Nagpur: RSS leader Suresh Joshi interacts with the media during a book release event on ‘Vedic Mathematics’ organized by Bharti Krishna Vidya Vihar, in Nagpur, Maharashtra on Monday, March 31,2025 – Photo credit – PTI

Visit Maharashtra’s structure, RSS leader says, as MNS chief criticises communal tension over Aurangzeb’s tomb

Amid the demand from some right-wing outfits for the removal of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb’s tomb, senior RSS leader Suresh ‘Bhaiyyaji’ Joshi on Monday March 31, 2025 said the topic has been raised unnecessarily.

Whoever has faith will visit the structure, located in Maharashtra’s Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) leader told reporters to a query on the sidelines of a programme in Nagpur.

Notably, Maharashtra Navanirman Sena chief (MNS) Raj Thackeray on Sunday March 30, 2025 slammed attempts to incite communal tension over Aurangazeb’s tomb and said history shouldn’t be viewed through the prism of caste and religion.

He also asked people not to rely on WhatsApp forwards for historical information.

Thackeray also said the Mughal ruler wanted to “kill a thought called Shivaji” but failed and died in Maharashtra.

“Afzal Khan, the Bijapur general, was buried near the Pratapgadh Fort, and it couldn’t have been done without Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s permission,” the MNS chief had said

Rumours about a “chadar” with holy inscriptions being burnt during protests led by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) seeking the removal of the tomb triggered violence in Nagpur earlier this month.

Asked about Raj Thackeray’s comments and the issue of the Mughal emperor’s tomb, Suresh Joshi said, “The topic of Aurangzeb’s tomb has been raised unnecessarily. He died here (in India), so his tomb has been built here. Those who have faith will go.”

“We have Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s adarsh (role model). He had built the tomb of Afzal Khan. This is a symbol of India’s generosity and inclusiveness. The tomb will remain; whoever wants to go will go,” the former RSS general secretary added.

Earlier this month, RSS chief spokesperson Sunil Ambekar described the 17th-century Mughal emperor Aurangzeb as “irrelevant”.

Asked whether Aurangzeb’s tomb should be relocated and if the Mughal ruler is relevant today, he had replied, “No, it’s not relevant.”

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