Protests erupt demanding removal of Aurangzeb's tomb in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar

India Today

Protests have erupted across Maharashtra demanding the removal of Aurangzeb's tomb in Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar.

Transcript

00:00From Nagpur to Pune to Amravati across Maharashtra, there have been protests this morning

00:04demanding the removal of Aurangzeb's tomb in Chhatrapati, Sambhaji Nagar.

00:08And the move is being backed by the Shiv Sena, but slammed by the opposition.

00:12Hindu groups are demanding, why is this tomb even standing of the Mughal ruler,

00:17who not only killed lakhs of Hindus, but those who did not convert were forced to pay a heavy Jizya tax.

00:23A ruling party, Shiv Sena, is backing BHP demands,

00:26claiming there is no sense in having such a tomb in Sambhaji Nagar.

00:29But also remember, what Udhav Sena has said is very interesting. Udhav Sena is saying,

00:33the tomb represents Shivaji's valour against Aurangzeb's,

00:37and therefore we can and should keep the tomb also.

00:40And the focus should be on real issues like inflation,

00:43unemployment, instead of removing the tomb becoming the big political labour.

00:48The Congress has labelled this protest by the BHP and the Bajrang Dal as jobless people

00:53who are on the ground, and that nothing really will be achieved by destroying the tomb of Aurangzeb.

01:00There is a demand in Maharashtra, that the tomb of Aurangzeb should be removed from Maharashtra.

01:05What is your opinion on this?

01:06I think the people of Maharashtra are right.

01:10The Mughal ruler who came to Maharashtra and destroyed the temples of our Gods and Goddesses,

01:15destroyed our women's power, which everyone knows.

01:21And the way he opposed the establishment of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj,

01:27and the way he killed Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj,

01:31I think this demand is right.

01:32No Mughal ruler, like Aurangzeb, should have any part in the land of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj or Sambhaji Maharaj.

01:43It is a pity that even today, when we are celebrating the birth of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj,

01:49Even today, there are some people in Maharashtra who want to do politics of exploitation.

01:56They have no knowledge about the contribution of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj to the security of Maharashtra and the country.

02:06There are some people who have no knowledge about the difference between Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and Aurangzeb.

02:13Maharashtrian friends, the Hindus of Maharashtra say that Aurangzeb's grave is in the sacred place of Maharashtra.

02:24But why? Why?

02:28This is a question that only the Hindus of Maharashtra can ask.

02:31But today, the Hindus of the whole of India are asking why Aurangzeb's grave is still standing.

02:40Why is it still standing?

02:41The Hindus of Maharashtra say that Aurangzeb's grave is in the sacred place of Maharashtra.

02:48Today, my only wish is to make India a Hindu state.

02:55History should remain as it is.

02:58But there are some new Hindus, new Mullahs, new people.

03:05What do they know about history?

03:07Someone is trying to kill them.

03:09Talk about inflation.

03:11Farmers are committing suicide.

03:13You should protest against them.

03:15What is the need to protest?

03:17The government belongs to Modi Ji, right?

03:19The government belongs to ISIS, right?

03:21And in Maharashtra, why should we protest?

03:25On top of that, issue an order and remove the grave.

03:29Who has stopped Bhadranvis and Modi Ji?

03:33No one has stopped them.

03:35Stop the drama of inflation.

03:37People are suffering a lot.

03:39In this country, there is no discussion on inflation.

03:41In this country, there is no discussion on the humiliation that America is forcing on us.

03:51In this country, there will be a discussion on things that happened 400 years ago.

03:53Discuss it today.

03:55They are not ready to discuss it today.

03:57Discuss it 100 years ago.

03:59We gave blood in the war of independence.

04:01We gave our lives in the war of independence.

04:07You tell me, where were you standing?

04:09You tell me, where were you standing?

04:11What were you doing?

04:13What kind of drama is this?

04:15This is a conspiracy to create hatred in the country.

04:19In this country, we should leave hatred and talk about love.

04:25What else do they have?

04:27They don't have any business.

04:29They can't even fry their own food.

04:33Before digging the grave of the Aurangzeb,

04:35Before digging the grave of the sins you have committed,

04:37Before digging the grave of the sins you have committed,

04:39I think they don't want to let the people of Maharashtra live in peace.

04:47I think they don't want to let the people of Maharashtra live in peace.

04:49They want to keep this state forever.

04:51This is what I see here.

04:53The Aurangzeb has been here for 27 years.

04:55And remember, it's not just among the leaders of different parties, it's the Chief Minister

05:10of the state, Devendra Fadnavis as well, who's backing the removal of Aurangzeb's dorm.

05:15Here's what he said earlier, and then again, re-to-reading it.

05:31India Today's Ritwik Bhalekar joins me on this big story.

05:34Ritwik, it's very interesting because when the Chief Minister starts saying it not once

05:37but twice, that's reflective of possibly if something can be expected on the ground.

05:42Tell me about the political showdown and the protests on the ground.

05:49Absolutely, right from the first day of the Maharashtra's budget session, we can see a

05:56showdown over Aurangzeb and the glorification which was done by Samajwadi Party leader and

06:02MLA Abu Azmi.

06:04Now the protest has gone to streets because Bajrang Dal and VHP have started protesting

06:12all across the state demanding that the tomb of Aurangzeb should be removed as early as

06:18possible or else they will be aggressive and they will do the car sewage just the way they

06:24did it while they marched towards Babri Masjid.

06:29But now, CM Devendra Fadnavis has categorically clarified that Archaeological Survey of India

06:36has given protection to the tomb and hence it needs to be seen that under the jurisdiction

06:44of ASI as well as in what terms and conditions this tomb could be removed because not just

06:53opposition but also all the MLAs from ruling alliance are also demanding the same and until

07:01the budget session will be going on, we are expecting some big decision on it during the

07:07Maharashtra's budget session.

07:08Alright, so budget session could be fiery then remember down the line with the local

07:14elections expected therefore in the state what could become the big election plan but

07:18meanwhile stay on with me Ritwik.

07:20The focus is the epicenter right now is the Aurangzeb tomb in Sambhaji Nagar.

07:25What is the situation looking like there?

07:27India Today team decided to go where the whole controversy right now is.

07:32Here's a report from the Aurangzeb tomb.

08:27in Sambhaji Nagar.

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