AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi has targeted the BJP over Prime Minister Narendra Modi receiving Uzbekistan’s highest honour for foreign leaders, invoking Mughal founder Babur’s birth in the Fergana Valley to question the party’s political rhetoric around the emperor.
Owaisi, the Lok Sabha member from Hyderabad, congratulated the BJP while pointing out that Uzbekistan, the country encompassing Babur’s birthplace, had conferred the Order of Oliy Darajali Do’stlik on Modi during the Prime Minister’s state visit to Tashkent.
“I congratulate the BJP; the very country from which Babur came to India has conferred an award upon the Prime Minister,” Owaisi said. He added that the Fergana Valley was in Uzbekistan and remarked that Modi appeared to return with an award from many of his overseas visits.
The AIMIM president then linked the diplomatic honour to the BJP and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s repeated political references to Babur. He said the Sangh should reflect on the development, arguing that its supporters had frequently invoked Babur while attacking political opponents.
Owaisi said he hoped members of the Sangh Parivar and RSS supporters would no longer speak about Babur in the same manner after Uzbekistan honoured Modi. His comments sought to contrast the BJP’s domestic political use of Mughal history with the Prime Minister’s acceptance of a state decoration from Uzbekistan.
The BJP rejected Owaisi’s argument on Monday. Party spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain said the award should be viewed as an honour for the country rather than as recognition limited to Modi or the BJP. He said Babur’s historical connection with the region had no bearing on Uzbekistan’s decision to honour the Prime Minister.
Hussain also pointed to other international decorations received by Modi, including honours from countries with Muslim-majority populations and members of the Commonwealth of Independent States. Union Minister of State Satish Chandra Dubey separately criticised Owaisi’s comments, describing them as frivolous.
Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev presented Modi with the Order of Oliy Darajali Do’stlik at the Kuksaroy Residence in Tashkent on Sunday. Uzbekistan’s presidency described it as the country’s highest state award and said the decision reflected respect for Modi’s contribution to strengthening friendship between the two countries.
The Prime Minister’s Office described the decoration as Uzbekistan’s highest honour for foreign leaders and said it was awarded for Modi’s contribution to strengthening bilateral friendship. Modi dedicated the honour to India’s 1.4 billion people and called it a symbol of the enduring friendship between the two countries and their civilisations.
The award came during Modi’s two-day state visit, when he held talks with Mirziyoyev and the two sides agreed to elevate bilateral relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership. Uzbekistan’s presidency said political, diplomatic, trade, investment, transport, cultural and humanitarian ties had advanced through joint efforts.
The talks also produced a target of lifting bilateral trade above $5 billion by 2030, from more than $1 billion last year. The two governments signed or announced measures covering higher education, environmental protection, traditional medicine, tourism, geology, cultural exchanges and payment connectivity. An agreement between NPCI International Payments and Uzbekistan’s National Interbank Processing Centre is intended to allow UPI applications to scan the country’s UZQR codes for merchant payments across Uzbekistan itself.
Babur was born in 1483 in Andijan in the Fergana Valley, an area that lies within modern Uzbekistan. A descendant of Timur on his father’s side, he established Mughal rule after defeating Ibrahim Lodi at the Battle of Panipat in 1526. His legacy remains a recurring reference in political disputes over medieval history, monuments and identity.
Owaisi has frequently challenged the BJP and RSS over their treatment of Mughal history and the use of historical figures in contemporary political campaigning. His latest intervention centred specifically on the symbolism he attached to the Uzbek honour rather than questioning the diplomatic relationship between New Delhi and Tashkent.
