TIME TO CHOOSE OUR HEROES WISELY

A quiet but significant debate has been reignited following the release of the film Chhaava—should India continue to preserve the tomb of Emperor Aurangzeb who history unequivocally remembers as a cruel, repressive and sectarian ruler? Expectedly, the debate is heated and polarised.

- AMISH

In my recent podcast episode of ‘Immortal India’, I attempted a calm, respectful and honest approach on the issue. I attempt it now in the written format.

Firstly, a clear statement: no culture with any sense of self-respect or a desire to survive glorifies its historical oppressors. France does not have memorials celebrating the Nazi invaders. Israel does not name parks after Hitler. These are not acts of erasing history but of self-respect. Memories of such oppressors remain in books and museums—where they belong—not in ceremonial public spaces.

India has witnessed horrific invasions and centuries of subjugation. From the Turkic Delhi Sultans to the Timurid Mughals to the British, we have seen wave after wave of foreign domination. Yes, they left their mark. I write this very column in English, after all. Our architecture, cuisine, administrative systems—all bear traces of these past rulers. But acknowledging their influence is different from celebrating them. The former is history. The latter is absurdity.

Imagine this: a family repeatedly brutalised by outsiders later lovingly preserves the portraits of their tormentors in their homes. Ridiculous, right? Or perhaps an internalised inferiority complex?

"NO CULTURE WITH ANY SENSE OF SELF-RESPECT OR A DESIRE TO SURVIVE GLORIFIES ITS HISTORICAL OPPRESSORS"