Journal of Xidian University https://doi.org/10.37896/jxu14.5/588 ISSN No:1001-2400 Cultural and Historical succession of India from Vedic Period to Post Partition: River of Fire 1 Dr Shakila Bhanu Shaik, Associate Professor of English, VFSTR (deemed to be) university 2 Ms Sai Lalitha B, Assistant Professor of English, VFSTR (deemed to be) university Culture and History of a country are always mutual dependent and accolade, and both are reciprocal. India, an ancient country has been an icon of its own distinct culture since the Vedic age. Culture, an unspoken part of religion and social order of a country or any place always undergoes changes, and the detailed account of these changes called history. The novel River of Fire compromises the history of the Indian subcontinent from the Vedic age to the post-colonial age with lifelike recurring characters. This paper discusses the progress of culture and history in India from the Vedic age to the Post-colonial age with reference to the novel River of Fire. Keywords: history and culture of India, cultural succession in India, River of Fire *** Introduction History of the Vedic period was dated way back to a few centuries in BC and so as the Hinduism. Religious beliefs and practices of Hinduism have got their roots in four Vedas namely, Rig Veda; Yajur Veda; Sama Veda and Atharva Veda. Apart from these four Vedas, the Upanishads are also having an equal magnitude of authority in framing religious beliefs and rituals. In the medieval period, many dynasties (both aboriginal and foreign) played their power games to get control over India, among these a few were the Rajputs, Lodis, Sharique and Moghuls. After the medieval period in colonial India, the British left the irremovable mark over this great country. The novel River of Fire by Qurratualin Hyder established the picturesque account of Indian history from the Vedic era to post-partition. Hyder depicted the fates of four recurring characters, Gautam; Champa, Kamal, and Cyril in this novel for around two and a half millennia and divided the novel into four sections. Each section spanned different era explicitly Vedic, Medieval, Colonial, and then to Post Partition. In each era characters related themselves in complex and conflict relations and struggle to find the salvation of their life. 1 VOLUME 14, ISSUE 5, 2020 5428 http://xadzkjdx.cn/ Journal of Xidian University https://doi.org/10.37896/jxu14.5/588 ISSN No:1001-2400 Characters in the novel River of Fire, appear in many guises but they have the same name and relate differently with one another in every era. In the first part, Gautam Nilambar was the first and prime character who was studying in a University of Shravasti in the fourth century BC. He was fascinated towards Champak who was already engaged to Prince Hari Shankar. Gautam’s love for Champak remained unfulfilled after the turmoil and destruction happened due to Chandragupta Maurya’s invade into Shravasti. In the next part of the novel Kamaluddin, the Muslim scholar introduced as university student came to India from Nishapur to learn and teach in Jaunpura. Medieval India was the confluence of Indo-Islamic culture. Champa appeared as a Brahmin woman, and she loved Abu al-Mansour Kamaluddin. Kamaluddin observed all customs and practices of India with awe. He threw himself into never yearned war and lost peace and serenity. The story took a sharp shift to 19th century into colonial India, where Cyril who reached India to test his luck. Cyril became Nowab Cyril and earned an important place in British Raj. He was bewitched by Indian women and married an Indian girl, but started his secret rendezvous with enchanting Champabai, a clever courtesan in Awad. Through the story of Champabai author revealed the story of Awad and old Lucknow and the urban fantasies about high culture. The last episode opens in the early twentieth century with a new array of characters along with the reoccurring Champa, Gautham, Kamal and Cyril. In this aeon Champa Ahmad, a modern, middle class and ambitious woman with a free spirit. After freedom, many Indian youths moved to London for better learning and employment. Champa, Kamal, Hari Shankar, Talat, and Nirmala also to achieve their goal reached alien lands, where they met expatriates. The characters of Champa Ahmad and Gautam presented as a symbol of conflict between ethical and material life finally found salvation. The novel ends with a positive and friendly note. Country India has always been a destination of many races and nationalities with her never-ending charms and resources. The reason behind its cultural diversity is well discovered in the novel River of Fire and the history is got etched in a linear depiction starting it in the Vedic era. Political State of Affairs in Mauryan Kingdom In ancient India, Mauryan dynasty was potent and extended its kingdom to the best possible. Vishnu Sharma alias Chanakya was minister of Chandragupta and he controlled all affairs of the kingdom during Mauryan reign. This point was ascertained in many works. 