The Nehru Report and Muslim Rights — Page 73
[ 73 l during its regime, it has been often found that the majority community upon its coming into power has. invariably tried to settle its old scores, whether real or imaginary, \vith the minority. Illustrations are not want ing in history. The Buddhists, as past records show, were completely annihilated by the Hindus in India, and so were the >. luslims by Christians in Spain. In our own days similar scenes have been repeated in Greece, Servia, Rumania and Bulgaria. vvhere the Turks pariicularly, and the l\ luslims generally, have fall en victims to the reprisals of the Christians, merely on the imaginary ground of their past oppression over their fore-fathers. Again, Germans are being harassed in Poland, part of which was for a long time under German domination. For the same reason. the German land-holders are being oppressed also in Czechoslovakia ; IVlagayrs are being maltreated in· Ru. mania ; l\1agayrs and Austrians in Yugoslavia ; and Austrians in Italy. These instances are before us. They warn us that one community does often harass another on account of imaginary or real grievances. We may now see that the same dangerous mentality prevails among the Hindus. To begin with, the Britishers in order to consolidate their ow-n domination had to paint the Muslim Emperors in very dark colours, so that Indians might forget their memories and attach themselves to the British Govern ment ; and now, follo"ving them, the Hindus with a view to strengthen the bonds of their nationality have, with very few exceptions, inost vigorously taken up the work of concocting stories of alleged oppression by Muslim Emperors. They have been trying to instil into the· minds of their younger generations, that it was the Muslim conquerors who destroyed the religion, culture, civilisa� tion and intellectual life of the Hindus, and that were it not for them, the Hindus would have been one of the