Hindu Temples: What happened to them?

Facts ignored when history is at the service of the party

The Leftists historians in India are experts at the game of demystification. They tend to view anything and everything in terms of class interests.
Their reasoning is that when the medieval Islamic invaders plundered Temples, it was because Temples had a lot of wealth in them. Notwithstanding the thousands of epigraphs and quotes from Chroniclers, the leftists continue to say that the attacks on Hindu Temples were motivated by purely pecuniary gains.
However, it took eminent historians like K S Lal, Sitaram Goel and the permanent Indian gadfly Arun Shourie to call their bluff. K S Lal quoted authentic sources to say that Muhammad Ghaznavi had rejected offers of wealth from the Pandits at Somnath Temple by stating that he was a butshikan (an idol breaker) and not an idol seller. Sitaram Goel collected evidence on nearly 10,000 Temples which were damaged by the medieval Muslims. His book – Hindu Temples: What Happened to Them – is a classic on these themes.
The following is the narration of the "pious performance" by Muslims of plundering and converting Hindu temples to mosques and other Islamic structures.
Name of the structure: Quwwat al-Islam MasjidLocation: Delhi in Uttar Pradesh Inscription:
"This fort was conquered and the Jami Masjid built in the year 587 by the Amir(*), the great, the gloriuous commander of the Army, Qutub-ud-daula wad-din, the Amir-ul-umara Aibeg, the slave of the Sultan, may Allah strengthen his helperes. The materials of 27 idol temples, on each of which 2,000,000 Delhiwals(**) had been spent were used in the construction of the mosque." *The Amir mentioned above was Qutubud-Din Aibak, slave of Muhammed Ghori. **"Delhiwal" was a high denomination coin current at that time in Delhi.
Name of the structure: Mansuri Masjid Location: Vijapur in GujratInscription:
"The Blessed and Exalted Allah says, 'And verily, mosques are for Allah only; hence invoke not anyone else with Allah.' This edifice was originally built by the infidels. After the advent of Islam, it was converted into a mosque. Sermon was delivered here for sixty-seven years. Due to the sedition of the infidels, it was again destroyed. When during the reign of the Sultan of the time, Ahmad, the affairs of each Iqta attained magnificence, Bahadur, the Sarkhail, once again carried out repairs. Through the generosity of Divine munificence, it became like new."
Name of the structure: Masjid at Manv iLocation: Manvi in KarnatakaInscription:
"Praise be to Allah that by the decree of the Parvardigar, a mosque has been converted out of a temple as a sign of religion in the reign of the world- conquering emperor, the Sultan who is the asylum of the Faith and the possessor of the crown, who's kingdom is young, viz. Firuz Shah Bahmani, who is the cause of Exuberant spring in the garden of religion, Adu'l-Fath the king who conquered. After the victory of the emperor, the chief of chiefs, Safdar (the valiant commander) of the age, received the fort. The builder of this noble place of prayer is Muhammad Zahir Aqchi, the pivot of the Faith. He constructed in the year 809 from the Migration of the Chosen (prophet Muhammdad) this Ka'ba like momento."
Name of the structure: Mausoleum of Shykh 'Abdullah Shah Changal Location: Dhar in Madhya PradeshInscription:
"The centre became Muhammadan first by him(*) (and) all the banners of religion were spread... This lion-man came from the centre of religion to this old temple with a large force. He broke the images of the false deities, and turned the idol temple into a mosque. When Rai Bhoj saw this, through wisdom he embraced Islam with the family of his brave warriors(**). This quarter became illuminated by the light of the Muhammadan law, and the customs of the infidels became obsolete and abolished." *Shykh 'Abdullah Shah Changal **In this case the Hindu King was Bhoj II and during his reign Jalalu'd-Din Khalji (AD 1290-1296) of Delhi invaded Malwa. Changal was the Muslim missionary who accompanied Khalji's army. This army after plundering and looting the kingdom of Bhoj II converted a Hindu temple into a mosque and forced the ruler and his subjects to accept Islam.
