Lucknow, Oct 19 (AP/UNB) — India’s famed monument of love, the white marble Taj Mahal, is finding itself at the heart of a political storm, with some members of the country’s ruling Hindu right-wing party claiming that the mausoleum built by a Muslim emperor does not reflect Indian culture.The most recent attack came this week when Sangeet Som, a lawmaker from the Bharatiya Janata Party, called the 117th-century monument “a blot on Indian culture” that was built by “traitors.”
But Som wasn’t the first to attack the mausoleum that Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan built in the northern city of Agra in memory of his favourite wife.
Last month, Yogi Adityanath, the controversial head monk of a famed Hindu temple who is now the top elected official of Uttar Pradesh state, where the Taj Mahal is located, said foreign dignitaries visiting his state should be gifted a copy of the Hindu religious book “Bhagvad Gita” instead of replicas of the Taj Mahal.
This isn’t the first time that India’s Islamic past has come under attack by members of the BJP or smaller Hindu groups.
The federal government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has also been accused of attempting to rewrite history textbooks, especially where India’s past Muslim medieval rulers are concerned.
In Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous state, the state government even deleted the profile of the Taj Mahal from its official tourism booklet published earlier this month.
The brochure listed Hindu pilgrimage destinations such as Gorakhnath Temple in Gorakhpur, which Adityanath heads, and also included plans for new attractions such as a tour of locations related to the Hindu mythological text Ramayana.
Emperor Shah Jahan had the Taj Mahal built between 1632 and 1654 for his favourite wife, Mumtaz Mahal, after her death. He also planned on being buried next to her, and the complex houses their graves and a mosque, as well as several other graves of lesser Mogul royalty.
The stunning monument is India’s biggest tourist draw, with about 3 million visiting every year.
The tourism business it drums up keeps some 200,000 people employed, and Agra’s economy moving.
Som, the lawmaker who called the Taj Mahal a “blot” on Monday, went on to address criticism that the government had kept the iconic monument out of its tourism brochure.
“Taj Mahal should have no place in Indian history, as it was built by traitors,” he said in the rabble-rousing style he’s known for at a rally in Meerut, a city 300 kilometres (186 miles) southwest of the Uttar Pradesh state capital, Lucknow.
“Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan wanted to wipe out Hindus. If these people are part of our history, then it is very sad and we will change this history,” Som said.
Som, who was inaugurating a statue of the eighth century Hindu king Anangpal Singh Tomar, went on to add, incorrectly, that Shah Jahan had killed his own father. In fact, it was Shah Jahan who was imprisoned and killed by his son Aurangzeb.
Som’s comments drew angry condemnation from Muslim leader and federal lawmaker Asaduddin Owaisi, who asked if the government would urge tourists not to visit the Taj Mahal and other monuments built by India’s former Muslim rulers.
Every year on India’s Independence Day, Prime Minister Modi hoists the Indian flag from the ramparts of the imposing Red Fort in New Delhi. The red sandstone fort and palace was also built by Shah Jahan, in 1639.
“He should stop that because that fort is also built by a traitor,” Owaisi said.
The BJP sought to distance itself from Som’s comments.
The party’s general secretary, Vijay Bahadur Pathak, said the Taj Mahal is part of Indian pride, and that “whatever Som said is his personal view. BJP has nothing to do with it.”
Many criticized Som’s comments on social media.
“Actually, you are the blot for saying such nonsense,” television journalist Barkha Dutt said on Twitter.
But others backed Som’s remarks.
“BJP’s top elites may shun Sangeet Som, but what he said is only logical and true,” tweeted Sonam Mahajan, whose right-wing views attract a huge following on Twitter.
ANI adds: BJP MP claims Taj was originally a temple
Ayodhya: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Vinay Katiyar on Wednesday claimed that Mughal mausoleum, Mahal”.Taj Mahal is a Hindu temple and that its name should be changed.
Kaityar said that Mahal”.Taj Mahal was known as Tejo Mahal and had a shivling, which was later removed from the monument.
“Mahal”.Taj Mahal is a Hindu temple. There are many symbols of Hindu gods and goddesses in Mahal”.Taj Mahal. It was known as ‘Tejo Mahal’ and water used to drip from its ceiling on the Shivling but that was removed from there,” Katiyar told ANI.
He added that all these monuments are made by Indian workers so there is no question of demolishing them.
“The Mughals have also demolished many temples. Wherever they see any opportunity they demolish our temples. Our ‘Tejo Mahal’ temple should be maintained. If we study Mahal”.Taj Mahal’s history there is evidence of its being a temple. If this was only a grave then why so many rooms are built here? Its name should be changed to ‘Tejo Mahal’,” he asserted.
Katiyar further said that Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath should go inside Mahal”.Taj Mahal and should see the Hindu signs inside it.
“There is no politics here. When a debate takes place then we should tell the truth to people. This will not gain anything but at least our people should know the reality of Mughals. The British did not demolish our structures but the Mughals did,” he added.
Earlier on Tuesday, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath gave a clear snub to his BJP MLA Sangeet Som for stirring the Mahal”.Taj Mahal controversy, stating that “it does not matter who built it and for what reason; it was built by blood and sweat of Indian labourers”.
Som had courted controversy on Sunday, stating that the iconic Mahal”.Taj Mahal was built by traitors and hence, cannot be included in the Indian history. (ANI)