2 VOLUME 14, ISSUE 5, 2020 5429 http://xadzkjdx.cn/ Journal of Xidian University https://doi.org/10.37896/jxu14.5/588 ISSN No:1001-2400 Chanakya employed Chandragupta to defeat Nanda, after that mission, he concentrated on extending his kingdom in all directions. He employed many people as spies. These spies disguise themselves as sashes and reach normal populace so that they could gather information. Unsuccessful Brahmins and witty barbers, astrologers and courtesans gladly joined the newly established intelligence service. Even courtesans found this new business profitable and they can easily access newcomers into cities. (RF: 42-43) The prominent literary text Mudrarakshasa by Vishakadatta depicted Chandragupta Maurya determination of seizing the Aryavarth (India during that times). He conspired for that with Kashmir Raja Parvatha. Later, dramatic shifts directed by Chanakya, the great witty minister of Chandragupta. This literary work depicts the ambition and purpose of both Chanakya and Chandragupta. Chandragupta Maurya wasn’t satisfied after conquering Nanda and he started to expand his kingdom in all directions. Plutarch holds in his remarkable work that Chandragupta subdued whole India with an army of sixty thousand. The same was discussed Indian Civilization and Culture edited by Suhas Chatterjee. He said that Chandragupta Maurya, after defeating Nanda, spread his kingdom to a vast area up to Saurashtra and Konkan in the west, and in the South, he advanced up to Tinnevelly (Tamilnadu). (137) In the novel River of Fire, Hyder described the parallel incident of war and suffering of the common populace. In the novel, Akhilesh, Gautam's friend informed that “The new imperial army from Magadh has arrived. Prime Minister Chanakya does not want any weak feudatories around, so Rajan and all his men were put to death (RF: 39)”. These invasions and wars were well noticed by many historians in their works. The Mauryan kingdom was extended up to Mysore in the south to the credit of Chandragupta Maurya and his minister Chanakya. In this course of usurping countries and wars, much bloodshed happened and many innocent and poor lost their lives. Gautam who was a mere student never saw such massacre and astounded by the havoc happened in his city to his parents and others. The great work of Megasthenes Indica became the base for many historians though the original work could not survive, many abridged works served the purpose of recording and supporting the theories. It is believed in his work Indica, Megasthenes named Chandragupta as Sandrakottos. According to Ancient India, as Described by Megasthenês and Arrian by Megasthenes, John Watson Mc Crindle Chandragupta Maurya (referred as Sandrakottos by him) established marital relationships with Yavanas (Greeks) and got his kingdom strengthened. 3 VOLUME 14, ISSUE 5, 2020 5430 http://xadzkjdx.cn/ Journal of Xidian University https://doi.org/10.37896/jxu14.5/588 ISSN No:1001-2400 Megasthenes had been sent by Seleukos Nikator on an embassy to Sandrakottos (Chandragupta), the king of Prasi, whose capital was Palibothra (Pataliputra, now Patna), wrote a work on India of such acknowledged worth that it formed the principal source whence succeeding writers drew their accounts of the country. (7) Chanakya played a key role in the expansion of kingdom and he was well versed in Hindu religious scriptures and in works on polity and allied disciplines. Apart from Arthashastra, Indica also shed considerable light on the administrative system and state of affairs in Chandragupta Maurya’s empire. Culture, religious practices, beliefs and social situations of Vedic era are rarely seen in artistic works like films, theatres, soap operas and documentary films as there were no reliable pieces of evidences (of that era). In River of Fire, Qurratulain Hyder had given a scenic and lucid description of the Vedic era in the first part of the novel. The lifestyle and attitudes of every societal being were put in a perfect set and background. The most noticeable point in this novel was every part symbolically opens at the river Saryu and ending also happened at the river Saryu. In the novel, Hyder gingerly employed the main characters to bring the real picture of the timeline before the reader. She put characters in amidst of real happenings like wars, festivals, processions etc. Social, Cultural and Political Structure in Majestic Medieval India In the novel, Hyder depicted how the Hindu and the Muslim kings help each other to overcome the common enemy. Shariq dynasty was befriended with the Rajputs and both helped each other to defeat Lodis their common enemy. In this part of the novel protagonist, Kamal was a scholar came to India for working in one of the Indian universities. He reached a very beautiful and affluent city of Jaunpur. Iqtidar Alam Khan in his book Historical Dictionaries of Medieval India