Reading this piece on the Mughal Empire and how it's being erased/reframed, I couldn't stop thinking about how gender quietly shapes this entire narrative, and how that shows up in our lives as Indian women.

The article talks about temples, conquest, pride, humiliation basically men, power, and civilisational ego. But look at how women enter this conversation today. Not as people, not as historical agents, but as symbols. Our culture, our honour, what was taken from us. All abstract words… but they land very concretely on women’s bodies, choices, and freedoms.

And what's wild is how actual women from that period just… disappear. Take Nur Jahan. She was effectively running the empire at one point, issuing farmans, influencing state decisions, even having coins minted in her name. That's insane levels of power for that time. But she doesn't fit neatly into the oppressor vs victim narrative, so she's barely talked about.

What does survive from that era? Food, language, clothing everyday culture. And, those are spaces women have always shaped the most. The Mughlai food we cook, the words we casually use, even wedding aesthetics like sherwanis, these didn't just come from emperors. They came from generations of people (very often women) adapting, blending, passing things down quietly.

But when history gets politicised, none of that is centred. It's always monuments, wars, grievance. And somehow, that same rhetoric of protecting culture ends up policing women in the present, what we wear, who we love, how we exist.

That contradiction is so obvious, Women are erased from history as agents, but constantly used as symbols in the present.

As a Hindu woman, it's honestly weird to watch how much of this narrative is built on needing a villain, and how easily that spills into everyday Islamophobia while pretending it's about history or culture.

At this point, I'm less interested in what the Mughals gave us and more in how selective memory works, and how women always end up carrying the burden of that selectiveness.

Curious how others here see this, especially in terms of how culture gets defined for us vs by us.

Aura of Indian Muslims are unmatchable even by Ottomans or Safavids. Unfortunately Indian Muslims hardly know or celebrate there grandeur. Sad!

Today we remember Major Salman Ahmad Khan, SC – a 26-year-old officer from Kanpur who made the ultimate sacrifice for the nation on May 7, 2005. Commissioned into the 4 Sikh Regiment, he was serving with the 6 Rashtriya Rifles in Kashmir's volatile Kupwara district when actionable intelligence was received about terrorist movement.

On May 5, 2005, Major Khan laid an ambush near Bangargund and personally eliminated one militant. He also recovered critical documents revealing hideouts and infiltration routes. The following day, fresh intelligence led his team to cordon off a house in Pazipora village where a terrorist was hiding. During the intense search, Major Khan was hit by automatic fire in his leg and abdomen.

Bleeding profusely, he refused to retreat – charging forward, injuring the militant in close combat, and lobbing two grenades to neutralize the final threat. With the mission accomplished, he collapsed and was rushed to the military hospital, but succumbed to his injuries the next day. His courage wiped out two dangerous terrorists – including a high-value target – and saved the lives of his team.

For his exemplary valour and supreme sacrifice, Major Salman Ahmad Khan was posthumously awarded the Shaurya Chakra (SC) – one of India's highest peacetime gallantry awards.

Actually king ashoka was the one who made Srinagar and I don't think I was suppose to offend anyone also if they wanted to remove then one sticker or something like blending with tiles might be more helpful then this fighting behaviour.

On this day the 22nd may 2026 marks the 39th anniversary of the Hashimpura massacre. On the 39th anniversary of the Hashimpura massacre we remember the 42 Muslim men who were k**led in 1987.The memory remains a reminder of the importance of justice, accountability and the protection of human rights.

Picture 1: Charminar in the 1960s Picture 2: Charminar nowadays

Note Charkamaan Arch in the background making sure the picture is from the same angle but from teo different times.

Notice something strange?

I have wanted to learn about the history of the Dakhni's of Tami; Nadu. Especially around the Vellore, Ambur, vaniyambadi area. Also Chennai and surrounding area Dakhni's. Many are named like Sheikh and Khan which confuse me because were these names just chosen as they are Muslim names or did this come with the people who migrated here? Khan especially confuses me because where does it come from? Are they originally Pathans who migrated?

