ABSTRACT
Ideology-driven research agenda, left or right of the centre, and divergent Hindu-Muslim interpretations of India’s medieval history have less to do with any serious attempt at understanding how the past might have been like and more of an exercise in abusing it for the politics of the present. Historians need to stand up, authoritatively confront and educate the public on the complexities involved in these issues, rather than attempting to sanitize or exploit them in conformity with their ideological positions, which they wish to upheld. Histories of violent past have shown how men in power abuse and bodily mutilate those who do not have any capacity to even resist them. Historically, in India, interactions between political and spiritual domains have created conditions for general public weal through inclusive political theory and practice, as well as recognition of shared and pluralistic cultural traditions with space for diversity and difference.
