Dear Rajan-bab, Thanks for the courtesy of your reply.
If one understands 'religion' in the context of power and control, the way I do, one will come to the same conclusion as I have personally reached i.e. those in quest of power will destroy any symbol or centre which does not submit to it. Those that submit are absorbed within the power structure, albeit at varying levels on the power-ladder. This would not be a novel idea. And no one people has been immune from this effect of power + land grab. It is my believe that no one dispossess another of land and power - by peaceful means. It is always a concoction of Machiavellian treachery, misrepresentation, and (if necessary) brute force. As far as the magnitude of the problem, it is possible for it to be debatable. Personally, I am not sure if ALL the events were recorded, and that too recorded in a non-partisan fashion. For, those who record history, tend to glorify their own and demonify the other side. As the saying goes: One side's terrorists become another side's freedom fighters.....and glorious one's at that. So, one has to fall back on a reasonable explanation as to why the Buddhist shrines almost disappeared from the subcontinent; that too, before the arrival of the Muslims. (I also have a Nepali friend who has promised to allow me access to jpeg images of Nepali documents which will support the view that (at least in the northernmost part of the subcontinent) Buddhism was suppressed by the pro-Brahman forces. I will believe it when/if I get to see the jpeg images ....my next challenge will be to have them translated into Hindi or English. Accordingly, I disagree with you but I accept that the past is what one learns from - so that one does not repeat the evils of our forebears. good wishes jc BTW: I do not personally know Pravin Sabnis but I know individuals (whom I trust) of differing faiths and even one who has no faith. Their opinion of Pravin Sabnis, uniformly, is diametrically opposite of yours. But I accept that your opinion is yours. === On 27 March 2010 20:06, Rajan P. Parrikar <[email protected]> wrote: Dear JC-bab, I have left my response to your comment - http://www.parrikar.com/blog/2010/03/26/chapel-on-the-hill This topic is a redux, and keeps appearing with periodicity on the internet; there are many good discussions of it on the web. I will simply record here that I completely disagree with your view. As for quoting Pravin Sabnis, that fellow will say whatever is self-serving, and that means on Goanet he will chirp sweet-nothings that are sweet to Catholic ears. Regards, r