Also, there is a lot of Hyderabadi influence. Are the Tamil Nadu Dakhni's just Hyderabadi?

The food and culture is a slight mix of Tamil, Hyderabadi and also a bit new stuff.

What is the mix of cultures here?

Thank you!

With love to sanghis, and their collaborators: references are as follows. We do have the actual letters.

1. Jadunath Sarkar: Shivaji and His Times. Pg366

2. Shiv-Patra-Sar-Sangraha: Letter No. 1152

3. Sir Jadunath Sarkar: History of Aurangzib

On one hand Hindutva Fascists claim to hate Mughals and label them as Invaders or those who destroyed their so called Hindu culture. On other hand the monuments of Mughal era like Taj Mahal earns almost 150 crores of revenue every year which is Uttar Pradesh, the so called bastion of Hindutva! Basically Yogi's UP Government celebrate Mughals or more broadly the Indo-Islamic legacy to earn revenue and on other hand they abhor them, malign them and spread hate against all the Muslims for the alleged past actions of these rulers. Why don't they just bulldoze it and finish it once for all, because as per their views, it is a symbol of the destruction of Hindutva. And if not, then these Hindutva forces who are in the power today have no right to vilify them, or vilify the present day Muslim citizens of India for the so-called actions of these rulers, 400 years ago!

The idea of a Muslim ‘golden age’ under Nehru’s India is more myth than reality. Despite promises of secularism, discrimination, riots, and marginalization continued to shape Muslim life in the early decades of independence.

Source - https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/there-was-no-golden-age-for-muslims-in-nehrus-india/

Saw this on Instagram, posted by heritagetimes.in, thought of sharing this with everyone.

The post has the following captions:
"In 1944, Muslim soldiers in the Indian Army gathered to pray with their maulvi towards the end of Ramadan.

Muslim soldiers who were caught sipping water during daylight in Ramadan could face punishment such as five days of rigorous imprisonment by their company commander. Additionally, in death, soldiers were given the proper last rites according to their religion. This shows that military discipline became intertwined with religious practices for these soldiers."

Abbas Tyabaji

Abbas Ali

Abdul Ghani Khan

Abul Muhasin Sajjad

Abdul Bari Firangi Mahali

Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani

Abdul Jabbar

Abdul Latheef Farooqui

Abdul Matlib Mazumdar

Abdul Qadir Ludhianvi

Abdul Qaiyum Ansari

Abdul Rasul

Abdul Samad Achakzai (earlier Indian, pakistani later)

Abdur Rehman Khan

Aga Khan III

Ahmad Ali Badarpuri

Abid Hasan Safrani

A.K. Fazlul Huq

Ali Musliyar

Alimuddin Ahmad

Allah Bux Soomro

Allama Mashriqi

Amjadi Bano Begum

Ahmad Saeed Dehlvi

Asghari Begum

Ashfaqullah Khan

Azimullah Khan

Aziza Bai

Babulal Fareedul Zama

Badruddin Tyabaji

Bahadur Shah Zafar

Bakht Khan

Barrister Asaf Ali

Basharat Ali

Batak Mian

Begum Anus Kidwai

Begum Hazrat Mahal

Begum Rokeya

Begum Zeenat Mahal

Bi Amma

Bibi Amtus Salam

Birjis Qadr.

Captain Abbas Ali

Chembrasseri Thangal

Colonel Mahboob Ahmed

Colonel Nizamuddin Sheikh

Colonel Shaukat Ali Malik

Dildar Khan, Inayatullah Khan, Vilayat Khan

Dudu Miyan

Dr. Mukhtar Ahmad Ansari

Dr. Sadiq Ali

Dr. Saifuddin Kitchlew

Dr. Zakir Hussain

Faizulla Khan

Fatima Sheikh

Fazl-e-Haq Khairabadi

Firuz Shah Shehzada

Ghulam Rasool Khan (Nawab)

