Althouse: "More than 300 years after the death of Aurangzeb, whose full name was Abul Muzaffar Muhi-ud-Din Mohammad Aurangzeb..."

March 12, 2025

"More than 300 years after the death of Aurangzeb, whose full name was Abul Muzaffar Muhi-ud-Din Mohammad Aurangzeb..."

"... allies of India’s Hindu nationalist prime minister, Narendra Modi, have demanded his grave be removed. For Modi and his allies, the legacy of the Mughals, who ruled India for some six centuries, is a byword for the subjugation of Hindus by a foreign occupier. Udayanraje Bhosale, MP for Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Maharashtra, the state where Aurangzeb is buried, urged the authorities to 'send a bulldozer and raze his grave … he was a thief and looter'....For many Hindus, Aurangzeb was cruelty incarnate. Under his reign, from 1658 to 1707, Hindus were raped, butchered and forcibly converted by the Muslim dynasty. Aurangzeb was a devout Muslim and chose an austere lifestyle, unlike other Mughals.... Aurangzeb... specifically instructed that it should be plain and unmarked, unlike the monumental tombs of Akbar, Humayun and Jahangir, as well as the Taj Mahal — commissioned by Aurangzeb’s father, Shah Jahan, to house the resting place of his wife Mumtaz Mahal...."

From "Modi’s nationalists demand destruction of ‘thief’ emperor’s tomb/An MP from the ruling BJP party called for bulldozers to be sent to the grave of Aurangzeb, a move seen as part of the erasure of Islam from Indian history" (London Times).

48 comments:

rehajm said...: This idea we have to react like this…it’s literally ancient history now move on. Enough with these little drama plays instead of constructive things. It sets a bad precedent. Now the new leadership will have to tear down all your crap once you turds are out of power…; 3/12/25, 9:17 AM
Roger Sweeny said...: Sounds like pulling down statues of Confederates.; 3/12/25, 9:20 AM
Eric the Fruit Bat said...: It's a sign of progress that they're not afraid of releasing his evil spirit.; 3/12/25, 9:28 AM
RCOCEAN II said...: Guess they're copying our Leftwing American vandals. Desecrating "nazi" graves, pulling down "Racist" statues. Be nice if our elite weren't such philistines and anti-American, and put a stop to it, but they wont lift a finger.

Miss Lindsey has never said a word about it. Too interested in killing Russians in the Ukraine, or crying tears over equipment left in Afghanistan.; 3/12/25, 9:31 AM
RideSpaceMountain said...: I recently finished listening to an abridged audio book on the history of Sikhism - History Of The Sikhs by Captivating History - and it seems the Sikhs could contend they have a bigger bone to pick with the Mughals than any other group in India. The Mughals are the prime reason for inclusion of martial aspects in Sikh culture, and for very good reason.; 3/12/25, 9:33 AM
mikee said...: Perhaps better if those in India keep this portion of their horrible past in clear sight, so as to help prevent a horrible present and future under Muslim/Hindu conflict. Both sides could point to his grave and say, Never Again!; 3/12/25, 9:42 AM
mikee said...: Perhaps better if those in India keep this portion of their horrible past in clear sight, so as to help prevent a horrible present and future under Muslim/Hindu conflict. Both sides could point to his grave and say, Never Again!; 3/12/25, 9:42 AM
gilbar said...: "Aurangzeb was cruelty incarnate. Under his reign, from 1658 to 1707, Hindus were raped, butchered and forcibly converted by the Muslim dynasty. Aurangzeb was a devout Muslim "

well, you can see Why he is a hero and a role model to ALL muslims!; 3/12/25, 9:47 AM
Wince said...: "send a bulldozer and raze his grave…

"Razed," from the dead? Can you really "raze" a grave unless it's a mausoleum, which in this case would be a Muslim mausoleum?

"Aurangzeb... specifically instructed that it should be plain and unmarked..."

Well, there you go. Just remove the grave marker under the doctrine of testamentary intent.

"the Taj Mahal — commissioned by Aurangzeb’s father, Shah Jahan, to house the resting place of his wife Mumtaz Mahal...."

