 Amrit Dhillon in the Times once again denigrates, ‘Modi’s nationalists.’ |
My response sent to Amrit and the Editor of Times.
Another article by Amrit Dhillon in the Times with the headline, ‘Modi’s nationalists demand destruction of the, ‘Thief’, Emperor’s Tomb.’ In the same breath she acknowledges that Emperor Aurangzeb was for many Hindus, cruelty incarnate. Under his reign, from 1658 to 1707, Hindus were raped, butchered, and forcibly converted. Amrit knows very well that it is not just so-called Modi’s Hindu nationalists who abhor the actions of Aurangzeb. It is every Hindu who despises the atrocities of Aurangzeb. But it is not only Hindus who were the victims of Aurangzeb. I am sure Amrit is very well aware of the atrocities committed by Aurangzeb on the Sikh community. Aurangzeb executed the 9th Sikh Guru Teghbahadur in 1675 when he protected the Hindus of Kashmir from forcible conversion. The 10th Guru Gobindji’s 4 sons were martyred during the reign of Aurangzeb. Two of them were bricked alive. Amrit however doesn’t say that Sikh nationalists are also bitter of Aurangzeb’s legacy. The Jains, too, were at the receiving end of Aurangzeb’s atrocities. Aurangzeb ordered the slaughter of a cow inside the Chintamani Parshvanath Jain temple. He also desecrated the noses of carved figures in the temple. He converted the temple into a mosque called. So are Jain nationalists also objecting to Aurangzeb’s persecution? The Buddhists too were victims of Aurangzeb. Their temples were converted into mosques, and he ordered the destruction of the Buddhist carvings of Bamiyan. So are Buddhist nationalists being bitter about Aurangzeb’s actions?
The prejudiced mind of Amrit claims that defending Aurangzeb’s legacy has become a dangerous job under Modi. Would it not be a dangerous job to defend Hitler in Israel or even in Germany? It is amazing how one’s prejudices colour an individuals actions. It is worse when readers of a newspaper like the Times are fed half truths.
Nitin Mehta
11 March 2025
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