The Taj Mahal is one of the seven wonders of the world, an Unesco world heritage site that draws millions of tourists from across the globe and earns the government crores in revenue.
But the 16th-century structure is not in the part of UPs cultural heritage, according to the Yogi Adityanath government’s first state budget presented . The move has invited criticism by academics.
The annual budget for 2017-2018 makes no mention of Taj Mahal in the special section ‘Hamari Sanskritik Virasat’ (Our Cultural Heritage) incorporated in the finance minister’s 63-page speech.
Chief minister Yogi Adityanath has often pointed out that the Taj Mahal, built by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan, did not reflect India’s ancient culture
The Taj Mahal was one of a string of monuments and heritage sites that was left out of the budget, triggering criticism that the exercise was communally inspired and bore the Hindutva stamp. A number of schemes were announced for Hindu pilgrimage towns of Ayodhya, Varanasi, Mathura and Chitrakoot.
“Our government has formulated schemes for maintenance of places of cultural and historical importance to promote tourism,” said finance minister Rajesh Agarwal, invoking Hindu god Ram in the assembly.
The exclusions sparked criticism with top academics and historians saying the government should promote the composite multi-faith culture of India’s largest state.
“The identification of heritage with Hindu identity is in complete contradiction with UP’s ‘Sanjhi Virasat’-Shared Heritage,” said Athar Siddiqui of the Centre For Objective Research And Development.
Others feared any neglect of the Taj Mahal would hurt tourism revenue. “Agra has three world Heritage sites and deserved a better deal in budget. If tourism in Agra grows, circuit cities like Mathura would grow automatically,” said Rajeev Saxena, secretary for Tourism Guild of Agra.
