Dara Shikoh never became emperor. But he was a true child of India

At a time when incidents of intolerance in the name of faith are being reported from Afghanistan, Dara Shikoh, one of India’s most enlightened thinkers, needs to be remembered. He was a champion of interfaith understanding, philosopher, artist, architect, translator, poet and administrator. Although in 1655 his father and Mughal emperor Shah Jahan declared him the Crown Prince, he was assassinated by his younger brother, Aurangzeb, in a bitter struggle for the throne on August 30, 1659. Dara Shikoh was 44 at the time of his death. Even though he lost the battle against Aurangzeb, he won the war for India. It is that victory we are celebrating as a proud nation, representing the best example in the world for unity in diversity.