BJP slams Azmi for ‘praising’ Aurangzeb; leader wants ruler’s grave razed
Navneet Rana launches scathing attack on Abu Azmi for glorifying Aurangzeb’s rule and claiming that the ruler was not as cruel as widely alleged
BJP leader Navneet Rana has denounced Samajwadi Party leader in Maharashtra, Abu Azmi, for praising Aurangzeb and demanded that the Mughal emperor’s grave in the state be demolished.
Rana launched a scathing attack on Azmi after he glorified Aurangzeb’s rule and claimed that the ruler even built Hindu temples and was not as cruel as widely alleged.
His remarks led to volleys of protests from Shiv Sena and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), whose Rana asked Azmi to watch the Hindi movie Chhaava to know what Aurangzeb did to Maratha kings.
Also read: SP MLA Abu Azmi's 'praise' of Aurangzeb sparks outrage; case filed in Thane
Rana is furious
“I want to request the Maharashtra government that the way Aurangabad's name was changed and kept after our God Sambhaji Maharaj, Aurangzeb's grave should also be demolished,” she said. Aurangabad has now been named Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar.
“People who love Aurangzeb should decorate his grave in their homes," she added.
What Azmi said
In his comments on Monday (March 3), Azmi said that if Aurangzeb destroyed Hindu temples, then he also razed mosques.
Azmi added that if the ruler was indeed anti-Hindu, so many members of the Hindu community would not have served his Mughal administration.
“There is no need to give Hindu-Muslim angles to it,” said Azmi, referring to the controversy over Aurangzeb. He added that the boundaries of India under Aurangzeb included the entire region from Afghanistan to Myanmar.
Also read: ‘Exactly why India attracts so few tourists’: Dalrymple on Mughal site’s demolition
Shinde’s reaction
The comments prompted Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde to seek an apology from Azmi or a treason charge against the politician, citing Aurangzeb's torture of Sambhaji Maharaj.
"Eulogising the Aurangzeb that tortured Sambhaji Maharaj for 40 days, plucked his nails, gouged out his eyes, skinned him, cut off his tongue is a massive sin,” Shinde said. “Abu Azmi should apologise for this.”
Aurangzeb’s legacy
The longest reigning Mughal emperor, Aurangzeb, governed India from 1658 until his death in 1707.
His emperorship has a complicated legacy. His critics speak about his actions against non-Muslims and his conservative view of Islam and say he dumped the legacy of pluralism and tolerance of the earlier Mughal kings.
But others say that he, too, opposed bigotry against Hindus, Sikhs as well as Shia Muslims, and that he employed more Hindus than any other Mughal emperor.
