NAGPUR, India (Diya TV) — The authorities have imposed a curfew in Nagpur, India following protests that turned violent over the issue of removing the tomb of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. The violence left at least 34 police personnel injured and some civilians, with some vehicles torched and property damaged.
Protestors torched Aurangzeb’s effigy and demanded for his tomb to be demolished in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district. Speculations that religious objects, including the Quran, were defiled during the demonstrations fueled tensions, resulting in inter-community clashes.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis denounced it as a “well-planned attack” and called upon residents to keep the peace. The police have arrested more than 50 people about the violence.
The issue of controversy over Aurangzeb’s tomb has been an ongoing problem, with Hindu groups saying the 17th-century emperor persecuted Hindus and razed temples. The recent release of a Bollywood movie showing the torture of the Maratha ruler Sambhaji by Aurangzeb rekindled these feelings.
Despite citizens’ demands, the government in Maharashtra cannot bulldoze the monument since it’s under the safeguard of the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act of 1958 and comes under the purview of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). With the tensions still existing, the administration continues to enforce the curfew and asks for citizens to refrain from activities likely to further trigger communal unrest.
