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    My favorite artworks from European Museums

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    Gandhara Art in Humboldt Forum: Life of Lord Buddha

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    Jewish Heroes Square in Krakow, Poland

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    Block no. 4 in Auschwitz concentration camp

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    Ottoman tent in Princess Czartoryski Museum in Krakow, Poland

    The Steam Engine Building, Potsdam, Germany

    The Steam Engine Building, Potsdam, Germany

    Assyrian human-headed winged bull from Nimrud; 9th cent. BCE; Pergamon Museum, Berlin

    Assyrian human-headed winged bull from Nimrud; 9th cent. BCE; Pergamon Museum, Berlin

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    Catacombs in St Peter’s Abbey Salzburg, Austria

    St Nicholas Church in #Leipzeg, #Germany

    St Nicholas Church in #Leipzeg, #Germany

    Gloriette, Schonbrunn Palace, Vienna,Austria

    Gloriette, Schonbrunn Palace, Vienna,Austria

    Matthias Church on Buda Castle Hill, Budapest

    Matthias Church on Buda Castle Hill, Budapest

    The Neptune fountain in Schonbrunn Palace, Vienna, Austria

    The Neptune fountain in Schonbrunn Palace, Vienna, Austria

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    St Peter’s Abbey Church in Salzburg, Austria

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    The Residence Fountain in Salzburg: Oundof Music

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    Sultana Daku and Raj Bhawan of Nainital

    Sultana Daku and Raj Bhawan of Nainital

    Sultana Daku and Raj Bhawan of Nainital

    Jahan koshan cannon, Murshidabad

    Jahan koshan cannon, Murshidabad

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    Takht-e Marar, Golestan Palance, Teheran, Iran

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      My favorite artworks from European Museums

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      Gandhara Art in Humboldt Forum: Life of Lord Buddha

      Gandhara Art in Humboldt Forum: Life of Lord Buddha

      Jewish Heroes Square in Krakow, Poland

      Jewish Heroes Square in Krakow, Poland

      Block no. 4 in Auschwitz concentration camp

      Block no. 4 in Auschwitz concentration camp

      Ottoman tent in Princess Czartoryski Museum in Krakow, Poland

      Ottoman tent in Princess Czartoryski Museum in Krakow, Poland

      The Steam Engine Building, Potsdam, Germany

      The Steam Engine Building, Potsdam, Germany

      Assyrian human-headed winged bull from Nimrud; 9th cent. BCE; Pergamon Museum, Berlin

      Assyrian human-headed winged bull from Nimrud; 9th cent. BCE; Pergamon Museum, Berlin

      Catacombs in St Peter’s Abbey Salzburg, Austria

      Catacombs in St Peter’s Abbey Salzburg, Austria

      St Nicholas Church in #Leipzeg, #Germany

      St Nicholas Church in #Leipzeg, #Germany

      Gloriette, Schonbrunn Palace, Vienna,Austria

      Gloriette, Schonbrunn Palace, Vienna,Austria

      Matthias Church on Buda Castle Hill, Budapest

      Matthias Church on Buda Castle Hill, Budapest

      The Neptune fountain in Schonbrunn Palace, Vienna, Austria

      The Neptune fountain in Schonbrunn Palace, Vienna, Austria

      The Dohany Street synagogue in Budapest

      St Peter’s Abbey Church in Salzburg, Austria

      St Peter’s Abbey Church in Salzburg, Austria

      The Residence Fountain in Salzburg: Oundof Music

      The Residence Fountain in Salzburg: Oundof Music

      Sultana Daku and Raj Bhawan of Nainital

      Sultana Daku and Raj Bhawan of Nainital

      Sultana Daku and Raj Bhawan of Nainital

      Sultana Daku and Raj Bhawan of Nainital

      Jahan koshan cannon, Murshidabad

      Jahan koshan cannon, Murshidabad

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      Understanding Ganga-Jamuni Tehzeeb: How diverse is the “Indian multiculturalism”

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      Rana Safvi | Sun, 15 Jun 2014-04:51pm , Mumbai , dna webdesk

      As a believer, promoter and firm practitioner of Ganga-Jamuni Tehzeeb, I am often asked what it really stands for?

      For many others and me, it’s a way of life. A creed we live by!

      I had explained it once simply as:

      “Post 1992 when there were calls of garv se kaho hum Hindu hain and garv se kaho hum Musalman hain, those deeply soaked in Ganga Jamuni tehzeeb had replied garv se kaho hum insaan hain.”

      This is of course a very simplistic answer to very complex multi-cultural pluralistic phenomena, which is unique to India, and one, which is very misunderstood and misused.

