Indian authorities are addressing the numerous challenges involved in deporting illegal immigrants, including legal, logistical, geographical, and political opposition from various quarters. Both the Central government, security agencies, and police forces are taking a multi-faceted approach to combat illegal immigration. While the issue of illegal Rohingya and Bangladeshi immigrants, often involved in criminal activities, remains unresolved, India must accelerate the deportation process, prioritizing action over international scrutiny and domestic opposition.
India should strengthen border security by improving surveillance technology and increasing manpower along its borders with Myanmar and Bangladesh. A comprehensive database for identity verification should be established, and the Modi government must consider the careful yet effective implementation of the National Register of Citizens (NRC). Despite recent tensions with Bangladesh, particularly after the rise of Islamists in August 2024, India should continue negotiating repatriation agreements and applying diplomatic pressure when necessary. Myanmar should also be engaged in similar negotiations. Fast-tracking legal proceedings for illegal immigrants will further expedite deportation. Authorities are also focusing on verifying documents, investigating the origins of suspected illegals, and tracking unauthorized settlements.
Through a combination of strict law enforcement, political resolve, cooperation among security agencies, international partnerships, and the implementation of crucial measures like the NRC and NPR, India can effectively address the complex issue of illegal immigration and deportation. While the country is making progress toward reducing, if not completely eliminating, illegal immigration, much work remains to be done.
First attack on Somnath: 725 CE
During the Umayyad Caliphate, an Arab named Junayd ibn Abd ar-Rahman al-Murri, commonly known as Al-Junayd, was appointed governor of Sindh in 723 and remained in power until 726. His tenure played a significant role in the expansion of the Umayyad dynasty in India. In 725, he led invasions into Gujarat and Rajasthan, during which he plundered and destroyed the Somnath Mandir. Later, in 815, Nagabhata II, a Gurjar Pratihar ruler, visited the site and found the temple in ruins. He subsequently rebuilt it using red sandstone.
The Ascendancy of Mahmud of Ghazni
Medieval India's history experienced a significant transformation with the arrival of the Yamini Turks. The rise of Turkish control over Ghazni in Afghanistan forced Indians to prepare for a new era of brutality, following their long resistance against repeated Arab invasions. The Turkish dominance over Ghazni began with Alptigin, a Turkic slave commander of the Samanid Empire.
Once Ghazni was secured, the region saw a return to aggressive military tactics against neighboring kingdoms. After Sabuktigin claimed the kingdom of Ghazni in 977, the Turks launched numerous attacks on India's northwest territories, facing opposition from Jayapala, the Shahi King of Udabhandapur. Despite the king's resilient defense, the Turks ultimately triumphed after years of struggle.
The conflict escalated when Sabuktigin's son, Abu al-Qasim Mahmud ibn Sabuktigin, ascended to the throne of Ghazni in 998. Known as Mahmud of Ghazni, he reportedly vowed to wage a yearly 'holy war' against India, referring to the land as that of the infidels. He defeated the Shahis, including Jayapala's successors Anandpala (1008) and Trilochanpala (1013), thereby consolidating his power and expanding his empire. Mahmud led at least 12 raids on India, devastating cities and temples, as was common among Muslim rulers of the time.
In 1011, he attacked Thaneswar, destroying its idols. Between 1018 and 1019, he razed the temples of Mathura and took the idols back to Ghazni, with the destruction lasting for twenty days. Similar to Mathura, Kanauj was plundered, further increasing Mahmud's wealth from the spoils of war. His most notorious raid was on the Somnath temple, which had already been rebuilt multiple times before Mahmud's assault. Archaeological evidence suggests that the temple had been attacked and destroyed at least six times prior to his invasion.
Sack of Somnath: 1025-1026 AD
Many historians claim that the Somnath Mandir was built on large stone slabs, with a roof supported by 56 wooden pillars. Its pyramid-shaped roof had thirteen levels and featured fourteen golden domes. Inside the temple stood a Shivalinga, 7.6 feet tall and 4.6 feet wide. A hidden section of the linga, 6 feet long, was concealed beneath the base. The temple could accommodate up to 1,000 Brahmans for worship and religious ceremonies. It also housed a treasure of gold, silver, pearls, and diamonds, along with a massive gold chain weighing 200 mann.
