A Geographical Study of Temple Desecration: The Reign of Emperor Aurangzeb in India

Abstract

The history of Aurangzeb’s reign for 50 years from 1658 to 1707 CE is an indelible part of the history of India. The Mughal Empire grew in the east and south of India, so did the religious persecution of the infidels. Their temples were demolished and their religious practices were put to end. The objective of this article is to carry out a geographical study of desecration of temples during his rule and find the possible reasons behind it. The study takes help from books written during his reign by the office bearers in his administration translated into English. Aurangzeb was of the view that temples can be desecrated any time as they cannot walk. He did issue several orders, specific as well as general, for the destruction of places of worship of the worthless infidels. The study concludes that the state of Rajasthan has witnessed the highest number of temple desecrations under his rule. From the first Muslim invasion till the modern times, the vandalism and desecration of places of worship of infidels seems to be inspired by the Islamic concept of Sunnah—which means following the sayings, teachings and doings of the Prophet.