Aurangzeb, often described as the “last effective Mughal emperor” ruled India for nearly 50 years from 1658 to 1707 – but he was never a favourite in the eyes of historians.
For a start – he came to the throne after imprisoning his father and having his older brother killed.
And in comparison with other Mughal rulers, he fared badly – his great-grandfather Akbar was described as the benign secular ruler, grandfather Jahangir was known for his love for art and architecture and father Shah Jahan was the great romantic who built the Taj Mahal.
But Aurangzeb, the sixth emperor and a devout Muslim, was often described as a ruthless tyrant who was an expansionist, imposed tough Sharia laws and brought back the discriminatory jizya tax that Hindu residents had to pay in return for protection.
He was also described as someone who hated music and other fine arts, and ordered the destruction of several temples.
All that happened hundreds of years ago – but the hate he’s been getting recently has been unprecedented.
It started when the dispute over the Gyanvapi mosque began bubbling in the holy city of Varanasi – the mosque is built on the ruins of the Vishwanath temple, a grand 16th Century Hindu shrine destroyed in 1669 on Aurangzeb’s orders. Now, his name is trending on social media with thousands of disparaging references, can be found in court files and has been invoked by India’s present-day Hindu nationalist rulers.
In December, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke about “Aurangzeb’s atrocities, his terror” at an event in Varanasi. “He tried to change civilisation by the sword. He tried to crush culture with fanaticism,” Mr Modi said.
He mentioned the Mughal ruler’s name again last month – speaking on the occasion of the 400th birth anniversary of Sikh Guru Tegh Bahadur who was beheaded for refusing to convert to Islam.
“Even though Aurangzeb severed many heads, he could not shake our faith”, Mr Modi said.
His comments seemed to baffle a Canadian-American journalist who asked on Twitter why the Indian Prime Minister was “giving a long speech attacking a Mughal emperor who died 300+ years ago”?