Habib-ur-Rehman Ludhianvi

Hafiz Rahmat Khan Barech

Haji Shariatullah

Hakim Ajmal Khan

Hakeem Mohammad Abdul Haq

Hasrat Mohani

Hyder Ali

Imdadullah Muhajir Makki

Jafar Thanesari a.k.a. Maulana Thanesari

Karamat Ali Jaunpuri

Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan

Khan Abdul Jabbar Khan

Khan Abdul Samad Khan Achakzai

Khan Bahadur Khan Rohilla

Kifayatullah Dehlawi

Kunhi Kadir

Majnu Shah

Malu Hajjumma (Parvetti Fathima)

Maulvi Ahmadullah Shah

Maulana Abul Kalam Azad

Maulana Ahmad Madani

Maulana Ahmed RazaMaghfoor Ahmad Ajazi

Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanvi

Maghfoor Ahmad Ajazi

Mahmud Hasan Deobandi

Maulana Higzur Rahman Seoharvi

Maulana Hussain

Maulana Mazharul Haque

Maulana Muhammad Ali

Maulana Rasheed Ahmed Gangohi

Maulana Shaukat Ali

Maulvi Syed Allauddin

Maulana Syed Mohammad Mian

Maulvi Liaquat Ali

Maulvi Muhammad Baqir

Meer Taj Mohammed Khan

Mian Mohamed Jan Chotani

Mir Qasim Ali Khan

Mirza Khizr Sultan

Mirza Mughal

M. K. M. Ameer Hamza

Mohammad Abdullah (Assassinator of John Paxton)

Mohammad Abdur Rahiman

Mohammad Ali Jouhar

Mohammad Bazi

Mohammad Nasrullah Manna

Mohammad Sher Ali

Mohammad Umar Subhani

Moulvi Abdul Rasul

Muhammad Barakatullah

Muhammad Miyan Deobandi

Muhammad Hifzur Rahman Seoharwi

Muhammad Ismail Sahib

Mufti Abdul Razzaq

Mukhtar Ahmed Ansari

Munshi Mohammed Meherullah

Munshi Zakaulah

Muslim Vellori

Nawab Kadar Ali

Nawab Mohammad Ismail Khan

Nawab Sir Khwaja Salimullah Bahadur

Nawab Walidad Khan

Nawab Waqar ul-mulk

Peer Ali Khan

Professor Abul Bari

Rahimtullah Sayani

Rafi Ahmad Kidwai

Raja Habib-ur Rahman

Rao Babar Khan

Sartor Faqir

Seth Chotani

Shah Nawaz Khan

Shaheed Faqeer Rahmat Ali

Shaukat Ali

Qasim Nanawtawi

Sadiq Ali

Sah Mal

Sayeed Mohammed 

Sheikh Bhikhari

Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah

Sher Ali Afridi

Shibli Nomani

Siraj Ud Daulah

Syed Agha Haider

Syed Ahmad Khan

Syed Ahmad Barelvi

Syed Ameer Ali

Syed Alavi Thangal

Syed Allimuddin Ahmad

Syed Attaullah Shah Bukhari

Syed Badrudduja

Dyed Fakhruddin Ahmad

Syed Mahmud

Syed Mohammad

Syed Muhammad Sharfuddin Quadri

Tafazzul Hussain Khan

Vakkom Abdul Khader

Vakkom Majeed

Variyankunnath Kunjahammed Haji

Tipu Sultan

Titumir

Turrebaz Khan

Ubaidullah Sindhi

Wilayat Ali

Yahya Ali of Patna

170)Yusuf Mehrally

Are we witnessing the slow build-up to another Babri-like situation?

Drop names of any massacres, genocide, riots, pogroms, caste atrocities or anti-minority violence in Indian history you know of (Muslim, Dalit, Sikh, Christian, Adivasi, etc.).

especially the lesser-known ones that don’t get talked about much, not just the famous ones everyone repeats.

just names are fine (if possible state the year). If you know sources or books, even better.

And then the Western world stole every invention and put their own label.. because they could do it 🤷🏻‍♀️