Is Taj Mahal a blot on India's culture and history?

I quite enjoy Twitter, for me that’s one way to get insights into minds of people who I might never really meet. Why is that even important? Well, let’s just say I am curious to read and understand the world around me better.

So when I landed in Mumbai last night and opened Twitter, there was almost a war going on the above statement by an MLA from UP (the state I grew up in and where I am currently also doing a lot of work) about Taj Mahal being built by traitors and how it should not find any space in history.

Here’s his complete statement:

"Many people were worried that the Taj Mahal was removed from the list of historical places in the UP tourism booklet. What history are we talking about? The man who built Taj Mahal imprisoned his father. He wanted to massacre Hindus. If this is history, then it is very unfortunate and we will change this history, I guarantee you" Mr Som said at a rally in Meerut on Sunday.

Sangeet Som is generally known for giving inflammatory and irresponsible statements, and I try and ignore his words. Of course, it’s a bit (actually a lot) alarming when he says things like these and gets away with it. But anyway, this isn’t a political discourse so should I will move on to things related to history, culture, heritage and conservation - things I often talk about here on the blog.

While we are at it, also have a look at some of the responses to the tweet by ANI. It’s completely unfathomable for me to see how much Nehru is pulled into these debates and abused for all of India’s problems. I can recall a recent discussion with my Uber driver in a pool cab about farmer suicides in Maharashtra. Within minutes the blame was on Nehru, his obsession with sex and the fact (because he saw a YouTube video circulated widely on Whatsapp) that he got his clothes laundered in Paris. When I mentioned that even our current prime minister got a suit of ₹ 11 lakhs for himself, complete with his name also on it, he started shaking visibly, though our discourse remained cordial. I tried hard to tell him that Whatsapp isn’t Gospel and he must try and see both sides of the story, he wasn’t pleased anymore with me as a customer in the car. Finally, when I could feel his voice shaking as well which got me worried and told him that I had to get down to pick something from the market.

My trip wasn’t scary, but what was scary is the kind of (dis) information being spread rampantly through social media these days. The information shred isn't just pro-Establishment and anti-opposition, the web of lies flows from all directions. It's absolute disheartening to wake up and see family Whatsapp groups also full of abuses on government - when did we leave behind the capability for decency in public (and private) discourses?



Lets do something different today - let’s make a quick list of places in India which should find no mention in our history books (accordingly to Mr Som) and consequently our tourist books too. Of course, this isn’t exhaustive and you are welcome to contribute - all you have to do is drop a comment :)

1. Red Fort, Delhi & Agra
2. Qutub Minar
3. CST (previously VT)
4. India Gate
5. Gateway of India
6. ...