Mughal Empire

SP MLA Abu Azmi gets anticipatory bail in Aurangzeb remarks case

A Mumbai court on Tuesday granted anticipatory bail to Samajwadi Party MLA Abu Azmi in a case filed against him for remarks praising Mughal emperor Aurangzeb after he submitted the comments were not made to insult any personality or hurt religious sentiments. His pre-arrest bail plea was allowed by Additional Sessions Judge V G Raghuwanshi. A reasoned court order was not available yet. Seeking anticipatory bail, Azmi, suspended from the Maharashtra legislative assembly till March 26, submitted in the court that his statements were made to the press "spontaneously without any premeditated intention to insult any personality or hurt the religious feelings of any person". While granting relief to the politician, the court imposed a set of conditions, which included furnishing a solvent surety bond of Rs 20,000. The court asked the opposition legislator to the visit south Mumbai's Marine drive police station, where the case was registered, for three days (on March 12, 13, 15) and ...

SP MLA Abu Azmi suspended from Maharashtra Assembly for Aurangzeb remark

Samajwadi Party MLA Abu Asim Azmi had reportedly said that Aurangzeb was not a 'cruel administrator' and 'built many temples'

Sambhal court to hear Jama Masjid-Harihar temple case on March 5

A local court has fixed March 5 as the next date of hearing in a case connected to the Mughal-era Shahi Jama Masjid and its survey at Chandausi. "The Supreme Court has directed all the lower courts not to entertain new suits seeking surveys of any place of worship until further orders. We have filed a copy of the said order in the court, which fixed March 5 as the next date of hearing," Shakil Ahmad Wari, advocate representing the Muslim side, told reporters. When told about the Hindu side's claims that the mosque was built over an ancient Harihar temple, Wari said it is for the court to decide on the matter. "We will prove in the court that it was not a Harihar temple, but Jama Masjid. We have all the evidence," he said. Tensions escalated in Sambhal since November 19 last year, when a court-mandated survey of the Shahi Jama Masjid began following claims that a Harihar temple once stood on the site. The situation turned violent on November 24 during the second survey when protest

Sambhal mosque row: ASI seeks control, management of Mughal-era structure

The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has submitted its response in a court -- which had allowed a survey of the Shahi Jama Masjid here -- seeking control and management of the Mughal-era mosque as it is a protected heritage structure. Representing the ASI, lawyer Vishnu Sharma said the agency submitted its counterargument in the court on Friday, stating that it faced resistance from the mosque's management committee and locals in conducting surveys of the site. He said the ASI also highlighted an incident from January 19, 2018, when an FIR was filed against the mosque's management committee for installing steel railings on the mosque's steps without proper authorisation. The mosque, notified as an ASI-protected monument in 1920, is under the purview of the agency and as such, public access to the structure should be permitted, provided it adheres to ASI regulations, Sharma said. The ASI argued that control and management of the monument, including any structural modifications,

All books calling Akbar great will be burnt: Rajasthan education minister

Rajasthan Education Minister Madan Dilawar on Sunday said all books glorifying Mughal emperor Akbar and referring to him as great "will be burnt". The minister's statement came during his visit to Udaipur, where he was addressing a gathering during an event in the Vivekanand Auditorium of Mohanlal Sukhadia University. He said comparing Akbar with Maharana Pratap is an insult to the Rajput warrior king and the pride of Rajasthan. He referred to Maharana Pratap as people's protector, who never accepted to bow down, while Akbar got many people killed for his own gains. So, calling Akbar "great" is an act of foolishness, he added. Dilawar said there was no bigger enemy to the Mewar region and Rajasthan than those who praised Akbar in their school textbooks and called him "great". The minister said, "We have seen the books of all classes. We have not found it (mention of Akbar as great) in the books yet. If it is there, then all the books will be burnt." Maharana Pratap was a legend

ASI to restore Delhi's Mughal era Barapullah bridge: Key details to know

Historians say the 200-metre-long Barapullah bridge was built during the reign of Mughal emperor Jahangir in 1628. At present, a drain passes through the structure

Shahi Imam successor: Investiture ceremony underway at Jama Masjid

A 'dastarbandi (investiture)' ceremony during which Jama Masjid's incumbent Shahi Imam Syed Ahmed Bukhari will declare his son "as his successor" is currently underway in the courtyard of the grand mosque. The ceremony at the Mughal-era mosque built by Emperor Shah Jahan in the 17th century is expected to last more than an hour. Several 'ulemas (Islamic scholars)' are attending the ceremony for which the mosque -- a veritable symbol of old Delhi or Shahjehanabad and a celebrated landmark -- has been decked up. Some congratulatory posters bearing images of the Shahi Imam and his son have been put up along the street running in front of the mosque, whose architecture draws awe from both locals and foreign tourists. The ceremony involves tying a 'dastarbandi (turban)' on the head, according to the old 'riwaz (tradition)' associated with the investiture, the official said. Syed Shaban Bukhari (29) was anointed as the mosque's Naib Imam in a 'dastarbandi' ceremony in November 2014, the

Why is the National Flag unfurled at the Red Fort every August 15?

On the eve of India's 77th Independence Day, the Red Fort remains the enduring seat of power that sowed the seeds of a democratic nation way back in 1857

The last days of Mughal Delhi

The best sections in the book are those that deal with the revolt of 1857 in Delhi

The unsung victims of 1857

Rana Safvi offers an evocative translation of an account that recalled how Mughal royals, especially women, suffered after the exile of Bahadur Shah Zafar

NCERT drops content on Gujarat riots, Cold War from Class 12 textbook

The NCERT team has also dropped pages on the history of the Naxalite movement and "Controversies during Emergency" as part of a rationalisation exercise

PM Narendra Modi's address on Guru Tegh Bahadur's anniversary: Highlights

Guru Tegh Bahadur's Birth Anniversary: The sacrifice of the Sikh Guru has inspired generations of Indians to live and die to protect the dignity of their culture, for its honor and respect, Modi said

UK imposes export bar on 1-mn pound colonial era Mughal dagger, scabbard

The fact that this dagger has retained all its components, including the precious stones, is exceptional, according to historians.

Balkanisation fears and threats: What Aurangzeb can teach new India in 2021

Aurangzeb's actions sowed the seeds of the disintegration of the Mughal empire 50 years or so after his death and therein lie some lessons

Akbar: The Great Mughal is an instructive retelling of the emperor's life

This vivid retelling of Mughal emperor Akbar's life is both timely and instructive

Delhi has a trendy new cultural space in the Mughal-era Sunder Nursery

A 16th century heritage park complex sprinkled with protected Mughal-era monuments, Sunder Nursery is an idyllic getaway from the city within the city.

The trio who came together to chronicle a little-covered Mughal era

If you are looking for whether venality is baked into our politics, you would do well to go through the pages of this work

Deconstructing Mughal eras

According to Gandhi, Mughal royals such as Aurangzeb and Dara Shukoh have metamorphosed into myths in the popular imagination

India from the archives

The author's commentary is minimal and designed to guide rather than influence.

Book review: No clash of cultures in India during the Persianate age

Richard Eaton employs rich empirical detail to demonstrate that intellectual encounters between the Sanskrit and Persian worlds were not tied to any one religion and that the two were not hostile