“It was left to Aurangzeb to make a final attempt to overthrow idolatry. The author of Ma’athir-i-Alamgiri dilates upon his efforts to put down Hindu teaching, and his destruction of temples in the following terms: In April, A. D. 1669, Aurangzib learned that in the provinces of Thatta, Multan and Benares, but especially in the latter, foolish Brahmins were in the habit of expounding frivolous books in their schools, and that learners, Muslims as well as Hindus, went there from long distances…. The ‘Director of the Faith’ consequently issued orders to all the governors of provinces to destroy with a willing hand the schools and temples of the infidels; and they were enjoined to put an entire stop to the teaching and practising of idolatrous worship.. …Later it was reported to his religious Majesty that the Government officers had destroyed the temple of Bishnath at Benares”.
– As quoted by Dr Babasaheb B R Ambedkar, Secretary, Hindu Mela 1868, stated the aim of the gathering at the inaugural session, as quoted in ‘Swami Vivekananda and Hindu Mela’ by Dr Shyamali Chowdhury, Prabuddha Bharat, Adwaita Ashram, Kolkata, September 2019, Vol 124. No. 09, p. 636.
The debate over the tainted history of Aurangzeb and his brutalities took an ugly turn as the Islamists lived upto their reputation and resorted to violence in Nagpur, targeting Hindu houses and vehicles. Though the law is taking its own course, however, it is high time that a strong message is sent out to the perpetrators of those committing such crimes. The history is well-documented by the courtiers of Aurangzeb about his mindset and actions. As per Islamic interpretation, a grave cannot be worshipped as it is Shirk – equating a dead person to that of Allah; not even the grave of ‘messenger’. Then, can the grave of Aurangzeb be a sacred place for Islamists? The rumour-mongering over the burning of a religious book was merely made an excuse when in actuality it was the effigy of Aurangzeb that was burnt. Then, why did Islamists choose Shivaji Jayanti to attack Hindu houses and burn vehicles?
Aurangzeb represents the ideology of iconoclasm and intolerance of the highest order as per the historical records. As the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath mentioned in his recent interview to Organiser, read Shah Jahan’s statement to understand the cruel character of his son. As per records, he halted the process of Muslim assimilation in Bharat, started by his brother Dara Shikoh, by killing him just because he translated Upanishads. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj represents the exact opposite of what Aurangzeb stood for. The legacy he created by establishing Hindavi Swarajya led to the downfall of the Mughal empire. The grave of Aurangzeb near Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar after twenty-seven years of his south expedition is a symbol of failure. The two options before us are the contrast of benevolence characterised by Shivaji Maharaj and bigotry represented by Aurangzeb. Irrespective of our religious faith, we should prefer benevolence over bigotry. Even for Bharatiya Muslims, Aurangzeb cannot be an icon as most of them and their ancestors have been the victims of his Islamist discriminatory policies reflected in his farmans.
The secular distorians, who eminently distorted the history to establish the fake narrative of Ganga-Jamuni Tahzeeb, tried their best to whitewash the crimes of Islamic invaders and their policies. From 2021 onwards, Owaisi of AIMIM initiated glorification of Aurangzeb by visiting his Mazar, supported by Samajwadi Party leader Abu Aazmi and newly converted secular sena of Uddhav Thackeray. The recent movie Chhaava exposed the real face of Aurangzeb, and showcased the supreme sacrifice of Chhatrapati Sambhaji for the sake of Dharma, which has rattled jihadists and secularists. The proposed Waqf Amendment Bill is going to end the non-transparent land-grabbing mechanism called Waqf Boards that are misusing the lands donated by poor Muslims to amass wealth. The protest regarding the same has already been initiated in Delhi by the self-authorised NGO for the entire Muslim community called All India Muslim Personal Law Board. They are the ones who wanted to test the waters before resorting to anti-CAA kind of protests, resulting in Delhi kind of riots. Nagpur was the first step in this regard.
By resorting to street violence and vandalism in the name of Alamgir of brutalities, Islamists have just proved that they are idolising the wrong icon. If Aurangzeb kind of mentality needs to be combatted then, we need to practice the policies of Shivaji Maharaj. Instead of emotionally responding to the jihadi moves, we need to raise the national consciousness of common people where right icons from all the communities are celebrated while taking strict action against the culprits who celebrate the wrong ones to promote vandalism. Eventually, Shivaji Maharaj and Hindavi Swarajya have to prevail if we have to build a model of coexistence on the line of acceptance; only then can these followers of false icons like Aurangzeb be rooted out.
