Bohras and all the Sayyids, Pathans, Mirzas, Mughals, Siddiquis, Farooqis, Usmanis and Ansaris came from Arabia, Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Afghanistan. Dalits converted to Islam to escape the caste system
As I mentioned earlier, the Muslims in northern India were traders and travelers entering India peacefully, continuously by land routes and in the coastal areas, they were sailing in by ships. Their arrival in India started long before the attacks of Ghauri and Ghaznavi. In this sequence, it is necessary to talk something about the Bohra community.
The Ismaili Muslims and the Bohra Community
The Ismaili Muslims are also among those who made India their home in the tenth century. Now we all know them by the name of Bohra sect. These people were a part of the Shia sect, but after the martyrdom of the sixth Imam of the Shias, Hazrat Ja’far-e-Sadiq (in 765 CE), there was a split in the Shia community over the succession of his sons Hazrat Ismail and Hazrat Musi-e-Kazim, due to which a new sect emerged, which was called Ismaili. The people of this sect became so powerful that they ruled large parts of Africa including Egypt from 909 to 1171 AD, which is called Fatami Sultanate in history.
The people of the Ismaili sect developed great links to India through trade, landing at the ports of Gujarat building the network of trade between India and Arabia. These people also started living in India in the tenth century and made their center in the city of Surat in Gujarat. It is known from historical evidence that Dawood bin Ajab Shah, the 26th religious leader of the Bohra sect, died in 997 AD. His successor, BurhanUddin Qutb Shah, who lived in India, became the 27th religious leader of the Bohra community.
Muslims Made Their Home In India 200 years before the Confrontation of Ghori
History records that Muslims in India had made India their home 200 years before the confrontation of Ghori and Prithvi Raj Chauhan. When the Fatimi Sultanate came to an end in 1171, the Bohra sect migrated from Egypt and African countries and the Ismaili sect got the name of Vohra (merchant) in India which later became Bohra.
The Bohra sect did not Convert Any Hindus and Muslim Origins were Mostly from Neighboring Nations
The Bohra sect uniquely did not allow anyone to convert to their religion. This in itself is an argument to support the fact that many Muslims came to India but they did not encourage conversion to Islam. It is imperative to point this out because there are members from the Sangh Parivar that claim that the DNA of Muslims and Hindus is the same and form lineage from the same ancestors trying to indicate that Hindus converted to Islam. The truth is that apart from the Bohrs, all the Sayyids, Pathans, Mirzas, Mughals, Siddiquis, Farooqis, Usmanis and Ansaris came from Arabia, Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Afghanistan.
Yes, we also believe that the DNA of Hindus and Muslims is the same in relation to the human race which was re-populated after Hazrat Noah (who is called sage Manu in India) was saved from the storm.
Dalits Converted to Islam to Escape the Dehumanizing Caste System
It is also a fact that many Indians accepted Islam and most of them were Dalits, because during that era, the caste system degraded Dalits so miserably they dehumanized themand escaping from the crutches of a crushing caste system, they accepted Islam in large numbers.
It is obvious that they were not forced by the Muslims to convert, but social discrimination forced them.
The Unifying Work of Equality of Saheb Bhimrao Ambedkar
With monumental victory, the spirit of democracy was celebrated when the importance of Dalits was understood by the leaders of political parties and upper sect after the framing of the Constitution due to the efforts of Saheb Bhimrao Ambedkar, and the discrimination against them was reduced to a great extent as it granted everyone equal civil rights. In the society too, many of his people started walking with their heads raised.
Coming to a head in all this, keeping our strength in unity despite our diverse roots, Indians should not foster and spread bitterness in the country but increase love amongst each other.
In my next part, I will present some important points on this subject and elaborate why Muslims have loved this country so much that they left their land and started making this beautiful country their home.
(To be continued)