According to Audrey Truschke, the Sunni Muslim emperor Aurangzeb did limit "public observation" of many religious holidays such as Hindu Diwali and Holi, but also of Shia observance of Muharram and the Persian holiday of Nauruz. According to Truschke, Aurangzeb did so because he found the festivals "distasteful" and also from "concerns with public safety" lurking in the background.[56] According to Stephen Blake, a part of the reason that led Aurangzeb to ban Diwali was the practice of gambling and drunken celebrations.[55] Truschke states that Aurangzeb did not ban private practices altogether and instead "rescinded taxes previously levied on Hindu festivals" by his Mughal predecessors.[56] John Richards disagrees and states Aurangzeb, in his zeal to revive Islam and introduce strict Sharia in his empire, issued a series of edicts against Hindu festivals and shrines.[57] According to Richards, it was Akbar who abolished the discriminatory taxes on Hindu festivals and pilgrims, and it was Aurangzeb who reinstated the Mughal era discriminatory taxes on festivals and increased other religion-based taxes.[57]
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Deepavali Facts
Historical FictionHappy Deepavali to all those who celebrates this wonderful festival. Many of you must be wondering what deepavali actually means, right? Well I hope you can get whatever information you want here. If you cannot find the information that you need, pl...