Name of the structure: Jami' Masjid Location: Malan in GujratInscription:
"...(The Prophet), on him be peace, says 'He who builds a mosque in the world, the Exalted Allah builds for him a palace in Paradise.' In the auspicious time of the government and peaceful time of Mahmud Shah, son of Muhammad Shah, the sultan, the Jami', mosque was constructed on the hill of the fort of Malun (or Malwan) by Khan-i-Azam Ulugh Khan...at the request of the thandar Kabir, (son of Diya), the building was constructed by the son of Ulugh Khan who is magnimonius, just, generous, brave and who suppressed the wrteched infidels. He eradicated the idol-houses and mine of infidelity, along with the idols... with the edge of his sword, and made ready this edifice... He made its walls and doors out of the idols; the back of every stone became the place for prostration of the believer..."
Name of the structure: Jami' Masjid Location: Amod in GujratInscription:
"Allah and His grace. When divine favour was bestowed on Khalil Shah, he constructed the Jami' Masjid for the decoration of Islam; he ruined the idol-house and temple of the polytheists, (and) completed the Masjid and pulpit in its place. Without doubt, his building was accepted by Allah."
Name of the structure: Shrine of Shah MadarLocation: Narwar in Mdhya pradeshInscription:
"Dilawar Khan, the chief among the king's viceroys, caused this mosque to built which is like a place of shelter for the favourites. Infidelity has been subdued, and Islam has triumphed because of him. The idols have bowed to him and the temples have been razed to the ground along with their foundations, and mosques and worship houses are flowing with riches."
Name of structure: Hamman Darwaza Masjid Location: Jaunpur in Uttar PradeshInscription:
"Thanks by the guidance of Everlasting and the Living Allah, this house of infidelity became the niche of prayer. As a reward for that, the Generous Lord constructed an abode for the builder in paradise..."
Name of structure: Jami Masjid Location: Ghoda in MaharashtraInscription:
"O Allah O Muhammed ! O Ali ! When Mir Muhammed Zaman made up his mind, he opened the door of prosperity on himself by his own hand. He demolished thirty-three idol temples and by divine grace laid the foundation of a building in the abode of predition."
Name of structure: Gachinala MasjidLocation: Kurnool District of Andhra PradeshInscription:
"He is Allah, may be glorified..During the august rule of...Muhammed Shah, there was a well established idol-house in Kuhmum...Muhammed Salih...razed to the ground, the edifice of the idol-house and broke the idols in a manly fashion. He constructed on its site a suitable mosque, towering above the building of all."
The above was a presentation of inscriptions on mosques and other Islamic structures in India. These inscriptions, as you clearly read, glorify and justify the acts of the barbaric Muslim invaders by invoking Allah and the Koran. Thus this leads us to the conclusion that Islam openly supports the criminal acts of loot, plunder, rape, murder, torment, torture and destruction!!
Despite these findings, the Indian media and their left cohorts continue to ignore the facts and go ahead with their ‘sick’ular schemes. The eminent historians ranging from Romila Thapar and Irfan Habib have preferred to ignore the inconvenient questions by Sitaram Goel. Koenraad Elst calls this technique as "Strangling by silence".
The travesty of Hindu Temples is that they are not owned by the Hindus. These Temples are owned and maintained by the secular Government of India under the Endowment Act. The further tragedy is that the funds obtained by running of the Hindu Temples do not go for the maintenance and development of the Temples but in fact go towards minority development like the madrasas which are the breeding grounds for terror.
To put an end to such practices, a meeting of Hindu seers, sages and priests had taken place which had resulted in The TIRUPATI DECLARATION
The following are the three cardinal Articles of this Historic Declaration: 1) We Hindus assembled here (in Tirupati) declare that we do not support, directly or indirectly, any group, institution, religion, media, or political force, which preaches, practices or works against Hindu Dharma in this country; 2) We appeal to all the Hindus in this country and elsewhere to subscribe to and support this declaration, the Tirupati Declaration; 3) We want all the Hindu religious endowments to be managed by Hindu bodies, and not by the government. We want the secular government to release all religious endowments from its hold –(July 25, 2006)