6_Glorious_Epochs_of_Indian_History

210 SIX GLORIOUS EPOCHS OF INDIAN HISTORY
It was with this noble intention of protecting the Hindu
society, that their foremost leaders had to issue this ban—
this order not to cross the seas on any occasion.
535. A nation, which is obliged to suffer all sorts of
humiliation heaped on its natives and the adherents of the
native religion (one which is obliged to see helplessly foreign
Muslim or Christian religions imposed on pain of death upon
its people and which sadly lacks the armed might to ward
•off this disastrous situation, has no other go than forbid its
people, of course for self-preservation alone, from going to
the enemy lands.
SELF-IMPOSITION OF THE BAN ON CROSSING
ATTOCK OR THE SEAS
536. The greatest mistake made was that when these
various bans were interpolated in the older Smritis as the
best means of serving the needs of the particular hour, the
spurious verses dealing with these bans were also given the
same sanctity, the same authenticity and the same inviol­
ability by stamping them with the old authoritative seal of
W ?R7ciJi: ('This is the old tradition') as was given to the
genuinely old verses. That is why even after the particular
adverse times, for which these bans on crossing Attock or
the sea were originally designed, had passed off and more
favourable times prevailed in as much as when the Hindu
military might under the Peshwas and Ranjit Singh was
powerful enough not only to cross Afghanistan but even
attack Persia, this anti-national blind faith in those bans,
however, did not vanish.. It was still balking the credulous
Hindu Society, with the fear of committing a sin in crossing
Attock*®. That means even when the once beneficial religious
tradition had grown harmful to the nation the Hindu Society
was not prepared to give it up immediately for fear of the
religious injunction. Even when to break that tradition
would have definitely proved greatly advantageous to the
nation and holy from the religious point of view, the blind
faith in the old tradition that to break the old custom was