In Muslim outreach in Haryana, why BJP is pitching for a 16th century Mewat king’s legacy

“I bow to Hasan Khan Mewati, the revolutionary who sacrificed his life for Bharat,” Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini recently said at a rally in Nuh’s Punhana while campaigning for Union minister Rao Inderjit Singh, the BJP’s incumbent MP and candidate in the Gurgaon Lok Sabha constituency.

CM Saini was praising the 16th century Mewat ruler Raja Hasan Khan Mewati who fought against Mughal emperor Babur in the Battle of Panipat in 1526 as well as the Battle of Khanwa in 1527, in which he was killed.

The Haryana BJP leaders have been showering praises on Mewati in their campaigning in the Muslim-dominated Nuh belt in the Mewat region that encompasses parts of Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.

On March 9, barely three days before he was replaced by Saini, then CM Manohar Lal Khattar unveiled Mewati’s statue at Badkali Chowk in Nuh, declaring the day as “Shaheedi Diwas (martyrdom day)”.

Claiming that no government has commemorated Raja Mewati, Khattar said a research chair will be established in his name in the Shaheed Hasan Khan Mewati Medical College, Nalhar, which was built during the Congress regime.

Khattar, who also unveiled Mahatma Gandhi’s statue then, said, “External elements are seeking to disrupt the unity of Mewat’s community and residents should uphold the spirit of brotherhood, drawing inspiration from the patriotism of Shaheed Raja Mewati.”

This was the first time Khattar was reaching out to the Muslim community after the riots that broke out in Nuh and adjoining areas in July last year.

Addressing the Punhana rally, CM Saini called Nuh a “holy land” where Mewati was born. “We should be proud that Raja Mewati along with his army of 12,000 soldiers did not bow to Babur and died fighting. Over these years,