Lucknow : A controversial incident unfolded in Pilkhuwa town of Uttar Pradesh’s Hapur district, where members of a Hindutva group posted images of Mughal emperors Aurangzeb and Babur in public toilets and urinals.
The incident, which occurred on February 26, was recorded by the radical group, whose members, clad in saffron scarves, uploaded the footage on social media. The video shows them pasting images of Babur, the founder of the Mughal Empire, and Aurangzeb, its longest-reigning emperor, onto restroom walls before desecrating the pictures by beating them with shoes.
This act is part of a growing trend of aggressive actions by Hindutva outfits seeking to diminish the legacy of the Mughals. On February 23, a similar incident took place in Delhi, where a group of Hindutva supporters spat on and urinated on an Akbar Road signboard before covering it with a poster of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.
The campaign against Mughal-era figures has intensified in recent years, with efforts to rename historical landmarks, cities, and educational content. Prominent examples include the renaming of Allahabad to Prayagraj and Aurangabad to Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar.
Supporters of these acts claim they aim to restore India’s “true heritage” by erasing Mughal influence, while critics warn that such moves fuel communal tensions and deepen societal divisions.