viewed that Jaunpur was situated on the banks of river Gomati and was named after Muhammad Jauna. It was established as the capital of the Sharqi dynasty. As a matter of fact Jaunpur, rulers were after Delhi to be occupied, but Bahlol Lodi gave a great whack to Shariq dynasty in which all army, and all money and everything was lost. All Rajputs supported Shariq dynasty and stood against Lodis. Kamal was flummoxed and astonished with a great deal of the warfare what he had witnessed and had been displeased. He found everyone was ready to take part in the war. It seemed as if everyday affair for everyone. He discovered flexibility and resolution of people 4 VOLUME 14, ISSUE 5, 2020 5431 http://xadzkjdx.cn/ Journal of Xidian University https://doi.org/10.37896/jxu14.5/588 ISSN No:1001-2400 in war. The beautiful city, Jaunpur was demolished into relics of past. All schools and institutions were grounded to dust. He felt bad for the beautiful city, which was his abode for around two years. Now, the war became an everyday affair, people partook in it as if it’s their part of life. Finally, Lodi captured Jaunpura again and Bark became king of it. Kamal could not withstand the anymore bloodshed, so he ran away from Kohal Gunj. He grieved for the fair city of Jaunpur which the victorious Sikander Lodi reduced to rubble. N. Jayapalan recorded in his History of India, that feudal lords of Jaunpur were great supporters of Hussain Shah, so they supported him and Barbak was thrown away. After Bahlol Lodi his son Sikander Lodi succeeded the throne who was a great king and a hunter. Sikander found his elder brother Barbak impotent at Jaunpur and marched to usurp the kingdom again from Shariq dynasty what his brother had lost. (56) In the novel, River of Fire Sikander Lodi was described very pertinently. Sikander after his father’s death invaded Jaunpur with doubled force and won it forever. Hyder holds “Bahlol Lodi died in 1489. He was succeeded by his swash-buckling son, Sikander, who was proud and stern and very different from his likeable father. The Rajput chiefs of the Eastern kingdom were loyal supporters of Hussain Sha. (RF: 87)”. N. Jayapalan also discovered the same in his work History of India and held that Zamindars of Jaunpura supported Hussain Sha and disobeyed Lodi dynasty. But, Sikander Lodi suppressed the revolutionaries with iron leg and usurped Jaunpura again. Qurratulain Hyder positioned every character in an accurate array that responded at the right time. Religious Movements in Medieval India During the medieval era, invasions and forays of many races led India into new cultural and religious dimensions and give a new facet. The great turmoil in socio and economic changes had thrown the common masses into chaos and disorder. This disorderliness led to the birth of religious movements and changed the colour and cause of society to a great extent and supplied fiction makers a new and fresh subject matter. As a matter of fact, religious movements like Sufism, Bhakti movement, find their place in historiography as well as in fiction. The learned intellectuals with the quest for truth started looking at new horizons. Invaders from the west and traders from the east made India more populace. A well known and prevalent movement was Sufism which did not go by inheritance but, one's belief and conduct towards God’s creation and believing in love and peace and treating God’s creation equally. Malika Mohammada in her The Foundations of the Composite Culture in India holds that people who believed in Sufism give up worldly and material things and worship god to 5 VOLUME 14, ISSUE 5, 2020 5432 http://xadzkjdx.cn/ Journal of Xidian University https://doi.org/10.37896/jxu14.5/588 ISSN No:1001-2400 attain complete happiness. She holds, “It is a gift from god bestowed upon those who can retain it and bring into play only those courses which are permissible for the uplift and happiness of mankind. In short, Sufism is the pinnacle of an all–round spiritual development in Islam. (161)”. In the novel River of Fire also in many contexts, Bhakti movement and Sufism are discussed. Cultural transitions took place in Medieval India resulted in the Bhakti movement. Varna system that was established in the Vedic era made a considerable number of people miserable and they were made to live in a meaningless structural framework of society. The Brahmical superiority started in BCE was persistent to the Medieval era, wealthy traders and artisans could not find a place in high echelon. Many low-strata groups marginalized peasantry groups like Marathas, Jats, Ahoms and women got attracted to Bhakti movement as it promised salvation to all. During Vedic era Buddhism and Jainism found their prosperous days attracting all strata of people and treating them all equal. In the medieval period Bhakti Movement, Sufism and Mysticism gained momentum. These new religious movements which were budding in society became great outlets for