Muslim outfits on Monday objected New Delhi Municipal Council’s (NDMC) decision to rename Aurangzeb Road after late President APJ Abdul Kalam, terming it as a “deliberate” move that is “likely to set the trend of rechristening other cities/streets distorting history”.
“It is a deliberate effort, it will not halt here. This is because soon after the road was named after Abdul Kalamji, Shiv Sena said it will change the name of Maharashtra’s Aurangabad district where the Mughal Emperor’s graveyard is located.”
“They have a long list of cities/roads named after some historical figures or Muslim Emperors, which they want to change,” Dr SQR Ilyas, President of Welfare Party of India and All India Muslim Personal Law Board member, said.
Ilyas, also general secretary of All India Muslim Majlis-e-Mushawarat (AIMMM) – an apex body of various organisations of the community, said the Emperor was not “anti-Hindu” as is perceived but “a secular” personality.
Referring to former Orissa Governor Bishambhar Nath Pande’s collection of Aurangzeb’s farman (orders), Ilyas said the documents – in Persian – show the Emperor had donated lands for building temples.
