New Delhi: Mughal emperor Aurangzeb has temporarily united warring alliance partners, the Shiv Sena and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), in Maharashtra. Deputy CM Eknath Shinde, earlier focused on holding his ground with CM Devendra Fadnavis, this week shifted his focus to Maratha sentiments, taking the lead in demanding sedition charges against Samajwadi Party leader Abu Azmi for praising Aurangzeb.
Contrastingly, in Bihar, another state ruled by the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), the controversy has had the opposite effect, dividing the alliance partners, the BJP and the Janata Dal (United).
While criticising Chhava, a Bollywood drama revolving around Maratha king Shivaji’s son Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj resisting Aurangzeb’s forces, SP MLA Abu Azmi Monday said: “Wrong history is being shown in Chaava … Aurangzeb built several temples … I do not think he was a cruel administrator.”
Responding, Eknath Shinde Tuesday said, “The world knows what kind of ruler Aurangzeb was. He was cruel, and no matter how many statements Abu Azmi makes, he cannot change history. The bravery and valour of the Marathas define history.”
Taking his line, the Shiv Sena Tuesday protested outside the state assembly, and BJP leader Chandrakant Patil moved a motion to suspend Azmi from the House. The entire NDA rallied together to condemn Azmi.
In the assembly Tuesday, the ruling alliance came down heavily on Azmi while the Opposition in Maharashtra was focusing on pushing for the resignation of the Nationalist Congress Party’s Dhananjay Munde over the murder of Sanjay Deshmukh, the BJP sarpanch of Massajog village in the Beed district.
Munde Wednesday stepped down as minister after his aide Walmik Karad’s arrest in the case. On the same day, Abu Azmi was suspended from the assembly over his remarks till March 26. A complaint is pending against him at the Marine Drive Police Station.
The SP MLA Tuesday said his words were twisted. “I have not made any derogatory comment about Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Sambhaji Maharaj or any other great men …,” Azmi wrote in an ‘X’ post. “… but still, if anyone has been hurt by my statement, then I take back my words, my statement.”
Since coming to power in 2014, the BJP has actively attacked Aurangzeb’s legacy, aiming to influence Maratha sentiments in Maharashtra. Through this, the BJP also seeks to bring together the Other Backward Classes and the Marathas against the backdrop of the Maratha reservation agitation dividing the communities.
At the Centre, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has frequently used the Aurangzeb narrative to consolidate BJP’s Hindutva base, even referencing the Mughal emperor during the 400th anniversary of Sikh Guru Teg Bahadur’s martyrdom in 2022. Modi has emphasised that despite Aurangzeb’s actions, people’s faith was unshaken and that Aurangzeb’s attempt to change civilisation by force would never succeed.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has also condemned Aurangzeb, saying, “These people consider Aurangzeb their ideal, but his father, Shah Jahan, cursed him in his biography, saying Hindus were better than Aurangzeb, who sacrificed his parents. No Muslim should name their son Aurangzeb, and such people should be expelled from the party.”
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How controversy played out in Bihar
In Bihar, a full-blown war of words erupted between the BJP and JD(U) Thursday, with a JD(U) legislative council member (MLC) supporting Azmi’s claim and a BJP MLC labelling him as a traitor.
With Bihar’s assembly election just months away, the BJP aims to consolidate Hindutva support by ramping up the Aurangzeb controversy. However, the JD(U) wants to avoid alienating the Muslim vote, aiming to prevent Bihar from becoming another BJP-ruled state such as Uttar Pradesh or Maharashtra.
JD(U) MLC Khalid Anwar Thursday declared Aurangzeb “not as cruel as many claim”. “It is unfortunate that academic discussions about Aurangzeb are taking place in the Parliament. A renowned historian has called Aurangzeb a good ruler and stated that he was not as cruel as often portrayed. It is an academic debate, not one for the Parliament or political gatherings. Propaganda about Aurangzeb should stop. A ruler is a ruler, and such discussions only divide society,” Anwar said.
Following Anwar’s remarks, BJP leaders attacked the JD(U) MLC.
BJP legislator Hari Bhushan Thakur demanded Anwar’s expulsion from the House and called for sending him to “Pakistan or Syria”. Calling Anwar’s statement “sedition”, Thakur further said, “Aurangzeb was a cruel ruler, who held his father hostage and beheaded his brothers. Praising such figures is treason.”
Thakur also advocated for the renaming of cities that have names reflecting the Mughal period—Aurangabad and Bakhtiyarpur—and giving them Hindu-centric names, Ram Nagar and Nitish Nagar, respectively.
Neeraj Bablu, a BJP minister in Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s cabinet, joined the chorus. “Everyone knows Aurangzeb was a looter. Those praising him should read history and face consequences,” Bablu said, condemning Anwar’s statement and demanding action against him.
However, the JD(U) has officially supported its MLC’s stand, with party spokesperson Neeraj Kumar saying that everyone has a right to speak his mind in a democracy and there is nothing wrong in it.
Aiming to influence Hindutva sentiments in the state, the BJP, as in Maharashtra, has been attacking Aurangzeb’s legacy in Bihar. The BJP’s Bihar strategy includes promoting Hindutva, Modi’s development agenda, and Nitish’s record while criticising, what it calls, Lalu Prasad Yadav’s “jungle raj”.
Many JD(U) leaders, however, argue that CM Nitish Kumar, known for promoting communal harmony, will not allow the BJP to sway the state with its Hindutva agenda. They say Nitish prefers to focus on development rather than divisive politics.
In Bihar, where Muslims make up 16% of the population, the debate over Aurangzeb remains politically charged. While not a unifying figure among Muslims, his name has become part of the political narrative for parties seeking Muslim support, including Rashtriya Janata Dal, JD(U), and All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM).
In the 2020 assembly elections in Bihar, RJD, relying on the Muslim-Yadav combination, fielded 17 Muslim candidates, of which eight won, while the AIMIM and Congress also secured Muslim seats. JD(U), on the other hand, fielded 11 Muslim candidates but failed to get any of them elected.
Nitish Kumar has consistently emphasised his support for the Muslim community, even though the Muslim vote did not significantly support JD(U) in 2020. The Bihar CM often reminds the Muslim community of his efforts to protect them during riots and his work for their welfare. He has also made it clear in NDA meetings that, regardless of how Muslims vote, he will continue supporting them.
Despite continuous attacks on Nitish Kumar by RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, the Aurangzeb controversy has created an unexpected unity between the ruling JD(U) and the Opposition RJD. The RJD, which garnered significant Muslim support in 2020, has supported JD(U) MLC Anwar’s stance.
RJD leader Abdul Bari Siddiqui argued that history had to be understood in totality, not manipulated for political purposes. He noted that Aurangzeb, like other rulers, had good and bad qualities, highlighting his positive actions, such as saving a Brahmin girl and constructing temples. Siddiqui emphasised that the BJP uses Aurangzeb, Shah Jahan, and Akbar for political benefit.
JD(U) MLC Ghulam Gaus condemned the BJP stance, pointing out that those who handed out certificates of patriotism were British collaborators during India’s freedom struggle. He argued against distorting history for political purposes, adding that figures such as King Ashoka, who killed thousands, should also be scrutinised.
AIMIM, which secured five seats in the 2020 Bihar elections through Muslim support, defended Aurangzeb strongly. Bihar AIMIM President and MLA Akhtarul Iman described the Mughal emperor as a noble ruler who served India and treated temples and mosques equally. Aurangzeb, he added, earned a living by stitching caps and did not exploit taxpayers.
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)
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