RSS leader Suresh Joshi.
Credit: X/SureshBJoshi
Mumbai: Amid the volatile political issue in Maharashtra over demands by various Right-wing groups insisting on razing the grave of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, top RSS leader Suresh Bhaiyyaji Joshi said that the issue is being raised unnecessarily.
Joshi is the second RSS top functionary to have spoken against the demand of razing the grave.
Aurangzeb’s grave is in the Khuldabad area of Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district, earlier known as Aurangabad.
“The issue of Aurangzeb's tomb has been raised unnecessarily…he died there and hence his grave is here…those who would have faith will go there,” Joshi, the former RSS general secretary, told reporters.
“We also have (the example) of (legendary Maratha warrior) Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj…he had built the tomb of Afzal Khan. This is a symbol of India’s generosity and inclusiveness…those who want to go will go (there),” Joshi told reporters in Nagpur.
Earlier this month, coinciding with the Akhil Bharatiya Pratinidhi Sabha (ABPS), the RSS’ highest decision-making body, senior leader and national publicity head Sunil Ambekar had said that the issue was not relevant. “I think (Aurangzeb) is not relevant,” he told reporters.
Meanwhile, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who is also the state’s Home Minister, said that the tomb cannot be removed, however, reiterated that the glorification of the Mughal emperor would not be tolerated.
“Whether one likes it or not, the fact is that Aurangzeb’s tomb comes under the ASI’s (Archaeological Survey of India) protected monument category. But, we will not allow the glorification of Aurangzeb at any cost,” Fadnavis told reporters in Nagpur.
On Sunday, during the Gudi Padwa rally at the Shivaji Park in Mumbai, MNS founder-President Raj Thackeray disapproved of the politics over Aurangzeb’s tomb and advised that history cannot be learnt on WhatsApp.
“The tomb, in fact, depicts how the Mughal emperor, despite a mighty army, failed and was finally buried in the land of Maharashtra,” he said.