Aurangzeb’s tomb: Shiv Sena seeks removal of ‘protected monument’ status

Maharashtra minister Shambhuraj Desai on Thursday, 28 March, said his ruling Shiv Sena party has asked the Union government to remove the ‘protected monument’ status of Aurangzeb’s tomb at Khultabad in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district.

“Our party MP Rahul Shewale today met Union minister of culture Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and put forth the demand in a memorandum to him,” Desai told PTI.

“After the nod to lift the protected monument status, the state government will take action within the framework of law,” Desai said.

Organisations like the Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad have been demanding the removal of the tomb.

On 17 March, tensions escalated in Nagpur when protesters demanding the demolition of the Mughal emperor’s tomb, burning a picture of Aurangzeb and a chadar, a green cloth that was inscribed with a verse of the Quran. A mob attacked homes, set vehicles on fire and went on a rampage.

The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) protects Aurangzeb's tomb, about 30 km from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, as a ‘monument of national importance’ under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act of 1958.

The ASI, under the Union ministry of culture, is responsible for preserving monuments and archaeological sites of national importance. Other ASI-protected sites include the Qutub Minar, Humayun's Tomb, the Ajanta and Ellora Caves, the Sanchi Stupa and the Sun Temple at Konark.

In the state legislature budget session which concluded on Wednesday, 26 March, Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis had said in the assembly that the state government will protect Aurangzeb's tomb but will not allow the Mughal emperor’s glorification, amid repeated calls and protests for its removal by some outfits.

"We will protect Aurangzeb's grave but not allow his or the site's glorification. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's temple will be glorified, not Aurangzeb's grave,” Fadnavis had said.