The Dharma Dispatch

The Tragic Tale of Sitaram Ray, the Last Hindu King of Bengal Raja Sitaram Ray was a self-made Hindu king who built a small empire by the dint of his talent, bravery and leadership. He was also the last Hindu king of Bengal, executed by Murshid Quli Khan. Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyaya has written a very powerful novel celebrating his heroism. Titled, Sitaram, it was his last novel, published in 1886. Do read his tragic story in full! 🙏🛕🪔 https://www.dharmadispatch.in/history/the-tragic-tale-of-sitaram-ray-the-last-hindu-king-of-bengal

Bureaucracy as Dharma: Glimpses from Ancient India In its most profound conception and in enlightened practice, Dharma was the foundation of bureaucracy in Ancient India. A minister or bureaucrat had to uphold the mandatory elements of achara (spiritual conduct) and vyavahara (worldly conduct)—including prescribed dharmic rituals, festivals, vratas, daana, building rest houses, granting pastures etc. Perhaps we wait in vain for the day when the long-overdue reform of our bureaucracy will incorporate these time-honoured Sanatana precepts of statecraft and governance. 🙏🕉🛕🪔 https://www.dharmadispatch.in/history/bureaucracy-as-dharma-glimpses-from-ancient-india

A Glimpse into the Theory and Practice of Statecraft in Ancient India We also need to shed another deeply-ingrained colonial habit — of somehow trying to “prove" that democracy existed in ancient India. That is, the sort of democracy that has been in vogue for roughly the last three hundred years in Europe and America. A reasonable definition of ancient Indian polity and statecraft is that it was a Circumscribed Monarchy in which the power of the monarch was constrained by a Council of Ministers. --- Read the whole essay! https://www.dharmadispatch.in/history/a-glimpse-into-the-theory-and-practice-of-statecraft-in-ancient-india

How Murshid Quli Khan Facilitated the Renewal of Hindu Power in Bengal Murshid Quli Khan was directly responsible for the renewal of the Hindu political, economic and social power in Bengal. He hired only Hindus at all levels in his administration because they were highly educated, skilled and talented. Above all, Hindus were honest, hardworking and frugal as contrasted with Quli’s Muslim officers who pilfered state revenue with impunity. However, he wasn’t doing a favour to Hindus by appointing them to high positions. He was only serving his selfish interests, primarily motivated by his insatiable hunger for riches and power. Read the full piece to learn a number of unknown and forgotten nuggets of this history! https://www.dharmadispatch.in/history/how-murshid-quli-khan-facilitated-the-renewal-of-hindu-power-in-bengal

Building a Pit of Human Shit as the Revenue Model of Murshid Quli Khan We have perhaps the most revolting punishment recorded in human history. Murshid Quli Khan ordered his men to dig a pit whose height and width were that of an average man and got it filled to the brim with human excreta. He called this pit of filth, derisively as Vaikunth. The revenue officials who had not met their monthly target were suspended on their heads, their feet tied to a horizontal pole or beam. Then they were slowly lowered into this pit till they were neck deep in human ordure. This was done repeatedly till they agreed to pay up. --- Read the whole essay! https://www.dharmadispatch.in/history/building-a-pit-of-human-shit-as-the-revenue-model-of-murshid-quli-khan

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The 1962 general elections to North Mumbai was the one in which Nawab Nehru bared his full venomous fangs — all to ensure that his Man Friday, the Communist traitor V.K. Krishna Menon would win at any cost. https://open.substack.com/pub/thedharmadispatch/p/long-form-the-forgotten-1962-north?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=trstt

“The Bengal Province is being Sucked by a Double Set of Leeches!” Murshid Quli Khan combined in himself the worst of several dark arts: of financially entangling his contractors to the point of slavery; of casual ruthlessness in revenue collection and of squeezing farmers to the last drop of their blood. His thirst for money was boundless. To reduce revenue collection expenses, he transformed soldiers into tax collectors. This is akin to converting decorated military officers into IRS clerks. 😡😡🙏🪔 https://www.dharmadispatch.in/history/the-bengal-province-is-being-sucked-by-a-double-set-of-leeches

Did you know that there is a direct, historical connection between Murshid Quli Khan's Ijtara System and 20th century Bengali Cinema? It's a history of heartless loot and exploitation. Read the whole thing! https://www.dharmadispatch.in/history/murshid-quli-khans-ijtara-system-and-bengali-cinema