Taimur or Tamerlane, the ferocious 14th century Mongol invader is buried in Gur-e-Amir mausoleum in the ancient city of Samarkand in Uzbekistan. On June 20, 1941, following Stalin’s directive, the famous anthropologist Mikhail Gerasimov opened the tomb to reconstruct Taimur’s face from his skull, despite protests and warnings about a curse by the local Muslim clergy. Two days later, Hitler unleashed his army on Russia (Operation Barbarossa), which went on to kill 25 million Russians over the next three years. The lesson: Never disturb the dead, whether it is Babur or Aurangzeb. India will be balkanised if the Sanghi bigots mount a Babri-style operation to destroy Aurangzeb's tomb.
