"To describe every particular duel or pagod, both for the number, and difficulty of the shapes, would be impossible. Take therefore only one that had escaped the fire and is therefore highly venerable. It was cut out of excellent black marble, the height of a man, the body of an ancient Greek hero, it had four heads, and as many hands, had not two been cut off; it was seated on an offertory in a broken pagod, a piece of admirable work and antiquity, exceeding, say they, Benares, the other noted university of the heathens. Who founded these, their annals or Sanscrit deliver not. But certainly time and the entry of Moors ruined them. ‘This, though a principal university, can boast of no Bodlean or Vatican, their libraries being old manuscripts of their own cabulas or mysteries understood only by the Brahmans."

"Next Ocnus summoned forth A war-host from his native shores, the son Of Tiber, Tuscan river, and the nymph Manto, a prophetess: he gave good walls, O Mantua, and his mother's name, to thee,— To Mantua so rich in noble sires, But of a blood diverse, a triple breed, Four stems in each; and over all enthroned She rules her tribes: her strength is Tuscan born."

"Fatidicæ Mantus et Tusci filius amnis, Qui muros matrisque dedit tibi, Mantua, nomen."

"I, Mantua, first will bring thee back the palms Of Idumaea, and raise a marble shrine On thy green plain fast by the water-side, Where Mincius winds more vast in lazy coils, And rims his margent with the tender reed."

"I found that Mantua, even apart from her great place in the movement of Humanism, in the art of the Renaissance, had really been under these Gonzaga, Lords of Mantua—this their title from first to last—the central pivot of north Italian history; that she held her place, both in culture and political importance, beside Milan, Venice, Rome and even Florence; that in writing this story of the Gonzaga I came near to writing that of Italy if not of Europe. ... I have tried ... to clothe those dry bones of History with something of their living reality. ... I have even sometimes seemed to myself to be present in the scenes I have pictured—on summer nights to have heard the music of the lute and girlish laughter when Isabella sat with Elisabetta Gonzaga in her “Paradiso” above the lakes of Mantua; to have been beside her Lord Francesco in that press and fury of conflict on the banks of Taro; to have seen her yet again, a queen and mother, among those terror-stricken fugitives in the Palazzo Colonna at Rome; to have followed poor Crichton in that last midnight stroll beneath the dark arcaded streets of old Mantua; or within the vast Reggia to have heard the whispered voices, the hurried steps of courtiers when Duke Vincenzo, last of his line, was nearing his end."

"Primus Idumaeas referam tibi, Mantua, palmas, Et viridi in campo templum de marmore ponam Propter aquam. Tardis ingens ubi flexibus errat Mincius et tenera praetexit arundine ripas."

"Above in beauteous Italy lies a lake At the Alp’s foot that shuts in Germany Over Tyrol, and has the name Benaco.By a thousand springs, I think, and more, is bathed, ’Twixt Garda and Val Camonica, Pennino, With water that grows stagnant in that lake.Midway a place is where the Trentine Pastor, And he of Brescia, and the Veronese Might give his blessing, if he passed that way.Sitteth Peschiera, fortress fair and strong, To front the Brescians and the Bergamasks, Where round about the bank descendeth lowest.There of necessity must fall whatever In bosom of Benaco cannot stay, And grows a river down through verdant pastures.Soon as the water doth begin to run, No more Benaco is it called, but Mincio, Far as Governo, where it falls in Po.Not far it runs before it finds a plain In which it spreads itself, and makes it marshy, And oft ’tis wont in summer to be sickly.Passing that way the virgin pitiless Land in the middle of the fen descried, Untilled and naked of inhabitants;There to escape all human intercourse, She with her servants stayed, her arts to practise And lived, and left her empty body there.The men, thereafter, who were scattered round, Collected in that place, which was made strong By the lagoon it had on every side;They built their city over those dead bones, And, after her who first the place selected, Mantua named it, without other omen.Its people once within more crowded were, Ere the stupidity of Casalodi From Pinamonte had received deceit.Therefore I caution thee, if e’er thou hearest Originate my city otherwise, No falsehood may the verity defraud.”"

