Syncretic fusion of Hindu-Muslim cultures in northern India
The
Mughal
emperor
Jahangir
celebrates
Holi
with ladies of the
zenana
.
Ganga?Jamuni Tehzeeb
(
Hindustani
for
Ganges
?
Yamuna
Culture
),
[1]
also spelled as
Ganga-Jamni Tehzeeb
or just
Hindustani Tehzeeb,
is the composite
high culture
of the central plains of northern India,
[2]
[3]
[4]
[5]
especially the
doab region
of
Ganges
and
Yamuna
rivers, that is a
syncretic fusion
of
Hindu
cultural elements with
Muslim
cultural elements.
[2]
[3]
[6]
[7]
[8]
The composite Ganga-Jamuni culture emerged due to the interaction between Hindus and Muslims in the history of South Asia.
[9]
[6]
[7]
The
tehzeeb
(culture) includes a particular style of speech, literature, recreation, costume, manners, worldview, art, architecture and cuisine which more or less pervades the
Hindustan region
of the plains,
Northern South Asia
as a whole and the
old city
of
Hyderabad
in South India.
[10]
[11]
Ganga Jamuni culture manifests itself as adherents of different religions in India celebrating each other's festivals, as well as
communal harmony in India
.
[12]
[13]
Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb, is a poetic
Awadhi phrase
for the distinctive and syncretic Hindu-Muslim culture, is reflected in the
fused spiritual connotations
, forms, symbols, aesthetics, crafts and weaves, for example, Kashmiri Muslim carpet makers feature
Durga
in their patterns, Muslim sculptors making
idols of Durga
, and Hindu craftsmen create the
Muharram
tazia
.
[14]
[8]
Etymology
[
edit
]
Ganga-Jamuni
is a combination of two
Hindi
words that means, literally, "mixed", "composite", or "alloy".
[15]
[16]
[17]
The term additionally references the
Ganga
and
Jamuna
rivers, that merge to form one entity, just as two cultures come "together to form a seamless single culture that draws richly from both traditional Hindu and Islamic influences", creating "a vibrant, multidimensional, peerless and syncretic culture."
[1]
Tehzeeb
is an
Urdu
term meaning civilisation, culture, politeness, or progress/development.
[18]
Festivals
[
edit
]
Nawabs of Awadh
were fore-runners of this culture.
[19]
The region of
Awadh
in the state of
Uttar Pradesh
is usually considered to be the center of this culture.
[20]
[21]
Allahabad
,
Lucknow
,
Kanpur
,
[22]
[23]
[24]
Faizabad
-
Ayodhya
,
[21]
[25]
and
Varanasi
(
Benares
)
[26]
[27]
are a few of the many centers of this culture. In Lucknow, one prominent example of this culture is that not only
Shias
but also
Sunni Muslims
and
Hindus
participate, both historically and today, in the
mourning
and religious customs during the Islamic month of
Muharram
.
[28]
[29]
The Hindu festival of
Basant
and Persian tradition of
Nowruz
were also patronised by the Shia rulers of Awadh.
[30]
Hyderabad
, the capital city of
Telangana
in south-central part of the India, is also a big example of communal harmony where the local
Telugu
Hindus and
Hyderabadi Muslims
live with peace and brotherhood, where Hindu temples serve the
dry dates fruits
to mosques for
Iftar
Muslim festival.
[31]
[13]
Language and literature
[
edit
]
With the
Turko-Afghan conquests
over the
Indo-Gangetic
plains in medieval India,
Delhi
and its surrounding plains along the river
Yamuna
became the political and cultural capital of these
Persianate
dynasties. Delhi came to prominence because of its strategic location, the west of which was the fertile but open Indus plains and east of which began the populous Gangetic plains. The local language of
Delhi
arose into
Hindavi
or Hindustani, the eventual
sociolect
of the descendants of the conquerors, the nobility, the courtiers, and hence the cultured. The official language of these empires was
Classical Persian
and the usual mother tongue of these upper echelons was an Indian language albeit with heavy Persian influence, hence Hindavi or Hindi was the word used which still implies
Indian
in Persian. As the empire enlarged, persianised
Old Hindi
, popularly known as
Hindavi
and
Hindustani
, became the basis for the
lingua franca
different
Indo-Aryan
speakers on the plains and beyond used to communicate. Among the many Hindustani varieties that arose,
Deccani
being the major one, a form of Old Hindi that migrated from the banks of Delhi and mixed with
Marathi
,
Telugu
and
Kannada
in the
Deccan
.
[
citation needed
]
The word
Surahi
("pitcher") is written in two different scripts, Devanagri and Nastaliq, used for Hindi-Urdu in unison.
