India justifiably takes enormous pride in having invented the zero and given the world a numerical system which is the cornerstone of modern civilisation. Likewise, with Yoga, Auyrveda and world religions such as Hinduism and Buddhism, and smaller ones such as Jainism and Sikhism.

With such stellar achievements to her credit, why then is India allowing her troubled religious past to sabotage her future? Why are we Indians unwilling to accept our fractured history, warts and all, and move forward like other mature societies?

All of a sudden in recent weeks, the 17th century Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb grabbed the headlines in Maharashtra with a fiery public debate on his controversial legacy. While the Samajwadi Party MLA Abu Azmi was suspended from the Maharashtra state assembly for praising Aurangzeb, CM Devendra Fadnavis supported the call for the removal of Aurangzeb's tomb at Sambhajinagar (formerly Ahmednagar) and criticised the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) leader Prakash Ambedkar for visiting Aurangzeb's tomb.

Since Aurangzeb was trending in public discourse, almost every political party, including the Congress, had barbs to throw at their political rivals.

In Uttar Pradesh, the small city of Sambhal has been on the boil ever since November 2024, when the local court ordered a survey at the Mughal-era Shahi Jama Masjid. This was to ascertain allegations that the mosque was constructed on the site of a temple.

In New Delhi, with the BJP having won handsomely in the recent state........

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