"ROMEO: I do remember an apothecary— And hereabouts he dwells—whom late I noted In tattered weeds, with overwhelming brows, Culling of simples. Meagre were his looks; Sharp misery had worn him to the bones; And in his needy shop a tortoise hung, An alligator stuff’d, and other skins Of ill-shap’d fishes; and about his shelves A beggarly account of empty boxes, Green earthen pots, bladders, and musty seeds, Remnants of packthread, and old cakes of roses, Were thinly scatter’d to make up a show. Noting this penury, to myself I said, And if a man did need a poison now— Whose sale is present death in Mantua— Here lives a caitiff wretch would sell it him. O, this same thought did but forerun my need; And this same needy man must sell it me. As I remember, this should be the house; Being holiday, the beggar’s shop is shut.— What, ho! apothecary!"

"Mantua la gloriosa."

"At Mantua in chains The gallant Hofer lay, In Mantua to death Led him the foe away; His brothers’ hearts bled for the chief, For Germany disgrace and grief And Tyrol’s mountain land! His hands behind him clasped, With firm and measured pace, Marched Andrew Hofer on; He feared not death to face, Death whom from Iselberg aloft Into the vale he sent so oft In Tyrol’s holy land. But when from dungeon-grate, In Mantua’s stronghold, Their hands on high he saw His faithful brothers hold, “O God be with you all!” he said, “And with the German realm betrayed, And Tyrol’s holy land!” The drummer’s hand refused To beat the solemn march, While Andrew Hofer passed The portal’s gloomy arch; In fetters shackled, yet so free, There on the bastion stood he, Brave Tyrol’s gallant son. They bade him then kneel down, He answered, “I will not! Here standing will I die, As I have stood and fought, As now I tread this bulwark’s bank, Long life to my good Kaiser Frank, And, Tyrol, hail to thee!” A grenadier then took The bandage from his hand, While Hofer spoke a prayer His last on earthly land. “Mark well!” he with loud voice exclaimed, “Now fire! Ah! ’t was badly aimed! O Tyrol, fare thee well!”"

"Mantua the glorious."

"7 November – ... At length the Ambassador being dress'd came forth with the rest, and receiv'd the Visit of Vitulà Sinay, and another great Person sent by the King to accompany him; he was a Moor by Sect, but of Indian Race, very black, and Captain General in these parts of Banghel, from which charge he was lately return'd, and his Name was Musè Baì. With these came also a Son of his, a Youth of the same colour, but of a handsome Face, and cloth'd odly after the Indian Fashion, that is, naked from the girdle upwards, having onely a very thin and variously painted cloth cast cross one Shoulder, and another of the same sort girt about him, and hanging down loose; he had a little Bonnet upon his Head, like those of our Gally-slaves, but wrought with divers colours; his Hands, Arms, Neck, and Nose, were adorn'd with many ornaments of Gold, and he had a guilt Po∣nyard at his girdle, which shew'd very well. His Father was cloth'd all in white, after the manner of India, to wit, of such as wear Clothes, and go not naked from the Waste upwards; upon his white vestment he had a shorter sur-coat of Velvet, guarded with Gold at the bottom, loose and open before, which is the custom onely in solemnities. He had no Sword, but onely a Ponyard on the right side, the hilt and cheap guilded, and, as I believe, of Silver; upon his Head he had a little Cap of the same form, made of Cloth of Gold; for in these Countries 'tis the fashion for Men to cover their Heads either with such Caps, or with white Turbants, little and almost square. Vitulà Sinay and some other personages who came with them to accompany the Ambassador, were all cloth'd with white garments of very fine Silk, and other rich Silken sur-coats upon the same, to honor the solemnity; and upon these they had such colour'd clothes as in Persia they call Scial, and use for girdles, but the Indians wear them cross the shoulders cover'd with a piece of very fine white Silk, so that the colour underneath appears; or else wear white Silk alone. As soon as we came forth of doors, Musè Baì presented to the Ambassador one of these colour'd Skarfs inclos'd in white Silk to wear about his Neck; and the Ambassador gave him a piece of I know not what Cloth, and in the mean time a publick Dancing-Woman whom they had hir'd, danc'd in the presence of us all."

