भारतीय इतिहास के ६ स्वर्णिम पृष्ठ (वीर सावरकर - विदेशी आक्रान्ताओं पर विजय गाथा)

with their counter-stroke of ostracism, but, on the contrary, helped them directly and enormously in their work of proselytization! 406-407. Unlike the armed vigilance that was necessary for hundreds of years to keep the converted Christians, Jews and other peoples of the west, tied down to the Muslim faith, the work of proselytization in India necessitated a day's labour for the Muslims. If once at the time of a battle, or an armed aggression on cities and villages, they took the trouble of defiling thousands of men and women either by food, drink or rape or mere association, the responsibility of keeping them in the Muslim fold for generations together was shouldered by the Hindus, as if it was a religious duty of their own! Thus worked the punitive measure of ostracism, serving the best interests of the enemy, whom it sought to counteract. 408. But the conversion of one Hindu to the Islamic faith meant the transformation of a man into a demon, the metamorphosis of a God into a Satan! This was the unpleasant reality of the cataclysmal Hindu-Muslim wars! How this demonization of the Hindus took place, is briefly shown in paragraphs 379 and 380. 409. Even then, the Hindu society turned a deaf ear and blind eye to this reality! To speak broadly, it can be safely said, that the Muslims had never to worry about the converts ever going back to their own religion, for they were convinced that the Hindus would never accept them! 410. The Hindus could never clearly distinguish the change of caste from the change of religion. 411. For instance, if a Vaishya had an illicit exchange of food or matrimonial relations with one of a lower Hindu caste, say a Shimpi (a tailor), a Bhandari (a brewer), or someone else, he was excommunicated from his caste. Similarly, if a Hindu had perforce to take food, or drink water with a sinful (in their opinion) non-Hindu or if he or his wife was defiled or raped, and so had to live with the Muslims, he was banished not only by his own caste but even by the lowliest caste of the Hindus. It means the casting out of a Hindu from one caste, for having the so-called illicit relations with another, was considered on a par with the casting out of another from the whole of the Hindu society for similar reason! The fundamental national difference between the two, which in the long run was to affect, adversely and horribly, the numerical superiority of the Hindus, altogether escaped their notice.