Don't glorify Mughals but also don't totally vilify them: Naseeruddin Shah

Mughals came here to make a home and not to loot and their contributions can’t be denied, Shah said

Naseeruddin Shah has stoked controversy again, this time because of his opinion on Mughal emperors. In an interview with The Indian Express, Shah opined that the absence of information and knowledge has led to hate and wrong narrative that is making people blame the past for everything.

BJP has constantly painted Mughal emperors as outsiders and has constantly vilified them on several instances. It has sought to change the name of 40 villages with ‘Mughal-era’ names. Mughal Gardens becoming ‘Amrit Udyan’ was also seen as an attempt to eradicate Mughal symbolism from the country.

Shah who will be seen in ZEE5’s original series Taj-Divided by Blood, will play Emperor Akbar.

The veteran actor told IE that he was amused by the politics around Mughal dynasty.

Also Read | Kings like Shivaji, not Akbar, Aurangzeb are India's real super heroes: Ramdev

“It amuses me, because it is so utterly ridiculous. I mean, people can’t tell the difference between Akbar and a murderous invader like Nader Shah or Babar’s great grandfather Taimur," the actor told IE.

There have been much conversation around the Mughal dynasty and leaders from the BJP and right-wing leaders have increasingly demanded Hindu rulers from history be brought into prominence. In a similar vein, baba Ramdev recently said that kings like Shivaji Maharaj, and not Mughal emperors like Akbar or Aurangzeb are the real India super heroes for today's generation.

He had also said that education curriculum in the country needed to accomodate Indian valiant fighters instead of Mughal rulers alone.

Shah added that the Mughals came here to make a home and not to loot and their contributions can’t be denied.

However, the actor said there might have been glorification of Mughals that might have submerged the indigenous Indian culture, but still according to him they shouldn’t be discarded as 'catastrophic'.

Shah questioned that if Mughals were so demonic then why the monuments built by them like Qutub Minar, Red Fort, Taj Mahal are not knocked down. He also spoke about Tipu Sultan and the current regime asking to choose between Ram Temple and Tipu Sultan, “What kind of logic is this?”, Shah exclaimed.