Proposing for new sites in Durban, ASI braces against losing its "crown"

VIJAY UPADHYAY
AGRA. With the UP Sunni Wakf Board (UPSWB) declaring the Taj Mahal a Wakf property on Wednesday, Anjuman-e-Mohammedia, the Agra Muslim organisation, that claims to be the real inheritor of the monument since British times, has demanded the Wakf hand over the keys of the monument.
Wakf Board Chairman Hafiz Usman declared on Wednesday, in a hearing that was held in the board's office in Lucknow, that this 17th century monument was a property of the Wakf and would be registered in the Wakf soon although he did not declare who the "Mutwalli" or caretaker of the monument shall be after it was registered with the Wakf.
At a time when the entire world is converging in Durban to decide upon the inclusion of new sites of the world in the UNESCO's World Heritage Monuments list - India proposes two more Agra monuments for this list - the ongoing internal fight over the Taj's possession among Muslim organisations has raised doubts over the future of this monument as a World Heritage Site.
Over 700 delegates from 180 countries of the world are currently participating in the 29th session of the World Heritage Committee meeting in Durban, South Africa, that commenced on July 10 and will conclude on the 17th, Forty-two new sites have been proposed for inclusion in the 788 sites-strong World Heritage Monuments list. A number of Indian monuments are strong contenders for this list including two Agra monuments - Sikandra (Emperor Akbar's Mausoleum) and Itmad-ud-Daullah (Empress Nur Jahan's father's tomb).
Notably, Agra is the only town in the world that possesses three world heritage sites and if these two are also added to the list, it shall have the unique distinction of having five world heritage monuments, an accomplishment hard to surpass for any other city in the world. At a time when Agra is braving the challenge of the world on its new sites, the UPSWB's claim on the Taj, which is already a World Heritage site, has served to weaken the claim of these two new monuments on the World Heritage list while also damaging India's credibility in conserving World Heritage monuments. However, the Muslim organisations are in no mood to part with the Taj, which they believe is their golden goose.
Talking to The Pioneer on Wednesday, Haji Jamiluddin Qureshi, Secretary, Anjuman-e-Mohammedia, one of the many claimants to the Taj, said the Anjuman had been appointed as the "Muntazir" or managing committee of the Taj by the British Government but after the Archaeological Survey of India took over the conservation of the monument, the Anjuman was displaced, against which it has already filed a petition in the High Court in Allahabad.
He said the Anjuman was the only true "Intzamia" or keeper of the monument and now that the Wakf Board had declared it a Wakf property, the Anjuman shall move to take over its possession. He said after the Anjuman takes over the monument, it shall take a 50 per cent share in the earnings from the monument and the Wakf was entitled to take six per cent out of the Anjuman's share.
The Central Government and UP Wakf Minister Mohd Shakir Ali have already negated the UPSWB's claim on the Taj. Even the records maintained by the Agra Municipal Corporation list the monument as "Aasar-e-Qadeema" or property of the Government, but the board has remained adamant on registering the Taj as its property, basing its claim on the ground that being a graveyard, the Taj was automatically a Wakf property.
An ASI official in Agra told The Pioneer that the Wakf Board's claim on the monument was worthless and will not hold ground when the issue was brought before the Court because once the ASI takes over the conservation of a monument, all claims on the monument will be declared void and the monument will become a property of the Government of India with ASI as its executor.
(UNITED NEWS NETWORK)
Email: piovijay@yahoo.co.in, Ph: +91-9412282297, 9319108697

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