"6 November – Two hours before noon we went from Ahinalà, and having travell'd through a Country like the former, but plain, about noon we came to the Town Badra; where, according as Vitulà Sinay had writ to us, we thought to lodge that night, and accordingly had lay'd down our baggage, and withdrawn to a place to rest; but after two hours being there, we found our selves surrounded by abundance of people, (for 'tis a large Town, and they go almost all arm'd) who out of curiosity came to see us; whereupon the Ambassador, either having receiv'd an Answer from Vitulà Sinay, or not caring for a pompous entrance, rais'd us all again; and after a small journey further we arriv'd at Ikkerì, which is the Royal City of Venk-tapà Naieka where he holds his Court; having travell'd since morning from Ahinalà to Ikkerì but two Leagues. This City is seated in a goodly Plain, and, as we enter'd, we pass'd through three Gates with Forts and Ditches, but small, and consequently, three Inclosures; the two first of which were not Walls, but made of very high Indian Canes, very thick and close planted in stead of a Wall, and are strong against Foot and Horse in any, hard to cut, and not in danger of fire; besides, that the Herbs which creep upon them, together with themselves, make a fair and great verdure, and much shadow. The other Inclosure is a Wall, but weak and inconsiderable: But having pass'd these three, we pass'd all. Some say, there are others within, belonging to the Citadel or Fort where the Palace is; for Ikkerì is of good largeness, but the Houses stand thin and are ill built, espe∣cially without the third Inclosure; and most of the situation is taken up in great and long streets, some of them shadow'd with high and very goodly Trees growing in Lakes of Water, of which, there are many large ones, besides Fields set full of Trees, like Groves, so that it seems to consist of a City, Lakes, Fields, and Woods mingled together, and makes a very delightful sight."

"In the town of Keladi in the Kannada country there was a person named Basava, who had married a woman of the same name and who was a devotee of Siva. The couple had four sons. After the death of Basava and two of his sons, his wife was bringing up the two other sons who were named Chauda and Bhadra, and in due course had their marriages performed. Once when Chauda was attending to the ploughing of his land his ploughshare is said to have come across a large amount of buried treasure. With the aid of the treasure he managed to become a Gramadhipa (headman of a village). He then collected a small company of soldiers. The king of the country, on hearing of this, sent for Chaudappa. Much pleased with him on hearing his story, the king made him governor of Pulladesa with the title Keladi Chaudappa Nayaka. Then Chauda returned to Keladi and, constructing the temple of Ramesvara there, made to it large endowments. He had two sons who were named Sadasiva and Bhadra. Having taught both of them the several sastras and arts, he nominated Sadasiva Nayaka as his successor and died soon after."

"The place,... is strewn with sculptures of Jaina and Brahmanical professions of faith… Contemporary history does not mention Bodhan; but the array of antiquities and the discovery of both Hindu and Muslim inscriptions in recent times establish the fact that the town possessed considerable religious and strategic importance in early days."

"In obedience to the commandment of the Almighty God, the Lord of both the worlds; and in love of… the exalted Prophet: During the reign of Shãhjahãn, the king of the seven climes, the viceregent of God (lit. Truth), the master of the necks of people… the benevolent and generous Prince Aurangzeb, whose existence is a blessing of the Merciful God on people: He built a house for worship with (all) the qualities of heaven: after the site has been previously occupied by the temple of infidels…"

