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All Indians are Hindoos

Title : "All Indians are Hindoos"
Author : Maxwell Pereira
Publication : Hindustan Times
Date : June 3, 1996

It  was Grandpa Joseph who first told me I was  a  Handy. 
May  sound incongruous, but then one would need  to  know 
more  about  gran'pa  to  appreciate  his  reasoning.  As 
grandfathers  go,  mine fitted into the  typical  mould-a 
simple man  with lean but towering personality, wearing a         
`dhoti'  and a buttoned up coat, not much  educated,  but 
highly respected in society. His face weather beaten, and 
remnants  of a muscular body on a hardy  frame  betraying 
signs  of  the  vigour and strength of by-gone  days.  He 
preferred  the circular velvet encased flat `topi' to the 
turban,   both   of  which  went  well  with   the   then  
Mangalorean  elite  attire that added  dignity  to  one's 
bearing  and  personality. And he wore  his  large  round 
watch  at the end of a silver chain that emerged  from  a 
buttonhole,  to  be ensconced in  a  smaller  pocket-like 
special  pouch on one  side of his coat. I  missedin  him 
though,   the  burly  untrimmed  moustache   that   other 
grandfathers   of   the  time  sported,   including   the 
occasional cigar between the lips and the walking  stick-
used more for style than support-all of which, my gran'pa 
just shunned.                                             

A  godfather to everyone in the neighborhood, he was  the 
one  to be consulted by all and sundry  for guidance  and 
advice  on  matters varying from  how best  to  take  the 
maximum  yield from one's  land to matrimonial  alliances 
or  family disputes. And he was the one always chosen  to 
say a few  words of comfort at a bereavement. But most of       
all,  gran'pa  was  that  kind  and  lovable  soul,  most  
endearing  to his grand children, always entertaining  us 
with  jokes, his toothy smile and  his  witty  anecdotes. 
Lack of formal education  was never an impediment and one 
often wondered  where and how he acquired all his fund of            
knowledge--be  it  on history or any subject  under   the 
sun.                                             
                                                     
So  it  was  that gran'pa educated  me  much   before  my 
schooling days on the advent of the  Saraswats and of the 
Aryans  coming  into  Indian around  two  thousand  years 
before  the recorded birth of our Lord Jesus  Christ.  Of 
their establishing a culture and crystallising a religion
of  their  own on the fertile plains of the land  of  the 
five  rivers.  Of  the Indus and  the  Ganges  and  their 
tributaries,  on  the  banks  of  which  flourished   the 
civilisation of this handsome race. From granpa's stories 
I learnt that Saraswats hailed from the banks of the  now 
extinct   river   Saraswati  which   along   with   river 
Drishadvati  were the two tributaries of the river  Hakra 
that then ran parallel to the Indus.

Joseph  quoted to me from the Book of Esther the  mention 
of Indian in the Bible. when King Assuerus the Great  had 
reigned  over a hundred and twenty  seven  provinces-from 
India to Ethiopia. That the word Hindoo in those Biblical
times  and thereafter, was only a corrupted form  of  the 
word  Sindhu,  which was the correct name for  the  river 
Indus. That Hindoo stood for one who hailed from the land 
of the Sindhu. And the land of Sindhu as was recorded at
that  point of time in history in most ancient  books  of 
the  Hindus, was known as Sapta-Sindhu, referring to  all 

the  seven rivers together-the tributaries of  the  Indus 
and  the Hakra. On the banks of these seven  rivers,  the 
original Aryan tribes of the `Puru's and the `Kuru's, the 
'Bharata's   and  many  others,  had  established   their 
kingdoms. 

Gran'pa  Joseph  Kamath himself believed that  he  was  a 
Hindoo  first, as was believed in the times of  yore,  of 
everyone  that  lived within  the  Indian  sub-continent. 
According  to  him, there were Hindoos who  followed  the 
Hindoo   religion,  Hindoos  who  followed   the   Muslim 
religion,   and  Hindoos  who  followed   the   Christian 
religion. 

But all were Hindoos first-as aptly put by poet lqbal  in 
`Hindi  hain  hum, votan hai Hindustan hamara'.  And  the 
people of foreign nations and foreign tongues do well  to 
refer to all Indians as Hindoo-even as Haj pilgrims from
India  are called `Hindoos' by the Arabs.  And it  hadn't 
surprised  me  when  on my visit to Japan,  I  noted  the 
Japanese  with  their  own intonation had  called  me  an 
`Indo' while indeed referring to me as a Hindoo.

(Courtesy: The Hindustan Times, 3.6.96)

Published  by Bansilal Sonee for Bharatiya  Janata  Party 
and Processed & Printed by EXCELPRINT, Delhi-6.
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