As one moves away from Golra and inches closer to Margalla hills, crossing newly-developed sector D-12, history in all its glory and gore awaits him.
The village of Shah Allah Ditta welcomes the traveller with open arms and entertains him with stories; these are the stories of foreign invaders, Buddhist monks, Hindu sadhus and Muslim ascetics who left their marks for all times to come. Some 700 years ago, a Muslim Darvesh, Shah Allah Ditta, founded the village. Today, the village is a unique combination of old and new, ordinary and elitist lifestyle. A mile in and one reaches the 2400-year-old Budha caves; the time, slowly and then suddenly, fades into background.
The year is 326 BC. The Greek army has entered India through Khyber Pass the previous year. They invaded, they maimed, they plundered as there was no resistance. The army marched towards Indian plains. As it crossed the mighty Indus and reached the borders of Takshashila – present day Taxila – they were confronted by an army aligned in battle formation. It was Raja Ambi, the King of Takshashila, and his army, waiting for the invaders.
The Greek King was surprised as he was not expecting any resistance. He ordered his army to get ready for the fight. However, to his utmost astonishment, the Takshashila King had come not for the fight but to surrender and offer his support for further invasions. The Greek King didn’t know about the strange love people of Indus valley had for the foreign invaders. The Takshashila army was aligned to pay tribute to the Greek King. Irony of ironies, even today people of the Indus valley pay tribute to the Greek King by naming their sons after him – Sikandar.
Alexander moved forward to Punjab and was intercepted by Porus in famous battle of Hydaspes at banks of Jhelum. The crafters of Pakistan history present Alexander, the foreign invader, as a glorious king, and Porus, the son of soil, as a villain in textbooks. There is no mention of Raja Ambi and his surrender in these books. The Budha caves of Shah Allah Ditta village, however, have preserved the marks of this surrender and remind us of the inglorious King, and his shameful surrender.
The caves have witnessed the successes and reverses in fates of men during these long 2400 years. Apart from Alexander, they have seen passage of armies of Shahb-ud-Din Ghauri and Sher Shah Suri. These caves have housed Buddhist monks who left their families in search of Nirvana. They have provided shelter to Hindu Sadhus who sat there in different Asanas for long hours in discovery of Moksha. They have provided solace to Muslim ascetics who desired to have Qurb-i-Elahi. Today, one Ismail and his uncle Yaqub occupy the place and run their separate Dhabas in the courtyard. The place, as Yaqub claims, was bought by their grandfather from a Hindu sadhu who migrated to India at the time of partition. The family later distributed the inheritance but still share the legacy. Like India and Pakistan, they have different versions of history to tell the visitors.
In front of the caves, astride the road, there is a plane ground facing a half-eaten hill. The ground was once a garden full of fruit trees – called Sadhu Ka Bagh. The Sadhu Ka Bagh existed until 1983 when the Capital Development Authority planted a stone crusher there to cut and crush the nearby hill. Today, the half-eaten hill and a solitary mango tree in the Sadhu Ka Bagh tell the sad story of our attitude towards nature.
A nearby restaurant with name Sadhu’s Retreat deceives the customers as there is no Sadhu, nor does the garden offer retreat from the daily grind.
The author is a lawyer based in Islamabad. He is partner at Just & Right Law Company. He can be reached at [email protected]