2. A Foundation for History
I WAS IN A CAR, driving into Uch from the neighboring town· of
Ahmedpur Shirkia with S. A. Bukhari, who owns a small jewelry shop
and was my considei;ate host. As we exited the motorway and began
to drive through the farmland, I.looked at the palm trees which flanked
the road. Turning to him, I said, "Palm trees! Why are they so far
inland? The coast is a good eight hours' drive away."
"Well, they were planted here in Uch by Muhammad bin Qasim,"
replied Bukhari.
"And how do we know this?" I asked.
I was quite accustomed to hearing stories of Muhammad bin Qasim
told with pride (or with dismay in rural Sind and Punjab), but this time
I was surprised by an answer that explicitly mentioned a text. Bukhari
explained, "It is written in Chachnama. I assumed you would know,
since you are the historian."
There were other trees and clusters of trees which are said to be
planted by Qasim. He built a mosque in the town. His memory and
the material remains of the past Muslim nobility are scattered
throughout,i:his landscape. The text of Chachnama is linked to the
natural and built environment of Uch. Such linkages prompt us to
think differently about the origins narrative of Islam in India because
that narrative focuses on hegemonic categories and undifferentiated
space. In Chapter r, I presented a spatial and political background that