Aurangzeb's tomb in Khuldabad, Maharashtra.
Credit: Mrityunjay Bose
Mumbai: Amid the controversy involving the demand to raze the grave of Aurangzeb, the Maharashtra government now also intends to rename the town where the Mughal emperor is buried from Khuldabad to Ratnapur.
Khuldabad (also spelled as Khultabad) is tehsil-town located in the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district.
It is around 30 kms away from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar city, the headquarters of the Marathwada region.
In 1653, Aurangzeb renamed the city as Aurangabad (previously known as Deogiri, Daulatabad, Khirki/Khadki at different periods of time) and made it the capital of the Deccan region of the Mughal Empire.
In 2022, the Aurangabad city and district was renamed as Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar in honour of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj, the elder son of iconic Maratha warrior-king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.
After Aurangzeb died, he was laid to rest in Khuldabad, the Valley of Saints or the Abode of Eternity as several Sufi saints started living here in the 14th century.
The Ellora Caves, an UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Grishneshwar Temple, one of the Jyotirlingas and the majestic fort of Daulatabad (Deogiri) is located in the vicinity of Khuldabad.
State Social Justice Minister Sanjay Shirsat, who is the guardian minister of Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district, told reporters that Khuldabad would be renamed as Ratnapur.
“Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar was known as Khadki in the past, but was renamed Aurangabad. Similarly Khuldabad was known as Ratnapur in the past, which was changed by Aurangzeb,” said Shirsat, a leader of Shiv Sena led by Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.
"We are in the process of renaming all such places, the names of which were changed by Aurangzeb,” he said.
According to him, the government has also received proposals for memorials of Shivaji Maharaj and Sambhaji Maharaj, which would be considered positively.