A call from the Vishwa Hindu Parishad for the demolition of Aurangzeb's tomb has sparked violence in Nagpur, Maharashtra, reflecting the underlying tensions between Hindus and Muslims. The unrest coincided with the birth anniversary of Shivaji, a prominent Hindu figure historically opposed to Aurangzeb. Although the violence was contained by midweek, it underscores how right-wing Hindu groups exploit historical grievances to fuel anti-Muslim sentiment in contemporary India. The situation illustrates the fraught relations between the country’s Hindu majority and its Muslim minority, potentially impacting communal harmony.
The violence, which occurred this week in the city of Nagpur, centered around the tomb of Aurangzeb, whom Hindu nationalists have vilified as a tyrant who brutalized Hindus.
Hindu nationalists have seized on a long-ago history of Muslim rule of India to stoke grievances today against the country's 200 million Muslims.
The trouble started on Monday, which, according to the Hindu calendar, is the birth anniversary of Chhatrapati Shivaji, a valorized Hindu king who fought Aurangzeb.
Members of the Hindu group protested in front of a Shivaji statue in Nagpur on Monday afternoon and burned an effigy of the ruler wrapped in green cloth.
Collection
[
|
...
]