tormented and suppressed. Among all, Sufism gained more attention of the lower castes of the Hindus, for whom conversion to Islam means release from humiliation. And according to Bhakti Movement which had been drawn on guidelines of Bhagavath Githa “in sight of god all devotees are equal whether they are born in low or high”. These attractive preaching of new religious movements had drawn many people towards them and a new array was started in society. According to Rekha Pande, many historians like Tarachand, Yusuf Hussain felt that Bhakti movement was inspired by Islam. Some of the historians felt it was a product of feudal society and some felt it was a revolt against Brhamical monopoly. Rekha Pande holds: Earlier the bhakthi movement was treated as literacy or at best ideological phenomena which has religion at the basis of its inspiration. This has mainly happened due to the lack of emphasis on social history and hence the socioeconomic factors have been responsible for bringing a change have been ignored. This lacuna has been removed by some recent studies on the movement. (5) The mysticism of Sufis and Bhakti saints and Guru Nanak’s teachings flourished during the fifteenth and sixteenth century. But these all were not encouraged by one another. Teachings of all these religious movements denounced the institutional religious practices and object worships. 6 VOLUME 14, ISSUE 5, 2020 5433 http://xadzkjdx.cn/ Journal of Xidian University https://doi.org/10.37896/jxu14.5/588 ISSN No:1001-2400 Since the Vedic periods, it had been believed that only Brahmins were eligible to get nirvana and rest of the all should take rebirth to get nirvana. These all beliefs were disdained by new Mysticism and Sufism and new Bhakti Movement. These religious movements treated all people equal; doors of all shrines were opened for all religious people. All populace disregarding caste, including women were encouraged to join as the teachings mostly happened in local vernacular language. At some points, Mysticism and Bhakti movements coincide in teachings. In his edited book Historical Dictionaries of Ancient Civilizations and Historical Eras, Jon Woronoff holds These cults attracted and became prevalent by artisans and professional castes. People who were a burden for ages in the frame of the caste system relieved from it by believing and following these religious movements. Bhakti movement was widespread and campaigned by Vaishnava saints, such as Ramanuja and Vallabha. (42) In the novel River of Fire, it was established that Kamaluddin got attracted to Kabir Das’s preaching. And Champawathi finally became a Vyshnava sanyasini when she lost every one of her life and Sujatha, a sudra woman married Kamaluddin and became a Muslim. Medieval India found many religions and cultures in her lap. Many Muslim dynasties were busy in establishing their race in this prosperous country Hindustan. In that context great friction bloodshed occurred. Many religious movements were found their existence. The Hindu in order to avoid the Jizya tax levied on them accepted the one of such new religions. Cultural Integration in India In Culture And Imperialism, Edward Said studied rightly as all cultures were amalgamated and alloyed with many cultures in it. At a point of time, no cultures could be a pure culture that was set up by a single cultural norm. The human race never thought and ventured to aware of this fact that how strangely one culture combines with others and formed some hybrid culture. No one cares and notices that many often one participates in cultural experience what one think contradictory. So, having hollow and pointless dogmas about culture is an irony. There is in all nationally defined cultures, I believe, an aspiration to sovereignty, to sway, and to dominance. In this, French and British, Indian and 7 VOLUME 14, ISSUE 5, 2020 5434 http://xadzkjdx.cn/ Journal of Xidian University https://doi.org/10.37896/jxu14.5/588 ISSN No:1001-2400 Japanese cultures concur. As the same time, paradoxically, we have never been as aware as we now are of how oddly hybrid historical and cultural experiences are of how they partake of many often contradictory experiences and domains, cross national boundaries, defy the police action of simple dogma and loud patriotism (15) People who came to a foreign land in a course of time found themselves assimilating and mixing up in the foreign culture. They retain a few factors of their own culture and adopt a few aspects of foreign culture and started living in a new hybrid culture. In the novel River of Fire, it was observed that Kamal became more or less an Indian. Kamaluddin, who came from Nishapur to try his fortune here in India, became more or less native of Hindustan. He reflected at a point that how he could be a vilayathi (foreigner) when Rajputh were picking betel leaves with him as an oath that they die fighting for Hussain Shah? This custom was called ‘beera uthana’. In medieval India, the