Forgetting History?

I was reading an article titled “Prithviraj beat the Ghorids, but they later took revenge” by Akhilesh Mithal, in a series called “Forgotten Delhi” (Published in The Sunday Guardian 20; New Delhi; 18.Apr.2010; Page 24). The article was about the shrine of Devi Yogmaya in Mehrauli and it went into the historical episode of battles of Tarain. Goddess Yogmaya was the deity of Chauhan Rajputs including Prithviraj Chauhan.

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It was a part of the article which made me stop in the state of awe.

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“No trace remains of the original Yogmaya structure except the inscription on the first Ja’ama Masjid (congregational mosque) which claims that the building materials from 27 Jaina and Hindu temples, each of which had been built at great cost (20000 Delhiwaals) were used in its construction.”

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The fact coming out evident here should not have been a shock to me. Breaking Hindu temples and using their construction material in building up of Islamic mosques in their exact place is nothing unique about the Yogmaya temple; such examples are scattered all over India or all over the world. The same was alleged as the case for Ram Temple in Ayodhya; I am not sure if the evidences by now would be preserved by our so called secular government. The same was the case for Somnath Temple in Gujarat, which was broken down and enormous wealth carried away to build mosques and palaces in Afghanistan.
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Does knowledge of history or lack of it change one’s way of thinking?
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- Rahul