The literary tradition in
Hindustani
really began in the
Mughal
North with the appreciation of poetry in
Deccani Hindi
, a medium of literary exchange in the Pre-Mughal Deccan South. Until then Hindavi was not a court language of the Mughals as was previously during the Delhi sultanate. This event laid the foundation towards the first standardisation of the Hindi language, this polished courtly speech begun to be specifically called "
Urdu
" which is today the national language of
Pakistan
and an official language in
India
. The second standardisation of the Hindi language took place during the
British Raj
, which is now one of the two official languages of
GoI
, along with
English
. This second standardisation, though in the Sanskritized register has retained the inevitable name Hindi instead and hence Hindi refers both to the official sanskritised standard as well as the
colloquial Hindi
and the many related dialects of the
Hindi languages
.
[
citation needed
]
The first Deccani author was Khwaja Bandanawaz Gesudaraz Muhammad Hasan.
Bahamani Sultanate
were the pioneers, writers such as
Bande Nawaz
, Shah Miranji and Shah Buran. Sultan
Muhammad Quli Qutub Shah
of
Golconda
, Sultan
Ibrahim Adil Shah II
of
Bijapur
, and
Wali Mohammad Wali
were important writers in Deccani. Influenced by this, Urdu Prose and Poetry, as is now called also began in the
Hindustan region
, chief writers being, Ghalib, Khaliq, Zamir,
Aatish
,
Nasikh
, Zauq, Momin and Shefta.
Malik Muhammad Jayasi
's
Padmavat
in Awadhi and the Works of
Kabir Das
. An age of tremendous integration between the Hindu and the Islamic elements in the Arts with the advent of many Muslim Bhakti poets like
Abdul Rahim Khan-I-Khana
who was a minister to
Mughal
emperor
Akbar
and was also a great devotee of Krishna. The Nirgun School of Bhakti Poetry was also tremendously secular in nature and its propounders like Kabir and Guru Nanak had a large number of followers irrespective of caste or religion.
[32]
[11]
One of the best examples of syncretic faith is captured in one of Kabir's
doha
(verse),
"some chant
Allah
, some chant
Ram
, Kabir is a worshiper of true love and hence reveres both."
[4]
[
failed verification
]
Devanagari
|
Nastaliq
|
Roman
|
Translation
|
??? ??? ???? ????
??? ??? ?? ???
??? ???? ?? ????? ??????
????? ?? ?????
|
???? ??? ???? ????
???? ??? ?? ???
??? ???? ?? ???? ?????
????? ?? ?????
|
Koi jape rahim rahim
Koi jape hai ram
Das Kabir hai prem pujari
Dono ko parnaam
|
Some chant O Merciful [Allah]
Some chant Ram
Kabir is a worshiper of true love
And reveres them both
|
Etiquette and costume
[
edit
]
Jama
worn by the Nawab of Carnatic and his son.
Awadh
has a special place in the etiquette of this culture along with Delhi and Hyderabad; in fact Lucknowi Urdu still retains the polished and polite language of Ganga-Jamuni Tehzeeb.
[20]
[33]
[34]
[35]
Delhi Sultanate
,
Bahamani Sultanate
,
Deccan Sultanates
,
Mughal Empire
,
Nawabs of Awadh
,
Bhopal
,
Carnatic
and the
Nizams of Hyderabad
were forerunners of this
tehzeeb
. The greeting
Aadaab
from the Arabic word ????, meaning
respect and politeness
, is a hand
gesture
and expression used in the
Indian subcontinent
for
greeting
, especially between Muslims and non-Muslims.
[36]
It is associated with the Ganga-Jamuni culture because it originated out of a necessity for a more non-religious greeting from the Arabic
Assalamu Alaikum
and Sanskrit
Namaste
.
Sherwani, Jama, Topi, Kurta, Dupatta, Salwar, Kameez, Shawl, Pajama and Socks are few of the major attire still present in India.
Recreation and cuisine
[
edit
]
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. You can help by
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.
(
April 2024
)
|
Mehfil-e-Mushaira
at Hyderabad, 1820.
Art and architecture
[
edit
]
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needs expansion
. You can help by
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(
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Emperor Jahangir Visiting the Ascetic Jadrup.
Taj Mahal
, a quintessential structure of this culture.
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
Lal, Aloke; Lal, Maanas (15 February 2022).
Murder in the Bylanes: Life and Death in a Divided City
. Bloomsbury Publishing.
ISBN
978-93-5435-255-3
.
