Twitter
Advertisement

From Adityanath to Sangeet Som: BJP's complicated relationship with Taj Mahal

Recently, BJP MLA Sangeet Som rekindled the party’s bizarre hate-hate relationship with the Taj Mahal, a monument whose Mughal history makes it an easy target.

Latest News
article-main
Taj Mahal
FacebookTwitterWhatsappLinkedin

Recently, BJP MLA Sangeet Som rekindled the party’s bizarre hate-hate relationship with the Taj Mahal, a monument whose Mughal history makes it an easy target.

In comments that came soon after the Yogi Adityanath government reportedly left out the Taj Mahal from an official tourism booklet, Som said, "Many people were pained to see that the Taj Mahal was removed from the list of places (tourist destinations). What type of history? "Is this history that the person who built the Taj Mahal imprisoned his father? Do you call it history when the one who built the Taj targeted many Hindus in Uttar Pradesh and Hindustan?"

Addressing a gathering at Sisoli village after inaugurating a statue of 8th century king Anangpal Singh Tomar, Som said invaders of India have been glorified in history. Referring to 'kalank katha', or the black mark of history, he said, " Whether it is Babar, Akbar or Aurangzeb, the government is working to erase them from history." The lives and achievements of the "real great men" of the country like Maharana Pratap and Shivaji would be taught in schools and colleges, Som said.

Som seems to have confused the identity of Shah Jahan, the Mughal emperor who built Taj Mahal with his son and tyrant Aurangzeb who held his father captive.

Later asked to clarify, Sangeet Som stuck to his guns and said: “I don't oppose Taj Mahal. It's a beautiful heritage. I oppose Mughals who built it & how they've been portrayed in history.”

This isn’t the first time a BJP lawmaker has targeted the Taj. In 2014, erstwhile BJP chief Laxmikant Bajpai had claimed that the Taj Mahal was part of an ancient Shiva Temple after SP leader Azam Khan had asked for it to be handed over to the Waqf board.  He had said: “Azam's dream to offer namaz five times at Taj will never be fulfilled.”

However, the claims about the Shiva temple continued and culture minister Dr Mahesh Sharma had clarified in parliament that on December 1, 2015 that the ‘government had not found any evidence which can suggest that Taj Mahal was a Hindu temple of Shiva’.

Meanwhile, the Taj Mahal was back in the news on June 15, 2017 when UP CM Yogi Adityanath made a disparaging remark about the monument. He had indicated that somehow the Taj Mahal wasn’t part of India’s heritage. He had said: “The gifts given to them were Agra's Taj Mahal or some minar that has no connection with India's culture or heritage."This is the first time this has happened that when India's Prime minister Narendra Modi goes abroad, or any foreign president visits India, he is gifted the Shrimad Bhagavad Gita or Ramayan.”

Meanwhile, UP’s tourism minister Rita Bahuguna Joshi, had said after the furore over the Taj missing from the UP tourism booklet that it was part of ‘our cultural heritage’. She had said: “ “Taj Mahal is our cultural heritage and occupies a place among the world’s famous tourist places,” the 68-year-old minister was quoted saying by PTI.

In an official statement issued by the UP government, Joshi added, “Holistic development of the cultural heritage and that of infrastructural facilities is the priority of the state government.” With Som’s comments, we are again back with BJP’s unique relationship with Taj Mahal.

Incidentally, the failed peace talks between Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Pak President Pervez Musharaf was held in Agra in 2001. Musharaf was kept in a hotel, which gave a regal view of the Taj, something he even mentioned in his autobiography. Unfortunately, the epitaph of love couldn't salvage the peace talks which ended in a cropper. 

With inputs from PTI

 

 

Find your daily dose of news & explainers in your WhatsApp. Stay updated, Stay informed-  Follow DNA on WhatsApp.
Advertisement

Live tv

Advertisement
Advertisement