As many Indians in India, who put a "Secular" tag on their foreheads, will hate this book to the core. But they cannot ignore the facts, that has been put up in this book. With most number of reprints to its accolade, this book for sure, will make anyone to think about the distorted facts of our country India. And for those "Seculars" who hate to discuss the facts that India have been through over many centuries, the attrocities faced by Indians from the Moghul Invaders and their barbaric events that had a serious impact on our cultural, religious and sentimental beleifs.
Let's dwell straight into the review.
At the beginning of the book, the author Dr. S.L.Bhyrappa expresses the meaning of Aavarana. By giving profound examples from Advaitha, Vedantha. He tries to portray Aavarana as the maya or the illusions, or the cover. And, he tries to uncover this Veil through this book.
It is not a simple task to take up this kind of writing. It requires great courage and conviction to come up with such a factful book, unleashed in a fictional story. In just about 300 odd pages, Aavarna uncovers the most hidden historical attacks on Hindusim by Islam's encounter in India.
The book opens with RAZIYA, a middle aged documentary film-maker, a feminist by heart and soul, who has been married to AMIR. The plot opens when RAZIYA was assigned to do a documentary movie on the ruins of HAMPI, the cultural captial of Karnataka. Her Husband AMIR who is the director incharge of the doucmentary movie that they are going to shoot at Hampi. The main motive of the documentary movie, which was funded by a 'Secular' government that, to portray HAMPI as a resemblence to a Hindu-Muslim brotherhood. When RAZIYA learns to understand the actual cause of the wreckage in HAMPI, she began to go through her own life memories which led to her today's life.
Now, the author brings up the younger days stories of RAZIYA.
When RAZIYA heard about her father's death, she decides to go back to her village to see her house in HASSAN district. The village which she left about 28 years ago, protesting her family to marry AMIR. As she came inside her father's house. She examined a small library that her father built up for himself to study about the history. She was asotnished to find several volumes of literature books, about Islam's encounter with Hindus. Her father also left with a note of summary on each book that he has completely read and understood. As she starts reading those books, she gets reminded herself about what her father had warned her, when she decides to marry a muslim boy AMIR. "Lakshmi, one day, you will realise in future, that, your own descendants will destroy our temples".
This is a twist in the plot that, RAZIYA was a Hindu before marrying AMIR. Her real name was LAKSHMI.
Lakshmi's past begins to play in her mind in her father's room. How she was a successful bright student in her college days, How feminist activist she was in her college. How she used to give so many debates about equality that is required for females in the country, etc.., By having this modern mindset, she decides to marry her classmate AMIR that she was in love with. Despite getting married to AMIR, Lakshmi never understood, why she has to change her religion and practice Islam. In reality, AMIR was not as broad minded as LAKSHMI thought he was. He insisted her to change her religion, otherwise, their marriage will not be accepted by his parents. Her first rift with AMIR comes up when he forces Lakshmi(Now Raziya) to eat Beef. Similar to this, there were numerous tryst that she faces during her married life with Amir over these 28 years. They had a son, who is a Graduate from a USA university but found a job in Saudi-Arabia. Living in Saudi-Arabia and having spent most of his childhood with Amir's parents, he has turned out to be a hardcode Islam by heart.
Present..
Now Lakshmi decides to stay back in her village and decides to read the entire literary collection that her father has collected over many years. From now onwards, author Dr. SL.Bhyrappa gives another story inside the story which unveils the actual Islam encounters with Hindus, through Raziya reading her father's books.
She reads everything starting with Tippu Sultan and the numerous robberies that he has conducted over many years in Kerala and Karnataka. And, numerous forceful conversion of "Infidels" to Islam either by submission or by force. And, how Tippu Sultan tries to bring in PERSIAN as a primary language and business administration language in Mysore Province. (In Tippu's era, the whole Karnataka was being called as Mysore province).
As she skims through books after books, she encounters a tale of a small Hindu kingdom which had serious conquest with Moghuls. Everybody had died in that conquest, except the Younger Prince, who had been married recently to a younger girl. Author, SL Bhyrappa also describes the practice "Jouhar" during those time, which is every female persons in the family will commit mass suicide, than getting raped by the rutheless Moghul invaders. And, every male person will fight the battle till his last breath. During this conquest, the younger prince is captured, and a very famous temple has been smashed to ashes, and the main diety idol has been vandalised. The captured younger prince has been tortured, abused him for Homosexual desires of Moghul invaders, and he was forcefully sex changed to be a Hijda. And later he was sold as a slave to a Mullah and he was renamed as Khwaja Jahan. One will feel really bad to know the process of Castrating people in the Moghul days. Author has explained it in details which can be read in the book.
The books depicts the slavery system that Moghuls used to carry out on Hindus in India. The book also describes, how the centuries old civilization, religious beleifs, practices, harmony among many people has been destroyed by Islamic invaders. It also shows about some people who tries to oppose them and tries to preserve our culture.
SL Bhyarppa also tries to describe our Seculars, Modern thinking professors, Progressive writers in India who thinks that history being distorted and all the facts about Islamic barbarism in India is all lie and they went a step ahead and portrays Islamic rule as the progressive, peaceful era of our country. To give details about these persons, SL Bhyrappa created a character called as "Prof. Shastri", who is a lecutrer of LAKSHMI in her college days, and who is married to a christian when he went for higher stuides in England.
Overall, the book raises an important question of Hindusim on a comparison with Christianity and Islam. The western countries have already rejected the notion of keeping religion as a base to rule the country and brought in the democracy. So does India, being a world's biggest democratic nation, Indians especially Hindus have faced a lot of opressions from Islam invaders through many centuries.
The critics always tries to demote Aavarana by giving lectures about how fundamental thinking this writer has. This is hard Hindu fundamentalist thinking, etc..etc.. the blabbering goes on every day since Aavarana has been released to the stores. They even managed to stage protests against SL Bhyrappa and demanded government to ban this book altogether in India.
To everyone's surprise, this book has been recorded with highest number of reprints, and got translated to more than 10 Indian languages. Recently it got translated to english as well. The english titled book of Aavarana is "Aavarana - The Veil". You can purchase the book here Aavarana - The Veil
Conclusion:
How long do we have to ignore the threats of these radical thinking Fundamentalists ?, There is no progressive change from Babur, Akbar, Aurangazeb time to Osama Bin Laden these days. What motivated those people in those days, Bin Laden has the same motives when he attacked twin towers. Besides, what passes as medival history is a mere interpretation. That's Aavarana.
My Rating: 5/5
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