Last Mughal descendant Yakub Habeebuddin Prince Tucy has condemned rechristening of the under construction 'Mughal Museum' in Agra after the Maratha-Warrior king Shivaji and vowed to construct a similar museum in the same city on his own land.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had, a few days back, announced that the 'Mughal Museum' would be named after Shivaji as the Mughals could not be "our heroes".
Tucy, who lived in Hyderabad, said that the UP government's decision was detrimental to communal peace and amity and would also 'tarnish' the image of the country abroad.
In a post on his Facebook page, he said that Shivaji had no connection with Agra. "There is no rationale behind naming the museum after Shivaji," he remarked.
The people, who visited Agra, would like to know about the Mughals after taking a round of the Taj Mahal, he said adding that he would get a 'Mughal Museum' constructed on his own land in Agra.
He also said that the last Mughal king Bahadur Shah Zafar had sacrificed his life for the country. Zafar had been exiled by the British regime and was housed in a jail in Myanmar.
Tucy had earlier announced that he would donate a gold brick for Ram Temple construction.
The 'Mughal Museum' project was the brainchild of the then UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav and was conceived in 2016. The Museum would have Mughal and Braj (the region, where Lord Krishna was born) artefacts.
Some historians have also criticised the rechristening of the Museum after Shivaji, saying that the Maratha warrior king had no connection with the town.