"Majhaul at the present day possesses but few antiquities, Indeed, the only ones worth mentioning are an image of the Mahishasuramardini Durga, lying under a tree near the Raja's palace, and a ruined shrine of Dirghëšvara Mahadéva of unknown date, situated among a mass of ancient remains a little to the east of the town. Majhauli must have been a place of some importance in past ages, if, as suggested by Dr. Fleet, it should prove to be the place where Buddha crossed the Anuma. It is true that some four miles from Majhauli near the railway line between the stations of Salémpur and Bhatni there is a small but ancient village called Anuümpar meaning "across the Anuma” or more freely “the crossing of the Anuma,” which may well be an арabramsa of Anuma, but the absence of апу stream of such a name anywhere in the neighbourhood offers a difficulty in the way of the identification, The channel running past the village is called Рusi. Nor does the locality show any remains which can be called Buddhist."

"That the name was spelt as Majhauli at least as far back as the time of Raja Bodhmall, a contemporary of Aurangzeb, is proved by a paper document dated in Samvat 1692 kindly shown to me by the Maharaja Sahib. The same spelling occurs in a Persian inscription discovered by Dr. Bloch in the Pathar-ki-masjid at Patna, which states that the material for the building of the mosque was obtained from a temple and a fort demolished at Majhauli for the purpose."

"I made the car stop,... and took my friends to the upper part of the historic Pathar-ki-masjid. One of my American friends was an Arabist, but there was nothing for him to read, for the demoralised custodians had the inscription plastered with cement, considering that it contained provocative references."

"Years ago, Dr. Bloch had seen an inscription in the Patthar-kî-Masjid at Patna, the capital of Bihar, stating that the materials for the mosque were obtained from a Hindu temple at Majhauli (now in the Gorakhpur District of Uttar Pradesh).11 The temple was demolished in AH 1036 (AD 1626) by Prince Parwiz, a son of the Mughal emperor Jahãngîr. “I made the car stop,” writes Syed Hasan Askari, “and took my friends to the upper part of the historic Patthar-ki-Masjid. One of my American friends was an Arabist, but there was nothing for him to read, for the demoralised custodians had the inscription plastered with cement, considering that it contained provocative references.”12 Some friends of this author who visited the Jãmi‘ Masjid at Sambhal in the Moradabad District of Uttar Pradesh had the same experience when they expressed a desire to have a look at the inscriptions. This mosque was built in AD 1526 by an officer of Bãbur on the site and from the materials of the local Hari Mandir."

"The Rajas of Majnauli belong to the Višvëna family of Kshatriyas, fabled to have sprung from an ancient sage named Mayürabhatta, who practised penance at a place now called Kakràdih situated some 15 miles south-west of Majhauli. The place is still considered holy and every new successor to the Raj is anointed at his installaton with clay specially brought from there."

"Allah, who is the only true God and has no other emanation, endowed the king of Islam with the strength to destroy this ancient shrine on the eastern sea-coast and to plunge it into the sea, and after its destruction, he ordered the nose of the image of Jagannath to be perforated and disgraced it by casting it down on the ground. They dug out other idols, which were worshipped by the polytheists in the kingdom of Jajnagar, and overthrew them as they did the image of Jagannath, for being laid in front of the mosques along the path of the Sunnis and way of the musallis (the multitude who offer prayers) and stretched them in front of the portals of every mosque, so that the body and sides of the images may be trampled at the time of ascent and descent, entrance and exit, by the shoes on the feet of the Muslims."

"It (Sîrat-Fîrûz Shãhî) is a text either written or dictated by Sultãn Fîrûz Shãh Tughlaq himself. According to this book, the objects of his expedition to Jajnagar were: “extirpating Rai Gajpat, massacring the unbelievers, demolishing their temples, hunting elephants, and getting a glimpse of their enchanting country.” ‘Ain-ul-Mulk also says, “The object of the expedition was to break the idols, to shed the blood of the enemies of Islãm (and) to hunt elephants.”"

