Sunil Gatade | From Babri to Aurangzeb: Hindutva Pot Kept Boiling

It has now become a deep game. The issue of razing the tomb of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb is intended for turning Maharashtra into another Uttar Pradesh, the BJP’s biggest Hindutva laboratory.

In the larger scheme of things, the issue could be exploited from Kashmir to Kanyakumari for effective polarisation when the need of the hour is not only to keep the Hindutva flock together but vibrant as well.

One word, “Aurangzeb”, says it all. It is akin to the politically notorious “80:20” doctrine propounded by UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath. There is more than one way to skin a cat.

Emotive issues are dear to the heart of the BJP, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made a career out of that since his days in Gujarat.

“Aurangzeb” promises the latitude and the longitude on which the BJP could play effortlessly.

As regards Maharashtra, the word “Aurangzeb” is akin to filthy abuse. The Mughal emperor is the most glaring symbol of an anti-Hindu ruler. He is also the most hated for having been instrumental in inflicting much trouble and pain in the formation of the “Hindwi Swaraj” by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.

The BJP’s gameplan appears to be two-pronged. By using the Aurangzeb card feverishly, it wants to lay claim to the legacy of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, before whom the whole state bows in unison.

The reason is quite clear. The BJP can’t completely marginalise the Shiv Sena if it fails to project itself one up on the party founded by the late Bal Thackeray. And it can only happen now or never.

Maharashtra is a state with a difference. After ten long years of becoming the prima donna of the state’s politics, only this year has the BJP been able to stabilise itself, sidelining other actors in the political space, including two prominent regional parties in which it engineered splits, as well as the Congress. So, the opportunity is here and now.

For the BJP, Aurangzeb comes handy, whatever the RSS might say on the record. Nagpur has a record of speaking with a forked tongue, and especially so with regard to the minorities.

The admission of Opposition leader Ambadas Danve that the BJP’s plank of demolishing Aurangzeb’s tomb at Khultabad in the Marathwada region is just a political ploy is a tacit admission that the BJP has gone one up on the Shiv Sena, both factions included, in promoting communalism in the state.

The BJP in Maharashtra wants to be like it is in Gujarat, where its only other notable competitor is the chronically-ill Congress, which has been painted black as a “party of Muslims”. In Maharashtra too, the deep design is to paint the Congress black like in Gujarat to enable a free run in the land of Mahatma Phule, Shahu Maharaj and B.R. Ambedkar.

As regards organisations or even individuals, the saffron party uses the same trick in attempts to throw them in the political dustbin. Everything is by design and not by default. The world’s largest party has run over a decade-long campaign to dub Rahul Gandhi as “Pappu” -- a good-for-nothing guy. The viciousness knows no limits.

On Aurangzeb, the game plan of the BJP is shrewd and cunning. By seeking to demolish his tomb, it is seeking to lay sole claim to the Chhatrapati Shivaji card and send both factions of the Shiv Sena packing. Neither Eknath Shinde nor Uddhav Thackeray deserve any sympathy in the BJP scheme of things. Use and throw is an old tactic perfected by Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah.

But neither Mr Shinde nor Mr Thackeray is are fool. Being locals, they also know the terrain and tactics far better than the state’s BJP leaders to avert marginalisation. So, Project Aurangzeb is not without its pitfalls for the BJP in Maharashtra. Uddhav has now started repeatedly emphasising that Aurangzeb was born in Gujarat.

The moral of the story is that if the BJP goes too fast on its Project Aurangzeb, the chances of an accident are there. The BJP has been given a mandate in Maharashtra to govern, and what is being attempted is another Babri. At the moment, the non-BJP parties are stunned, and there is no leader around to tap the unrest.

Maharashtra is a ripe state for experimentation when nothing is going right on issues concerning nearly 13 crore people. Most people want their issues like unemployment, rising prices, growing inequality, urban chaos and rural distress to be addressed. What is being given is an “Aurangzeb”. They have to be kept engaged. Their anger has to be diverted to Aurangzeb.

Under Aurangzeb’s reign, the Mughals were at the zenith of their power, and therefore the underlying argument appears to be that he would be more powerful to generate Hindu emotions than that of Babar, who founded the dynasty. So, the saffron party is in search of an El Dorado to keep the communal pot boiling.

No icon can claim as much reverence as Shivaji commands in the premier state, and whoever has ruled the state has bowed before him. The Chhatrapati has not only been hailed as the “Janta Raja” (wise king) but also the “Rayatecha Raja” (king of the people).

In the Budget Session of Parliament, which is currently on, a BJP member from Odisha sought to project Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the reincarnation of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.

Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis’ statement that it was unfortunate that his government was forced to protect the tomb gives a signal that the BJP wants to convert it into a ticking time bomb that can be exploited when the time comes.

It is being argued from the BJP now that for razing the tomb of Aurangzeb, what was needed the most was the passage of the controversial Waqf Amendment Bill in Parliament, as the grave is on the waqf land. This is intended to project the entire Opposition as anti-Hindu, as the anti-BJP parties have poked holes in the measure and accused the government of riding roughshod in the matter without hearing their objections.

The BJP’s pitch is getting more strident on the issue, with Yogi Adityanath echoing Mr Fadnavis. The Uttar Pradesh CM is insisting that glorifying invaders who had attacked India’s heritage and had dishonoured its people was equivalent to “treason”, which the “New India” will never accept. The pot is being slowly boiled.

The writer is a journalist based in New Delhi