New Delhi: Speaking to reporters in Jaipur in the aftermath of the lynching of Rakbar Khan in Alwar, Rajasthan BJP president Madan Lal Saini fuelled further controversy by making a historically inaccurate statement about the founder of the Mughal empire Babur and his son Humayun.
According to the Indian Express, Saini stated that Humayun, on his deathbed, had advised Babur to respect cows, Brahmins and women, if he wanted to rule India.
In his statements, Saini claimed, “Kisi bhi samaj, desh, dharm ke shraddha ke bindu ka samman sabhi logo ne karna chahiye. Mujhe yaad ata hai, 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 chizo ka dhyan rakhna.” (People should respect the points of belief of any country, society or religion. I remember, when Humayun was dying, he summoned Babur. And he had said that if you want to rule Hindustan, you should keep three things in mind).
He continued, “Ek to gaai, Brahman aur mahila, inke izzat pe kisi bhi tarah ka inke apman nahi hona chahiye. Hindustan isko sahan nahi karta hai. (There shouldn’t be any insult to the honour of cow, Brahmin and women. Hindustan doesn’t tolerate this.)”
This statement, besides being perceived by many as a justification of Rakbar Khan’s killing, is grossly inaccurate. Humayun was the son of Babur, the founder of the Mughal empire, Babur died in 1531, 25 years before Humayun died in 1556, an ANI report pointed out.
Saini was appointed as BJP’s Rajasthan state president just a month ago. The Rajya Sabha MP from Rajasthan took over the reins after Ashok Parnami, former state party chief, resigned in April.
Rakbar Khan was killed while he was allegedly transporting cows to his village in Haryana. Even as Saini conceded Khan’s killing as “unfortunate” and a “violation of the law of the land”, at the same time he also pointed out that Khan had earlier been implicated in cow smuggling cases. “Ab, ye ghatna durbhagyapurna hai, apan democracy me jite hai, apne yahan kanoon ka raj hai…isliye kisi ne kanoon ko haath me nahi lena chahiye (Now, this incident is unfortunate, we live in a democracy, we have a rule of law…That’s why nobody should take the law in their hands),” said Saini.
Saini’s statement was treated with derision by Congress opposition leaders. The party was slammed for using “wrong facts from the past” to distract the public from the present.
“There is nothing to be surprised from Saini’s statement because even the prime minister cites wrong historical facts. They don’t check facts and cite wrong history in order to divert attention from the present and the issues which are affecting the people,” said Rajasthan Congress vice-president Archana Sharma.
This is indeed not the first time a BJP leader has made false historical claims. For instance, BJP MLA Sangeet Som in 2017 claimed that the Taj Mahal was built by a man who imprisoned his own father. Contrary to his historical distortion, Taj Mahal was constructed by emperor Shah Jahan as a tribute to his late wife. Shah Jahan was later in his life imprisoned by his son Aurangzeb. Vinay Katiyar, BJP lawmaker in the Rajya Sabha, had claimed that Shah Jahan had destroyed a Shiva temple in order to build the Taj Mahal, asking for it to be renamed “Tejo Mahal,” a theory soundly debunked by the Archaeological Survey of India.