NEW DELHI – Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Adityanath on Thursday said the Taj Mahal did not “reflect Indian culture”, The Telegraph reported. He was addressing a rally in Bihar’s Darbhanga city – his first visit to the state since he took over as the chief minister of UP.
“Foreign dignitaries visiting the country used to be gifted replicas of the Taj Mahal and other minarets, which did not reflect Indian culture,” Adityanath said. However, now epics like the Bhagvad Gita and the Ramayan were offered as gifts to the foreign dignitaries, the UP CM added.
He also criticised the Bihar chief minister for not having taken a stand on triple talaq.
Under the government of BJP, the Taj Mahal has become part of the campaign to erase India’s Islamic heritage. In a lecture titled ‘Outsider As Enemy’, historian KN Panikkar, has said that the BJP is “saffronising research institutions”. He said that the ruling party was revising school textbooks “to introduce a communal view of the past, highlighting the achievements and contribution of the Hindus and undermining or misrepresenting the role of others.”
