BJP MP Maheish Girri, on Friday, described Aurangzeb as a ‘terrorist’ and hailed his brother, Dara Shikoh. Girri was speaking on the sidelines of the inauguration of twin events- a conference ‘Aurangzeb & Dara Shikoh: A Tale of Two Brothers’ and an exhibition, titled, ‘Dara Shikoh, the Forgotten Prince of Islam’ at the IGNCA in the national capital.
In 2015, Girri had sent the proposal to the Centre for renaming the Aurangzeb Road in Lutyens’ Delhi as Dr APJ Kalam Road in 2015 for which he received the Shivaji Award for Courage. While derided by an Indian Express journalist, Girri stood his ground unapologetically.
I deny this allegation. I didn’t compare him with a terrorist, I called him a terrorist. Sometimes truth needs to be told as it is. https://t.co/5uu0m1UiHr
— Maheish Girri (@MaheishGirri) February 10, 2018
Addressing a gathering at the launch of the events, he said he used to feel extreme pain whenever he saw the signage of the road bearing the name of a cruel ruler. He felt it was against the idea of India and not in the interest of the country. He pointed out how in school books, history does not mention Dara Shikoh, Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan’s elder son and heir apparent, whom Aurangzeb got killed in 1659.
In recent times, many have started hailing Aurangzeb as a noble leader as against the brutal, barbaric ruler that he was. However, the systematic whitewashing of Mughal crimes has been called out as well.