In 1025-1026, Mahmud of Ghazni, the ruthless ruler of the Ghaznavid Empire, launched a military campaign known as the “Sack of Somnath” against the Chaulukya dynasty of Gujarat. This invasion led to the destruction of the sacred temple, along with strategic captures and intense battles. Despite fierce resistance and heavy losses, Mahmud’s army triumphed. The Hindus, who bravely defended their land and temple, fought valiantly to protect Somnath Mandir.
Mahmud ordered his archers to drive out the idolaters and force them to abandon the temple. The Hindus resisted fiercely during the siege, which lasted several days, despite the seemingly hopeless situation. At the time, the temple was encircled by a strong fort manned by Hindus. Many of those defending it were Brahmans, performing their final pre-war rituals inside the temple.
When Mahmud launched a violent charge, the guardians of Somnath, though largely unarmed, fought courageously until nightfall. The Hindus inside the temple emerged and launched an attack on the Turks. Despite the military superiority of Mahmud’s forces, the determined resistance of the Hindus caused his battered army to retreat. Though the Turks damaged the fort’s wall, the Hindus quickly repaired it, and on the second day of battle, they fought even harder.
On the third day, a contingent of Kshatriyas arrived to support the Hindus, escalating the chaos. Numerous defenders stormed into the temple to protect their deities. Despite their courage, Mahmud’s brutal tactics led to a massacre, with over 50,000 people killed. The Persian historian Muhammad Khandamir recorded that more than 50,000 perished as they sought refuge inside the temple and fought until the end.
After the massacre, Mahmud entered the temple, destroyed the Shivalinga, and looted treasures amounting to over 20,000,000 Dirhams. However, the invaders almost lost their way when they reached Kutch, finding themselves on an arid plain. A Hindu guide, who had been secretly loyal to Somnath, offered to help Mahmud’s exhausted army.
The guide led them into the harsh desert, devoid of water, and deceived the Turks for three days. When Mahmud asked where they were, the guide replied, “I dedicated my life to Somnath, and you heartlessly plundered it. Now I have led you into a land without water, where the army of Hind is waiting to crush you.” Afterward, Mahmud killed the guide and fled to safety in the Sind region, possibly to avoid confrontation with Bhima I, who was preparing to confront him.
While Mahmud avoided Bhima I, his forces were attacked by Jats. He eventually returned to Ghazni in 1026, bringing back a vast treasure gained through the massacre of innocent Hindus. Mahmud earned the infamous title “The Idol Breaker” after the destruction of Somnath Mandir. The fragments of the Shivalinga were sent to Ghazni and placed on the stairs of Jama Masjid as a further insult to Hindus.
“When Sultan Mahmud, the son of Sabuktagin, went to wage religious war against India, he made great efforts to capture and destroy Somnath, in the hope that the Hindus would then become Mohammedans. The Indians made a desperate resistance. They kept going into the temple weeping and crying for help and then they went forth to battle and kept fighting till all were killed. The number of the slain exceeded fifty thousand. The king looked upon the idol with wonder and gave orders for the seizing of the spoil and the appropriation of the treasures. There were many idols of gold and silver, and countless vessels set with jewels, all of which had been sent there by the greatest personages in India. The value of the things found in the temples of the idols exceeded twenty thousand thousand dinars,” Persian geographer Kazvini expressed his delight over the ruthless killing of Hindus.
An inscription from 1169 indicates that Kumarapala of the Chaulukya dynasty restored the Somnath temple using fine stone and adorned it with jewels, replacing the decayed wooden structure left by Mahmud.
The Invasion of Gujarat by Alauddin Khalji: 1299 AD
The Muslim Conquest of Gujarat, also referred to as the Alauddin Khalji Conquest of Gujarat, began in 1299 when the Delhi Sultanate ruler sent an army to raid the Gujarat province of Vaghela king Karna. Alauddin’s forces razed several key cities, including Anahilavada (Patan), Khambhat, Surat, and Somnath. While Karna was able to reclaim some territories, a second invasion in 1304 led to the permanent fall of the Vaghela dynasty and Gujarat’s annexation into the Delhi Sultanate.
Ulugh Khan, Alauddin's brother and general, led the Muslim army as they advanced toward Somnath Mandir, aiming to seize its wealth. However, they encountered resistance, with two “Vaja” warriors, Malasuta and Padamala, killed at the temple entrance on June 6, 1299, during their battle with the Turushkas (Turkic people), as recorded in an inscription.
