'Mughal emperor Aurangzeb was not Hindu-hating personality'

Audrey Truschke, a historian at Stanford University and Rutgers University-Newark has claimed that 6th Mughal emperor Aurangzeb issued many orders to protect the Hindu community.

Pic courtesy: Swarajyamag.com

New Delhi: In what is certain to give rise to a debate, Audrey Truschke, a historian at Stanford University and Rutgers University-Newark, has claimed that 6th Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, considered to be anti-Hindu, was not exactly the person which many believe to be.

In an article published on website 'Thewire', the author says contrary to the sayings that Aurangzeb ordered demolition of hundreds of temples, the Mughal emperor ordered destruction of only a few dozen temples during his rule.

Truschke argues that the temples were demolished not because the emperor had a strong disliking towards Hindus, but because Aurangzeb generally ordered destruction of temples in the aftermath of political rebellions or to forestall future uprisings.

Notably, the article says that the Mughal emperor issued many orders to protect the Hindu community and numerous temples during his 49-year rule.

Not only this, the author says Aurangzeb, son of Shah Jahan, was not a 'Hindu-hating' personality and didn't pass any order which led to genocide of Hindus. The article also contradicts the claims that he forcefully converted Hindus to Islam.

The article questions the Hindu rulers saying that going back more than a millennium earlier, such rulers were the first to come up with the idea of sacking one another’s temples, before Muslims even entered the Indian subcontinent. But one hears little about these “historical wrongs”.