Maldives, which is spewing venom against India these days at the behest of China, is forgetting its history and its bad days.
Whenever help has been needed, India has been the first to help this small island country. Maldives is the smallest country in Asia (in terms of area and population) located in the Indian Ocean.
It is spread like a double chain among 26 atolls between Minicoy Island and the Chagos Archipelago. There are about 1200 islands under this, which are world famous for their natural beauty.
The culture here is influenced by its proximity to South India and Sri Lanka.
When was the first settlement established?
The Maldives were first settled probably before the fifth century BC. It is based on historical evidence as well as legends.
The historical eras of the Maldives are described in various archaeological evidence and texts. However, it is also widely understood and accepted that the history of the Maldives is not only fragmented but remains elusive to this day.
What is Gujarat connection?
However, there is consensus among archaeologists and historians that the first inhabitants of the Maldives were not Muslims.
According to this, the first settlers in Maldives were probably Gujarati Indians, who first reached Sri Lanka around 500 BC and then settled in Maldives from there.
The Mahavamsa inscription, a historical chronicle of Sri Lanka dating back to the period of Mahasena of Anuradhapura, details the migration of people from Sri Lanka to the Maldives.
However, some historians argue that the Maldives may have been inhabited even earlier during the Indus Valley Civilization period, but the artefacts found in archaeological excavations in the Maldives provide solid evidence of the presence of Hinduism in the country before the Islamic period.
Early residents came from Kalibanga
The book Fi Athar Midhu al-Qadima (On the Ancient Ruins of Midhu), written by Allama Ahmed Shihabuddin in the 17th century, states that the first inhabitants of the Maldives were known as Dhevis and came from Kalibangan (Rajasthan), India. .
Connection to Bihar and Buddhism
The book also says that before the spread of Islam in this archipelago, Buddhism was prevalent here, which may have been a part of Emperor Ashoka’s expansion campaign during the third century BC.
Let us tell you that Emperor Ashoka was the great emperor of the world famous and powerful Maurya Dynasty of Pataliputra. Ashoka was the most glorious king of Buddhism. The full name of Emperor Ashoka was Devanampriya Ashoka. His reign was between 304 BC and 232 BC. Patliputra is today’s Patna.
According to historians, most of the archaeological remains discovered in the Maldives are Buddhist stupas, whose structures are semicircular and were used by monks and nuns for meditation and monastic purposes.
Rise of Islam era in Maldives
According to a report by Maldives’ famous news portal ‘The Edition’, the rise of Islam in Maldives was not a sudden event. Rather, it started with the arrival of Arab traders during the 12th century.
Arab traders started developing relations with the then Buddhist kings. According to copper plates discovered later, Dhovemi Kalaminja Siri Thiribuvana-Adittha Maha Radun, the Buddhist king of the Maldives, converted to Islam in 1153 or 1193. After that Islam started spreading here.
According to historians, the Maldives changed from a traditionally Hindu to a Buddhist nation, then converted to Islam around the 12th century.
Historians have attributed this to Abu al-Barakat Yusuf al-Barbari. However this is not universally acceptable. Some people attribute the Islamization of Maldives to the Barbarians who came from Morocco.
The Barbarians were responsible for spreading Islam to the Maldive islands, according to stories recounted by the North African traveler Ibn Battuta, who subjugated the local king Ranna Mari.
In Maldivian folklore, Raja Ranna is described as a demon who is said to have come from the sea. Although the historical details are unclear, it is a fact that the Maldives has been a Muslim nation since the 12th century.
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