"'The victorious standards set out from Jaunpur for the destruction of idols, slaughter of the enemies of Islam and hunt for elephants near Padamtalav. The Sultan saw Jajnagar which had been praised by all travellers'...'The troops which had been appointed for the destruction of places around Jajnagar, ended the conceit of the infidels by means of the sword and the spear. Wherever there were temples and idols in that area, they were trampled under the hoofs of the horses of Musalmans... After obtaining victory and sailing on the sea and destroying the temple of Jagannath and slaughtering the idolaters, the victorious standards started towards Delhi..."

"Formerly the Cortalés (the villagers of Cortalim) were greatly devoted to their idols as is seen from the fact that although Cortalim is not large it had many lands belonging to the temples. The reason of this was that they served the kings of the mainland in offices requiring penmanship; and as this caste of people always find those whom they can exploit, they returned to their village rich, bought lands and offered them to the temples, in order to preserve the memory of their names. All of them bear the title ‘‘ Xenens”’ (Shenvis), that is to say, teachers ; because in the region of Konkan they are the ones who teach the other Brah- mins the three R’s. There are other Brahmins in Salsete, who do not bel&ng to Cortalim and yet take pride in the appelation Xenens... The Church of Cortalim is erected in the same site, where formerly the idol of Mangesh was worshipped. Mangesh is nothing but a stone and the reason which led the people of Cortalim to worship this stone is the following: The first Cortalé Brahmin who came to Salsete from Kashi-Pandharpur in the territory of Bengal, was wandering in search of a convenient place in which to settle down with his family. He sought the advice of the Demon of this point who appeared before him and ordered him to build his home at the place where his cow would discharge her milk. The Brahmin kept his cow under observation while she left in the morning for grazing and saw that when she reached a certain stone, which adjoined the river, she poured her milk on it spontaneously. And here he built his home and adorned the stone as a precious treasure, in which had entered the god who had appeared before him and to whom the cow had made an offering of her milk... Cortalim is a place of Kashi-Pandharpur from which the Brahmin hailed and he gave the name to the new colony to conserve the memory of his land of birth."

"At the commencement of the fourth mile from Pampur, a low spur of steep rock descends from the mountains, and rests upon the flat upon the bank of the river. Near its extremity, where it may be about one hundred feet high, is the capital, and five feet of the shaft, of an enormous limestone-pillar. The capital is about five feet in diameter, and polygonal. The plinth is much damaged, but enough is left to show that it was composed (at least I thought so) of four gigantic female busts, most likely those of Luksmi, if the pillar supported the Garuda or bird of Vishnu, as mentioned below. It is lying on its side, and was probably overthrown by the zeal of “the idol-breaker”. A flat surface, sufficiently large to answer the purpose of a base; has been cut on the rock; but I could not discover a vestige of any other ruin near it. About half a mile nearer the city is another large block, on which are rudely sculptured the knees and legs of a gigantic sitting figure, not crossed like those of a Hindu figure in general, but apparently bent like those of an Egyptian statue; all the remainder seemed to have been broken off; but although the uncultivated slope around it is strewed with large masses of stone, I saw nothing that must be necessarily supposed to have formed part of the image. Near them again are some enormous lingams, or pieces of sculpture, that are, as is well known, venerated by the Hindus as the emblems of Siva. I could not contemplate these massive relics without imagining for a moment that they may have originally been parts of a city and vast Hindu temple, which, being near the modern city, and consequently of so much the greater sanctity and importance, must have called for the especial notice of Butshikan."

"But Santiniketan (the Abode of Peace), in the glorious countryside of what today is West Bengal, north of Calcutta (now called Kolkata), was no common place to learn. The school there was founded by the celebrated Bengali poet and philosopher Rabindranath Tagore, who would write the national anthems for two unborn states, India and Bangladesh. The Nobel laureate meant to realize Indians’ intellectual independence through learning, studying all of humanity, with a special attention to Japanese and Chinese civilization. The institution was determinedly unconventional: on arriving, Indira Nehru searched in vain for the classrooms and was startled to discover that her classes were held under the trees. “Everything is so artistic and beautiful and wild!” she wrote to Nehru."

