MUMBAI: Maharashtra Navanirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray on Sunday slammed attempts to incite communal tension over Aurangzeb’s tomb and said history shouldn’t be viewed from the prism of caste and religion.
He also asked people not to rely on WhatsApp forwards for historical information.
Addressing his annual Gudi Padwa rally at Shivaji Park here, Thackeray said the Mughal ruler wanted to “kill a thought called Shivaji” but failed and died in Maharashtra. Afzal Khan, the Bijapur general, was buried near the Pratapgadh Fort and it couldn’t have been done without Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s permission, he said.
Thackeray’s comments came amid demands by right-wing outfits for the removal of Aurangzeb’s tomb located in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district.
Protests over the issue had also triggered violence in Nagpur earlier this month. “Don’t we want to let the world know that these people sought to destroy the Marathas but were wiped out instead. Stop reading history on WhatsApp and rather delve into history books,” he said. Urging people not to get provoked and distracted, he said that socio-political situations were different in pre-Shivaji and post-Shivaji eras.
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
- Maharashtra Navanirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray criticized attempts to incite communal tensions regarding Aurangzeb’s tomb, stating that history should not be viewed through the lens of caste and religion.
- During his annual Gudi Padwa rally, Raj Thackeray emphasized that historical figures like Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj were resilient against threats from rulers like Aurangzeb and Afzal Khan.
- Raj Thackeray urged the public to refrain from relying on WhatsApp forwards for historical knowledge and to instead engage with history through books.
