In his new book ‘A Brief History of the Present’, author and scholar Hilal Ahmed has tried to reimagine the space for minorities, especially Muslims, in the “new India”.

In a conversation with Manisha Pande, Hilal says the Muslim community is usually represented by two extremes in the media – either fundamentalist voices or individuals who criticise Islam. Meanwhile, Hindutva politics has continued to gain strength, with secular parties failing to voice concerns fearing a loss of Hindu votes.

Amid this, historical figures such as Aurangzeb and Maharana Pratap have been politicised. Hilal says Aurangzeb’s heroic image is a creation of Hindutva politics. But how? And who is the true Indian Muslim? How does the community engage with politics? How do Muslims look at Islam and how can they negotiate their space in the new India?

Hilal says, “Figures like Rana Pratap and Aurangzeb are political figures. These are not historical figures. There wasn’t any Mughal state. It was a Mughal-Rajput state. It was a Mughal-Rajput state even during Aurangzeb. So when a temple was demolished, what were the Rajputs doing?” 

Watch. 

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