The culture (tehzeeb) that has evolved in the Great Plains is called Ganga-Jamuni Tehzeeb. The idea of the two rivers joining to form one great entity, Ganga, symbolises how two disparate cultures coming together to form a seamless single culture that draws richly from both traditional Hindu and Islamic influences. The result is a vibrant, multidimensional, peerless and syncretic culture. People from different religions share elements and ideologies to bring together all aspects of life to prosper, making society a bouquet of many hues and fragrances. The leitmotif of this culture is pluralism.
- ^
a
b
Warikoo, K. (2010).
Religion and Security in South and Central Asia
. Routledge. p. 86.
ISBN
978-1-136-89020-8
.
Ganga-Jamuni Tehzeeb
compares the Hindu-Muslim harmony and friendship to the holy confluence of India's major rivers - the Ganga and Yamuna. It assumes a peaceful merging of Hindu and Muslim culture and lifestyle in Banaras as expressed in their friendships, joint festivities and interdependence. As such, the
Ganga-Jamuni Tehzeeb
reminds people of the incomparable unison they share across religious communities. This in turn sets a parameter for the people to uphold the religious peace. The metaphor is especially popular in the intellectual discourse as it coincided well with the Nehruvian rhetoric of a composite culture.
- ^
a
b
Dhulipala, Venkat (2000).
The Politics of Secularism: Medieval Indian Historiography and the Sufis
.
University of Wisconsin?Madison
. p. 27.
The composite culture of northern India, known as the Ganga Jamuni tehzeeb was a product of the interaction between Hindu society and Islam.
- ^
a
b
Chari, Pushpa (28 July 2018).
"Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb: Syncretic ethos in weaves and crafts"
.
The Hindu
. Retrieved
23 February
2020
.
- ^
Shaban, Abdul (10 January 2018).
Lives of Muslims in India: Politics, Exclusion and Violence
. Taylor & Francis.
ISBN
9781351227605
.
- ^
a
b
?z?d Hind?st?n, m?z?? aur mustaqbil: r?d?d aur maq?le, qaum? sim?n?r, mun?aqidah J?mi?ah Hamdard, Na?? Dihl?, 29-31 Agast 1998
.
Khuda Bakhsh Oriental Library
. 2000. p. 60.
During their political rule, over a period of about 1000 years, both Hindus and Muslims lived together, shared each other's culture and gave rise to the emergence of a new type of Hindu-Muslim culture (Ganga-Jamuni Tahzib).
- ^
a
b
Socialist Party (India) (2007),
Janata, Volume 62
,
... the ganga-jamuni tehzeeb (composite culture) regarded both religious communities as two eyes of a beautiful bride and their long history witnessed 'give-and-take', at many levels ...
- ^
a
b
Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb: Syncretic ethos in weaves and crafts
,
The Hindu
, 18 July 2018.
- ^
Cousins, Linwood H. (5 September 2014).
Encyclopedia of Human Services and Diversity
. SAGE Publications.
ISBN
978-1-4833-7083-5
.
Sometimes this trend brings a new culture of integration. It is evident in Indian Hindu-Muslim culture popularly known as
Ganga Jamuni Tehzeeb
, manifesting the values and belief systems of the two.
- ^
minhaz, ayesha (16 July 2015).
"Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb helps maintain peace"
.
Deccan Chronicle
. Retrieved
24 December
2019
.
- ^
a
b
Understanding Ganga-Jamuni Tehzeeb: How diverse is the "Indian multiculturalism"
,
Daily News and Analysis
, 15 June 2014.
- ^
Steven Wesley Ramey (15 September 2008),
Hindu, Sufi, or Sikh: contested practices and identifications of Sindhi Hindus in India and beyond
, Macmillan, 2008,
ISBN
978-0-230-60832-0
,
... the continuing joint Muslim and Hindu participation in public festivals, relating it to "Ganga-Jamun Tahzeeb," the attitude of refined hospitality and harmonious relations that historically characterized this region ...
- ^
a
b
"Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb: Temple serving Iftar Dates to 5 Mosques in Hyderabad"
. 26 June 2015
. Retrieved
24 December
2019
.
- ^
Tripathi, Priyanka; Das, Chhandita (2020). "Decoding the Postcolonial Geo-Linguistic Sangam in Allahabad: A Study of Neelum Saran Gour's
Requiem in Raga Janki
".
The IUP Journal of English Studies
.
XV
(3). IUP: 6.
"
Ganga-Jamuni Tehzeeb
" is a poetic Awadhi phrase that implies the distinct and syncretic fusion of Hindu-Muslim culture and it is primarily the ethics of central plains in North India.
