The author and historian Sandeep Balakrishna has written a wonderful book discussing the history of Islamic invasions in India and their impact on Hindu society: Invaders and Infidels: From Sindh to Delhi – The 500 Year Journey of Islamic Invasions.

This book is a must-read for those who wish to know the insight of the barbaric Islamic invasions which devastated our Hindustan for hundreds of years and left a legacy of tyranny, untold savagery and stout resistance. This book gives us a clear insight into the politics, psyche, and character of barbaric Arab and Turkic invaders; and the stout resistance put forth by our valiant ancestors.

Since the advent of Islam in the early 7th century CE, the geopolitics of the world shifted rapidly. Within a hundred years Arabs had captured North Africa, Iran, Iraq, Syria, etc but the Islamic juggernaut was stopped by our ancestors for almost 3 centuries. Arabs were defeated multiple times by our warriors and they were only able to capture small regions around Sindh/Kandhar till 1000 CE.

It covers early Arab and Turkic invasions into India from the early 7th century to the late 14th century, starting from Mohammad bin Qasim till Balban's advent. We are taught by Marxist historians that the invaders literally walked over us with ease, that we didn't show any fierce resistance and peacefully converted to Islam due to many external pretensions in Hinduism. This whole Marxist narrative is based on the debauchery of the so-called 'eminent historians' and Eurocentrism.

This book destroys all these Marxist narratives in a fast-paced and well researched way with a lot of academic references. This book shows us how our ancestors resisted the invaders, the sacrifices they made to protect the people, culture, temples, and traditions. It also points out the repeated mistakes committed by our ancestors.

It's a heart breaking and eye opening read knowing that thousands of Hindu and Buddhist temples and shrines were destroyed and lakhs of people were enslaved, women and children brutally raped, and millions were massacred.

This book shows us how the invaders never had it easy. It shows what immense sacrifices were made by our ancestors to protect our honor, spirituality and traditions. The same culture and tradition of which we are a descendent. It also points to the repeated blunders that were made by us. Mistakes that we cannot afford to make which proved too costly for our civilization. We must learn lessons from the true history of India and ensure that our future generations enjoy the same safety and love of Bharat Ma and her rich cultural heritage.

The only area where this book lacks is its length. It's too short to decipher all the details of that period. Nevertheless, it's an extraordinary book and now I am looking forward to its 2nd edition.