NEW DELHI: Maharashtra Navanirman Sena (MNS) Chief Raj Thakeray on Sunday condemned efforts to move Community tensions on The aungzeb tomb and urged people to refer to books to learn history and not WhatsApp.
“We do not want the world to know that these people sought to destroy the marathas, but were eliminated. Stop reading the story on WhatsApp and rather deepen the history books,” he said, addressing his annual Gudhi Padwa rally in Mumbai.
Referring to the recently launched Chhaava movie, he asked: “We have forgotten the real problems of the current era. Hindus who feel awake after a movie are of no use. Did you learn about the sacrifice of Sambhaji Maharaj due to Vicky Kaushal and About Aungzeb due to Akshaye Khanna”?
Thakeray said Afzal Khan, Bijapur general, was buried near Pratapgad Fort with the permission of Shivaji Maharaj, highlighting the historical context. His comments come in the middle of the right -wing demands to eliminate Aurangzeb’s tomb in the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district, a problem that recently caused violent protests in Nagpur.
He pointed out that Aurengzeb was born in Dahod, Gujarat, and criticized those who manipulate history to obtain political profits. Emphasizing that a nation cannot progress solely in religion, cited Turkey as an example of successful reform and modernization.
The controversy was activated when Maharashtra Minister Shambhuraj Desai announced that his ruler Shiv Sena had urged the union government to revoke the status of ‘protected’ monument of the tomb of Aurengzeb in Khultabad, Chhatrapati Sambhajinar district.