Can't tear that down. After all, "he gave his life for tourism ."

Or was that King Tut?; 3/12/25, 9:50 AM
Bill, Republic of Texas said...: "THIS IS WHAT DECOLONIZATION LOOKS LIKE, BIGOTS!"; 3/12/25, 9:51 AM
gspencer said...: ". . . urged the authorities to 'send a bulldozer and raze his grave … he was a thief and looter'....For many Hindus, Aurangzeb was cruelty incarnate. Under his reign, from 1658 to 1707, Hindus were raped, butchered and forcibly converted by the Muslim dynasty."

And today's Muslims act the same way because Muslims follow the practices of Mohammed (570-632) who is considered Islam's Perfect Man.

What is happening these last several days in Syria is YET another example of Muslim behavior.; 3/12/25, 10:05 AM
Leland said...: Seems like tit for tat, but the line “erasure of Islam from Indian History” causes me to support it. What Modi is doing is rather insignificant compared to what Türkiye is doing in Syria to Christians. Further, the people that support land acknowledgments should understand what Modi is doing. If they don’t, then it is one more reason land acknowledgments are stupid.; 3/12/25, 10:05 AM
Bob Boyd said...: It's a sign of progress that they're not afraid of releasing his evil spirit.

It's not Aurangzeb's spirit they need to watch out for, it's the spirits of his widows who were burned alive on his pyre that will come boiling out there looking for payback.; 3/12/25, 10:12 AM
Iman said...: Some things never change. In Caliunicornia, someone has spilled teh beans about Gavy Newscum paying to have a monument honoring his reign and his own damn self erected in San Francisco.; 3/12/25, 10:12 AM
Ironclad said...: Definitely of 2 minds on this subject. Firstly, it is a petty move against a historical figure, albeit he ran a murder gang at the time that competes with Hitler level numbers of dead. The slaughter in India during “ the conquest” is one of the most eye watering numbers of history - yet it’s barely mentioned in polite conversation.
The other side of the coin says do it to send the clear “ we can play this game too” message to the ROP. Their current antics in the Syria slaughter game, the ISIS slaughter/ slavery games in Iraq, the Bamyan Buddahs destruction in Afghanistan and for India - the partition and the creep of ethnic cleansing to “ purify” Pakistan deserve a reply of more than a strongly worded letter.
One hopes Europe is watching this and is maybe considering the the presence of the same folks isn’t the blessing it was advertised as by the elite.; 3/12/25, 10:19 AM
RideSpaceMountain said...: Bob Boyd said, "It's not Aurangzeb's spirit they need to watch out for, it's the spirits of his widows who were burned alive on his pyre that will come boiling out there looking for payback."

I think you're thinking of the Hindu practice of Sati Bob. Don't believe the Mughals practiced or approved of that.

Speaking of burning alive, throughout Punjab and Rajasthan during the Muslim invasions Hindu fortifications that failed to withstand a siege would see all the women of the fortress commit jauhar - mass immolation to preserve their honor - while all the men would commit saka - sallying forth to fight until certain death.; 3/12/25, 10:21 AM
Iman said...: An Indian-American colleague of mine shared some photos of Taj Mahal and I remember the special room where the female concubines were kept stoned on hashish.; 3/12/25, 10:24 AM
Iman said...: The same colleague told me that Islam had been a destructive force in India for well over a thousand years.; 3/12/25, 10:36 AM
BUMBLE BEE said...: Slightly OT, but India is on the move!

https://www.breitbart.com/asia/2025/03/11/india-recovers-hundreds-of-citizens-enslaved-in-scam-centers/

