Taj Mahal is not a reflection of Indian culture, says Yogi Adityanath
The Yogi says, “Foreign dignitaries visiting the country were gifted replicas of the Taj Mahal and other minarets, which did not reflect Indian culture, however, now epics like the Bhagavad Gita and the Ramayana are offered as gifts to foreign dignitaries.” A few facts came to mind when I read that:
FACT 1: No one in his right mind gifts replicas of the Taj, it’s a tomb, and it is not part of any kind of Indian culture to gift tombs to friends.
Fact 2: Mr. Modi did give copies of the Gita to Obama, Cameron Eleven Jinping, but he stopped of late in Europe. Why? He must give The Gita to the right wing Trump when he visits this year, and to Trump’s Evangelical Gang, and, be ready to receive a copy of the Sermon on the Mount, or the Bible, from the American president. Of course, if Trump does gift him one, I will write a post condemning him for politicizing religion. Also, I will ask Trump, “Did you write the book that, you hand it out to people so eagerly?”
FACT 3: If Trump, while he handed out a copy of the Bible to Modi in America said, “People were gifted replicas of Walt Disney characters when they came to America. which did not reflect our culture, now they get the Sermon On The Mount and the Bible”, Christians worldwide would ridicule him, and then they would abuse him.
FACT 4: The Gita, within the Mahabharatha, is India’s greatest book, the Taj is our greatest monument. Read one, see the other, why mix the reasons for appreciating the two. One is related to our spirituality, the other to our architectural brilliance. I could tell a friend in an email, “You must buy a good copy of the Gita”, but I will have to say, “You must buy a ticket to India to see the Taj.”
FACT 5: The Taj Mahal alone is the reason why 23% of all tourists come to India. This was stated by the Yogi’s RSS friend, Mahesh Sharma, in parliament. By extrapolation, the Taj is responsible for 23% of the foreign exchange of Rs 1,23,320 crore earned by the tourism industry in 2014. And, just think, the Taj has been earning foreign exchange for India since they started building it in 1631.
FACT 6: Where would the Yogi’s Uttar Pradesh be without that income?
FACT 7: Should 21st century India even he discussing something like this?
Incidentally, the 3rd picture is of Mark Zuckerberg visiting the Taj. He wanted some one-on-one time with the monument.