"In order to qualify for Government grants, Shanti Niketan, the famous institution found by the great Rabindra Nath Tagore, the poet of the soul's Godward aspiration and a great representative of undying India, had to give up its Upanishadic motto: satyam, Sivam, sundaram. These figures represent the deepest and loftiest that spirituality has conceived about man, his aspirations and destiny, his hopes and possibilities. But to the modern secular ears of the present-day rulers, these terms sound communal and antiquated."

"Few scenes are more lovely than the beautiful Valley of the Krishna, as seen from the open Temples of Mahabuleshwar. The smooth and brightly gleaming waters, like a silvery thread, wind their quiet way between the richly wooded hills, which form a vista of fertile shelter to the grassy banks; while the herds, feeding peacefully beside the sacred river, complete the scene, and afford a glimpse of pastoral beauty, the more fair and sweet, perhaps, as contrasted with sublime mountain solitudes of the immediate neighbourhood…"

"The walks and drives about the hills, are numerous and beautiful; long avenues, shaded by magnificent forest trees, afford noon-tide shelter, and permit the visitor the unusual and safe indulgence, of a mid-day stroll beneath their shade, while here and there an opening in the rich foliage, affords a glimpse of the superb mountain-scenery around, arresting the step in admiration of its sublime and varied wonders. Bold peaks, towering and cloud-capt Ghauts, sparkling cascades, hill-forts, deep straths, and wooded glens, blend their magnificent effects in a succession of rich and glowing pictures, more wondrous and more grand, than even Italy with her bold Alps and smiling Pyrenees, can charm the traveller’s eye withal. No snowy peaks, ‘tis true, blushing in the rays of the sun-lit sky, form backgrounds to the scene, but veils of fleecy vapour, with mazy indistinctness, shroud the towering scraps of the eternal hills, while the clear atmosphere around, permits the eye to revel in the full majesty of these stupendous scenes, revealing the sun-lit valleys and the quiet occupation of their peasants, as clearly as it does the dense jungle of the mountain side, crowded with its wild and savage denizens."

"Kozhikode was then a centre of Brahmins. There were around 7000 Namboodiri houses of which more than 2000 houses were destroyed by Tipu Sultan in Kozhikode alone. Sultan did not spare even children and women. Menfolk escaped to forests and neighbouring principalities. Mappilas increased many fold (due to forcible conversion).... "During the military regime of Tipu Sultan, Hindus were forcibly circumcised and converted to Muhammadan faith. As a result the number of Nairs and Brahmins declined substantially."

"Accompanied by an army of 60,000, Tipu Sultan came to Kozhikode in 1788 and razed it to the ground. It is not possible even to describe the brutalities committed by that Islamic barbarian from Mysore."

"I remained at Calicut... The proper name of the place is Colicodu... Tippoo destroyed the town, and removed its inhabitants to Nelluru, the name of which he changed to Furruck-abad ; for, like all the Mussulmans of India, he was a mighty changer of old Pagan names."

"[Kozhikode is] "one of the great ports of the district of Malabar" where "merchants of all parts of the world are found". [The king of this place,] "shaves his chin just as the Haidari Fakeers of Rome do... The greater part of the Muslim merchants of this place are so wealthy that one of them can purchase the whole freightage of such vessels put here and fit out others like them"."

"The devastation in Kozhikode was so comprehensive that it changed the character of the place forever."

"To show his ardent devotion and steadfast faith in Muhammaddan religion, Tipu Sultan found Kozhikode to be the most suitable place. It was because the Hindus of Malabar refused to reject the matriarchal system, polyandry and half-nakedness of women that the 'great reformer' Tipu Sultan tried to honour the entire population with Islam."

