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Narendra Modi’s sinister take on cancel culture is erasing

centuries of Muslim history in India
26 Oct, 2021 10:19

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FILE PHOTO: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses the nation during Independence
Day celebrations at the historic Red Fort – a former residence of the Mughal Emperors – in
Delhi, India. © REUTERS / Adnan Abidi

By James Fox, a British journalist and writer at RT. He has written a doctoral thesis on
local content in resource economies and has contributed to academic work on global
supply chains.
In saffronisation, India has its own form of cancel culture – a Hindu nationalist agenda that is
becoming ever more prominent and is aimed at wiping out any legacies left by Muslim
conquerors and the British Empire.

Under the leadership of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the right-wing
government of Narendra Modi, India has sought to recall and glorify the ancient Hindu
cultural narrative at the expense of hundreds of years of history. 

This policy, often referred to as ‘saffronisation’ (a reference to the spiritual use of the
saffron colour with Hinduism) is encouraging the erasure of the legacies of the British
and the Mughals – a Muslim dynasty that ruled the country for nearly three centuries.

India’s cancel culture has its roots in the middle of the 20th century and the advent of
Hindu-majority rule. As in many other newly independent states, the country’s post-
colonial governments embarked on a programme of renaming cities, streets and public
places, as well as reintroducing aspects of their indigenous culture. 

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These changes emphasize the search for renewed national identity, resilience and
purpose, as well as representing a stiff middle finger to their former colonial overlords.
In some countries, the agenda lost momentum but, in India, the movement continues
with vigour, more than 70 years after Delhi gained independence from London. 

In the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement, and the accompanying onslaught of
wokeness, many in Britain and the US might turn their nose up at the thought of
renaming cities, streets and buildings. But in India it’s been a feature of politics for
decades. 
Bombay to Mumbai, Banaras to Varanasi, United Provinces to Uttar Pradesh; some of
the changes that saw India rid itself of colonial names and erroneous transliterations
were the precursor to the current, more sinister, agenda. 

Nowadays, Britain’s legacy appears less problematic to India’s nationalist politicians

than centuries of Muslim conquest. Nevertheless, there are still changes; earlier in
October, it was announced that Mount Harriet National Park – named after Indian-born
British artist Harriet Tytler – would be renamed as Mount Manipur to honour freedom
fighters who fought London’s rule and were imprisoned in 1891. 

While the names may change, though, some aspects of Britain’s legacy remain, such as
its administrative system, the academic structure and use of the English language.
There are also close political and cultural ties with London. 

Instead, the BJP has another focus, the legacy of Muslim rule – and what makes this
more concerning is that there are some 170 million followers of Islam living in India,
while very few Brits still call the country their home. To many, the BJP’s persistence in
erasing the Mughal legacy is a persistent attack on Islam, and on millions of Muslims
who reside in India. 

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Just one year after Modi came to power in 2014, taking over from the Indian National
Congress Party and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, street signs in New Delhi
carrying Urdu or Muslim-sounding names, including Aurangzeb Road – named after a
Mughal emperor – were painted black by a radical Hindu organization, Shiv Sena
Hindustan. 

A few months later, BJP politicians “corrected the mistakes of [their]

history” and renamed the arterial Aurangzeb Road to Dr A P J Abdul Kalam Road, in
honour of the recently deceased pro-BJP ex-president. 
The following six years have seen BJP leaders embark on a spree of renaming with the
aim of removing the Mughal legacy and promoting their own Hinduism-centred
narrative. In 2018, the party saw it necessary to rebaptise the city of Allahabad, home to
some 1.5 million people, as Prayagraj, just months before welcoming the Hindu mega-
festival Kumbh Mela. 

The city, which had held its name for some 443 years, becomes a pilgrimage site for
millions of Hindu worshippers every 12 years and its new name is intended to reference
the festival. The name Allahabad dated to the 16th century when the city was founded
by Mughal Emperor Akbar. 

Once again, there was more alarming rhetoric accompanying the change. “Today, the
BJP government has rectified the mistake made by Akbar,” a BJP official told local
media. 
But it’s not only cities and streets that are falling victim to the BJP vision to make India,
and its history, more ‘Indian.’ With local elections pending, this summer BJP politicians
embarked on a host of new changes, including the standard renaming of cities. 
In Haryana, state leaders decided to outlaw the use of the term Gorakh Dhanda (Urdu
for complicated business) in official communication. It was deemed that the phrase was
offensive to followers of Gorakhnath – a 12th century (or earlier) Hindu saint who
founded a sub-movement within the religion. 
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But perhaps even more sinister was the recommendation this year by the Indian Council
for Historical Research to delete the names of 387 Muslim freedom fighters who’d
waged war against British colonial forces, from a Dictionary of the Martyrs of India’s
Freedom Struggle. The government-controlled body was widely criticized by the
martyrs’ descendants for the proposal, which came almost exactly a century after their
martyrdom, on August 26, 1921.

Cancel culture is contentious at the best of times, but India’s move to plaster over its
Mughal history is particularly depressing because Muslim rule on the subcontinent
reflects one of the wealthiest and arguably most fascinating periods of Indian history.

During nearly three centuries of rule, which at its peak extended across almost the
entire Indian subcontinent and into Afghanistan, the Mughals brought with them Persian
culture and art as well as an effective centralized governance. The empire became one
of the richest and most powerful in the world and, at times, its Muslim leaders oversaw
periods of great religious tolerance, although Hindus often struggled to have the same
rights as followers of Islam. 
The Mughal Empire’s vast architectural achievements include the Qutb Minar – a
UNESCO world heritage site in New Delhi – and the Taj Mahal, an immense
mausoleum of white marble in Agra which attracts some seven to eight million visitors
each year. The town of Fatehpur Sikri – a magnificent red sandstone and marble
conurbation – is yet another physical legacy deemed by UNESCO as a site of
outstanding universal value. The edifices are the pinnacle of a building program which
saw the construction of reservoirs, bridges, gardens and mosques as well as a vast
trading infrastructure.
Some even contend that the Mughals were important for uniting the various kingdoms
and federations of the Indian subcontinent, and thus possibly playing a key role in later
India unity. 

But what’s most concerning is that many of India’s Muslims, perhaps understandably,
feel under attack by the manifestations of Hindu nationalism which increasingly alienate
them and erase their own culture in the country they call home. Seven decades into
Hindu-majority rule, it remains to be seen how many more Mughal “mistakes” need to
be rectified. 

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The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the
author and do not necessarily represent those of RT.

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