      From childhood, if one phrase stands out in my mind from my history lessons it was, ‘unity in diversity’.

      This diversity came from the years of migration to the fertile plains of India of people from different countries in Asia. Sometimes, it was as an invading army, sometimes as scholars/ artists/ artisans looking for jobs in the culturally rich land, sometimes people fleeing persecution in their lands and sometimes by those looking to exploit its rich potential for trade.

      And the unity, which came from the coming together of all these different ethnic, cultural and religious communities, which resulted in ‘The Wonder that is India.’

      “The idea of multi-communitarianism has been derived from the composite, syncretic civilisational legacy of India, which is a product of centuries of interaction, exchange and accommodation between Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist, Jain, Sikh and Christian traditions. Despite the tragic partition of the Indian subcontinent along religious lines and the current atmosphere of communal polarisation and mistrust, this composite legacy remains an inseparable part of Indian society “ says sociologist T K Oommen.

      What then is ‘Multiculturalism’? It isn’t just the blending of cultures leading to a ‘composite culture’ as erroneously perceived by many but facilitation to preserve their distinctiveness and the people who belong to different cultures to ensure equality.

      For this, we need a broadly shared culture to sustain it, which will come from healthy respect for each other’s cultural identity, nurturing of diversity and a unity of purpose towards a shared goal of a strong and prosperous country, which affords equality to all.

      Further delinking of national identity and religious identity is a must. It should be ‘Indian first’ for every citizen. Religion should be a private and personal for all. The state mechanisms should be delinked from any religious bias.

      Lala Lajpat Rai gave voice to this idea of Indian nationhood in 1920. ‘The Indian nation, such as it is or such as we intend to build, neither is nor will be exclusively Hindu, Muslim, Sikh or Christian. It will be each and all’.

      According to a 1992 survey there are 4,634 communities in India. It was the interaction between these communities, which gave impetus to our unique composite culture, which is called Ganga Jamuni Tehzeeb in common, parlance. The seeds of course were sown in ancient India with “Sarva Dharma Sambhava, which literally means that all Dharmas (truths) are equal to or harmonious with each other.

      Composite culture,“ the continual presence and processes of reciprocity; mutual sharing and overlap of cultural practices; styles of life; a technological and economic worldview of the relationship between nature and culture; shared practices of economy and technology; values and belief systems cutting across the divides of space; and religious belief systems and specificities of community differentiations, “ says sociologist Yogendra Singh.

      These communities while cherishing and preserving their own cultural, religious identities participated and shared freely and spontaneously in the customs and cultural activities of the other communities.

      This concept of cultural pluralism is what is called ‘secular’ in India. Indian secularism does not conform to the Western definition but implies respect for all religions, celebration of religious toleration and equality for all religions. That we call it ‘sickular’ shows how we misunderstand our own ancient traditions and ethos.

      We eat gujiyas on Holi and play with colours, we light lamps and eat sweets on Diwali , we embrace and eat siwai on Eid and hang a star on Christmas. This is our common heritage and cultural identity. The rest of the praying, fasting etc, which goes on in our houses, is our religious identity and should be kept private, personal and separate.

      The motto to follow should be

      “Main jaanu’n mera Khuda jaane’.

      This unique culture gave birth to and was further reinforced by the teachings of Sufi/bhakti saints.

      So while on the one hand you had Baba Bulleh Shah singing,

      Hori khelun kah kah Bismillah

      Naam Nabi ki ratn chadhi

      Boond padi Allah Allah

      On the other, we had Mian Mir laying the foundation of the Golden temple at the behest of Guru Arjun Dev.

      As Kabirdas ji said “Moko kahan dhoondhe re bande, main tau tere paas hun.’

      We have Muslim artisans making idols of Durga ji and Hindu artisans making taziyas. At that moment they are just devotees involved in a pious job. They are not consciously the ‘other’.
      And it is this ‘other’ that we have to avoid. Being. Calling.

      (published in DNA http://www.dnaindia.com/analysis/standpoint-understanding-ganga-jamuni-tehzeeb-how-diverse-is-the-indian-multiculturalism-1995684)

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      Rana Safvi

      Come, explore and fall in love the Beauties of Delhi (Dilli ki Ranaiya’n) and the World with me, Rana Safvi

      I have a masters in medieval history from the prestigious Centre for Advanced Studies, Dept. of History, AMU. A firm believer in our Ganga Jamuni Tehzeeb, I am passionate about gaining and sharing knowledge and these days I am doing it via the social media platform.

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      © 2018 Rana Safvi - A blog Exploring Ganga Jamuni Tehzeeb of India, website handcrafted by Abu Sufiyan.