Alauddin’s forces destroyed the temple after massacring Hindus under his orders. Persian poet and historian Amir Khusrau claimed that the temple’s alignment with the Kaaba symbolized Hindu submission to Islam. Hasan Nizami, a 12th- and 13th-century Persian historian, also boasted about the looting of Somnath in his book Taj-ul-Maasir, recounting that "over twenty thousand slaves, and cattle beyond calculation fell into the hands of the victors," and "fifty thousand infidels were sent to hell by the sword."
On their return to Delhi with the Shivling, Hindu prisoners, and spoils, the Muslim army was ambushed by Rajput Prince Biram Dev of Jalore. Biram Dev defeated Ulugh Khan and reclaimed the Shivling and the treasure, releasing the Hindu captives. Firoza, Alauddin’s illegitimate daughter, fell in love with Biram Dev, and the Sultan offered his daughter’s hand in marriage, demanding that Biram Dev convert to Islam. Biram Dev rejected the proposal, leading to further conflict. He attacked Alauddin's forces, reclaiming the Shivling and the loot.
Enraged, Alauddin sent a large army to Jalore. The battle persisted for two long years, during which Biram Dev and his father Kanhadadev died defending Jalore, and many Rajput women committed jauhar. Alauddin’s forces killed all Hindus, destroyed the Jalore fort, and demolished temples. Despite extensive searches, he failed to recover the Shivling or the stolen riches. The fort was later transformed into a Muslim monument. Other accounts suggest that after looting the temple, Alauddin took the main idol to Delhi, where it was desecrated, and its pieces were used as steps for Muslims to walk on. In 1308, Somnath Mandir was reconstructed by Mahipala Deva, the Chudasama king of Saurashtra.
Zafar Khan's Attack on Somnath: 1395 AD
Muzaffar Shah I, also known as Zafar Khan, was the ruler of the Gujarat Sultanate from 1407 to 1411 and was a member of the Muzaffarid dynasty. Appointed as the governor of Gujarat by the Tughluq rulers of the Delhi Sultanate, he declared independence and established the Gujarat Sultanate when Delhi was thrown into chaos after Timur's invasion. Originally a Khatri or Tank Rajput who converted to Islam, he famously attacked Somnath in 1395 AD, where he destroyed the temple, built a Jumma mosque, promoted Islam, and established a thana in the city of Somnath Patan, also known as Deva Patan.
Mahmud Begada's Desecration of Somnath: 1451 AD
In 1451, Mahmud Begada, also known as Mahmud Shah I, the Sultan of Gujarat, defiled the Somnath Temple. He had previously launched an assault on Dwarka as well.
Portuguese Attack on Somnath: 1546 AD
The Portuguese, led by Vasco da Gama, who first arrived in India in 1498 and established their rule from 1505 to 1961, also attacked the Somnath Mandir and plundered its wealth.
The Final Destruction of Somnath by Aurangzeb in 1665 AD
During his reign, Aurangzeb, the Mughal ruler who seized the throne by murdering his own family, ordered the destruction of temples across his empire. Despite the Somnath temple being repeatedly destroyed and its treasures looted by invaders and hostile foreign forces, it was rebuilt by subsequent rulers to restore its former glory. In response, Aurangzeb issued an order for the destruction of any temples, including Somnath, that had been reconstructed, preventing Hindus from resuming their worship there.
According to SH Desai’s book Prabhas and Somnath, the Somnath Mandir was vandalized by local Muslims from Prabhas and some of Aurangzeb’s troops, acting on his orders. As the Hindus gathered in large numbers to protect the temple, a Muslim official responded by killing two priests and slaughtering a calf. This led to a violent confrontation between the two groups. When Aurangzeb’s forces were overwhelmed by the Hindus, they withdrew. It wasn’t until later, with reinforcements, that his army succeeded in demolishing the temple and looting its treasury.
“Local Muslims when came to know about Aurangzeb’s order directing vandalization of idols and closure of temples, tried to implement it with the help of a (local) official named Muhammad Afzal. One day, Muhammad’s troupes and local Muslims together attacked the Somnath temple and started dismantling it. As soon as this news spread Hindus, Desais, Brahmins, Mahajans etc rushed to the spot and asked Muslims not to do this. One Muslim official named Malek Zia insulted Hindus and slaughtered a cow in response. He killed a Brahmin and one priest too,” the book read.
