In a bid to avoid a healthy debate on the bogus claim of ‘Mughals making India rich’, the former SC Judge blocked the ‘Modi Again’ author on Twitter when irrefutable proofs were provided to counter the claim.
Justice Markandey Katju who is a former Judge of the Supreme Court of India and former Chairman of Press Council of India, instead of standing by Freedom of Expression and engaging in a healthy debate has blocked renowned author Aabhas Maldahiyar for refuting the claim that Mughals made India rich with documentary and literary proofs. Aabhas has debunked many such ‘secular’ claims on twitter with proofs in Tweet-threads and has become famous for beginning such threads with ‘Sadar Pranam to Ishavara within u….’
The sequence of events leading to the block began when Katju in a move to counter a tweet by economist Mohandas Pai tweeted that “Mughal rule greatly benefited India. India had about 30% world trade& was prosperous under Mughals This was reduced to 2-3% under British rule. It was British who drained India, not Mughals”. Pai had tweeted a link of an IndiaFacts article titled ‘Islamic loot: How the Mughals drained wealth out of India’ and further wrote “How the rapacious Mughals drained India of her wealth; So much for the lies of @Javedakhtarjadu. @Aabhas24 has exposed his lies”.
Katju’s claim was soon countered by Aabhas who wrote back saying “U r WRONG! India’s GDP shrunk drastically below China for the 1st time during Akbar’s rule. (image-1)& our GDP/Capita got -ve for the 1st time ever in Mughal Rule”. Subsequently in a series of Tweets Aabhas provided the proofs from various verifiable sources which showed how the per Capita reduced because of extensive extortion under the Mughals. He also referred to his earlier thread on the same which debunked the bogus claim of ‘Mughals making India rich’.
As Aabhas refered to the works of Angus Maddison on the worlds economy through the ages which corroborate the falling Indian economy under the Mughals, Katju without even responding or engaging in a debate blocked him.
Justice Katju is known to make erratic claims without providing concrete proofs and also block people who do not agree with his views. Blocking of Aabhas without engaging in a debate or refuting the claims with proof is only what was expected of the former SC Judge say netizens.
As a further reference on the topic and the bogus claim, the below thread of Aabhas Maldahiyar throws light on it with verifiable sources and authentic references. Historian William Dalrymple had claimed that “…Mughals didn’t loot India. They made us rich’ to which Aabhas wrote this 45 tweet thread refuting the claim.
