The Dharma Dispatch

Mir Jumla: The Monster who Melted Hindu Murtis in Gandikota ----------- Mir Jumla came up with an innovation. He ordered his men to collect Hindu Murtis made of metal. Almost every temple in the whole region falling under the jurisdiction of Gandikota was raided, their metallic Vigrahas carted off to the fort and heartlessly melted. All Murtis except six. These were pulled out from the Madhavaswami Temple. But no matter how hard he tried, they simply refused to melt. --- Read this tragic story in full. And share widely! 😓🙏🛕🪔 https://www.dharmadispatch.in/history/mir-jumla-the-monster-who-melted-hindu-murtis-in-gandikota

"In 1986, Indira Gandhi's Education Minister, Nurul Hasan's trusted lieutenant, H.S. Khan, head of the NCERT's History and Sociology Department, sent a directive to all states to change Indian history textbooks to suit the anti-Hindu model" https://www.dharmadispatch.in/commentary/de-hinduizing-the-history-syllabus-the-secret-directive-of-nurul-hasans-deputy-hs-khan#:~:text=In%201986%2C%20Indira%20Gandhi%27s%20Education%20Minister%2C%20Nurul%20Hasan%27s%20trusted%20lieutenant%2C%20H.S.%20Khan%2C%20head%20of%20the%20NCERT%27s%20History%20and%20Sociology%20Department%2C%20sent%20a%20directive%20to%20all%20states%20to%20change%20Indian%20history%20textbooks%20to%20suit%20the%20anti%2DHindu%20model

The Run up to Gandikota: Mir Jumla Burns Northern Tamil Nadu Between 1643 - 50, Mir Jumla conducted a series of raids throughout Andhra and Tamil Nadu and devastated entire towns and villages. Did you know that the so-called Big Mosque in Poonamalle was formerly a Hindu Temple? Mir Jumla demolished its Gopuram and Kalasham precisely during his death-march in 1646-47. It was converted to a mosque in 1653 by Rustom, the son of an influential Golconda aristocrat named Astirabad Dhulfiqar. -- Read the whole thriling story! https://www.dharmadispatch.in/history/the-run-up-to-gandikota-mir-jumla-burns-northern-tamil-nadu

The Dharma Dispatch Completes Six Years! Today, we celebrate the sixth anniversary of The Dharma Dispatch. Here are some contemplations and a rewind of the last year - Sandeep Balakrishna ---- Our sacred work at The Dharma Dispatch has acquired a life of its own and like life, it continues to grow, mature and ripen, almost like a force of nature. Our dedication and commitment to our core values remain unchanged. We have envisaged The Dharma Dispatch as a civilisational initative rooted in the ageless ethos of Sanatana Dharma. With each year, our faith in this vision has only been reinforced and strengthened. We are steadily ramping up our video content on The Dharma Dispatch YouTube Channel. Do check it out! AS ALWAYS, the Sanatana community’s response to The Dharma Dispatch has been nothing short of spectacular. The unstinted support and blessings of a cross-section of the Hindu society continues to be the backbone of and encouragement for our generational work. We offer our heartfelt gratitude to everyone who has become inseparable companions on our sacred journey of civilisational reclamation, cultural resurgence and spiritual reinvigoration. 🕉🙏🪔 https://www.dharmadispatch.in/dispatches/the-dharma-dispatch-completes-six-years

I'll be doing a Live on The Dharma Dispatch YouTube channel in about 10 minutes. Topic: Did Gandhi really get freedom for india? To join, head here: https://www.youtube.com/@DharmaDispatch

Today is #GandhiJayanthi. What better way to celebrate it than exposing the story of how Mohandas Gandhi directly fell into the trap set by Mohammad Ali? The video is LIVE NOW! Do watch! 😀😃😄 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlIV3JI7eYk

