UAE | Heritage and Culture
Movie 'defames Mughal empire'
Prince Yakub Ziauddin Tucy, a sixth generation descendant of the last Mughal emperor of India, Bahadur Shah Zafar, and his family are upset by factual errors in the Bollywood movie Jodhaa Akbar.
- By Sunita Menon, Staff Reporter
- Published: 00:34 April 20, 2008
- Prince Yakub Ziauddin Tucy, great grandson of the Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar.
- Image Credit: Hadrian Hernandez/Gulf News
Dubai: Prince Yakub Ziauddin Tucy, a sixth generation descendant of the last Mughal emperor of India, Bahadur Shah Zafar, and his family are upset by factual errors in the Bollywood movie Jodhaa Akbar.
The prince, who is on a private visit to Dubai, has filed a petition with the Supreme Court of India that the name Harkha Bai should be used in the movie instead of Jodhaa, so that the emperor Akbar and the Mughal dynasty will not be defamed.
The movie Jodhaa Akbar was produced and directed by Ashutosh Gowarikar. It tells the love story of Akbar and Jodhaa Bai.
"Akbar's reign is looked upon as the golden period of India. The movie shows Jodhaa Bai as Akbar's wife, which is incorrect.
"Jodha Bai was his daughter-in-law and wife of Prince Salem, who was known as emperor Jahangir.
"We as descendants of the Mughal dynasty will not accept the distortion of historical facts."
According to him, Akbar had four wives.
He got married to all of them when he was between 14 and 20 years old. His first wife was Ruquiya Begum, while his fourth wife was Harkha Bai, the daughter of Raja Bhasmal Kachwaha of Amer.
"Akbar did not marry Jodhaa Bai, the daughter of Mota Raja Udai Singh of Jodhpur. The truth is that Jodhaa Bai was born in 1572 and married to Akbar's son Jahangir.
Animosity
"The movie also depicts animosity between Mughals and the Rajputs, who are Hindus, which is also not true at all.
"There was a rock solid friendship between the Mughals and the Rajputs during Akbar's reign. The director distorted history to make money.
"We want future generations to learn a history of India that is based on facts, and not one that is twisted in the movies.
"Even the Rajput Sabha has moved a petition in the court against factual errors in the movie.
"If we do not raise our concerns it won't be long before we have a producer bringing out a Bollywood movie that is a love story about Mahatma Gandhi."
Today there are 50 members of the Mughal dynasty who live in the south Indian state of Hyderabad. The family members have all been given the titles of prince and princess by the government of India. This is also mentioned in their travel documents.
Tucy serves as the president of the Mughal Emperors Family Society and the managing director of the Mughal Educational Trust.
He has been appointed as the Mutwalli, or caretaker, of Mughal emperor Mohiuddin Mohammad Aurangzeb Alamgir at Khuldabad, located in the district of Aurangabad.
Tucy has also urged the government of India to confer a title of the First Freedom Fighter of India on Bahadur Shah Zafar, who was defeated in an 1857 mutiny by the British. Zafar was imprisoned in Yangon in Myanmar.
His grave is also there and a tomb was erected.
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