"Stereotyping of communities is not only communal but also misleading. Keeping this in mind, some attributes for which the Ghanchis of Godhra are known among both Hindus and Muslims in Godhra and outside, may be taken as applicable to a majority of them. They are known as an aggressive, impulsive community, descendants of Afghan soldiers and Bhil women. They were initially harvesters and traders of oil and later became farmers. Today they are in the transport business. They are largely illiterate and poor, though the number of educated among them is growing. The Ghanchis have had a long history of violent conflicts with Godhra’s Hindus, pre- and post-Independence."

"“Two weeks ago, I wrote in Navajivan a note on the tragedy in Godhra, where Shri Purshottam Shah bravely met his death at the hands of his assailants and gave my note the heading Hindu-Muslim Fight in Godhra. Several Hindus did not like the heading and addressed angry letters asking me to correct it (for it was a one sided fight). I found it impossible to accede to their demand. Whether there is one victim or more, whether there is a free fight between the two communities, or whether one assumes the offensive and the other simply suffers, I should describe the event as a fight if the whole series of happenings were the result of a state of war between the two communities. Whether in Godhra or in other places, there is today a state of war between the two communities. Fortunately, the countryside is still free from the war fever (no longer now) which is mainly confined to towns and cities, where, in some form or the other, fighting is continually going on. Even the correspondents, who have written to me about Godhra, do not seem to deny the fact that the happenings arose out of the communal antagonisms that existed there. “If the correspondents had simply addressed themselves to the heading, I should have satisfied myself with writing to them privately and written nothing in Navajivan about it. But there are other letters in which the correspondents have vented their ire on different counts. A volunteer from Ahmedabad, who had been to Godhra, writes: You say that you must be silent over these quarrels. Why were you not silent over the Khilafat, and why did you exhort us to join the Muslims? Why are you not silent about your principles of Ahimsa? How can you justify your silence when the two communities are running at each other’s throats and Hindus are being crushed to atoms? How does Ahimsa come there? I invite your attention to two cases: A Hindu shopkeeper, thus, complained to me: Musalmans purchase bags of rice from my shop, often never paying for them. I cannot insist on payment, for fear of their looting my godowns. I have, therefore, to makean involuntary gift of about 50 to 70 maunds of rice every month? Others complained: Musalmans invade our quarters and insult our women in our presence, and we have to sit still. If we dare to protest, we are done for. We dare not even lodge a complaint against them. What would you advise in such cases? How would you bring your Ahimsa into play? Or, even here you would prefer to remain silent! “These and similar other questions have been answered in these pages over and over again, but as they are still being raised, I had better explained my views once more at the risk of repetition. “Ahimsa is not the way of the timid or the cowardly. It is the way of the brave ready to face death. He who perishes sword in hand is, no doubt, brave, but he who faces death without raising his little finger, is braver. But he who surrenders his rice bags for fear of being beaten, is a coward and no votary of Ahimsa. He is innocent of Ahimsa. He, who for fear of being beaten, suffers the women of his household to be insulted, is not manly, but just the reverse. He is fit neither to be a husband nor a father, nor a brother. Such people have no right to complain…” (extract from To the Hindus and Muslims, a collection of articles by Gandhiji from Young India ).”"

"Godhra town is a very sensitive place. There is a high percentage of Muslim population in various places in the district. Communal riots had taken place in Godhra in the years 1925, 1928, 1946, 1948, 1950, 1953, 1980, 1981, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, and 1992. The communal riots that had taken place in 1948 were very serious. Initially, the Muslims had burnt 869 houses of Hindus. Thereafter, the Hindus had burnt 3,071 houses of Muslims..."

"Even though communal murders and attacks dating to the early decades of the 20th century are still fresh in people’s memory, the following incident has become part of Hindu fear-lore in Godhra: Four Hindu teachers, including two women teachers, were hacked to death by miscreants in Saifia Madrasa in Vhorvada area of Godhra on November 20, 1990 in front of children. One Hindu tailor was also stabbed to death in this area. All this was done by anti-social elements allegedly at the instance of the Congress MLA of the area."

