The Sangh parivar and Hindutva warriors have discovered a rich vein of causes, one that could keep them in business for years. There is no end to the communal campaigns they could run, with its combination of hate-mongering, bigotry and of course violence.
The demands to demolish the grave of Aurangzeb, and the violence in Nagpur that has followed, are the latest in the campaign to go after the Mughals. One by one, each structure associated with the Mughals will be targeted and this can go on for ever. Such is the all pervasive presence of that dynasty, it should keep the Hindutva crew fully preoccupied, with no time to think about issues like unemployment or a faltering economy.
The Sanghis have always harboured particular hatred for the Mughals for their long, extended rule over India and the impact that rule has had, on culture, architecture, language, aesthetics and of course food. There is nothing that the Mughals did not touch, for better or for worse. In some ways, they had a greater influence on the India of today than even the British colonialists.
It is also important to note that the Mughals may have come from ‘outside’ Hindustan but settled down here and are therefore as Indian as anyone else. In fact, it is the British who came, exploited and left. From Babur onwards, the Mughals stayed, marrying into other families from within the land, even across religions.
Sanghis do not harbour the same antipathy towards the British
The BJP and Sangh do not see it that way. They see the Mughals only as invaders and more importantly, Muslim invaders. (For some reason the Sanghis do not harbour the same antipathy towards the British, both the East India Company and the Crown.) Worse, they see the Muslims of India not just as descendants of the Mughals but responsible for all the sins of those rulers, including, allegedly, the persecution of Hindus.
So they have begun targeting sites connected with the dynasty. The first one they went after was the Babri Masjid, a mosque built in the 16th century by a general in Babur’s army. L K Advani whipped up such a frenzy that his Yatra across India left behind a bloodbath and eventually ended with the demolition of the masjid by pick-axe wielding young men. More violence followed in Bombay in 1992-93. Over 900 people, mainly Muslims, died – and that’s the official figure – and soon after, the Shiv Sena and the BJP came to power in the state for the first time. Bombay, and India, have never been the same ever since.
Also Read: Mahatma Gandhi Was the First Victim of Hindutva
Now, more than 33 years later, the Sangh parivar has chosen to go after Aurangzeb, the last significant Mughal. For Maharashtrians, Aurangzeb is a much reviled figure and stories of how Shivaji Maharaj outwitted him are taught to school children. In 2022, after an AIMIM leader visited the tomb, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena asked for the grave to be demolished. Aurangzeb’s legacy was also a flashpoint during the ‘80s when the Shiv Sena wanted Aurangabad to be renamed. But by and large, the matter has not been a major issue in Maharashtra.
That has not stopped the Sangh parivar from creating this bogey. And when the Hindutva groups raise any such outcry, it is almost always accompanied by violence – that is the only language they know to speak.
The immediate trigger for the latest bout of manufactured outrage and its ensuing violence is the film Chhaava, which is about Shivaji’s son, Sambhaji, shown as a brave man who was captured by Aurangzeb’s men. The Maratha warrior withstands brutal torture and is finally executed.
As per the film, all Muslims under the command of Aurangzeb’s general are cruel, torturers and rapists while Sambhaji and his men are valorous and brave. All this is shown with broad strokes, with loud declamations and speeches and louder sound effects.
There is no sub-text in the film’s story and treatment – no one can miss the message of it being a fight among Hindus and Muslims and there have been reports of people coming out all fired up. Hindu organisations have used the film to talk about Aurangzeb’s cruelty to Hindus and demanded that his grave be uprooted.
The Maharashtra government, dominated by the BJP, added fuel to the fire. Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said that he believed that the grave, which is in Chattrapati Sambhaji Nagar, should be removed, but lamented the fact that it was an ASI protected monument and could only done by following the law. Fisheries Minister Nitesh Rane openly called for its destruction.
The Sangh parivar’s plan to intimidate Muslims
These are incendiary and provocative remarks by any standards and after that, violence broke out in Fadnavis’s hometown Nagpur, where the RSS has its headquarters. Fadnavis has said Chhaava had “brought public anger to the fore”, but it is not difficult to connect the dots. He has also not pulled up Rane. Fadnavis may want to hunt with the hounds and run with the hare, but no one is fooled.
The irony is that the ‘grave’ of Aurangzeb is a very modest affair. In keeping with his wishes, he was buried in an unmarked grave within the Chishti Sufi shrine of Zaynuddin Shirazi in Khultabad in Aurangabad (now called Sambhaji nagar). The marble structure around it was built by a Nizam in the 20th century.
What do the mobs want to do? The best they can is to trample on the grave and destroy the marble structure. It will make good media copy and television optics. It won’t achieve anything for the general public but since when has that mattered.
Of course, the Sanghis have a bigger plan. They want to intimidate the Muslims and after this, will undoubtedly come up with another target -another mosque, another structure, another Mughal. Akbar the Great and Shah Jahan, probably. Will they then demand that the iconic film Mughal-e-Azam be banned or that the Taj Mahal be brought down? Suddenly, nothing seems improbable any more.
