Bihar JD(U) MLC Khalid Anwar said that he backed historians who referred to Mughal emperor Aurangzeb as "a good administrator" after Maharashtra's Samajwadi Party leader Abu Asim Azmi claimed that Aurangzeb "was not a cruel administrator."
Anwar's remarks about Aurangzeb to news agency ANI on Wednesday caused a commotion, with the BJP advising him to take back his remarks and his own party urging him to exercise caution, Indian Express reported.
BJP national spokesperson Guru Prakash Paswan said, “History has enough evidence about the role of Aurangzeb. One should avoid any controversial statement. Our main focus should be on governance. BJP and JD(U) are committed to work towards the development of Bihar.”
JD(U) chief spokesperson Neeraj Kumar said, “We do not need to go into history. One should tread cautiously on controversial matters”.
Anwar said on Friday, “Talking about prominent historical figures is purely an academic subject. There cannot be a discussion on a clash between Aurangzeb and Shambhaji in a Legislative Assembly or Council. Historians are divided in their opinion on Aurangzeb, with some calling him a bad ruler and others calling him a good administrator. Personally, I am on the side of those historians who called him a good administrator. I am not getting into a debate on Aurangzeb versus his rivals, as it is a pure domain of researchers”.
The controversy surrounding Aurangzeb began when the Mughal king was seen torturing the Maratha king in the new Bollywood movie Chhaava, which showed a confrontation between Aurangzeb and Shambhaji (son of Chhatrapati Shivaji). Azmi was removed from the Maharashtra Assembly after saying “Wrong history is being shown in Chhaava… Aurangzeb built several temples… I do not think he was a cruel administrator.”
BJP MLA Haribhushan Thakur had reacted sharply to Anwar’s statement, saying, “Anwar should go to Pakistan for making such statements”.