Opinion | Is Aurangzeb Irrelevant Today? A Case For Moving Forward Without Erasing History

Sunil Ambekar, the Prachar Pramukh of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), steps into the ring on March 19, 2025, and swings hard: “Aurangzeb? He’s not relevant." This statement has only fuelled the chaos surrounding the issue. While RSS supporters are alleged to be flabbergasted, its detractors are said to have mixed reactions — some welcome it, while others dismiss it as “RSS ki saazish".

Decode this: it isn’t some weak plea to calm down—it’s the RSS slamming the door on a 300-year-old corpse dictating India’s pulse. Aurangzeb’s crimes were real and bone chilling but Hindus have to be big enough to let his tomb rot where it stands. Not out of kindness, but because we have got a future to forge, and his dust isn’t worth the sweat.
Without doubt, Aurangzeb – the sixth Mughal emperor (1658–1707) – was a walking terror show. Take Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj, Shivaji’s son, for instance. Captured in 1689, he was tortured beyond belief. His eyes were gouged out, his limbs sliced off, his body torn apart—all because he refused to bow to Islam. This was not a one-off atrocity. Remember Sikh Guru Tegh Bahadur’s beheading in 1675, for defending Kashmiri Pandits from forced conversion!

Then, he razed to the ground thousands of temples, including Kashi Vishwanath in Varanasi and Kesava Deo in Mathura. He imposed the jizya tax, a humiliating shackle on non-Muslims, designed to bleed Hindus dry.

These aren’t just dusty history lessons; they’re a gory testament to a man who spat on India’s pluralistic soul.
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