a contrast
the indian way of life
what has puzzled the researchers is that the excavations of the indus valley civilisation have no sign of battles or conflicts. the excavations did not find any weapons, or depiction of human fighting or palaces. it suggests a peaceful and egalitarian society.
on the other hand, the puranas mention an almost continuing conflict between surs and asurs, - the noble and the wicked. some believe it is just metaphorical reference about the good and the bad which exists in human beings. even so, the weapons are freely mentioned and a variety of them.
but once again, coming a little closer to historical figures, magesthenes, who visited india during the reign of chandra gupt maurya records " whereas among other nations, it is usual, in contests of war, to ravage the soil and thus to reduce it to an uncultivated waste, amongst the indians, the tillers of soil are left undisturbed by any sense of danger. those engaged in conflict inflict injuries on those of the opposing army but allow those engaged in husbandry to remain quite unmolested."
another traveler ibn batuta remarks, "there are twelve infidel sultans, some of them strong with army of fifty thousand while others have just three thousand. yet there is no discord between them and the strong do not desire to seize the possessions of the weak."
european way of life
during the third and the fourth century, the once strong roman empire was under decay as was evident from chaos., cruelty and misery. barbarians were recruited in the roam army and exploited by the corrupt roman officials. there were rebellions by the slave army. in 410 ad, alaric led army of german slaves surrounded rome and blocked food supply lines. trapped romans even became cannibals. when alaric finally broke into rome. his army killed thousands.
europe, thereafter, entered a period of illiteracy, loot, and anarchy. warfare was common and so was the 'trial by ordeal". with hands and feet tied, men were thrown in water under the belief that, if innocent, they will survive.
in 550 ad, justinian attacked rome and in the bloodiest battles that followed, nearly all of italy population was wiped out.
in 732 ad moorish army attacked the christians but lost the battle. thousands were killed. in 768 ad, the roman king charlemagne led fifty campaigns in which the choice was – convert or die. in 782 ad, he beheaded 4500 persons of north germany because they believed in false gods. in 793 ad, the vikings attacked britain and killed thousands. in 866 ad, they returned but this time to take over the lands. the killings were incidental.
the bloody crusades followed and continued for centuries but with little results.
what is important is to note that violence was the preferred way to win power, food, wealth, and religion. whether religion was the objective or the excuse can easily be understood.
the same violence continued when the muslims invaded india. thousands were taken slaves and sold in muslim lands. destruction of property was mindless especially the centres of learning.
when europeans reached indian shores. the stories of their cruelty are too many to be related. the conflict between portuguese and arabs killed hundreds while indians did not fire a single bullet. but that did not save them. they had their share of cruelty a little later.
the cruelty of the europeans towards the local population of north and south america knows no parallel. it was wholesale genocide. carrying away the hapless africans for slavery also underlines their total inhumanness.
what is surprising is that after all this they are preaching to indians and asians about human rights.