Hindu and the Muslims cultures merged in many aspects to form Indo-Islamic culture. In colonial India, apart from cultural mix up there was a room for social and political transformations. Political and Social Transformations in Colonial India Colonial India had observed many transformations in her ideologies, practices and institutions, she had been gelled with her former Orientals in the medieval period for around six centuries. India had lost many able kings and precious treasures. The English, who entered in the guise of trade slowly, usurped Indian lands and then Crown. It is true natives (Indians) shunned the English more than Ottoman Orientals. The final part of the novel opens in the late 1930s when the national movement was in high swing. Qurratulain Hyder focused on many cultural aspects of this novel. The transforming Indian middle-class Hindu and Muslim societies and the opportunities, objectives, ambitions and aspirations of young people after freedom and after partition. She also attended the world of servant group in many contexts. Complex Culture and Political Fervor in Colonial India Culture of colonial India was reflected in the novel River of Fire in both households and educations institutions. Nirmala and Talat shared the same education environment, they attended La Martinere School and Hindustani-Oudhi atmosphere of Master Saheb’s school. They brought up in a hybrid Indo-British cultural atmosphere. Indian culture was closely knitted with the ancient Hindu-Buddhist-Jain, the intermediately Turco- Mughal- Iranian and the latter-day British features of Indian civilization. People of different cultures shared a very different complex and hybrid society they retain some of the ardent practices of their culture 8 VOLUME 14, ISSUE 5, 2020 5435 http://xadzkjdx.cn/ Journal of Xidian University https://doi.org/10.37896/jxu14.5/588 ISSN No:1001-2400 and religion. The complex culture of this exotic land was so complexly fluxed, one could find somewhere with other religious tie-ups. In the novel, Hyder depicted that "in Banaras, the Shehani players who work for ‘waking up’ ceremony of deities were Muslims. They were performing this duty for many centuries. They were often employed by temple priests to do this job." (RF: 203) In contrast to this allegory, Champa Ahmed added when she used to sing Jana Gana Mana under the tricolour (Indian flag) at Besant College, often she felt she was an outsider as she did not put caste mark on her forehead and her mother say prayers in Arabic to Allah. In the novel River of Fire, when Talat had to give exams in Sastriya Sangeeth (classical music) she stayed at Brahmin widow’s house where she was showed a tattered book which was given by Vajid Ali Shah in 1856 to Land Lady’s grandfather. Propitiating Oil-Lentil and Curd and Fish were the customs signifying good omen and were followed by Hindus and Muslims alike. On exam days, wife of Masterji never forgets to perform this ritual to her students so that they could get good numbers in exams. And in another occasion, Kamal thought, an individual could not run away from his roots though he was socialist or nationalist. When Kamal went to see Muharram celebrations the sight of the imposed facade of imambara brought tears to his eyes. Kamal though a nationalist, couldn’t get away from his cultural roots. These all episodes of the novel supply rich evidence of cultural complexity and adoption. Edward Said holds in his Culture and Imperialism, that neither culture nor imperialism is inert they were complex and actively ready to their beliefs in the country where their colony has been established. Attack on culture and religion leads to revolt in every history and the same happened in the history of India. In The Colonizer and The Colonized, Albert Memmi put a despondent picture of subject race as a person who could not find room in history as colonizer erased all traces of culture and tradition of the colony in the period of colonization and drawn his images on colonies history. Albert Memmi believed the severe attack on colonizer was his removal from history and community. Though they had been given name and religious recognition of colonized, they would not get due respect, and it was observed many times in history. Memmi also added in many free nations citizens felt their voice is unheard in all national affairs and public proclamations and press and radio are in hands of a few people. But, “The colonized, on the other hand, feels neither responsible nor guilty nor skeptical, for he is out of the game. He is in no way a subject of history any more (136).” This argument is reflected in Indian colonial 9 VOLUME 14, ISSUE 5, 2020 5436 http://xadzkjdx.cn/ Journal of Xidian University https://doi.org/10.37896/jxu14.5/588 ISSN No:1001-2400 rule when the British controlled the local press and publisher. In the above argument, Memmi contrasts the citizen of a free nation with colonized. In From Plassey to Partition: A History