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*New Delhi: *BJP Member of Parliament Maheish Girri today dubbed Mughalruler Aurangzeb a “terrorist” and hailed his brother Dara Shikoh as ascholar, who espoused “syncretic values”, and pitched for building greaterawareness about his life.
The MP from East Delhi was interacting with reporters on the side-lines ofthe inauguration of twin events- a conference ‘Aurangzeb & Dara Shukoh: ATale of Two Brothers’ and an exhibition, titled, ‘Dara Shukoh, theForgotten Prince of Islam’ at the IGNCA here. Dara Shikoh was also known asDara Shukoh.
“Aurangzeb was a terrorist, in today’s parlance… the punishment that heshould have got he did not get, but at least, the road named after him, hasbeen changed,” he told reporters.
Aurangzeb Road in Lutyens’ Delhi was rechristened Dr APJ Kalam Road in2015. Mr Girri had sent a proposal to the Centre for renaming the streetafter the former president.
Muslim groups had objected to the New Delhi Municipal Council’s decision torename Aurangzeb Road, terming it a “deliberate” move that is “likely toset the trend of rechristening other cities/streets distorting history”.
Earlier, addressing a gathering at the launch of the events, he said, “Iused to feel extreme pain whenever I saw that signage of a road bearing thename of a cruel ruler. I felt it was against the idea of India and not inthe interest of the country. So, I went after it (renaming).”
“I also faced obstacles and received threats from people, but I wentahead,” he said.
The Lok Sabha member hailed the qualities of the Mughal emperor’s brotherDara Shukoh, and said his life and times, and the values he stood for,should be taught simultaneously, while telling the story of Aurangzeb.
“When it comes to Dara, history has not been told or portrayed, the way itshould have been. He stood for the true values of Islam unlike his brother,who was cruel and oppressed people,” Mr Girri told reporters.
Dara Shukoh was the eldest son of Mughal emperor Shah Jahan, who his heirapparent. Aurangzeb got him killed in 1659.
“In schools, when you teach Aurangzeb, you must also teach about hisbrother. It will not only present a balanced perspective, but also helppeople judge the two as to who was good and was bad. If you just showAurangzeb, that teaching of history is also wrong,” Mr Girri said.
Former Speaker of Iranian Parliament Gholam Ali Haddad- Adel also hailedShukoh as a “miracle of India”.
“Instead of contemplating wars and bloodshed to expand the Mughal empire,Shukoh engaged in dialogue with people of different faiths and producedscholarly works. He promoted peace and co-existence,” he said.
Later, on the sidelines, Mr Adel said, “The world needs to focus more onDara Shukoh than Aurangzeb”.
Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu, who was scheduled to inaugurate the twoevents, was not present because of his preoccupation with Parliament. Thevice president is also the chairman of the Rajya Sabha.
The exhibition of nearly 30 paintings by contemporary artists in Mughalstyle, depicting the life of Dara Shukoh, hosted at the Indira GandhiNational Centre for the Arts (IGNCA), will end on Sunday. PTI