Mir Jumla: Aurangzeb’s Confidant who Recruited Telugu Niyogi Brahmins ----- The large Jumma Masjid standing bang inside the Gandikota fort was built by Mir Jumla, Aurangzeb’s Confidant. Mir Jumla was a combination of a plunderer-businessman cum military commander cum Prime Minister of the Golconda Sultan. His raw business instincts had enabled him to acquire and wield enormous political power. He was a skilled negotiator and a spotter of talent. Thus, he freely recruited competent people even from the enemy camp. Jumla’s revenue management was almost wholly entrusted to Telugu Niyogi Brahmanas. The role of these Brahmanas in laying the financial edifice of what later became the bustling commerical city called Madras deserves a separate chapter. --- Read the whole fascinating essay! 📑😀🪔 https://www.dharmadispatch.in/history/mir-jumla-aurangzebs-confidant-who-befriended-telugu-niyogi-brahmins

The Sun-Dried Tears of Gandikota --- This is the first episode of a new series narrating the brief civilisational history of Gandikota, fabled as the Grand Canyon of India. For six hundred years, Gandikota flourished as a strategic military outpost, capital, and a revenue district. Gandikota thus became a great prize coveted by every dynasty that ruled South India after the Kakatiyas. Sri Krishnadevaraya transformed it into a sīme (district), which encompassed Pulivendula, Proddatur, Kadapa, Kamalapuram and parts of Kurnool. When I visited Gandikota in 2014, it resembled an abandoned theatre of desolation. Almost nothing exists of the fabled Vijayanagara-era citadel. --- Read the blockbuster episode! https://www.dharmadispatch.in/history/the-sun-dried-tears-of-gandikota

Not just Tainted Tirumala Laddus: Andhra is in the Grip of the Missionary Machinery The Archaka community at Tirumala, Srisailam and elsewhere had been terrorised into silence by the Government-appointed Executive Officer. There are first hand reports of imagined infractions by an Archaka. What followed was unmitigated harassment including filthy insults targeted at the Brahmin community. If and when it becomes public, the defiled Prasadam scandal will pale in comparison to the scale and depth of the near-destruction of Tirumala. --- Do read the full piece, with shocking details! https://www.dharmadispatch.in/commentary/not-just-tainted-tirumala-laddus-andhra-is-in-the-grip-of-the-missionary-machinery

Hindu women sold their jewels and sent the money from distant parts to be used against the Musulm@ns. The poorer class worked feverishly at the spinning wheel or as hired labourers to be able to send something to the men of the army. https://www.dharmadispatch.in/history/when-hindu-women-sold-their-jewels-to-fight-mahmud-ghazni#:~:text=Hindu%20women%20sold%20their%20jewels%20and%20sent%20the%20money%20from%20distant%20parts%20to%20be%20used%20against%20the%20Musulmans.%20The%20poorer%20class%20worked%20feverishly%20at%20the%20spinning%20wheel%20or%20as%20hired%20labourers%20to%20be%20able%20to%20send%20something%20to%20the%20men%20of%20the%20army.

An Avadhoota from Old Bangalore: Swami Mahadeva Sastri -- This evocative essay from DVG is very close to my heart. Here is an excerpt from it. As Swami walked around the streets, all kinds of people would approach him from all directions and tie around his hand the Ananta thread, the Kashi thread or some other thread as part of a Vrata (vow) they had undertaken. By the time Swami reached the Aralepete Square, traders and shopkeepers who had businesses there would have opened the locks on their shops. But the doors would still be shut, expectantly awaiting the Swami’s arrival. When the procession halted before their respective shops, the businessmen opened the door, took out some offering from their cashbox, placed it in the Swami’s hands, uttering “Krishnarpanam,” “Shivarpanam.” The unanimous belief was that their business that day would be good if their first offering of the day was made to the Swami. ----- Do read this sublime essay in full! 🕉🙏🛕🪔 https://www.dharmadispatch.in/culture/an-avadhoota-from-old-bangalore-swami-mahadeva-sastri