of Modern India Śekhara Bandyopādhyāẏa and many other historians viewed that the revolt found its reasons in many objects and it had affected the regions which were in direct rule of the company. Not only that regions like Hyderabad and Gwalior helped the British Raj in establishing India under the British crown. After Mutiny (1857) Cunning put a bar on local newspapers and in 1935, and many bans were imposed to curb the upcoming thinkers of this land. Angary was a publication done by Progressive Writers of India. The revolt of 1857, therefore, constitutes an important watershed in the evolution of British Policies towards the Indian states. It was not only diagnosed that the annexation policies had contributed to the revolt, but it was also found that territories under indirect rule were less affected by the disturbances than those under direct rule. (115) Śekhara Bandyopādhyāẏa held that 1857 revolt became the starting point of the direct reign of British rule. At the same time, the British learnt unity between two communities would hamper their plan of establishing a colony here in India, so they employed their crooked policy of divide and rule after the mutiny. With the clashes among people and national leaders, the political atmosphere in India was magically and confusingly heated up. In 1937, the revival of All India Muslim League and in 1939 resignation of Congress government put Muslims in dilemma. For Muslims, two choices were joining the National Congress or supporting the Muslim League. Kamal recalled the conflicts between his relations in terms of loyalty with the National Congress and the Muslim League. It was noted in the novel: In 1937 two important things happened in Lucknow: the revival of All India Muslim League and the establishment of Congress rule. According to Asad Mamoo the revival came about largely because of rivalry between two local politicians, Chowdary Khaliq-uz Zaman and Syed Ali Zaheer. (RF: 231) Hindu-Muslim clashes were not known before British rule. History recorded about the Hindu kings who died in wars for his Muslim Kings and Queens. The Mughal emperors had many Hindu generals in their army. With time, India attained and compromised with the complex culture. But, under British rule, India is moving from one crisis to another. Political leaders proclaimed about Two Nation Theory (having Hindu country for Hindus and Muslim country for Muslims) after independence. Communal politics caught air and fire. Many ardent Nationalist Muslim leaders joined Muslim League to save their feudal revenues. 10 VOLUME 14, ISSUE 5, 2020 5437 http://xadzkjdx.cn/ Journal of Xidian University https://doi.org/10.37896/jxu14.5/588 ISSN No:1001-2400 After independence, many educated young men and women of India surfaced in England. Champa Ahemad got scholarship what she thought a real magical password to fairyland. Hari Shankar joined Indian Foreign Service. Gautam left for America as a journalist. India Liberated and Young Indians in Alien Countries At Cambridge University, many students attracted towards Red Revolution they believed it would swamp Pakistan one day or other as the conditions of the country were the same as the conditions of Russia before the revolution. Amir, who choose to live in Pakistan and now a Pakistani found it dangerous meeting his old acquaintances (his cousins) as they were Indians now. Indian students held an annual meeting of Federation of Indian students Union to what they invited Pr., Hyman Levy, he came from Scotland. He apologized to all Indians for the way his people treated them for two hundred years. Talat felt all the humanism of humanists could not save Indians from behaving wildly at the time of Partition. British ruled India for two centuries and became rivals but, after freedom, they both find common enemies in their own countries. (RF:295) History never holds that one has any constant enemy. Young Indian, Pakistani, Welsh and English students held a friendly conference and discussed upcoming changes in the world. For Indian Muslim, the conditions were so sour after partition though they chose to remain in Hindustan, they had to prove their loyalty. If they had opted to leave for Pakistan, they would not have retained their properties and lands. Their lands and houses became evacuee property what they had to sell to a native of that country. This social condition was the same on the other side of borderlines in newly formed Pakistan. In the novel River of Fire, the protagonist (Kamal) bore the same chaos. In India, he found his lands were confiscated one after another, and his parents were living in poverty. Amir was constantly inviting Kamal to come over Pakistan and settled there, he always wrote to Kamal that, there was a dearth of educated and skilled people in Pakistan, so Kamal could get a good opportunity. Amir after Partition chose to live in Pakistan and made his career successful there. Medieval History of India comprised by her great Orientals: Ottomans and Europeans. Among them, Mughals and British share great importance and left a profound impression on the culture and heritage of India. The period of the Great Mughals, which began in 1526, with Babur’s accession to the throne, ended with the death of Aurangzeb in 1707. 