Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis today backed the call for the removal of the tomb of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb from Khulabad in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district. He, however said this has to be done through the law, since the previous Congress government had protected the tomb by handing it over to the Archaeological Society of India or ASI.
“We all also want the same thing, but you need to do it within the framework of the law, because it is a protected site. The site was put under ASI’s protection during the Congress regime some years back,” the Chief Minister said.
Recently, the BJP’s Satara MP Udayanraje Bhosale, a descendant of Maratha king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, had demanded that the tomb be razed.
“What is the need… send a JCB machine and raze his grave… he was a thief and lootera (robber),” he said.
“Those who visit Aurangzeb’s tomb and pay homage may be his future. They should take that tomb to their own homes, but the glorification of Aurangzeb will not be tolerated anymore,” he said.
“Strict action” should be taken against those who give “wrong statements about Shahaji Chhatrapati Maharaj, Rajmata Jijau Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj,” he added, in what was seen as a dig at Samajwadi Party MLA Abu Azmi, who had recently praised Aurangzeb.
On March 4, BJP leader Navneet Rana also demanded the demolition of Aurangzeb’s grave. “I want to request Maharashtra government that the way Aurangabad’s name was changed and kept after our God Sambhaji Maharaj, Aurangzeb’s grave should also be demolished,” the former BJP MP asserted.
Controversy Over Abu Azmi’s Remarks
Last week, Abu Azmi was suspended from the Maharashtra legislative assembly till the end of the budget session over his remarks praising Aurangzeb. Calling the Mughal emperor a great administrator, Mr Azmi had said he was depicted wrongly in history.
“Aurangzeb built many temples. I do not consider Aurangzeb a cruel administrator. Also, the battle between Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj and Aurangzeb was a battle for state administration. That battle was not about Hindus and Muslims anywhere,” he added.
He said that during Aurangzeb’s time, India’s border extended to Afghanistan. “At that time, our GDP was 24 per cent… India was called Sone Ki Chidiya,” he claimed.
But his remarks, coming amid strong emotions stirred by the Vicky Kaushal-starrer ‘Chhaava’ that depicted the torture of Sambhaji Maharaj, had drawn massive criticism. Police cases were filed against him and despite his later withdrawal of the comment, Chief Minister Fadnavis had said he would be “100 per cent put in jail”.
The Tomb
Aurangzeb, who died in 1707 at the age of 87, is buried in Khuldabad, 25 kilometers from Aurangabad, where his wife’s tomb, ‘Bibi ka maqbara” is located.
In his will, Aurangzeb had expressed the wish that he be buried in Khuldabad, where his guru, Sufi saint Syed Zainuddin, is buried. The tomb lies within the complex of Syed Zainuddin. He also left instructions that he be buried in a simple, open-air tomb.
Later, the Nizam of Hyderabad installed a marble grill around the tomb at the request of Lord Curzon, the then Viceroy of India.