Alauddin Khilji was a brutal ruler, Sanjay Leela Bhansali should not glamorise him

The film Padmavati has raised much rubble in India. While everyone is talking about Rani Padmavati’s pride and honour, no one is saying that Alauddin was a brutal emperor. For the sake of better historical perspective, it is crucial to discuss what the condition of India was during the time of Khilji’s rule and why Padmavati committed Jauhar. Without reading about Khilji and Padmavati’s history, it is difficult to know about the controversy.

My argument is, Alauddin Khilji was not a glamorous king. Instead, he was a brutal one. Sanjay Leela Bhansali might not bothered to do enough research on Khilji.

Without knowing the history, it is difficult to understand the present situation.

This controversy has given a platform to many who are trying to politicise the issue for their personal agenda.

Recently, Mr Bhansali showed his movie to a few media persons and it has become an issue now.  How can he, in a special screening, show the movie to a group of people of his preference without getting the certificate from CBFC? Even the Rajput communities who are protesting against the movie wanted such a special screening but Mr Bhansali never had time for that.

So many people have entered the controversy now. Even those who were not even popular have become popular now. Such people are doing things like threatening Deepika and announcing a bounty of Rs 10 crore on Mr Bhansali. Various community leaders and politicians are looking only for cheap publicity.

Actually, this has become the easiest way to appear on TV. The moment these wannabe celebrities issue derogatory statements and threats, they become media stars overnight and start appearing on news debates. Using such foul language makes them a celebrity overnight and even the media helps them. The masala debates on different news channels always have space for such people to make their shows entertaining. 

How Mr Bhansali has portrayed Khilji will become clear only after watching the movie. But to understand the tyrant’s personality, we have to read about him in various popular books on him written by famous historians.

There is a book Khalji Kaleen Bharat written by world-renowned historian Saiyid Athar Abbas Rizvi, which has documented history from 1290 to 1320.

This book incorporates translations of Ziauddin Barni, Amir Khusrow, Emasi (or Imasi), Yahya, Ibn Battuta, Farishta, and Abdullah.

Historians are unanimous that Khilji was a cruel ruler. He killed many to acquire and invade. For him, beheading and torturing someone was a game. There was a huge section of society which was suffering during his rule. After reading the book it is very clear that Khilji was even more dangerous than ISIS leader Baghdadi and Taliban terrorists.

Alauddin wanted to win against Delhi’s Sultanate and invaded Devgiri without informing Jalaluddin Khilji, his uncle and father-in-law. Jalaluddin considered him as his son but got a terrible death at Alauddin’s hands. He killed both of Jalaluddin’s sons, as per Rizvi’s book. Khilji also beheaded one of his cousins Akat Khan.

Alauddin never respected any religion, something which Rizvi mentions on Page 47.

Saeed Ahtar Abbas Rizvi also mentioned Alauddin’s brutality and said that he did notorious things to save his power.

In Khalji Kaleen Bharat, a book written by Saeed Ahtar Abbas Rizvi, on page 29, there is a mention that there was a Hindu deity made of brass in a temple in Madhya Pradesh that was destroyed but the metal was converted into various things and was sent to Delhi.

Also on page 68, it’s mentioned that during the rule of Khilji, he made various policies to suppress Hindus. 

If Mr Bhansali has taken all the points from history and uses Padmavati’s name, then he has to take care of many other things written in history books, and only after knowing all these things must he glamourise Khilji’s character. 

There are many people who are supporting their argument by saying that it is freedom of expression and speech. Article 19(1) gives freedom of speech but in the same way Article 19(2) says Indian security and integrity must be kept in mind while talking about freedom of speech and expression.

Freedom of expression is being used by intellectuals, politicians and the liberal media to create an atmosphere of intolerance, but they must also understand that freedom of expression comes with responsibilities while making statements, or even movies. 

(Disclaimer: As per the author’s commentary on his TV show ‘DNA’ on Zee News)