[Reader-list] Petition against renaming of Delhi's Aurangzeb Road

[Yousuf]

Dear Samvit
1. This petition does not mention Babar, Babari or a mosque. Where did you get that from?


2. This petition is NOT from a 'Muslim', so there is no question of 'being worried about One mosque'. Its a petition for saving our common heritage - it could have been written by anyone irrespective of their religious affiliation. In any case, its being signed by a large number of 'non-Muslims' who care for a common heritage.

3. A specific incident of renaming of a road in Delhi doesn't look connected to the 'genocide' in Kashmir (although if you come to it, everything is connected to everything any way).

4. The people writing and supporting this petition may be concerned about the unhappy incidents in Kashmir as well. For that, let us start another petition if you like.

thanks

Yousuf







On Saturday, 29 August 2015, 12:39, Samvit <samvitr at gmail.com> wrote:



You are only worried about one mosque (Babri) but never speak about the hundreds of hindu temples that were burnt by muslims in Kashmir Valley. There was a genocide of the Hindus in the Valley and you never talk about it. 
Hindu women were raped, men murdered and temples destroyed. Anything that was remotely hindu was destroyed. So let us not talk about Babri, let us talk about reversing the genocide of the hindus in the Valley.



On Sat, Aug 29, 2015 at 8:08 AM, Yousuf <ysaeed7 at yahoo.com> wrote:

Please Reverse the Renaming of Delhi’s Aurangzeb Road to APJ Abdul Kalam Road
>
>A petition being sent to
>
>The Chairman, New Delhi Municipal Corporation,
>
>The Chief Minister of Delhi,
>
>The Prime Minister of India
>
>
>Many of you are congratulating each other on changing the name of Delhi’s Aurangzeb’s Road to APJ Abdul Kalam Road, and are happy that the ‘wrongs of history’ have been corrected (as Mr.Maheish Girri has been claiming). This renaming simply proves that the decision makers of this nation and the city have absolutely no knowledge of our rich historical past, and are ready to act on such important matters based on rumours and popular demand. To many of us, this renaming is symbolically as incorrect and unfortunate as the 1992 demolition of Babri mosque in Ayodhya, since that was also done on ‘public demand’ and to ‘correct the wrongs of history’.
>
>We would like to know the following: Was any scholar or historian consulted before renaming of Aurangzeb road? How have we come to the conclusion that Aurangzeb was an evil person whose name needed to be removed from our heritage? Was his history and achievements read and understood properly by the people who made this decision? Did any public debate take place to decide the pros and cons of this renaming? Has an authentic and legal document (using the correct historical sources) been prepared to justify this renaming? Can that document be made public? Is renaming of roads as ordinary as cleaning of a road that can be done by a Municipal Corporation? According to what logic was only Dr.APJ Abdul Kalam considered the right person to take Aurangzeb’s place in history? Dr. Kalam is definitely a person worthy of remembrance and a memorial. But why couldn’t any new road or institution be named after him? Can’t we give him a more respectful tribute than such a politically controversial one? Do we want our future generations to remember that the name of one ‘bad’ Muslim was replaced by a ‘good’ Muslim? Is that the kind of history we want to propagate in this country?
>
>We understand that naming of roads, buildings and other public places can become a political act – many roads and entities have been named after people who did not deserve to be remembered, but their name simply helped in the establishment of a certain political identity. But how long will this naming and renaming continue to suit our political end?
>
>We appeal you to reconsider your decision to rename the Aurangzeb Road. We request you to think of a new road or institution to be named after Dr.APJ Abdul Kalam, which he truly deserves. We also request you to arrange public or legal debate involving people who are knowledgeable about the subject before making such decisions in future.
>
>Thanking you.
>
>
>Please sign (and add your comments to) this petition at
>https://goo.gl/ZmZXhP
>
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