The Mughal emperor Aurangzeb’s tomb in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Maharashtra, has been demanded to be removed by the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal, who have threatened to repeat the “Babri-like” incident if the tomb is not removed. The Babri Masjid in Ayodhya was famously destroyed by the Karsevaks in 1992.
Security has been strengthened with a large police presence surrounding the tomb, and the organizations said that they would launch a countrywide protest to demand that Aurangzeb’s mausoleum be removed in Khuldabad at 11.30 am on Monday. They called on the Maharashtra government to tear down the tomb as soon as possible and threatened to use karseva to destroy it and start protests if nothing was done.
According to Sandesh Bhegde, Bajrang Dal regional coordinator Nitin Mahajan, and VHP regional head Kishore Chavan, Aurangzeb’s tomb was a reminder of horrors, slavery, and oppression.
In Maharashtra, protests were to take place outside the tehsildar and district collector offices. Additionally, the VHP declared that during the protests, a note written to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis would be delivered. Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena state minister Sanjay Shirsat supported the VHP and Bajrang Dal’s proposal, stating that his party was adamant that the mausoleum should be taken down. He asked why it was necessary to preserve the tomb of a ruler who was notorious for repressing his subjects.
However, NCP (SP) leader Jitendra Awhad criticized the action, questioning whether it was feasible to relate the Battle of Pratapgad without naming Afzal Khan or to recount the Ramayana without mentioning Ravana. To ensure that there was no untoward occurrence at the tomb of Aurangzeb, State Reserve Police Force men were stationed on the routes leading to Khuldabad.
The demonstration has since been called off. The incident was caused by Maharashtra Samajwadi Party MLA Abu Azmi’s praise of Aurangzeb, which resulted in his suspension from the state Assembly till March 26 and the filing of several formal complaints against him for allegedly offending people.
Azmi has previously stated that he did not consider the Mughal emperor of the 17th century to be a harsh, despotic, or intolerable leader. He asserted that movies today were presenting a skewed picture of Aurangzeb. His remarks were made a few weeks after the release of the Vicky Kaushal film Chhava, which is based on the lives and times of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj, a Maratha ruler from the 17th century who was tortured and murdered by Aurangzeb.
