority and the existence of Christians, Sikhs, Jains, and various indigenous traditions.
The study of late 18th and 19th-century India through the lenses of military records, diaries, and memoirs reveals that the country was envisioned as a sacred land in diverse ways. Two accounts exemplify this perspective: the memoirs of a Hindu soldier, Sitaram Pande, and the writings of a Muslim poet, Mirza Ghalib. Despite their distinct backgrounds, both portray a region where religious identities coexist harmoniously with multiple forms of belonging.
Sitaram Pande, a Hindu soldier in the British East India Company army, penned a memoir recounting his travels across Hindustan, a term denoting the British-controlled territories east of the Indus River. Pande, a Brahmin, describes Hindustan as a realm of romance and adventure, likening it to the lush, idyllic landscapes found in Sanskrit poetry.
Despite observing the aftermath of the 1857 Indian rebellion, he married a Hindu woman he rescued from an Arab mercenary, defying prevailing norms of sexual and religious purity. This chapter, "The Lovely Thakurin," underscores that his sense of belonging transcends religious boundaries, intertwining with the sacred landscape of Hindustan.
Conversely, Mirza Ghalib, a Muslim poet from Delhi, offers a vision of Delhi as a cosmopolitan city where Hindus, Muslims, and the British coexisted. In his memoir, "Dastanbuy," Ghalib describes Delhi as a garden beneath the stars of the "Lord, the Emperor," Bahadur Shah Zafar. Drawing parallels between the Mughal gardens and the heavenly paradise described in the Quran, Ghalib captures the city's opulence and beauty prior to its destruction by the British in 1857.
His poetry reflects a belief in peaceful coexistence among different faiths, mirroring the diverse and inclusive essence of the Indian landscape.
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