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Renaming Aurangzeb Road as APJ Abdul Kalam Road, A Correct decision or a Wrong move ?
Do You Know Aurangzeb ?
To pay its tribute to a worthy man of our ages, the Government of Delhi has substituted the name of New Delhi’s prestigeous and India’s Capital’s costliest street from Aurangzeb Road to APJ Kalam Road has seen so much flurry of activities, for and against the decision, it seems imminent to evaluate the credentials of the Mughal ruler. Does he deserved to be remembered?
Born in the year 1618, Abu Muzaffar Muhi-Uddin Aurangzeb was one of the six children of Shah Jahan, the great emperor, who was proponent of tolerance to all the religions and whom we rever unquestionably. Besides, the architect of Taj Mahal, he was known as kind-hearted and the ruler who believe in equality, justice, and similar opportunities to all, irrespective of caste, creed and religion. Unlike his father Aurangzed or Alamgir, a title bestowed to him was an expansionist, a conspirator, a cruel ruler and intolerant person, who reigned the kingdom with iron hand for almost five decades, till his death in 1707.
A few of his (mis)achievements are:
- Killed his elder brother Dara Shikoh to become King.
- Fought a number of unnecessary wars, where thousands of people got killed and orphaned, crores of rupees wasted and lot of loss to public exchequer was done.
- Erected mosque on a place of worship. Built only mosques.
- Imprisioned his father Shah Jahan to life alongwith other religious leaders.
- Demolition of a number of hindu temple and other places of worship.
- Hanged Muslim Sufi Sarmad Kashani as well as ninth Sikh guru, Guru Teg Bahadur.
The most cowardly and intolerant act of Aurangzeb was the building of Shahi Eidgah Mosque in the spiritual city of Mathura and that too on the debris of ancient Govind Dev Temple. It is said that Aurangzeb reached Mathura in person to supervise the demolition of the Hindu structure and construction of the Shahi Mosque. The idols and jewels of the shrine were taken by the King and his army , an act which brew a feeling of rebellion amongst the Hindus.
Throughout his rule, Aurangzeb was engaged in warfare, from Bijapur to far-off Ladakh. He encouraged everything associated with the Islamic tradition and culture and discouraged other forms of art. He was hardly interested in architecture. Unlike his father he hates magnificient buildings, palaces and forts. Yet, he was very particular that the mosques remain in good shapes and used to provided regular financial assistance for their better upkeep. Besides Shahi Eidgah Mosque of Mathura, Aurangzeb is credited with construction of Moti masjid in Red Fort of Agra, at Benaras and Srinagar.
Historians say that the only sector which flourished during his rule was the textile industry of the country.
The credentials of our beloved former President APJ Kalam in comparison to the ruler who let loose his reign of terror for 49 years, needs not be emphasised and he stands taller in every sense. So why such controversy ? Remembering a towering personality of the modern times who always remained a champion of world peace, stood for the welfare of downtrodden and had been the pioneer of space technology than forgetting a ruler for his dreadful doings is really appreciable.
Whats your perspective on this ongoing controversy in Delhi ? Do leave you comments below.
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