New Delhi:
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis today supported the call to remove the grave of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb from Khulbad in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district. However, he said that this is to be done through the law, as the previous Congress government had protected the tomb by handing it over to the Indian Archaeological Society or ASI.
The Chief Minister said, “We all want the same thing, but you need to do it within the structure of the law, as it is a protected site. The site was placed under the security of ASI during the Congress rule a few years ago,” the Chief Minister said.
Recently, the descendants of Maratha king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, BJP Satra MP Udayanraj Bhosle had demanded that the tomb be surprised.
“What is needed … send a JCB machine and provoked his grave … he was a thief and looter (robber),” he said.
He said, “Those who visit Aurangzeb’s mausoleum and pay homage may be their future. They should take that tomb to their homes, but Aurangzeb’s glory will no longer be tolerated,” he said.
“Strict action” should be taken against those who “Shahji Chhatrapati Maharaj, Rajmata Jijau Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj make a wrong statement,” he said, who was recently seen as an excavation in Ingwadi Party Mla Abu Azmi.
On March 4, BJP leader Navneet Rana also demanded the demolition of Aurangzeb’s tomb. The former BJP MP said, “I want to request the Maharashtra government that the way Aurangabad was changed and after our Lord Sambhaji Maharaj, Aurangzeb’s grave should also be demolished.”
Controversy over Abu Azmi’s comments
Last week, Abu Azmi was suspended from the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly by the end of the budget session, praising Aurangzeb. Calling the Mughal emperor a great administrator, Mr. Azmi had said that he was wrongly depicted in history.
He said, “Aurangzeb built many temples. I do not consider Aurangzeb a cruel administrator. Also, the fight between Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj and Aurangzeb was a fight for the state administration. This fight was not about Hindus and Muslims anywhere.”
He said that during Aurangzeb’s time, India’s border increased to Afghanistan. “At that time, our GDP was 24 percent … India was called Son Ki Chidiya,” he claimed.
But his comment is coming amidst strong emotions by Vicky Kaushal-Abhinit ‘Chhawa’, which depicted Sambhaji Maharaj’s torture, criticized on a large scale. Police cases were filed against him and later with withdrawal of comments, Chief Minister Fadnavis said he would “put 100 percent in jail”.
Tomb
Aurangzeb, who died in the age of 87 in 1707, is buried 25 km from Aurangabad in Khuldabad, where his wife’s tomb, ‘Bibi Ka Tomb’ is located.
In his will, Aurangzeb expressed his wish to be buried in Khuladabad, where his guru, Sufi saint Syed Zainuddin, was buried. The tomb is within the premises of Syed Zainuddin. He also directed that he be buried in a simple, open air.
Later, the Nizam of Hyderabad installed a marble grill around the tomb at the request of the then Viceroy Lord Curzon of India.
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