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A hard-line Hindu group\u2019s call for the removal of the tomb of a 17th-century Mughal ruler has ignited tensions with Muslims in the western Indian state of Maharashtra, leading to communal violence and the imposition of a curfew.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
The clashes were contained by midweek, and the demand that the tomb be demolished has gone unheeded. But the flare-up showed how right-wing Hindus have seized on a long-ago history of Muslim rule of India to stoke grievances today against the country\u2019s 200 million Muslims.<\/p>\n
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. The Nagpur unit of a right-wing Hindu organization, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad or V.H.P., <\/span>called for Aurangzeb\u2019s tomb to be removed from the state, which had been the seat of Shivaji\u2019s empire.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The grave is nearly 300 miles from Nagpur, in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district. Once known as Aurangabad, a name derived from the Mughal emperor\u2019s name, the district was renamed after Shivaji\u2019s son in 2023.<\/p>\n 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, a color that has spiritual significance in Islam, said Amit Bajpayee, a V.H.P. volunteer.<\/p>\n Rumors that the cloth had verses from the Quran printed on it set off riots that evening, the police said. Mr. Bajpayee denied the rumors.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \u201cDuring the protest, our simple slogan was that Aurangzeb\u2019s tomb should be removed from Maharashtra,\u201d he said. \u201cIt is correct that the effigy was wrapped with a green cloth, but there was nothing printed on it.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Rioters pelted property with stones and set vehicles ablaze. Dozens of people, including police officers, were injured. The violence was limited mostly to Monday night, but the curfew remains in place, and dozens of people have been arrested.<\/p>\n On Tuesday, Devendra Fadnavis, the chief minister of Maharashtra State, blamed the violence on the Bollywood movie \u201cChhaava,\u201d which was released just over a month ago and depicts the conflict between Aurangzeb and the son of Shivaji.<\/p>\n \u201c\u2018Chhaava\u2019 has ignited people\u2019s anger against Aurangzeb,\u201d Mr. Fadnavis, who belongs to the Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, India\u2019s governing party, said during a session of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly.<\/p>\n The sixth emperor of the Mughal dynasty, Aurangzeb ascended to the throne by killing his brother and imprisoning his father, Shah Jahan, who had built the Taj Mahal. Aurangzeb ruled over the Indian subcontinent, including Delhi, from 1658 until his death in 1707 and sought to expand the Mughal empire.<\/p>\n Hindu leaders and groups have taken aim at Aurangzeb before. During a speech in Varanasi in 2021, Prime Minister Narendra Modi used the conflict between Aurangzeb and Shivaji to highlight the Hindu king\u2019s bravery.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Someone like Aurangzeb, \u201cwho used his sword to kill civilization and tried to trample culture through fanaticism,\u201d will be destroyed, said Mr. Modi, the leader the B.J.P. \u201cFor every Aurangzeb who comes here, a Shivaji will rise.\u201d<\/p>\n Some historians challenge assertions that the conflict between the two rulers was driven by religion. Sohail Hashmi, an expert on the history and heritage of Delhi, said that Hindus and Muslims fought on both sides at the time.<\/p>\n \u201cReligion is not in the picture,\u201d he said. \u201cIt is two feudal lords fighting.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n