Agra: Yakub Habibuddin Tuci, who claims to be a descendant of the last Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar, has written to United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres seeking to ensure the protection of Aurangzeb's tomb in Shambhaji Nagar.
He has also sought an appointment with the Secretary-General to discuss the Waqf Amendment and Triple Talaq. The demand for protection comes nearly a month after violence erupted in Nagpur during a rally which demanded the removal of Aurangzeb's Tomb located in Kuldabad, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district (formerly Aurangabad) in Maharashtra.
Yakub, who also claims to be the Mutawalli (caretaker) of the Waqf property where the Mughal Emporer's tomb resides, says that the grave has been declared a 'Monument of National Importance' and is protected under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958.
"As per the provisions of the said Act, no unauthorised construction, alteration, destruction, or excavation can be undertaken at or near the protected monument, and any such activity would be deemed illegal and punishable under law," the letter to the UN Secretary-General read.
He decried the tomb's state and said that security personnel must be deployed to protect it.
The letter cited India's signing of the UNESCO Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, 1972, and added, "Any act of destruction, neglect, or unlawful alteration of such monuments would amount to a violation of international obligations."
Yakub Habibuddin Tussi, a resident of Hyderabad, added that he will present his view on the Waqf Law to the Secretary-General. He is also planning to take the cases of the Waqf Amendment and Triple Talaq to the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
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