For decades at a stretch, we have heard from historians about Aurangzeb and his alleged bigotry. He imposed jizya, demolished temples, banned music and dance. The list of charges against him was seemingly endless. In short, Aurangzeb seemed all that and much worse in the common man’s mind. And not infrequently, Muslims were reminded of all the wrongs, real or imagined, committed by Aurangzeb. Yet they took it in their stride, not moved by the idea of rising to the defence of a Mughal emperor dead for more than 300 years.
SILVER LINING
There was a silver lining too: If the history books were disparaging in their criticism of Aurangzeb, they also lavished praise on Akbar, arguably the greatest emperor this country has seen. They talked of his policies for a pluralist India, how he treated the Rajputs with respect, how he never forced the Rajput princesses to convert to Islam, how his policy of “Sulha Kul” was an attempt to unite the masses beyond the religious divide. If Aurangzeb could do no right, Akbar, it seemed, did no wrong. He was brave warrior, great administrator, and a man blessed with a mind way ahead of his times. Indeed, a contemporary of Akbar, Fr. Monserrate, a Jesuit, opined that by tolerating all faiths, Akbar was dismissing all religions. He was a hero none could hate.
WINNER OF HALDIGHATI
Not so anymore. Today, Akbar is being seen in a new, not so favourable light by the proponents of Hindutva. And all his accomplishments are being questioned, one by one. Recently, an attempt was made to rename Akbar’s Fort in Ajmer as just Ajmer Fort by erasing his name from the gate of the fort. That it went against what the Gazette of India said seemed to matter little. Within no time, a new blue board was put up at the fort without a mention of Akbar. The fort, it seems, sprouted after rainfall this monsoon. Not content with rewriting the Akbar ka Quila story, the Hindutva brigade got support from Right wing, albeit dubious historians to turn the good old Battle of Haldighati story on its head.
Generations of students have talked of the valour of the Rajput king Rana Pratap yet always concluded that for all his bravery, Rana Pratap lost the battle of Haldighati to the Mughals. Importantly, Akbar is said to have stayed away from the battle himself, leaving the responsibility to Rajputs like Man Singh. Now, an attempt is being made by the Rajasthan Government to rewrite textbooks for school students and reference books for graduation students where Rana Pratap, not Akbar, is declared the winner of Haldighati.
That the claim flies in the face of historical evidence matters not a dot; it is perception rather than reality which matters. Akbar is the new age Aurangzeb; a man dubbed an invader by none other than the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, Aditya Nath Yogi. Of course, the fact that Akbar was born in Amarkot was considered superfluous to the argument. Lending Yogi support is the Home Minister Rajnath Singh. Recently after unveiling a statue to mark the 477th birth anniversary of Rana Pratap, he asked the historians to look again at the contribution of Rana Pratap and wondered aloud if he should not be conferred with the title of Great! Incidentally, the term Maharana affixed to Rana means the Great Rana. Pratap’s name was appended to the horrific title. Even after being defeated by the Mughals, who never humiliated him, he continued to enjoy the title. Rajnath Singh’s attempts to call Rana Pratap “a true statesman” whose deeds inspired the revolutionaries of 1857”, formed part of a constant effort to undermine the greatness of the Mughal emperor.
SAD END
These attempts to project Akbar in a sad state are not new. For the past couple of years, constant efforts have been made to belittle his contribution to the country. Last May, a proposal was aired to rename Akbar Road in New Delhi as Maharana Pratap Road. What was said was obvious – give the Rajputs a place of honour – what was left unsaid was critical and objectionable – the greatest of Mughals had no business having a road named after him in Delhi, which was once an important component of his empire. Incidentally, this proposal came on the heels of renaming the good old Aurangzeb Road after late President Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam. Many read in the rechristening of the Aurangzeb Road the reiteration of the age old ‘Good Muslim versus Bad Muslim’ debate.
No such nuances need be read this time as the BJP leadership seems keen to undermine the contribution of Akbar towards nation building; and indeed project him as the New Age Aurangzeb. As an Aligarh Muslim University historian puts it, “Actually, we are living in a time which can be defined as ‘post-history’. It does not matter what the past tells us. Whatever happened in the past is now unimportant. What matters in these times of New India is what we perceive or feel, what and how it happened or should have happened. Truth be damned. It is our perception which is important. This is the age of mythology. Even our Prime Minister claims that the Vedic age was the age of super-sonic jets.”
What need to be forgotten though that some Hindutva proponents have a problem with Akbar because he was a great warrior, a great builder, a great humanist too. He does not fit in with the Muslim ruler stereotype. They hide the fact Hakim Khan Sur was the commander of Maharana Pratap. They suppress the truth that it was not only Hemu who was defeated but the descendants of Sher Shah Suri, who were vanquished by Akbar. They don’t want the world to know that the Afghans and the Mughals were arch rivals till both were finished in the 19th century. Attacking Akbar is part of a long drawn out exercise of ‘othering’ the Muslims, and thereby marching towards Hindu Rashtra.