BJP MP Maheish Girri: Aurangzeb was a 'terrorist'

Representational PictureBJP MP Maheish Girri has dubbed Mughal ruler Aurangzeb a terrorist and hailed his brother Dara Shikoh as a scholar who espoused syncretic values and pitched for building greater awareness about his life The MP from East Delhi was yesterday interacting with reporters on the sidelines of the inauguration of twin events a conference Aurangzeb amp Dara Shukoh A Tale of Two Brothers and an exhibition titled Dara Shukoh the Forgotten Prince of Islam at the IGNCA hereDara Shikoh was also known as Dara Shukoh Aurangzeb was a terrorist in todays parlance the punishment that he should have got he did not get but at least the road named after him has been changed he told reporters Aurangzeb Road in Lutyens Delhi was rechristened Dr APJ Kalam Road in 2015 Girri had sent a proposal to the Centre for renaming the street after the former president Muslim groups had objected to the New Delhi Municipal Councils decision to rename Aurangzeb Road terming it a deliberate move that is likely to set the trend of rechristening other citiesstreets distorting history Addressing a gathering at the launch of the events he has said I used to feel extreme pain whenever I saw that signage of a road bearing the name of a cruel ruler I felt is was against the idea of India and not in the interest of the country So I went after it renaming I also faced obstacles and received threats from people but I went ahead he saidThe Lok Sabha member hailed the qualities of the Mughal emperors brother Dara Shukoh and said his life and times and the values he stood for should be taught simulataneosly while telling the story of Aurangzeb When it come to Dara history has not been told or portrayed the way it should have been He stood for the true values of Islam unlike his brother who was cruel and oppressed people Girri told reporters Dara Shukoh was the eldest son of Mughal emperor Shah Jahan who was his heir apparent Aurangzeb got him killed in 1659 In schools when you teach Aurangzeb you must also teach about his brotherIt will not only present a balanced perspective but also help people judge the two as to who was good and was bad If you just show Aurangzeb that teaching of history is also wrong Girri said Former speaker of Iranian Parliament Gholam Ali Haddad Adel also hailed Shukoh as a miracle of India Instead of contemplating wars and bloodshed to expand the Mughal empire Shukoh engaged in dialogue with people of different faiths and produced scholarly works He promoted peace and coexistence he said Later on the sidelines Adel said The world needs to focus more on Dara Shukoh than AurangzebVice President M Venkaiah Naidu who was scheduled to inaugurate the two events was not present because of his preoccupation with Parliament The vice president is also the chairman of the Rajya Sabha The exhibition of nearly 30 paintings by contemporary artists in Mughal style depicting the life of Dara Shukoh hosted at the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts IGNCA will end on SundayCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news current affairs from Mumbai local news crime news and breaking headlines hereDownload the new midday Android and iOS apps to get updates on all the latest and trending stories on the go