The famous Hindustani Classical Music singer Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan migrated to Pakistan after the partition. Before his death he was reputed to have said,"If each Indian and Pakistani family taught Classical Music one of its members, there would be no tensions between Hindus and Muslims." The genre itself is cross-cultural; with Iranian influences on the basic Hindu structure of ragas; the parampara and guru-shishya relation is uniquely Hindu although the guru or the shishya himself may be Hindu , Muslim or of any other religious denomination; many of its greatest exponents have been and are Muslims; there is a tradition of respect towards a great performer regardless of religion.
The record of nawabs and sultans have been mixed. Some have persecuted Hindus and pressurized Hindu courtiers to convert; but some have actively tried to understand Hindu traditions and practised a tolerance which included respect for the Hindu point of view. There were many Hindus among the nava ratnas in Akbar's court ( the tradition and nomenclature borrowed from the legendary King Vikramaditya's court); towards the end of his life Akbar was working of the concept of Din Ilahi; a faith which combined the best(as he saw it) of Hinduism and Islam.Shah Jehan's eldest son Dara Shikoh had the Upanishads translated into Persian so that it could be taught in Muslim schools. Sen speaks of some Afghan nawabs of Bengal who actively tried to understand Hindu philosophy.
Rural folk, perhaps out of necessity, have been largely tolerant.Sants and fakirs, who preached universal love in the local idiom have been treated with great reverence.Indian tradition includes Kabir as well as Mahmud of Ghazni.
What comes out of this is that forces of tolerance have always emerged in India; although they have not always prevailed.
The record of nawabs and sultans have been mixed. Some have persecuted Hindus and pressurized Hindu courtiers to convert; but some have actively tried to understand Hindu traditions and practised a tolerance which included respect for the Hindu point of view. There were many Hindus among the nava ratnas in Akbar's court ( the tradition and nomenclature borrowed from the legendary King Vikramaditya's court); towards the end of his life Akbar was working of the concept of Din Ilahi; a faith which combined the best(as he saw it) of Hinduism and Islam.Shah Jehan's eldest son Dara Shikoh had the Upanishads translated into Persian so that it could be taught in Muslim schools. Sen speaks of some Afghan nawabs of Bengal who actively tried to understand Hindu philosophy.
Rural folk, perhaps out of necessity, have been largely tolerant.Sants and fakirs, who preached universal love in the local idiom have been treated with great reverence.Indian tradition includes Kabir as well as Mahmud of Ghazni.
What comes out of this is that forces of tolerance have always emerged in India; although they have not always prevailed.
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