NEW DELHI: The legacy of Mugahl emperor Aurangzeb is so gory that the Union government changed the name of a road named after him to APJ Abdul Kalam Road. But what if he hadn't been the emperor at all and given way to his brother Dara Shikoh The Centre is exploring the personality that was Dara Shikoh, the eldest son of Mughal emperor Shah Jahan , who had a great interest in Hindu scriptures and had translated many of them into Persian and other languages. Promoting Dara Shikoh as the good Muslim, who "understood Hindus and India" has been part of the RSS project for many years.In a conference on Dara Shikoh -Claiming the Spiritual Legacy of India, on Thursday, organised by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), Minister of State for External Affairs M J Akbar said Dara was truly a child of India, who understood the people of the country and its syncretic culture. "He could have lost the battle against Aurangzeb but he won the war for India and that is the victory we are celebrating."The minister said the question to be asked was why was Dara Shikoh chosen by Shah Jahan in his court as his successor as primogeniture was not followed by the Mughals."Shah Jahan knew that he had the moral right over the throne. He knew that India couldn't be ruled by force alone but it needed spiritual force to rule the country. And spiritual force could emerge only out of harmony that had led the people of the nation together.""Shivaji had written a letter to Aurangzeb after he won the war against his brother and imposed the Jaziya tax. He had told him that while the Quran had clearly said Allah was the lord of all people, not just of the Muslims and that he(Aurangzeb) had forgotten the lord himself. What we know is if Dara had become the Mughal emperor Shivaji wouldn't have had to write such a letter," Akbar said, The minister said Dara also lived at a time that in the seventeenth century and was deeply influenced by the Bhakti movement."He would have found Guru Nanak, Kabir, so many powerful influences were shaping the nation..,the prince himself was overpowered by syncretic culture and would have contributed to it, brought it into the realm of scholarship and translation," Eminent scholars, academics and historians from seven countries --the US, Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and India are participating in the two-day conference.ICCR President Lokesh Chandra said Dara Shikoh was the first known secular Indian and that the whole idea behind the programme was to highlight the efforts contributed by Shikoh to maintain harmony and unity among people.