In Bahraich, Adityanath slams 'glorification' of Salar Masood

Time of India

a day ago

Uttar Pradesh
Chief Minister
Yogi Adityanath
on Tuesday opposed the glorification of
Salar Masood
, revered as a warrior-saint from 11th century, saying the punishment given to the "foreign invader" after being captured "guaranteed him a place in hell according to Islam".
He was speaking on the occasion of the inauguration of a statue of
Maharaja Suheldev
and the launching of 384
development projects
worth Rs 1,243 crore in
Bahraich
.
Maharaja Suheldev, an icon of the Rajbhar community, had defeated and killed Ghaznavid general Ghazi Saiyyad Salar Masood in a battle on the banks of the Chittora Lake in Bahraich in 1033 AD.
"I had said on the soil of Bahraich that glorification of
foreign invaders
should be stopped and that the national heroes must be honoured. And 1,000 years ago, such a tale of courage and bravery was written by Maharaja Suheldev on this very soil of Bahraich," he said.
Adityanath said that it was Prime Minister
Narendra Modi
's instruction that national heroes should be honoured.
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"History may have done injustice to him (Maharaja Suheldev), but this double-engine government will not allow it," he said.
Referring to the battle in Chittora, Adityanath said, "To stop the barbaric foreign invader who moved from Ghazni along with his 3-lakh-strong army to loot India, Maharaja Suheldev led the resistance from Mathura to Bahraich... By the time the invader reached (here), half of his army had already perished."
"When he (Masood) reached Chittora, Maharaja Suheldev had 20,000 to 25,000 bravehearts while there were 1.5 lakh warriors with Salar Masood.
"But, these 20,000 to 25,000 bravehearts killed them ruthlessly. Evil Salar Masood was caught alive and he was given such punishment that it guaranteed him a place in hell according to Islam ('Dusht Salar Masood yehaan zindaa pakra liya gayaa, aur ussko sazaa bhi aisee hui ki jo Islam ke anusaar jahannum mein jaane kee guarantee deta hai')."
The remarks come in the backdrop of the controversy over the Bahraich district administration denying permission for the annual 'Jeth Mela', which was traditionally held at the dargah of Salar Masood from May 15 to June 15 and drew lakhs of pilgrims.
In an official statement, the administration on May 3 cited the prevailing atmosphere of public anger following incidents like the Pahalgam attack and Sambhal violence and concerns surrounding the amended Waqf Act as the reasons.
The Allahabad High Court had on May 17 declined to grant permission for organising the annual fair at the dargah. However, in its order, the court's Lucknow bench allowed rituals and other related routine activities at the dargah.
"There should be no events in the name of foreign invaders... If the main event of Bahraich is organised, it will be in the name of Maharaja Suheldev ji, it will be in the name of Balark Rishi, it will be in the name of Adishakti Maa Pateshwari Devi," Adityanath said on Tuesday.
Attacking the previous governments led by the Samajwadi Party and others, the chief minister questioned why Suheldev was "not honoured" after independence.
"They were afraid to anger their Muslim vote bank and were worried that their appeasement politics would fail. That is why they did not speak a word against the foreign invaders," Adityanath said.
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