Mumbai, Mar 17 (PTI) The security was beefed up around the tomb of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district of Maharashtra amid threat by right-wing groups for its removal, with police mandating the visitor registration and asking tourists to provide identity documents.
Police have set up multiple security posts along the route from the entrance of Khultabad town to the site of the tomb, following the submission of a memorandum by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis asking for the removal of the grave.
The memorandum highlighted Aurangzeb’s controversial history, particularly his conflicts with the Marathas, and termed his tomb as the symbol of “pain and slavery” to justify its removal.
The VHP cited Aurangzeb’s role in the execution of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj, the son of Maratha warrior king Shivaji Maharaj, as well as his alleged destruction of temples in Kashi, Mathura, and Somnath.
The VHP held similar protests in Nagpur and suburban areas of Mumbai.
In response to these threats, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar police increased security presence, mandated visitor registration, requiring tourists to provide identity documents, and sign a visitors’ register.
An official said a State Reserve Police Force (SRPF) company of 50 policemen, 30 personnel from local police, and 20 Home Guard jawans, have been deployed at various points and the grave site.
Tourists visiting the tomb will have to write their names in a visitors register kept with a team of Home Guards and have to furnish identity documents, he said.
A State Reserve Police Force (SRPF) company, along with local police and Home Guards, are stationed at various points around the tomb.
Parvez Kabeer Ahmed, the tomb’s caretaker, said the visitor footfall decreased since the demands for demolition were made. He, however, added that the number of visitors is typically lower during the holy month of Ramzan.
“The situation here is peaceful, and people should not believe in rumours. Footfall of visitors has gone down after the demands to demolish the grave have come up. The footfall is usually low during Ramzan. Nearly 100 people visit daily, but the number has gone down since the issue was raised,” he said.
Fadnavis, while speaking about the controversy, said that while the government is obligated to protect the tomb as a protected historical site, it will not tolerate any attempts to glorify Aurangzeb’s legacy.
“It is unfortunate that the government has to take responsibility for the protection of Aurangzeb’s grave, despite his history of persecution.
“However, I assure you, if any attempt is made to glorify his legacy through ‘mahima mandan’ (glorification), it will not succeed,” Fadnavis said during a Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj birth anniversary event.
He said that only Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s legacy deserves glorification.
His statement followed controversial remarks by state Cabinet minister Nitesh Rane, who suggested a “Babri Masjid-type” action, calling on Hindutva outfits to do their duty while the government fulfils its responsibilities.
“The government will do its part while Hindutva outfits must do theirs. When Babri Masjid was being demolished, we did not sit and talk to each other. Our karsevaks did what was appropriate,” Rane said in Pune while addressing a gathering at Shivaji Maharaj’s birthplace, Shivneri fort, in Pune district on the occasion of his birth anniversary.
Rane also denounced attempts to label Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj as a “secular king”.
“We must continuously emphasise that Shivaji Maharaj was the founder of Hindvi Swarajya. This identity must be reiterated repeatedly so that the attempts of certain groups to portray him as a secular king, can be thwarted (by us) as true devotees of Shivaji Maharaj,” he said.
Earlier in the day, VHP’s regional secretary (Maharashtra and Goa), Govind Shende, said the organisation has launched its agitation against Aurangzeb and his tomb.
“If needed, we will march to Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and do ‘kar seva’ (mass movement). Our karyakartas (activists) will remove the grave and throw it in the sea. However, before that, we request the government to work towards removing that grave from the district,” he said. PTI AW CLS SPK COR ARU GK SKL NSK
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