 |
Great Sphinx of Giza |
The civilization of ancient Egypt stands tall in the annals of human history—on par with the cultural depth of India’s Hindus and the philosophical legacy of the ancient Greeks. The Egyptians once built awe-inspiring pyramids, designed celestial temples, and worshipped a pantheon of deities with remarkable complexity. And yet, somewhere along the way, they lost their gods—and with them, the living connection to their ancient heritage.
Such is the gravity of Islamic identity that, by the 20th century, even the name "Egypt" wasn’t enough. In 1958, Egypt entered a political union with Syria (including the Gaza Strip) and decided to rename itself the United Arab Republic, a move that reflected not Egyptian nationalism, but a desire to dissolve their unique civilizational past into a broader Arab-Islamic identity. When Syria exited the union in 1961, Egypt still clung to the name United Arab Republic for another decade. Then in 1967, the country launched a war against Israel over Palestine—a land with which Egypt shared no historical or civilizational bond, but which had become central to pan-Islamic solidarity. It wasn’t until 1971 that President Anwar Sadat reinstated the name Egypt, as if to finally acknowledge the country’s own roots.
Islam is arguably the only religion powerful enough to induce such civilizational amnesia. It compels its converts to break with the past so completely that even a culture as ancient as Egypt’s could be coaxed into forgetting its gods, its mythos, and its identity. Christianity, for all its missionary zeal, never managed this level of cultural severance. When the Greeks and Romans embraced Christianity after the fourth century, they continued to revere their classical heritage. Their legal systems, art, philosophy, and mythology remained intact, forming the bedrock of what we now call “Western civilization.” Modern Europeans and Americans still invoke their Greco-Roman past with pride.
There is a warning here for Hindus.
If Hindus lose their gods—if they allow their deities to be mocked, erased, or turned into punchlines—then they risk losing not just their religion, but their civilizational memory. Hindu gods are not merely objects of worship; they are the very vessels of India’s cultural, philosophical, and historical identity. They are what tether modern India to its ancient past.
This is why films that mock or trivialize Hindu gods must be seen for what they are: not mere entertainment, but a subtle and insidious form of cultural subversion. Actors like Aamir Khan, whose films portray Hindu deities in a denigrating light, are not contributing to national unity or social reform. They are, knowingly or unknowingly, undermining the foundations of India’s civilizational continuity.
A society that cannot defend its gods cannot defend itself. #BoycottLaalSinghChaddha
No comments:
Post a Comment