11 VOLUME 14, ISSUE 5, 2020 5438 http://xadzkjdx.cn/ Journal of Xidian University https://doi.org/10.37896/jxu14.5/588 ISSN No:1001-2400 William Dalrymple said in his article “The Violent Legacy of Indian Partition”, that the first Islamic conquests of India were recorded in the eleventh century, with the capture of Lahore, in 1021. Persian-Turks from present central Afghanistan seized Delhi from its Hindu rulers in 1192. By 1323, they had established a sultanate as far south as Madurai, toward the tip of the peninsula, and there were other sultanates from Gujarat, in the west, to Bengal, in the east. Later, these conquests were usually perceived as “Muslims,” but medieval Sanskrit inscriptions never identified the Central Asian invaders by that term. The malice created by invaders made India instantly wrapped up into new practices and renovated the culture. And in few centuries a hybrid Indo-Islamic civilized emerged along with hybrid languages While Mughals’ ruling India, the British expanded their mercantile world and competed with their rivals French, Dutch, and Portuguese. Until the death of Aurangzeb, they kept themselves away from political friction. When Mughal power started to decline the East India Company forces began to strengthen and started participating in power games. Establishment of colonial rule gave direct access to power and thereby flourishing their trade. While India becoming weaker and weaker, British merchants who made great profits from mercantilism in what they brought goods cheaply and sold them at a higher price to another market, and invested profits in the development of technology and science. New technology and the establishment of factories using products of the industrial revolution made British powerful and rich all over the world. The colonial rule in India came to climax by the endless and constant protest of nationalists. On 15 August 1947 India declared as an independent country. But India could not celebrate her fresh freedom event as Partition had been parcelled along with it. In his article “Novels of Qurratulain Hyder” M.Asasuddin noted that Hyder put her characters across the important events of Indian history, where they formed and depicted and acted with real-life personalities like Chandragupta Maurya, Chanakya, Sultan Sikander, Sultan Hasan Sharqui etc. And also get glimpses of the rule of Sirajuddaula, the Bengali Renaissance, Ram Mohun Roy’s Brahmo Samaj, Hindu College. (89). Qurratulain Hyder in her novel River of Fire discovered the history and transformation of India from 300 years BC to 1950s. History would be recorded in both ways one, an emotionless record of an event after event chronologically taking the real characters as depicters, and the other, moulding the historical events in a story and sensitively telling it through the fictitious characters. Authors of historical novels did the latter by picking very imposing events of history and imparting their story into them. In the article, “Qurratulain 12 VOLUME 14, ISSUE 5, 2020 5439 http://xadzkjdx.cn/ Journal of Xidian University https://doi.org/10.37896/jxu14.5/588 ISSN No:1001-2400 Hyder’s River of Fire: the novel and the politics of writing beyond the nation state” Raja holds, Hyder writes on her own experiences and most cosmopolitan postcolonial writer who spent her life in India unlike Salman Rushdie and V.S. Naipaul who were sceptic of Indian history and heritage. Hyder lived both in India and for some time in Pakistan and been easily called an India-Pakistani-British author. In the novel River of Fire, the author put the facts most impersonally without involving or raising any emotions in the narration. Raja added, in the novel River of Fire at the first part invasion of Chandragupta Maurya and followed consequences were discovered. At that time the characters like Gautam, his friends, the civilians and co-disciples and Gurukul were set in the realistic ambience of the Vedic period. The records of the social history of that epoch would be seen through Indica and Arthashastra by Megasthenes and Chanakya respectively. But the depiction of the events lived by the characters like Champak, Nirmala, Prince Hari Shankar in the novel River of Fire, was more effectual. Hyder puts her plot mostly in middle India (Pataliputra, Saketha, Ayodya), where the ancient culture developed and established. The manifestation Mauryan dynasty and its invasions are taken into the novel carefully with the help of apt characterization. Attitudes of characters, their beliefs and practices are depicted accordingly. The chief characters Gautam and Champak represent two different strata of society Brahmin and Kshatriya. Gautam’s daily