"Taj Mahal is Falling Down" - New nursery rhyme in the making.
By VISHAL SHARMA, AGRA
Generations after generations of people world over have grown up with the nursery rhyme “London Bridge is Falling Down” but the way the International media, co-opted by a group of Indian media, is creating hype over the “tilting minarets of Tajmahal”, the day is not far when the children may have to learn a new rhyme “Tajmahal is Falling Down”.
The entire controversy lies in a media report issued about a week back citing two so-called historians who claimed that the Tajmahal’s minarets are tilting for the lack of water in the Yamuna and the monument could “crumble” or “sink” in the riverbank within a few years. This report was taken up immediately by the International media as a new tool of “India-bashing”, displaying the news prominently on their portals, pointing accusing fingers at the Indian government and the Archaeological Survey of India for neglecting this monument of eternal love.
Reports issued by reputed news agencies like British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Indo-Asian News Service (IANS) & United Press International (UPI) catalyzed the media reaction worldwide after the Uttar Pradesh Government ordered an inquiry into the “tilting” minarets of the Taj, but surprisingly, no body bothered to ask the Archaeological Survey of India, the true custodian of the monument, if there was any substance in the “musings” of these two retired history professors?
Talking to The Indian Express on telephone on Saturday, the Director General, Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), C. Babu Rajiv said that he was out of the country for the past week and had not been apprised on the situation upon returning to the country on Saturday, but he was indeed shocked to read these stories and a departmental meeting has been called on Monday to discuss the situation.
Earlier, talking to The Indian Express, Dr. D. Dayalan, Superintending Archaeologist, Agra completely rejected the stories as “imaginary” claiming that the ASI had installed glass strips in the base of the minarets back in the 1960s to ensure that if there was indeed the slightest movement upto the extent of 1 mm in any minaret, the strips would crack, which hasn’t happened till date indicating that the minarets are not tilting and the stories regarding the tilting minarets of the Tajmahal are completely bogus.
Dr. Dayalan said that such hoaxes regarding the Tajmahal have circulated time and again, but the fact is that the right minaret of the monument is indeed “tilted” upto 8.5 inches towards the forecourt but this was either a deliberate structural feature introduced by the architect of the monument or it leaned outwards sometime back in the history due to a natural calamity like an earthquake.
On the other hand, the local tourism industry has reacted severely at this story, claiming that this rumour has been deliberately spread by a section of the tourism industry to destroy the tourist influx created in Agra in the 350th anniversary year of the Tajmahal.
Rama Shanker Sharma, Founder President, Agra Foreign Tourist Traders & Exporters Association, said that while it is true that the Tajmahal is constructed on a water-borne foundation and the lack of water in the Yamuna could damage the monument’s base, if we do believe the facts deposed by these so-called historians and the Taj minarets are tilting by .1 inches every 25 years, then the Tajmahal should have been constructed almost 2200 years back for the minarets to be straight.
Rakesh Kumar Chauhan, President, Hotel & Restaurants Association, Agra says that this is a deliberate plot of destroying the tourist trade of Agra, which was reviving slowly in the 350th year of the Tajmahal. He said that it is extremely surprising that such rumours are circulating all over the world since the past 10 days, damaging the Indian tourist trade, but the Union Government has not cared to issue an official statement contradicting these rumours and this silence of the Union Government is adding weight to such stories.
The entire controversy lies in a media report issued about a week back citing two so-called historians who claimed that the Tajmahal’s minarets are tilting for the lack of water in the Yamuna and the monument could “crumble” or “sink” in the riverbank within a few years. This report was taken up immediately by the International media as a new tool of “India-bashing”, displaying the news prominently on their portals, pointing accusing fingers at the Indian government and the Archaeological Survey of India for neglecting this monument of eternal love.
Reports issued by reputed news agencies like British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Indo-Asian News Service (IANS) & United Press International (UPI) catalyzed the media reaction worldwide after the Uttar Pradesh Government ordered an inquiry into the “tilting” minarets of the Taj, but surprisingly, no body bothered to ask the Archaeological Survey of India, the true custodian of the monument, if there was any substance in the “musings” of these two retired history professors?
Talking to The Indian Express on telephone on Saturday, the Director General, Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), C. Babu Rajiv said that he was out of the country for the past week and had not been apprised on the situation upon returning to the country on Saturday, but he was indeed shocked to read these stories and a departmental meeting has been called on Monday to discuss the situation.
Earlier, talking to The Indian Express, Dr. D. Dayalan, Superintending Archaeologist, Agra completely rejected the stories as “imaginary” claiming that the ASI had installed glass strips in the base of the minarets back in the 1960s to ensure that if there was indeed the slightest movement upto the extent of 1 mm in any minaret, the strips would crack, which hasn’t happened till date indicating that the minarets are not tilting and the stories regarding the tilting minarets of the Tajmahal are completely bogus.
Dr. Dayalan said that such hoaxes regarding the Tajmahal have circulated time and again, but the fact is that the right minaret of the monument is indeed “tilted” upto 8.5 inches towards the forecourt but this was either a deliberate structural feature introduced by the architect of the monument or it leaned outwards sometime back in the history due to a natural calamity like an earthquake.
On the other hand, the local tourism industry has reacted severely at this story, claiming that this rumour has been deliberately spread by a section of the tourism industry to destroy the tourist influx created in Agra in the 350th anniversary year of the Tajmahal.
Rama Shanker Sharma, Founder President, Agra Foreign Tourist Traders & Exporters Association, said that while it is true that the Tajmahal is constructed on a water-borne foundation and the lack of water in the Yamuna could damage the monument’s base, if we do believe the facts deposed by these so-called historians and the Taj minarets are tilting by .1 inches every 25 years, then the Tajmahal should have been constructed almost 2200 years back for the minarets to be straight.
Rakesh Kumar Chauhan, President, Hotel & Restaurants Association, Agra says that this is a deliberate plot of destroying the tourist trade of Agra, which was reviving slowly in the 350th year of the Tajmahal. He said that it is extremely surprising that such rumours are circulating all over the world since the past 10 days, damaging the Indian tourist trade, but the Union Government has not cared to issue an official statement contradicting these rumours and this silence of the Union Government is adding weight to such stories.
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