- ^
McGregor, R. S. (1993), "????-???? = mixed, composite, of whitish grey colour, made of alloy, an alloy",
Oxford Hindi-English Dictionary
, Oxford University Press, p. 248
- ^
Chaturvedi, Mahendra (1970), "????-????? = made up of two colours or two metals (like gold and silver)",
A Practical Hindi-English Dictionary
, Delhi: National Publishing House
- ^
Dasa, Syamasundara (1965?1975),
Hindi sabdasagara, Navina samskarana
(in Hindi), Kasi: Nagari Pracarini Sabha,
????????? (p. 1190) ?????????? ??? [???? ???? + ?????] ?. ???????? ? ???? ? ??- ???? ? ?. ???? ?????, ???? ????? ??? ?? ?????? ?? ??? ??? ? ?????? ?????? ????? ?? ??? ??? ? ????? ???? ????? ????? ?? ??? ?? ? ?. ???? ???? ? ????? ???? ? ???? ; 2) ????????? (p. 1190) ????????? ?? ?????? ??????? ?. ??? ?? ?? ???? ? ?. ?? ??? ?????? ???? ?? ???? ?? ??? ???? ?? ? ????? ??? ? ?. ?????? ?? ??? ??? ?????? ?????? ?? ?????? ????? ??? ?? ??? ??? ? ?. ???? ???? ??? ???? ? ???? ?? ????? ???? ?? ????? (?????)
- ^
"Meaning of tahzib in English"
.
Rekhta Dictionary
. Retrieved
22 April
2022
.
- ^
Descendants of Nawabs keep Holi traditions alive
,
The Indian Express
, Tue 10 March 2009, 15:35 hrs
- ^
a
b
Malika Mohammada (2007),
The foundations of the composite culture in India
, Aakar Books, 2007,
ISBN
978-81-89833-18-3
,
... developed in Awadh as a genre of composite creativity. ... of multiple Indian cultural traditions and provided glimpses of the Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb of north India with Lucknow as its centre ...
- ^
a
b
Plaint Of Ayodhya
,
The Financial Express
, Sunday, 22 August 2004 at 0000 hrs IST
- ^
"Hindus form human chain around Muslim baraat in violence-hit Kanpur, escort them to safety | Kanpur News - Times of India"
.
The Times of India
. 26 December 2019.
- ^
Festival has origin in city's composite culture
,
TNN
, 13 May 2009, 06.52am IST
- ^
Karbala revisited
Archived
11 November 2013 at the
Wayback Machine
,
Express News Service
, Saturday, 12 February 2005
- ^
Twin towns welcome verdict with humility, grace
Archived
5 November 2010 at the
Wayback Machine
,
Deccan Chronicle
, 1 October 2010
- ^
An apt reflection of Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb
, Naveen Kumar,
TNN
, 25 September 2009, 10.09pm IST
- ^
Stories behind the masks
, Shailaja Tripathi, NEW DELHI, 4 November 2010,
The Hindu
- ^
Faruqi, Shamsur Rahman (2017).
Introduction to: Awadh Symphony: Notes on a Cultural Interlude
. New Delhi: Rupa Publishing. pp. xv.
ISBN
978-81-291-4650-2
.
OCLC
993125025
.
- ^
Aslam, Mahmud (2017).
Awadh Symphony: Notes on a Cultural Interlude
. New Delhi: Rupa Publishing. p. 3.
ISBN
978-81-291-4650-2
.
OCLC
993125025
.
- ^
Aslam, Mahmud (2017).
Awadh Symphony: Notes on a Cultural Interlude
. New Delhi: Rupa Publishing. p. 5.
ISBN
978-81-291-4650-2
.
OCLC
993125025
.
- ^
minhaz, ayesha (16 July 2015).
"Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb helps maintain peace"
.
Deccan Chronicle
. Retrieved
24 December
2019
.
- ^
Karen Pechilis Prentiss (2014), The Embodiment of Bhakti, Oxford University Press,
ISBN
978-0195351903
, pages 15-16
- ^
Aslam, Mahmud (2017).
Awadh Symphony: Notes on a Cultural Interlude
. New Delhi: Rupa Publishing. pp. 25?6.
ISBN
978-81-291-4650-2
.
OCLC
993125025
.
- ^
An apt reflection of Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb
, Naveen Kumar,
TNN
, 25 September 2009, 10.09pm IST
- ^
Descendants of Nawabs keep Holi traditions alive
,
The Indian Express
, Tue 10 March 2009, 15:35 hrs
- ^
"Adaab in a Time of Allah Hafiz"
.
University of Wisconsin?Madison
. 1 May 2012. Archived from
the original
on 10 June 2016
. Retrieved
17 January
2023
.
Originating from a North Indian Islamicate high culture, "adaab" as a form of greeting was imbued with a certain class hierarchy. It was a familiar greeting even in many elite non-Muslim households in North India.
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