Will the Taj Mahal be renamed?
This article, first published October 10, 2021, is being re-published since Global Indian Times has also begun posting on Substack.
https://www.globalindiantimes.com/globalindiantimes/2021/10/10/taj-mahal
A CARTOON BY JOHN GRACIAS.
October 10, 2021
EDITORIAL COMMENT: EFFORTS TO RENAME THE TAJ MAHAL AND INDIAN ELECTIONS
In 2019, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won the Indian parliamentary elections based on a campaign to build a Ram Mandir, a temple named after the Hindu God Ram, at the site of a 15th century mosque in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh (U.P.). In 1992, the mosque was demolished by “riotous Hindu nationalists” the BBC noted. Last year, amidst a deadly COVID-19 outbreak, Modi presided over a ceremony launching the building of the temple.
U.P., the state with the largest population in the country, plays a crucial role in India’s electoral politics, including for winning the national parliamentary elections. Currently, the state government is run by Modi’s BJP. Elections for the state’s legislature are due early next year.
There is widespread discontent in U.P. with the BJP government. So far, according to official figures, about 23,000 people have died in the state due to COVID -19 infections. Independent analysts have found that the number of deaths in India is vastly underreported and is ten times higher. Meanwhile, farmers in U.P. have been participating in a nationwide protest, which has been going on for nearly a year, seeking a government supported minimum price for their crops.
Opposition parties in U.P. are asking voters to reject the BJP over the COVID-19 deaths and farm issues. In an apparent attempt to blunt their criticism, a state BJP leader has brought up the Taj Mahal as a political issue.
Located in Agra, U.P., the Taj Mahal is the major attraction for foreign tourists in India. The white marble mausoleum was built by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal, who died in childbirth in 1631.
Surendra Singh, a U.P. legislator from the BJP, says the Taj Mahal used to be a Lord Shiva temple before it was rebuilt into the world-renowned tomb, according to OutlookIndia. He says the BJP government in U.P. will rename it as Ram Mahal, Ram’s Palace. The statement brought him wide media attention in India.
Last year, Singh’s comments on another issue got similar wide media coverage. Following a brutal gang rape of a teenager in U.P., he said that rapes can be prevented if parents teach good values to their daughters. A video of Singh’s statement was posted on Twitter by ANI News.
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