Team Clarion
MUMBAI — Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has stirred a controversy by supporting calls for the removal of Mughal ruler Aurangzeb Alamgir’s grave from Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar, formerly Aurangabad.
The chief minister, however, added that the grave is a protected monument under the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and can only be removed following the due course of law.
On Saturday, Fadnavis was responding to a demand by BJP MP Udayanraje Bhosale to remove the Mughal emperor’s grave at Khuldabad in Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar.
“We all believe the same but something needs to be done by law as it is a protected monument. The previous Congress government has got it protected under the ASI,” the chief minister stated.
He made the statement on the sidelines of ‘Gurmat Samagam’ to commemorate the 350th martyrdom anniversary of Shri Guru Tegh Bahadur, the ninth of the ten gurus in Sikh religion.
The grave of Aurangzeb has become a political issue in Maharashtra ever since the release of the Bollywood movie ‘Chhaava’ which depicts the Mughal ruler as cruel.
Later, remarks by Samajwadi Party MLA Abu Asim Azmi supporting Aurangzeb further sparked a row.
Dismissing the portrayal of Aurangzeb as a cruel ruler in the movie, Azmi described him as a “good administrator”. “The kings back then used to struggle for power and property but it had nothing to do with religion. He (Aurangzeb) ruled for 52 years, and if he was converting Hindus into Muslims, imagine the number of Hindus that would have been converted,” Azmi had said, which drew a backlash from leaders across the political spectrum. Azmi was soon suspended from the state assembly till the end of the ongoing budget session of the state legislature.
The controversy did not end there as the BJP leaders soon started demanding razing of Aurangzeb’s grave. “What is the need for the tomb? Bring in a JCB machine and raze it down. Aurangzeb was a thief and a lootera (robber),” Bhosale said when he was asked by reporters in Satara whether the tomb of Aurangzeb should be demolished. Bhosale is also one of the descendants of the Maratha king.