Rajasthan BJP chief Madan Lal Saini has created a controversy by saying that Mughal emperor Humayun on his deathbed told son Babur to "respect cows, brahmins and women" in order to continue to rule India.
In a video that went viral on social media, Madan Lal Saini, while speaking on the issue of the alleged killing of Akbar Khan in Alwar said, "Jab Humayun mar raha tha, us samay usne Babur ko bulaya tha. Aur unhone kaha tha ki Hindustan me tumko sashan karna hai to teen chizon ka dhyan rakhna, Ek to gaai, Brahman aur mahila, inke izzat. (When Humayun was dying, he summoned his son Babur and said that if you want to rule India, you should respect the cow, Brahmins, and women in India)”.
The statement, which is factually incorrect, received brickbats on social media for his poor sense of history.
Babur was the father of Humayun and had died in 1531, around 25 years before the latter’s death in 1556.
Congress has criticised the BJP for presenting history wrong. "Instead of addressing the present issue, they will bring wrong historical facts into the picture. And the idea is just to divert the attention. This is not for the first time they have done politics in the name of now. It's their habit of changing history, stating wrong facts and distorting the truth," Congress spokesperson Archana Sharma told DH.
Madan Lal Saini (71) a Rajya Sabha MP from Rajasthan was appointed state president of the BJP last month after the seat remained vacant for more than two months following former state party chief Ashok Parnami's resignation in April.
Meanwhile reacting to Saini's statement, noted historian Rana Safvi said "Most of the Mughal emperors were considerate and cared about the sentiments of people. However, BJP President has become a laughing stock because of his incorrect facts. He should have checked his facts before speaking".
Echoing the same views, Prof. Nadeem Ali Rezavi, Chairman at Centre for advanced studies of History and Culture at Aligarh Muslim University shared with DH, "In the 19th century it was widely reported that Babur left a will but historians found concoctions in it. However, it is believed that Mughal emperor Akbar banned eating of beef. There are many pieces of evidence in history which are of the view that Mughal emperors had come up with an opinion that one should abstain from consuming it".