Ignoring Taj Mahal? One of the Seven Wonders of the World left out of an Indian tourism booklet
Built by Muslim Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his last wife Mumtaz Mahal, the white marbled mausoleum has been controversially excluded from an Uttar Pradesh tourism booklet. Photo: National Geographic
(Web Desk) – One of the most celebrated white-marble mausoleum - the Taj Mahal, a symbol of love, located at the south bank of Yamuna river in the city of Agra, India has been controversially removed from an Uttar Pradesh tourism booklet.
According to BBC, a booklet issued recently by the tourism department without the image of Taj Mahal sparked both anger and bemusement across the country. The booklet was not intended to be a promotional brochure but the exclusion of one of the Seven Wonders of the World took social media by storm.
Journalists, politicians and activists expressed their outrage on Twitter to decry the absence of the 17th Century mausoleum.
One of the most popular tourist attractions, it has been mentioned on Twitter more than 12,000 times in the last 24 hours.
The booklet released six months into Hindu nationalist Yogi Adityanath’s tenure as chief minister of Uttar Pradesh.
The future tourism projects highlighted the details and the famous tourist destinations, including a temple of Gorakhpur where Adityanath is the main priest.
The chief minister of Utter Pradesh has previously expressed his views on the monument saying it “did not reflect Indian culture”.
Built in the 17th Century by Muslim Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his favourite wife Mumtaz Mahal, the tomb is the centerpiece of 42 acre land which includes a mosque, a guest house with formal gardens.
"Taj Mahal is no longer a tourist destination. Unesco should declare Yogi Adityanath s Gaushala (cow shelter) in Gorakhpur as a world heritage site," journalist Prerna Bakshi tweeted.
Yogi Adityanath government removes Taj Mahal from Uttar Pradesh s tourism list https://t.co/kgPajSbhS1 via @NewIndianXpress
— Prerna Bakshi (@bprerna) October 2, 2017
"The Yogi government has defamed our country s heritage by removing Taj Mahal from [the] tourism list," YouTuber Dhruv Rathee said.
Yogi govt. has defamed our country’s heritage by removing Taj Mahal from tourism list. Would be a butt of all jokes in international media
— Dhruv Rathee (@dhruv_rathee) October 2, 2017
"Absolutely foolish of Yogi Adityanath to create a controversy around Taj Mahal," said academic and writer Madhu Kishwar.
Absolutely foolish of Yogi Adityanath to create a controversy around Taj Mahal. Such political immaturity doesn t behove a CM
— MadhuPurnima Kishwar (@madhukishwar) October 2, 2017
"Such political immaturity doesn t behove a CM [chief minister]."
Avanish Awasthi, an Uttar Pradesh tourism department official, clarified the regional government s position.
"The booklet was released only for the purposes of a press conference and is not a guide to Uttar Pradesh s tourism spots," he told NDTV. "It mentions new and upcoming projects of the Uttar Pradesh tourism department, and new focus areas."
In a series of tweets, the official Utter Pradesh government account claimed that money has also been set aside to fund development proposals for the Taj Mahal.
— Government of UP (@UPGovt) October 2, 2017
