Posted:
Dear Deepika,
The question is not who invaded India, but what they did afterwards.
Akbar did his best to build a multireligious, reasonably fair empire, and then again, he was born in India. He is not disqualified from being called great because his ancestors came from outside India.
Ashoka was not an invader, but he was extremely cruel till he had that epiphany at Kalinga, and now he is a hero, with no one remembering all his earlier and wanton cruelties.
There is no end to this invader debate. If the Aryans came from Central Asia in 1500 BC and overran all of north India, can one argue now that all north Indians, who are the descendants of the Aryans, are invaders, and only south Indians, of whom I am one, are the original inhabitants of Bharat?
Now even the Aryan invasion theory is being debunked!
This said, it is a fact that the popular image of Alexander in India is surprisingly good, though I would not say he is seen as a hero. And as for cruelty, all kings were cruel in those days, and those who do not like Alexander make sweeping statements for which there is no proof.
Chanakya never believed in forgiving enemies, and he had various opponents assassinated to achieve his greater goal. Those were the demands of the times.
If rulers were not harsh in punishing rebels, they were overthrown. See, after Ashoka adopted ahimsa, the great Mauryan empire, the like of which India has never seen before or since, collapsed like a pack of cards in just FORTYSEVEN years!
Shyamala Di
Originally posted by: deepikagupta9
4 indian alexender will never be hero like akbar never comes under hero's of india why coz akbar belongs 2 d family who invaded india, so as alexander.
Yes alexander is known as a great warrior but he is also known as 2 be very cruel Emperor who dint believed in forgiving, thats why question rise when alexander never forgave d small mistakes of his people then why did alexender let go king poras even returned his kingdom.
Anupamaa