"Fortunately, in the last ten years, with growing political stability and massive improvements in the economic and educational infrastructure of the area, the social and occupational profile of Godhra’s Ghanchi community has changed noticeably. With stricter enforcement of law and order and new economic opportunities opening up for this once- backward community, criminal elements have been marginalised. This has begun to change both the self view and aspirations of the Ghanchi community as well as their image in the eyes of non-Ghanchis—both Hindus and Muslims."

"“…He marched with his army to the fort of Sonipat, and the commandant of that fort, Daniãl Har by name, becoming aware of his approach, fled… the army of Islam, having captured that fort, pulled down all the temples and obtained an enormous quantity of booty.”"

"“In the year AH 427 (AD 1036)… he himself marched with an army to India, to reduce the fort of Hansy… Herein he found immense treasure, and having put the fort under the charge of a trusty officer, he marched towards the fort of Sonput. Depal Hurry, the governor of Sonput, abandoned the place, and fled into the woods; but having no time to carry off his treasure, it fell into the conqueror’s hands. Musaood having ordered all the temples to be razed to the ground, and the idols to be broken proceeded in pursuit of Depal Hurry…”"

"In the name of God, the most Merciful and Compassionate. Praise be to God, the Lord of all worlds, and blessing and peace be upon Muhammad, the apostle of God, and upon all his descendants and companions. O God, help Islãm and the Muslims by preserving the kingdom of Abu’z-.Zafar Muhîu’d-Dîn Muhammad Aurangzeb Bahãdur ‘Ãlamgîr, the victorious king. Blessed be the ruler of the world, the refuge of the universe; whose name effaces the existence of sin. Since the time of Tîmur who conquered the kingdom of Romans, there has been no ruler just like the present king (Aurangzeb). The bow which he has stretched by his powerful arms, is such that the echo of its twing has reached the (distant) seas. By the sword, which the powerful king has wielded, panic has sprung (even) in the ocean. Although the king of the time is not a prophet, yet there is no doubt in his being a friend of God. He built the mosque and broke the idols (at a time) when 1103 years had passed from the flight (of the Prophet)."

"“The sudden swelling of the rivers, and the absence of the King with his army, gave Venkutputty leisure to muster the whole of his forces, which amounted to one hundred thousand men. The leaders were Yeltumraj, Goolrung Setty, and Munoopraj, who marched to recover Gundicota from the hands of Sunjur Khan. Here the enemy were daily opposed by sallies from the garrison, but they perservered in the siege; when they heard that Moortuza Khan, with the main army of the Mahomedans, had pentrated as far as the city of Krupa, the most famous city of that country, wherein was a large temple. This edifice the Mahomedans destroyed as far as practicable, broke the idol, and sacked the city…”"

"His [P. V. Narasimha Rao] victory from the Nandyal constituency (in Kadapa district) gave him an entry into the Guinness Book of World Records in 1991 for the maximum votes — 89.5%! — polled. In 1996, he had an opposition to contend with, and still managed to poll 366, 431 votes and defeat the TDP."

"Although the king of the time [Aurangzeb] is not a prophet, yet there is no doubt in his being a friend of God. He built the mosque and broke the idols (at a time) when 1103 years had passed from the flight (of the Prophet).”"

"In the year 832 he marched again to Idur; and on the sixth of Suffur, AH 832 (AD Nov. 14, 1428) carried by storm one of the principal forts in that province, wherein he built a magnificent mosque."

"The King, hearing of this disaster, instantly marched towards Idur. On reaching Mahrasa he caused the whole of the Idur district to be laid waste. Bheem Ray took refuge in the Beesulnuggur mountains; but the garrison of Idur, consisting of only ten Rajpoots, defended it against the whole of the King’s army with obstinacy; they were, however, eventually put to death on the capture of the place; and the temples, palaces, and garden houses, were levelled with the dust."

"The Rãjã of Îdar ran away to the mountains and on the fourth day the Sultãn started from Morãsã and halted near Îdar. He ordered that the houses and temples of Îdar should be destroyed in such a way that no trace of them should remain."