Today, entire Nagpur in Maharashtra is under curfew. RSS headquarters is in this Nagpur, where the tricolor was not hoisted for years. Those who dared to enter this headquarters and hoist the tricolor had to face litigation. Guidelines to BJP are also issued from here, because BJP is not an independent political party, but is only the political arm of RSS. Earlier, the Sanghi gang used to feel shy in accepting this fact. But in the last decade, the political environment has changed so much that BJP openly accepts Sangh as its parent organization. Sangh also openly works to make BJP win. The internal relations between the two are now public and the game of hide and seek is over.
The Sangh is going to celebrate the centenary of its foundation in a few months this year. Its goal in this centenary year is to make/declare India a Hindu nation. However, despite all its misdeeds, this dream of its is not going to be fulfilled. This is the first time that the Sanghi gang has occupied the top positions of all constitutional institutions including the Prime Minister, President and Vice President posts and it is misusing this power and its ability to control the administration to paralyze the Constitution and weaken the constitutional values. Even after this, its dream of a Hindu nation is a distant thing, because the roots of secularism in India are very deep. However, the work of weakening its roots is being done continuously by spreading hatred and tension and through communal propaganda.
Now Aurangzeb is being used as a weapon for this purpose. The Sanghi gang is an expert in communally interpreting selected events of the Mughal period by sidelining facts and realities. It uses history only to communally polarize present India. In this effort, it presents Shivaji Maharaj as a Hindu hero and Aurangzeb as a Muslim villain. But its communal interpretation of the history of the Aurangzeb period was strengthened by a propaganda film called “Chhava”, whose writer Shivaji Sawant’s Hindutva viewpoint is not hidden from anyone. After watching this film, the agitated audience attacked the lives and property of the Muslim community without any reason and the administration remained inactive or rather, it was ordered to remain inactive. Then there was a demand to excavate Aurangzeb’s grave, the effigy of the dead king of the 17th century is burnt in the 21st century and in this way, riots and tension are organized in a planned manner, the concrete form of which is being seen in Nagpur under the patronage of the Sanghi gang. The right kind of environment is being created to excavate Aurangzeb’s grave, the kind of environment that was created for the demolition of Babri Masjid. Be it a mosque or a grave, or a dargah-mazar, the real thing is that the Sangh-BJP’s objective is fulfilled. For this task, they have deployed all their Hindutva armies in the entire country. These armies call their destructive work nationalism and in the BJP rule, these armies are handling the law and order, the police is just their ally.
Aurangzeb’s army and administration included a large number of Hindu officials. Raja Jai Singh I, Raja Jaswant Singh and Raja Raghunath Das were part of his regime. He employed many Maratha chieftains and Hindu warriors in his many campaigns, including the war with Shivaji. His wars with Shivaji and the Marathas were motivated not by religious animosity but by territorial control. Aurangzeb donated land and money to many Hindu temples, including assistance to the priests of the Mahakaleshwar temple in Ujjain and the Vishwanath temple in Banaras. It was during his reign that Jain temples were patronised in the Shatrunjaya hills in Gujarat. He upheld legal pluralism, i.e. Hindus were governed by their own religious laws and Muslim laws were applied to Muslims. He did not apply Sharia to non-Muslims in civil matters. Aurangzeb also showed administrative strictness by dismissing many corrupt officials, regardless of their religion.
During his reign, the Jaziya tax was introduced on non-Muslims in 1679, but it did not apply to Brahmins, women, children and the poor, and Hindus in his army and administration were exempted from it. Similarly, he imposed Zakat (Islamic tax) on Muslims. But these taxes were not the primary source of revenue. Land revenue was the primary tax, which was levied equally on all, regardless of their religion.
Aurangzeb’s rule was driven by political pragmatism as well as military and personal ambitions. Aurangzeb is a symbol of feudal rule, not democratic rule. He demolished the Kashi Vishwanath and Keshav Dev temples because their patrons had rebelled against Aurangzeb and it was a political necessity. All Mughal emperors had taken similar actions and at that time it was neither considered religious fanaticism nor religious intolerance. Due to his strict interpretation of Islam, he banned music in his court, but it is also true that dance and music art developed unprecedentedly during the Mughal period. Unlike other Mughal rulers, Aurangzeb lived a simple life and refused to use state money for personal expenses.
This is the truth of history about Aurangzeb. The Sanghi gang picks up some selected things from these and interprets them in such a way that it works for their Hindutva. This is called distortion of history. Due to this distortion, even after 300 years of Mughal rule, after India got political independence from the British and after the establishment of a secular nation, today it is presenting Hindus as oppressed and Muslims as oppressors.
During this period, all those who have presented a proper, balanced and historical assessment of Aurangzeb’s rule, the Sanghi gang has accused them of being anti-national and taking the side of Muslims and is trying to frame false cases against them. To deny the truth of history, it is using its power to oppress the common people. But even at this risk, we would like to say : We will say, yes we will say, Aurangzeb’s rule was secular, which India is proud of! Shivaji Maharaj was secular, which India is proud of. Neither Aurangzeb was communal, nor Shivaji was fanatic. Both of these were parts of the Hindustani tehzeeb developed in this country. It cannot be explained without Aurangzeb and Shivaji.
Sanjay Parate is the Vice President of Chhattisgarh Kisan Sabha, affiliated to All India Kisan Sabha.
