Heritage: On Raja Dahir (part I)

[Gul Agha <agha@CS.UIUC.EDU>]

I recently read a book about five warrior heros of Sindh by the Sindhi
intellectual, scholar and politician Saaiin G. M. Syed.  The book is
written in 1964, after the author had just spent a stint of eight
years as a political prisoner and decided to abandon political
acitivity in favor of scholarship to ensure the record was set
straight.

The writing may appear a bit polemical in tone, written as it is in
response to the official rewriting of the history of Sindh by the
textbooks of Pakistan and its officially controlled media, but Saaiin
Syed makes the case with considerable force and clarity.  In doing so,
he provides not only a historical perspective but a voice to the
Sindhi people who challenge what has long become the official ideology
of Pakistan.

I have translated the first chapter of this book.  It covers Raja
Dahir.  (In previous years, I have posted articles about two other
Sindhi martyrs who are also discussed in this book).  The chapter is
about 400+ lines long, so I will break it up in three separate
postings.  I have also taken the liberty of sectioning the material.

sadaaaiin ggaddu,

Gul Agha
-----------------

Raja Dahir -- The First Martyr

G.M. Syed

[Translation of the first chapter of Ghulam Murtaza Syed, "Warrior
Heros of Sindh" ('Sindh ja Suuriya').  The translation from the
original Sindhi monograph is by Gul Agha.]

 1. Prologue
 2. The Nature of the Conquerors
 3. Arabian Penninsula before the Prophet
 4. What Followed the Death of the Prophet
 5. The Banu Umaya Empire
 6. Victory of Islam?
 7. Love of One's Country
 8. The Character of Raja Dahir
 9. Epilogue

1. Prologue
-----------

Sindh is one of the world's most ancient civilized and organized
countries.  As the nature of the such things, it has seen many a rise
and fall.  The signs of its ancient glory are still to be found in the
relics of Amri, Kot Diji and Moenjodaro.

For some of its history, Sindh has been ruled by natives, and for some
of its history, it has seen hardship as a colony of aliens.  It has
not yet been possible to properly research Sindh's pre-historic days
but its recent history begins with Rai Sahasi and Chuch dynasties.

The Chuch Dynasty is also called the Brahmin Dynasty.  Its last ruler
was Raja Dahir, the younger son of Chuch.  Raja Chuch died in 682 A.D.
After him, Raja Chandur became King of Sindh and remained on the
throne for eight years.  Raja Chandur was followed by Raja Dahir whose
very wise, courageous and principled rule lasted 32 years.  Raja
Dahir's reign ended with the take-over of Sindh by Muhammad bin
Kasim's son of Hajjaj Bin Yousuf Sagfi's, who was a commander of the
imperialist Arab Banu Umaya's army -- and Sindh became a part of a
foreign empire.

Within one year of assuming power, Raja Dahir had taken steps to
consolidate his kingdom on all sides.  The capitol of his kingdom was
Alor.  From there, he marched eastward and put his brother in-charge
of a province with its centre at Brahmanabad.  He then marched to
Makran, where he made an alliance with the local ruler.  His kingdom
extended to Multan in the North.  Dahir's government was strong and
his kingdom was peaceful.

2. The Nature of the Conquerors
--------------------------------

At that time, Bani Umaya dynasty ruled Arabia.  A member of that
dynasty, Yazid son of Mauvia, not only martyred the saintly Imam
Hussain, grandson of the prophet, but ordered his dead body torn apart
by horses and for months, had his hallowed scalp carried on a lance
through the streets of the Arab kingdom.  The son and family of Imam
Hussain was imprisoned and brought to Damascus.  A member of that
family, Abdullah bin Zubair was murdered in the sanctity of Kaaba
(Mecca).   These are but a few examples of the cruelty perpetuated by
this ruling family.

In the days of Raja Dahir, a member of the Bani Umaya dynasty, Abdul
Malik son of Marvan, was the ruler of Arabia.  His Commander, Hajjaj
Bin Yousuf Sagfi was a very brutal, murderous tyrant, who had been
very cruel in his treatment of the descendents of the Prophet and
murdered many Muslims.  There is plenty of historic documentation
which informs us about these deeds.

After brutally suppressing the local revolt that followed the
martyrdom of Imam Hussain [grandson of the Prophet], the dominion of
Bani Umaya extended to all of Arabia and they attacked all their
neighbors to extend their kingdom.

3. Arabian Penninsula before the Prophet
----------------------------------------

A large part of the Arabian peninsula is a desert, besides the two
major cities of Mecca and Medina, its inhabitants live a nomadic life.
Its tribes used to often go to war with each other; thus militancy was
part of their temperament.  Its inhabitants, for the most part, were
followers of ancient tribal religions whose idols were kept in the
Kaaba, though some of them were Jews and Christians.  To procure
goods, Arab traders traveled to Syria and Iraq in caravans.

Before the birth of the Prophet (peace be upon him), some Arabs
enlisted in the armies of Rome and Persia.  The bulk of their
livelihood, though, was through shepherding herds.  They passed their
lives in considerable poverty.  After the Great Prophet, they were
united in the name of a new religion under one central government.
This greatly increased their strength and courage.


4. What Followed the Death of the Prophet
------------------------------------------

The prophethood of the kind Prophet had two goals:

-- First, to encourage intellectual, spiritual and moral
   righteousness.

-- Second, to promote peace and provide for the betterment of the
   socio-political conditions in the country.

Both goals were well met during the life of the Prophet of God.  But
after his passing away, his followers split into two groups.  One
wanted to emphasize the first goal.

Others believed that the Arabs still suffered from a bad
character, tribal conflicts, old customs and manners which had not
been completely reformed.  For the first time in history, they have
united under a central government.  Therefore, this group wanted to
emphasize the second goal.  The first group was futuristic, the second
was present centered.    The future depends on the present, thus the
second group prevailed.

The Arabs were poor; to unite them and divert their attention from
tribal conflicts, the people with the second viewpoint found it
necessary to invade neighboring rich and urban countries and
gain their wealth to improve the lot of the locals.

The new religion had united them and fired up their zeal, besides
which the thought of gaining the wealth of other nations created a
greedy desire of conquest.  In the days of Hazrat Umar [the third
Caliph of (Arab) Muslims], the rich and content neighboring countries
of Syria, Iraq and Egypt were conquered.

On the one hand, this brought great wealth to the poverty stricken
Arabs, and on the other, it increased their military power and
national pride.  In the days of the first two Caliphs, there was some
attempt to maintain the standards of decency and traditions of the
Prophet, but this created such a reaction in the country that one of
these Caliphs was assassinated.

(end of part I)