3 days ago
Last Updated:March 05, 2025, 22:29 IST
Rajasthan Education Minister described Akbar as a "rapist and a looter" and said that calling him "great" was an insult to the country.
Rajasthan Education Minister Madan Dilawar (Photo: X)
Rajasthan Education Minister Madan Dilawar has said Mughal emperor Akbar was a “rapist and a looter" while also stating that calling him “great" was an “insult" to the country.
His remarks came on Tuesday while replying to a discussion in the state Assembly on demands for grants for the Education Department.
“It pains us so much what they used to teach about the great men of the country. They tried to belittle Maharana Pratap. And Akbar, who used to set up ‘meena bazaar’, was a rapist, an invader and a looter, was called as great. This was an insult to the country, of our great men. This cannot be tolerated," Dilawar said in the Assembly.
Some MLAs marked their objection to his statement, prompting him to ask, “Who is Akbar to you?"
He went on to add that Aurangzeb killed “countless Hindus", brought down numerous temples and imposed jizya tax on Hindus.
“But the reality was hidden from the country’s students and taught for many years. In textbooks, the invader and cruel ruler Taimur was described as great, which was completely inappropriate," he said.
Dilawar’s comments in the Assembly were not his first for Akbar, as in February last year, he had said that the Mughal emperor was not just a “rapist" but also taking his name in India “is a sin".
“When we were in school, we read that Akbar was great. I have also studied the same, but I have also heard that he used to set up ‘meena bazaars’, pick up beautiful girls and women, and rape them," the Minister had said.
The Minister’s recent remarks came amid the ongoing controversy around Samajwadi Party MLA Abu Azmi’s praise for Aurangzeb.
“Wrong things are being said about Aurangzeb. He constructed a lot of temples for Hindus. He even got one of his soldiers trampled by elephants when he wanted to marry a Hindu priest’s daughter. As a mark of their gratitude, they constructed a mosque for Muslims. History has been distorted," Abu Azmi said on Monday, creating a massive uproar.
He was later suspended from the Assembly for the remainder of the Maharashtra Assembly Budget Session.
Location : First Published:March 05, 2025, 22:29 IST
News politics ‘He Was Rapist, Invader': Rajasthan Education Minister Denounces Akbar In Assembly Amid Aurangzeb Row
