I owe you a belated ‘thank you’ — I’d been meaning to buy White Mughals ever since it came out a few years ago, but finally got around to doing it a couple of weeks ago because I remembered you mentioning the book here on PP a little while ago.

So my thanks to you for that

Yes he did live in Delhi in 1980′s, he has written about it in “City of Djinns”. Wherein he regurgitates the same old pseudo-secularist arguments about Islamic contributions to India. While i do recognise positive Islamic contributions to our culture, what disturbs me is the fact that there is absolutely no talk about… to put it midly… negative aspects of Islam in India. Unlike Hinduism which is usually derired and mocked for the social istitutions it spawned, Negative Islamic influences are glossed over completely in Indian itellectual discourse.

I’m still in the early stages of the book, but William Dalrymple does describe why it was apparently easier for the Brits to mix with the local Muslim aristocrats and in some cases even convert to Islam. However, in some cases there was also extensive assimilation of Hindu customs and mores, as the book also touches upon. Colonel James Tod, who was regarded as “too much of a Rajput himself”, was one famous example although others were also mentioned.

However, given that the focus of the book is on James Achilles Kirkpatrick and his entanglement with the royal court of Hyderabad (especially via that princess he married), it makes sense that there would be a greater bias in the “story” towards Muslim high society and mores.

It might also just be a factor of W. Dalryple’s own sensibilities; I believe he lived in Delhi for a long time, so that probably played a part in his interest in the Islamic influence. I guess it might have been a different matter if he’d lived in Bombay or Jaipur instead, for example.

*shrug* Great book anyway. I’m really enjoying it.

“White Mughals” is a good albiet a partisan book. It is basically about one set of colonialists integrating with another set of colonialists without a kind word or two about the natives. If Dalrymple is to believed, Indian culture is nothing sans Islamic influence.

Yes, we are.

Until about 1830 they integrated and assimilated pretty damn well. I recommend the book “White Mughals” as required reading for anyone who is unaware of this, although there are plenty of other sources of information out there too.

Evidence for second assertion ie groups opposed to the fundis. I would like to believe this although PP is evidence itself. Not all Muslims are fundis which is a point I should make clear in my posts so maybe you had a point after all.

Sunny its depends on interpretations lets just agree to disagree.

feministing.com

Fancy that

Another example I remembered: the name “Gholam” in Persia/Iran is spelt and pronounced “Ghulam” in Pakistan, India etc.

However, having done some further quick googling, it appears that “Moslem” is a Westernised corruption of the original word “Muslim”. So maybe Persians don’t pronounce it “Moslem” at all ?

Any Iranians in the house ?

(Apologies for playing a part in taking this off-topic; we should wrap this diversion up quickly).

Rasshied Din

Only if you’re a Fox News anchor.

Have you ever heard Gore Vidal speak?