those indians of yesterday ...

Those indians of yesterday ……

                                                        There was a young prince who was married to a beautiful  princess and had a child in ancient india . But over the years the prince go increasingly disenchanted with life seeing the death , old age and suffering . The princes father the king tried his best to shield his son from these facts of life . One fine night the prince left his beautiful wife and child and chose the life of a monk . Without knowing who he is many of our first reaction would be how silly he was .  But history proved otherswise that this great Indian found out a way of life which we now calls Buddhism . The prince was Gautama Buddha .

Then there was a great king who wanted to expand his kingdom like many great kings . A great warrior his kingdom expanded to the whole of india almost . Except there was one state which he was not able to conquer . But once in a fierce battle  he conquered his ultimate dream of conquering this neighbouring state . In that victorious battle so many lives were lost . He visited the battlefield on the night of the victory . Strewn with dead bodies of his enemy kingdom and wailing family members of the slain men the king realized that in a way his victory was a sort of defeat . From that day on , he decided never to kill not only men but even animals . History showed him as the greatest emperor of india Asoka and the battle of Kalinga made this transformation in him .

In the olden days there was a curious practice . Once the husband of a woman was dead she was expected to jump on the funeral pyre and kill herself . This practice was called Sati . Firmly entrenched in beliefs this practice was opposed by a great man . It took great courage to stand up against the societal norms that too one firmly entrenched in religion . This man was Raja Ram Mohan Roy a great Indian scholar and social reformist .

Though definitely not the last one there was a small king in india . Though puny in front of one of the greatest commanders on earth Alexander the great , this king stood up against the mighty Alexanders forces instead of outright surrender like so many did during Alexanders conquests . History tells that though Porus the king of india was defeated Alexander was so impressed with his bravery that he gave him back his kingdom .

Each time when I look back in history I cannot but be proud (in a good sense of  course ) that I am born into one of the greatest countries on earth –India