It’s a sign of regression that the grave of a 17th century ruler is gobbling up an inordinate amount of political oxygen in 21st century India. But it’s a serious problem when a proposal to relocate it is rupturing communal harmony and triggering violence. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis added fuel to fire last week when he proclaimed merit in BJP MP Udayanraje Bhosale’s demand to remove Aurangzeb’s grave from the small town of Khuldabad, not far from the Ellora caves. Resentment had built up after the release of a film fictionalising the travails of Shivaji’s son Shambhaji at the hands of the Mughal emperor. The latest political moves led to violence in the nearby Shambhaji Nagar (earlier Aurangabad) and Nagpur almost 500 km away.
There may be reasons to keep a dark cloud of judgement hanging over the Mughal’s reign. But there are also two big lessons from history that should deter us from acting on it. First, not far from Aurangzeb’s unpaved grave is the brownstone mausoleum of Malik Ambar, the Ethiopian-origin Muslim general of Ahmednagar sultanate who mentored Shivaji’s grandfather Maloji and set off the Bhosale clan’s glorious saga. Second, historians have shown that the Mughal emperor showed more religiosity to draw a contrast with others as his failures mounted—including on the battlefield against the Marathas’ Muslim commanders and the Muslim rulers of Bijapur and Golconda. Today’s rulers would do well to avoid the crutch of piety and answer more consequential questions such as why Kailash Arjun Nagare, winner of a young farmer award in Maharashtra, died by suicide last week after complaining about a lack of irrigated water.
Let Aurangzeb lie in a corner of his spiritual master Zainuddin Shirazi’s courtyard. The emperor’s remains must have gone back to the elements long ago. The bit of stone and lattice installed around the grave centuries later by a Hyderabadi nizam and a British viceroy would be all that can be physically removed. A plaque in the corner says the grave cost Aurangzeb 14 and three-fourths rupees, which he paid for by sewing caps. Its ‘relocation’ now would cost Indian taxpayers an enormous sum, not to speak of the violence it has and still can cause. It’s definitely not worth the cost.