It further read, “Agitated Desai Ganpat Sarangdhar killed Malek Zia followed by an attack on Muslims by Hindus. A clash erupted in Somnath Mandir itself. As the Muslims realized they had fewer armed soldiers, and the entire town had stood up against them, they left the place. Hindus conducted the cremation of dead bodies at Triveni( a ghaat nearby). Hindus were very well aware of the fact that this incident would result in an even bigger attack. Then arrived Fauzdar Sardarkhan who brought an end to turmoil but destroyed the dome and vandalized the Somnath temple.”
“The temple of Somnath was demolished early in my reign and idol worship (there) put down. It is not known what the state of things there is at present. If the idolators have again taken to the worship of images at the place, then destroy the temple in such a way that no trace of the building may be left, and also expel them (the worshipers) from the place,” he issued another order in 1704 towards the end of his life.
Nehru's Stance Against the Somnath Temple
One might have expected that, after a century of oppression under imperial rule, Hindus would at least be granted the freedom to practice their religion openly. However, former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru opposed giving them the authority to reclaim their most sacred religious sites, even after the nation endured the brutal, religion-driven partition. More crucially, if former Home Minister Sardar Patel had not been instrumental in reviving the Somnath Mandir, Hindus would have faced a prolonged battle, similar to the Ram Janmabhoomi movement.
On November 13, 1947, Sardar Patel arrived in Junagarh to a warm and enthusiastic reception from the locals, where he promised to restore the Somnath Mandir. Upon returning to Delhi, the cabinet agreed to rebuild the temple, with the government covering the expenses. However, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi advocated for public funding for the project, leading to the reversal of this decision. Gandhi was assassinated in 1948, and Sardar Patel passed away in 1950. Afterward, Kanhaiyalal Maneklal Munshi, the then cabinet minister, became the chairman of the advisory committee tasked with the temple's restoration.
“I don’t like your trying to restore Somnath. It is Hindu Revivalism,” Nehru is said to have informed Munshi. Bharatiya Janata Party leader Lal Krishna Advani provided a detailed account of the correspondence between him and Jawaharlal Nehru, which stated:
“Yesterday you referred to Hindu revivalism. You pointedly referred to me in the Cabinet as connected with Somnath. I am glad you did so; for I do not want to keep back any part of my views or activities. I can assure you that the ‘Collective Subconscious’ of India today is happier with the scheme of reconstruction of Somnath sponsored by the Government of India than with many other things that we have done and are doing. The intention to throw open the temple to Harijans has evoked some criticism from the orthodox section of the Hindu community. However, the objects of the Trust Deed make it clear that the temple is not only to be open to all classes of the Hindu community but, according to the tradition of the old temple of Somnath, also to non-Hindu visitors.”
“Many have been the customs which I have defied in my personal life from boyhood. I have laboured in my humble way through literary and social work to share or reintegrate some aspects of Hinduism, in the conviction that that alone will make India an advanced and vigorous nation under modern conditions. It is my faith in our past which has given me the strength to work in the present and to look forward to our future. I cannot value India’s freedom if it deprives us of the Bhagavad Gita or uproots our millions from the faith with which they look upon our temples and thereby destroys the texture of our lives. I have been given the privilege of seeing my incessant dream of Somnath reconstruction come true. That makes me feel – makes me almost sure – that this shrine once restored to a place of importance in our life will give to our people a purer conception of religion and a more vivid consciousness of our strength, so vital in these days of freedom and its trials.”
In 1951, during the reconstruction of Somnath Mandir, Dr. Rajendra Prasad was invited by K.M. Munshi to formally inaugurate the temple and install the Jyotirlingam. However, there are several accounts of Jawaharlal Nehru strongly opposing his involvement in the event. In his book The God Who Failed: An Assessment of Jawaharlal Nehru’s Leadership, Madhav Godbole, a former Indian bureaucrat, noted:
Further details of Nehru’s disdain for the renovation of Somnath Temple can be found on page 53 of RNP Singh’s Nehru, a Troubled Legacy.
Additionally, the letter Nehru sent to Dr. Prasad, explaining his reasons for advising against his attendance at the inauguration, is featured in another book by Rajnikant Puranik. “I confess that I do not like the idea of your associating yourself with a spectacular opening of the Somnath Temple. This is not merely visiting a temple, which can certainly be done by you or anyone else but rather participating in a significant function which unfortunately has several implications,” the former wrote.
The Somnath Mandir endured multiple acts of destruction and plunder in the harshest forms, and even faced opposition from the Prime Minister of independent India. However, those who sought to oppose and harm the temple have been silenced by the unstoppable march of time, as it now stands resilient and revered by millions of Hindus worldwide.
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