My "Medicare" scam calls have disappeared!; 3/12/25, 10:40 AM
Jupiter said...: I seem to recall some photos of statues of Saddam Hussein and Lenin coming down. No one seemed too upset about that.; 3/12/25, 10:44 AM
mccullough said...: Make Muslims live by their rules; 3/12/25, 10:48 AM
Bob Boyd said...: @ Ride
According to my sources, who have requested anonymity, Aurangzeb adopted some local customs and married some local hotties in the interest of pacifying the conquered territories. He ordered some of his followers to do the same. He was particularly enthusiastic about widow burning. He burned some of his widows before he even died so he could boast about being the first Muslim invader to burn his widows. It was kind of like pre-ordering the newest iphone.; 3/12/25, 10:56 AM
n.n said...: Transnationalists. Colonization. Liberals. Progress. Black Buddha. DEI.; 3/12/25, 10:56 AM
RideSpaceMountain said...: That's pretty cool Bob. What a trend-setter. Emperors and other autocratic rulers tend to 'set the tone' for their inferiors, and while I don't have any widows to burn I do have a few ex-girlfriends I still wish spontaneous combustion upon. Based on your anonymous source's info, I think Emperor Aurangzeb would consider burning ex-girlfriends to be widow-adjacent. Now that I have the Aurangzeb's approval, I'm going to start hunting for flamethrowers on gunbroker.com.; 3/12/25, 11:05 AM
NKP said...: History - good or evil - can't be erased. In this case, secure the site, and others like it, and turn them into places like Dachau. Make people aware of what happened. Charge admission.

I am against destroying things. Does the "Taj" get a pass because it's beautiful and commemorates a "beloved"? What about "Neuschwanstein"; the castle that Crazy Ludwig bankrupted his Kingdom to build. Does tourism trump murderous piety and ruinous vanity?

As for the Confederacy; it's complicated. It's rank and file did not own slaves and it's platform was not; "The only good n***er is a dead n***er". One can argue that the Civil War was the result of Lincoln insisting that we are ALL Americans.

Don't you want to puke every time you hear a pol or either party appeal for votes by promising to "FIGHT" for those who support them. Aside from a few military vets, nost of these "leaders" have no idea.... What they really mean is they will steal some taxpayer money and give it someone else.

Islam is not without a good idea or two but the truly "faithful" have no place among their fellow human beings. The UK is lost. Maybe Germany. Some states show signs of waking-up but the EU is having none of that. Tough shit, Romania :-(; 3/12/25, 11:20 AM
Bob Boyd said...: I have no doubt, Ride, all your exes lived in fear of spontaneous combustion every time they crawled between your sheets.

Musk makes a flamethrower called Not-A-Flamethrower
https://www.boringcompany.com/not-a-flamethrower

As well as a perfume called Burnt Hair.
https://www.boringcompany.com/burnthair; 3/12/25, 11:21 AM
stlcdr said...: Are we - a civilized (sic) people - supposed to be cheering this or decrying this?; 3/12/25, 11:28 AM
Hassayamper said...: Turnabout is fair play, I guess. The Hindu radicals will have a big job ahead of them if they mean to match tit-for-tat all the destruction of their sacred sites and objects inflicted by their Muslim conquerors during the Mughal Empire.; 3/12/25, 11:33 AM
Earnest Prole said...: Why can’t we all just get along?; 3/12/25, 11:41 AM
Achilles said...: If we are ever going to be able to grow up as a species we are going to have to stop with the persecutions for Sins of the Father crap.

Really these activities are just eye for an eye justifications for acting badly.; 3/12/25, 11:44 AM
n.n said...: Nativism. First people. Cultural appropriation. Ethnic Springs. Left-wing ideology.; 3/12/25, 11:46 AM
n.n said...: COEXIST. Abortive ideation to relieve "burdens". Progressive ideology.; 3/12/25, 11:48 AM
Peachy said...: Prediction: This will make sects of Islamic males angry...and lead to possible American leftist style violence.; 3/12/25, 11:51 AM
Balfegor said...: It's the thin end of the wedge. Today, it's Mughal tombs -- tomorrow, they'll be tearing down the Gateway of India in Bombay and Government House in Calcutta.

The Mughals ruled much of modern India for about three hundred years. The last of the Mughal emperors was even a sort of rallying point during the Mutiny. They're an inextricable piece of what made India what it is today. It's ridiculous to try and obfuscate them.

