On Sunday (11th January), historian and author Aabhas Maldahiyar took to X (formerly Twitter), narrating how his scheduled session at the Bhopal Lit Fest was cancelled.
Maldahiyar, who wrote the book ‘Babur: The Quest for Hindustan’, was scheduled to participate in the event. He stated that a newspaper by the name of Swadesh published defamatory reports targeting him and falsely claiming that he glorified the Mughal tyrant.
He further claimed that he received threats from certain organisations, including calls to vandalise bookstores and burn his book.
Maldahiyar expressed displeasure over the reaction of the Culture Ministry of Madhya Pradesh and that of the Director of Sahitya Akademi.
I had no option but to write this open letter to the Hon’ble Prime Minister, @narendramodi ji.
— Aabhas Maldahiyar 🇮🇳 (@Aabhas24) January 11, 2026
My scheduled session on my new book, Babur: The Quest for Hindustan, at the @bhopal_lit_fest 2026 was cancelled after the newspaper Swadesh published false and defamatory reports… pic.twitter.com/GnVWkkJNy6
“This raises serious concerns about the functioning and intellectual integrity of the Culture Ministry of Madhya Pradesh, where literary works are being judged without being read,” he tweeted.
“I openly challenge all those who objected to the session; including the individuals mentioned above and officials from the Office of the CM Madhya Pradesh to point out even a single page from my book where Babur is glorified. On the contrary, this work has previously been criticised by sections of the Left for being critical of Babur,” Maldahiyar pointed out.
The historian said that he intended to destroy the propaganda of “Bhopal Wasiyatnama,” which portrayed Mughal tyrant Babur as tolerant towards Hindus.
“By cancelling the session, these self-proclaimed guardians of the cause destroyed an opportunity to expose a major Marxist fabrication at the very place of its origin; Bhopal. Had they genuinely cared for historical truth, they would have challenged this forged document long ago. Instead, in the name of safeguarding sentiment, they actively sabotaged an effort rooted in scholarship,” he lamented.
Maldahiyar continued, “This book is also among the very few works that conclusively demonstrates, through primary sources, that the Timurids; incorrectly referred to as “Mughals”; never considered Hindustan their homeland and consistently viewed Samarkand as their true center.”
The historian has now appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for help.
He stated, “I sincerely hope that you will take note of this matter and ensure that individuals who dedicate their lives to the study of history and civilization; often while pursuing demanding professions alongside, as I do in architecture; are not obstructed by those who contribute little beyond noise and disruption, and who create barriers instead of advancing the cause they claim to defend.”
