Before the Mughals invaded India, let me clarify one fact—India was the “Golden Bird." India was a world wonder with plenty of cultures and resources, as well as immense wealth. Well then, in the light of all reason, how do we come to call the Mughals ‘great?’ But what was so ‘great’ about looting a rich country, robbing its resources, and then turning the country into ruins?

Pre-Mughal India: it was not just another country—it was the world’s envy. From spices to textiles, gold to diamonds, everything could be found on the subcontinent, and it was more than enough. India was so rich that all the people of the Earth wanted to come here for business purposes. When the Mughals got there, they saw not simply business prospects but the prospect of capturing and eating their fill from a thriving subcontinent.

Let’s face it: This means the Mughals didn’t come to ‘civilise’ India or to upgrade our lives. They came to steal. Babur, Akbar, and Aurangzeb—these are not called great emperors for nothing—they simply looted the Indian wealth over a while. They constructed fancy palaces and forts, which are true, but they built off Indians, forcing them into slavery and accumulating their loot. Yes, the Taj Mahal is beautiful, but who is gaining from it? Such enormous human and material effort could have been used to foster the welfare of the nation and its people. However, it left the people and the nation poorer.

The Mughals imposed a total transformation on India, removing its wealth and altering its culture. They forced Indian society to adapt to the superior might of the Mughal Empire, leading to new behaviours and terrible sores. The liberation of the oppressed brought disgraceful changes to festivals and languages, which are still present today. The Mughals aimed to transform India without considering the traditional culture, which had been present in the region. One of the worst atrocities during their reign was the burning of one of India's premier libraries, which was filled with classic manuscripts, scriptures, and other legacy items. This was an assault on India's accumulated intellect, causing the destruction that can still be felt today.

So why are we calling them “great”? Maybe because of the architecture? The fancy forts? The extravagant palaces? Which does not alter at all the fact that they were invaders who viewed India as a ship to be looted. For some of them, it wasn’t about volunteering—they just showed up intending to grab. We won’t say that a thief is great because he stole from a rich man’s house; will we then dare say the same about the Mughals who did the same thing to India?

Now it becomes possible to speak about sore realities, and sugarcoating history appears to be impossible. India was already a developed country, and they should have never come; had they not invaded, our country would never have been in the state of poverty and cultural spoilage as it is now. It is time to stop idealising these great kings, queens, and emperors and begin to determine how they devastated our land and its inhabitants. What is more, history should not show the good and evil doings of the criminals of that time.