Proud of Mughals, they shaped Hindustan: Assam Congress MP

Guwahati (Assam) [India], August 30 (ANI): Congress MP from Assam Abdul Khaleque on Tuesday said he is proud of the Mughals because they gave the shape of 'Hindustan'.
Speaking to ANI, Khaleque said, "The perception of Hindustan was made by the Mughals. There were small states in Bharat. Mughals shaped them together as Hindustan. So I am proud of the Mughals. But I am not a successor of the Mughal dynasty. It is true that the Mughals had attacked Assam (Ahom kingdom) but that was not done individually. At that time Mughals were ruling over the Hindustan."
The Barpeta MP said the erstwhile Ahom army had defeated the Mughals. At that time he said it was a conflict between India and Assam. "But today, Assam is an integral part of India. The situation is completely different now," he said.
The Congress leader further said out of the 10 Vidhan Sabha seats that fall under his parliamentary constituency, seven were part of the Ahom kingdom while the three were the Koch Kingdom at that time.
He said the Battle of Saraighat was not a conflict between Hindus and Muslims but a battle between the King of Hindustan and the Ahom dynasty.
Attacking the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Khaleque said, "It is BJP's policy to spread hatred. They say they will rewrite history. It means they want to change history."
Asked about Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh's concept of Akhand Bharat, the Congress MP said, "I also want Akhand Bharat. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee used to say about Akhand Bharat but he divided Bengal. Mughal Badshah Bahadur Shah Zafar had given his leadership in the struggle for Independence."
This statement of Khaleque has come at a time when the names of many places of the Mughal period have been changed. Uttar Pradesh's Allahabad was officially renamed as Prayagraj in 2018. Further, Mughalsarai was renamed as Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Nagar. (ANI)