activities reflect the education system of that time; Champak and princess Nirmala establish royal life and amenities of royal people of that time. Through Hari Shankar who came around by Buddhist principles and left his heredity, Hyder establishes the emerging new religions (Buddhism and Jainism) in the society. In ancient days princes were sent to Gurukuls where they got educated along with many other students, in the novel crown prince Hari Shankar was sent to Taxila for education. Throughout the novel, the river has its significance and symbolism. Time is another element embodied as a continuum that distinctly instituted to craft the other all aspects mere parts of the whole stream. In the novel, the different strata of society were aptly discovered by the author. The Grihastu Dharma (duty of host): when any guest or traveller visited with any need he should be given due importance what reflected in the story. When Gautam Nilambar went around for alms as a humble disciple, he was received by household people with respect. In those days, Brahmin was respected by all others and considered equal to god so, they would have every time welcome to royal palaces and courts. In the novel, Gautam could enter the royal camp easily without any query as he was Brahmin. 13 VOLUME 14, ISSUE 5, 2020 5440 http://xadzkjdx.cn/ Journal of Xidian University https://doi.org/10.37896/jxu14.5/588 ISSN No:1001-2400 Likewise, in the medieval period, the Ottoman Orientals’ intrudes into India and their settling in India is depicted in the novel. Increase of cultural complexity by adopting the religion and having inter-marriages across the races would be observed. The Afghans and the Turks assimilating in Indian culture and adopting it unnoticeably and discreetly have been conspicuous. Islam believer Kamal found attending Kabir Das when he was dismayed by carnage and slaughter of wars, and marrying a Sudra woman are a few illustrations made by the author to infuse cultural complexity in the novel River of Fire. These were a few of many memes could be noticed objectively. In the colonial period, many English young men got attracted to Indian women, and many married them. Thereby a new race came into being informally called half-cast (Eurasian and Anglo-Indian). The affair between English youth Cyril Ashley and Maria, a Eurasian girl instituted examples of such type. Historical Mutiny, from what English learned many lessons found happened with the known characters Kamal and Gautam. Authentic history of a country or nation is found in academic and scholarly works, but it also available in literary works in form of historical novels. The novel River of Fire is a complete Indian history presented through interesting characters and realistic memes. References Asaduddin, M. “The Novels of Qurratulain Hyder.” Indian Literature vol. 34, no.2 (142), (1991): 82-108. Print. ---. “Lost/Found in Translation: Qurratulain Hyder as Self - Translator.” Annual of Urdu Studies, 23, (2008): 234-249. Print. Bandyopadhyay, Sekhar, From Plassey to Partition: A History of Modern India. New Delhi: Oriental Longman Private Limited, 2006. Print. Chatterjee, Suhas. Indian Civilization and Culture. New Delhi: MD Publications Pvt. Ltd., 1998. Print. Hyder Qurratulain, River of Fire. New Delhi: New Directions, 1998. Kautilya. The Arthashastra. Ed. and Tran. L.N.Rangarajan. New Delhi: Penguin Books, 1992. Print. Kautilya. Kautilya’s Arthashastra: The Way of Financial Management and Economic Governance. Bombay: Jaico Publishing House, 2009. Print. 14 VOLUME 14, ISSUE 5, 2020 5441 http://xadzkjdx.cn/ Journal of Xidian University https://doi.org/10.37896/jxu14.5/588 ISSN No:1001-2400 Khan, Iqtidar Alam. Historical Dictionaries of Medieval India: Historical Dictionaries of Ancient Civilizations and Historical Eras 20, Ed. Woronoff, Jon. Maryland: The Scarecrow Press, Inc. 2008. Print Jayapalan N. History of India. New Delhi: Atlantic Publishers and Distributers, 2001. Print. Mc Crindle John Watson. Ancient India as Described by Megasthenes and Arrian by Megasthenes. Calcutta: Thacker, Spink & Company, 1877. Print. Memim Albert. The Colonizer and The Colonized. London: Earthscan Publications Ltd., 2003. Print. Mohammada, Malika. The Foundations of the Composite Culture in India, about Sufism. Delhi: Aakar Books, 2007. Print. Raja, Masood Ashraf. “Quarratulain Hyder’s River of Fire: the novel and the politics of writing beyond the nation state.” Interactions, vol.15 no.2, (2006): 49-60. Print. Rekha Pande. Divine Sounds from the Heart—Singing Unfettered in their Own Voices: The Bhakthi Movement and its Women Saints (12th to 17th Century). Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2010. Print. Said, W. Edward. Orientalism. London: Penguin, 1977. Print. ---. Culture And Imperialism. New York: Vintage Books, 1994. Print. Chatterjee, Suhas. Indian Civilization and Culture. New Delhi: MD Publications Pvt. 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