That said, if it were a victory stele of some sort, commemorating a crushing victory over Hindu principalities (or, I guess, the Islamic Delhi Sultanate, that had ruled most of India for about three centuries before the Mughals), I might feel more sympathetic. But Aurangzeb didn't conquer India. He inherited the Peacock Throne.; 3/12/25, 11:53 AM
Clyde said...: Not my circus, not my monkeys.; 3/12/25, 12:24 PM
Robert Cook said...: "I do have a few ex-girlfriends I still wish spontaneous combustion upon."

One? OK. "A few?" That's to do with YOU, dude!; 3/12/25, 12:46 PM
Third Coast said...: If Adolph's body were somehow miraculously recovered tomorrow, I wonder what direction this thread would go.; 3/12/25, 12:51 PM
Bruce Hayden said...: What’s interesting is that as the UK goes Muzzie, the Crown Jewel its former Empire is moving in the other direction. China and Russia are going the same route. It’s just Western Europe that’s letting their Muslim invaders pick their conquest back up, that had been stopped at the Gates of Vienna.; 3/12/25, 12:52 PM
effinayright said...: Leland said...
Seems like tit for tat, but the line “erasure of Islam from Indian History” causes me to support it.
********************

Well, there goes the Taj and Fatehpur Sikri, both World Heritage sites!

(You realize, of course, that wishing to erase religious and cultural sites makes you no different than the Taliban blowing up Bamyan...); 3/12/25, 1:11 PM
n.n said...: A confused mixture of empathy, sympathy, and transnationalism infused with a secular religious layer of abortive ideation.; 3/12/25, 1:14 PM
RideSpaceMountain said...: Robert Cook said, "One? OK. "A few?" That's to do with YOU, dude!"

Lol, for some of them, I certainly was. When I was younger I changed girlfriends as frequently as the weather, a capricious feature of youthfulness. Most of them were in college, and most of them were nowhere near as smart or independent as they thought they were. I jokingly refer to them as children with a drivers license.

I've little doubt at least three still wish I would spontaneously combust.; 3/12/25, 1:22 PM
Leland said...: Sorry effinayright, but my issue was with the stupid statement made by the article and now your repeated sense of it. If the statement was true then your statement is true, but that’s not true. They are removing one grave. This isn’t an erasure of Islam. You can stop with your pearl clutching and extremist rhetoric.; 3/12/25, 1:32 PM
JaimeRoberto said...: "Aurangzeb was a devout Muslim and chose an austere lifestyle..."

Austere Muslim. Now where have I heard that before?; 3/12/25, 2:35 PM
Josephbleau said...: “Abul Muzaffar Muhi-ud-Din Mohammad Aurangzeb”

Jebuzz, you can’t talk about these religious scholars without sounding like you got a mouthfull of marbles.

Like my Scot Grammy singing about Angus McFergus McTavish Dundee.; 3/12/25, 3:37 PM
Lazarus said...: The Aryans were themselves foreign invaders, weren't they? The Mughals gave India a measure of unity and developed the system of administration and financing that the British would later take over. They didn't give India railroads and universities like the British, but they also didn't overwhelm India's industries with cheap imported goods. I suppose they were terrible, but plenty of Indians relished the opportunity to get out from under the caste system.

My instinct is to think that the revulsion is exaggerated, but apparently more people (and people who know a lot more than me) really hate the Mughals. If your go-to answer, though, is "Should you be grateful to somebody who vandalizes your home, kills your loved ones and rapes you?" Maybe your revulsion is a little over the top. The Mughals were a mixed bag, though. Some were better than others. Interesting Quora discussion.; 3/12/25, 3:38 PM
gspencer said...: "Musk makes a flamethrower called Not-A-Flamethrower"

Maybe he'll meet George Carlin some day,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4nknAzQPHEhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4nknAzQPHE; 3/12/25, 4:55 PM
Bob Boyd said...: @gspencer

I don't think you're link is right; 3/12/25, 5:41 PM
Bob Boyd said...: It went to a search results page 3 times. After I posted the above, it went to the video you intended. I dunno...; 3/12/25, 5:44 PM