Recently, Huffington Post India published an article titled ‘Why Aurangzeb's Reputation As A Tyrant And Bigot Doesn't Stand The Test Of History’ which led to some funny tweets. The article reviews a biography on Aurangzeb by historian Audrey Truschke that tries to rebut misconceptions about the Mughal emperor who is known as one of the worst tyrants in Indian history.
The article by Somak Ghoshal writes about various less inhuman aspects of the emperor while also mentioning how he ascended to the throne by driving away one of his brothers, killing two others and by keeping his father in house arrest.
At one place the article read ‘His actions were in accordance with what he imagined to be that of an effective and equitable ruler's.’
‘When read in the context of Mughal history, much of the aura of a "cartoon bigot" that social media trolls and right-wing politicians have imposed on Aurangzeb seems to fade away, leaving behind the impression of a king who was as human and fallible as any other,’ reads the article in another place.
However, the vigilant Twitterati seem to have not taken this article too kindly, and soon the hashtag #YoAurangzebSoNoble went viral.
Here are a couple of tweets with the hashtag that has gone viral:
#YoAurangzebSoNoble that he gave free skull caps to every Hindu who accepted to convert to true deen when a sword was placed on his neck !!
— Zaid Hamid (@SZaidHamid) March 30, 2017
All Aurangzeb wanted Hindus 2 do is 2 convert,pay Jizya or die.Is this too much 4 Hindus?#YoAurangzebSoNoble n deserves Noble Peace Prize ;)
— Praveenchandra G R (@GPraveenchandra) March 30, 2017
#YoAurangzebSoNoble that Noble peace prize should be named to Aurangzeb peace prize or Bagdadi peace prize. pic.twitter.com/ul20Wxsc5W
— Oxomiya Jiyori🇮🇳 (@SouleFacts) March 30, 2017
Some truths must be told:
Aurangzeb is so innocent that he reads mutual fund documents carefully before investing. #YoAurangzebSoNoble
— Troll Creativity (@TrollCreativity) March 30, 2017
#YoAurangzebSoNoble he loved mangoes before Katrina could make an ad. pic.twitter.com/6iQPVhs8h0
— Sathyaghan Iyer (@Sathyaghan) March 29, 2017
#YoAurangzebSoNoble Was champion of recycling , he would use Temple material to build Mosques.
— Gopalakrishna Pai (@pai_rajesh) March 29, 2017
Can't really deny this.
#YoAurangzebSoNoble he never stalked a girl on Facebook..
— TheFrustratedIndian (@FrustIndian) March 29, 2017
When the author of the book, Audrey Truschke, tried to make sense of it all somehow she seems to have failed.
So if Twitter goes #YoAudreySoIdiot it will mean Audrey is intelligent?#YoAurangzebSoNoble #AudreyIsNewPappu pic.twitter.com/Q07iqAZptp
— TheFrustratedIndian (@FrustIndian) March 30, 2017
This is where it all began.
#YoAurangzebSoNoble... Kya bolte ho? :D
— Vikrant (@vikrantkumar) March 29, 2017