As calls for the removal of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb’s grave intensify, the police administration has stepped up security, making it mandatory for visitors to furnish their identity cards before entering the site in Maharashtra’s Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district, an official said on Monday.
The Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal staged a demonstration in Maharashtra’s Nagpur demanding the removal of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb’s grave in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar.
The VHP submitted memorandums at several government offices for the removal of Aurangzeb’s grave in Khuldabad. Activists of the right-wing organisations gathered at the statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in the Mahal area, raised slogans and burnt an effigy of Aurangzeb.
Aurangzeb is remembered in Maharashtra for his battles with the Marathas, who resisted his expansionist ambitions. Maratha warrior king Shivaji Maharaj’s son, Sambhaji, was captured, tortured, and executed on his orders.
The Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar rural police department has implemented multiple security posts from the entry point to Khuldabad town to the grave site.
An official said a State Reserve Police Force (SRPF) company of 50 policemen, 30 personnel from local police and 20 Home Guards have been deployed at various points and the grave site.
Tourists visiting the grave now have to write their names in a visitors register kept with a team of Home Guards and have to furnish identity documents, he said.
Parvez Kabeer Ahmed, the caretaker of the grave, said, “The situation here is peaceful, and people should not believe in rumours. Footfall of visitors has gone down after the demands to demolish the grave have come up. The footfall is usually low during Ramzan. Nearly 100 people visit daily, but the number has gone down since the issue was raised.”
The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) staged protests at government offices in different parts of Maharashtra and submitted memorandums for the removal of Aurangzeb’s grave.
In the memorandum addressed to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, the VHP stated that Aurangzeb had killed two sons of Sikh guru Guru Gobind Singh because they refused to convert, tortured and killed Maratha warrior king Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj and demolished temples in Kashi, Mathura, Somnath.
“Any memorial of Aurangzeb is a symbol of pain and slavery, so the grave should be demolished completely,” it said.
In case of government inaction, the VHP warned that it would march to Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district and demolish the grave.
The right-wing organisation held similar agitations in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Nagpur and suburban areas of Mumbai.
Speaking at the inauguration of a temple dedicated to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in Thane district Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis addressed the ongoing debate over historical monuments in Maharashtra, particularly demands from right-wing outfits to remove Mughal emperor Aurangzeb’s tomb in Khuldabad, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district.
CM Fadnavis stated that the government is obligated to protect it only because it is declared a protected site and its preservation is a matter of historical record rather than reverence. He said only the temple of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj deserves “mahima mandan” (glorification) and not the tomb of Aurangzeb.
“It is unfortunate that the government has to take responsibility for the protection of Aurangzeb’s grave, despite his history of persecution. However, I assure you, if any attempt is made to glorify his legacy through ‘mahima mandan’, it will not succeed,” he added.
