The monument to love “Taj Mahal” became the centre of controversy after BJP leader Sangeet Som said that it was built by a traitor and is a blot on Indian culture. Since then the topic caught fire on social network, many BJP supporters are of view that the historic monument should be demolished. There are also allegations that the BJP is conspiring to demolish Taj Mahal, the way its workers brought down Babri mosque in Ayodhya. Recently Uttar Pradesh government has renamed the Mughalsarai railway station to Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay railway station. Since BJP came to power many name changes had happened. After Babri incidence, now they are finding some solid communal agenda to make sure their win in 2019. It was earlier reported that the Taj Mahal, which is one of the Seven Wonders of the World, was not mentioned in a new booklet released by the Yogi Adityanath-led state government. By giving the logic that the creator of Taj Mahal (Shah Jahan) imprisoned his father. He wanted to wipe out Hindus. If these people are part of our history, then it is very sad and BJP leaders will change this history.
Sangeet Som may have courted controversy but UP CM Adityanath believes that the Taj Mahal is very important for them, especially from the tourism perspective it is their priority to provide facilities and safety to tourists there. It does not matter who built it and for what reason; it was constructed by blood and sweat of Indian labourers.
The Taj Mahal is built on a parcel of land to the south of the walled city of Agra. Shah Jahan presented Maharaja Jai Singh with a large palace in the centre of Agra in exchange for the land. An area of roughly 1.2 hectares (3 acres) was excavated, filled with dirt to reduce seepage, and levelled at 50 metres (160 ft) above riverbank. In the tomb area, wells were dug and filled with stone and rubble to form the footings of the tomb. Instead of lashed bamboo, workmen constructed a colossal brick scaffold that mirrored the tomb. The scaffold was so enormous that foremen estimated it would take years to dismantle.
The Taj Mahal was constructed using materials from all over India and Asia. It is believed over 1,000 elephants were used to transport building materials. The translucent white marble was brought from Makrana, Rajasthan, and the jasper from Punjab, jade and crystal from China. The turquoise was from Tibet and the Lapis lazuli from Afghanistan, while the sapphire came from Sri Lanka and the carnelian from Arabia. In all, 28 types of precious and semi-precious stones were inlaid into the white marble.
According to the legend, Shah Jahan decreed that anyone could keep the bricks taken from the scaffold, and thus peasants overnight dismantled it. A 15-kilometre (9.3 mi) tamped-earth ramp was built to transport marble and materials to the construction site and teams of 20 or 30 oxen pulled the blocks on specially constructed wagons. An elaborate post-and-beam pulley system was used to raise the blocks into desired position. Water was drawn from the river by a series of purs, an animal-powered rope and bucket mechanism, into a large storage tank and raised to a large distribution tank. It was passed into three subsidiary tanks, from which it was piped to the complex.
The plinth and tomb took roughly 12 years to complete. The remaining parts of the complex took an additional 10 years and were completed in order of minarets, mosque and jawab, and gateway. Since the complex was built in stages, discrepancies exist in completion dates due to differing opinions on “completion”. The total cost has been estimated to be about 32 million Indian rupees, which is around 52.8 billion Indian rupees ($827 million US) based on 2015 values.
In 1942, the government erected a scaffolding to disguise the building in anticipation of air attacks by the Japanese Air Force. During the India-Pakistan wars of 1965 and 1971, scaffolding were again erected to mislead bomber pilots. More recent threats have come from environmental pollution on the banks of the Yamuna River including acid rain due to the Mathura Oil Refinery, which was opposed by Supreme Court of India directives. The pollution has been turning the Taj Mahal yellow. To help control the pollution, the Indian government has set up the Taj Trapezium Zone (TTZ), a 10,400-square-kilometre (4,000 sq mi) area around the monument where strict emissions standards are in place.
In 2010, cracks appeared in parts of the tomb, and the minarets, which surround the monument, were showing signs of tilting, as the wooden foundation of the tomb may be rotting due to lack of water. Although it has been pointed out by politicians, that the minarets are designed to tilt slightly outwards, to prevent them crashing on top of the tomb in the event of an earthquake. In 2011, it was reported that some predictions indicated that the tomb could collapse within 5 years. But no such thing happened, but looking at political motives we can say not only the tomb but also even the Taj is at the verge of collapsing. Hope BJP works on its election promises of development that going in to destructive agenda. BJP leaders should think hundred times before giving any such statements, as Modi is slogging day and night to build the party and these small time leaders are damaging its image by passing unwanted statements which is bad for the country, community, country head and also the party and its future.
(Any suggestions, comments or dispute with regards to this article send us on feedback@www.afternoonvoice.com)
